Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! (龍が如く 維新!) is an action-adventure hack ‘n’ slash developed and published by SEGA. This is the second console spin-off title for the Ryū ga Gotoku franchise, translated as Like a Dragon but more known outside Japan under the name Yakuza. The game was released in 2014 for both the PlayStation 3 and as a launch title for the PlayStation 4 in Japan.
Background:
Ryū ga Gotoku is one of SEGA’s biggest modern franchises and has had many instalments over the years. The western market managed to receive the main titles in the franchise, but in Japan SEGA offered a couple of spin-off titles. The western market did get one of them (Yakuza: Dead Souls, known in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku OF THE DEAD) but that single-handedly destroyed the franchise for the west until Sony stepped in for Yakuza 5’s localisation.
Anywho, in Japan the developers made a spin-off to try out a few different things for their franchise. Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!, one of the early PlayStation 3 games, helped setup Yakuza 3 in terms of the game’s engine, and now we have Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! doing the exact same idea but for the PlayStation 4. That being said, the game was also released on PlayStation 3, but it was also a launch title for the PlayStation 4.
Similar to Kenzan!, Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! is a standalone story that uses the characters introduced from Yakuza all the way to Yakuza 5, and place them in a fictional setting in historical Japan, with each character portraying as someone else. This brings a new life to the series, as the developers can provide easter eggs and also twists to the characters as you progress through the story.
Like Kenzan!, the gameplay in terms of navigation and combat can be friendly to use, but the story and dialogue will be in Japanese. That being said, the fan community has done an impressive job offering an English translated walkthrough for those who wish to try the game out for themselves.
SEGA has blocked sharing and screenshot options for this game so I can’t provide any for this post sadly.
Disc Specs:
Distributor: SEGA
Released: 22nd February 2014
| Region | Japan |
| HDD Space | 23.87 GB (with Patch 1.08 applied) |
| Remote Play Support | Yes |
| Trophy Support | Yes |
| Local Players | 1 |
| Online Players | 0 |
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! has never been made available for the west in English but copies are available for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in both Japan and Asian territories in physical and digital form. While I was able to acquire the original release through Solaris Japan, there is also a PlayStation 4 New Price edition also available to own through Play Asia.
The Normanic Vault 