Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: 9th November 2023
Platforms: PS4, PS4, Xbox One Xbox Series S | X, Windows
Reviewed on: PS5
Price: £44.99
When Like A Dragon Gaiden (I will refer to it as “Gaiden” for the rest of this review) was announced last year I was pleasantly surprised. All the noises coming from Sega after Yakuza 7 / Like A Dragon was that the switch to turn based combat was staying. But what’s this, a title with the traditional brawling combat? Excellent! Then almost immediately I started to have tiny seeds of doubt in my head…
Before I plunge into the game, a wee bit of context for anyone unfamiliar / new to the series. The original Yakuza games told the story of Kiryu Kazuma, an ex-yakuza gang member who attempted to live a peaceful civilian life and look after an adopted family of young kids. He of course got dragged back into skulduggery and regularly involved with various adventures where he had a long standing habit of solving his problems with his fists.
Yakuza 6 wrapped up the Kiryu arc in a fitting and highly satisfying faction and it seemed like it would be the last we would see of our lovable hero. By this time though Yakuza had become an incredibly successful franchise for Sega so it was inevitable they would continue the series in some form.
The next game in the series was duly rumoured, confirmed and eventually released. We had a new protagonist, Kasuga Ichiban. Not only that but we had a new combat style – the game pivoted from its tried and tested brawling style to a JRPG esque turn based system.
(A quick note on the naming convention of the games. Internationally the games were known as the Yakuza series whereas in Japan they have always been known as Ryu Ga Gotoku which roughly translates as “like a dragon”. After Ryu Ga Gotoku 6 the next game was released as Ryu Ga Gotoku 7 in Japan. However for its international release Sega decided to release it as Yakuza: Like A Dragon (LAD), presumably to emphasise the starting afresh of the series with a new hero and combat style.
This has led in my eyes to Sega getting themselves into a bit of a fankle with their names. In Japan they will continue on with the numbered series so Ryu Ga Gotoku 8 will release early next year. For the international release they have gone for the somewhat quirkier Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. To further muddy the waters, this game, Gaiden, is releasing in Japan as Ryu Ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden!
Also, if for no other reason than it is shorter and easier to type than Like A Dragon, I will continue to use the traditional Yakuza moniker in this review.)
To return to Yakuza LAD, for me personally the change in combat style was a terrible move. I’ve never been a fan of turn based skirmishes, in fact as far as I am concerned they can fuck off all the way into the sea. LAD took a lot of plaudits for this “brave” shift but for me it was absolutely gutting. My all time favourite game series had adopted my most detested gameplay mechanic. When it came out I flat out refused to even countenance playing the game, laterally only softening when it came to PS+. I kind of enjoyed it in places despite the new combat and put a reasonable number of hours into it – but it never resonated. I never finished it and will never go back. The fact my PS4 save doesn’t carry over to PS5 certainly doesn’t help here.
Which brings us to Gaiden, the latest in the franchise, albeit a spin off rather than a mainline entry. In fact the word “gaiden” literally means side story. The two Japanese characters that comprise the word 外伝 are gai / 外 – outside and den / 伝 – legend.
So, as I’ve said, I was pleased to hear that RGG Studio hadn’t completely abandoned the traditional gameplay but I did have a couple of nagging doubts. Gaiden is set after Y6 and before LAD so (despite the Japanese name) effectively Yakuza 6.5. Despite the fact that I loved the character Kiryu we had spent so much time with over the years, I felt Sega had done a great job of closing off his story. Would bringing him back work? Would it diminish his legacy from the earlier games?
The other major question I had about the game was that it would be the first new Yakuza game since Toshiro Nagoshi left Sega to set up his own studio. Nagoshi had been the creative force driving the series since its inception – he quite literally created the game. How would the first brand new game in the series fare without its father? Would it be like a James Bond film – an established formula in which the specific director of a particular entry to the series doesn’t matter too much? Masayoshi Yokoyama who had been a writer and producer for the series took over as head of RGG Studio so in theory it shouldn’t have too much impact but I was slightly apprehensive.
Which also led me to another reservation. How would Gaiden contribute to the series? Would it be a genuinely valuable new entry or would it be formulaic lip service to its roots to placate fans not enamoured with the switch to turn based? Somewhere in between? The description of the game on its PSN Store page certainly didn’t sound like anything that plenty of Yakuza games hadn’t already done…
OK, let’s get stuck into it then.
First up, Gaiden has totally confirmed my biggest concern – bringing Kiryu back. I absolutely disagree with this narrative decision. Yakuza 6 tied up his story so well, so satisfyingly, so fittingly, I feel resurrecting him cheapens and undermines his legacy. The story of Gaiden is (for me as a long time Yakuza veteran anyway) definitely its weakest aspect. I don’t find the way his return is explained to be convincing at all and plenty of the storyline didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
I read the Eurogamer review of Gaiden and they went as far as to question why the game exists at all. While I feel this is a wee bit harsh I generally subscribe to this sentiment. Having said all that though, some of the writing is really strong. The ending in particular is incredibly emotional and hits like a tonne of bricks.
