Yakuza: Like a Dragon Reviews
Yakuza Like A Dragon once again demonstrates the incredible quality of Ryū Ga Gotoku Studio's productions. A huge game, animated by a wonderful story and surrounded by a huge amount of fun side activities. Don't miss it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Yakuza Like a Dragon is another great addition to the Yakuza series. Trading real-time combat for turn-based combat is the change-up the series needed, making the once-great series, amazing.
It's a new direction for the series, but Like a Dragon captures the essence of what came before while setting out on its own journey.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is worth your time. While you might not like it if you were a fan of the older Yakuza titles, or if you are looking for something dark and serious, anyone who just wants to explore Japan while having some fun and beating some gangster's faces in old school JRPG style will love this title.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a rousing success. The timing is excellent, too. It’s the dawn of a new console generation and it’s an exciting time for this storied franchise to turn a new page. As far as launch games go, this is one of the best, for several reasons. It offers some presentation ‘wows,’ but even more importantly it offers a deep, long, compelling story with memorable moments and characters, with strong gameplay and lots to do. It’s built off of the success of the previous fifteen years of Yakuza, but Like A Dragon blazes its own path, too — you need not have played any of the previous games to fully enjoy this one, yet I appreciate that this game honors the past while forging its own future. PS5 owners have something great to look forward to in March, but if you’re lucky enough to have the new Xbox, this is a great game that is also very well priced right now at just $50.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is about the importance of friendship and striving to become a better person, which is a message we could all do with right now. It also happens to be a sensational new dawn for a series that's brave enough to shake up the formula and accomplished enough to pull it off with aplomb. To quote Ichi, “let's do some hero shit!”
An extraordinary and courageous restart for the new Sega title, an extraordinary JRPG that lays the foundations for even more prosperous growth.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The mean streets of Yokohama offer the opportunity for a new cast, a new suit, and a new hero. Ichiban Kasuga might not be the role model in the same way that Kiryu-chan was, but this dragon's quest might be the most fun Yakuza title to date!
Yakuza: Like a Dragon impressively pulls off the switch to an RPG in style, providing an excellent combat system supported by loveable characters, and a tantalising main storyline with meaningful side quests.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon's cast of misfits makes the wild RPG combat, absurd humor, and dramatic storytelling soar.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a new frontier for the Yakuza series, and the life and crimes of the series feels right at home in this new setting. Ichiban is an instant addition to the pantheon of Yakuza legends, his party an endearing band of ruffians, with the combat doing just enough to make everything familiar feel new again. Where Yakuza goes from here is anyone's guess, but mechanical friction aside, this is a step in a fun and compelling new direction.
Yakuza fans were anxious about whether the series would survive without the glue of Kiryu Kazama to hold it together. However, Ichiban Kasuga is a worthy successor to the Dragon of Dojima, and Like a Dragon is a great new start for this fantastic series that will please long-time Yakuza fans and newcomers alike.
It keeps the great narrative and setting from the Yakuza series, using a new protagonist, a city that has more life than even Kamurocho and turn-based combats. It suffers from some of the classical troubles of the J-RPG, but it is a breath of fresh air and a great example of how to reinvent a franchise.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
This is the crux of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It is fascinated by the way that games lurk at the soft verges of life, vesting our days with dreams.
You should look at Yakuza: Like a Dragon through the lens of it's protaginist. This game is unapologetically brash, unmistakable bold, life-affirming and insanely charismatic. The legend of Ichiban Kasuga journey, like a bright flame, tells us one familliar, but sweet and romantic idea - each and every one of us can become a true Hero, even if you have to fight the fate itself, while making your way through hundrends upon hundreds of random encounters.
Review in Russian | Read full review
The Yakuza series continues to grow and expand in the gaming world. I love its quirky humor and deep narratives. This new entry begins a new saga and I cannot wait to see how the story of Ichi evolves over time. If it is even half as good as Kiryu’s the studio will have another series of great games on its hands. Everything about this title feels good and for those worried about having previous knowledge, don’t be concerned. Like a Dragon is a wonderful jumping in point for the series and also one of the best titles in it to date. Don’t sleep on this game, it is worth digging into.
Not in spite of but because of its bold change in direction, Like a Dragon comes in as one of the best entries in the Yakuza series. The new setting, characters, and gameplay make it a great entry point to the franchise for newcomers, too, and veterans will likely appreciate the change of pace for this latest mainline game after so many sequels cut from the same cloth. Unless you're allergic to turn-based combat systems — and let's be real, this one is hardly the most daunting out there — then Like a Dragon should definitely be on your radar. Slick, compelling, varied, and entertaining, Like a Dragon is easily one of the launch day highlights for Xbox Series X|S, and it's great to see this fan favourite franchise use this golden opportunity to finally get its turn to shine.
The first JRPG Yakuza game has some issues in execution, but nothing that amounts to more than a minor annoyance. This is a truly excellent revamp of the long-running series, and a superb starting place for newcomers.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a triumph, and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio should be commended for redefining such a seasoned franchise, despite the backlash it might have received. Leaving Kazuma Kiryu behind hasn't been easy, but Ichiban Kasuga and company have crafted a compelling path into the future that I cannot wait to see continue.
As the Yakuza franchise is still trying to become a household franchise in the West, the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio decided to flip the switch and create a turn-based RPG. The result of that experiment, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is a resounding success. The "dynamic RPG" gameplay fits the Yakuza universe and tropes like a glove and its mechanics are surprisingly deep. And the fact that the game's new characters are lovable doesn't hurt. The turn-based gameplay will probably put off some gamers but Yakuza: Like a Dragon truly deserves a shot. The Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio made the JRPG genre proud.
Review in French | Read full review