Republished on Wednesday twenty seventh July 2022: We’re bringing this evaluation again from the archives following the announcement of August’s PlayStation Plus lineup. The unique textual content follows.
The place can we even begin with Yakuza: Like a Dragon? SEGA’s sequence has at all times been eccentric, however this newest instalment takes issues to an entire new stage. In a phrase, it is nuts — from starting to finish. In case you have not heard, Like a Dragon goes full role-playing sport: stats, gear, loot, celebration members, and sure, even flip based mostly battles. Whereas previous Yakuza video games have had their justifiable share of RPG programs and mechanics — you possibly can just about categorise them as ‘motion RPGs’ — this nonetheless seems like a dramatic shift in each construction and id. Like a Dragon is a borderline surreal expertise — particularly should you’re acquainted with the franchise.
After slumming it with Kazuma Kiryu and the boys for eight entire mainline video games, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio clearly thought that it was time to shake issues up. A completely new solid, a brand new story, a brand new setting — it is a contemporary begin, however the necessary factor is that at its core, it nonetheless seems like a Yakuza title. Wonderful storytelling and characters elevate the expertise as at all times, whereas elective actions and absurd facet quests add Yakuza’s trademark flavour.
The legacy of earlier protagonist Kazuma Kiryu will be overwhelming. The Dragon of Dojima has had three console generations to determine himself, and so changing him was by no means going to be straightforward. However with new lead Ichiban Kasuga, RGG Studio has hit a homerun with its first swing. In some ways, Ichiban is the other of Kiryu — no less than when it comes to persona. He is rash, emotional, and a little bit of a dumbass. He is susceptible to following his instincts and throwing warning to the wind, however he is loyal and at all times true to himself.
Ichiban makes for a genuinely endearing protagonist. He is an ex-yakuza who’s at all times struggled to make one thing of his life. And on the ripe age of 41 following on from the sport’s prolonged prologue, Ichiban decides that the time has come to comply with his childhood dream of being a hero. No, actually. Like a Dragon revolves round the truth that Ichiban appears to be like at life prefer it’s an RPG. He spent his childhood enjoying nothing however Dragon Quest — Sq. Enix’s timeless fantasy RPG sequence — and to be able to ‘stage up’, he has to get out into the world and… Get a job.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is actually a conventional, flip based mostly Japanese RPG, nevertheless it’s set in modern-day Yokohama — a bustling metropolis not too far south of Tokyo. Rolling countryside and idyllic cities are changed with concrete streets and workplace buildings. The hero’s holy sword is changed with a restricted version baseball bat. As an alternative of casting magic, Ichiban’s homeless buddy pulls out a lighter and spews alcohol throughout the open flame. Once more, Ichiban sees life as an old-fashioned RPG — even the thugs and gangsters that problem our heroes rework into red-eyed monster folks at any time when fight begins. It is ridiculousness performed with a straight face, and it really works shockingly nicely.
In his quest to search out work, Ichiban and his buddies naturally grow to be embroiled in occasions that can form the way forward for Yokohama. In true Yakuza vogue, we’re steadily launched to a menagerie of ne’er-do-wells, nevertheless it’s Ichiban’s accomplices that steal the present. Along with our hero, his allies are a few of the finest characters to ever grace SEGA’s sequence. The place Kiryu was a principally solitary protagonist, Ichiban has an entire celebration of individuals following him round, and so they all bounce off each other to wonderful impact.
Maybe the most effective factor about Ichiban and his group is that none of them are what you’d usually anticipate from a conventional RPG celebration. Each homeless ex-nurse Nanba and haggard ex-detective Adachi are greying males over 40, but right here they’re cruising with Kasuga because the gang clobbers their approach throughout the town. It is by some means each weird and mundane in equal measure — nevertheless it makes for an enchanting 60-hour journey.
