Hey, remember when Yakuza 6: The Song of Life was meant to be the definitive end of Kazuma Kiryu's long-running story, and then RGG Studio decided to have him star in not one, but two new Like a Dragon games seven and eight years later? What's all that about?
Indeed, Kiryu is coming back whether you like it or not. He'll star in his own, slightly smaller spinoff Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name in 2023 — which fills in the narrative gaps after Yakuza 6 — and then it's looking like he'll be a main character, alongside Ichiban Kasuga, in 2024's Like a Dragon 8.
Now look, we like Kiryu. He was once described as Push Square's biggest man crush, and he probably still is. But is it not time to let the Dragon of Dojima retire? Was Ichiban not meant to usher in a new era of Yakuza Like a Dragon games? We're not sure how to feel about Kiryu's big return. Hell, we're not even sure how we feel about that new haircut!
And so we thought that we'd make a poll on the subject. How do you feel about Kiryu coming back, and being used as a main character again? Vote in our poll, and then explain yourself in the comments section below.
Comments 49
It's cool that he'll star in a spinoff that fills in some gaps in the lore, which is fine.
Kinda sucks that it kinda throws the ending for 6 to the wayside since it was supposed to have such a heartfelt impact and, without spoilers, Kiryu's appearance in 7 was like a passing the torch moment in the series and helped usher Ichi as the main guy.
I'm hoping Kiryu doesn't steal the spotlight too much in 8.
I love Ichi and his band of misfits.
Absolutely, no problem with Kiryu being a main Character again. He doesn't get in the way of Ichiban, Yagami, or Kaito. I want to know where he went after Song of life. RGG did this brilliantly! Im getting All the Like a Dragon games Lord willing!! I'm a Big Fan of RGG
Ichi is a great character, but I really want to see Kiryu and Haruka reunite some day. Plus, enough time has passed for me to miss Kiryu. Glad he's getting a smaller scale interquel too. That should be fun.
I feel like they should’ve at least given Ichiban at least one more solo starring game before bringing Kiryu back, but I’ll see how it goes before rendering full judgment.
I'm fine with this. We still have Ichiban as a main anyway.
@Deadlyblack Like a Dragon Gaiden will explain where he went after Song of Life and how he came to Yakuza Like a Dragon as well. I'm definitely ready for the games. I hope you will enjoy the new ones too!!
I don't mind but what I want is Akiyama, Shinada and Tanimura back
I'm sure RGG has a good reason for doing so. They have honestly one of the best writing teams in the business so if they have more story with Kiryu then I'm here for it.
Totally fine with it.
I didn't like Song of Life's resolution at all - not because it was bittersweet, but rather because it was BS on several different levels. As such, I welcome a chance to both see more of Kiryu, and get him a chance to sort out that horrid mess.
Before the latest teaser happened I already wanted the next Ichiban game's storyline to be linked to Kiryu and to help his situation in some way - so what we seem to be getting is even better.
Besides... a turn-based Kiryu on the player's side should be a delightfully weird experience.
There is no such thing as too much Kiryu!
Like a dragon ended with a few cliffhangers for it to just change it up.
@Videlsports I'm always ready for RGG Studio's games! Can't wait.
He’s the best. And it works to better connect the characters and narratives. Couldn’t connect with Ichiban, but hopefully that will change.
My favourite Yakuza game is 5, and that had 5 different character arcs, so I’m sure they can manage it well.
As long as they still have more stories to share and they're of the quality I expect from this series then sure. Why don't we ever ask Mario to retire though lol
He's such a beloved character that the longtime fans won't mind at all. I'm all for new characters but Kiryu is such a legend in these games. His character is one of the main reason we the fans adored these games so much to begin with and I'm sure RGG knows this too and I wouldn't be surprised if RGG themselves have missed properly writing for his character since The Song of Life
The more Kiryu the better.
Can’t take Ichiban seriously. I just think of the Japanese Joey lipstick ad from Friends😬😂
As someone who has only played 0 & 8, I think it’s absolutely fine. I don’t believe it’s going to be like a 1A & 1B situation. Focus in 8 will be mainly Ichiban. I’m more worried about that long wait ;~;
Kiryu is a bad ass dad so yes please.
1) As much as I love the guy, they should have killed him off at the end of Y6 rather than the ending they went for.
