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 appreciate OPs opinion but I disagree with it. I played Like a Dragon because the game and the whole series comes so highly recommended. Man oh man is it not for me. The characters are cartoonishly one dimensional, the plot has the depth of a childrens anime and the so called humour is cringeworthyly bad. I had to stop after 3-4 hours. I already got told I need to power through get to the meat of the game to appreciate it. I just don’t have the time or the will to suffer for hours in the hopes that it gets better.
Same. I’m not a fan of the Jrpg genre typically but I tried it because it was included on PS plus for a while and had stellar reviews. On top of all your very valid complaints that I agree with, the pacing is just abysmal. At one point you literally see a long cut scene, do nothing but walk down a street, see another one. Then go down another street and turn left and the you guessed it, cut scene that goes into a SECOND cutscene.
I get that people like it/that style of game, and I’m happy they enjoy them but it’s definitely not for me.
Dont generalize the whole series based on 7, its the only JRPG in the series for now, and if you dont like it just try 0. I love the series but 7 is my least favorite because its turn based.
I love turn-based, it’s my favourite fight mechanic. Like I mentioned, it’s the childish over the top slapstick story I have an issue with. Are the other entries more mature?
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.
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.
