The leaders of the Ijin Three form a secret pact by maintaining a balance of power over Yokohama that makes it difficult for outside forces, such as the Osaka-based Omi Alliance, to extend their influence into the city.
Yokohama's criminal underworld consists of three interconnected factions known as the Ijin Three: the Chinese-Japanese gang Yokohama Liumang, the Korean-Japanese Geomijul mafia, and the local yakuza organization, the Seiryu Clan. However, Kamurochō and the Osaka district Sotenbori (another area from previous Yakuza games, based on the real-life Dōtonbori district) are featured in the game. Instead, most of the gameplay takes place in the Yokohama district of Isezaki Ijincho, which is based on Yokohama's real-life Isezakichō district. For the first time in the Yakuza series, the focus shifts away from Tokyo and the game's fictional recreation of Kabukichō, called Kamurochō. The game is set in 2019, three years after the events of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Currently, there are two jobs that can only be obtained via paid downloadable content. Players can change any party member's job to better fit the party's playstyle.
A new game plus mode with additional difficulty settings exclusive to this mode was released as paid downloadable content for the Japanese version of the game, but it comes as a standard feature in the Western release.Ĭomplementing the new RPG type combat system are Jobs, a form of character classes similar to other RPGs. Players can still continue exploring the world after completing the game. Players can also call on various party assists to strengthen the party or defeat enemies, with more assists added as the story progresses or through the completion of sub-stories. However, unlike typical turn-based RPGs, characters may use nearby surrounding items such as bicycles to attack enemies (if the items are near the enemies) or may kick surrounding items to their target if there is an interactive item in the environment on the way to the enemy, an aspect that returns from the previous Yakuza games.
Instead of the real-time beat 'em up mechanics of previous games, Yakuza: Like a Dragon features a real-time turn-based RPG (which was the result of an April Fools joke back in 2019 that was so well received that they retooled the combat from its former real-time beat 'em up mechanics) type combat, with a four-person battle team. A new side-activity introduced in this game is Dragon Kart, which is similar to other kart racing games in terms of its gameplay.Ī major departure from previous Yakuza games is the battle system. Similar to previous games in the Yakuza series, side-quests (known as sub-stories in-game) can be taken up by the player to gain additional rewards and players are also able to enjoy the various side activities around the map such as karaoke. Here, Adachi fights an enemy while using the Enforcer Job. Like a Dragon received positive reviews from both players and critics who enjoyed the narrative, characters, gameplay, unique take on the JRPG sub-genre, and presentation.Ī turn-based fight in the game. The game offers bilingual (Japanese and English) audio to the player. After being imprisoned for 18 years only to then be betrayed by his former boss, Ichiban goes on a personal quest to become a hero and uncover the reason for his betrayal alongside other playable characters. In contrast to previous Yakuza games that focused on the life of Kazuma Kiryu, a man trying to lead a normal life following his retirement from the Tojo Clan, this game instead introduces a new protagonist named Ichiban Kasuga.
A version with the subtitle International was released in Japan, East and Southeast Asia on February 25, 2021, for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Windows, and on March 2, 2021, for the PlayStation 5. Like A Dragon was released in several countries outside of the Asian region on November 10, 2020, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The first mainline title in the Yakuza franchise developed as a turn-based RPG, it was released in Japan and Asia for PlayStation 4 on January 16, 2020. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a role-playing video game (RPG) developed and published by Sega.