JOGASSO DA PORRA. tudo nele transborda um charme absurdo. é genuinamente a melhor entrada da franquia em muito do que se propõe a fazer, as atividades secundárias, o elenco principal e secundário, a trilha sonora, tudo é lindo. o combate um pouco falho e o grind basicamente obrigatório em algumas partes são os únicos pontos de que eu reclamaria mas continuei amando o jogo incondicionalmente. Whether you like him or dont like him there's nothing you can do about it because hes number 1, Whether you like him... or dont like him there's nothing you can do about it because hes number 1
"Once you're at rock bottom, the only way forward is up. But the bottom doesn't have to be all dark and gloomy. If you can stand and look up, you'll see the light of hope up there." - Kasuga Ichiban
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play a Persona game with a cast of characters that are all middle-aged misfits and losers who are led by a 42 year-old homeless gamer with undiagnosed schizophrenia and the personality of Luffy from One Piece? Well boy do I have a game for you...
Featuring a whole new cast of characters, a new setting, a new protagonist and even a new battle system replacing the iconic beat-em up gameplay of old for turn-based J-RPG tactics, Like a Dragon truly feels like a fresh new beginning for the Yakuza series, but at the same time a natural evolution of the series formula as well because let's be honest, past Yakuza games were just J-RPGs with beat 'em up combat.
Like a Dragon follows the tale of Kasuga Ichiban, an ex-yakuza who hits rock bottom after a tragic betrayal. Homeless and struggling to survive, Ichiban goes on a personal quest to become the hero he always dreamt he could be and uncover the truth about his betrayal. Ichiban's story is a deep and personal adventure full of incredibly strong emotional moments and easily one of the best stories the Yakuza series has to offer in general.
I really appreciate how the early game does its best to make you feel powerless and homeless to the point of even finding 500 yen under a vending machine feels like a big event that should be celebrated and that gives such a massive sense of progression in the later game when you have millions of yen and the best gear possible. Also something I adore about Like a Dragon's story and something that sets it apart from other RPGs is how it makes even the most mundane things like just getting a job feel exciting and adventurous essentially turning real life itself into an adventure which is very fitting for a character like Ichiban.
Speaking of Ichiban a lot of people will be wondering how he stands up to Kiryu and all I can say is that after being the main protagonist of the series for 7 games Kazuma Kiryu leaves some big shoes to fill and Ichiban doesn't fill them, but that's ok because Kiryu and Ichiban are two completely different characters and the game itself does it's best to get this point across. Ichiban doesn't need to fill Kiryu's shoes or take up his legacy because Ichiban is Ichiban and here's what Ichiban is, a homeless 42 year-old delusional chuunibyou who thinks life is like a video game and has the personality of a teenage anime protagonist. He's hotheaded, overly optimistic to a fault, somewhat naive and would do anything for his friends but all these traits are exactly WHY he's so endearing and what makes him such an easy protagonist to root for, the world would be a better place if we were all a little bit more like Ichiban. Also Kazuhiro Nakaya's absolutely incredible voice acting performance really helps bring Ichiban to life as a character as well.
Yakuza games of the past primarily focused on Kiryu's life and his struggles and while Yakuza 7 does the same for Ichiban it's also an RPG with a full cast of characters that follow Ichiban from beginning to end and the game does everything in its power to flesh out Ichiban's fellow party members and companions just as well as him making the sense of camaraderie they all share feel that much more real and believable. Ichiban can build up bonds with his party members simply by teaming up with them on the battlefield or by spending downtime with them at the party's hideout the Survive Bar. Some of Ichiban's party members include a fellow homeless man, an ex-detective turned alcoholic driving instructor and a barmaid. Every party member has a Persona-like social link storyline called a "Drink Link" that you can experience. These in-depth stories help give tons of depth and flesh out Ichiban's party members a lot, but even doing smaller activities like walking around town or going to eat at a restaurant will trigger party conversations and interactions that remind me of the skits from the Tales Of series and even simple things like characters talking about their favorite foods or favorite movies together really give them tons of personality and make them feel more real and relatable.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this review Like a Dragon is unlike any other Yakuza game before it being entirely turn-based and speaking as someone who has been playing J-RPGs for 20+ years of my life I think Like a Dragon has one of the most engaging and enjoyable turn-based combat systems I've ever experienced and one of the reasons why I say that is due to how dynamic the combat is thanks to the world around you constantly moving and your characters being able to use their surroundings as weapons in combat from picking up a bike they cross paths with as they go to attack an enemy to knocking an enemy into the road and letting traffic do the rest, there's no shortage of ways to handle combat situations. I also have to mention that the game is turn-based simply because that's the way Ichiban views the world when he gets into a fight due to his obsession with Dragon Quest and I think that's just another incredibly endearing aspect of his character and for a series known for its ludonarrative dissonance that's an incredibly clever way to explain the game mechanics and make them harmonize with the world of the game itself.
Naturally it's no surprise that Like a Dragon features an old school job system akin to classic Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest itself since that's Ichiban's favorite game, but what makes the job system of this game stand out is how over-the-top and silly it is. Most normal RPGs would have mages and warriors, but in Like a Dragon we get classes like "Homeless Guy" who can throw beans at enemies to summon pigeons to attack or Chef's who throw silverware or Host's who spray champagne among many other classes. The attack animations are just so over-the-top and silly that they give the game so much charm, but I think where this is most evident is in the Final Fantasy-like summons called "Poundmates" where Ichiban uses his cellphone to order some back up and the summons include a crawfish that can poison your enemies, a soup kitchen worker who can replenish your mana or a giant Yakuza dressed like a baby who's cry defeans your enemies among many others, getting a new summon was always a treat just to witness the wacky hijinks that would happen when activating it.
