![]() ![]() What doesn’t help is that nearly every main and supporting character is ‘played’ by a character from the Yakuza series. As a result, despite it still being fairly simple to understand (ironically a rarity for modern Yakuza games), a lot of the deeper politics will be lost on the average player. What’s the difference between a shishi and a ronin? Google it because the game won’t explain. ![]() And yet when you get down to it Ishin is fundamentally no different than what has come before, with its period setting being the only truly unique thing about it. Spin-offs are the perfect place to mess around with an established formula and try something different. Like A Dragon: Ishin is clearly trying not to fix what isn’t broken, but we do wonder if this is to the game’s detriment. Not to mention the usual sub-stories that see you lend aid to townsfolk and provide some goofy levity compared to the more self-serious story. From mah-jong and karaoke (the latter predating its existence by roughly a century) to chicken races and a mini-farming sim, this is a game that could keep you busy all year thanks to its extensive in-game achievements list. This is par for the course for the series, but we were almost overwhelmed with how much there is to do and complete.Įven after clearing the main story, after nearly 30 hours of playtime, our completion rate was barely 20%. On the plus side, you’re unlikely to blitz through the story, since Ishin is filled to the brim with side activities and distractions, providing plenty of opportunities to obtain more of those aforementioned resources. Even so, the fact that grinding is almost a necessity isn’t ideal. We would’ve liked to upgrade our gear more regularly, but the city’s blacksmith requires a lot of money, plus he needed materials – some of which you can buy from other stores while others are random drops from enemies.įortunately, combat is rarely dull and there is a battle dungeon that’s perfect for grinding experience, money, materials, and new weapons/equipment, as well as for acquiring trooper cards (which provide stat buffs and outlandish special attacks, like shooting lightning from your hands). Thankfully, certain bosses do drop new weapons, but even with these you’ll only be doing double digit damage while your opponents’ damage output is in the hundreds, resulting in us falling back on healing items more often than any other Yakuza game. The series has always featured role-playing elements but in Ishin you have to be regularly acquiring and/or upgrading weapons and armour to make it through later battles. This slightly revised combat comes at the cost of Ishin feeling more like a numbers game than other entries, and not just because damage numbers pop up during battle (you can turn them off if they bother you). Or you can wield both weapons at once, which is very handy for dealing with crowds. You can fight barehanded if you want but we found it to be the least useful option and since enemies are usually armed themselves, you’re clearly meant to prioritise swiping up close with your sword and picking foes off from afar with gunfire. The key difference is that, rather than your fists, your main weapons are a sword and pistol, with four separate stances offering their own unique move sets and skill trees, although skill wheel would be more accurate. As you wander the streets, you are routinely hounded by mobs of enemies that you get to dispatch with flashy and violent attacks. ![]() Despite the shift from modern day Tokyo to the late 19th century, fans of the series will immediately feel right at home in Ishin’s city of Kyo (nowadays known as Kyoto), especially if you prefer the classic action beat ‘em-up formula that the series ditched when it became a turn-based role-player in 2020 (at which point it also switched its name, from Yakuza to a literal translation of the Japanese title). ![]()
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