Like a Dragon

Doesn't just jump the shark; plays hopscotch with it

Why

Why Not

Impressions

Trying to predict where Like a Dragon will go next is an exercise in futility. The prologue introduces us to Ichiban, our baseball bat-wielding golden retriever of a protagonist, by having him utterly fail to meet his shakedown quota for the day by helping his intended victims instead. After setting the scene with numerous, extensive cutscenes, the game spares itself constantly trying to justify Ichiban's continued existence as a yakuza by having him take the fall for a senpai and spending 18 years in jail.

Upon release he finds a world entirely unlike the one he left. The clan he used to belong to effectively no longer exists, seemingly betrayed by Ichiban's father figure who's now a prominent figure in the rival clan. In classic Ichiban fashion he immediately makes a beeline for said father-figure, determined to prove he's actually a good guy despite all evidence to the contrary, and catches a bullet for his trouble. Waking up some time later in a homeless encampment he meets the first member of his party, and thus begins his heroic journey!

I really enjoy how much the devs leaned into the switch from beat-em-up to JRPG; it's even given an in-universe justification via Ichiban being a huge Dragon Quest fan and the combat encounters just being his interpretation of fights through that lens. All the classic elements are here; physical attacks, magic with elemental types, gear and classes, but they're all reinterpreted for a modern setting (e.g you gain access to the job system by going to 'Hello Work' and... looking for a job). There's also a bit of added interactivity during the turn based combat; well timed inputs on attacks and blocks will give you bonues damage/negation. This interactivity with the absolutely wild animations for some attacks and creative enemy design keep combat intersting throughout a long, soap opera style story.

The story definitely works best if you just let yourself be caught up in it without thinking too hard about how/why any of this is happening, though despite its frequent absurdity there are a lot of really touching moments and compelling characters scattered about. Ichiban himself is probably the best of these; his irrepressible optimism and faith along with a... straightforward approach to decision-making make him a force to be reckoned with. He's not naive, he's been around the block and knows how the world works, but he chooses to believe the best of people even if it seems ridiculous. And well, if they don't live up to those expectations, there's always his trusty baseball bat. Your party members all have their own stories as well, especially the core 3. You'll meet some others as the story progresses who are fleshed out to varying degrees, and they're different enough that most players will find at least someone to get attached to.

I'd heard Yakuza side stories were something else, and they definitely lived up to that. The variety in both mechanics and tone is crazy, ranging from helping a little girl collect donations for her sick brother to changing lives with the power of ultra-spicy kimchi and funding the development of a gigantic Roomba (then naturally having to fight it after it turns evil). Each time you reach into the side-story lucky dip you'll find something new, and I definitely went out of my way whenever I saw a new marker pop up just to see what craziness was in store for me next.

I don't know if I'll ever go back to play the (6!) original games in the series, but I'm definitely on the Like a Dragon train going forward. This game wore a lot of hats and pulled them all off with style, keeping me engaged over a ~60 hour runtime and making me hungry for Infinite Wealth to go on sale so I can see where the 一番 protagonist and (hopefully) friends go from here. You're missing out if you don't give this one a try, especially on sale for ~$8.