“Like a Dragon: Ishin!” has a complex and rewarding weapon crafting system, but it can be a little overwhelming. The explanations come in one big chunk and you can see every weapon available in-game right from the beginning! But don’t worry, it’s not as all over the place as it might look. 

With this guide, you’ll learn about some of the best and most interesting weapons available, how they work, and how to get them. Not only will you be able to choose a top-tier weapon to work toward, but you’ll also gain a better understanding of stats and special effects in general. 

How Crafting Works

Almost all of the weapons on this list come from Kurogane Smithing, a blacksmith’s shop in Rakunai. You’ll unlock this feature automatically once you start Chapter 3 of the story, and the owner will kindly explain how everything works during your first visit. You can even check back on the information under the “Notebook” option in the main Kurogane menu.

You can do two things at Kurogane Smithing: crafting equipment, and enhancing equipment. To craft, you’ll need money, starting materials, and hammers. To enhance, you’ll need seals

Crafted items are organized in a tree. To unlock the last weapon in a branch, you need to craft all the items before it. You’ll also use those previous items as the base for new weapons. 

Hammers come in different grades of quality and determine the grade of your crafted equipment. The higher the grade, the higher your weapon’s attack and defense stats. 

The blacksmith also tells you that he will not craft any enchanted blades for you, as he finds them creepy and doesn’t want to curse his customers. However, it seems someone else in Kyo will sell us these items. 

The 12 Best Weapons And How To Get Them

Here are the 12 best weapons in the game, including four katana, four guns, and four special weapons. All of the stats noted are the base stats, so you can increase them even further if you use high-grade hammers to craft them.

Katana

Ryouma uses katana while in The Swordsman and The Wild Dancer stances. 

Eternal Gold

A fully gold sword seems more like a Majima weapon than a Ryoma weapon to me...

Before we cover all of the crazy end-game weapons, here’s a strong katana that you can craft early on in the game. All you need to do is turn the Handy Blade you received from the Blacksmith into the Radiant Drunkard and then collect the materials and money for Eternal Gold. 

This sword’s attack stats are high for this early in the game and it’ll also make your Heat Gauge charge up faster. This will allow you to pull off more special moves in a shorter amount of time. Also, the entire katana, including the blade, is gold — so it looks damn cool. 

Stats

• Attack: 385
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Charges up the Heat Gauge 7% faster
• Cost: 5 ryo, 5,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting the Radiant Drunkard 
• Collect 1 Gold Dust in Battle Dungeons 1-4
• Collect 5 Precious Steel from regular encounters

Okanehira

The Okanehira is a real historical sword on display at the Tokyo National Museum.

Okay, from this point we’re covering end-of-branch weapons only. These are the best in the game and you’ll need to advance much further than Chapter 3 to save up the money and collect the starting materials required to craft them. 

Okanehira is one of the few swords whose attack stats surpass 1,000, and its blade is also imbued with fire. This means your enemies will suffer from burns when you attack them, making them weaker for a period of time. It’s also more effective against armored enemies, who can be annoying to fight if your weapon can’t break through and do damage. 

Stats

• Attack: 1,020
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect 1: Adds the fire element 
• Special Effect 2: Increases attack power against armored enemies by 20%
• Cost: 129 ryo, 4,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting Shiranui
• Collect 2 Phoenix Feathers from various Battle Dungeons
• Collect 10 Gold Nuggets from the Shinto Priest or low-level Battle Dungeons
• Collect 10 Platinum filings from Battle Dungeons

Oni-maru

The name of this sowrd comes from the Japanese word for demons — "oni" — and the common name ending "maru."

When you see an NPC holding their arms or their weapon up in front of their face, they will deflect your attacks until you break their guard. With Oni-maru, the sword named after Japanese demons (oni), you can break these guard positions more frequently. It also has an attack power of 1,130 — the highest-scoring sword on this list.

With this katana, you can slash through your enemies like butter and there’s nothing they can do about it. In looks, it’s a stylish blade with hues of red and green on the handle — the colors of demons. 

Stats

• Attack: 1,130
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Attacks break the enemy’s guard 14% more often
• Cost: 129 ryo, 4,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting Close Shave
• Collect 10 Gold Chunks from Battle Dungeons
• Collect 5 Platinum filings from Battle Dungeons
• Collect 1 Charming Doll by clearing Substory 37: Death of the Author

Blade of the Shogun

"Shogun" was a title belonging to the military commander of Japan. This game is set during the reign of the final Shogun.

The Blade of the Shogun is imbued with the element of light — though what this does, we don’t actually know. Aside from this mysterious special effect, the sword also increases the effects of elemental attacks by an insane 75%. This means your fire, lightning, wind, and other elemental attacks will do 75% more damage while you have this sword equipped.

