The Yakuza series is seeing a massive leap in its latest installment. In the seventh part of Japan, but the Western version decided to abandon the number 7 to promote this idea. For those who want to try the series, it is a new entry and is attached to the English voice that represents the series. First time in a series after the first part. Why did they decide to designate this market segment as a new entry market? Because this is the first part after the story of Kazuma Kiryu ends, and is replaced by the new hero Kasuga Ichiban, and because this is the first part of getting rid of the famous combat system from the series and bringing a closer to the relay system in place .. Japanese RPG expectations .. such as "Dragon" Quest ".
This means that "Like a Dragon" is a difficult game. After Kazuma Kiryu's journey ends, the challenge begins with a new storyline; It introduces new heroes to fill the void left by one of the most popular video game heroes; It introduces a new combat system, and challenges in new regions; Selling the series to new players who have been rejected by many parts in the past. How successful was the game in facing these challenges?
In fact, at least as far as the story and characters are concerned. Like a dragon, it tells the story of Yakuza Ichiro, one of the small families of the Tojo clan. Ishiban spent 18 years in prison protecting the name of one of the great families, but when he found out that the world had changed a lot in these years, things got more complicated and his family no longer welcomed them, he was surprised. Ishiban went through a series of events and started a new life, during which time he had to climb the social ladder from scratch with his friends, but when he found himself stuck in a huge incomprehensible conspiracy, things got worse, the matter is complicated. The war between the major Yakuza organizations in Yokohama.
At least in the early days, "Like a Dragon" was one of the best stories in the series. The drama is strong, the comedy is fun, the characters are cute, and the tough moments matter. The first half of the game is more distracting than you might expect from Yakuza, as nearly every chapter is separated from its predecessor, focusing on Ichiban's adventures in the New World and introducing them to its rules and staff. This is not a negative experience for me, but it is the most enjoyable period for me, and it can be seen in the creation of the excellent character of Yakuza. The story began in the second half with coherence, and the size of the plot appeared, but the second half was not as strong as we saw it in 0 or even the last match of the "Trial" team, but it was not without enthusiasm and an impressive moment, and the game was the final chapter successfully ending.
The star of the party is undoubtedly Kasuga Ichiban himself, he not only filled the vacancy left by Kiryu Kazuma, but he might also be my favorite hero of the series. Ichiban fully accepts Kazuma's principles and embodies the ideal male version of yakuza, but he isn't always good at following these principles. Ichiban's mistakes, failures, and sophistication are due to his less dangerous character adding to the comedy of the story, and his great imagination and love for RPG provide evidence of the new game system. The other characters who participated in the Ichiban trip were also very good. Except for the apparent interest in the first three characters, it did not extend to the rest of the characters. Although these characters have not appeared in most of the films, they have almost no influence on the story.
Like A Dragon's combat system is simple and fun. Based on the idea of hitting the enemy's weak points to bring him down and then inflict maximum damage on him while he fell on the ground, which reminded us of the Shin Megami Tensei series. The similarity with the series in the game systems does not end here, as you find a system to develop your relationship with the members of your team, we mentioned strongly the famous Social Links system from Persona. There is also a job system that does not differ much from the famous system from Final Fantasy V, but its relatively late introduction, in addition to the great effort required to upgrade a new job for your old jobs, made it a system that does not encourage testing and experimenting, and I tried to find the best Function as quickly as possible so that I ignore the system and minimize downtime as possible.
Speaking of wasted time, the second half of "Like A Dragon" is full of moments I've seen trying to extend the life of the game. The game requires you to collect 3 million yen each time to complete the story, and it provides you with a leader who advances 15 levels from another level. All these moments force me to stop playing the story and engage in boring developments that highlight redundancy and lack of possibility in the combat system.
More positively, so far, the collection of mini-games and other stories is one of my favorite games in this series. Usually there are weird comedies, mixed with dramatic moments, and sometimes even when you don't expect to make a deep impression on you. Even the mini games here can bring you a lot of fairytale content, especially movie games and company management games. It is an upgraded version of the club management game in Yakuza 0 and one of my favorites.
From a graphical point of view, the series is by far the best format. Even though the movie clips are clearly more impressive than the gameplay, Dragon Engine can still impress me at this moment, which can be annoying at times. Outside of these two categories, some of the game's melodies are used to try new and more exotic things, including my favorite in-game melody, "Chapter 12 Boss Battle Melody".
Like the Dragon, it's a great addition to the Yakuza series and a good start to Ichiban's new protagonist's journey. The RPG system is often not in line with the ambition of storytelling, and the team's lack of experience in the scene is often apparent, but in the worst case, this is a good foundation with room for improvement. I really want to play another role the role is based on.
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