So, if the story is less than compelling and the contrived continuation of Kiryu as the major protagonist is unsatisfying, the same can definitely not be said of the gameplay. It is a return to its former Yakuza glory!
In addition to a fairly standard fighting style called, fittingly enough, Yakuza we have a new one – Agent. For anyone who has played 0 or Kiwami, this is close to the Rush style in those games – fast but not especially powerful. However, in Gaiden Kiryu gains also access to a small selection of gadgets he can employ during battles. At first I thought these were quite gimmicky but they steadily grew on me, especially as I levelled up the Agent style attributes and they became more powerful. Two of the devices in particular become incredibly useful in the coliseum mass brawls we get involved in later on in the game.
I’ve previously commented that for me an ideal Yakuza game would be the battle system from 0 in the Dragon Engine adopted from 6 onwards. Gaiden only has two styles as opposed to 0’s four but it’s probably as close as we are likely to see. The two styles complement each other and you naturally find yourself switching between them mid fight depending on the situation at hand.
As a long time Yakuza fan the amount of fan service in this game is absolutely incredible. It’s everywhere!
When you gain access to the boutique and can choose a custom outfit for Kiryu one item of “pocket flair” is a name badge and one of the available names reads (in Japanese) “Taxi Driver Suzuki”. At the start of Yakuza 5 Kiryu is living in Fukuoka working as a taxi driver using the name Suzuki. One of the side quests accessible through the NPC Akame references a side quest from Yakuza 0 – which is itself a reference to Yakuza 2! Kamiyama, the weapons dealer we meet in multiple earlier games, is a fighter who joins your coliseum clan. The Castle is essentially Purgatory and the coliseum plotline straight out of the first game.
Etc etc etc.
In traditional Yakuza style we have a decent selection of minigames available including such series staples as karaoke, arcade games, hostess clubs and toy racing cars.
This is where the game most definitely is rather formulaic – for those of us who know and love this stuff it’s more of what we have come to expect but nothing new. Series newcomers may find it somewhat forced or tacked on as there is no strong story element to most of these beyond perhaps being first introduced in the course of the main game (eg the hostess club).
So, to return to my original questions:
Does bringing Kiryu back work? For me, no, not at all. I fundamentally disagree with the narrative decision to return Kiryu to the game series. Yakuza 6’s ending is as close to a perfect closure for a video game that I can think of. The existence of Gaiden and its whole premise cheapens Y6 I think.The end of the game folds into the plot of Yakuza Like A Dragon and sets the scene for Kiryu’s return as a protagonist in the upcoming Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. That’s all well and good but I just wish RGG Studio had let Kiryu enjoy his retirement and evolve Kasuga and his acquaintances as a new range of characters independently of the Dragon of Dojima.
Despite that, and here I may sound contradictory, I did enjoy spending time with Kiryu again. He’s like an old friend and hanging out with him is never not going to be a blast. However, in my opinion, Sega could have done this differently rather than reintroducing him to the main series. Yakuza 0 ends in January 1989 and Yakuza (Kiwami) starts in October 1995. That’s six and a half years RGG Studio have to work with – make more prequels!! Yakuza 0 is quite rightly lauded as one of the best entries in the entire series and is a firm fan favourite. More games featuring a young Kiryu would undoubtedly be extremely popular.
Does the game suffer without its creator Toshiro Nagoshi? Again, no, not at all. Clearly there is enough knowledge and experience in the RGG Studio to carry on Nagoshi san’s good work. Gaiden is a fairly safe effort in this respect – possibly the upcoming Infinite Wealth will be a bigger indicator of success in this area – as it recycles assets to the max.
Does Gaiden contribute as a meaningful entry in the series? Hmm… I have to say, no I don’t think so. On the narrative side I have said that I don’t agree with the direction this game takes and I stand by that. Gameplay wise, Gaiden is loads of fun but it’s not really anything new or original. The only exception to this is the Agent combat style. At first I thought the addition of gadgets was quite gimmicky but once I’d learned a few abilities and levelled up the various pieces of equipment the style became really enjoyable. Everything else gameplay wise we have seen many times before.
Gaiden apparently was originally intended to be DLC for Infinite Wealth but RGG Studio decided it was enough content to be a game in itself. This is quite interesting in my opinion and we have also seen something similar recently with the Assassin’s Creed franchise in Mirage. AC and Yakuza mainline games are both traditionally rather large so perhaps we are seeing a slight precedent with supplementary smaller games coming out in between larger entries. I understand this approach has gone down well with AC fans really enjoying Mirage and I would be definitely keen to see more Gaiden like Yakuza releases. Perhaps as prequels as I have mentioned.
So, while it was absolutely great to have a traditional Yakuza game again and I really enjoyed it, I don’t feel Gaiden actually adds all that much to the canon. However, I certainly hope we see more releases of this scale. Sega apparently made the game in six months at the same time as developing Infinite Wealth so clearly RGG Studio have the capacity to put more of this sort of game out.
-Calum