Review for Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Game for PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, the video game was released on 13/11/2020
Will come out for PlayStation 5 il 02/03/2021
Version for Xbox Series X from 31/12/2020
Creating an eighth chapter (spin-offs excluded) in a series as long as Yakuza is certainly a tall order. Already with Yakuza 6 the series began to feel some ailment due to the fact that, all in all, he had explored a bit of everything explorable and said everything he had to say. C.on Yakuza Like a Dragon, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios set itself the goal of revolutionizing the brand, changing protagonist and game genre. Putting Ichiban Kasuga, an obsessed Dragon Quest fan with vivid imagination in charge, Toshihiro Nagoshi's team has managed to build an experience that retains the soul of the dragon but offers fresh and exciting content. Thanks to phenomenal writing, an exceptional cast and a fighting system with very interesting ideas, Yakuza Like a Dragon is the title of Ryu ga Gotoku Studios that we have enjoyed the most since the days of Yakuza 0.
In our recent preview of Yakuza Like a Dragon - to be considered a kind of "part 1" in this review - we have already had the opportunity to describe the gameplay, so in the review we will limit ourselves to discussing the quality. On balance, the turn-based combat system is a move that will not be able to win over all fans of the series, who have been skeptical of the gender change from Beat'em Up to JRPG. However, we believe that, on balance, this combat system is interesting as well as a great base that we can expand into future titles. It brings back some limitations in terms of balance, with a game that at standard difficulty is never particularly difficult and that at a certain point in the main story forces you to face an arena for farming purposes, but all in all we think it is a successful experiment.
Yakuza Like a Dragon does not boast turn-based combat just for the desire to try something different: Ryu ga Gotoku Studios has assimilated and exploited the JRPG formula to the best of its ability. Let's say this to convey a simple concept: if this chapter of Yakuza had remained beat'em up, it could not have existed in this magnificent form. The possibilities that the JRPG genre has offered to Toshihiro Nagoshi's team are what make the game so special. Having a team of companions constantly by side who argue, joke or argue, and having the opportunity to write a story that revolves around many people without the need to divide the narrative into different routes are just some of the original elements that Yakuza Like a Dragon has compared to its predecessors. Even the mini-games, always present in the series, are helped by the JRPG formula, which allows you to have many nice rewards by taking part in the secondary activities. This obviously prompts you to want to better explore everything the game has to offer. Ultimately, we can decree that the experiment is absolutely successful.
However, we cannot ignore some defects, probably due to inexperience, which affect the game balance. As already mentioned, the title is quite simple, but we admit that this is not necessarily a defect, thanks also to the possibility of replaying the entire campaign in difficult mode. What has bothered us the most is the extreme imbalance between damage received and damage dealt during the bossfights: very often you will find yourself against bosses who are not a real danger, but still last a long time due to the exaggeratedly abundant HP of the enemies. Although fighting in Yakuza Like a Dragon has never weighed on us, several bossfights have risked boring us due to this problem.
Having concluded the gameplay section, we would like to briefly discuss the only other major flaw that we can highlight in this first adventure of Ichiban: the soundtrack. In a video game of this type it is natural to give a lot of importance to the OSTs that accompany the gameplay. Although often in the review phase the soundtrack topic is liquidated in a couple of sentences, we could write pages and pages about how the right music track can help a video game to be memorable. This is particularly notable in JRPGs, which have always been perfect examples of using the soundtrack to support gameplay. Unfortunately, Yakuza Like a Dragon has a mediocre soundtrack. The main battle theme becomes almost annoying in the long run, although it has a good audible remix in one of the final fights; the bossfight theme is rather anonymous and the dungeons often have music that does not go beyond the mere homework of the background accompaniment.
That said, we have made every complaint we have about this title. So let's talk about his biggest selling point: Kasuga Ichiban. The new protagonist not only manages to bear the comparison with one of the icons of the videogame world, such as Kazuma Kiryu, but in our opinion he manages to overcome it, and a lot. Following Ichiban through his misadventures is always fun, seeing him bond with strangers on the street and tackle each obstacle awkwardly but with conviction creates a magnificent dichotomy with the previous protagonist. If Kazuma Kiryu was a dragon, a strong man in a difficult world, Ichiban is a carp who is trying to pose as a dragon: he suffers and errs, but faces every day with energy and charisma. Fortunately for him, Ichiban is also surrounded by a cast that is simply exceptional: each character has a purpose, is deepened through the s and above all has its own and unique charisma. The first three companions have much more time to grow than the others available, however (thanks also to the aforementioned ties) all manage to conclude their growth span and remain in the heart.
Yakuza Like a Dragon's narrative is perfect for the character of Ichiban. Betrayed by everyone, with eighteen years in prison behind him and without the slightest idea of how to behave, our protagonist will have to start from the bottom and trace his own path in a place where no one has a future anymore. Obviously there is no lack of twists, political intrigues and the classic fist fights in pure Yakuza style, but the feeling that the narrative gives is that of being completely written around a central theme: friendship. While we have seen many (too many?) Stories with this theme, the way Ryu ga Gotoku Studios has approached it is different, mature and exciting. Thanks to secondary characters and an excellent cast of villains that thematically contrast Ichiban's ideas and behaviors, Yakuza Like a Dragon gave us the same warm and pleasant feeling that only the Final Fantasy of the golden age were able to give.
It all culminates with a final section that left us speechless. The last two hours of Yakuza Like a Dragon are among the best that a video game has ever made us live. In the finale, everything works as it should: the protagonists' emotions take over, the battles are tinged with epic and even the music we criticize offers some memorable tracks. While leaving a crack for the possible sequel, Like a Dragon ends in a way so satisfying that we don't have any regrets in case SEGA decides not to continue the story. Ichiban's journey was fantastic and, despite some flaws, we know it will be among the experiences of this dying generation that we will remember best.
Yakuza Like a Dragon is exactly what Yakuza needed: an original experience, but one that doesn't lose its soul. Thanks to one of the best protagonists ever seen in the gaming medium, a powerful narrative and an ending that has left us speechless, Like a Dragon will be one of the most precious experiences of this and the next generation. Were it not for some balance problem and a subdued soundtrack we would have the best Yakuza in front of us. At present, however, Like a Dragon is "only second" to Yakuza 0. Which, let's face it, is a pretty good result.
► Yakuza: Like a Dragon is an RPG type game developed by Ryu ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega for PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, the video game was released on 13/11/2020
Will come out for PlayStation 5 il 02/03/2021
Version for Xbox Series X from 31/12/2020
