10 Best Samurai & Ninja Video Games Of All Time

3. Like A Dragon: Ishin

ninja gaiden
Ryu Ga Gotoku

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio are the devs behind the Yakuza series - now officially called the Like A Dragon series here in the west. Ishin was initially a 2014 spin-off of to their flagship series following the exploits of Kiryu Kazuma in the industry of Japanese criminal syndicates. Ishin moves the setting from the more modern times in Tokyo, to the Bakumatsu period of the late 19th century in Kyoto. It has gotten a recent remake updating the graphics and gameplay, and also finally got a western release.

All of the characters in the game are played by recurring characters in the mainline Like A Dragon series - Kiryu, himself, plays famous revolutionary Sakamoto Ryoma and also legendary Shinsengumi captain Saito Hajime. Fan-favorites Majima Goro and Taiga Saejima portray Shinsengumi captains Okita Souji and Nagakura Shinpachi, respectively, and even Shibusawa Keiji - antagonist of Yakuza 0 - as Ryoma’s sworn brother, Takechi Hanpeita.

It’s basically the wild, melodramatic antics and gameplay of the Like A Dragon series, but set in the tail-end of the Edo period. Katana and pistols abound in this story of revolution, betrayal, and even a little bit of running a small farm and petting cats. It even contains a naked fistfight in a steamy sauna!

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Author of Escort (Eternal Press, 2015), co-founder of Nic3Ntertainment, and developer behind The Sickle Upon Sekigahara (2020). Currently freelancing as a game developer and history consultant. Also tends to travel the eastern U.S. doing courses on History, Writing, and Japanese Poetry. You can find his portfolio at www.richardcshaffer.com.