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Like a Dragon: Ishin

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Masked Man Boss Fight

By
Jarrod Garripoli

The Like A Dragon series has featured plenty of boss fights that are challenging to the player, and Like A Dragon Ishin is no exception. At the end of Chapter 1, you will face your greatest challenge in the game thus far, the Masked Man.

The Masked Man will be your first challenging opponent in the game

How to Defeat the Masked Man in Like A Dragon Ishin

The Masked Man will be your first proper boss fight of the game and you will need to be very careful with him. First and foremost, you hopefully explored the castle and snagged all of the items within, as there are some All-Purpose Medicines to help with healing. Likewise, you probably should have bought some Ointments from the one merchant before leaving for the castle. Do not be afraid to heal here, as getting use to the combat and a challenging opponent will leave you likely getting hit quite often.

The problem with the Masked Man is that he moves quick, dodges/blocks a lot of your attacks, and will sometimes just tank a hit to attack you. Being aggressive here is not the best option, especially if you’re playing on a higher difficulty. You will need to play a defensive game here, striking whenever the Masked Man has finished a combo. For that reason, the Swordsman and Brawler styles should be the better options. For one, Gunman and Wild Dancer cannot block at all, while the Swordsman can block attacks and Brawler has its parry.

(1 of 3) The Masked Man will dodge your attacks quite often

Likewise, the Brawler has a skill in its tree, relatively early on, that increases the speed of its attacks. This might be a good thing to have at this point, since you want to get your attacks off quickly. If you decide to use Swordsman, then you want to avoid using the charge attacks, since you are likely never going to connect with those, as the Masked Man will move out of the way or do something else. You will also not want to commit to just mashing the attack button, since the boss can (and will) block/deflect your attacks, at some point.

Despite the Brawler and Swordsman having the parry and block, respectively, that doesn’t mean the other two styles are completely irrelevant. Wild Dancer can be great because of its evasion, plus you also have access to ranged attacks. Likewise, the Gunman allows you to pick at your opponent from a distance, and literally lets you play a game of cat and mouse with the Masked Man. If you have success with these two styles, then you should continue using them.

(1 of 2) Using Swordsman to block his attacks is a good idea

Using Swordsman to block his attacks is a good idea (left), There will be a QTE during the final cutscene of the battle (right)

Thankfully, what seems like a long fight is cut short, though, once you get the Masked Man’s health low enough (a little over halfway on the bar). A cutscene will trigger at this point, which has a quick-time event, so keep an eye out for the button press after the sword flips into the air. As soon as the cutscene is over, the battle will be finished, too.

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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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