I'm happy to see that Like a Dragon: Ishin! has finally been translated and released internationally. I've never played the 2014 Japan-exclusive PS4 game (duh), so I'm even happier that after the first hours I can already tell that it has all components that make for a great Yakuza/Like a Dragon game: suspenseful main story, dozens of fleshed out characters with their own agenda, silly side stories, great soundtrack and satisfying combat.
It doesn't improve on the "Yakuza formula", but it doesn't have to - it's a game series that reliably delivers.

It's a great spin-off that anybody will enjoy who enjoyed other Yakuza games. For newcomers, this could be a great starting point, provided the setting in 1860s Japan sounds interesting. If it doesn't, it would be better to start somewhere else, e.g. with Yakuza 0 or Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

At the same time, there are a few glaring issues that can't be overlooked. The movement outside of combat is clunky and feels very 2014, even on a controller. The story has some pacing issues, after the intro it pretty much slows down to a crawl. On top of that, there are technical issues, that will hopefully be addressed with future patches. Some of those are really unforgivable in 2023: UE4 shader stutter; missing ultra wide screen support (come on, Sega); 30 fps cut scenes (really?).

I'm happy to see that Like a Dragon: Ishin! has finally been translated and released internationally. I've never played the 2014 Japan-exclusive PS4 game (duh), so I'm even happier that after the first hours I can already tell that it has all components that make for a great Yakuza/Like a Dragon game: suspenseful main story, dozens of fleshed out characters with their own agenda, silly side stories, great soundtrack and satisfying combat. It doesn't improve on the "Yakuza formula", but it doesn't have to - it's a game series that reliably delivers. It's a great spin-off that anybody will enjoy who enjoyed other Yakuza games. For newcomers, this could be a great starting point, provided the setting in 1860s Japan sounds interesting. If it doesn't, it would be better to start somewhere else, e.g. with Yakuza 0 or Yakuza: Like a Dragon. At the same time, there are a few glaring issues that can't be overlooked. The movement outside of combat is clunky and feels very 2014, even on a controller. The story has some pacing issues, after the intro it pretty much slows down to a crawl. On top of that, there are technical issues, that will hopefully be addressed with future patches. Some of those are really unforgivable in 2023: UE4 shader stutter; missing ultra wide screen support (come on, Sega); 30 fps cut scenes (really?).