Like a Dragon Gaiden Preview

We’ve seen glimpses of Kiryu since his reported death in 2018 — his appearance in Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a perfect passing of the torch for the series, we reacquainted ourselves with the eerily similar looking Ryōma this year in Like A Dragon Ishin!, and the Judgment series has continued Ryu Ga Gotoku’s lineage of brawlers with a new fluency in movement and combat. However, if you know one thing about the Yakuza fanbase, it's that everyone loves Kiryu and Co., so of course SEGA brought him out of his well-earned retirement / hiding to go on another adventure, and explain why he’s showing up in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

We went hands-on with Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name at Gamescom and learned a lot about Kiryu’s return from apparent death. The demo opens with Kiryu, working under the codename Joryu for mysterious Daidoji Faction, being flown away from the mainlands of Japan to a massive tanker at sea. Joryu is brought there by the bubbly Akame, whom he’s met in Sotenbori and seems to know a lot about what has happened to the crumbling Tojo and Omi clans since Kiryu retired.

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Like a Dragon Gaiden Preview

Once aboard this goliath of a vessel, we learn the boat is actually home to an entire secret city. The city has everything an out-of-habit mobster looking to get back into the swing of things could want: bars, a casino, a boutique, a hostess club, and, of course, an colosseum arena where combatants can fight to the death. So far, so Yakuza, but Gaiden begins to feel different as soon as you take control. Kiryu, despite having recently celebrated his 60th birthday, feels lighter on his feet than ever — much closer to the sly detective Yagami than even his 20-year-old self from Yakuza 0.

Kiryu still remembers a thing or two though, shown in his Yakuza fighting style. This is only one of two fighting styles in the game, and feels most akin to Brawler in 0, with a focus on punches and kicks over grabs and using nearby bikes as weapons. However, the other style, Agent, is unlike anything seen in the series before, but feels like the natural evolution of Yagami’s detective gadgets from Judgment making their way into combat. This style is all about crowd control, giving you a high tech lasso, drones, and even rocket boots to clump enemies together, before you unleash something more... explosive. It feels great, but is it Yakuza? No, and that’s the point.

Like a Dragon Gaiden Preview

Despite only having limited time with The Man Who Erased His Name, it feels like the final departure from the Yakuza branding the series has carried for years. Yes, the Tojo and Omi are involved, but the world feels bigger than that. When you enter the colosseum in Osaka Castle you are greeted with all new group battles, where you assemble a team and even play as recurring characters other than Kiryu. These characters run the gamut from Majima, to one of Ichiban’s movie watching sheep, to obscure side characters like to Mr. Masochist and Gary Buster Holmes. We even caught a glimpse of Yagami’s co-worker and friend, Fumiya Suigura, in a recent trailer. It feels like characters and ideas from different parts of the RGG-iverse are all starting to connect and interlink beyond Kiryu’s story.

It also feels like a first step in expanding your in-game expression. After years of wearing the same few iconic outfits, you can now dress Kiryu in a selection of clothes. We made him wear a fedora, a leather skinsuit, and no shoes (don't judge us). In many ways, Gaiden feels like the final stage of the slow evolution of Yakuza into Like A Dragon.

Like a Dragon Gaiden Preview

That said, not everything is gone. As previously mentioned, there are plenty of familiar faces and Gaiden brings back many fan favourite minigames from past titles, including pool, darts, and even 0’s hostess clubs. The latter minigame is almost identical, but this time uses live action FMV of real-life hostesses to flirt with you. While initially hilarious and on-brand, this presentation quickly became slightly off putting with the whole style, use of a ring light that is reflected in hostesses eyes, and a domineering camera culminating in something that, at times, felt pretty skeevy. Hopefully, like 0, once you bond with these women and advance the minigame, they develop into real characters beyond want we saw.

Despite this, its hard not to feel confident in The Man Who Erased His Name. It looks stunning, feels great, pays homage to the franchise, and it's doing countless things completely new. It’s exciting, and we can’t wait to see what's going on and how the series will continue to evolve.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is currently on track for a 9th November release. But will you be partaking in Kiryu's new adventure? Become your own agent in the comments section below.