Like a dragon: ishin! - before you buy
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Definitely recommend this game. Also Judgement (my favorite) is another good introduction to Yakuza universe. It was my first game and its a little more milder with the weird zany stuff compared to other Yakuza games but it definitely still has its crazy goofy moments. The first Judgement is isolated with zero references and mentions to Yakuza that I am aware of, but the sequel to Judgement (lost judgement) has some ties with Yakuza 7.
Date: 2023-02-19
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Comments and reviews: 14
noima
Personally as a person who has played every game they've put out on PC and has 100%ed each of them (now doing it with Ishin as well) I gotta say that the review is very on point.
However I gotta say that I personally don't think that this game is a fantastic starting point for fans. There's a fine line between Ishin and the rest of the series and for newcomers that want a samurai game, the rest of the series doesn't really do it, at least from my point of view. Also starting on a game like 0, or if you're incredibly cultured, the original Yakuza 1 on PS2 will really add to the experience of playing Ishin, mainly cause you'll recognize a lot more faces.
Other than that I believe SEGA did a really good job with the remaster however there's still some issues. Whether it's clipping models, stutters on PC or just movement jank it needs some serious ironing out and fast. Also some of the changes and additions made are questionable, especially the card trooper stuff. Some people hate them and some like them. I lean more on the former side.
Overall, really solid review for a really solid game.
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Personally as a person who has played every game they've put out on PC and has 100%ed each of them (now doing it with Ishin as well) I gotta say that the review is very on point.
However I gotta say that I personally don't think that this game is a fantastic starting point for fans. There's a fine line between Ishin and the rest of the series and for newcomers that want a samurai game, the rest of the series doesn't really do it, at least from my point of view. Also starting on a game like 0, or if you're incredibly cultured, the original Yakuza 1 on PS2 will really add to the experience of playing Ishin, mainly cause you'll recognize a lot more faces.
Other than that I believe SEGA did a really good job with the remaster however there's still some issues. Whether it's clipping models, stutters on PC or just movement jank it needs some serious ironing out and fast. Also some of the changes and additions made are questionable, especially the card trooper stuff. Some people hate them and some like them. I lean more on the former side.
Overall, really solid review for a really solid game.
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Space
I strongly disagree that this game is a good entry point to the franchise.
Not only will its SLOW opening put off a lot of newcomers, but if you're also new to the ways these games work, I'd wager
a lot of people will be more than a little confused as to where to go and how to even find substories and materials, etc.
And this being a fan service spinoff, you only get the most out of it if you're already familiar with the characters from the other games.
If you play this game first and then the others, the characters will remind you of the ones you know from Ishin. and it should really be the other way around.
No, the ONLY entry point is really Yakuza 0. Some would say that Like a Dragon (7) works as well, but again, that's completely different from the main games
and has very little in common with them. So stick with Yakuza 0 and work your way from there.
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I strongly disagree that this game is a good entry point to the franchise.
Not only will its SLOW opening put off a lot of newcomers, but if you're also new to the ways these games work, I'd wager
a lot of people will be more than a little confused as to where to go and how to even find substories and materials, etc.
And this being a fan service spinoff, you only get the most out of it if you're already familiar with the characters from the other games.
If you play this game first and then the others, the characters will remind you of the ones you know from Ishin. and it should really be the other way around.
No, the ONLY entry point is really Yakuza 0. Some would say that Like a Dragon (7) works as well, but again, that's completely different from the main games
and has very little in common with them. So stick with Yakuza 0 and work your way from there.
reply
Piotr
Really great review. I am a massive fan of the series. Played all the previous games (my adventure started with 0. However, I was afraid it would be a huge step back when i saw the combat in the promo videos. Thankfully the demo that RGGS released proved me wrong. The combat seems spicy and fun!
I really appreciate your review Jake. I can tell you're a long time fan since you're saying both Yakuza and Like a Dragon >D I'll be getting the game on the regular release day and thanks to this review I know i will enjoy it as much as I did all the previous entries.
PS. Hopefully Amon won't be too game breaking
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Really great review. I am a massive fan of the series. Played all the previous games (my adventure started with 0. However, I was afraid it would be a huge step back when i saw the combat in the promo videos. Thankfully the demo that RGGS released proved me wrong. The combat seems spicy and fun!
