Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Yakuza: Like a Dragon[lower-alpha 1] is a role-playing video game developed and published by Sega. It is the eighth main release in the Yakuza series, and was released in Japan for PlayStation 4 on January 16, 2020. It is scheduled for a worldwide release later in the year for PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Xbox One and Xbox Series X; the latter will be a launch title for the console.

This article is about the 2020 video game. For the 2007 live-action movie, see Like a Dragon.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Japanese box art
Developer(s)Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher(s)Sega
Producer(s)Hiroyuki Sakamoto[1]
SeriesYakuza
Platform(s)
Release
  • PlayStation 4
    • JP: January 16, 2020
    • WW: 2020
  • PC, XONE, XSX
    • WW: 2020
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Similar to previous games in the Yakuza series, side-quests (known as sub-stories in-game) can be taken up by the player to gain additional rewards and players are also able to enjoy the various side activities around the map such as karaoke. A new side-activity introduced in this game is Dragon Kart, which is similar to other kart racing games in terms of its gameplay.

A huge departure from previous Yakuza games is the battle system. Instead of the real-time beat 'em up mechanics of previous games, Yakuza: Like a Dragon features turn-based RPG type combat, with a four-person battle team. However, unlike typical turn-based RPGs, characters may use nearby surrounding items such as bicycles to attack enemies (if the items are near the enemies) or may kick surrounding items to their target if there is an interactive item in the environment on the way to the enemy, an aspect that returns from the previous Yakuza games. Players can also call on various party assists to strengthen the party or defeat enemies, with more assists added as the story progresses or through the completion of sub-stories. Players can still continue exploring the world after completing the game. A new game plus mode with additional difficulty settings exclusive to this mode is scheduled to be released as paid downloadable content. [2]

Complementing the new RPG type combat system are Jobs, a form of character classes similar to other RPGs. Players can change any party member's job to better fit the party's playstyle. Currently, there are two jobs that can only be obtained via paid downloadable content. [3][4]

Synopsis

Setting and characters

For the first time in the Yakuza series, the focus shifts away from Tokyo and the game's fictional recreation of Kabukichō, called Kamurocho. Instead, most of the gameplay takes place in the Yokohama district of Isezaki Ijincho,[5][6] which is based on Yokohama's real-life Isezakichō district. However, Kamurocho, and the Osaka district Sotenbori (another area from previous Yakuza games, based on the real-life Dōtonbori district), will be featured in the game.[5] Yakuza: Like a Dragon is also the first main game not to have Kazuma Kiryu as its protagonist, introducing the new character Ichiban Kasuga instead. Sega has described Kasuga as being much more outspoken and emotive than Kiryu.[7]

Alongside Kasuga, other characters that can be recruited to the player's party include Namba, Koichi Adachi, and Saeko Mukouda.[8] Mukouda is the first female fighting character in the Yakuza series who is directly controlled by the player. Previous Yakuza series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu also makes an appearance in the game[9], alongside Goro Majima and Taiga Saejima[10], this time as main bosses initially and then as party assists.

Plot

In 2001, Ichiban Kasuga, a junior member of the Tojo Clan's Arakawa Family, is asked by the family's patriarch Masumi Arakawa to go to prison for a murder that he didn't commit to protect the real killer, a senior officer Arakawa considers indispensible. Ichiban agrees, hoping that this will make him a hero in the Tojo Clan and eager to honor an unspecified "debt" he owes his patriarch. Eighteen years later, Kasuga is released from prison only to find that nobody remembers him and no one from his family is even waiting to meet him when he gets out; he goes to confront Arakawa, who shoots him in the chest. Several days later, Kasuga wakes up half-naked under a pile of trash and eventually finds out that he is in the Yokohama district of Isezaki Ijincho. Realizing that his patriarch left him for dead, he sets out to learn why and uncover the real reason for his prison sentence, a journey that sees him face off against yakuza, triad, and Korean gangsters and criminals with help from the many allies he meets along the way.

