If there’s one group of players who’ve been consuming higher than most currently, it is undoubtedly Like A Dragon/Yakuza followers. Over the previous few years we have seen Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio absolutely put money into revisiting, remaking and remastering essential components of its long-running RPG sequence, persevering with so as to add gorgeous new entries to the combo because it treats the franchise to an almighty spring clear.
Long-term followers and newcomers alike have been benefiting tremendously from these shiny new variations of older titles, flashy upgrades that readily permit gamers to dig into the wealthy historical past of this unimaginable sequence, however what’s been extra spectacular, maybe, is the standard of newer additions of late. With the likes of Yakuza: Like a Dragon and the outstanding Judgment sequence exhibiting that the magic system works simply as effectively with new characters and fight mechanics within the combine, it appears it is a developer and a sequence that is not prone to run out of steam (or new concepts) anytime quickly.
With Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, we have got a smaller slice of thug-bashing motion than is common – this journey was initially designed to be a part of the upcoming Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth earlier than being long-established right into a standalone launch – that sits in between the occasions of Infinite Wealth and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. It’s extra streamlined than the same old epic providing by fairly some margin, nevertheless it manages to take this smaller kind with out reigning in on both the motion or the sequence’ signature OTT drama.
One essential factor to notice earlier than we go any additional is that you will get way more out of Gaiden in case you’re already educated concerning the surrounding occasions and storyline which have introduced Kiryu to this place in his life story. Right off the bat there are fixed references and flashbacks to different characters and revelations that may imply nothing in case you’re coming in recent right here, so it is completely not the correct place to start out with the sequence for newbies and you need to 100% go play Yakuza 6 and Like A Dragon then come again to this one, we promise you will not remorse it.
Now, with that out of the best way, what we have got here’s a delightfully compact slice of motion that sees Kiryu on the again foot. The Dragon of Dojima has faked his personal loss of life, remoted himself for the larger good, began smoking completely a great deal of fags, and should now work within the shadows as employed muscle for the Daidoji Clan with a purpose to be certain that the Morning Glory orphanage (horrible title) stays protected. It’s cloak and dagger time, time to drag on a easy pair of shades and have no person recognise you.
Like A Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name would not do something radically new or completely different, there isn’t any turn-based fight right here for instance, however what it does do is current a Yakuza journey that may be performed and accomplished in round about ten hours in case you stick with the story (double that in case you like to seek out every part). With so many enormous video games (together with Infinite Wealth) on the horizon, it is nice to have one thing that is so fast to blast by means of which additionally would not skimp on the motion or the dramatics on account of being that bit shorter.
In truth, kicking the residing snot out of goons is the order of the day right here and Kiryu even has some slick new strikes and devices to maintain us entertained. Combat is streamlined from the sequence norm, providing you with simply two completely different stances to imagine as you have interaction ne’er do wells on the streets of Yokohama, Osaka and within the recreation’s all-new Castle district. Kiryu can swap between Yakuza fashion (the same old candy mixture of assaults, warmth strikes and smashing bicycles into folks’s faces) alongside a brand new Agent mode. Here you get a bunch of devices to play with that embody rocket footwear, smoke bombs and a really helpful “spider” that you should use to bind enemies up such as you’re some form of gangster Spider-Man.
The agent fashion of motion might sound like a little bit of a throwaway addition to the combo on paper with its foolish devices, however really we suggest getting caught into this stance slightly than sticking with the tried and trusted Yakuza approach of scrapping, as these devices are literally nice for crowd management and succeeding in larger battles or in a few of the recreation’s extremely gratifying boss encounters.
Away from tying lads up in magic string or blowing folks up with cigarette bombs, Like A Dragon: Gaiden additionally serves up its share of gratifying narrative motion, stuff we cannot spoil right here, and aspect motion within the type of Akame Network Missions which provide you with plenty of alternative to enjoy previous occasions and even meet some characters from throughout the sequence’ historical past. There’s loads to like on this dinky package deal, then, and that is earlier than we have even talked about the entire minigames, the Castle’s Coliseum battles, golf, darts karaoke, mahjong, hostess encounters (with dwell motion fashions), pocket circuits and arcade machines that supply up the likes of Daytona USA 2 and extra.
We must also observe that this is likely one of the finest wanting adventures that Kiryu has been on up to now, every part right here seems supremely sharp, the loading instances are quick, the preventing feels slick and polished and…effectively…let’s simply say we’re much more excited concerning the arrival of subsequent yr’s Yakuza 8 now, so job accomplished on that entrance. Yes, there’s nothing significantly new right here, a lot of the minigames and core mechanics are rehashed, we would have cherished to see Kiryu use his agent skills to do some correct detective work and there is plenty of retreading outdated floor and callbacks to occasions from the previous, nevertheless it’s arduous to knock this as a standalone package deal, particularly when taken as a scrumptious appetizer for the epic foremost meal that is but to return. Tasty.
Conclusion
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is one other superb slice of Yakuza motion from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio thart serves up a bit little bit of every part over the course of 15 or so hours. This could also be a shorter affair than regular by fairly some margin, however what’s right here nonetheless manages to ship plenty of thrilling motion, very foolish devices, drama and deep cuts for the followers. If the intent was to whet our appetites for Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, then take into account that mission effectively and actually full. Roll on January 2024.
