LIKE A DRAGON QUEST
Yakuza is back with its eighth major installment, introducing a new hero in Kasuga Ichiban — a low-ranking yakuza in a low-ranking family. This is not only the beginning of a new saga, but also the first mainline Yakuza entry built for the new console generation, and my own first full PlayStation 5 playthrough. It is also the first since the PS2 era to feature optional English voice acting.
Most immediately noticeable, however, is the technical leap. The framerate is silky smooth, loading screens are practically nonexistent, and for the first time in the series I never have to pause long enough to read the same tired gameplay tips over and over again. What a time to be alive.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a bold reinvention of the series. Ichiban is nothing like his predecessor Kazuma Kiryu. He is loud, emotional, endlessly empathetic, and occasionally capable of surprising thoughtfulness. He is also vain, impulsive, and sports a hairstyle that looks like he recently kissed a faulty electrical outlet. Series veterans might describe him as an electrifying blend of Goro Majima’s personality and Kiryu’s moral compass — and that comparison is not far off.
The prologue and early chapters are mesmerizing. Through a chain of unfortunate events, Ichiban becomes the fall guy for a powerful yakuza superior and willingly accepts an 18-year prison sentence. When he is finally released, he expects loyalty, recognition, and a place to return to. Instead, he is met with betrayal so complete it leaves him broken, homeless, and bleeding on the streets of Yokohama.
He survives thanks to Nanba, a former nurse living in a homeless camp beneath the city, and the two form an unlikely friendship. From there, the story slowly expands outward, introducing more companions and gradually forming the strongest ensemble cast yet in the series.
The lion’s share of the game takes place in Yokohama — the largest district the series has ever featured. Neighborhoods like Koreatown, Chinatown, and the red-light districts are woven into a fragile power balance between criminal organizations, political interests, and those living at the bottom of the social ladder.
Longtime staples like karaoke, gambling, baseball, mahjong, and SEGA arcade cabinets return, but the real stars are the new additions. A full-fledged business management simulator, an absurd go-kart racing mode, and a genuinely hilarious cinema mini-game — where staying awake through terrible films becomes a reflex challenge — are among the best side activities the franchise has ever offered.
Tonally, the game does what Yakuza does best: balancing sincerity with absurdity. The main story is surprisingly political, openly engaging with class divides, homelessness, exploitation, and systemic corruption. In previous entries this awareness simmered beneath the surface; here it is front and center.
This is Ichiban’s origin story, and one of the series’ strongest. The first half in particular is exceptional. Though episodic in structure, the chapters are unified by theme: loss, dignity, loyalty, and the slow rebuilding of a life from nothing.
Ichiban grew up obsessed with Dragon Quest, and he interprets his own life through the lens of a role-playing game. Problems are quests, progress is measurable, and growth is quantified in levels and experience points. Naturally, this worldview manifests mechanically: Yakuza abandons its trademark brawler combat in favor of turn-based JRPG battles.
Surprisingly, it works.
Enemies are reimagined through Ichiban’s imagination — drunk thugs become “Beerserkers,” garbage dwellers turn into grotesque caricatures, and flamboyant street punks gain absurd elemental abilities. Combat remains turn-based, but retains energy through positioning, timing prompts, and environmental interactions. Characters move dynamically across the battlefield, splash damage matters, and assists from summoned NPCs add personality to fights.
At least initially, these encounters feel less intrusive than the old random brawls. The system is approachable, flexible, and often genuinely fun.
Unfortunately, the game stumbles hard in its final stretch.
Several late-game boss fights introduce severe difficulty spikes that are wildly out of sync with the preceding content. After long story sequences and enemy gauntlets that barely challenge you, the game suddenly demands extensive level grinding. If your party is underleveled, you simply will not win.
The solution is to disengage from the story and grind — either in repetitive sewer dungeons or a bare-bones battle arena. Neither is particularly engaging. Equipment upgrades can help, but crafting materials are inconveniently scattered across the city, turning preparation into busywork.
This is the one moment where Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s inexperience with JRPG pacing becomes painfully obvious. For the first time since Yakuza: Kiwami and its infamous “Majima Everywhere!” interruptions, I completely ran out of steam.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. By this point, I had already exhausted most of the side content. Character bond stories, which are excellent and deeply human, had already reached their conclusions. Substories — traditionally used to humanize Kiryu by exposing his vulnerabilities and oddities — feel less essential here, since Ichiban’s emotional openness is already baked into the main narrative.
Clocking in at nearly 92 hours, this became my longest Yakuza playthrough to date. I started utterly enchanted — by the banter, the politics, the party dynamics, and the job system’s possibilities. But the late-game friction left a sour aftertaste.
In theory, Like a Dragon is the most replayable game in the series. In practice, I will always dread that difficulty spike.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon feels like walking down a brand-new boulevard in an old hometown. The mood is familiar, but new storefronts calls for attention. Some ideas are brilliant. Others still need refinement. The writing staff rises to the occasion, the new hardware makes everything smoother, and Ichiban proves himself a worthy successor to Kiryu.
He may seem off-putting at first, but his sincerity drills straight through any lingering doubts. Turning Yakuza into something like a Dragon Quest was a risk — and against all odds, it was a natural fit.
This is not a flawless reinvention. But it is a necessary one. And despite my frustrations, I’m glad I walked this new road — even if I stumbled near the end.
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