No one can deny the value of the series known until now. Yakuza when it comes to virtual tourism, visual fidelity, atmospheres and attention to detail of an environment, the Japanese one, which remains decidedly fascinating in the eyes of Western users. The franchise has enjoyed a substantial relaunch and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio thought it was time to let us try something new... or old?
Nine years after the original publication, here we find ourselves facing Like a Dragon: Ishin!, the remake of what is the most famous spin-off of the SEGA game. In short, the term "old" in this case acquires different connotations: on the one hand, because we are dealing with a title from 2014, which inevitably brings with it the limits of a formula that has recently been slightly revised; on the other hand because the story takes place between 1866 and 1867, at the end of the Edo period.
Is it worth taking this trip to feudal Japan? We reveal it to you in Review of Like a Dragon: ¡Ishin!.
History: the souls of renewal
It is an era of renewal ("Ishin", precisely) that forms the backdrop for the dramatic events of protagonist from Like a Dragon: Ishin!, Ryoma Sakamoto: the fictional version of a real-life figure, a skilled and brave samurai determined to overthrow the Bakumatsu shogunate and who in this adventure has the traits of Kazuma Kiryu, in addition to several good- Well-known faces from the SEGA series "play" so many characters that add to the story.
What appears before our eyes actually seems like a kind of evocative theatrical performance, in which there is no shortage of Tragic moments, violence, betrayals and mystery.. Having returned to Tosa after hard training in the art of the sword, Ryoma encounters the injustice that reigns in his hometown and decides to start a revolution together with his half-brother Takechi Hanpeita, leader of the Loyal Party, and his stepfather. and mentor Yoshida Toyo.
The latter, however, is killed by a masked warrior just before revealing his plans to bring peace and justice to Tosa and Ryoma, who cannot help but embrace him on his deathbed and who was already wanted by the authorities for having defended a woman and her little girl from a couple of soldiers, comes unjustly accused of murder. Cornered, he flees to Kyo, present-day Kyoto, in an attempt to find the hitman and exonerate himself. A year later, he assuming the fictional identity of Hajime Saito, the protagonist of Like a Dragon: Ishin! He discovers that the peculiar fighting style used by the assassin, called Tennen-Rishin, is linked to the leaders of the Shinsegumi military brigade, known in the city for his cruelty. Therefore he decides to join forces to get closer to his objective without arousing too much suspicion, but he has to deal with the cruelty of the troops and the political entanglements of a plot which will not lack surprises.
According to tradition, the history represents a fundamental element of the experience offered by the SEGA series and the remake of Ishin! is no exception, despite stumbling over some less well thought out narrative solutions. The authors working at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio certainly know how to best characterize the characters, and although in this case the cast is too large, with some figures inevitably reduced compared to their roles in the various chapters of Yakuza, the final result remains being very valid.
Thanks also and above all to cinematic cut and the perfect rhythms of a direction that in the management of the shots remains very mechanical (after all, this spin-off is still the result of a development that started from the bases of Yakuza 5), but which takes all the time necessary to best represent both Ryoma and his many supporting characters, whether allies or adversaries, giving them the strength and character of the franchise's voice actors. And yes, there are Spanish subtitles.
Structure: The activities of feudal Japan.
With a preliminary phase that takes place in Tosa concluded, the action of Like a Dragon: Ishin! moves towards his adjustment main one, that of Kyo, which appears before our eyes with a large and suggestive structure although at times labyrinthine, divided into districts each characterized by different commercial activities where we can refresh ourselves, acquire consumables, raw materials and even weapons to improve our equipment. significantly.
The formula is that of classic Yakuza, which could be reduced to "get from A to B and enjoy the next scene", but which actually offers a lot of substance and entertainment; even more so if our intention is to thoroughly explore everything that this experience can give us and thus give us duration of the campaign from approximately twenty-three hours of rapid approach to fifty or even one hundred requests in which you want to complete everything 100%.