Yakuza games are known for their mini-games and side activities and Like a Dragon is no exception to this rule. Like a Dragon has series staples like karaoke (Featuring a few new songs which are great btw), Sega arcade games like Virtua Fighter, golf bingo and batting cages, but also new things like a Mario Kart styled racing game, a Pac-Man-like can collecting game and a massive business management simulator that is long enough and has enough depth to it that it could be its own standalone game. Another defining aspect of the Yakuza series has always been the sub-stories and like most games in the series Like a Dragon also features over 50 sub-stories (which act as the side-quests of the game) that help flesh out the world and its inhabitants even more and give extra depth to Ichiban as a character by going through these various stories and helping the people of the city around him.
Speaking of the world-building there's tons of references to past Yakuza games both in sub-stories and just in the main game too, plenty of returning characters as well and that's the one downside to the game because it's hard to recommend to people without them having played the past games as well, but that just comes with the territory of any long-running, interconnected series unfortunately.
From its Persona-like social links to it's Dragon Quest job system, Final Fantasy styled summons and Tales Of character interactions Like a Dragon is a J-RPG that's about J-RPGs. It's a beautiful love letter to my favorite genre of games wrapped up in an inspiring and emotional tale about a man who always chooses to look at the bright side of life no matter how dark things may seem. It has a charming and well written cast of memorable characters, deep and immersive world-building, tons of side content to get lost in for hours and one of the most fun, over-the-top and engaging turn based combat systems I've ever had the joy of experiencing. Simply put, Like a Dragon is nothing short of a genre defining and life changing masterpiece that will stick with me for the rest of my life and if you love J-RPGs as much as me you'd be a fool to miss out on this game.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play a Persona game with a cast of characters that are all middle-aged misfits and losers who are led by a 42 year-old homeless gamer with undiagnosed schizophrenia and the personality of Luffy from One Piece? Well boy do I have a game for you...
Featuring a whole new cast of characters, a new setting, a new protagonist and even a new battle system replacing the iconic beat-em up gameplay of old for turn-based J-RPG tactics, Like a Dragon truly feels like a fresh new beginning for the Yakuza series, but at the same time a natural evolution of the series formula as well because let's be honest, past Yakuza games were just J-RPGs with beat 'em up combat.
Like a Dragon follows the tale of Kasuga Ichiban, an ex-yakuza who hits rock bottom after a tragic betrayal. Homeless and struggling to survive, Ichiban goes on a personal quest to become the hero he always dreamt he could be and uncover the truth about his betrayal. Ichiban's story is a deep and personal adventure full of incredibly strong emotional moments and easily one of the best stories the Yakuza series has to offer in general.
I really appreciate how the early game does its best to make you feel powerless and homeless to the point of even finding 500 yen under a vending machine feels like a big event that should be celebrated and that gives such a massive sense of progression in the later game when you have millions of yen and the best gear possible. Also something I adore about Like a Dragon's story and something that sets it apart from other RPGs is how it makes even the most mundane things like just getting a job feel exciting and adventurous essentially turning real life itself into an adventure which is very fitting for a character like Ichiban.
Speaking of Ichiban a lot of people will be wondering how he stands up to Kiryu and all I can say is that after being the main protagonist of the series for 7 games Kazuma Kiryu leaves some big shoes to fill and Ichiban doesn't fill them, but that's ok because Kiryu and Ichiban are two completely different characters and the game itself does it's best to get this point across. Ichiban doesn't need to fill Kiryu's shoes or take up his legacy because Ichiban is Ichiban and here's what Ichiban is, a homeless 42 year-old delusional chuunibyou who thinks life is like a video game and has the personality of a teenage anime protagonist. He's hotheaded, overly optimistic to a fault, somewhat naive and would do anything for his friends but all these traits are exactly WHY he's so endearing and what makes him such an easy protagonist to root for, the world would be a better place if we were all a little bit more like Ichiban. Also Kazuhiro Nakaya's absolutely incredible voice acting performance really helps bring Ichiban to life as a character as well.
Yakuza games of the past primarily focused on Kiryu's life and his struggles and while Yakuza 7 does the same for Ichiban it's also an RPG with a full cast of characters that follow Ichiban from beginning to end and the game does everything in its power to flesh out Ichiban's fellow party members and companions just as well as him making the sense of camaraderie they all share feel that much more real and believable. Ichiban can build up bonds with his party members simply by teaming up with them on the battlefield or by spending downtime with them at the party's hideout the Survive Bar. Some of Ichiban's party members include a fellow homeless man, an ex-detective turned alcoholic driving instructor and a barmaid. Every party member has a Persona-like social link storyline called a "Drink Link" that you can experience. These in-depth stories help give tons of depth and flesh out Ichiban's party members a lot, but even doing smaller activities like walking around town or going to eat at a restaurant will trigger party conversations and interactions that remind me of the skits from the Tales Of series and even simple things like characters talking about their favorite foods or favorite movies together really give them tons of personality and make them feel more real and relatable.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this review Like a Dragon is unlike any other Yakuza game before it being entirely turn-based and speaking as someone who has been playing J-RPGs for 20+ years of my life I think Like a Dragon has one of the most engaging and enjoyable turn-based combat systems I've ever experienced and one of the reasons why I say that is due to how dynamic the combat is thanks to the world around you constantly moving and your characters being able to use their surroundings as weapons in combat from picking up a bike they cross paths with as they go to attack an enemy to knocking an enemy into the road and letting traffic do the rest, there's no shortage of ways to handle combat situations. I also have to mention that the game is turn-based simply because that's the way Ichiban views the world when he gets into a fight due to his obsession with Dragon Quest and I think that's just another incredibly endearing aspect of his character and for a series known for its ludonarrative dissonance that's an incredibly clever way to explain the game mechanics and make them harmonize with the world of the game itself.
