Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Kiryu who? It says much for the success of this remarkable reinvention that we don’t miss the Dragon Of Dojima half as much as we expected to.

Developer/publisher Sega (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio)

Format PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series (tested)

Release Out now (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series), March 2, 2021 (PS5)

Some of the credit for that goes to lovably naïve new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, whose journey begins with a very Kiryu-esque sacrifice as he takes the fall for a murder, only to be devastatingly betrayed by his beloved patriarch when his lengthy prison stretch is over. But if Kasuga’s background is similar to his predecessor’s, he’s a totally different animal: his upper lip isn’t nearly so stiff, his heart as clearly visible on his sleeve as the shock of hair on his head. He’s also prone to letting his imagination run away with him, a childhood love of Dragon Quest convincing him he’s the hero in his own RPG. This manifests in a shift to turn-based party combat, where friends and enemies alike are transformed – and so, too, is the series itself.

We’re in Yokohama rather than Kamurocho for most of Like A Dragon’s 30-plus-hour story, though old habits die hard and the series can’t resist one more visit to its old stomping ground. The sprawling district of Ijincho is less densely packed (once you’ve earned a bit of scratch you’ll be getting taxis more often) yet you can’t walk far without alerting a group of thugs. But the numbers are a little more even this time: Kasuga’s cheerful, outgoing personality quickly sees him chum up with homeless former doctor Nanba, ex-cop-with-aconscience Adachi and steely hostess Saeko, all of whom are just as handy in a fight.