YAKUZA: LIKE A DRAGON

Reboots have never been easy. On paper they may sound like a good idea to freshen up your product on top of an already familiar framework, but in practice it involves a lot of risk. On the one hand, because your ideas will probably not be as good as the old ones, so nothing achieved, and on the other hand, you may face the outcry of old fans, who are usually relentless in such tactics, and thus place a definitive headstone on the franchise.

However, when you realise that your work has started to decline, it is a risk you have to take. Our PC's may have only released three games in the Yakuza series, but the series counts at least 10 titles (spin-offs and of the "regular" count) in the Land of the Rising Sun, all with a similar setup, so a change was perhaps in order. And as Ryo Ga Gotoku Studio wisely did, they decided to start from scratch by removing the number 7 from their new game. However, removing the numbering isn't the only "asset" of the new Yakuza, as the development team changed the main element that made the series famous, namely the brawling combat system, replacing it with a turn-based JRPG-style combat system. Admittedly a bold change that didn't find many supporters, at least initially, but as it turned out in practice, it works well. Let's take things from the beginning, though.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is set in the same universe as the previous Yakuza, only it introduces a completely new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, who is essentially unrelated to Kazuma Kiryu and the events surrounding him. Therefore, the new Yakuza is completely new player friendly, as no prior knowledge is needed to understand the game's story, and any cameos and references to the past that are made will make series devotees smile, but that's about it. They play no part in the plot development.

Ichiban is a rather cheerful and enthusiastic guy who ends up doing 18 years in jail for the sake of a crime committed by someone else, as a way to pay back for all the "goodies" offered to him by Arakawa Family leader, Masumi. His loyalty and allegiance to him and the Tojo Clan reaches a level of... stupidity, especially when after serving his sentence and a series of events, he ends up half-dead in a Yokohama city dumpster. There, he will be forced to start from scratch, hanging out with the city's homeless in order to unravel the reasons for his betrayal (?), but also to adjust to the new reality, where the yakuza is no longer as powerful as it was twenty years ago. Instead, with some concerted actions to clean up the state, the yakuza is effectively out of the game, with a few factions left and they too are isolated in a closed circle, such as the one found in Yokohama.

He is not alone in this endeavour, as he will soon find allies who will follow him every step of the way, each of course for their own personal reasons, which in one way or another end up being linked to Ichiban's. During their wanderings, however, a very strong bond will develop between them, largely due to the impulsive character of the protagonist, who is more like a teenager than a mature forty-something. The fact that Ichiban acts like a "big kid" gets him into a lot of trouble, but at the same time, his ignorance of danger results in some unprecedented heroics, summing him up into a very sympathetic (ultimately) protagonist. Regardless if his afro is out of fashion.

The plot of Yakuza: Like A Dragon is quite interesting, full of contrasts (i.e. scenes that shock with their cynicism, mixed with... craziness) and nicely developed characters, as is the case in practically all the Yakuza we've played so far, although it takes a long time to get going. In particular, it can take up to 8 hours of gameplay before we really get into the swing of things, which isn't that much in the end, considering it takes around 50 hours to see the end credits rolling. Of course, these hours are greatly increased if one wants to complete everything the game has to offer, which is no small feat.

Firstly, moving on to the element that received the most radical change, namely the battle system, the game presents a very good version of turn-based Final Fantasy with a touch of Dragon Quest. The reference to the latter game is no coincidence, as Ichiban Kasuga professes to be an avid fan of the game and in his mind, all battles are fought in a turn-based manner, hence the switch to that battle system! Arguably a very clever and imaginative way to justify the transition from the thunderous beat 'em up of previous Yakuza to the decidedly slower and more methodical turn-based, though in our opinion, no excuses of any kind are needed.

If you have previous experience in JRPG games, you'll have no problem adapting here. Our team consists of up to four people and during the battle, they are constantly moving around the room waiting for our orders. Our orders can consist of simple attacks, defense, item use, or magic/skill (with the additional use of MP points), while the opponents do the same once our team's turn is over. The options available to us are really numerous, and remarkably, both the environment we're in and the placement of enemies matter to the outcome of our hits. For example, if we perform a simple attack with Ichiban and there is a chest in his way, the hero will pick it up and use it against that enemy, dealing more damage. Similarly, AoE attacks are of no use if enemies are scattered across the field. Besides, the game makes sure to keep us always on our toes, as if we press the defense button at the right time, we reduce the effect of the enemy's hit.

