A new translation patch was released earlier this month for the Like A Dragon samurai spin-off, Like A Dragon: Ishin! (otherwise known as Ryū ga Gotoku: Ishin!).
Like A Dragon: Ishin! was originally released exclusively in Japan for the PS3 and PS4, and primarily focuses on the character Sakamoto Ryōma, a lowly samurai who must set out to take revenge on those who killed his stepfather.
It is the second samurai-era-set game in the series, following 2008's Like A Dragon: Kenzan! / Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan!, but takes place two centuries later and, as a result, understandably features an entirely different cast.
In 2023, the game was later remade for PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, finally receiving a worldwide release. However, this version of the game recast many of the original voice actors and also featured some other tweaks and changes to the gameplay. As a result, some fans may want to go back to the original game to experience what it was like for themselves.
This is where this brand-new patch comes in, with it essentially altering the Japanese-exclusive PS3 version of the game to be more accessible to Western gamers. It is the work of a group of individuals including MajDima (hacking, textures, editing, etc), toyotasupra2 (translation of cut content, help with textures, testing), and jurxd (testing). MajDima previously released English patches for the Japan-exclusive PS3 versions of Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza 0, and also seems to currently be working on a patch for Kenzan! as we speak.
Here's what they said about the project:
"Well, I finally finished working on the full translation of Like a Dragon Ishin! for PS3. During this long time, a ton of technical problems, bugs, engine limits, etc. were overcome. I gained a ton of experience and explored a ton of aspects of this game to make the best possible translation. Some minor flaws remained, since their solution requires too deep analysis of the engine, so the result is not worth the work and they are barely noticeable. In any case, enjoy the game."
You can download the patch now from ModDB, if you want to check it out. The patch is intended for the disc version of the game and was created to work with both PS3 and the RPCS3 emulator.