Naturally it's no surprise that Like a Dragon features an old school job system akin to classic Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest itself since that's Ichiban's favorite game, but what makes the job system of this game stand out is how over-the-top and silly it is. Most normal RPGs would have mages and warriors, but in Like a Dragon we get classes like "Homeless Guy" who can throw beans at enemies to summon pigeons to attack or Chef's who throw silverware or Host's who spray champagne among many other classes. The attack animations are just so over-the-top and silly that they give the game so much charm, but I think where this is most evident is in the Final Fantasy-like summons called "Poundmates" where Ichiban uses his cellphone to order some back up and the summons include a crawfish that can poison your enemies, a soup kitchen worker who can replenish your mana or a giant Yakuza dressed like a baby who's cry defeans your enemies among many others, getting a new summon was always a treat just to witness the wacky hijinks that would happen when activating it.
Yakuza games are known for their mini-games and side activities and Like a Dragon is no exception to this rule. Like a Dragon has series staples like karaoke (Featuring a few new songs which are great btw), Sega arcade games like Virtua Fighter, golf bingo and batting cages, but also new things like a Mario Kart styled racing game, a Pac-Man-like can collecting game and a massive business management simulator that is long enough and has enough depth to it that it could be its own standalone game. Another defining aspect of the Yakuza series has always been the sub-stories and like most games in the series Like a Dragon also features over 50 sub-stories (which act as the side-quests of the game) that help flesh out the world and its inhabitants even more and give extra depth to Ichiban as a character by going through these various stories and helping the people of the city around him.
Speaking of the world-building there's tons of references to past Yakuza games both in sub-stories and just in the main game too, plenty of returning characters as well and that's the one downside to the game because it's hard to recommend to people without them having played the past games as well, but that just comes with the territory of any long-running, interconnected series unfortunately.
From its Persona-like social links to it's Dragon Quest job system, Final Fantasy styled summons and Tales Of character interactions Like a Dragon is a J-RPG that's about J-RPGs. It's a beautiful love letter to my favorite genre of games wrapped up in an inspiring and emotional tale about a man who always chooses to look at the bright side of life no matter how dark things may seem. It has a charming and well written cast of memorable characters, deep and immersive world-building, tons of side content to get lost in for hours and one of the most fun, over-the-top and engaging turn based combat systems I've ever had the joy of experiencing. Simply put, Like a Dragon is nothing short of a genre defining and life changing masterpiece that will stick with me for the rest of my life and if you love J-RPGs as much as me you'd be a fool to miss out on this game.
This was my first Yakuza game, and it completely hooked me into the series. I'm glad I was recommended this because I think I found one of my favorite series outside of Persona and Danganronpa.
To start off, I'll talk about the story. This was the main reason I kept playing. It has one of the most realistic and engaging stories I've seen in a while. It feels so genuine, maybe helped by the fact that there's no supernatural elements (unless you count Ichiban's schizophrenia, lol). Its characters are definitely its strong-suit. I think in the beginning, it was very slow, which is why it took me a bit to finish this, but once it picked up, it picked up. I can't compare it to any other Yakuza games yet, but I assume that's how it usually is.
Story: 9.5/10
Next is my second favorite part about this game: the music. I don't see it discussed a lot, but this is some of the best soundtracks I've heard in a while. It completely pumps you up during fights and 100% adds to the tone of the story.
Music: 11/10
Next is the gameplay, which is iffy for me. I love turn-based combat, but there's a lot about this one that is off to me. Not only are the moves terribly balanced (Joon-gi Han's head trauma, god) but pretty much 75% of the moves on each character are useless. Idk what was going on in Sega there, but yeah. I also hate how the auto mode doesn't fast-forward, because god are the animations long as hell. I kind of dreaded running into Sujimon... As for the boss fights, I had a hard time with a lot of them, but that was what made theme exciting for me. I absolutely LOVED the challenge of the boss fights. It always felt good to defeat them. For the RPG aspects of the gameplay, it felt like there was too much for you to do. Not only were the side quests like, way too much, but there were TONS of things you could do and it just felt overwhelming. I decided to ignore most of them and focus on the story. If I didn't. I probably wouldn't have finished this game.
Gameplay: 7/10
For the voice acting, I played the dub. I think the dub voice actors did an amazing job, as much as it's criticized. Kiryu and Majima's voices were... odd choices, though. I love Robbie Daymond, so of course I loved Zhao's preformance, but I also adored Joon-gi Han and Ichiban's. I love how Joon-gi Han actually has a Korean accent, and how low and chill it is. when I listened to his Japanese voice, I felt it didn't fit his sort of melancholy tone to his character. Ichiban was just perfect. He perfectly captures the goofy but also rough-tone of his character. Props to these dub voice actors; you do better than most English dubs.
