Republished on Wednesday 27th July 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows.
Where do we even start with Yakuza: Like a Dragon? SEGA's series has always been eccentric, but this latest instalment takes things to a whole new level. In a word, it's nuts — from beginning to end. In case you haven't heard, Like a Dragon goes full role-playing game: stats, equipment, loot, party members, and yes, even turn based battles. While past Yakuza games have had their fair share of RPG systems and mechanics — you could pretty much categorise them as 'action RPGs' — this still feels like a dramatic shift in both structure and identity. Like a Dragon is a borderline surreal experience — especially if you're familiar with the franchise.
After slumming it with Kazuma Kiryu and the boys for eight whole mainline games, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio clearly thought that it was time to shake things up. An entirely new cast, a new story, a new setting — it's a fresh start, but the important thing is that at its core, it still feels like a Yakuza title. Excellent storytelling and characters elevate the experience as always, while optional activities and absurd side quests add Yakuza's trademark flavour.
The legacy of previous protagonist Kazuma Kiryu can be overwhelming. The Dragon of Dojima has had three console generations to establish himself, and so replacing him was never going to be easy. But with new lead Ichiban Kasuga, RGG Studio has hit a homerun with its first swing. In many ways, Ichiban is the opposite of Kiryu — at least in terms of personality. He's rash, emotional, and a bit of a dumbass. He's prone to following his instincts and throwing caution to the wind, but he's loyal and always true to himself.
Ichiban makes for a genuinely endearing protagonist. He's an ex-yakuza who's always struggled to make something of his life. And at the ripe age of 41 following on from the game's lengthy prologue, Ichiban decides that the time has come to follow his childhood dream of being a hero. No, really. Like a Dragon revolves around the fact that Ichiban looks at life like it's an RPG. He spent his formative years playing nothing but Dragon Quest — Square Enix's timeless fantasy RPG series — and in order to 'level up', he has to get out into the world and... Get a job.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is essentially a traditional, turn based Japanese RPG, but it's set in modern day Yokohama — a bustling city not too far south of Tokyo. Rolling countryside and idyllic towns are replaced with concrete streets and office buildings. The hero's holy sword is replaced with a limited edition baseball bat. Instead of casting magic, Ichiban's homeless friend pulls out a lighter and spews alcohol across the open flame. Again, Ichiban sees life as an old school RPG — even the thugs and gangsters that hassle our heroes transform into red-eyed monster people whenever combat begins. It's ridiculousness played with a straight face, and it works shockingly well.
In his quest to find work, Ichiban and his buddies naturally become embroiled in events that will shape the future of Yokohama. In true Yakuza fashion, we're steadily introduced to a menagerie of ne'er-do-wells, but it's Ichiban's accomplices that steal the show. Together with our hero, his allies are some of the best characters to ever grace SEGA's series. Where Kiryu was a mostly solitary protagonist, Ichiban has a whole party of people following him around, and they all bounce off one another to excellent effect.
Perhaps the best thing about Ichiban and his group is that none of them are what you'd typically expect from a traditional RPG party. Both homeless ex-nurse Nanba and haggard ex-detective Adachi are greying men over 40, yet here they are cruising with Kasuga as the gang clobbers their way across the city. It's somehow both bizarre and mundane in equal measure — but it makes for a fascinating 60-hour adventure.
At its best, Like a Dragon is effortlessly engrossing. Its story has all of the twists and turns that we've come to expect of the franchise, but it's a shame that the in-game cutscenes can look so janky. While the writing and top notch characters are enough to carry the experience, it's still jarring to jump from superbly animated, pre-rendered scenes to static in-game models and text boxes. This hit and miss quality has been a part of Yakuza for as long as we can remember, but in Like a Dragon, where there are often so many characters to talk to and so much plot to get through, the dialogue system is really showing its age.
Like a Dragon also takes a long, long time to get going. Again, nothing new for Yakuza, but without the instant release of action-based combat — which was always the perfect way to bookend a long cutscene in past Yakuza titles — it can feel like you're watching a movie rather than playing a video game. A very wordy movie, at that.
Don't get the wrong idea, though. Like a Dragon's turn based combat is largely a lot of fun, but it never quite provides that same thrill. This is especially true during the opening ten hours or so, when Ichiban and his crew barely have any abilities to call upon in battle. Much like Dragon Quest, combat only hits its stride later on, as you gather more party members and gain access to all kinds of special moves. Until then, you're just going from fight to fight picking the same basic commands over and over again. The initial lack of challenge and tactical thinking can be off-putting — especially when your time spent outside of battle is consumed by longwinded cutscenes.