The sword is regal and expensive in appearance, with a bright gold handle and a glowing blue orb at the base. The Sword of the Shogun originates from a blade called the Worn Sword, which has an attack score of just 25. You can obtain this sword by maxing out your bond with the Rakugai Arms Dealer (yes, Rakunai and Rakugai are two different places — the first is directly above the other).  

Stats

• Attack: 1,045
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect 1: Adds the light element
• Special Effect 2: Increases the effects of elemental attacks by 75%
• Cost: 626 ryo, 4,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting the Rusted Conqueror’s Sword
• Collect 1 Rainbow Shard from Substory 18: The Reclusive Son or the Lottery
• Collect 1 Golden Medicine Case from Substory 45: It’s a Long Story

Guns

Guns are part of The Wild Dancer fighting style, which involves twirling around, slashing people with your katana, and then jumping back to shoot them with a pistol. 

Golden Gun

Anyone planning to win this beauty has an obligation to pair it with the Eternal Gold sword.

The Golden Gun is a weapon that shows up in all “Yakuza” and “Like a Dragon” titles, and “Ishin!” is no exception. It’s unquestionably the most powerful gun in the game, with no other even making it as high as 500. It also comes with two servings of 7% Heat Gauge consumption reduction, totaling 14% altogether. With this effect, you can pull out more special moves to wreck your enemies.

The only catch is that it costs 100,000 points at the Gambling Den. You can win points through the gambling minigames, or buy them for 100 mon each. So, to buy the Golden Gun without gambling, you’d need a whopping 1,000 ryo. This makes it the most expensive weapon on this list, with second place going to The Blade of the Shogun for 626 ryo, 4,000 mon. 

Stats

• Attack: 515
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Reduces Heat Gauge consumption by 14% when using special moves
• Cost: 100,000 points at the Gambling Den

How To Get It

• Play minigames at the Gambling Den in Rakunai (unlockable from Chapter 3)
• Save up 100,000 points to buy the Golden Gun

Soul Beat

The name of this gun is meant to be like a "heartbeat" but of the soul. Intense, bro.

Soul Beat is a great gun with a reasonable price tag and an insane special effect. With this gun, you can hit enemies with charged shots that have 600% more attack power than usual. This allows your Wild Dancer stance to do incredible damage from a distance, leaving your enemies riddled with holes while you remain untouched. 

There’s only a handful of guns in the game with an attack power of 400 or over, and this is one of the easier ones to get. It’s not too expensive, and the materials are all easily acquired from Battle Dungeons. Getting the Golden Gun will take time, so this is a great replacement until then. 

Stats

• Attack: 400
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Allows you to charge shots at 600% attack power
• Cost: 58 ryo, 8,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting Heartbeat
• Collect 10 Rusty Springs from Battle Dungeons
• Collect 5 Small Wind-up Devices from Battle Dungeons
• Collect 1 Aquamarine from the Arena Exchange or Battle Dungeons

Model 14

Don't ask why five broken compasses make a gun.

The Model 14 is pretty similar to Soul Beat, just with a higher attack score and a much higher price tag. With the Model 14, you’re paying for style. It’s an ultra-upgraded version of the Model 2, a real firearm that was manufactured in the 1860s. The blacksmiths at Kurogane are pretty amazing to upgrade it to the model 14, though, since that gun wasn’t released until the 1940s!

This gun allows you to charge shots at 300% attack power. That is less than Soul Beat but it’s still an amazing special effect and the gun makes up the difference with its 460 attack score. 

Stats

• Attack: 460
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Allows you to charge shots at 300% attack power
• Cost: 284 ryo, 7,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock by crafting the Model 10
• Collect 5 Broken Compasses from Battle Dungeons, Substory 37, or as a Max Bond reward
• Collect 10 Mechanical Parts from Battle Dungeons
• Collect 1 Dragon Whisker from Battle Dungeons or Substory 62: A Warlord’s Ambition

Indestructible Truth

The only indestructible truth about this gun is that it's going to kill a lot of people.

If you’re going for a defense-heavy build, then the Indestructible Truth is the gun for you. With a very respectable attack score of 410, this gun will not only make your enemies cry, but it’ll also keep you safe from harm. The weapon comes with a defense boost of 16 for your character, which, when combined with other defensive equipment, will make you impossibly difficult to kill. 

The Domestic Revolver you need to start this chain of upgrades is sold by the Mukurogai Arms Dealer. 

