A little over a year ago, my wife and I finished playing persona 5 Royal and were eager to find another big rpg to play together. We went to the store and this bold, yellow game case covered in wild imagery sat on the shelf. It was yakuza like a dragon. This would be our first time entering the like a dragon franchise and it certainly wasn’t the last. Since then, we’ve played like a dragon 7, 0, Kiwami, Ishin and the spin offs Judgement and Lost Judgement. All of the games fabulous and, importantly, all games have independent enough narratives that it doesn’t really matter where you choose to get on board.
If you like big, narrative games, chaotic characters, eclectic and deep gameplay, and you don’t shy away from some intense tonal whiplash, DO NOT sleep on this franchise any longer.
Where I live, most of the games are on PlayStation plus, so you don’t have to go out of your way to buy them if you’re a subscriber. Otherwise they’re on frequent sale.
I’ve played all the Yakuza games and while I didn’t mind the frantic combat, Like a Dragon is just so much more approachable for me with its turn-based combat.
It’s funny, Final Fantasy is getting more like classic Yakuza in its combat and Like a Dragon more like classic Final Fantasy. It actually gives me hope we’ll one day see a return to form for FF as Like a Dragon proves you can do turn-based in a very engaging way.
However, Yakuza had its charm and mini-games to push me through FFXVI… not so much.
I picked up Like a Dragon on a whim. I showed my wife 2 side-missions and she’s almost done with Yakuza 0 herself. They remind me of games from back when games were fun, without the P2W/battlepass bullshit.
I was not the target audience because I don’t care about story. I like push button and things happen. I usually have YouTube or something else on my other screen. This game had me pausing the other content to pay attention. Such a great game that it made me rethink my current strategy. I skipped cut scenes in Witcher 3. I’d strongly recommend it to people who want to live a story in a game.
fr, fr. It’s such a treat too, there is no MTX, no modern gaming BS, just pure unadulterated game, with a great story, impressive visuals and the most handsome man in gaming - Kiryu Kazuma.
Yakuza 7 was my first Yakuza game, and it’s one of my Top 10 favorite games of all time (I’m 45, so that’s plenty of time).
Currently working my way up from Yakuza 0 now. I wish the audio was in English, but the games are still fun.
I have this game on my account thanks to PS Plus and I haven’t started it, seems that it is kinda like a spinoff so you can play it without knowing anything about the other games?
That’s right! You don’t need to know anything else to judgment.
I had the same experience with it being my first Yakuza game. Really looking forward to what they have in store for 8.
Yeah dude! Like a Dragon is $15 USD on Steam right now. I couldn’t say no, even though I haven’t finished Yakuza 0 yet.
I’ve heard what you’ve said so many times, that the games are just awesome. I’ve even heard a rumor that some actual Yakuza like them haha
I’m happy for you and it’s obvious that many people like these games but for me (and I know many others who agree) the Yakuza games are awful. I could never get into the “humour”, the gameplay, the slow cut scenes, the stereotypical characters, the way people interact. Felt exactly the same with Persona. Maybe it’s a cultural thing. It all felt comparable to a very VERY low budget movie.
But as I said, great for you.
