![]() ![]() The “summons”, called Poundmates in here, are obviously inspired by old-school Final Fantasy. The overworld enemy placement, as well as everyone’s movement during battle, comes from Chrono Trigger. The UI and turn-based system are inspired by Persona 5. Not only because Ichiban can’t shut up about Dragon Quest, but also because it seamlessly mixes elements from different classics of the genre, creating a unique beast of its own. This is a love letter to JRPGs in general. We’ve seen our fair share of boring playable characters in the past, such as Yakuza 4‘s Tanimura, but Kiryu was still featured in some way, making us ignore the boring bits while looking forward to the good ones. They all have their own agenda and motivations, which will eventually tie to the game’s overall plot.Īll of this won’t matter at all if the main protagonist isn’t someone as engaging as you would expect from a Yakuza protagonist. You’ll also meet the head honchos from each of Yokohama’s main crime syndicates: the secretive Korean family Geomijul, the Chinese syndicate Liumang, and the more traditional yakuza syndicate featured in here, the Seiryu Clan. You’ll meet all sorts of unusual human beings, from shady bartenders, masochists who can’t feel pain, businessmen wearing a Viewfiful Joe-inspired helmet, middle-aged strippers, an American tourist, a washed up Korean actor, and many more. The citizens of Yokohama are the reason this place is so endearing. Just like in real life, a city isn’t anything without the people that inhabit it. Yokohama might be the game’s brand new setting, but you can still visit Kamurocho in its entirety. I grew to love that dumpster of a place, so I was skeptical about relegating it to a secondary area to explore. I know that red light district like the back of my hand, being able to traverse it without the need of a minimap and I know where all the stores are, I know the name of every single street by heart. What a better way to showcase that your series is undergoing a brand new start than changing its setting? The thing is, Kamurocho is way too iconic to be ditched altogether. Despite being able to explore Kamurocho in its entirety, as well as Osaka’s Sotenbori district (the one from Yakuza 0), Yakuza: Like a Dragon is mainly set in a brand new city, Yokohama. Here he gradually meets a roster of new characters, and quickly becomes entangled on something big and occasionally epic. After trying to reconnect with some old faces, as well as finding out about some brand new and very harsh truths, he ends up in Yokohama. Which has him missing out on pretty much every single Yakuza story released up to that point. Some shady crap ensues and in order to protect his clan’s members from an imminent turf war, he volunteers to serve time in jail for the next nineteen years. The game starts off in the year 2000, with Ichiban working for yet another crime family under Kamurocho’s Tojo Clan, living life as usual. Like a Dragon‘s new protagonist is amateur gangster (and certified loser), Ichiban Kasuga. Calling him “likable” is a disservice to his mammoth-sized charisma. Moreover, the developers decided to ditch the series’ then-staple beat ’em up combat system in favor of something completely new, and completely nuts: a turn-based JRPG, in a move I like to call “the reverse Final Fantasy“. It’s a completely new saga, with brand new characters, but also the return of countless dudes and dudettes who have captivated our hearts over the past fifteen years. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s proposal for a proper Yakuza sequel with no Kiryu. Yakuza: Like a Dragon, on the other hand, is a completely different case… However, despite being as good as any other game in the franchise, it felt more like a spinoff, not a true sequel. What would Yakuza be without Kiryu? Would it be possible to go on without him? Last year’s Judgment felt like an experiment to see if no Kiryu would work in a Yakuza setting. We were all curious to find out what Sega would do next with arguably its most important gaming franchise at the moment, as Sonic has been relegated to pure, absolute mediocrity at this point. After seven fantastic games, Kiryu’s saga had finally come to an end with the release of 2018’s Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. ![]()
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