Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Review
Review:
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name brings a refreshing and faster-paced experience to the series, catering to fans of action, beat ’em up, and simulation genres. While it offers many enticing features, there are a few drawbacks worth considering.
Despite all the odds, the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has become a major franchise for Sega, breaking out of its cult status and enjoying mainstream popularity. Similar to Kazuma Kiryu, the series’ tough protagonist, it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. While the next mainline installment won’t be out for some months, fans of the series can start by devouring Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name ($49.99). This fun PlayStation beat ’em up is a celebration of everyone’s favourite ex-gangster and an appetiser to Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Like a Phoenix
Since it’s stated right in the title, it’s obvious that Like a Dragon Gaiden isn’t a full-length Yakuza release. On the other hand, the brawler benefits from its rapid tempo and smaller scale. If you don’t mind the series’ complicated plot, Gaiden distils the essence of the series into what may be the franchise’s most approachable starting point.
Few characters have had it more difficult than Kazuma Kiryu. Kiryu made a surprising comeback in 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon, despite the game hiding the truth about why he had faked his own death in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. The Man Who Erased His Name: Like a Dragon Gaiden makes an effort to address Kiryu’s job disparity.
In contrast to Yakuza: Like a Dragon and its anticipated follow-up, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Like a Dragon Gaiden sticks with beat ’em up combat instead of the recently popular turn-based JRPG systems. Yakuza games, the gritty relative of Virtua Fighter, Streets of Rage, and Shenmue, have always been compilations of previous Sega games. Nevertheless, even an old dog can pick up new tricks, and Sega manages to keep fighting interesting even with Gaiden’s level of experience.
Kiryu has two fighting techniques. The first are his traditional, brutal Yakuza moves, which work best in one-on-one combat. Here’s where the game throws things off, though, with the new one. Smooth and nimble, Kiryu’s Agent fighting style adds gadgets to his arsenal in addition to giving his moves a dynamic speed and elegance. With a web-like rope that entangles and disarms enemies in a Spider-Man manner, Kiryu’s watch shoots. In addition, he uses rocket shoes to get through crowds and an exploding cigarette.
Fans of the series may notice that Kiryu’s new Agent fighting style is similar to Takayuki Yagami’s fast-paced fighting in the Judgement and Lost Judgement spinoff series. Actually, and I mean this positively, Gaiden reminds me of the offshoot in a lot of ways. Similar to how side stories were given out at the Yagami Detective Agency in the Judgement games, you receive Side Stories, the game’s side objectives, from an informant named Akame. The Kaito Files, a DLC expansion for Lost Judgement, and the game have a similar lower scale and scope.
However, this does not negate the merits of exploring Sotenbori’s streets. Like a Dragon Gaiden is packed with activities despite its diminutive size, such as golf, pocket circuit racing, gambling, cabaret club, and of course, karaoke. The Coliseum, where Kiryu competes in tournament fights (where you can create and lead a misfit clan to lead in combat), is where you’ll find the most entertainment value.
Like the most precious resource for a dragon guardian, all of this generates revenue. In contrast to previous games in the series, money—rather than experience points—is used to enhance skills. In general, a game system that depends on a levelling system other from experience points should raise red flags because it may be exploitative or heavily grind-based. But like a Gaiden, Kiryu becomes battle-ready soon thanks to its narrow scope and swift tempo.
Letting Go of the Past
Following the events of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Kiryu, now known as “Joryu,” has been working as a special agent for the Daidoji group. Kiryu’s identity is compromised during a botched assignment, endangering not only his own life but also the lives of his surrogate children at the Morning Glory Orphanage. The other party is interested in hiring Kiryu in an effort to plan the destruction of the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance, which further complicates matters.
Similar to the combat and mission design of the game, Gaiden’s narrative gains from a faster pacing. The narratives of Yakuza and Like a Dragon are convoluted, text-heavy, multi-character affairs. Furthermore, even though the Japanese dub with subtitles is great, you still have to pay attention to comprehend what’s happening.
The extravagant characters and strange tone changes, which include outrageous shonen anime-style combat, heart-stopping betrayals, and hilarious situations that could only happen in a game like this, may make up for a lot of that—and that’s just the primary plot. It won’t take long for you to be using a samurai sword to battle tigers, assisting a streamer in recording spirits, preventing insurance fraud, or even gathering off-brand Dragon Balls.