Voice acting: 9/10
Overall, I fucking loved this game, and it'll probably go down as my favorite ever. Thanks for teaching me capitalism and family, Yakuza 7.
To start off, I'll talk about the story. This was the main reason I kept playing. It has one of the most realistic and engaging stories I've seen in a while. It feels so genuine, maybe helped by the fact that there's no supernatural elements (unless you count Ichiban's schizophrenia, lol). Its characters are definitely its strong-suit. I think in the beginning, it was very slow, which is why it took me a bit to finish this, but once it picked up, it picked up. I can't compare it to any other Yakuza games yet, but I assume that's how it usually is.
Story: 9.5/10
Next is my second favorite part about this game: the music. I don't see it discussed a lot, but this is some of the best soundtracks I've heard in a while. It completely pumps you up during fights and 100% adds to the tone of the story.
Music: 11/10
Next is the gameplay, which is iffy for me. I love turn-based combat, but there's a lot about this one that is off to me. Not only are the moves terribly balanced (Joon-gi Han's head trauma, god) but pretty much 75% of the moves on each character are useless. Idk what was going on in Sega there, but yeah. I also hate how the auto mode doesn't fast-forward, because god are the animations long as hell. I kind of dreaded running into Sujimon... As for the boss fights, I had a hard time with a lot of them, but that was what made theme exciting for me. I absolutely LOVED the challenge of the boss fights. It always felt good to defeat them. For the RPG aspects of the gameplay, it felt like there was too much for you to do. Not only were the side quests like, way too much, but there were TONS of things you could do and it just felt overwhelming. I decided to ignore most of them and focus on the story. If I didn't. I probably wouldn't have finished this game.
Gameplay: 7/10
For the voice acting, I played the dub. I think the dub voice actors did an amazing job, as much as it's criticized. Kiryu and Majima's voices were... odd choices, though. I love Robbie Daymond, so of course I loved Zhao's preformance, but I also adored Joon-gi Han and Ichiban's. I love how Joon-gi Han actually has a Korean accent, and how low and chill it is. when I listened to his Japanese voice, I felt it didn't fit his sort of melancholy tone to his character. Ichiban was just perfect. He perfectly captures the goofy but also rough-tone of his character. Props to these dub voice actors; you do better than most English dubs.
Voice acting: 9/10
Overall, I fucking loved this game, and it'll probably go down as my favorite ever. Thanks for teaching me capitalism and family, Yakuza 7.
One of my bigger disappointments of the last several years. After the departure of the longtime studio head (along with, very notably, the longtime franchise producer) there was a big opportunity to reinvent the franchise, and re-casting things as a jrpg is a charming new direction. Along with a great, well performed new protagonist this game on paper should be very good. And the rpg content is serviceable, the mid-point of the plot has some cutscenes that roughly fit in among the series highs, and the shuffling corpses of some series favorite minigames are here again, like in every yakuza since 0.
Unfortunately, everything around the seams of this game fucking sucks. Along with judgment 2, there’s a palpable air of “budget game” choices — a dramatic cutback on polish, much more padding, simpler minigames (although the new quiz game is a charming standout), color by numbers bosses without any of the bespoke qte and mid fight cutscenes yakuza previously used to drive characterization, plus look, kiryus back for some reason, and he’s still the players best friend (ok, that might actually be in-character.)
The biggest disappointment is this games treatment of the classic yakuza “ludonarrative dissonance is good and funny” approach — not satisfied with throwing hundreds of goons out of windows and then laboring over kiryus refusal to kill a story character, this game has replaced it with… wacky mental illness? Our protagonist hallucinates regular people as goofy jrpg enemies, both in and out of the actual narrative? Deeply embarrassing.
Along with the big cutback on one off cutscenes and animations, the basic combat system manages to feel recycled and cookie cutter in a way prior games always avoided (despite similar amounts of actual re-use.) for the first time since some of the ps3 era spinoffs this feels visibly like a budget game. This likely has to due with the newer lead Producer rather than an actual budget cut. If anything, with all of the localized VO, this game is probably higher budget than 5 or 0?
The acting and UI design are high points. Objectively I think this game sits somewhere in the 2.5-3.5 range but I gotta follow my heart. One star.
Unfortunately, everything around the seams of this game fucking sucks. Along with judgment 2, there’s a palpable air of “budget game” choices — a dramatic cutback on polish, much more padding, simpler minigames (although the new quiz game is a charming standout), color by numbers bosses without any of the bespoke qte and mid fight cutscenes yakuza previously used to drive characterization, plus look, kiryus back for some reason, and he’s still the players best friend (ok, that might actually be in-character.)
The biggest disappointment is this games treatment of the classic yakuza “ludonarrative dissonance is good and funny” approach — not satisfied with throwing hundreds of goons out of windows and then laboring over kiryus refusal to kill a story character, this game has replaced it with… wacky mental illness? Our protagonist hallucinates regular people as goofy jrpg enemies, both in and out of the actual narrative? Deeply embarrassing.
Along with the big cutback on one off cutscenes and animations, the basic combat system manages to feel recycled and cookie cutter in a way prior games always avoided (despite similar amounts of actual re-use.) for the first time since some of the ps3 era spinoffs this feels visibly like a budget game. This likely has to due with the newer lead Producer rather than an actual budget cut. If anything, with all of the localized VO, this game is probably higher budget than 5 or 0?
