Like A Dragon: Ishin! tips for beginners

Get to grips with the samurai way of life

Like A Dragon: Ishin! sees the return of popular Yakuza protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. Only this time he’s called Ryoma Sakamoto, or Saito Hajime, and he’s an influential samurai from the Edo period of Japanese history. Yakuza has been known for having a steep difficulty curve, but there are ways that you can negate this.

Here’s our best tips for starting out in Like A Dragon: Ishin!

Talk to everyone

Despite only having one area to explore, there is a lot to do in the city of Kyo. There are substories to find, relationships to build, and mini-games to find. These not only add some of the best stories to plot, but completing relationships will give you important items, unlock things for sale, add fast travel spots, give new abilities and can even get your pets for your second home. Relationships also need you to return to the person several times, so it’s good to start them early.

Don’t specialize in a style

There are four styles of gameplay, Brawler, Gunman, Swordsman, and Wild Dancer. As you play you will gain specialized orbs for abilities as well as general training orbs. However, the main circle of each wheel will provide health and heat boosts that will be applied to all styles. As some fights are locked to one style, it’s good to have a general basis, even if you stick to mainly using the same style.

Unlock abilities

There are three dojos in Kyo that can help you upgrade your abilities and these can be extremely helpful. Some styles don’t even have basic abilities such as grabs, dodges, and guards until you unlock them at the dojos. The Brawler Dojo is on the right of the Teradaya Inn in Fushimi, the Wild Dancer and Swordsman Dojo is next to Rakunai Shrine, and the Gunman Dojo is in the Unyuan Warehouse in East Umekojicho, Rakugai.

Spend your Virtue wisely

You get Virtue for virtually anything you do in Like A Dragon: Ishin! and it can unlock important buffs. Some of the first things you will want to unlock are the Shinto Priest’s Exchange in Rakunai Shrine, inventory expansion and add sprinting distance. This will help you more easily escape those pesky random street fights.

Choose your corporals carefully

Once you join the Shinsengumi you will unlock special abilities you can use in battle. These can be very strong in battle, and you will need them in later fights. They can be changed and added from the Trooper menu, and you should be careful about each one you choose. Some Troopers will only boost attack for certain styles, so make sure they are attached to the right one. However, corporals are special, and certain corporals will allow you to add a fourth ability. Make sure you always have one of these in each corporal slot to maximize your abilities.

Start blasting

Unlike most Yakuza games, Like A Dragon: Ishin! gives you a gun with unlimited ammo. While you can use any weapon you like for most fights, there are certain scenarios where you will want to get your gun out. If you are becoming overwhelmed by large groups of enemies, the gun not only allows you to shoot at range, but also has the shortest animation and allows you to dodge at will. The gun works very poorly on armored enemies, but otherwise you should feel free to blast away.