Sega announces Like a Dragon: Ishin, a remake of a 2014 spin-off Yakuza game, is currently in development. On the eve of developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's special broadcast, a project few could have predicted has been announced. Like the Yakuza Kiwami remakes before it, Like a Dragon: Ishin will localize a game previously unavailable in the west. But, also like the Yakuza Kiwami games, Like a Dragon: Ishin is so much more than the game the remake is based on.
In 2014, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio launched Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!, which translates to Like a Dragon Ishin!, since the Yakuza franchise has always been known as Like a Dragon in Japan. This was the last game before the release of Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, however, which triggered a surge of popularity in the west and resulted in remakes and re-releases of the entire Yakuza franchise in the years since. Now Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is localizing Like a Dragon: Ishin, too, but is also doing something special with the project.
Like a Dragon: Ishin is a remake and localization of Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a planned release window of February 2023. It's also going to be Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's first game built on Unreal Engine 4. This is a major shift for Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, which built its previous games on the internally-developed Dragon Engine. That could lead to significant visual improvements and faster development time down the road, especially if it takes the step up to Unreal Engine 5.
Like a Dragon: Ishin isn't a prequel or sequel to the main series Yakuza games, for those who aren't familiar. It's a spin-off game set in the 1860s. Imagine it as an alternative universe where Yakuza protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and several other familiar Yakuza characters were born in a different era. Don't let the name confuse anyone either. While it's named Like a Dragon, similar to Yakuza: Like a Dragon, its gameplay will be action-oriented like the other games in the Yakuza franchise.
The name of Like a Dragon: Ishin does convey what could be an important message, however. It likely means that the Yakuza franchise will be rebranded to the Like a Dragon franchise in the west going forward. As previously noted, the Japanese title for the series has always been Like a Dragon. Yakuza was, assumedly, used in the west for marketing reasons. Yakuza: Like a Dragon's success perhaps showed Sega that a conversion to the new name would be fine given how successful the series has been.
As exciting, and portentous, as Like a Dragon: Ishin's announcement is, it's likely just the start of what could be a very exciting week for fans of the Yakuza franchise. Tomorrow, September 14, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is sharing a special broadcast that's expected to feature the announcement of its next main-series game in the Yakuza series. Expect much more Like a Dragon news very soon.
Like a Dragon: Ishin releases February 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.