At its finest, Like a Dragon is effortlessly engrossing. Its story has all the twists and turns that we have come to anticipate of the franchise, nevertheless it’s a disgrace that the in-game cutscenes can look so janky. Whereas the writing and prime notch characters are sufficient to hold the expertise, it is nonetheless jarring to leap from beautifully animated, pre-rendered scenes to static in-game fashions and textual content containers. This hit or miss high quality has been part of Yakuza for so long as we are able to keep in mind, however in Like a Dragon, the place there are sometimes so many characters to speak to and a lot plot to get by means of, the dialogue system is de facto displaying its age.
Like a Dragon additionally takes an extended, very long time to get going. Once more, nothing new for Yakuza, however with out the moment launch of action-based fight — which was at all times the proper technique to bookend an extended cutscene in previous Yakuza titles — it could possibly really feel such as you’re watching a film fairly than enjoying a online game. A really wordy film, at that.
Do not get the mistaken concept, although. Like a Dragon’s flip based mostly fight is basically numerous enjoyable, nevertheless it by no means fairly offers that very same thrill. That is very true throughout the opening ten hours or so, when Ichiban and his crew barely have any skills to name upon in battle. Very like Dragon Quest, fight solely hits its stride afterward, as you collect extra celebration members and acquire entry to every kind of particular strikes. Till then, you are simply going from combat to combat choosing the identical primary instructions time and again. The preliminary lack of problem and tactical considering will be off-putting — particularly when your time spent outdoors of battle is consumed by longwinded cutscenes.
There are positively some pacing issues at play right here, however keep on with the sport lengthy sufficient and you will be rewarded in your endurance. Because the story progresses, an increasing number of of the town opens as much as you, and Yokohama’s streets are filled with alternative. Little by little, you are given entry to an unlimited internet of interconnected programs, all of which profit Ichiban and the celebration someplace down the road. For instance, preventing alongside your allies or shopping for them lunch will make them friendlier in the direction of Ichiban, and in time, they’re going to divulge heart’s contents to him, resulting in a few of the most touching scenes within the sport. However past the drama, you additionally acquire higher battle synergy. Shut buddies earn extra expertise, and so they make a behavior of following up on enemies who’ve been left weak by a earlier assault.
What’s extra, in a really Persona-esque twist, Ichiban has a lot of persona traits — together with intelligence, charisma, and kindness — that improve as you strive your hand at minigames and facet quests. A extra charming Ichiban, for example, would possibly have the ability to easy discuss his approach into an underground playing den, whereas growing Ichiban’s ardour may make him higher at buffing his teammates throughout fight. It will get to a degree the place all the pieces that you just do counts in the direction of the larger, total purpose of creating your celebration stronger, and it is tremendous satisfying to see all of it click on into place.
The identical is true of fight itself. There are some powerful battles to be discovered within the sport’s later chapters, however overcoming your enemies with exact teamwork is strictly what being a hero is all about. It is actually rewarding to see your celebration blossom into an elite crew of fighters, and the truth that you are given a lot freedom in constructing your splendid crew solely provides to the sense of satisfaction. Certainly, there’s an in-depth job system that allows you to change a personality’s function fully. One minute Ichiban’s a tough and prepared bare-fisted brawler. The following, he is a musician, battering lowlifes together with his guitar and enjoying songs to encourage his allies. There’s hours of enjoyment available in mixing and matching your squad.
Conclusion
It takes some time to essentially get going, however as soon as issues lastly kick into gear, Yakuza: Like a Dragon blossoms into one of the vital distinctive and engrossing RPGs on PS4. At its core, that is nonetheless the Yakuza that we all know and love, with stunning story beats and implausible characters, however in embracing the construction of an old-fashioned RPG, it efficiently branches the sequence off in an entire new course. Equal components refreshing and acquainted, it is a loopy and artistic sport that is aware of how one can have enjoyable, as Ichiban Kasuga proves himself a worthy successor to the one and solely uncle Kaz.