Clearly in terms of quality, detail and interactions Ishin's stage! pays its dues and cannot compete with the more recent versions of Kamurocho, Sotenbori and Isezaki Ijincho, also because you only have to walk through the streets and shops of old Kyoto to realize how the graphic system belongs to a very obsolete generation, and this also includes the charges (almost instantaneous on PS5, anyway) that accompany entering certain areas or buildings.
That said, there is no doubt that the game's numbers speak volumes and we have tried to create alternative modes capable of capturing our attention, especially the section Another Life in which Ryoma takes care of his country house, which he shares with the young orphan Haruka, producing increasingly abundant and refined vegetables, processing fish and preparing dishes through special mini-games in order to collect the money necessary to redeem the village. Of course, the fun of management software at the Cabaret Club is a long way off.
Gameplay: a matter of style
Yes, in narrative and structural terms Like a Dragon: Ishin! features a system that is still enjoyable and attractive today, especially for fans of the series, in terms of game There are some important distinctions that need to be made. As has been said several times, this is a remake of an episode released in 2014, but already at that time the Yakuza action formula felt the weight of years and a stubborn lack of innovation.
So yes, the game mechanics necessarily seem dated and unfortunately, from this point of view, the four different fighting styles at Ryoma's disposal, if we consider that one is frankly ugly and impractical to use (Firefight, in which only the weapon is used) and another very unbalanced and ineffective from the middle of the campaign (Freefight, therefore naked melee as in the classic episodes), while providing necessary updates.
What remains is the style based on the Game of Thrones katana, beautiful to look at and functional when you have mid-high range equipment, although rather made of wood and limited in its movements by a necessarily traditional setting; and the spectacular Crazy Dance, in which the character alternates between sword and gun, producing combinations not only of great visual impact but also devastating in the presence of the necessary elements. to update.
The main change compared to the original Ishin! lies in the possibility of using the soldier card, that is, special cards that work in a very similar way to what was told in the Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires review, not only within the dungeons but also on the main map, which adds a pinch of depth to the experience. What it brings with it is a cartoonish and exaggerated interpretation of the fights that we would have preferred to remain confined to the old expeditions.
Graphics: remake or remastering?
Like a dragon: Ishin! Technically it is presented as a new version of the spin-off launched in 2014, in the sense that the developers have replaced several graphic resources, particularly the textures, and substantially modified the lighting system to give greater depth to the characters and environments. So we didn't just increase the resolution and frame rate like we did with the Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 re-releases, but no radical work was done on Kiwami either.
The fact that the visual sector is still going strong today is obviously due to the extraordinary work done at the time for a project that, it should be remembered, was developed cross-generation for PS3 and PS4. That said, looking at the geometry, animations, interactions with the stage and transitions. The dated nature of this production inevitably comes to light., which is especially manifested in movement, since 4K at 60 fps is not enough to mask it.
Finally, a few words for the Sonoro, which can also count in this case on the great atmospheres dictated by the dialogues in Japanese, extremely heartfelt and convinced, and by a design that in general contributes a lot to the creation of an evocative atmosphere, full of charm, enhanced even more by a selection of good music, starting with the introductory sequence.
Conclusions
Tested version PlayStation 5 digital delivery Steam, playstation store, Xbox Store Price 59,99 € Holygamerz.com 7.5 Readers (38) 7.1 your voteLike a dragon: Ishin! will not fail to trigger the usual discussions about what is a remake and what is a remastering, placing itself exactly halfway between these two types of product and thus giving us an experience that visually and structurally seems much closer to the 2014 original than to the most Expressions recent from the SEGA series. The story, the characters and the content once again constitute the cornerstone of a game that will not fail to excite fans, while forcing them to undertake a journey to the past that is not limited to the environment.
PRO
- Exciting story, great characters, great atmosphere.
- The classic Yakuza formula, with its multiple contents
- In some situations the combat system is satisfactory.
AGAINST
- Visually and structurally he feels the weight of his years.
- Styles are sometimes unbalanced and progression is slow for updates.
- Lack of truly compelling collateral activities