Stats

• Attack: 410
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Increase defense by 16
• Cost: 58 ryo, 8,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting Nio
• Collect 1 Jet Black Belt from Battle Dungeons
• Collect 5 Small Wind-up Devices from Battle Dungeons
• Collect 10 Rusty Springs from Battle Dungeons

Special

Special weapons are equipable when Ryouma is using The Brawler fighting style. In keeping with the classic “Like a Dragon” style, these items are a little out of the ordinary. 

Bonbori Lantern

Would an establishment that doesn't allow weapons let you take in this Bonbori Lantern?

The Bonbori Lantern is, unbelievably, one of the highest attack items in the game, despite being a festival decoration. Not only does it pack a punch, but it’s also imbued with both wind and poison elements which will down your enemies in no time. When made with the best-grade hammers, this pretty little glow stick has 1610 attack power!

The base item is the Odachi, a sword with a larger blade than a katana, which you can buy from the Mukurogai Arms Dealer. You’ll have to upgrade it four times to reach the Bonbori Lantern and spend a total of 162 ryo, 7,000 mon. 

Stats

• Attack: 1,400
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect 1: Adds the wind element
• Special Effect 2: Adds the poison element
• Cost: 129 ryo, 4,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting the Decorated Hagoita
• Collect 2 Crimson Beads from Battle Dungeons or Substory 19: Palanquin Paladin
• Collect 10 Thousand-Year Tree Branches from Battle Dungeons or as a Max Bond Reward with Amnesiac 
• Collect 10 Sacred Wood from the Shinto Priest, a Wandering Salesman, or Battle Dungeons

Demon Smasher

This is literally a giant metal club covered in spikes — ever so slightly conspicuous.

The Demon Smasher is the perfect weapon for those who hate dealing with enemies when they have their guard up. You hit, they deflect, you hit, they deflect — it’s no fun! With the Demon Smasher, however, your attacks will break through enemies’ guards 28% more often, and that’s an amount you’ll definitely notice. 

These special weapons have some of the highest attack scores in the game, so going bare-handed in combat and then grabbing your trusty Demon Smasher can make you quite the formidable fighter. Just wait until you see Ryouma sending bandits flying through the air with this thing. 

Stats

• Attack: 1,255
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Attacks break the enemy’s guard 28% more often
• Cost: 129 ryo, 4,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting the Sledgehammer
• Collect 1 Godsalyer’s Talisman from Substory 6: The Mochi Mystery or the Arena Exchange
• Collect 10 Thousand-Year Tree Branches from Battle Dungeons or as a Max Bond Reward with Amnesiac
• Collect 5 Sacred Wood from the Shinto Priest, a Wandering Salesman, or Battle Dungeons

Phoenix Canon

Who doesn't want to shoot phoenixes at their enemies?

If you thought guns were the only projectile-firing weapon in this game, think again — we also get cannons. The Phoenix Cannon is imbued with the element of fire and shoots out special shells that look suspiciously like, well, phoenixes. Set your enemies ablaze from afar while cosplaying Okita Sougo from “Gintama” (the Shinsengumi guy with the rocket launcher, who is coincidentally based on Okita Souji — a real-life Shinsengumi member and character in “Ishin!”). 

Stats

• Attack: 565
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Adds the fire element
• Cost: 58 ryo, 8,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting the Pigeon Cannon (don’t worry, it doesn’t use real pigeons)
• Collect 1 Thousand-Year Tree Branch from Battle Dungeons or as a Max Bond Reward with Amnesiac
• Collect 10 Phoenix Feathers from various Battle Dungeons

Giant Chikuwa

I'm not sure the effects of this weapon are worth dealing with the fishy smell. Poor Ryoma. 

Players who are big on collection — you have not been forgotten. The Giant Chikuwa is a weapon that increases your chances of obtaining items from enemies and it’s also possibly the weirdest item in the game. Chikuwa is a cylindrical, hollow fish cake from Japan. Typically, they’re fried and enjoyed as part of a healthy school lunch rather than stuck on the end of a spear. 

Since you’re using seafood as a weapon, seafood is also part of the materials list. You’ll have to fish five great white sharks to craft this silly yet useful weapon. Chikuwa is elastic and pliable yet sturdy in texture, so when you hit enemies, you can imagine it feels like being whacked around by a giant Frankfurter. 

Stats

• Attack: 620
• Defense: 0
• Special Effect: Increases the chance enemies will drop items by 6%
• Cost: 58 ryo, 8,000 mon

How To Get It

• Unlock it by crafting the Great Writing Brush
• Collect 10 Thousand-Year Tree Branch from Battle Dungeons or as a Max Bond Reward with Amnesiac
• Collect 5 Great White Sharks by fishing on the East Coast

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