 The Yakuza series is one of the most famous games in the beat-em-up genre. This is a franchise I've developed a strong fondness of lately, having been chipping away at the first six games in the Yakuza series. Yakuza, known as Ryu Ga Gotoko in Japan, like a dragon, is the video game equivalent of a crime drama set in Japan. It follows the struggles between different crime families in the game's tojo clan. The gameplay of the series is typically being a brawler slash beat-em-up brought into the realm of 3D. There's a player sticking on dozens of enemies per stage, being able to pick up objects in the environment to use as weapons, and even being able to execute special, sometimes hilarious finishing moves. It's fast-paced, it's chaotic, it's fun. There's a reason why Yakuza has quickly become one of Sega's most popular franchises in its 15-year lifespan. The stories are typically very complex, with a lot of characters, politics, new enemies popping up every now and then and more. So far, the games have all taken place in the district of Kamurocho, an open city where you can explore, engage in different side quests, and play a bunch of fun minigames. These minigames have made the series especially famous. You can play pool, go to the arcade and play Sega Classics, there's darts, racing, karaoke, and just too many things to list. It's overall a good franchise with quite a legacy built up. Now, the latest entry in the Yakuza series happens to be coming out in the West very soon. Yakuza Like a Dragon is releasing, and it features a new protagonist. Ichiban Kasuga, in the district of Isizaki Injincho. This is a really big change as the first six entries in the series start series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu in the Kamurocho district. Players would see how the same exact city evolved over the course of six games, and now we're completely moving away from all of that with a fresh start, kinda like a soft reboot. The game's title in Japan is Ryuga Gotoku 7, which directly translates to Like a Dragon 7. Now, in the West, Sega has dropped a 7 from the title and just called it Yakuza Like a Dragon, so this is kinda like a Resident Evil Biohazard kind of move, probably to entice newer players without making them feel like they have to finish Kiryu's entire story. And it's not just the location and title that's changing, it's also the gameplay. You see, Yakuza Like a Dragon is not a beat em up like the first six games. It's a turn based RPG, like a Dragon Quest. You see, the main character Ichiban Kasuga is a huge Dragon Quest fan in the game's lore, and as a result, he actually perceives fights as being turn based, which is crazy. When the game got announced with this kind of plot, I had a bunch of people sending me messages telling me that the new protagonist is basically just me, and it's funny. Up until now, the series has made references to a fake Dragon Quest knockoff in the Yakuza universe called Arakure, a play on the word doraku. However, this time around, Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and his team actually got permission from Dragon Quest creator Yuji Hori to name drop the series, and that is exactly what's happening. So this is a really big change for the series, action combat to turn based. Now the way I see this is it's like the opposite of what usually happens. You see, most turn based game series become action RPGs to the point where there's only a few different turn based RPGs still around, since they all go action based eventually due to following the trend. This is like turn based fans saying, hey how do you like it? Now there's a vocal minority of people who think this is not a good idea, but really it is. I've played the demo, the combat is actually very fun, and there's even a job system like Dragon Quest III where you actually go to an employment center to literally change your job to different things like a musician, a host, a chef, it's a funny and a cool feature. Now you see, Yakuza's combat has never really been the same. Every entry in the series has tweaked the combat enough that they all play slightly different to each other, and after 6 entries you can only punch your way through a hallway full of goons so many times. In a Japanese interview in Femitsu January 2020, translated by atk, Christoff 100 on Twitter, Yuji Hori and Toshihiro Nagoshi were both being interviewed. It is here where Nagoshi sheds light on the changes and connections to Dragon Quest. Turns out Nagoshi is actually a big Dragon Quest fan and looks up to Hori since a lot. He says that when he was in university, Dragon Quest taught him what an RPG was. He was grinding as much as he could. He also mentions he was a big fan of Hori's other work, the Bartopia serial murder case, which he only tried because Hori was attached to it. At the time there were only two famous game directors, Yuji Hori and Shigeru Miyamoto, and people typically were interested in new games by either of them, the same way you'd watch a movie because of a certain director. Nagoshi says that his reasons for the game's direction is that the main character Ichiban is an outlaw who likes games and that it would be too vague to just say he likes RPGs without actually naming a game, so they decide to name Dragon Quest with Yuji Hori's permission as a way to show that he's a simple person. This is why they decide not to go with a franchise like Final Fantasy instead, as Nagoshi said that this would not fit. He said that if Yuji Hori had refused to let them use the Dragon Quest name, he would have scrapped Ichiban being a fan of RPGs altogether. Now, Yuji Hori was optimistic and immediately let them use the name. At first he thought it would be used for a small part, but it turns out it is much more deeply rooted than that. Hori sensei said he was surprised that the game changed to a turn-based system but happy as he isn't that great at action games. Now, upon being asked about some people's opinions that this is a bad change, Nagoshi acknowledged complaints and said there were many who were opposed at the beginning but changed their minds when they played the game for real. Of course, I know that there are still opinions like it should be an action game, but I thought it would be better to challenge some new battle system rather than to investigate the progress of action thoroughly. Also, I was sure about that, that it would be a new experience to combine the common, accustomed commanding system with the world of Yakuza. So he knows that some people don't like the idea, but he sees it as a fresh start for the series and I agree. You see, there's little elements of Dragon Quest in the mainline Yakuza series already. The games are almost like an RPG with random encounters. As kiddo you typically walk the streets of Kamurocho, running into groups of baddies every now and then. Very similar to how you run into monsters in Dragon Quest on the overall. Additionally, you can purchase weapons, items for healing, there's skill treats to level up, Yakuza's side missions are also very Dragon Quest-esque with the famous casinos from Dragon Quest being brought straight into Yakuza. Some of the monster arenas are replicating Yakuza Zero. Instead of monster fights, they're cat fights where you can bet on a specific woman to win and lower her chances to hire the payoff which is exactly the same as Dragon Quest 3's monster arena. Oh man, that's great. Additionally, Yakuza's story and characters have a little bit of DQ in their DNA. Despite being basically a criminal, kiddo is an honorable person who defends the weak. You typically find yourself saving innocents from thugs and doing side quests to help people. Kiddo is actually very heroic and has a lot of qualities of a Dragon Quest character. And from what we've seen of Yakuza like a Dragon, they're going all the way with their influences. Ichiban said in the trailer that he wants to be a hero just like in his favorite video games. So it is very likely that Yakuza like a Dragon will be full of game references for fans of spot. To close out their interview, Hori and Nagoshi were both asked to give a message to people who want to play Yakuza like a Dragon. Hori said he was rather engaged to the point that he wants to finish the game to the end and that everyone should play along. Nagoshi ended by saying Yakuza like a Dragon shows respect to all RPGs, especially at its highest peak, DQ. And with that meaning, I use it in the game. It's a unique game, but you can see the respect that is put inside it if you play it. So including those who don't play RPGs lately may get a new experience from this Yakuza like a Dragon, an RPG with a kind of nostalgia but also brand new features. So Yakuza like a Dragon looks like a good game for fans of the series looking for something new and newcomers. A lot of people have asked me if you need to play the first six games before this one and from what I can tell, not really. However, this game is still about the Tojo Clan and I would highly recommend at least playing Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 1 to experience some of Kiryu's story and have a bit of an attachment before jumping into like a Dragon. Other than that, the game looks cool. I plan on playing it and I think DQ fans should get it too. Ichi is one of us. It's the first game I've ever seen starring a Dragon Quest fan. So I have to get it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this video and I'll see you next time.