I really appreciate your review Jake. I can tell you're a long time fan since you're saying both Yakuza and Like a Dragon >D I'll be getting the game on the regular release day and thanks to this review I know i will enjoy it as much as I did all the previous entries.
PS. Hopefully Amon won't be too game breaking
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DeltaWolf
I'm a massive fan of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games and I did have the pleasure of playing the original Like a Dragon ishin when it was a Japanese exclusive. it's nice to see it getting the love it deserves
Ryu ga gotoku studios is my favourite singleplayer game dev team. But enough about my complimenting and on to facts personally I think the best place to start The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series is no doubt Yakuza Kiwami and then Yakzua 0 because so many people who play Yakuza 0 first miss out on all the call backs to kiwami and the rest of the yakuzas
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I'm a massive fan of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games and I did have the pleasure of playing the original Like a Dragon ishin when it was a Japanese exclusive. it's nice to see it getting the love it deserves
Ryu ga gotoku studios is my favourite singleplayer game dev team. But enough about my complimenting and on to facts personally I think the best place to start The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series is no doubt Yakuza Kiwami and then Yakzua 0 because so many people who play Yakuza 0 first miss out on all the call backs to kiwami and the rest of the yakuzas
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Poem
I dont agree with Ishin being a good entry point. This spin-off works because of how good the original series is. It's special because it's using all these characters we know so much about and putting them in a samurai drama. Nobody cares about Sakamoto Ryuma, they care about samurai Kiryu. It's fan service in a way, like putting your favourite characters from a show in a high-school slice of life setting or seeing Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul in that pawn shop, essentially playing Walter and Jesse but not literally.
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I dont agree with Ishin being a good entry point. This spin-off works because of how good the original series is. It's special because it's using all these characters we know so much about and putting them in a samurai drama. Nobody cares about Sakamoto Ryuma, they care about samurai Kiryu. It's fan service in a way, like putting your favourite characters from a show in a high-school slice of life setting or seeing Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul in that pawn shop, essentially playing Walter and Jesse but not literally.
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RandomHero88
Up to this point I was not into the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series at all. Don't get me wrong, I'm a weeb. But watching people play on Twitch. It felt badly repetitive. Then I hear about this Ishin spin-off. Rurouni Kenshin is my favorite manga/anime. All you needed to sell me was the 1860's era setting! I have my physical copy pre-ordered waiting to play! I don't know if I will ever play the rest of the series in the future. But at least I know I helped it moving forward in the west!
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Up to this point I was not into the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series at all. Don't get me wrong, I'm a weeb. But watching people play on Twitch. It felt badly repetitive. Then I hear about this Ishin spin-off. Rurouni Kenshin is my favorite manga/anime. All you needed to sell me was the 1860's era setting! I have my physical copy pre-ordered waiting to play! I don't know if I will ever play the rest of the series in the future. But at least I know I helped it moving forward in the west!
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AdvancedSoda
Yakuza 7 is the one I started with and the one I highly recommend. It's the perfect entre point. Plus I just love Jrpgs so I played the crap out of that one. I also recommend Yakuza 0, or even 1 since they all use the new engine. Even starting with Judgement wouldn't be that bad. I need to finish the other games in this series they're great.
Although if you're like me and started with 7 you have no idea who half the characters were lol
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Yakuza 7 is the one I started with and the one I highly recommend. It's the perfect entre point. Plus I just love Jrpgs so I played the crap out of that one. I also recommend Yakuza 0, or even 1 since they all use the new engine. Even starting with Judgement wouldn't be that bad. I need to finish the other games in this series they're great.
Although if you're like me and started with 7 you have no idea who half the characters were lol
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stayt2dg
I think the best entry point for ryu ga gotoku is the Judgement series. Yakuza/Like a Dragon is a bit quirky in nature so u gotta appreciate Japanese culture a bit more to fully enjoy them. Judgement/Lost Judgement has great combat and great story execution while making the player feel invested in the private detective life.