2) His part in LaD should have just been left at the unnamed bodyguard scene rather than have him in as much as they did.
depends, which has the better head of hair? spend most of your time looking at.
I wish they let the guy retire and I didn't mind the ending in Yakuza 6. It's ok if things were left how they were.
But hey, at this point, can't do anything about it.
I'm glad, Kiryu is the man!
Totally fine with it. Can never have enough Kiryu. Icihiban is such a loveable character as well so great so see them together again. Sure the ending of 6 makes a lot less sense now, but that doesn't make the games any less enjoyable for me.
oh, the legend is coming back?
OK, it is time to play from yakuza 0 …again~
Go ahead and let Kiryu be Like a Dragon. When his successor arrives, Enter the Dragon.
Its fine. In cannon he like 60 years old though. I guess he was training with the character from sifu.
It's too much already. Doing this cheapens the end of 6, you know....the end of HIS STORY.
Let the dude retire, this makes it seem like they're afraid to write a new compelling main char, when Ichiban is perfectly fine (maybe even more so than Kiryu).
Kiryu can't retire. He's like Ric Flair. Lad'll still be smashing people up with a bike when he's 75 and he's got a physique that looks like melted ice cream.
I found the new guy annoying as hell (the other cast were great though) so Kiryu balance him out a bit is a welcome addition
Give me all the Kiryu please
There can never be too much Kazzy!
Kiryu and Yagami need to team up
Im going to guess that it is 100% love it and anyone who voted for the other choices were just memeing 😈
The stoic father and the chad bro. Good combo!
I heard that Kiryu and Ichiban will each have their own party. Since we know that Nanba and Adachi will most likely return and be in Ichiban's party, I wonder who will be in Kiryu's party. Surely not Majima and Saejima, right? That would be too OP. Might be a good chance to bring Yagami and Kaito in, but that too would be very unlikely. The only possibility might be Akiyama, would love to see him return.
And before anyone says Sodachi and Saigo... please don't.
Last game did it right. Have him in but not the main character. It's Ichiban's time.
Honestly, strap Ichiban to a rocket and launch him into space. Idiot heroes are the worst, I've hated them since Ash decided to use his Charizard in the Pokemon championship qualifiers. I can't take Ichiban seriously as a protagonist because he's so incredibly thick I can't believe he's actually survived to the events of the game. There is also the disturbing way his "friends" seem to ignore his obvious signs of mental illness.
@Thrillho They were never going to kill him off, because the whole point of him surviving from a lore perspective was to show how powerful he's become over the last 7 games. He's taken way more punishment than he did in 6 as well. From a writing standpoint I suspect RGG Studio didn't want to kill him off only to then have the fans not like Ichiban as much and the the sales tank as a consequence, so they kept him alive as insurance.
As for Kiryu coming back that's probably because we've got new people in charge at RGG, I forget the name of the original director (I'd have to look it up), but he wanted to change the protagonist because he'd got tired of having the same protagonist in every game. However because he's now left to form his own studio, the new director of RGG Studio doesn't share that view and immediately reinstated Kiryu to the main story. I suspect he's a massive Kiryu fan as he looks a fair bit younger than the original director.
@Adaminoregon I mean he's a fictional character, just look at Batman, the dude should be what, in his 80s? Also these extremely fit martial art dudes don't age like the rest of us do, just look at someone like Donnie Yen. Still kicking butt in IP Man 4 at the age of 58.
@Athrum It's prettyt easy to wrap your head around actually, the original director of RGG left. He was the only one who wanted to end Kiryus story. The new director of RGG wants his story to continue.
@CastelloGG If I were to guess, Kiryu will have Majima, Saejima and Akiyama in his crew. Op? Yes. Fun? Also yes.
"I don't even know who Kiryu is!"
Like a Dragon was my first Yakuza game. It's great tho...
Nice to have a mash up of new and old
Sorry to rain on your parade, but I have no idea who this character even is! I've never played any of the Yakuza games! SORRY!
If anything mario should've retired a while ago
Would really love a game with more Majima and more Akiyama but hey Kiryu is the classic OG.
It dont matter to me, I love these games. They bring a fresh of breath air for this gaming industry.
Does anyone remember Y0, Y4 & Y5? Kiryu shared the spotlight with multiple playable characters in those games and they were great games. I think this is going to work great. Like others have said here, more "Like a Dragon" games is all that matters!
I haven't played any of the games yet, so have no opinion personally.
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