Yakuza: Like A Dragon

2024-10-06
In 2017 I joined the many unwashed masses who played Yakuza 0 and were baptized in its sacred visage. In one fell swoop I went from thinking Yakuza was a series of mid-ass PS2 games to something that was amazing, something that I loved. I then followed up by playing Kiwami 1 in 2018 which made me want to Essence of Stabbing my eyes out and all the wind in my sails to play the whole series died. But then in 2019, a ray of light from the heavens: the April Fools "gag" of RGG showing the next Yakuza game with turn based combat. "I must return", I thought. And I did. I finished Kiwami 1 in 2022 and in the year of our lord Kiryu-san 2024 I played Yakuza 2 through 6 (plus Judgment). But was the 100 hours I put in to clear all the Dojima no Ryu reference material worth it? By god it was because Yakuza: LAD is phenomenal.

I could wax rhapsodic about so many things that have already been penned down. To keep it brief then know that this is up there as an overall Greatest Hits of Yakuza. Yes, Ichiban is a great new protagonist, a big-hearted goofball supreme. Absolutely, the cast of characters and story here is one of the best, up there with Yakuza 0 and Judgment. The focus on the downtrodden of society in this entry is charming, funny, and heart-warming. The minigames, new and old are delightful (I cackled when Can Quest showed up).

What sets it apart then? Well if you're playing them in order obviously the switch to turn based combat is the big one. Which weirdly was the main draw for me to really want to play this game but at the end is the main thing I have to critique the game for. Yes it's incredibly funny that you have a homeless party member that throws seeds at enemies to have them attacked by pigeons...the first couple of times. But given the sheer onslaught of battles, the laughs dry up and you're left with a pretty mediocre JRPG system. Sure you got a bunch of classes and a bunch of abilities. Oh, but most of the abilities are trash and you're better off just using the best AOE move of one of your party members over and over and over? Ok... But hey, that's legitimately my only real gripe for the game. Well, that and maybe that platinuming the game was a big ol' grindy slog but, hey, who does that anyway?

Do you need to play all the previous games to enjoy this one? Absolutely not. I'm confident it stands up wonderfully on its own. But like I said, was it worth it for me to? Fucking A, kyodai, it was. There was one particular moment in the game where I said "No fucking way" out loud (causing my partner to look at me like a man man) and it stands as one of my favorite moments from any media ever. Jump on in and maybe you'll catch up in time to be a pirate in Hawaii. (What an insane and wonderful series.)