The Like A Dragon: Ishin! Remake is a Testament to Yakuza's Popularity in the West
It's a great time to be a fan of the Yakuza series right now. The franchise, which is now known as Like A Dragon, recently announced three new games for fans to look forward to. Not only was the next mainline entry in the series announced, officially titled Like A Dragon 8, but also two spin-off titles. The first is a remake of 2014's Like a Dragon: Ishin!, a spin-off that takes place in historical Japan, that was originally never released in the west. The second, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, will bring back Kazuma Kiryu as the main protagonist. It will tell a story that bridges the gap between Yakuza 6 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7), shedding some light on Kiryu's activities between the two games.
Like a Dragon's rising popularity over the last few years has paved the way for Like a Dragon: Ishin! to finally get the western release some thought it would never have, and it's a great show of triumph for developer Ryu Ga Gotoku. The original game was a spiritual successor to Like a Dragon: Kenzan!, a PS3 title that was released in Japan in 2008. Taking place in Japan during the late Edo period, the game follows Sakamoto Ryoma, a ronin who takes the fall for the murder of his adoptive father. Fleeing to Kyoto, he assumes a new identity and sets out to avenge the murder.
Yakuza Developer Explains Why The Series Won't Come to Switch
The Yakuza series started out on the PS2 in 2005. The first game, simply titled Yakuza in the west, was a gritty crime drama that introduced several key components of the franchise, including protagonist Kazama Kiryu, and the fictional city of Kamurocho, which is based on Tokyo's entertainment district Kabukicho. Many have praised the developers' determination to stay
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