Like A Dragon: Ishin Combat Trailer Reminds You To Bring A Gun To A Swordfight

A new trailer has shown off more of the combat in Like a Dragon: Ishin, the upcoming remake of the 2013 PS3 and PS4 game that was originally a Japanese exclusive. Set in 1860s Kyoto, players will be able to wield the sword of Sakamoto Ryoma as he searches for the man who killed his father. And if the way of the blade isn’t enough, you can always pull out a gun to help settle any historical arguments.

In addition to the Swordsman and Gunman combat styles, Ryoma can also use his unarmed Brawler combat stance to beat down enemies, or try out the hybrid Wild Dancer style, which merges his armed styles into a deadly ballet of blades and bullets. In typical Like a Dragon fashion, combat also features plenty of stylish finishers and brutally ridiculous moves to pull off, such as stabbing an enemy in the gut with a sword, using it as a springboard and then emptying a revolver chamber into them while airborne.

While each style has its own strengths and weaknesses, you’ll need to combine all four of them into a fluid sequence of attacks if you want to survive long enough for Ryoma to see the end of the samurai era. Like a Dragon: Ishin, which was considered to be an “impossible” port for many years by by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, will launch on February 21, 2023, on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.

Beyond that, fans of the studio can also look forward to Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name next year and Like a Dragon 8 is scheduled to launch in 2024 on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. It won’t be coming to Nintendo Switch though, due to the series being “too underground” for the platform, according to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama.