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PLOT:
In 2019, Ichiban Kasuga, a former member of the Tojo Clan's Arakawa Family, is released after eighteen years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Expecting to be welcomed back, he instead discovers that his former patriarch has aligned himself and his family with the Omi Alliance and the police to destroy the Tojo Clan. Shot and left for dead in Yokohama by the man he looked up to as a second father, Kasuga, joined by a group including a homeless nurse, a disgraced cop, and a hostess who lost her employer to gang violence, sets out to uncover the truth behind his patriarch's betrayal while becoming a hero to the outcasts of Yokohama.
MY STATS:
Time Played: 62 Hours
Substories Completed: 38/52
Sujidex Entries: 230/252
Management Rank: Rank 1
Can Collector Rank: King Of Cans
Pound Mates Collected: 16/19
Bond Levels Maxed: 3/6
STORY:
One of the best things about the story of Like A Dragon, is how accessible it is. I personally have played all 7 of the other main entries into this franchise, so it doesn't mean much for me, but going through the story, I realized how perfect of a game it is for people just now discovering the franchise. That aside though, the story of Like A Dragon is one that you'll soon find yourself incredibly invested in, and one that I didn't find predictable in the slightest. It also has nice discreet callbacks to the other games for those who have actually played them, but as I said, it doesn't require any prior knowledge of the franchise to actually do so. Each individual chapter has a moment which is undeniably memorable, with chapter 12 really kicking things into gear for the last few chapters of the game. Just looking at the story alone this games easily one of the best I've ever played, but there are many other areas to look at aside from the story...
CHARACTERS:
Ichiban Kasuga is an instantly endearing character that you'll love to learn more about over the course of this game, and the same goes for pretty much every other playable character (excluding Eri). Kasuga himself has managed to become tied for my favourite character in the series in just one game, which is crazy, and then characters like Koichi Adachi and Joon-Gi Han have also shocked me in how much I like them. Aside from the playable characters, I really like some of the supporting characters, and I found the antagonists to be really great.
CHARACTER STATS:
Ichiban Kasuga: Level 63 - Job: Hero (32)
Koichi Adachi: Level 63 - Job: Breaker (32)
Joon-Gi Han: Level 63 - Job: Hitman (32)
Saeko Mukoda: Level 63 - Job: Night Queen (32)
Nanba: Level 59 - Job: Homeless Guy (29)
Tianyou Zhao: Level 55 - Job: Gangster (27)
Eri Kamataki: Level 63 - Job: Clerk (32)
COMBAT:
My biggest worry going into Like A Dragon was the combat system, as this is the first game in the franchise to feature turn-based combat. Even though this did initially make it quite hard for me to get in the flow of the game, once I had finally gotten used to it, I grew to love it more and more, especially as it became more fleshed out with the different jobs. I'm still not sure if I necessarily prefer it to the combat of the other games, but it was definitely the right move for this game; not only does it perfectly compliment the personality of Kasuga, but it also makes the franchise feel new and fresh, which is definitely welcome.
SIDE CONTENT:
The side content in Like A Dragon is incredibly plentiful. Whilst I've mostly neglected side content in past entries, this time I fully went into as much as I could, and there's still a solid amount that I missed out. The only side content returning from the other games (excluding a majority of the minigames such as mahjong and golf) is substories, and as they always have been, they're incredibly memorable. There's them the can collecting and dragon kart side content for those of you who like some sort of driving; whilst I didn't go very in depth into dragon kart, i can confirm that it seems a lot of fun, and whilst can collecting can become a bit monotonous, it's fun rising the ranks. Speaking of monotonous, the management minigame features gameplay which is just that! Jokes aside, it's kinda fun micro-managing your own business, but it becomes a bit boring after a short while; luckily enough though, you'll be earning too much to really care! There is so much more side content which I can't even begin to go into because there's simply that much, from numerous card games to being a part time hero, this game has something for everyone.. My personal favourite piece of side content is karaoke, which brings me to my next point...
SOUNDTRACK:
Karaoke has always been one of my favourite aspects of these games, and even though I'm not as head over heels for it in this installment as I was in the others, it still features some great songs in its karaoke catalogue. Aside from karaoke though, the game also features many phenomenal tracks during battles which are impossible to forget. So even if this installment doesn't have any karaoke songs that I'm super crazy about, it does at least succeed in giving me fantastic tracks which I'll love to listen to. Oh, the song that plays over the credits is amazing too, and I've been listening to it on repeat the entire time I've been making this post/review.
VISUALS:
The Yakuza franchise as a whole has always supplied me with visually impressive games, and Like A Dragon isn't any different. The game looks consistently phenomenal, and aspects such as the summons only allow these visuals to flourish further. I do somewhat feel that I'm no longer that impressed ny how these games look, and in turn, how this game looks, but the fact that I've gotten so used to the high quality visuals that it doesn't phase me any more is an impressive achievement in of itself.
CONCLUSION:
Even though I was already pretty sure that the Yakuza franchise was my favourite video game franchise, this game has absolutely cemented that, along with skyrocketing to the top of my ranking of the main series of Yakuza games. It's undoubtedly a game that I would recommend, to new fans and old fans of the series alike, and I'm incredibly excited to see where the series will go from this point forth.
OVERALL - 10/10
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