Tag: Yakuza
News Even in a Wacky Nautical Spin-Off, Yakuza Just Feels Wrong in English
Japanese only
Nah, we just can’t do it. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii may be a wacky nautical spin on the long-running series, but it still just doesn’t sound right in English. To be fair to SEGA, it’s assembled one helluva cast here. Matt Mercer, best known for voicing Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil and Jotaro Kujo in JoJo’s...
Quiz How Well Do You Know Yakuza / Like a Dragon?
Kamurocho's calling
How well do you know the Yakuza / Like a Dragon games? SEGA's crime drama series has been rolling since the days of the PS2, but it really hit the bigtime with the release of Yakuza 0 — especially outside of its native Japan. With so many titles to draw from, an in-depth quiz seemed like a great idea — and so we've put...
News Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii on PS5, PS4 Looks Mad, Dog
Sea it to believe it
SEGA’s really gone off the deep end with Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. A new info dump and a couple of short gameplay clips reveal what we mean, as they introduce Assassin’s Creed-esque naval battles and protagonist Majima’s new mythical sea creature special moves. As was the case in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The...
Why so serious?
If you’re a long-time Yakuza fan like this author, it’s worth remembering just how far the franchise now known as Like a Dragon has come. SEGA had once famously given up on the series outside of Japan, leaving Yakuza 5’s localisation duties to Sony. A little less than a decade later, it finds itself the subject of a...
No beating around the bush
SEGA’s not really being secretive about the reason behind its Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii release date change. In a video message, anchored by director Masayoshi Yokoyama, he admitted that the new 21st February launch will allow you to “play the game that comes after it with peace of mind”. That game is...
Tharrr she blows
Zany spin-off Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii has caught a strong headwind – and will release one week earlier on PS5 and PS4. Originally planned for 28th February, SEGA must have heard word of sea shanties involving the release date of Monster Hunter Wilds, and has decided to move forward to 21st February instead. This...
News Yakuza Wars Appears to Be a Mobile Game as Social Media Page Spotted
Not like this
Following an official trademark registration from SEGA last month, a Facebook page for Yakuza Wars has been found, lending further legitimacy to it being the real deal. The kicker for fans, though, is it appears to be a mobile game rather than the next big console release. BBGame is listed as the publisher, which makes mobile titles...
News RGG Summit 2024 Will Give Us the Latest from the Like a Dragon Team in September
Maybe they'll announce summit
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the development team behind the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, has announced the date and time for its next RGG Summit. These broadcasts come along whenever the studio has some news to share, and the next one will be going live in a matter of weeks. RGG Summit 2024 takes place on 20th September...
News Yakuza Wars May Be the 'Surprising' New Game from RGG Studio
SEGA registers the trademark
RGG Studio is ready to announce a new instalment in the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series at the Tokyo Game Show next month, with the entry's genre supposedly being a surprise for fans. Ahead of the reveal, a new trademark has surfaced for something titled Yakuza Wars, which may be the new title. Fans are speculating this...
Get caught up on Kiryu and Ichiban
With the Like a Dragon: Yakuza television series set to debut on Amazon Prime this October, SEGA has published starter packs to the PS Store that bundle together some of the series' most important games for those getting started with the franchise. The Yakuza Series Starter Pack pairs Yakuza Kiwami with Yakuza...
News Next Like a Dragon Game Isn't Kiwami 3, But the Yakuza 3 Remake Is Happening 'Sooner or Later'
That's rad!
To no one's surprise, work is already underway on the next Like a Dragon game, with developer RGG Studio announcing that it's in the process of hosting character auditions. The team goes on to confirm that the next title is not Kiwami 3 — a remake of Yakuza 3, which originally released for the PS3 all the way back in 2009. However,...
News The Excellent Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Has Had a Huge Opening Weekend
Starting strong
Long gone are the dark days when fans had to lobby PlayStation to help SEGA localise the Yakuza games: this franchise has quietly matured into a bit of a cult hit. You won’t find Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth locking horns with Call of Duty at the top of the sales charts, but by all accounts, the latest entry is enjoying an...
News Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on PS5, PS4 Is Pokémon As Well Now
Gotta snag 'em all
Not content with aping Animal Crossing in its off-the-wall island building minigame, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will also add a Pokémon-inspired experience to its ever-expanding list of things to do. Sujimon, as its known, will see you collecting eclectic characters from all around Hawaii, and training them to create the...
News Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Will Add a Pinch of Roguelite Fun to Its PS5, PS4 Campaign
And why not?