There are definitely some pacing problems at play here, but stick with the game long enough and you'll be rewarded for your patience. As the story progresses, more and more of the city opens up to you, and Yokohama's streets are packed with opportunity. Bit by bit, you're given access to a vast web of interconnected systems, all of which benefit Ichiban and the party somewhere down the line. For example, fighting alongside your allies or buying them lunch will make them friendlier towards Ichiban, and in time, they'll open up to him, leading to some of the most touching scenes in the game. But beyond the drama, you also gain better battle synergy. Close friends earn more experience, and they make a habit of following up on enemies who have been left vulnerable by a previous attack.
What's more, in a very Persona-esque twist, Ichiban has a number of personality traits — including intelligence, charisma, and kindness — that increase as you try your hand at minigames and side quests. A more charming Ichiban, for instance, might be able to smooth talk his way into an underground gambling den, while developing Ichiban's passion could make him better at buffing his teammates during combat. It gets to a point where everything that you do counts towards the bigger, overall goal of making your party stronger, and it's super satisfying to see it all click into place.
The same is true of combat itself. There are some tough battles to be found in the game's later chapters, but overcoming your enemies with precise teamwork is exactly what being a hero is all about. It's really rewarding to see your party blossom into an elite team of fighters, and the fact that you're given so much freedom in building your ideal team only adds to the sense of satisfaction. Indeed, there's an in-depth job system that lets you change a character's role entirely. One minute Ichiban's a rough and ready bare-fisted brawler. The next, he's a musician, battering lowlifes with his guitar and playing songs to inspire his allies. There's hours of enjoyment to be had in mixing and matching your squad.
Conclusion
It takes a while to really get going, but once things finally kick into gear, Yakuza: Like a Dragon blossoms into one of the most unique and engrossing RPGs on PS4. At its core, this is still the Yakuza that we know and love, with shocking story beats and fantastic characters, but in embracing the structure of an old school RPG, it successfully branches the series off in a whole new direction. Equal parts refreshing and familiar, it's a crazy and creative game that knows how to have fun, as Ichiban Kasuga proves himself a worthy successor to the one and only uncle Kaz.
Comments 47
If anyone's got any questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Thanks for reading!
I know some people are a bit miffed about the change in direction but I’m personally really looking forward to this. I hate to say it but I’m a bit burned out by the Yakuza formula after playing about 6 games in a couple of years and this is a proper shakeup.
I'm super intrigued by how they'll take the zany and over the top combat in Yakuza and retool it for turn based battles. I hope the pacing of fights doesn't get too affected by the switch, but otherwise the game looks really good
Are there Sega arcades in this one? If so which games do they have? Thanks.
I’m glad it’s now a turn based RPG, I like those games so it was a bit of a bonus. This one looks absolutely bonkers. I’ll definitely pick this up sometime in the future, no chance to fit it in right now.
I'm actually excited to try this game. Not sure when I'll have the time. Probably will pick it up on a sale in 2021. As for the combat change that is what makes me interested. I've only played yakuza kiwani. Loved the story, world building, characters and all that. But did not enjoy the combat. Just felt repetitive halfway through the game (which is what most people complain about turn based rpgs). The entire time I just wished I was playing Sleeping Dogs instead.
Sounds awesome. Given that the end of this year is looking pretty intense, I'm going to wait for the PS5 version.
@ShogunRok is there gonna be a rereview when it launches on ps5 in february? I’m not buying it until then anyway.
Sounds great, I'll wait for the PS5 version though. Not to mention I still have 5 and 6 to play as well.
I did order this shortly following a previous article, but I don't think it will arrive today. Judgement is slowly managing to pull me back in, so I'll probably play that for now.
I'll be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about the direction the series is taking, but we shall see.
@darkswabber We'll either do another review or we'll provide hands on impressions that cover how much it's improved on PS5.
@ShogunRok in terms of fights and difficulty: does this differ from the previous games? I never found Yakuza that hard when it came to combat. Even in tough battles you can cheese it by running around and dodging, and taking pot shots to whittle down health. The hardest battle for me was actually one in Judge Eyes.
I suppose you can't do this anymore considering the turn based RPG element. If you're weak will you just die?
@TheIdleCritic I didn't find this game overly difficult (playing on normal difficulty), but different places on the map have different level enemies. If you stray too far from where you're supposed to be, you can run into enemies that are way higher level, and you'll probably get clobbered.
Since it's turn based, there's no real way to cheese the combat. You can't move your characters away from attacks or trick the AI into doing dumb stuff like you could in past games.
I like how RGG Studios pulled inspiration from Dragon Quest and Persona with the combat and the traits. Sounds like a ton of fun.
@ShogunRok Thank you for the answer!