The acting and UI design are high points. Objectively I think this game sits somewhere in the 2.5-3.5 range but I gotta follow my heart. One star.
The game that threw that Yakuza formula on its head. I would say I found the turn based combat threw me off to the point where I finally got used to it halfway through because I’m so used to Yakuza being a beat em up. It’s not terrible, but it definitely feels stiff and restrictive when you compare it to Infinite Wealth. Also the dungeons weren’t as good as the newer game either. I would say the amount of activities and side content along with the story is amazing and they nailed it. The MC is also extremely likeable which is what I find important in Yakuza games as well.
Definitely a good switch up on the Yakuza formula, but it’s very rough compared to playing something like Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Definitely a good switch up on the Yakuza formula, but it’s very rough compared to playing something like Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
I took a three year break half way through this game, but I finally returned to it this month and saw the game through!
A major turning point for the series for not only changing the cast, but changing the style of combat from action to turn based. While not every aspect of the new turn based system felt fully realized in how the characters respond to the environment and enemies around them as they move, I’d still take this over the floaty input delay mess that was Yakuza 6 and some of the other Dragon Engine games before Gaiden finally cleaned things up.
While I don’t think the main story landed with me, I really was won over by Ichiban Kasuga. The guy is just such a delusional loser, but I couldn’t help but root for him all the way through.
A major turning point for the series for not only changing the cast, but changing the style of combat from action to turn based. While not every aspect of the new turn based system felt fully realized in how the characters respond to the environment and enemies around them as they move, I’d still take this over the floaty input delay mess that was Yakuza 6 and some of the other Dragon Engine games before Gaiden finally cleaned things up.
While I don’t think the main story landed with me, I really was won over by Ichiban Kasuga. The guy is just such a delusional loser, but I couldn’t help but root for him all the way through.
Great game, I thought Ichiban was an excellent new protagonist and as a big RPG fan I really liked the change in gameplay style
ALERTA DE JOGASSO. E eu não sou particularmente chegado nos RPGs de turno, mas aqui é feito de uma maneira tão simples de entender, mas ainda assim dinâmica, que deixa pouquíssima coisa a desejar. O único ponto baixo que eu consigo pensar nesse jogo tem a ver com o combate. O fato de você não poder posicionar os bonecos e tanto os seus personagens quanto os inimigos se movem aleatoriamente faz com que as possibilidades para ataques em área e utilização do cenário de maneira inteligente seja bastante limitada. Mas mesmo assim, em comparação com todo o restante lindo que é esse jogo, isso não me incomodou em quase nada. A melhor história principal da franquia, DE LONGE. Com tanto conteúdo adicional pra fazer que eu passei horas fora da missão principal. Uma trilha sonora foda pra caralho com várias músicas bem únicas e boas. Um elenco fortíssimo de personagens, facilmente o melhor da franquia também, pra mim não tem um personagem chato ou jogado. Papo reto, eu podia dar 5 estrelas só pelo diálogo final do Ichiban (do final mesmo, antes de rolar os créditos).
one of the most fun experiences you could ever have with a yakuza entry
the story is nice, the characters are absolutely awesome and lovable, the turn-based combat system is designed very well to fit with the setting of the game (i love ichiban's schizophrenia) and the side content is the absolute best it can get; i've grinded this game for quite a lot and i never got bored a single time
the story is nice, the characters are absolutely awesome and lovable, the turn-based combat system is designed very well to fit with the setting of the game (i love ichiban's schizophrenia) and the side content is the absolute best it can get; i've grinded this game for quite a lot and i never got bored a single time
É estranho como alguns te tocam de uma maneira diferente, sempre tive altas expectativas para ele, comecei a jogar a franquia em janeiro desse ano 2024, e espera que o like o Dragon fosse o prato principal nesse franquia de 9 jogos, o que eu não espera era o quanto os outros 7 jogos (0-6) iria me conquistar tanto, a experiência com Kiryu foi tão marcante para mim que sinto que tenho laços com ele e com os outros personagens ao lado dele, então Ichiban tinha um grande desafio pra frente, e ele conseguiu, conseguiu para caramba! Talvez a única coisa que eu realmente não gostei foi a curva de dificuldade do jogo, mas isso nem sequer embaça a qualidade do jogo, que de fato é genial, único e uma pérola, foram 50hs de muita imersão, de criar um carinho enorme pelos novos personagens e confesso que me emocionei um pouquinho com aquela cena final, Te amo Ichi! Um dos melhores rpgs q já joguei
LUTE AGORA COMO UM DRAGÃO!!!!!!!!!
E' un problema mio...ma perché vi piace?!?!?!
Daha önce bir çok kez jrpg oynamaya çalışsam da bir türlü kendimi oyunlara kaptıramıyordum. Bu oyunla o değişti. Hikayesi ve belki de combatı kolay olduğu için kendimi bir anda bu oyunda 40 saat harcamış buldum. Oyunun sonuna yaklaştığımda devam edebilmek için levelımı artımam gerekiyordu. Yaklaşık 3 4 saat bir grind yapmam gerekti. Tek kötü noktası bu diyebilirdim.
