The western release of Like a Dragon: Ishin is a curious proposition. It's a remake of the 2014 spin-off of the core series and, like the original, relies on intimate knowledge of the mainline series for its experimental elseworlds narrative to land. And yet, Ishin is a completely original story that has the potential to serve as a good entry point for newcomers looking for something standalone.

Those who have been onlookers to the Yakuza fever that has swept the gaming landscape over the last few years will most likely recognize many of the characters in Ishin from fan art, trailers, and gameplay videos. However, the versions featured in Ishin are not the characters we know and love, but variants living in a different era. That might sound like a peculiar turnoff, but at the same time, much of what makes the franchise charming and its characters endearing is also still present.

Like a Dragon: Ishin is set during the turbulent late Edo period in Japan's history, which saw the end of the infamous Tokugawa Shogunate's 200-year reign. Ishin's protagonist Sakamoto Ryōma, who is physically identical to the series' main character, Kazuma Kiryu, is involved in local political turmoil that results in the assassination of his mentor and father figure.