It sounds like there will be a touch of the ol’ roguelike in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, as an update to the game’s official website – spotted by Games Radar – mentions the inclusion of a dungeon which changes each time you visit it. To be fair, the grinding in predecessor Yakuza
News Like a Dragon Gaiden's Controversial English Dub Is Selectable on PS5, PS4 Now
If you dare
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name has been warmly received on PS5 and PS4, but there’s been controversy surrounding its English dub. While most fans generally prefer to play the franchise with subtitles anyway, SEGA has found success adding English voiceovers to the series in recent years, making the franchise more...
News Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on PS5, PS4 Has SEGA Bass Fishing, SpikeOut, and Much More
Model 3 mayhem
SEGA’s excellent Yakuza series is well-known for its minigames, but Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth looks to seriously expand upon the expectations of fans with an unprecedented number of side-activities and distractions. Chief among them is the inclusion of some fairly famous Model 3 arcade games, including SEGA Bass Fishing,...
Guide Best Yakuza / Like a Dragon Games Ranked: Which Yakuza Games to Play and Where to Start
That's rad!
SEGA's Yakuza or Like a Dragon series has been around since the days of the PlayStation 2, but only over the last half a decade or so has it really started to seep into the consciousness of a wider Western audience. This is largely thanks to 2017's Yakuza 0, which sparked a whole new wave of interest on PlayStation 4. It helped, of...
News Like a Dragon: Gaiden Won't Have an English Dub on PS5, PS4 At Launch
It's coming post-release
Those who fell in love with the Yakuza series during the PS3 era will be familiar with playing the games in Japanese, but newcomers may have become accustomed to English voiceovers. If you’re intending to play the upcoming Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name with a dub, however, you may want to sit tight for...
Feature I Visited Yakuza's Real-Life Kamurocho, And Somehow Avoided an Ass Stomping
The armpit of Tokyo
In the latest trailer for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, protagonist Ichiban Kasuga describes his home town of Kamurocho as the “armpit of Tokyo”. During a recent visit to the capital, I wanted to see if the real-life location the virtual sandbox is based on lived up to that description. There was no point in visiting during...
Preview Like a Dragon, SEGA's Once Embattled Yakuza Series, Has Never Been Better
Or stranger
If you’ve been listening to the clacking of leather shoes in SEGA’s glamorous – but often oddball – Yakuza series since the late PS2 days, you’ll know the franchise hasn’t always been in this position. For years a PlayStation exclusive, there was a point where Sony was reeled in to localise the release of PS3 late-comer...
News SEGA Word Salad Attempts to Explain Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth's Name
Speak slowly
We’ve whipped out our magnifying glasses and read this unnecessarily small statement from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s director Masayoshi Yokoyama several times now, and to be totally frank, we’re still none the wiser. The social media post attempts to explain the differences between Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s Western and...
News The Like a Dragon Team Definitely Didn't Get Much Sleep This Week
Kiryu's karaoke will have kept them awake
For as good as the Like a Dragon (formerly known as Yakuza, of course) games undoubtedly are, they all have two fairly consistent qualities: they’re long and they’re largely the same. Spare a thought for developer Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, then, who, not content with simply making the games, decided to...
Poll Help Us Rank the Yakuza / Like a Dragon Games
Judgment included
With the recent release of Like a Dragon: Ishin!, we think it's time to properly rank the games in RGG Studio's beloved Yakuza / Like a Dragon franchise. And, as always, we want your help in creating a definitive list. Determining the series' best games won't be easy, though. This is a property that's managed to maintain a fairly...
News Surprising Absolutely No-One, Like a Dragon: Ishin! DLC Lets You Dress as Kazuma Kiryu
Dress to impress
Like a Dragon: Ishin will roar onto PS5 on 21st February, and by all indications, it's looking like it will satisfy fans' cravings for a new Ryu Ga Gotoku-developed adventure. With release right around the corner, we got a peek at some DLC coming to the game at launch, and players will be able to don the modern-day threads of the...
Random Yakuza Producer Surprised by How Sexy Fans Find Goro Majima
He shouldn't be
Everybody loves a bad boy, right? That certainly seems to be the case within the Yakuza fandom, where antiheroes like Kazuma Kiryu are celebrated for solving problems with their fists. It appears to be news to series producer and director Hiroyuki Sakamoto, however, who was surprised to learn just how popular antagonist Goro Majima...
Preview Has Like a Dragon: Ishin's Journey to the West on PS5, PS4 Been Worth the Wait?
