Each combat animation looks fine in isolation, but in motion the results look stiff, with no real transitions between poses and actions. I have to imagine there are technical constraints based on how the original game was built that restrict the kinds of improvements that are easily possible here. Character models don't correspond at all to environmental lighting conditions either. The UE4 conversion hasn't done a whole lot for the lighting here, which tends to look very plain and dated. Lighting issues pop up from time to time as well, though these are mostly restricted to interior spaces. Ishin often has the sort of stark, boxy look that older games often exhibit when rendered at high resolutions. At a distance, it doesn't stand out very much but at close range you don't get the complex, geometry-rich modelling we're used to seeing in modern games. Expect to see the same angular geometry across the gameworld, and the same basic 2D art plastered across most surfaces, sometimes at a higher resolution but otherwise identical to the original work. Most of the game's environmental geometry and base textures are essentially unchanged. The most substantial fault comes down to environmental asset quality. With that said it is important to keep expectations in check with this game, because there are a lot of visual holdovers from the original release, and they can be distracting. All the UE4 niceties are on display here, including a creamy and smooth bokeh depth of field, and any of the game's PS3-era visual faults are usually kept out of frame - or at least out of focus. The dramatic, action-oriented direction of the original work really shines with higher-grade digital actors and modern lighting. Those cutscenes are a particularly strong visual standout in this new version. And character assets vary a lot depending on the scene - in cutscenes they often look excellent, but gameplay models are substantially more primitive. Side characters also exhibit visual upgrades, though they appear more closely derived from the original work. Understandably, these improvements apply mostly to the main cast. Like a Dragon: Ishin! Here's the video tech review by Oliver Mackenzie. Hair appears to be strand-based, skin textures and lighting response seem much more realistic, and facial geometry has been refined. The overall designs are similar, but the modelling in many cases has been more or less completely redone. Character models have also seen a comprehensive upgrade. It's nothing too out of the ordinary for a modern title, but there's a good level of detail, and it absolutely blows the original game out of the water. Light bounce is evident across a wide range of conditions, with an especially impressive appearance during daylight hours. Lighting in particular looks totally different - the new version has very good looking baked lighting effects that provide more satisfying indirect shade. In side-by-side comparisons, the improvements are often vast. The game logic and animation seem very similar, but the renderer has been swapped out for UE4 and assets have been modified or replaced to suit the new visual targets. Obviously that wouldn't hold up especially well at the moment, so the developers at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios have taken a sort of hybrid approach to updating the game - lying somewhere between a remaster and a remake. It was also released on PS4, but that version was very similar to PS3, as you might expect. This is a game that was originally developed around the PlayStation 3, with graphics and scope constrained around seventh-gen console hardware. It's very important to understand what Like A Dragon: Ishin is, and what it isn't. So the question is, does the game hold up on the latest consoles and PC - and what are the plus and minus points of jettisoning the developer's bespoke Dragon Engine in favour of Epic's ubiquitous middleware? Some nine years later, the game has finally been localised for international audiences and dramatically updated with modern technology - in this case, Epic's Unreal Engine 4. Its original release came all the way back in 2014, but the game's heavy reliance on Edo-period Japanese history meant that its initial version was only released in the developer's home country, on PS3 and PS4 no less. The game itself is a side-story in the Like A Dragon franchise, which was up until recently known in the west as Yakuza. Like A Dragon: Ishin is a game that requires a bit of explanation.
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