Toda la vida los videojuegos de la franquicia Yakuza me interesaron mucho, y muchas veces intenté comenzar a jugar a mas de uno y de ellos solamente pude terminar el Yakuza 0 (juegazo btw). Esto es porque el sistema de combate nunca me termino de atrapar, lo sentía repetitivo y con muy poco desafío. Lo que realmente me volvía LOCO eran las historias, los personajes, el mundo, realmente estos juegos son CINE puro.
Cuando en el 2020 me enteré de que el próximo Yakuza iba a ser en estilo de RPG por turnos y encima introduciendo un nuevo personaje a la franquicia, cosa de no sufrir tanto la falta de conocimiento por no jugar los casi 6 juegos anteriores. Parecía que lo habían hecho para mi.
Realmente no puedo explicar lo INCREÍBLE que me pareció este juego, la historia como de costumbre es espectacular, y los temas ultra serios que toca, la manera en la que los resuelve, como las interacciones entre los personajes son super creíbles y podes empatizar muchisimo con cada uno.
Suena super cringe, pero en serio que este juego se plantea resolver los problemas del día a día afrontandolos como si fuera un old-school rpg, y eso me parece fantástico. La historia de superación de un tipo que desperdició toda su vida encerrado en una carcel, viendo como el mundo cambió y lo dejó a él atrás es precioso. (....y super relatable...estamos entrando casi al club de los 30 acá....)
Pongo este juego en mi top RPGs de toda la historia, juntito a FF7, Chrono Trigger y todos los demás. Realmente es así de bueno.
la música es una locura encima, estas peleando y te dan ganas de bailar nana
Cuando en el 2020 me enteré de que el próximo Yakuza iba a ser en estilo de RPG por turnos y encima introduciendo un nuevo personaje a la franquicia, cosa de no sufrir tanto la falta de conocimiento por no jugar los casi 6 juegos anteriores. Parecía que lo habían hecho para mi.
Realmente no puedo explicar lo INCREÍBLE que me pareció este juego, la historia como de costumbre es espectacular, y los temas ultra serios que toca, la manera en la que los resuelve, como las interacciones entre los personajes son super creíbles y podes empatizar muchisimo con cada uno.
Suena super cringe, pero en serio que este juego se plantea resolver los problemas del día a día afrontandolos como si fuera un old-school rpg, y eso me parece fantástico. La historia de superación de un tipo que desperdició toda su vida encerrado en una carcel, viendo como el mundo cambió y lo dejó a él atrás es precioso. (....y super relatable...estamos entrando casi al club de los 30 acá....)
Pongo este juego en mi top RPGs de toda la historia, juntito a FF7, Chrono Trigger y todos los demás. Realmente es así de bueno.
la música es una locura encima, estas peleando y te dan ganas de bailar nana
Yakuza: Like A Dragon established one of my favorite characters from any piece of media. Yakuza: Like A Dragon has gameplay that I oftentimes straight-up didn’t like. Yakuza: Like A Dragon made me yelp in hype at least a dozen times at cutscenes of men in suits talking to each other. Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a messy spaghetti of oddball takes on traditional systems. Yakuza: Like A Dragon is eating an entire 50oz bag of skittles as you binge a soap opera.
I decided to dip into the Yakuza pool around the middle of last year and was astonished at how in my first 4 hours of playtime, I had done only about a half dozen battles. It was cutscene overload. This was a big adjustment in getting used to the Yakuza formula. As I keep pushing onward, I found myself not just accepting the onslaught of cutscenes, but craving them. If you can get over the initial hump, the plot’s hook is super strong. As much as it is a story highlighted by big, bombastic moments, the societal themes at play here are the most interesting to me.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a turn-based RPG and a pretty safe one at that. It’s got all the staples of your favorite old-school Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy but not as much moment-to-moment depth as I would have liked. A lot of the time I felt like battles in the early to mid game were too heavily influenced by how the enemies position themselves as everyone paces around waiting for you to input an action. There’s this mushy-ness to battles that runs against the strategic elements of classic JRPGs. As you progress, random encounters start to sometimes contain a sizable mob of enemies that slows battles to a crawl as you have to watch each grunt take their action every turn. Usually fights boil down to using either your best AoE or single-target move over and over again as you grind through a half-dozen monsters. The job system also disincentives you from changing the class of your characters because each job requires leveling up or else the character is borderline useless in combat. Around 30 hours in, I got to the point where I just wanted to steamroll everything so I looked up a build guide for the best team comp and just spammed a handful of OP moves. Nonetheless, Like A Dragon’s combat model is still able to generate tense moments every now and then, especially during boss fights. Be warned, I ran up against 3 pretty large difficulty spikes which each required a few hours of dedicated grinding. I was completing all the optional content I could so it’s not like I was mainlining or skipping random encounters or anything to put me behind the level curve. The spikes felt very deliberate.
Where Yakuza excels is in its all-you-can-eat buffet of wacky content. Every substory is a true delight with a great mix of comedic and heartful storylines. These always come with their own voice acting and crude cutscenes so each feels like an actual quest rather than a checklist-style activity that I’ve grown so tired of in recent open-world titles. The crazy cast of characters you learn about in the substories are just more odd than you can possibly imagine but I always ended up loving them by the end. The dialogue between Ichiban and these freaks is just soaked in empathy and understanding. They’re just so adorable. Of course there’s the minigames which are neat distractions from the main story but weren’t something I found myself sinking a lot of time into. The exception being the business sim minigame where I fell into a deep rabbithole of hiring children and animals and robots to run my empire of quirky businesses. You can tell the team had a blast making this content and that energy is incredibly infectious.
