Before I start this review, I just want to thank RGG Studio for finally releasing this title in the West. The fact that this has finally happened is like a dream come true for most fans. Anyway, on with the review.

Like a Dragon: Ishin is a remake of a spin-off of the Yakuza series (now called Like a Dragon series in the West). This game is essentially an all-star game, with the cast of the Like a Dragon series portraying major Japanese historical figures. The game's story recounts the tale of Sakamoto Ryoma. How much of this game is historically accurate is beyond me (if I were to guess the team took a lot of creative liberties given the cast), though rest assured, the game's story is excellent.

This game has a similar combat system to Yakuza 0/Kiwami. There are four styles to choose from and you have to figure out which is best suited for the combat scenario. While playing through this game, I only used two of them instead of alternating between the four. The Brawler style is the typical punching combat that the series is known for and it's not that good this time around. Compared to the other styles in the game, it's weak. The attacks do little damage so it's not worth using. The other style I didn't use a lot while playing is Gunman. As the name implies, this style primarily focuses on firing a gun. While dealing with the enemies that walk around the map, Gunman mows them down which made combat bland. Not only that but the dodge for this style wasn't the best. I did enjoy the other two, however. Swordsman Style allows the player to fight with a sword and the attacks here bring a lot of damage. This style also allows the player to block attacks, which the other ones don't offer. The other style is Wild Dancer, which combines sword and gun use. This style's attack range is wide, which makes up for its somewhat low damage output. Plus, the dodge is fantastic. I also enjoy the flamboyant nature of it.

What's new to the combat system is the controversial trooper cards system. In the original release of Ishin, these cards were exclusive to a certain game mode. This time around, they are an important part of the combat. At first, I didn't think I would enjoy this inclusion, but I ended up having fun with them. My biggest gripe is the fact that the game kind of forces you to use them. In a post before the game was released, RGG Studio described the cards as optional. However, the bosses in the game still use these special powers even if the cards aren't equipped. It unintentionally forces the player to use the cards.

Like most games in this series, Like a Dragon: Ishin is filled with side content. The mini games are fun and I enjoyed the Another Life bit. The substories here are rather forgettable though. I certainly chuckled at a few of them but none stuck out to me.

One thing this remake did was change up the cast. Since the original was released before Yakuza 0 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, characters from those games weren't featured. To make up for that, some of the characters were recast to include the newer titles. As much as I like Kuze and Zhao, I also like Hamazaki and Baba. Replacing them with characters from the more popular titles seems rather insulting (it doesn't help that Zhao looks like he knows what an iPhone is). I understand wanting to include characters from the newer games, but they could've gone about it another way: the substories. To be fair, they did do something similar for the occasional substory, but I would've liked to see more. This could've been a great way to include characters from both the new and old games, but it is what it is.

As for a remake, it doesn't change much outside of a few minor things. If that's the case, I have to wonder why remake it all? This "remake" is more like a remaster. However, I won't spend too much time on this topic because I'm just happy this game was finally released in the West in some way.

Like a Dragon: Ishin is flawed but a fun experience. The story is top-notch. The combat was okay but still enjoyable. However, some odd questionable decisions prevent me from giving this a higher score.