I really can't wait to get this, but I'll be holding out for the PS5 version.
I admit I got kinda burnt out on the series, but I’ll still play this. I gotta finish up on some other games first.
@katamariUK Yeah, the SEGA arcades are back. I think they have...
I might be missing something, but I think that's the full list.
@ShogunRok as long as Puyo Puyo doesn't make a return!
"Punchy turn based comat" nice one
@shogunrok When ACG reviewed this on YouTube he mentioned a really boring dungeon (the sewers?) which he said you have to spend a disproportionate amount of time in which became a grind. Did you find that to be a problem?
Also how was the manage your own company side activity. I heard that was a little disappointing.
Im looking forward to trying this. But i am holding off for the PS5 version (currently on preorder). Disapointed we have to wait until March but there will be plenty of other things to play. Im actually playing Yakuza 6 at the moment. Kiryu will be missed! Although i think the change in direction for the series is a positive and is the shake up the franchise needed
Interested in this but I'll wait for ps5 version because ps4 save isn't compatible with ps5.
@Rob_230 I ultimately didn't mind them too much since I always enjoyed levelling up my characters and their jobs, but yeah, the sewer dungeons are pretty bland and boring.
I honestly didn't have to do much grinding. I'd just fight most enemies that I saw in the city, and did side quests whenever I could and I felt like I was at a manageable level throughout the game.
That said, I do believe there's some high level endgame content to try once you've finished the story. Based on what I've heard, you do need to get grinding to be ready for that (and maybe some of the more dangerous side quests).
@Rob_230 Oh and the company management is insane. It takes a little bit of time to really click, but it's shockingly in-depth and quite addictive once the money starts rolling in.
I don't quite like it as much as say... The business aspect of Kiryu's gameplay in Yakuza 0, but it's still a good addition once you've wrapped your head around how it works.
@ShogunRok is that crazy cat fight mini game from Yakuza 0 make a return here?
@ShogunRok Thanks Rob. That all sounds great. I always do all the side activities, so all sounds great. And its good to know that there is some decent end game content included!
By the way is that bonkers Live Chat mini game in this one? I couldn't believe what i was seeing/playing a couple of nights ago in Yakuza 6, and i was praying my wife didn't come downstairs. It was a good job i had headphones on 😂😂
@ShogunRok is the game fully voiced over like Yakuza 6 (and judgement perhaps)? I loved that every side quest had top notch voice acting.
@ShogunRok - thanks for the great review. I am really looking forward to this. The Yakuza series is probably my favourite playstation series of all time. I just can't get enough of it, and much as I adore the gameplay of old and Kiryu, the thought of a new direction is really exciting.
I read that it has an English dub - is this right? I presume it's decent (like Judgment)? Also I'm guessing that the majority of dialog is text in boxes still?
Are there any compulsory QTEs? I'm hoping being turn-based that those are a thing of the past. Being visually impaired I find them a total pain. The chase scenes in Judgment for example were horrible. At least most Yakuza fight-QTEs were optional in the past. (Except the end of number 2 which was without a doubt the most painful part of the series.)
Also are any of the arcade games compulsory? My eyes aren't up to games like Outrun any more so I'm hoping I can just avoid them like (mostly) usual. It still annoys me I never managed the outrun bit in Yakuza 0 that was tied into the business minigame.
So tempted by this game but most reviews ive read (and watched) have stated an 8-15 hour grind after hitting a wall 2/3rds through. Its put me off big time.
@shonenjump86 Nah, Like a Dragon has a lot of minigames but that one doesn't make a return.
@Rob_230 Haha, sadly not. I loved reading the chat in that minigame — absolutely hilarious. The way Kaz typed with his index fingers as well... Priceless.
@tameshiyaku Most of the game's main story is voiced — either in full-on cutscenes or in-game cutscenes. But unlike Yakuza 6 and Judgment, Like a Dragon does use quite a lot of those voiceless text boxes, which is a bit of a shame.
Skipping over the text boxes makes character animations reset as well, so if you're a fast reader, it kind of sucks. A faster text option would go a long way.
@mrgrieves Thanks for reading. To answer your questions...
It's got a full English dub, just like Judgment, and it's of a very similar quality (that is to say it's really good). I'm not quite sold on the English karaoke, though!
Majority of the main story is voiced, but some of it is just told through text boxes, and side quests are generally text boxes too.
In battle, different special moves have QTEs that increase their damage if you time it right. If you miss them, is doesn't make a huge difference (but hitting them obviously helps overall). There are also a small number of chase sequences in this game, similar to the ones in Judgment.
Arcade games are totally optional. I think there's maybe one side quest that's tied to the arcade games, but that's it.
