The Man Named Saito Hajime is Chapter 2 of Like a Dragon: Ishin! Ryoma, who has now taken on a different identity known as Saito Hajime, has spent a year searching for leads that will bring him closer to his father’s killer.
Read ahead as we go through the events in Like a Dragon: Ishin! Chapter 2: The Man Named Saito Hajime.
See previous Like a Dragon: Ishin Chapter 1 Escaping Home Walkthrough
Chapter 2: The Man Named Saito Hajime Objectives
- Inside Teradaya Inn
- Help the Shinto Priest – Virtue
- Run
- Head to the Bathhouse
- Boss Fight: Large Man
- Back to Teradaya Inn
- Mukurogai
- Boss Fight: Okada Izo
Inside Teradaya Inn
A year has passed from Ryoma’s escape from Tosa. He’s now living in an inn in Kyo called the Teradaya.
After the initial cutscene, head outside your room and go towards the inn’s door to trigger another cutscene. Ryoma, who now goes by the name Saito Hajime, is seen visiting another dojo in search for a lead to find the Masked Man who killed his father Toyo.
You’ll then be fighting against the dojo men after the cutscene. You’ll only be able to use the Swordsman style to defeat all of the men. After the fight, another man will come in known as Ginji the Crow to report on his own findings about any leads on the Masked Man. The informant hasn’t gotten any leads yet which makes Ryoma reconsider hiring him again.
Help the Shinto Priest – Virtue
After the conversation, you’ll be able to wander around the town, so check the stores and the jars for some items. Once you’re ready, head to the shrine southwest of the town where a Shinto priest is being harassed by a group of men. Defeat the enemies using any style that you like. Afterwards, the priest will make you go to the shrine where you’ll learn more about the Virtue mechanic.
By helping other people in side quests and completing tasks in your Diligence Records, you’ll earn Virtue points which you can spend on shrines to get helpful upgrades such as inventory capacity, reputation, skill in minigames, etc.
At this point, you can take some time doing some of the other side quests in town, such as the one found in the Komaki dojo, the altercation in Fukufuku Pub, or the side quest in Ebisu Pawn Fushimi. It’s recommended to take on the Komaki dojo side quest and learn the Komaki Dharma Tumbler as it can help a lot in the next boss fight.
Once you’re good to proceed, head towards the gates north of the market to trigger a cutscene. You’ll meet Yahei once again from the Tosa Loyalist Party, but his voice calls on the attention of the Shinsengumi who Ryoma is trying to avoid. This will then start a chase scene around the town.
Run
With the Shinsengumi on Ryoma’s tail, you’ll need to shake them off by running through the streets and corridors or by hiding in buckets or wooden boards. You’ll know that they are still in pursuit if the border of the screen is glowing red. Doing quick turns can also easily shake them off, provided there’s some good distance between the pursuant men.
The Shinsengumi are always patrolling the towns, so use the minimap to see where they are patrolling and try to avoid crossing their line of sight. Go to the marked location on the map without getting seen to completely hide from the Shinsengumi.
After shaking them off, you’ll meet the guy from the dojo Niibori Matsusuke. He shares details about another informant called The Bathkeeper of Sai. Go through the dialogue then head back to the Teradaya Inn and rest up until nighttime to progress with the story, or take some more time to do the other activities in the town.
Head to the Bathhouse
Go to the next marker to reach the bathhouse and meet up with the Bathkeeper of Sai. Ryoma then gets information from the Bathkeeper that all of the Tennen Rishin users have now taken high positions within the Shinsengumi. The conversation gets cut short when a large man forces his way into the bathhouse and challenges Ryoma to a fight.
Boss Fight: Large Man
For this fight, being that both Ryoma and the Large Man are naked, you’ll only be able to use the Brawler style to fight. The Large Man fights with strong punches that have generous wind ups to react to, so parrying and dodging shouldn’t be difficult. There’s also a grabbing showdown QTE that will happen once the Large Man’s health is down to around 40%.
Read up on our Large Man boss fight guide to learn tips on how to clear the fight.
Once his health is down, the Bathkeeper will break up the fight. The Large Man then invites Ryoma to a drink instead.
During their conversation over drinks, the Large Man reveals that he’s after one of the Shinsengumi’s commanders. He also reveals that he is Saigo Kichinosuke, the commander of the Satsuma Army.
Back to Teradaya Inn
After the drinking, you’ll then have to head back to Teradaya Inn to sleep for the night. However, you’ll encounter some cutscenes along the way back to the inn. People will be gathering around a corpse who turns out to be Yahei. A mysterious man later approached Ryoma from behind revealing the cause of Yahei’s death. He then invites Ryoma to Mukurogai to find out more.
Back at the inn, another cutscene will play, Ryoma will meet a boatman that is willing to bring him over to Mukurogai.
Mukurogai
You’ll arrive shortly in Mukurogai. Take the time to explore the shops to buy items like new swords or medicine. There are also some fights to be encountered within the small town. Head towards the quest marker to trigger the next cutscene where the mysterious guy reveals himself as Okada Izo.
Boss Fight: Okada Izo
You’ll be up against Okada Izo once more for a rematch. This time, his attacks deal much more damage than before, albeit nothing changed much with his attack patterns and combos. He will still be accompanied by other men during the fight; either clear the other men out first, or simply focus on defeating Izo. There will also be a QTE right around 40% of Izo’s health.
Read up on our Okada Izo boss fight guide to learn tips on how to clear the fight.
After the fight, Izo will reveal that Ryoma’s brother Takechi is also somewhere in Mukurogai, however he refuses to tell how to get to him. Simply follow the quest marker through the alleyways and you’ll arrive at Takechi’s hideout.
Ryoma then meets his brother Takechi and they try to catch up and talk about what they’re planning next. However, the brothers found themselves going for different goals which caused a rift between the two. The story ends with Ryoma heading back to the inn as the events of the chapter gets recapped.
See next Like a Dragon: Ishin! Chapter 3 Mibu Wolves Walkthrough
Check out this video by BAI GAMING showing how to complete Chapter 2: The Man Named Saito Hajime in Like a Dragon: Ishin!:
