The Ryu Ga Gotoku Summit was everything we wanted and then some. Here is everything you need to know about Like a Dragon moving forward!
The End of Yakuza
Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon, released here in the west, was very much the end of an era for Sega’s hit franchise. After 30 years with the company, the series director and producer Toshihiro Nagoshi who initially pitched the series as a last-ditch effort to Sega in the 2000s left the company. And what was first a small series with a dedicated fanbase has now blossomed into a full-on global phenomenon. He left the director spot to Masayoshi Yokoyama who had produced and written these titles since their inception.
Now in the west, the series had shed the name Yakuza and marches into the new generation under the same name as the Japanese release: Like A Dragon. Not only are there 3 new titles to look forward to, but there is also the release of the Judgement spin-off series for the PC. But here is everything you’ve missed from the RGG Summit!
Like A Dragon: Ishin!
Yesterday at the PlayStation State of Play, we got a glimpse at Like A Dragon: Ishin! A remake of the 2014 spin-off that had never seen an official western release. Similarly to Kezan! Which released in 2008, the team at RGG studio’s liked to do spin-off titles to experiment with new technologies before integrating them into the main series. Both those spin-offs are deeply ingrained into Japanese history and back then no one thought there was no interest in such a title.
But with the success of Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima, we know to be different now. So what can you expect from Like A Dragon: Ishin!? Well, Ishin is Japanese for ‘Restoration’ and the title is set at the dawn of the Meiji Restoration period which led to Japan opening its borders to the west and embracing industrialization and western ideas. So how does Like A Dragon fit into all of this? Series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu is cast as Sakamoto Ryōma in a drama set in the year 1866 with the antics you should by now expect from the Like A Dragon series.
The spin-off is like a stage play of historical events, acted out by the cast of the Like A Dragon franchise. So you’ll see some very familiar faces cast in entirely different roles. A considerable focus was the return of the Yakuza 0 boss trio played by Japanese actors Hitoshi Ozawa (Daisuku Kuze), Riki Takeuchi (Hiroki Awano), and Hideo Nakano (Keiji Shibusawa). And you can expect many more faces from the Like A Dragon franchise to pop up in this Unreal Engine 4 Remake.
Yes, unlike the Kiwami editions of Yakuza 1 and 2, this is a full-blown from-the-ground-up remake with newly recorded voice acting and a rewritten script of the original Ishin! And is gonna be released on February 22, 2023, exactly eight years after its initial release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Oh, and there is a new version of the Yakuza 4 theme song ‘For Faith’. But this is just the start!
Like A Dragon 8
We’ve known that Like A Dragon 8 has been in the works for quite some time. And while the release is still off another year, we can expect to step in the shoes of new franchise mainstay Kasuga Ichiban and his band of lovable misfits in 2024. But how is that on his side? Kiryu the old protagonist just can’t let things go and is once more dragged into the underworld of Japanese society.
Yakuza 7: Like A Dragon marked a shift for the entire series. Not only did it jump genres from an action-adventure to a JRPG featuring kart racing, but also the narrative saw a change to focus on a more extensive cast of characters. It also marked the end of the two large factions that dominated the story of the Yakuza games and well, all the characters ceased to be Yakuza. As of writing, we have no idea what Like A Dragon 8 will look like from a story perspective but we still have a few details.
The game will feature two protagonists. Not only with Kiryu returns to take his place as a protagonist, slightly older and now with messy gray hair but he will team up with the enigmatic Ichiban to step into the future. The RPG systems from the last entry will return, and Ichiban and Kiryu will have their party to support them throughout their journey. Those parties will be comprised of characters we’ve already met, but also some newcomers. The game is expected to release in 2024 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
Like a Dragon Gaiden is what you could consider a short story set between the events of Yakuza 6, Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon, and Like A Dragon 8. I can see now how the change of names can be a little confusing so I’ll refer to those titles by their Japanese names instead to add even more confusion. After the events of the sixth game, Kazuma Kiryu retired from the life of the series protagonist by also letting go of the one thing that kept him going, his family. Figuring that if he left his former life behind, his friends and family could finally live in peace.
For many fans that ending was controversial but this also seemed to reflect the feelings of former series director Nagoshi. After striking a deal with shady figures, Kiryu became a monk and took on a new name. But as always, trouble keeps following him leading to the events that saw him show up in the last game. Like A Dragon Gaiden is supposed to be a reintroduction for Kiryu’s character for players who have never been exposed to him but also reintegrate him into the story after sitting on the bench for a while.
You can see Like a Dragon Gaiden as a kind standalone DLC to Yakuza 7: Like A Dragon. It’ll be about half the size of your regular Like A Dragon title but feature everything you expect from the franchise. It will also be an action adventure, which means players will finally get a chance to kick ass as the Dragon of Dojima. Fans’ opinion on bringing back Kiryu is mixed after Ichiban proved himself more than worthy of being the protagonist in his own right. However, there is still much more to explore about the Dragon of Dojima as his character was never really the focus of previous titles until Yakuza 6.
We’re excited to see where this will lead. Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name releases sometime in 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Judgment and Lost Judgment are coming to Steam!
Talk about another surprise, soon after the Live stream had wrapped, Sega casually dropped another trailer. That’s right, Judgement’s enhanced edition and the recently released Lost Judgment are coming to Steam. When? Today! Right now you can grab Judgment for 39,99$ USD and Lost Judgment for 59,99$ USD. If you buy both games in the Judgment Collection you get the DLC for Lost Judgment ‘The Kaito Files’ for free.
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