@ShogunRok - thanks very much for the info. It's a real shame the chases are here as I thought I was going to get away without them. Otherwise it sounds like it should be good. Normal fights in old Yakuza often had button prompts that I pretty much always failed to hit, so I think the battle side of it should be OK all being well if it's equivalent.
It's nice to see this game getting praise but I'm worried that they'll replace the combat with turn based in the later games. If they do then I'm probably done with Yakuza. I'm waiting for Judgement 2 for right now.
@ShogunRok but is there Karaoke?
@DualWielding There is. There's a bar where you can go to hang out with your party members, and each of them has their own karaoke song. They even dubbed the songs in English if you're using the English voices.
Great review, thanks! Cant wait. My list is on a roll!!
Like a Dragon: 84
Miles Morales: 85
Valhalla: 85
Hopefully Cyberpunk/sackboy/FarCry do not disappoint. I'll be set for months
Thank you for the review! I am very interested in this but the DQ battle system comparison kind of scares me. I can have fun with that kind of streamlined combat only if the difficulty has been cranked up to the max and each single turn is dangerous...
@ShogunRok
I'll wait to see what you have to say about the PS5 version in March. Hopefully it'll be an upgrade worth the wait.
After reading this review, I am ready to go and get this game.
@Gamer83 @wiiware @Rob_230 @SegaBlueSky @playthedangame @Jake3103 @darkswabber Same plan here, too many launch games and I'd rather wait to play the superior PS5 version anyways.
Just beat Miles Morales and I'm tempted to pick up another new game.
@ShogunRok - just finished the game, and must admit I didn't come across a single chase sequence. Also, you can turn the QTEs off during battle - it doesn't effect Circle to defend, but I usually fluffed that and it didn't seem to matter. There was one QTE right at the end, but it was stupidly easy even for me (not sure if you could fail it) - no repeat of the anguish of Yakuza 2 thank God.
I struggled with business management's shareholder meetings, but my other half agreed to play that bit with me, and we both quite enjoyed it. I steered clear of pretty much all minigames though - couldn't do golf or the racing games, and the UFO catcher was really hard.
One thing I did struggle with was when trying to heal a single party member - it was really hard to see who was selected, so I sometimes healed the wrong person, or opted to heal the whole party just to be safe.
But it did end up being my least favourite Yakuza game. Much as I liked Ichiban, his personality always lent itself towards cheese. The side quests in particular were quite poor compared to series highs of 0, 6 and Judgment, the poor guy covered in soap suds aside.
But what killed it for me was the endless grinding. Admittedly, once I start it becomes a bit of an addiction and I take it too far, but whether it was grinding for EXP, Job EXP, money, insects or whatever, the game really overstayed its welcome for me. (Although not as much as Dragon Quest XI which went on forever.)
I found the turn based combat just made me long for the good old days, so I ordered the Remastered collection out of frustration.
Voice acting was very good though - although hearing some of the characters I've known and loved from past games suddenly talking English in unfamiliar voices was a bit hard to take. Weird when you had some substories that were half-voiced and half text.
Anyway, thanks again for the review and the info. You were largely spot on as usual.
@mrgrieves Happy to hear that you (mostly) enjoyed it. I pretty much agree with everything you've said, although I did like Ichiban quite a lot.
It's a great game overall but it definitely has flaws. Some of them can be forgiven a little since it's the first proper RPG that the developer's made, but there are a few issues that really stand out. The grinding later on is one of them.
I've played through the game twice now and while I do think it's a refreshing take on the Yakuza formula, I wouldn't be at all sad to see the next game return to action combat. I think the turn based battles really start to drag later on, which is a shame.
But yeah, vey good game, but not without its fair share of problems, like you say.
@ShogunRok - the thing I loved abour Kiryu is that although he was a cool, streetwise badass with a strong sense of honour etc he was also incredibly gullible and stupid at times (as per all the best substories). I loved the way they all took the piss out of his core personality traits.
Problem with Ichiban (other than him complaining about being itchy literally the entire game) was that everyone just went along with it, so pretty much every situation was so cheesy. I think if some of the characters took advantage of his heart-on-sleeve character then it would have worked a lot better. (In particular the substories)
Maybe I'm just a horrible person.
Plays like a grown up persona game. One of thr best RPGs out there. The special attacks are brutal.
One of the best games on PS5 or PS4, I generally don't care for turn-based combat but what RGG came up with had me hooked and of course everything else was the over the top, stupid stuff that made me love the Yakuza series almost 16 years ago now. Can't recommend it enough to anybody who hasn't played it yet, even if you've never played a game in the series before, if you just like JRPGs, I don't think you'll be disappointed by this.
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