Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Reviews
Like a Dragon Gaiden is a fun but mostly inconsequential entry in the series. The shorter main campaign actually makes it more enjoyable as the expansive side content makes up for it. As a fan, I enjoyed the game but it's pretty clear that its main objective is just to keep us invested on the upcoming Infinite Wealth.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Like a Dragon Gaiden is a solid and quite unexpected addition to the franchise, filling in the gaps and giving fans more to muse over before embarking on the next chapter, of which you have a demo available in this game. It’s a worthy companion to past games, bolstered by a substantial narrative focus and combat that remains gripping and fun, although the Agent style may be more of a bullet point than an actual absorbing addition.
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.
Like a Dragon Gaiden successfully weaves a compelling narrative that serves as a satisfying conclusion to Kazuma Kiryu’s iconic journey.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a thrilling and compact continuation of the neverending and endlessly exhilarating adventures of Kazuma Kiryu. There’s plenty of content to make you feel fulfilled alongside the expectedly explosive story. This is a delightful little Like a Dragon experience that will tide you over until the next main entry.
While Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is not meant for new players wanting to get into the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, you can still enjoy it as a brawler while just ploughing through the story. However, you won't get the narrative satisfaction this side story has planned. That aspect will reward longtime players who started the series back in the aughts when Sega had a budget to hire Michael Madsen and Mark Hamill for the first English entry of the series in the PlayStation 2 era.
Originally conceived as a spin-off, and spending just 6 months in development, Like a Dragon Gaiden could well have found itself sitting among the series’ more forgettable entries. To the contrary, though, Ryu Ga Gotoku seemed determined not to let this happen. Instead filling Gaiden to the brim with things to see and do, mini-games large and small, a meaningful narrative, and even a brand-new combat style. While it doesn’t tear up the playbook of what to expect from a Like a Dragon game, it does everything you’d expect it to do extremely well. It even finds room for a couple of welcome new additions in the Agent gadgets and engaging Castle setting. It is clearly meant to serve as a stop-gap before the imminent arrival of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth in January 2024. But Gaiden does more than enough to appease fans old and new, filling in some crucial blanks for the series’ often convoluted narrative, and serving as a great swansong for Kazuma Kiryu. The Like a Dragon series continues to ride the crest of a wave at the moment, and all eyes will now be on Infinite Wealth as it looks to continue this trend.
Overall, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a standout entry in this storied franchise. Agent is a fun new addition to Kiryu’s fighting styles, and I really loved the Coliseum this time around, especially the Hell Team Rumbles. Playing dress-up with Kiryu was a ton of fun, and every game should give him the opportunity to walk down a runway. Akame is a wonderful character, and her integration in both the main story and the substories made her feel integral to this snippet of Kiryu’s life. I found the interpersonal drama with Hanawa compelling, as well as everything involving the Omi Alliance. This game also packs a serious emotional gut-punch and features perhaps the best acting I’ve seen from Takaya Kuroda to date. If you’re really craving that old school Yakuza combat and storytelling, Gaiden is a solid experience. It took me a little over 30 hours to complete all substories, finish the Coliseum, complete the main races in CourStar and defeat the lion’s share of rivals. It’s well worth your $49.99 USD.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is not a perfect product and cannot remotely be recommended as a gateway, especially since the other games in the main series do a more competent job of offering a robust experience. However, it does a good job of encapsulating the characteristics of the franchise and offering old school fans a last dose of the Dragon of Dojima, now in his twilight as a protagonist.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Kazuma Mechagodzilla is back, and he's back more fierce than ever in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, a title that, while a spin-off of the main series, manages to fully deliver, offering a must-play experience for Yakuza fans.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I’m still not entirely convinced The Man Who Erased His Name needed to exist, but it's a fun & mostly enjoyable 10-15 hour intermission until Infinite Wealth drops in January.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is smaller than your average game in the series but still delivers an emotional punch of a story with plenty of great content to enjoy.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is thus a production along the lines of previous games in the series, which has above all in the return of Kazuma Kiryu a point of interest for fans. The question that arises at the moment is whether it is a game whose development is necessary and whether it adds something relevant. It seems that the relevance of the story of this member of the Yakuza is told and now there are the "spin-offs" and endorsements, the filling of spaces between the branches and evolutions of the series. This can be developed to exhaustion, as long as fans don't mind and as long as the studio continues to make games in record time, like this one. It is a production that falls short of other central games in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, which fills a space and resumes the narrative of a nostalgic protagonist.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
With its rich characters, intricate plot, and attention to detail, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has delivered a masterpiece that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on the gaming landscape. Saito’s journey is not just a game; it’s an experience that transcends the medium, inviting players to embark on a soul-stirring odyssey that will resonate long after the credits roll.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name isn’t Ryu Ga Gotoku's best work, as combat feels bland and we’ve seen these side activities before, but this is a nice distraction for hardcore fans and a more touching and satisfying sendoff to Kazuma Kiryu as the leading man.
The game does a great job of tying up loose ends and explaining why Kiryu returns.
For a smaller entry, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name offers a lot, both with content in the short term, but also influence on the larger Yakuza storyline at play. It harkens back to previous installments regularly, and connects to the future ones too, filling in gaps in Kiryu’s story and rounding him out even further. The reused and revisited locations are a mixture of familiar and overused, but they don’t overstay their welcome in this installment, and the new additions of The Castle help alleviate any potential boredom, whilst the combat introduces a new side to Kiryu, with new abilities and moves, it can feel repetitive after a while. As a whole, fans of the franchise will not be disappointed, and it will prove an easy jumping-on-point for newcomers alike with the constant recaps of the story so far, but for those looking for a longer, more in-depth entry to the franchise, you’ll be a little disappointed and may have to wait for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth next year.
I’d recommend Like A Dragon Gaiden to any fan of the series, without hesitation. Of course, if you’re not caught up with the series then you’ll want to get up to the end of Yakuza: Like A Dragon before diving into Gaiden. This is definitely not a good entry point for the series, just in case you were wondering. With a grounded, cohesive narrative the game perfectly sets the stage for Infinite Wealth. It’s a joy to be back playing as Kiryu, and seeing him still growing as a character after all this time is incredibly rewarding. I enjoyed every moment of my time with Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name and, barring some disappointment with the weaker than usual substories, I don’t have any real complaints. Another fantastic entry in a fantastic series.
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a gift for fans of the series in more ways than one. It's a refreshing return for long-time hero Kazuma Kiryu as well as the well-loved Dragon Engine. It's great to get back into the shoes of Kiryu, whether it is through combat, exploration, or playing the many mini-games. It may be the last time we're graced with his presence in this type of format, so enjoy it! That being said, it may be a stretch for newcomers and casual fans to go deep into the Like A Dragon lore with this title. I mentioned earlier that there were some quirks that I'm willing to forgive, but many newcomers will probably be confused. I recommend starting out with an earlier title and coming back to this title when ready, but it definitely is supplementary reading to get a better grasp of the overall lore.
Like A Dragon Gaiden links Yakuza 6 and Like A Dragon 8 with a focus on Kazuma Kiryu's life, featuring traditional Yakuza brawler action and a new gadget-heavy Agent style. Despite its engaging main story and memorable cutscenes, the game's side activities lack depth and innovation, falling short of series expectations.