SEGA's historical period drama finally arrives overseas
It’s as ancient as Like a Dragon: Ishin’s backdrop, but there was a time when Yakuza fans had to fight tooth and nail like Kazuma Kiryu for Yakuza games. Back when Yakuza Ishin released as a Japanese exclusive launch title for the PS4 in 2014, PlayStation’s third-party evangelist Gio...
News Yakuza's Addictive Cabaret Club Will Return in Like a Dragon Gaiden on PS5, PS4
Hostess with the mostess
The minigames are a massive part of the appeal in any Yakuza title, and it looks like SEGA will be bringing back a classic for the upcoming Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. Those of you who follow the series closely will know that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is currently holding a competition for models to appear...
News Yakuza Developer RGG Studio Announces RGG Summit Event for Next Week
See you at the summit
RGG Studio, the developer behind the Yakuza and Judgment franchises, has announced a digital event that will take place next week, on Wednesday the 14th September. Given that the studio's Western social media accounts relayed this information, it's fair to assume that the so-called RGG Summit 2022 will be aimed at a global...
News Yakuza: Like a Dragon 2 Reveal Could Be Incoming
RGG Studio teases 'sneak peek'
Our first proper look at Yakuza: Like a Dragon 2, or whatever the previously confirmed sequel turns out to be called, could be incoming. Developer RGG Studio is teasing a "sneak peek trailer" for something, as part of its next RGG Studio TV broadcast, scheduled for the 8th September. The stream is set to begin at 8PM...
News PS Plus Extra, Premium Members Get All Main Yakuza Games Before End of 2022
Some part of August PS Plus Extra drop
In addition to the PS Plus Essential lineup for August 2022, Sony has announced every mainline Yakuza game will be coming to PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium by t
News Very First Look at Yakuza: Like a Dragon Sequel Surfaces
Ichiban has tied his hair back
Japanese gaming publication Famitsu has given us our very first look at Yakuza: Like a Dragon 2 — or whatever the sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon ends up being called. Despite being officially announced back in October of last year, we haven't seen anything of the sequel up until now. All we know for sure is that
News Yakuza Characters Will Be Skins in Rainbow Six: Siege for Some Reason
Play as Kiryu and Sayama
Famous Yakuza faces Kazuma Kiryu and Kaoru Sayama will release as skins for two Operators in Rainbow Six: Siege from Tuesday 24th May 2022. The former will be a skin for Echo while the latter is applied to Hibana, both of which are Japanese. At the end of the announcement trailer embedded above, it's teased that Goro Majima...
News RGG Studio Has 'A Lot' of Unannounced Games in Development Alongside Yakuza 8
Nani
Yakuza and Judgment developer RGG Studio is apparently hard at work on "a lot of unannounced titles", alongside the previously confirmed Yakuza 8. Back in November last year, the Japanese company said it was planning games that have nothing to do with the aforementioned Yakuza or Judgment properties, which makes things very interesting indeed...
News Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown Feels the Heat with Yakuza DLC Pack Next Week
Enter the dragon
Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown is getting a meaty DLC pack on the 8th December. The artfully named 'Yakuza Series Collaboration Pack' includes loads of costumes based on characters from the Yakuza games, but that's not all. It also has Yakuza music tracks (we're headbanging already), loads of new customisation items (over 650,...
News Yakuza: Like a Dragon Sequel Announced and In Development
Take your turn
Just the other day, Yakuza and Judgment developer RGG Studio confirmed the departure of Toshihiro Nagoshi and Daisuke Sato — two SEGA veterans who helped shape the Yakuza series as we know it. The company has been restructured as a result, and the new team has already revealed what it's working on next. We all knew it was coming,...
News Restructured Yakuza Dev Posts Coolest Staff Photo Ever as Series Creator Leaves SEGA
Studio head also exits
The developer that makes the Yakuza and Judgment games, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG Studio for short), has officially reshuffled following the confirmed departure of Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi. His exit was heavily rumoured back in August. The 56-year-old had become something of a legendary figure at SEGA, having...
News Yakuza, Judgment Dev Planning to Have Global Release Dates for All Future Games
Finally
Speaking during the Lost Judgment livestream, RGG Studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi stated that the developer plans on releasing all of its future games worldwide, simultaneously. In the past, we've had to wait months — sometimes even years! — for Yakuza titles to be localised here in the West, so this is great news. Of course, these plans...
News Future Yakuza Games Will Have Turn-Based Combat, Not Action
Action gameplay lives on in Lost Judgment
If the turn-based combat of Yakuza: Like a Dragon discouraged you from checking out that particular entry, then the franchise might not be for you going forward. Creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Kazuki Hosokawa have revealed in a new interview with IGN that future instalments in the Yakuza series will...
