One of the biggest success stories over the past few years has been the incredible growth of SEGA’s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. For the better part of a decade, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s main output had been the Yakuza series (including unlocalised spin-off Yakuza Ishin), but it wasn’t until the release of Yakuza 0 where the franchise really began to gain more traction. After that, SEGA and RGGS began to release games on Xbox and PC, including day one releases on Xbox Game Pass for many titles, upping the profile of their franchises even further, while spin-off titles like Judgment or Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise carved out their own successes.
With the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series in the best place it’s ever been, SEGA and RGGS are now going back to some of their more obscure games, remastering their samurai spin-off Ishin for modern audiences on current hardware in the form of Like A Dragon: Ishin. Given the franchise’s relationship with Xbox Game Pass already, many are likely wondering whether or not this remastering will be coming to the subscription service on day one. Here’s everything you need to know about if Like A Dragon: Ishin is coming to Xbox Game Pass.
About Like A Dragon: Ishin
Unlike the normal Yakuza games, which are set in modern-day Japan, Like A Dragon: Ishin goes back to the tail-end of Feudal Japan, meaning a whole new story and set of characters unrelated to the events of the main series. However, a lot of the actors and character models in Like A Dragon: Ishin are imported from the main series, meaning there’s plenty of recognisable faces to meet if you’re a veteran of the series.
The story of Ishin focuses on the real life group of samurai known as the Shinsengumi, a special police force composed of skilled swordsmen whose main decree was to protect shogunate officials in Kyoto. Players control a fictionalised version of Sakamoto Ryoma, who just so happens to look and sound like Kazuma Kiryu, as he infiltrates the Shinsengumi in the hopes of finding his mentor’s killer.
Like A Dragon: Ishin & Xbox Game Pass
As mentioned earlier, the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series has benefited from a fruitful relationship with Xbox Game Pass, with Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza: The Remastered Collection (which includes Yakuza 3, 4 and 5) and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life all launching on Xbox Game Pass the day they came to Xbox. On top of that, SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have even brought Yakuza: Like A Dragon, the seventh entry in the series which features a brand new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, to Game Pass too.
Unfortunately, Like A Dragon: Ishin will not be launching on Xbox Game Pass when it is released on February 21st. Players who want to experience this samurai epic for themselves will have to shell out for it. However, that doesn’t mean that Like A Dragon: Ishin won’t come to Xbox Game Pass at some point in the future, as again, Yakuza: Like A Dragon found its way to Xbox Game Pass some months after launch.
Like A Dragon: Ishin releases on February 21st for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X & S.
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