Like a Dragon: Ishin! is rooted in real Japanese history, like the story of Sakamoto Ryoma and the Shinsengumi. Can you explain how the team adapts that history while still providing the style and flair fans expect from the Like a Dragon games?Sakamoto:
The way we see it, there have already been many games set in the Bakumatsu time period with Sakamoto Ryoma, who is a prominent figure of that era. Historical accuracy on its own is not enough. We needed to consider: How do we make these concepts new and interesting?
We thought quite a bit about how we could apply our signature RGG style of narrative storytelling, humor, and tone to a historical setting. We started with studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama’s idea of “What if Sakamoto Ryoma, a man of mystery, actually used an alias to enter the Shinsengumi?” Everything came together from there and we applied Ryu Ga Gotoku flair.
Are there any characters that you feel excited to revisit in Like a Dragon: Ishin!?
Sakamoto: I’m actually just happy seeing all of the characters traverse time to come together!
Given that this is a remake, are there any new gameplay features or other additions to the original game that the team wanted to include?
Sakamoto: One of our biggest changes to combat was enabling Trooper Cards and their Trooper Skills.
One of the highest points of positive reception [in the original game] was the Trooper Cards, powerful skills or temporary power-ups that the player can activate real-time. In the original, this feature was limited to certain areas, but this time around, players can utilize Trooper Skills anywhere in the main story once the feature is introduced. We really cranked it up a notch; there are a lot of new Troopers from previous games and even some special guests like Kenny Omega, Rahul Kohli, Nyanners and more! We hope you call upon these Ryu Ga Gotoku fans to support you in battle with their outrageous abilities.
Source: Unreal Engine Blog