The most flavorful color of skittle here is the characters. In AAA games, I typically find it awfully hard to care about the characters. I think it comes down to writing. Yakuza’s characters don’t have crazy iconic looks or incredibly compelling acting but what they do have is genuine dialogue and captivating backstories. I don’t want to go too much into the details because I really think this lovable crew is worth experiencing on your own. Instead I want to talk about how they made me feel. Since moving across the country for work, I’ve really struggled with loneliness. Throughout my time in college, I grew close with a group of amazing folks that I hope are in my life forever in some way. Naturally, I miss them and think about them often. While Discord lets me stay connected, there’s just nothing compared to in-person interactions. The party in Yakuza: Like A Dragon truly felt like these types of friends. When I finished the game, there was a real sense of sadness as I had as I was saying goodbye to these characters. It was at that point I realized why I had latched onto them so deeply. In a way they had acted as my comfy, cozy, supportive friend group during a time when I needed that the most. Obviously these are just 3D models rendered to pixels on a screen so they aren’t a replacement for real human connections by any means but they still were able to provide a safe space for me to go to when I was really feeling low. The Survive Bar was my own virtual 3rd place to spend my time in whenever I felt like I needed some emulated friendship. It sounds sad but it’s the truth!
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is such a mixed bag but there’s a lot of good in that bag. It’s a rare case of a game with an absurd amount of content but it never feels bloated or “checklisty”. Every system and piece of content is here for a reason even if I didn’t click with some of it. For RGG’s first time making a JRPG, I think this is a ridiculously strong foundation for future titles and I’m so excited to experience Infinite Wealth when I get that Yakuza craving. If they make some key small corrections in their combat and progressions, I think we could be in for a refreshingly new tentpole series in the JRPG genre.
I decided to dip into the Yakuza pool around the middle of last year and was astonished at how in my first 4 hours of playtime, I had done only about a half dozen battles. It was cutscene overload. This was a big adjustment in getting used to the Yakuza formula. As I keep pushing onward, I found myself not just accepting the onslaught of cutscenes, but craving them. If you can get over the initial hump, the plot’s hook is super strong. As much as it is a story highlighted by big, bombastic moments, the societal themes at play here are the most interesting to me.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a turn-based RPG and a pretty safe one at that. It’s got all the staples of your favorite old-school Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy but not as much moment-to-moment depth as I would have liked. A lot of the time I felt like battles in the early to mid game were too heavily influenced by how the enemies position themselves as everyone paces around waiting for you to input an action. There’s this mushy-ness to battles that runs against the strategic elements of classic JRPGs. As you progress, random encounters start to sometimes contain a sizable mob of enemies that slows battles to a crawl as you have to watch each grunt take their action every turn. Usually fights boil down to using either your best AoE or single-target move over and over again as you grind through a half-dozen monsters. The job system also disincentives you from changing the class of your characters because each job requires leveling up or else the character is borderline useless in combat. Around 30 hours in, I got to the point where I just wanted to steamroll everything so I looked up a build guide for the best team comp and just spammed a handful of OP moves. Nonetheless, Like A Dragon’s combat model is still able to generate tense moments every now and then, especially during boss fights. Be warned, I ran up against 3 pretty large difficulty spikes which each required a few hours of dedicated grinding. I was completing all the optional content I could so it’s not like I was mainlining or skipping random encounters or anything to put me behind the level curve. The spikes felt very deliberate.
Where Yakuza excels is in its all-you-can-eat buffet of wacky content. Every substory is a true delight with a great mix of comedic and heartful storylines. These always come with their own voice acting and crude cutscenes so each feels like an actual quest rather than a checklist-style activity that I’ve grown so tired of in recent open-world titles. The crazy cast of characters you learn about in the substories are just more odd than you can possibly imagine but I always ended up loving them by the end. The dialogue between Ichiban and these freaks is just soaked in empathy and understanding. They’re just so adorable. Of course there’s the minigames which are neat distractions from the main story but weren’t something I found myself sinking a lot of time into. The exception being the business sim minigame where I fell into a deep rabbithole of hiring children and animals and robots to run my empire of quirky businesses. You can tell the team had a blast making this content and that energy is incredibly infectious.
The most flavorful color of skittle here is the characters. In AAA games, I typically find it awfully hard to care about the characters. I think it comes down to writing. Yakuza’s characters don’t have crazy iconic looks or incredibly compelling acting but what they do have is genuine dialogue and captivating backstories. I don’t want to go too much into the details because I really think this lovable crew is worth experiencing on your own. Instead I want to talk about how they made me feel. Since moving across the country for work, I’ve really struggled with loneliness. Throughout my time in college, I grew close with a group of amazing folks that I hope are in my life forever in some way. Naturally, I miss them and think about them often. While Discord lets me stay connected, there’s just nothing compared to in-person interactions. The party in Yakuza: Like A Dragon truly felt like these types of friends. When I finished the game, there was a real sense of sadness as I had as I was saying goodbye to these characters. It was at that point I realized why I had latched onto them so deeply. In a way they had acted as my comfy, cozy, supportive friend group during a time when I needed that the most. Obviously these are just 3D models rendered to pixels on a screen so they aren’t a replacement for real human connections by any means but they still were able to provide a safe space for me to go to when I was really feeling low. The Survive Bar was my own virtual 3rd place to spend my time in whenever I felt like I needed some emulated friendship. It sounds sad but it’s the truth!
