Like a Dragon: Ishinhas proven to be a hit with fans, with the remaster taking the game’s narrative to wider audiences after almost a decade since its initial release. Although the voices and faces of the involved characters may be familiar, the title brings the franchise to an ambitious historic setting, albeit one that is largely anchored upon real-life figures and events.
Given the success ofLike a Dragon: Ishinas well as the recent narrative direction that the mainline franchise titles have taken, it is clear that series developer Ryu Ga Gotoku is wanting to broaden the horizons of the IP’s offered gameplay in quite a significant way. With this in mind, there is no reason that futureYakuzaspin-offs cannot fully embrace a more fantastical setting, blending the likes of historic Japanese mythology with a driven narrative akin to parts of the well-received PlayStation titleGhost of Tsushima.
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The Themes of Ishin and Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Like a Dragon: Ishinis set in the late 1800s in Japan, telling a fairly factual account of the real-life geopolitical struggle between the Shinsengumi and the growing unrest from Japanese citizens loyal to the Emperor. With manyreal-world historic figures being depicted inLike a Dragon: Ishin, the story is limited to being firmly grounded in reality.
Of course, this is the case with mostYakuzatitles, which often tell the tale of eccentric yet fairly plausible events within the criminal underworld of Japan, although recent franchise installments have pushed against this in quite a significant way. For example, the most recent mainline addition to the IP is2018’sYakuza: Like a Dragon, which shifted the franchise’s core gameplay to turn-based JRPG combat. While still telling a realistic story, the core combat ofYakuza: Like a Dragonsignificantly embraced fantastical and mythological elements, with everyday enemies being transformed into weird and wonderful beings during fights.
Evenboss battles inYakuza: Like a Dragonwere steeped in overt metaphorical iconography, which could flourish even further should aYakuzatitle be given complete fantastical or mythological freedom within its narrative. A more historic setting such asIshinwould be the perfect context to fully explore these themes, and futureYakuzatitles could smartly blend the two to make this experience akin to the likes ofGhost of Tsushima’sLegends mode.
Ghost of Tsushima and a Future Like a Dragon Title
Ghost of Tsushimawas released in 2020 to great amounts of success, telling an impactful and immersive Samurai tale that, akin toLike a Dragon: Ishin, is for the most part firmly grounded in reality. However, theLegends mode ofGhost of Tsushimaoffers a co-operative experience that sees players fight some of the most legendary and imposing figures within Japanese mythology. This kind of experience would be perfect for a futureLike a Dragonspin-off, with the series already being unafraid of showcasing its protagonists as besting the likes of tigers and bulldozers in combat.
The series' power fantasy could be pushed to its absolute limit in a more fantastical setting.Long-time protagonist Kazuma Kiryubeing able to fight against the same dragon that is so famously tattooed on his back would be just one example of what gameplay this kind of title could entail. While the franchise has already dipped its toes in more fantastical elements, it is clear that a dedicated fantasy setting would be the perfect opportunity to create some deeply fascinating and ambitious narratives for theLike a Dragonfranchise that could tackle Japanese mythology in a truly comprehensive manner.
Like a Dragon: Ishinis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
