Passing of the Torch
Yakuza Like a Dragon is the start of a new era for the long running Yakuza franchise. The numbered series are dropped in favor of the Like a Dragon name, Kazuma Kiryu is replaced by new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga and the beat ‘em up gameplay has transformed into a turned-based RPG. The result is one of the best Yakuza experiences I have ever had and is the evolution of the franchise. However, Like a Dragon is not perfect. The pacing and balance will irk many players. And the game lacks many quality of life features expected in a modern JRPG.
Kasuga and Kiryu, other than the obvious difference in physical appearances, share a lot in common. They are both orphans who join the Yakuza because of a greatly admired fatherly figure. They have an intense adoration for the Yakuza and its strict honor codes, yet hesitate when collecting money from the poor. And they both confess to a crime they didn’t commit and spend decades in jail in order to save the reputation of their Yakuza family. This is where the similarities end. While Kiryu is a stone-faced badass that will smash a fool’s face into the pavement, Kasuga is a goofy puppy faced nerd, obsessed with Dragon Quest (as in the actual games published by Square Enix) and imagines himself as the hero in an RPG.
In typical “Yakuza” or rather “Like a Dragon” fashion, the game takes a long time to open up. Expect to watch cutscene over cutscene for the first 3 hours with little input. The amount of world building has increased with each subsequent game. And Like a Dragon’s pacing is especially sluggish, since it needs to introduce players to a brand new cast. The TLDR is that Ichiban takes the fall for a murder, stays in jail for almost two decades and is released to discover his Yakuza family has abandoned him. Ichiban’s quest literally starts from ground-zero; he starts by working with the homeless, then to sex workers and eventually to crime bosses to figure out what the hell happened while he was in prison.
The transition from beat ’em up to turn-based combat is surprisingly seamless. Heat actions, environmental object combat and other special attacks are translated in sensible ways. Ichiban can utilize special attacks by spending SP, and when he attacks, any object in the way is used as a make-shift weapon. In previous Yakuza games, combat was a solo affair with the occasional NPC ally, but in Like a Dragon, Ichiban and up to 3 other friends are fighting as a team. And the other party members don’t just stand idly by when it’s not their turn, there are tag team attacks and follow-up attacks.
Like a Dragon has the best side-character development in the franchise. You will get to love Adachi and his horny tendencies, Namba and his overly pessimistic nature and Saeko with her deceptively charming, yet aggressive nature. The Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio also borrowed a page from Atlus (their Sega sibling) by introducing social link-like bonds between Ichiban and the cast. Ichiban can develop these bonds by hanging out with his mates whether it is sharing a meal at a restaurant, singing karaoke, or just being in combat together. By developing these bonds, the teammate can learn special moves, gain more experience when not in the active party and also gain eligibility to new jobs.
The concept of job or class switching in RPGs is not novel, but Like a Dragon expertly weaves this gameplay design into its story. Plot-wise, the reason why Ichiban and friends need to switch jobs is so they can infiltrate specific businesses. Gameplay-wise, changing jobs, grants new abilities, stat changes as well as costume changes. While experience gained in each job is separate; stat bonuses and special abilities learned from one job can be used by other jobs. The unfortunate downside is that weapons are also kept separate and tied to each job. For example, even if Saeko is eligible for the Dealer job, not having any Dealer weapons significantly hampers her combat potential. The base weapon for each job is a joke and does minimal damage. This problem is especially egregious for the late-game jobs and DLC jobs that require millions of yen to obtain their weapons. Switching a character to a new job without a weapon is not completely useless, but it is actively discouraging knowing that the early-game jobs have vastly better combat potential due to the ease of access to their job weapons.
There are three primary ways to earn income in Like a Dragon.
- Players can choose to grind and battle foes in the underground sewers and a battle tower.
- Compete in the standard offering of Yakuza gambling mini-games like slots, poker, etc.
- Or choose to do the featured Ichiban Holdings investment mini-game.
The investment mini-game is the highlight of Like a Dragon, and it is a smart evolution from the real estate mini-game in Yakuza 0. In this mini-game, Ichiban is tasked with running a small mom and pop store and growing it into a Fortune 500 company. Every quarter, Ichiban attends a stockholders meeting and has to fight off angry investors to increase the stock price. I found the investment mini-game oddly engaging. While I have never run a corporation before, there are definite parallels that can be drawn. Ichiban will need to take loans from the bank to afford to buy property and when times get tough he will have to layoff employees. There are also employee specialties, morale and pay raises to take into account. Players can choose to skip this mini-game, but I wouldn’t suggest it as it is the best way to earn income and a bonus character can be recruited into the party.
Like a Dragon starts to show more flaws starting in Chapter 10. The game enforces an arbitrary roadblock where Ichiban has to amass a large fortune to continue. For players who completed the Ichiban Holdings mini-game, this should be a cake-walk. Following this roadblock comes an intense difficulty spike with a boss who can knock out Ichiban in one strike (it is a Game Over if Ichiban falls, even if the other party members are still standing). This is coming from someone who did every available substory and fought in every single battle encounter. Grinding for higher levels becomes a necessity. Spoiler alert, there is an even more challenging boss fight a few chapters afterwards. I have no problem with challenging boss fights, but other than these two boss fights, the game is relatively easy in terms of JRPG standards. If I’m playing a Mario RPG I’m expecting a pleasant relaxing time, not a hard-as-nails Shin Megami Tensei game.
The core of Like a Dragon is still phenomenal, but there are other flaws that bugged me. The two party members that join in the late game are unnecessary and have underdeveloped storylines. Saeko is the first playable female combatant in the mainline Yakuza games, but compared to the men, her presence is significantly diminished after her arc completes. Jobs like the Enforcer, Chef, Dealer and Matriarch (from the DLC) are overpowered. AOE attacks are not clearly illustrated making it hard to gauge the range of their attacks. There is no option to pull up the list of enemy weaknesses while in battle. And there is no way to skip trivial encounters other than running away (there is a late game amulet that can be obtained that forces no encounters but that’s a lame workaround).
I’m sure many Yakuza fans were perplexed that their beloved beat ‘em up franchise has turned into a turned-based RPG, but rest assured Yakuza Like a Dragon is the real deal. Ichiban Kasuga is more lovable, emotional and sympathetic than the Dragon of Dojima ever was. The theme of family flows throughout the story, whether it is Ichiban’s bond with his Yakuza family or with his compatriots. Side-characters bring much more heft and emotional weight and have just as interesting backstories as Ichiban’s story. The game has flaws that come with a developer not skilled in making RPGs, but as long as you can overlook these flaws, Like a Dragon is highly recommended!
My Yakuza/Like a Dragon Ranking:
- Yakuza Like a Dragon
- Yakuza 0
- Yakuza Kiwami 2
- Yakuza 5 Remastered
- Yakuza 6
- Yakuza 4 Remastered
- Yakuza Kiwami
- Yakuza 3 Remastered
