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Like a Dragon: Ishin

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All Bonds in Rakugai

By
Nathan Garvin

Ryoma can form bonds with various NPCs in Kyo, the more you interact with these NPCs, the higher your bond will rise. As your bond increases, you may trigger various events pertaining to that character, and if you max out your bond you may earn gifts and virtue. Below you’ll find information about finding and completing all the bonds in the Rakugai region in Like a Dragon: Ishin!.

(1 of 4) Visit the Chicken Racing Den in Umekojicho, Rakugai,

Bond with Chicken Race Receptionist

Near the western end of Rakugai you’ll find the Umekojicho region, where the Chicken Racing Den can be found south of a Creepy Bar. The Chicken Racing Den is arguably the best spot to make money for much of the game, albeit after you earn seed money chopping wood and playing poker. Point is, there’s plenty of incentive to go to the Chicken Racing Den even if you don’t care about raising bonds - check out the page Best Ways to Make Money in Like a Dragon: Ishin! for more details on fattening your wallet.

To forge and increase your bond with the Chicken Race Receptionist you don’t even need to bet on Chicken Races - just watching the races is sufficient. Still, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t lump this in with some gambling to build up a nest egg. Watch races - whether you bet or not - and you’ll get a significant bond boost after your first race.

Repeat the process, watch a race, then exit the Chicken Racing Den to get roughly a 20% boost to your bond bar, and on your fourth visit (with roughly 60% of the bond bar filled) you’ll find that the Chicken Race Receptionist is a bit bummed. He plays it off, so just watch another race, then leave, only to find that the Chicken Race Receptionist’s composure has slipped even more since the last time you talked to him. After some prompting he’ll reveal that he lost big on a bet earlier, which has hindered his hopes of achieving a… carnal dream of his. TMI, my dude.

Exit the den and return to find that the Chicken Racing Receptionist is being even more melodramatic than last time… but this time because he’s winning! As he approaches final victory, however, he’s losing his nerve, and will delegate his last bet to Ryoma. Oddly enough for a gambling-based bond (that doesn’t require you actually ever gamble), your choice here is meaningless. Pick whichever bird you wish and after you get the results, the Chicken Race Receptionist will give you a Broken Compass. This maxes out your bond with the Chicken Race Receptionist, earning you the obligatory 2,250 Virtue.

(1 of 4) Along the western end of Rakugai you’ll find the Uji Tea Parlor.

Bond with Uji Tea Parlor Girl

You’ll find the Uji Tea Parlor along the western edge of Rakugai, in the West Umekojicho area. Talk to the receptionist, Sumire, and buy any of the drinks or meals offered to start a bond with the Uji Tea Parlor Girl. You’ll get a tiny bit of bond each time you purchase something here, and honestly might as well just buy everything on the menu you get enough bond to progress things. This will progress the Restaurant Rookie line of tasks in your “Diligence Records” as well as help satisfy the requirements for the “I’ll Have One of Everything” achievement. This is also somewhat expensive - purchasing one of each item on the menu will cost 3,080 mon over nine visits.

Once your bond meter is filled to around 60%, order some more sustenance at the Uji Tea Parlor and afterwards Ryoma will overhear Sumire sighing and inquire what’s wrong. Long story short, Sumire’s boyfriend is a lout and Ryoma is… interested enough in Sumire to push her to break up with him? Oh well, Ryoma’s dubious motivations aside, guy sounds like a scumbag. Sumire will promise to tell you how things went on your next visit, so you’ll have to leave the area and return to advance this bond.

Do so and you’ll find Sumire at her usual spot, along with a man. Approach and you’ll find out that sure enough, it’s her boyfriend, Shinsuke, and he’s even worse than Sumire let on. It’s no surprise that Ryoma, who was keen enough to break the two up without Shinsuke actively extorting Sumire in front of him, is willing to thrash Shinsuke to end their relationship for good. Shinsuke is a fairly uninspiring brawler, aggressive, and with more health than the weakest foes you’ll encounter on the streets, but he’s not exceptionally durable, either. Give him a good thrashing by whatever means you see fit and Sumire will thank Ryoma and hint at some romantic interest. Her bond will fill after this, thankfully, and you’ll earn the standard 2,250 Virtue.

(1 of 3) Start a bond with the Rakugai Arms Dealer by purchasing something from him, and keep making purchases to increase your bond further.

Bond with Rakugai Arms Dealer

One of the more tedious and expensive bonds to raise, you can find the Rakugai Arms Dealer’s shop along the western end of Rakugai, just southeast of the Uji Tea Parlor. Visit the shop and make a purchase - any purchase - from the gruff proprietor and he’ll take a liking to Ryoma for being more than a mere window shopper. He wants to sell his weapons to real warriors, but as he’s never actually had to use one of his weapons in self-defense, he doesn’t really know what that means - keep purchasing stuff from him (the number of transactions matters, not what your purchase or how much you spend) and he’ll ask you questions as you reach various levels of bond. Your responses don’t matter, although Ryoma fusses over the Rakugai Arms Dealer’s response nonetheless.

This is a fairly expensive and tedious process - you’ll need to buy 27 items from the Rakugai Arms Dealer to max out his bond, and the cheapest item he sells - a Bundle Blade - costs 1,000 mon. That’s 2 ryo, 7,000 mon to max out the Rakugai Arms Dealer’s bond. Persist and you’ll be rewarded with a Dragon Fang and the Rakugai Arms Dealer will open up his “special stock” to you… which in this case means he’ll sell you Worn Swords as well as Bundle Blades and Handy Blades. Maxing out your bond with the Rakugai Arms Dealer will also net you 2,250 Virtue.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Sega
  • Platforms,
    PS4, PS5, Steam, XB One, XB X|S
  • Genre
    Action RPG
  • Guide Release
    17 February 2023
  • Last Updated
    20 March 2023
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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Like a Dragon: Ishin is set in 1860’s Japan during the Bakumatsu era at the end of the Edo Period. Take up the sword of Sakamoto Ryoma, framed for killing his father, and restore honor to his name while dealing with the political intrigue that he gets thrown in to. This guide for Like a Dragon: Ishin contains the following:

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