News Ghost of Tsushima Success Could Be Key to Yakuza Samurai Games Coming West
Kenzan and Ishin mentioned again
Western Yakuza fans have been hounding SEGA to localise historical spinoff titles Yakuza Kenzan and Yakuza Ishin for years now. The two games repurpose the characters and gameplay of the Yakuza series for a samurai era setting, but they've never been released outside of Japan and other Asian territories. Given that...
News Yakuza: Like a Dragon Cosplay Performance Is Impressively Accurate
I'm walkin' here
Hugely talented cosplayer Enyen has recently been making waves with a very impressive adaptation of Yakuza: Like a Dragon — and we just had to write about it. Enyen's Twitter posts have been going viral over the past few days, with the cosplayer taking to the streets as protagonist Ichiban Kasuga. With the help of fellow...
Soapbox How Yakuza Proves Bigger Open Worlds Aren't Always Better
Size matters
Bigger is not always better – at least, that’s what I try to tell myself every time I hop in the shower. Alright, I’m probably lying to myself: after all, no one orders a single patty from Five Guys, do they? I do believe, however, that in the case of open world games, a smaller, denser environment is preferable to gigantic open...
Poll Have You Played Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and What Review Score Would You Give It?
Enter the dragon
Yakuza: Like a Dragon finally launched on PlayStation 5 earlier this week, following the end of an Xbox exclusivity period on next-gen hardware. The often insane RPG runs better than ever on Sony's new system, and even though we had already played it to death on PS4, we've been enjoying it all over again on PS5. At its best, we...
Reminder Yakuza: Like a Dragon's Legends Costume DLC Is Free, But Only for a Limited Time
It's all in the suit
The 'Legends Costume Set' for Yakuza: Like a Dragon is currently going free on the PlayStation Store, in celebration of the game's launch on PS5. It includes eight different outfits, all of which are based on existing characters in the series. And yes, it lets you dress protagonist Ichiban up as the infamous Goro Majima. If...
News Yakuza: Like a Dragon Free PS5 Upgrade Now Available
Go, go Ichiban
Update 3: Hurrah, the free PS4 to PS5 upgrade for Yakuza: Like a Dragon is finally working for digital buyers. Either find the game on the PlayStation Store or in your library, and you should see the option to upgrade for free on the right of the screen. After you've clicked that, just make sure to download the PS5 version and you're...
Reminder Yakuza: Like a Dragon Beats Down PS5 This Week
That's rad
It’s been a long wait, but the turn-based Yakuza: Like a Dragon will finally make its move on PlayStation 5 this week. The game launched on the PlayStation 4 – and various other platforms – last year, but was delayed on Sony’s next-gen console, presumably due to marketing arrangements. Fortunately, those deals have now elapsed,...
News Yakuza Studio Head Wants Ishin and Kenzan Remakes for the West
But no plans for Dead Souls
Fans of the Yakuza franchise have been calling for ports of historical spin-offs Yakuza Ishin and Yakuza Kenzan for quite some time now following the surge in interest the series has experienced in more recent years. SEGA has said it is unsure if the feudal Japan setting would appeal to the western market
News PS Store Sells Yakuza Series for Peanuts, But You've Got to Be Quick
Get those dancing shoes on
If you're reading this and the Yakuza franchise has always piqued your interest but you've never given it a proper chance, you've got roughly 10 hours to take advantage of an outstanding set of deals. Through until midnight tonight, every single mainline entry in the series has been so heavily discounted that a single 30+...
Round Up Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS4 Reviews Justify a New Direction
That's rad
The PlayStation 4 release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon is just around the corner, which means it's time for reviews to hit and share their verdict on this new, turn-based direction for the franchise. These verdicts cover the current-gen release rather than the PlayStation 5 version, which is scheduled to hit next March. And, from what we can...
News Yakuza: Like a Dragon Pokes Fun at Next-Gen Upgrades
Crustacean AI, anyone?
Listen, we know that this is predominately an Xbox trailer and PS5 players will have to wait until next year to get their free Yakuza: Like a Dragon upgrade, but this is still a fun video. The short but sweet clip starts by highlighting the benefits of next-gen hardware, before listing a bunch of dumb selling points like...
News Yakuza: Like a Dragon's Yokohama Map Is Bloody Huge
Way bigger than Kamurocho
Kamurocho, the infamous red light district that's featured in every mainline Yakuza game to date (and even Judgment), is one of our favourite places in gaming. We love it to bits, but at this point, its gaudy streets burned into our brains. Fortunately, the developer knows how to shake things up just enough, as it...
