Each new instalment in the Yakuza franchise from the beginning has been made available exclusively for the PlayStation platforms at launch. Over the years as remakes have been published, some of the six games have made it over to other consoles including the Wii U, PC and Xbox One. However, with Kazuma Kiryu’s story having come to an end in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, a new protagonist is a good time to buck the trend.
Following the game being shown on Inside Xbox, SEGA has confirmed that Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the seventh game in the Yakuza franchise, will be available on the Xbox Series X next-generation console. This is not a console exclusive however, with plans for the Windows 10 PC, PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam also confirmed. It remains unconfirmed if a PlayStation 5 edition is also planned. While launch titles can hardly be considered the best games offered on any console, this is a brilliant inclusion as it gives first-day purchasers a real meaty game to dive into.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon will support the Xbox Series X Smart Delivery functionality on release, ensuring players only have to buy the game once and will be able to play it on either Xbox One or Xbox Series X when both the console and that version of the game are available. Cross-save functionality between Xbox One and Xbox Series X is also supported.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is described by Sega as an “underdog story about fighting for what you believe in, even when you’re at rock bottom”. The focus is shifted towards new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, a low-ranking grunt of a low-ranking yakuza family, who takes the fall for a crime he didn’t commit in order to protect his patriarch and father-figure, Masumi Arakawa.
After serving an 18-year prison sentence, he returns to society to discover that the clan he once belonged to has been destroyed, its few remaining members are being hunted in the streets, and learns that his former patriarch may be the man responsible for it all. Facing an unimaginable sense of betrayal, loss, and confusion, he sets out to discover the truth.
One of the big changes to this instalment is the introduction of a dynamic RPG combat system. Ichiban is a diehard RPG fan, so to help him stay focused in fights, he imagines the battlefield as if he was living in one of his favorite games. In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, players will level up 19 different ‘Jobs’ far from traditional RPG fare – not Warriors or Mages, but Bodyguards and Musicians, with completely unique strengths and skills. With six games already out using the traditional beat ’em’ up mechanics, the last few titles have tried with varied success to shake things up a bit. This is looking to be the most shook up change to date.
Despite this change, many of the Yakuza series mainstays are being brought back. Over 50 substories will be accessible to players during their playthrough, in addition to a “collection of never-before-seen minigames” complementing a number of return classics.
Developed by long-time series developer Studio Ryu Ga Gotoku, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is due for release on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC from later in 2020.
