Yakuza: Like a Dragon, will be coming to the West sometime in 2020 for the PlayStation 4. The latest Yakuza game was announced to be coming January 16, 2020, to Japan. The Western release will soon follow later in the year, on a date still to be announced.
Like a Dragon is the original Japanese name for the Yakuza series. This will be the 8th main entry in the Yakuza franchise. Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 will also be released that year for the PlayStation 4 in a remastered collection. Therefore, fans and newcomers can catch up on the franchise with every single entry being on the PlayStation 4. Yakuza and Yakuza 2 were remastered as Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 for the PlayStation 4. Yakuza 6 was an originally released on the PlayStation 4. They also released a prequel to the entire franchise called Yakuza 0.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon has seven other main series games that proceed it. However, Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be considered a new slate for the franchise. The series is going through a rejuvenation process changing a lot of main staples, the Yakuza games are known for. This will be the first game in the franchise to feature a new main protagonist. The game follows Ichiban Kasuga, a lower level member of the Yakuza in his attempt to rise from the bottom.
Like a Dragon can be considered a soft reboot of the franchise with the number of changes it will be receiving. The game will be taking place in an entirely new setting in Ijincho. However, the biggest change the entire franchise will be receiving is a change in genre. Like a Dragon will be the first game in the series to be a turned-based RPG. Every other game in the series has been a beat-em-up, action game thus far. With all these changes, it’ll be a good starting point for any new fans to jump straight into the franchise.
This will not be the first time the Yakuza franchise has experimented. Yakuza has released a few spin-off titles that are completely different from the main series. In 2012, Yakuza: Dead Souls was released. Yakuza: Dead Souls changed the original formula into a zombie survival horror game. They again changed things up with Judgment, the detective style action-adventure game in the Yakuza universe.
Do these changes make you more or less excited to play Yakuza: Like a Dragon? Let us know in the comments below!
