Are "Yakuza Kenzan" and 'Like a Dragon: Ishin!' comparable? These two spin-offs take place at different points during the feudal era of Japan.
If you're a fan of the long-running Yakuza series of games, you could be celebrating lately with the release of Like a Dragon: Ishin!. Whereas the Yakuza games generally apply the life and times of Japanese gangsters in modern-day Japan, this non-canon spin-off takes place right through the Bakumatsu technology of Japan, which heralds the finish of feudalism in the country. Popular characters from across the collection are repurposed as Japanese ancient figures in this quirky and entertaining title.
But you may well be stunned to know that this isn't the first time that the Yakuza games have featured a spin-off of this nature. Before Ishin, there was Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! (Like a Dragon Arrives!), which got here out solely in Japan on the PlayStation 3 back in 2008. In the West, the sport is colloquially known as "Yakuza Kenzan."
Kenzan is remarkably similar to Ishin in each thought and execution, however are the two games similar? Here's what you must learn about these spin-offs.
Is "Yakuza Kenzan" associated with 'Like a Dragon: Ishin!'?
Kenzan takes place all through the Edo period in Japan and follows real-life Japanese samurai Miyamoto Musashi.
After struggling defeat at the palms of the Tokugawa Clan at the Battle of Sekigahara, Musashi is going into hiding. Five years later, he lives beneath the assumed id of Kazumanosuke Kiryu (a play on words with the identify of standard Yakuza protagonist Kazuma Kiryu). Kazumanosuke is quickly hired for a task and is tasked with assassinating an imposter the use of the name Musashi.
Already, one can see a lot of similarities between Kenzan and Ishin! Both games had been in the beginning exclusive to Japan, with the latter most effective having observed an legitimate world liberate this year in 2023. They additionally percentage numerous components corresponding to fictional Yakuza characters appearing as stand-ins for Japanese historic figures.
Naturally, as a part of the Yakuza collection, it options many gameplay staples equivalent to multi-style fight and quite a few eclectic minigames.
For all intents and functions, Kenzan and Ishin observe the identical narrative components as Yakuza games that take place at turning issues in Japanese historical past. However, the similarities finish there.
Even as installments of Yakuza, the games largely don't have anything to do with each other in phrases of canon or story. Kenzan even takes place in 1605 Kyoto, while Ishin takes place greater than 200 years later in 1867, toward the end of the Edo period. There's no narrative link between the two instead of the Yakuza brand at massive.
That being mentioned, the fresh international free up of Ishin! on trendy consoles could really well mean that Kenzan might be headed to the west as neatly. In a 2021 interview with JP Games, head of Ryū Ga Gotoku Studio Daisuke Sato mentioned that he's very in bringing extra of the Japanese-exclusive games to world audiences. If Ishin! is a success enough, then there's a respectable chance that other spin-offs like Kenzan may make similar leaps and bounds.
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