Like a Dragon: Ishin!

A full life sim where Ryoma works a country villa — farming, cooking, fishing, and trading — to pay off Haruka's family debt. It's the heart of Ishin's minigame spread, the spiritual successor to the series' apartment/management modes.

• Unlocks around Chapter 3–4. Start by cycling fast crops (daikon, cucumber, carrot) in the garden for a steady income base.
• Spend Virtue at the shrine to expand the plot and improve growth speed/yield — late-game efficiency snowballs.
• Cooking is a bundle of rhythm games (chopping, fire-stoking, pouring stock, grilling). Perfect timing raises meal quality and Haruka's affection.
• Use the bookcase indoors to take trading orders — sell produce, meals, and fish at a premium to pay down the debt.
• Ginseng is the single most profitable crop: it costs 10,000 Virtue to unlock, but high-end orders pay ~45,000 mon each, and those orders usually need only one ginseng — once your plot is large, keep about two squares dedicated to it.
• Filling a trade order pays far more than selling the same item directly — orders also grant Virtue, so always route surplus into orders first.
• The cooking rhythm games are not randomized — the timing is fixed, so once you memorize a recipe you can nail it every time; a flawless run yields a 'Premium' dish with doubled effects.
• Upgrade priority: rush the first two Farm Expansion levels while grinding Virtue with fast crops (daikon, etc.). Don't waste fertilizer on fast crops — save it for slow-growing ones.

An Ishin-exclusive rhythm game themed on traditional Japanese dance. Like karaoke, you time button presses to an on-screen guide.

• From Chapter 3, approach the south side of the large purple building in NE Rakunai to trigger the 'Nichibuza's Newest Fan' substory that unlocks it.
• Press the matching direction/button the instant the white bar reaches the end of the circle — 'Beautiful' is the top grade.
• Beginner uses 4 buttons; higher difficulties double to 8. For completion only, clear the easy songs first.
• The songs follow a 'tan-tan ta-ta-tan' rhythm and the prompts mostly track that beat — hum the melody to internalize the timing and 'Beautiful' grades come far more easily.

A Bakumatsu-flavored take on series karaoke — sing along with a 4-button rhythm guide. Casual and easy to clear for completion.

• Hit the button when the marker overlaps the guide ring exactly for a 'Perfect' grade.
• Completion only needs you to finish one song — focus on not missing notes rather than chasing score.

A street dice game where three dice are thrown into a bowl and scored by combinations. Heavily luck-based but simple — one round registers it.

• A triple or 4-5-6 is an instant win; 1-2-3 is an instant loss.
• When two dice match, the odd one out is your 'point' — the higher it is, the better.

A two-player hanafuda card game where you build scoring combinations (yaku). Reliable wins once you learn the rules.

• Match a card from your hand to a field card of the same month to capture both — collect by month.
• When a yaku forms, choose 'Koi-Koi' to keep going for more or 'Shobu' to cash in. For completion, take the small yaku and call Shobu.

A baccarat-like Japanese card game where you aim for a hand total whose last digit is closest to 9. Simple and quick to register.

• Only the ones digit of your total counts (e.g. 15 → 5). A 9 ('Kabu') is the best score.
• Decide whether to draw a third card on a low total — standing on a 6 or 7 is usually safe.

Standard five-card draw poker, available at the gambling den. A single hand registers it for completion.

• Keep anything usable (a pair or better) and swap the rest to chase a stronger hand.
• Completion ignores win/loss — just play one round through to the end.

Standard Japanese riichi mahjong — the series' biggest wall if you don't know the rules, but one pattern is enough for completion.

• Keep your hand fully closed (no Pon/Chi) so you can declare Riichi.
• Chase Tanyao (simples 2–8). When you're one tile from a complete hand, declare Riichi to attach a yaku.
• Completion only needs a win, not a big score — prioritize fast hands.
• In the rules, turn on Kuitan (open Tanyao allowed) and Red Dora, and disable the 2-han minimum — this lets you Pon/Chi your way to a fast open Tanyao, making a win much easier.

Japanese chess — the key twist from Western chess is dropping captured pieces back onto the board.

• Build a castle (gakoi) around your king first — Mino castle is the easiest starter.
• Drop captured pieces deep into enemy territory to apply pressure.
• Completion needs just one win — pick a weaker opponent if you're struggling.

A betting mini-game where you wager on which chicken is fastest. A well-known money farm later on; a single bet registers it for completion.

• Available in Rakugai from Chapter 3. Check each chicken's stats and odds before wagering.
• Low-odds (favorite) chickens are safer; for grinding money, bet consistently on the high-stat birds.
• When picking a bird, check (1) Condition (an up arrow = peak), (2) Past Results (the three-digit number = its recent finishing places), and (3) distance aptitude (L/M/S) matching this race's length — a strong bird that has recovered to good condition is the safest pick.
• Reliable money farm: save outside the arena, lock one strong bird as 1st place, bet 300 on every Exacta combination with that bird winning, then save on a win and reload on a loss. Exchange 1,500 tags at the Gambling Den for a Platinum Plate and sell it to the Ebisu pawnbroker for ~3 ryo 7,500 mon.

A simplified fishing minigame: place your lure in the fish's path to draw a bite. Also a good source of ingredients for Another Life trading.

• Keep the lure still so it's stationary when the fish's silhouette crosses it to attract attention.
• Hook on the prompt after a bite, then reel in larger fish while managing line tension.