Nonetheless can't wait to play this. Just powering thru Hogwarts so I have enough time to experience it
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I think the best entry point for ryu ga gotoku is the Judgement series. Yakuza/Like a Dragon is a bit quirky in nature so u gotta appreciate Japanese culture a bit more to fully enjoy them. Judgement/Lost Judgement has great combat and great story execution while making the player feel invested in the private detective life.
Nonetheless can't wait to play this. Just powering thru Hogwarts so I have enough time to experience it
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wazaleey
I played Yakuza 7 and that was my first Yakuza game. It wasn't a bad game to start off with but i really wished that I played 0 before so I would know how important some of the side characters are and some of the MCs but that didn't ruin the game for me it was really fun and probably one of the first big JRPGS I've ever played through/finished and it's probably one of my favorite games of all time
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I played Yakuza 7 and that was my first Yakuza game. It wasn't a bad game to start off with but i really wished that I played 0 before so I would know how important some of the side characters are and some of the MCs but that didn't ruin the game for me it was really fun and probably one of the first big JRPGS I've ever played through/finished and it's probably one of my favorite games of all time
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Samuel
As a fan who play the mainline games and Judgment games only in 2 years, Ishin is a no-brainer for me. It's an automatic buy but I do agree about its shortcoming and dated combat, especially compared to Lost Judgment. But these games have so much heart, it's hard to deny its charm and based on many fans' thoughts, Ishin is probably in the upper rank in the series.
Thanks for the review!
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As a fan who play the mainline games and Judgment games only in 2 years, Ishin is a no-brainer for me. It's an automatic buy but I do agree about its shortcoming and dated combat, especially compared to Lost Judgment. But these games have so much heart, it's hard to deny its charm and based on many fans' thoughts, Ishin is probably in the upper rank in the series.
Thanks for the review!
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Steven
It's a small thing, but I like the skill tree design from Yakuza 0 coming back.
If I were to recommend the series, I say don't skip 3, 4, and 5. 3 Is a novel adventure with a lot of heart. 4 has a great story, introduces Taiga and has the most awkward moment in the whole series, and 5 is just a beast of a game with the most playable characters.
In short, play them all!
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It's a small thing, but I like the skill tree design from Yakuza 0 coming back.
If I were to recommend the series, I say don't skip 3, 4, and 5. 3 Is a novel adventure with a lot of heart. 4 has a great story, introduces Taiga and has the most awkward moment in the whole series, and 5 is just a beast of a game with the most playable characters.
In short, play them all!
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lorin
I was so stoked to hear that they were bringing this game to the west! After getting into the Yakuza series, I wanted to play everyone there was to offer (can't say I liked 3 that much though. As far as a starting point go, Yakuza 0 is definitely my go to. This is a great spin-off/palette cleanser but, if you're looking to get into the mainline story, definitely start there.
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I was so stoked to hear that they were bringing this game to the west! After getting into the Yakuza series, I wanted to play everyone there was to offer (can't say I liked 3 that much though. As far as a starting point go, Yakuza 0 is definitely my go to. This is a great spin-off/palette cleanser but, if you're looking to get into the mainline story, definitely start there.
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Gamayun
I think the two Judgement games are better than the Yakuza games. Also, I hate the management sims and they are not in the Judgment games, but that is not the only reason I like Judgement more. The stories are extremely good, the characters are amazing and you will miss them when the game is over, the humor is similar to Yakuza and the fighting system is way better.
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I think the two Judgement games are better than the Yakuza games. Also, I hate the management sims and they are not in the Judgment games, but that is not the only reason I like Judgement more. The stories are extremely good, the characters are amazing and you will miss them when the game is over, the humor is similar to Yakuza and the fighting system is way better.
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Antonidas
It helps a lot to appreciate the story and setting of this game if you know and undersand that bit of Japanese history which is one of the two most well-known among Japanese people (along with Sengoku Jidai.
In Westerm term, imagine a GTA 5 spinoff setting in Roman period. Instead of Los Santos, you have Rome, and Michael and Trevor become Brutus and Caesar.
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It helps a lot to appreciate the story and setting of this game if you know and undersand that bit of Japanese history which is one of the two most well-known among Japanese people (along with Sengoku Jidai.
In Westerm term, imagine a GTA 5 spinoff setting in Roman period. Instead of Los Santos, you have Rome, and Michael and Trevor become Brutus and Caesar.
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