07 November 2023 , 18:00
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Like a Dragon Gaiden is a tightly packed thriller that feels just as important and engaging as any of the series’ numbered entries. It’s far from some missable spinoff, instead feeling like a proper – albeit bite-size – entry in the series.
: The Man Who Erased His Name is a departure from the series’ standard formula; while we’ve had spinoffs before – like the Judgment games, the samurai-era duo of Kenzan and Ishin, and the bizarre Yakuza: Dead Souls – Sega’s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has tended to keep the canon storyline to the numbered entries in the series. Until now.
The last mainline entry – 2020’s – saw the spotlight swing from series stalwart Kazuma Kiryu to new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga. Kiryu faked his death at the end of the previous game, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, going into hiding with the help of the Daidoji faction to escape the Yakuza life.
But the Dragon of Dojima wasn’t gone for long, making a return in the final hours of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. If you’re wondering what Kiryu was up to during his hiatus, that's where Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name comes into play, setting the stage for his role in the upcoming which launches early next year.
The Man Who Erased His Name
While the Daidoji faction may have secured Kiryu a way out of the Underworld, his troubles are far from over. The beginning of this story opens with Kiryu stuck in a purgatory of isolation; nothing more than a tool to be used for the Daidoji’s endless list of illicit chores Being the man who erased his name, he’s since adopted the moniker of Joryu, and spends his days loitering around a temple until the faction needs him for a mission. Inevitably, the drudgery gives way to a dramatic plot when the Osaka-based Yakuza group – The Omi Alliance – get involved. This sets off the chain of events leading up to Tojo and Omi’s joint dissolution at the finale of Yakuza: Like a Dragon and the meeting with Ichiban Kasuga.
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My biggest concern when this game was announced was that it’d be a filler tale, barely fleshing out Kiryu’s activities while he was supposedly dead. But despite being on the comparatively smaller scale of games, this isn’t some half-assed spinoff. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name pulls no punches, and feels equally as important as any other chapter; especially going forward into Infinite Wealth.
The more condensed story format of what is essentially Like a Dragon 7.5 allows it to better focus on a smaller cast of core characters; all of whom feel just as fleshed out as any of the other beloved characters we’ve gotten to know over the years. For example, info-broker Akame works as a good source of comic relief against Kiryu’s stoic nature, while Watase Family Lieutenant Shishido’s ruthless personality is one of the major highlights of the story – other than Kiryu himself of course.
A lot of the storyline takes place on the floating vessel known as ‘The Castle’ – a huge cargo tanker that’s been converted into an exclusive resort for Yakuza members, and is home to some of the underworld's high rollers. This is where a large portion of the series’ staple side content resides, like gambling, cabaret clubs, and the coliseum fight pit. The coliseum looks a bit different this time around, featuring massive multi-man battles as you build a team of freaks to join the Joryu Clan. The game’s main hub of the town of Sotenbori also features some other classic Yakuza side-modes, like karaoke, mahjong (which I still don’t know how to play) and the return of the scalextric-style minigame, Pocket Circuit.
While still a good source of fun outside of the main quest, the side content is a bit pared back which is to be expected given that the game is on the shorter side. This is obviously a running theme, and so don’t expect the side stories to be as elaborate or as long as a mainline entry either. And being a spinoff, there aren't as many minigames as usual either. That isn't to say what's in here is disappointing, but just don't expect anything as elaborate as the cabaret management from Yakuza 0, or the business sim from Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
On the flipside, when it comes to combat, there’s a lot here to sink your teeth into. Yakuza 0 introduced multiple fighting styles for Kiryu, which was eventually reduced to a single style for Yakuza 6. But thanks to Kiryu’s new Daidoji affiliation, multiple fighting styles have returned to the series, with the new Agent style being Kiryu’s second style this time around.
The classic brawling of the Dragon of Dojima style returns, and still excels in those one-on-one encounters. Meanwhile, Agent is a style that mixes more focused attacks with four handy gadgets, and excels in crowd control. You’re given drones which attack your enemies, an explosive cigarette, rocket boots, and the spider wire which allows you to channel your inner Spider-Man and swing enemies around on a tether.
In spite of the options available, I found that the time it takes to throw out the drones or the explosives makes it nearly impossible to combo into; the spider wire is the only gadget that I really made use of during my time with the game. But Like a Dragon’s combat is as good as it’s ever been, and Agent does bring a new spin on the combat despite its downsides
Like a Dragon
I love Kiryu, but truth be told, I was apprehensive about his comeback. His passing the torch moment in Yakuza: Like a Dragon was the perfect way to send off the character. But after rolling credits, I’m eager to see where Kiryu’s story takes him in Infinite Wealth – although given that we know he ends up with cancer, it’s bound to be an emotional return.
That being said, there are a few missed opportunities in terms of events that happened in the last game that would’ve been interesting to see from Kiryu’s perspective; but their absence doesn’t ruin things by any means. If anything, spending time lingering on those instances could’ve hurt the game’s tight pacing.
My only real complaint is that the things slow down around halfway through the game, with the storyline pushing you towards mandatory side quests that act as a way to prepare you for the main objectives. I get the need to level up or introduce players to specific modes, but it very much felt like I was waiting around to get back into the action again.
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Aside from some slow points in the storyline, and less side-content than usual, Like a Dragon Gaiden is as good as any mainline entry in the series. It also does a fantastic job at setting up the upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and I’m even more excited to play it than I was prior to catching up with Kiryu.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name goes toe-to-toe with the likes of Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 2. It also serves its main purpose and then some: to bring Kiryu back into the fold and get you excited for what could be his final ride in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.