Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin (released in Japan in February 2014) is a spin-off game set at the end of the Edo period of Japanese history (known as the Bakumatsu period), a period when the Tokugawa Shogunate came to an end and imperial rule was restored (Meiji Restoration).
Sakamoto Ryoma is living undercover, with a false identity, as "Saito Hajime" in Kyoto. One year earlier, on the eve of the coup d'état of Tosa, Ryoma's foster father, the man who raised him, was murdered before his eyes. The only lead he had to discover who the killer was is that he used the Tennen Rishin style of fighting. This is a style used by the Shinsengumi, so Ryoma infiltrates their ranks, becoming captain of the 3rd Shinsengumi unit, in attempt to find the killer.
Big thanks to Kevin Debrabandere for creating a PDF for the entire Ishin guide. You can download the PDF version of the guide here. Please be advised that the PDF is outdated now, but still contains information for the whole game.
The chapter starts with Ryoma leaving Terada Inn. Otose tells him he's forgotten something important and Oryo brings out his captain's uniform. After that, Ryoma says he should head over to the Shinsengumi HQ.
You can now do some of the Chapter 5 substories.
Also, enemies in random encounters are now more likely to drop rarer items than they did in previous chapters (although this seems to stop after you've been introduced to the battle dungeon later on and enemies go back to their usual item drops)
[1]
Go to the Shinsengumi HQ and talk to Todo. He says he'll show Ryoma around the HQ; just follow him. Every now and then he'll stop and tell Ryoma about a different building, but the only important thing is right at the end - After he finishes showing you around, you can now do the Battle Dungeon missions.
[2]
Speak to the receptionist and you begin the Battle Dungeon tutorial.
First it will tell you about cards and how to "equip" then in your units for use in the battle dungeon. Select the top option when it asks you to, then select the empty corporal slot in the first unit (first slot) and put the green card in (the game highlights the card it wants you to put in). Each unit has a corporal and soldiers. Cards have both a regular effect (when used as a regular soldier card) and a corporal effect (when used in the corporal slot).
Then it will show you the battle dungeon missions themselves - select the top option when it asks you to and it shows you the available battle dungeons (only 1 available at the moment) - select it and then you get a list of missions - you only have one but unlock more as you complete them. Select the top mission. You can then select which unit you'd like to use - the game wants you to select the top unit for this tutorial.
When in the dungeon, the game explains how to use cards - Hold L2 and use a directional button to select a card. The game wants you to use L2+up directional button. After using a card, the gauge on the left-hand-side of the cards (on the right hand side of the screen) starts dropping, when it gets to 0 the ability wears off and then starts refilling again. You can't use the ability again until it refills.
After that, it gives you a choice of whether you want the card abilities to be automated or if you want to control them yourself - press X to set it to automatic and CIRCLE to set it to manual. You can always change the setting at the battle dungeon reception.
Destroy items you find lying around the level (like pots, boxes, etc) because they often drop equipment materials.
For full details of the Battle Dungeon and soldier cards, please visit the Battle Dungeon and Soldier Card pages.
After completing the Battle Dungeon mission, the receptionist tells Ryoma that he can now enlist fighters to join his unit (as soldier cards).
After this, Ryoma says he should head back to Terada Inn.
As you go to leave the Shinsengumi HQ, a soldier from the 8th unit (Todo's unit) approaches Ryoma and tells him about a soldier from the 3rd unit who abandoned the group after the Yamanami incidents. Being the captain of the 3rd unit, Ryoma has to deal with this.
Until you proceed to the next part of the story, you cannot use any forms of transport (Palanquins, Boats), or trigger any substories.
[1]
When you get here, someone calls out "Saito Hajime". The man introduces himself as "Yamazaki", a Shinsengumi inspector. He talks to Ryoma about the soldier from the 3rd unit that abandoned the Shinsengumi, telling him he'll find the man at a place in Gion called "Hinataya". Ryoma says he'll head over there to deal with it.
You can now do the rest of the Chapter 5 substories. Also, you can now use transport again.
[1]
Go here and speak to Todo. He says he'll stay outside to stop the guy from making a run for it while Ryoma goes inside to deal with him. Select the TOP OPTION to go in. Ryoma speaks with a courtesan, asking if the guy is around (the woman is Mizuki and the guy from the Shinsengumi is Akimoto - recurring side-characters from previous games in the series!). She tries to get "friendly" with Ryoma, but then Akimoto returns, telling Ryoma to leave her alone. Ryoma asks him to come back to the HQ with him, but he refuses. A fight against Akimoto begins.
After the fight, Akimoto explains he joined the Shinsengumi because he thought it sounded cool at the time, but all they did was kill people and he couldn't do it anymore. Ryoma tells him to just get out of the capital then, rather than come back to HQ. He tells him to go out the back, because Todo is waiting around out the front. But as Akimoto is trying to convince Mizuki to run off with him, Todo appears and kills him. Ryoma asks why he killed him, saying there was no need to do it. Todo says the Shinsengumi, and the capital itself, is not such a decent place - it's all about "kill or be killed" - because that's the kind of era this is, an era of chaos. After that, Todo leaves, and points out that even if Akimoto had escaped out the back he'd have died, because he had some of his men positioned out there. He then reminds Ryoma that deserting the Shinsengumi is unforgivable.
After leaving the building, Ryoma says he should head over to the Shinsengumi HQ.
[1]
Enter the Shinsengumi HQ area to trigger an event. Tani is talking with some of his men and Ryoma asks what's going on. Tani tells him it's none of his business and heads off with his men. Then the 6th captain (Inoue) talks to Ryoma about "The killer, Izo", referring to Okada Izo of the Tosa Loyalist Party. Apparently their inspector, Yamazaki, has discovered his location and now Tani and Suzuki have head out to kill him. Inoue tells Ryoma that Izo is at the gambling den in Rakugai and tells Ryoma to go over there as well.
[1]
Go to the gambling den and meet up with the other captains. Tani says he wants to go after Izo and leaves Suzuki, Inoue and Ryoma to fight the guys standing guard outside the gambling den.
After the fight, the other captains follow in after Tani. Izo takes out Tani with great ease, which startles Suzuki, who draws his pistol and tells him no matter how stilled he is, a pistol can take him down. After missing him with every shot, he charges at Izo and is taken out just as easily as Tani. After Inoue and Ryoma enter the room, Izo taunts them, "this is how good the captains of the Shinsengumi are? I heard the Shinsengumi was the greatest fighting force in the world". Ryoma tells Inoue to leave Izo to him.
After the fight, Inoue is about to kill him but Ryoma stops him. Ryoma manages to convince Inoue to not kill him, then some police show up and take Okada away.
When they leave, Inoue explains to Ryoma that they were under orders to capture Izo alive, so he wasn't going to kill him anyway - he was just testing Ryoma, so he could see what kind of man he is. He tells Ryoma Izo is being taken back to Tosa, under orders of Daimyo Yamauchi Yodo. He says he doesn't know the details of it all, but Yamauchi Yodo is planning to shut down the Tosa Loyalist Party. Apparently they plan on torturing Izo to get information on Takechi Hanpeita, leader of the Tosa Loyalist Party.
Return to your room in Terada Inn and sleep in the bed to trigger the next event.
Nakaoka enters the room, saying he heard Ryoma got hold of Okada Izo. They talk about Takechi and their own job to track down Toyo's killer. Ryoma says there are things he must do, which is why he and Takechi have chosen different paths now, then says, "don't die, Kyodai...".
