Like a Dragon… Or Yakuza. A saga that improves from episode to episode. Especially since the name has changed, no more Yakuza, we adopt Like a Dragon to get closer to the Japanese name. Except that we are on a remaster of an episode never released in our country. And yes, we are on the return of Kiryu, or rather Ryoma.
A story of family and revenge in a Japan in transition.
The studio Ryu Ga Gotoku offers us a very good title originally released in 2014. We find the samurai during the Edo period in an epic adventure totally inspired by historical fact. All your adventure will start in 1867 during the restoration of the country and the opening of its borders. You’ll notice it when you’re quoted doctors from the land of sunflowers.
You will follow the adventures of Ryoma Sakamoto who will have to flee his native village after his return. Because this one has witnessed the murder of his adoptive father while you make a plan to overthrow the current shogunate. And as far as to say case of this time, being caught in this situation leaves you only two solutions: Flee or die.
What we like about the story of Like a Dragon Ishin is that it is modeled on Japanese theater. There are twists and turns all the time, stories of betrayal as big as trucks, very politicized manipulation and various plots to die of laughter as it becomes ridiculous at times. Yes, Kabuki is very present in the overall setting. However, during the cinematics, the game catches up with the series. We are on the best of the saga and we would almost ask for that.
What is good about the use of this era is that we are on a change of architecture. And this time, we are on a Kyoto period. Even if we are far from Kamurocho in terms of retranscription and life.
The basic title has been completely redone in Unreal Engine 4, but suffers from some texture or behavior too fixed. Which is a pity, because sometimes we would like to be much more in the story.
The Wand.
If the last episode was an RPG. We are here on a return to Beat Them All. But less rigid than the basic episode. So we find the different styles of fighting game. What is different from the other episodes is that we go from fists to blades. But also to firearms. It’s a real pleasure to be able to switch from one style to another on the fly.
Finally, Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a breath of fresh air in this brutal universe. We find an old and fascinating Japan with known faces in an alternative version. Ishin is a nice tribute to its base material without distorting it and especially in VOST which is worth noting. A must have!