Development

The game was initially announced on August 26, 2017, alongside Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise and Yakuza Online. During development, the project was code-named Shin Ryu ga Gotoku, literally "New Like a Dragon" or "Like a New Dragon,"[11] or "Shin-Yakuza" in English.[7] Sega announced that the game's story was completed at the end of May 2019.[11] Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi said that the new style of logo was done to reflect Ichiban Kasuga's differing personality compared to Kazuma Kiryu.[12] Sega have said that they wanted to try a different style of gameplay, but that if it is badly received, they will return to real-time combat for future games.[13]

The game was released in Japan on January 16, 2020 for PlayStation 4, with the Chinese and Korean versions being released on the same day.[8][14] It is scheduled to be released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X at an unannounced date in 2020.[15][16][17]

Reception
Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Famitsu38/40[18]

Sales

Yakuza: Like a Dragon was the best selling print game during its first 4 days on sale in Japan, with 156,993 retail copies sold.[19] By March 2020, a total of 400,000 digital and physical copies had been sold in Asia and Japan.[20]

Awards

Yakuza: Like a Dragon was awarded a Japan Game Awards Award for Excellence in the Future Division at the Tokyo Game Show 2019.[21]

Notes
  1. Known in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue (Japanese: 龍が如く7 光と闇の行方, "Like a Dragon 7: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness")

References
  1. https://www.gematsu.com/2019/10/yakuza-like-a-dragon-gameplay-live-stream-set-for-october-29
  2. "PS4『龍が如く７　光と闇の行方』有償追加DLC「やり込み拡張パック」配信が決定！". Twitter.
  3. SEGA. "PS4®『龍が如く７ 光と闇の行方』本日発売！｜HEADLINE NEWS｜龍が如くスタジオ.com". 龍が如くスタジオ.com | セガ公式ポータルサイト. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  4. "Yakuza: Like a Dragon details day one DLC - Demon and Bosslady jobs, more". Gematsu. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  5. "『龍が如く7 光と闇の行方』は横浜・伊勢佐木異人町がメインだが、東京・神室町と大阪・蒼天堀にも行ける" (in Japanese). IGN Japan. 14 Sep 2019. Retrieved 17 Sep 2019.
  6. Bobby Pashalidis (29 Aug 2019). "Yakuza: Like a Dragon Revealed | Console Creatures". Console Creatures. Retrieved 15 Sep 2019.
  7. Shubhankar Parijat (18 Mar 2018). "Yakuza 7 (Shin Yakuza) New Details Revealed, Dev Discusses Possibilities For Yakuza 0 Sequel". Gaming Bolt. Retrieved 15 Sep 2019.
  8. "龍が如く7　光と闇の行方(PlayStation®4) | セガ公式サイト" (in Japanese). SEGA. Retrieved 24 Sep 2019.
  9. Cryer, Hirun (November 13, 2019). "It Looks Like Kiryu Kazuma is Back for Yakuza 7". USGamer. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  10. https://twinfinite.net/2019/12/yakuza-like-a-dragon-screenshots-video/
  11. Peter Glagowski (29 May 2019). "Yakuza director confirms story work is done on Shin Ryu Ga Gotoku". Destructoid. Retrieved 15 Sep 2019.
  12. Tetsuya Inamoto (29 Aug 2019). "「龍が如く7 光と闇の行方」発表会レポート。シリーズで培ったアクションをコマンド入力式のバトルへと昇華。仲間との絆を描く物語にも注目 - 4Gamer.net" (in Japanese). 4Gamer.net. Retrieved 17 Sep 2019.
  13. Bobby Pashalidis (29 Aug 2019). "Yakuza: Like a Dragon Revealed | Console Creatures". Console Creatures. Retrieved 15 Sep 2019.
  14. https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/29/yakuza-7-2020-turn-based-combat/
  15. https://www.gamesradar.com/au/yakuza-7-trailer-rpg-combat/
  16. Phillips, Tom (7 May 2020). "Yakuza: Like a Dragon is an Xbox Series X launch title". Eurogamer. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  17. Chalk, Andy (7 May 2020). "Yakuza: Like a Dragon confirmed for Windows 10". PC Gamer. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  18. http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/01/first_yakuza_like_a_dragon_review_is_incredibly_positive
  19. Romano, Sal (January 22, 2020). "Famitsu Sales: 1/13/19 – 1/19/20". Gematsu. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  20. https://www.gematsu.com/2020/03/yakuza-like-a-dragon-shipments-and-digital-sales-top-400000
  21. "20190915.pdf" (PDF). Japan Game Awards. 15 Sep 2019. Retrieved 15 Sep 2019.
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