Like a Dragon: Ishin beginner’s guide: 11 things you need to know before you start

Like a Dragon: Ishin! sends you into the past in the sandals of Sakamoto Ryoma, who embarks on a journey of revenge, betrayal and too many nights inside the karaoke bar. Whether you’re a seasoned Yakuza connoisseur or new to the series, there’s a lot to keep in mind.

If you are wondering if you can play Like a Dragon: Ishin! without using the Trooper card mechanic or want to know how to best optimize your time getting from A to B, our tips below will provide the guidance you’re looking for. Also, in case you’re wondering: Unlike Kiryu, yes, Sakamoto Ryoma openly kills people.

You are playing Like a Dragon: Ishin! no Trooper cards

You can play Like a Dragon: Ishin! without using Trooper cards — active and passive skills you can carry. The mechanic is automatically unlocked as you follow the main story and you will earn more as you play. They are neat, but can be distracting.

Once you have access to the Trooper Cards system, hit the pause button, head to Troopers, then Remove Squads to get rid of them.

I found them quite useful, allowing me to deal with large enemy groups, trigger health regeneration and more. But, again, it’s up to you whether you want to use them or not. Just keep in mind that some bosses will use similar skills during their encounters, so the game expects you to use them. But hey, your sword will do the trick just fine.

Image: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega

Stop for pot whenever you can

As you walk, you will see many flower pots on the road. They keep random items and over time, these groups of items are replenished. Simply put, you can come across the same container multiple times and find something new in each one. This takes time, of course – precious seconds, in fact. But it is worth the monotonous suffering. You might end up getting an item you’ll need later, a handy crafty resource, or even a vitamin pill to fix you up.

Try to keep your pockets empty

In Like a Dragon: Ishin!, especially at the beginning, you are bound to run out of inventory space quickly. The game handles this in a neat way though, giving you the option to send something to your storage to make room. If you select the item you want to buy, for example, the game will send that item directly to storage and keep whatever else you have in your pockets in place.

Over time, this can become a bit difficult. During the long battle sequences of the main story, for example, he’ll drop healing items as loot on the ground. If your inventory is full, an error message will appear. Sure, you can just use or discard a random item to make room, but it’s not practical. Always try to keep your pockets empty.

Also, remember that you can increase your inventory space by spending Virtue on altars. Having said that…

You should keep your Virtue until Chapter 4

Except for inventory or run speed upgrades, which you should get at least one of each, try to save your Virtue until you reach chapter four. This is the main story point where you will have access IshinAnother Life item — essentially a life-sim minigame — and with it, the list of upgrades and items you can buy using this currency grows enormously. If you want to get the most out of Another Life, some upgrades will be mandatory, such as increasing the size and speed of your farm. Just being able to buy them right away will help with that.

Here’s what Ryo means, by the way

If you are wondering what “ryo” means. Like a Dragon: Ishin!, here is the answer. In the game, money is divided into two currencies: mon equals anything from 1 to 9,999, while ryo shows 10,000. (If you are familiar with World of Warcraftthis is similar to how Bronze, Silver, and Gold work.)

If you have 5 ryo and 2,664 mon in your inventory, for example, it means you are carrying a total of 52,664 mon. You can always see the current amount in the top right corner of the pause menu.

Image: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega

Bring your weapons to a sword fight

This will depend on your preferences during enemy encounters, but honestly, you should really use your pistols. Several enemies only rely on swords and you can gain a huge advantage by simply standing back and shooting them. Sure, it’s not really a fair way to do it, but who cares? It’s often the most practical, especially during certain boss encounters. Once they start performing a flurry of attacks, move aside and shoot them. This will ensure that you are always dealing damage without putting yourself in danger too often.

There is an easy shortcut to Mukurogai

If you give a drink to the guy guarding the entrance to Rakugai, either outside or inside Mukurogai, he’ll let you through the door. From then on, just talk to him to get by. You won’t have to head to Fushimi and pay for the ferry every time again. Unless you want to.

Watch out for Golden Sneak Enemies

When you’re rushing from A to B, you might be tempted to try to avoid hostile encounters as much as possible. That being said, if you see a single enemy wearing a gold-colored mask and robes, I recommend standing your ground and fighting them. They may be tough, but they also carry some of the rarest items in the game, especially for crafting.

You need specific abilities to equip special weapons

If you’re wondering why you can’t equip special weapons Like a Dragon: Ishin!, there is a reason for that. You must purchase the relevant skill in the skill trees to use special weapon types. Additionally, some are locked, and you’ll need to find an NPC who can grant you the ability — in this case, a license — to use that weapon.

Then, while using the Brawler fighting style, press Down on the D-Pad to select the special weapon you have equipped.

Check-in to Another Life remotely

On the pause screen, you can select the Another Life menu to check Haruka’s confidence progress, for example. But, at the same time, this can be very useful when you are somewhere else and need to double-check something quickly. This includes the farm aspect so you can see if your vegetables are ready to harvest or even read the list of meal recipes in case you’re out shopping and need a quick reminder of the ingredients you’re missing.

Palanquin rides are the taxi equivalent

Yes, there is some kind of fast travel system in the game, with palanquins. Look for the icon on the map — there’s at least one in each area that can take you to one of the other spots. For a small amount of money, of course.