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is such a mixed bag but there’s a lot of good in that bag. It’s a rare case of a game with an absurd amount of content but it never feels bloated or “checklisty”. Every system and piece of content is here for a reason even if I didn’t click with some of it. For RGG’s first time making a JRPG, I think this is a ridiculously strong foundation for future titles and I’m so excited to experience Infinite Wealth when I get that Yakuza craving. If they make some key small corrections in their combat and progressions, I think we could be in for a refreshingly new tentpole series in the JRPG genre.
been a yakuza fan since i was fifteen years old and holy fucking shit it still hits the same if not more. even with all the nostalgia and memories this could honestly be my favorite yakuza game ever and that's saying a lot
this game switches from "HOLY SHIT HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE SO COOL" into serious real yakuza shit into the most tragic and perfect writing ever all on a rotation RGG STUDIOS HOW DO YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASYYYY NO ONE DOES IT LIKE YOU
i am on board with EVERYTHING that changed. party and turn based system ? peak and easily better than all the combat systems of its predecessors. the way they turned this into turn based was so fucking genius and way more fun
one of my all time favorite series delivers again i'm so fucking happy i decided to circle around and continue the series 6 years after catching up
in just one game and the start of the "second arc" it shoots up to atleast top2 rgg games THANK YOU RGG
not gonna waste much time im jumping immediately on judgement and lost judgement so i can continue this series
this game switches from "HOLY SHIT HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE SO COOL" into serious real yakuza shit into the most tragic and perfect writing ever all on a rotation RGG STUDIOS HOW DO YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASYYYY NO ONE DOES IT LIKE YOU
i am on board with EVERYTHING that changed. party and turn based system ? peak and easily better than all the combat systems of its predecessors. the way they turned this into turn based was so fucking genius and way more fun
one of my all time favorite series delivers again i'm so fucking happy i decided to circle around and continue the series 6 years after catching up
in just one game and the start of the "second arc" it shoots up to atleast top2 rgg games THANK YOU RGG
not gonna waste much time im jumping immediately on judgement and lost judgement so i can continue this series
Finished in 2024
A turning point in the series in both gameplay and cast, but i’m pleasantly surprised by how easy it was for me to get on board with the changes. Ichiban Kasuga is an amazingly fun, kindhearted and spirited loser protagonist who instantly won me over. I’ve got 73 hours into this game and i’ve grown really really attached to Ichiban and his band of misfits.
I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy the turn based combat as much, but I did enjoy the strategy aspect and the cooky skills and jobs. It keeps things fresh and the game is not as “grind-y” as other Yakuza installments (looking at you Ishin….)
Great game for veteran and new players!!
A turning point in the series in both gameplay and cast, but i’m pleasantly surprised by how easy it was for me to get on board with the changes. Ichiban Kasuga is an amazingly fun, kindhearted and spirited loser protagonist who instantly won me over. I’ve got 73 hours into this game and i’ve grown really really attached to Ichiban and his band of misfits.
I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy the turn based combat as much, but I did enjoy the strategy aspect and the cooky skills and jobs. It keeps things fresh and the game is not as “grind-y” as other Yakuza installments (looking at you Ishin….)
Great game for veteran and new players!!
this is my new favorite visual novel
Yakuza Like a Dragon é um jogo incrível do começo ao fim, seja por causa das sua história, reviravoltas, personagens incríveis, gameplay muito boa e de seus momentos no sense. Tudo nesse jogo te cativa, e a maneira que é introduzido o universo do game é tão boa que acaba sendo atrativo muito bom para aqueles que desejam entrar na franquia sem jogar os outros 6 jogos. Um verdadeiro jogaço da porra.
I mean I personally don't like it but u might. Not my cup of tea.
Amazing. Beautiful. GOAT.
eram DOIS bebeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees
Ichiban Kasuga is the GOAT. Using the frame of dragon quest and Ichiban’s wild imagination to suspend all reality, this game is able to tell a complex story while still feeling like a game that’s not taking itself too seriously. The side quests (called “substories”) were short and felt easily accomplishable, making it easy to detour into a math test or spend way too much time in a business simulator.
I did not like the turn based combat, I did get used to it but I felt it really slowed the fights down and just made them a chore to get thru. This game overall felt like a breath of fresh air after playing Y6. Ichiban is likable I can’t help but want to root for him. Arakawa was also so cool and the emotional moments always hit hard.
Ridiculously good. I love turned based combat and don't get me wrong this one is kind of simple but captivating. GREAT AMAZING STORY for the yakuza franchise if you said it was the best i wouldnt look twice. ichiban was a godlike pivot from kiryu and it has a ton of good side stuff. new characters are all super welcome & a lot of mistakes from previous games are rectified. still not as good as live combat tho
ichiban kasuga lives rent free in my mind
an amazing story and an amazing game trapped behind many VERY thick layers of jank and clunk. still totally worth it. really hope ryuu ga gotoku 8 irons out the newfound RPG part of this RPG series.
Surprisingly good JRPG. Great cast and story. combat is fast and not too grindy. job system is fun to play with. just a solid game overall. would definitely recommend to someone who's never played yakuza or a JRPG.
Need too finish
nowhere close to beating it but this game has changed my brain chemistry and I WILL be platinuming it