Whether you are a longtime fan of the Yakuza series or someone who became curious to play it after checking out the countless memes the game inspires, Like a Dragon: Ishin does not disappoint with how good it is, or how wildly funny the side distractions are. The world feels so alive and practically begs you to check out every alley and side street to find something new.
Having said that, the game rides a fine line between realism and surrealism like a professional tightrope walker, and some things that you experience in the game will require your suspension of disbelief to be on a long hold. No matter how long you hold that disbelief off, something is going to have you scratch your head and wonder: just what is going on?
8 The Bathhouse Steam Physics
During a confrontation inside the local bathhouse, Sakamoto finds himself against a man who decided things need to be settled with his fists, decency be damned. Tensions rise, and Sakamoto winds up goaded into fighting right along with the blond stranger with an audience of one. The cutscene ends, and you and the stranger are standing face to face.
Logically, all the movement would cause the steam to dissipate, but here, it remains the only thing standing in between the game receiving and an AO rating. The steam dances back and forth between the tussling pair continuing to wrestle and slam each other into the bathhouse floor. It’s an entertaining fight for sure, but the true winner of that fight was condensation.
7 Sakomoto's Fishing Strength
Fishermen are a force to be reckoned with. They have to wrestle with both the elements and hundreds of fish while making sure they’re catching the best of them and protecting the environment. Yet, knowing all of this doesn’t answer how exactly Ryoma can single-handedly (not an exaggeration) yank a giant oarfish across the water in a single movement.
Think about it, everything in the action is fighting against him: the water currents, the weight of the fish, and the tension of the line. Couple that with the distance he can do this in, and you’re left puzzled too. It doesn’t make any sense, but somehow he’s able to do it with ease and style.
6 How Infectious The Ea Ja Nai Ka Chant Is
Ea Ja Nai Ka represents a community of people who are tired of the political power struggles throughout Japan but don’t exactly know how to combat the effects. So, they do what most people do in that situation: dance. There is unspoken magic within the simple two-step and arm movements, but you can’t quite put a finger on what it is.
Maybe it’s how everyone participating gets a goofy smile on their face, or it’s the repetitive nature of the chant that gets you hooked. Ryoma himself was pulled into its melodic trance a couple of times before being snapped out of it. Ea Ja Nai Ka indeed.
5 Beating People Up Grants Virtue
Virtue is a currency you get in the game through various means: helping people who are being bullied, supporting local businesses, and praying to shrines spread out on the map. Another way you can build up virtue is by beating up ruffians on the street. For the most part, they instigate the fights by chasing you down or attempting to rob you in an alley.
It’s the times when you are the instigator that is the issue. Some of the more unsavory men who roam the street will leave you alone if you just leave them be. You actively have to aggressively bump into these groups for them to want to fight you, only for you to receive the same virtue as if you were helping a stranger.
4 No One Dies From Gunfire
Sakamoto Ryoma is a talented fighter with the ability to adapt to new weapons with ease, so it’s an easy guess as to how he was able to learn the ways of the gunman just as easily as the sword. Guns are everywhere on the streets of Kyo, but for some reason, the sword still gives the feeling of being much deadlier.
Guns going off left and right as you are hitting enemies, it’s natural to assume that everyone hit by your bullets is gone. Yet, after every fight, those same folks you shot down are just fine. Hurt, but able to simply walk it off as though the bullets were instead just your fists. It doesn’t make sense, but that’s par for the course when it comes to Kiryu’s Ryoma’s nonexistent body count.
3 Enemies Continue Trying To Fight A Losing Fight
Ryoma’s reputation as a loner badass spreads like wildfire after he joins the Shinsengumi and becomes an officer the same day. There’s no way people in Kyo don’t know who he is, if not by name then at the very least, by reputation. So it’s wild to see all the troublemakers and ruffians approach him while wearing an officer’s haori.
It’s not like in most games where you hear about your amazing reputation, but in gameplay, no one seems to recognize you. Everyone in the streets is talking about the amazing new Shinsengumi captain as you are walking around in your shiny new Shinsengumi Captains' robes. They never learn, and you’ll have plenty of experience fodder to grow even stronger.
2 Like A Dragon: Ishin’s Version Of The Batting Cages
Keeping yourself entertained in a time before the high-tech we have now took a lot of imagination and ambition back when electricity wasn’t commonplace. That’s no different in Ishin, where you have plenty of sidequests and minigames to keep you busy. Though missing are some of the more popular ones, such as RC racing or the batting cages, you’ll be sure to find its ancient equivalent with ease.
Having said that, the minigame that replaces the batting cages is a little…dangerous, if you’re putting it lightly. Instead of a stick and a ball, you have your trusty sword being the only thing that protects you from incoming cannonballs you are meant to slice in half. The game isn’t for the faint of heart, and its physics don’t make the most sense, but it’s fun regardless.
1 How Relentlessly Talented Sakamoto Ryoma Is
There’s no denying that Ryoma is an extremely talented warrior. Hell, upon being introduced to him, he’s coming back from an intense training stint in Edo for a year. As the map and the minigames open up, you start to realize that there is so much more to Sakamoto than the revenge journey he finds himself on.
Sakamoto’s talents include, but are not limited to: playing the bamboo flute for karaoke with a melodic singing voice to match, serving delicious udon noodles with ease, and performing beautiful fan dances. The list of talents the legend has doesn’t stop there, but those deserve to be discovered organically.