However, the depth of the battle system is not limited there. Character development is based on a system of "jobs" that determine the class and skills of each character. In fact, the jobs are no different from the classes we've come to know in all the RPGs we've played in the past (e.g. the healer here is called a pop-idol, the paladin hero, the tank enforcer and so on) and the way to change them is quite easy, as it's enough to visit a... job agency and choose the job you want. Jobs have their own experience bar, which rises as we progress through the game and complete battles, enriching our skills and giving us more weapons in our quiver. If we want to unlock a greater variety of jobs, then we'll need to develop interpersonal relationships with the other party members, sipping whiskey at the Survive Bar and helping them successfully resolve their personal issues.

Besides these, Ichiban has his own personal stats that don't play a very big role in battles, such as Style, Intellection or Confidence, which if increased, give us access to previously inaccessible areas, and allow us to develop love affairs with various chicks! Usually, the reward in such cases is some better items, though it is better to engage in the noble sport of crafting if we want to acquire the strongest weapons and armor for our class... sorry, for our job.

If we have a complaint with the implementation of the battle system, it lies in the frequency of the battles, which is as intense as the beat 'em up Yakuza games, which means that we will lose several minutes in uninteresting battles with weak mobs. There is the option to put battles on "auto-mode" to avoid suffering, on the other hand, AI often works in an irrational way (such as unnecessary MP usage) while we are forced to watch them going on. It would definitely be preferable if low-level mobs were able to ignore our presence, though later in the game there is an item that completely eliminates in-town battles. That's not the ideal solution, though.

Also, although as a game it's not difficult at all, there are some difficulty spikes in certain chapters that lead to the need for grinding for the much-needed level-up. Fortunately, there are a few spots that are suitable for quick levelling (the sewers or the Battle Arena), but be prepared to be consumed by several hours of constant "grinding", especially if you decide, at one point, to change a character's job. Alas, we expect that at some point, the dozens of substories we take care of, will also provide a serious amount of experience points.

Substories that remain simplistic in their structure are mostly humorous and with the appropriate "life lesson" in their ending, usually far from the political correctness of the Western world, but this time it's worth spending more time with them, because they offer us the Poundmates. Poundmates are the summons of the game and come into the battle at a cost (except the first time we summon them, which is free-of-charge), with their powers being a real game-changer. Whether they deal overwhelming damage or some status (beneficial for us, negative for enemies), they are a very powerful ally in battles against bosses, who tend to be... sponges.

Apart from the substories, Yakuza: Like A Dragon is packed with side activities and mini-games that can keeps us engaged for hours. First of all, there's a management sim that might seem a bit confusing at first, but eventually once things get into a groove, it has quite a bit of interest and even gives us another character to add to our team if we reach a certain level. In terms of mini-games, apart from the usual karaoke, darts, poker, dolls etc, Dragon Kart is amazing as an alternative Mario Kart, the Can collection is a lot of fun, while the arcades are fantastic with the full version of Virtua Fighter 5 dominating, as well as the more classic Outrun, Super Hang On and Space Harrier. If you have time to spare, Yakuza: Like A Dragon will find a way to keep you pleasantly occupied.

Moving on to the technical aspect, the game is more or less on the fairly satisfactory level of Yakuza Kiwami 2, only this time better work has been done on optimizing the lighting effects. You're not going to be left with your mouth hanging open, and there are instances where textures seem to have run out in 2015, but overall Yakuza: Like A Dragon is very pretty, with rich colours, well-directed cut-scenes and a strong personality that carries the series' stamp. On the audio front, the soundtrack is predictably good, with a kaleidoscope of sound that includes Japanese pop, metal and instrumental themes, while the voice-over is predictably high quality - yes, even the English one, however out of place it may be.

To sum up, Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a bold reboot that manages to change the formula very successfully and you'll love it, especially if you have even a slight affinity for JRPGs or turn-based games in general. Sure, it's far from perfect, mainly thanks to the "childhood" diseases inherited from other representatives of the genre (such as grinding and slow plot progression), however it remains a highly enjoyable and entertaining title that can give you dozens of hours of fun. And we certainly can't wait to see what else Ichiban Kasuga and company have in store for us...

We warmly thank Zegetron for providing the review code.