Sega’sYakuzaseries has been slowly building in popularity in the west ever since the release ofYakuza 0in early 2017. Since then, Sega has kept up a steady release schedule for the franchise, usually dropping more than one title every year since 2017. Now, the franchise is set to be reborn with the release ofYakuza: Like a Dragon, which is acting as a soft reboot for the series following the end of Kazuma Kiryu’s saga withYakuza 6: The Song of Life, and the release of the first titlein the spin-off seriesJudgmentin 2019.
Yakuza: Like a Dragonis bringing a lot of innovations to the series, including a brand new battle system, full English voice acting, the franchise’s debut on next-generation consoles, and more. Perhaps most importantly, the title is setting itself up to be the perfect entry point for newcomers. With that in mind, here’s everything fans need to know before buyingYakuza: Like a Dragon.
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What is Yakuza: Like a Dragon?
Yakuza: Like a Dragonis the seventh entry in the mainYakuzaseries but, as previously mentioned, acts as a soft reboot from the franchise. The game is centered around a new protagonist namedIchiban Kasuga, a member of the Arakawa Family, a subsidiary of the Tojo Clan. Ichiban is asked by the boss of his clan to shoulder the blame for a crime one of the other members committed. Believing it will allow him to repay the patriarch that raised him, Ichiban is sentenced to 18 years in prison, but when he is released he finds that he has been betrayed by his family and sets off on a quest to discover the truth of what happened between the Arakawa Family and the Tojo Clan in his 18-year absence.
The first thing returning players will realize aboutYakuza: Like a Dragonis that the franchise’s combat system has been revamped entirely, with Sega transitioning the seriesfrom third-person action style combatto a turn-based RPG combat system similar to franchises such asDragon QuestandPersona. This is becauseYakuza: Like a Dragonis directly inspired by theDragon Questseries, with Ichiban frequently referencing the series in the game’s trailers. The game will even feature aFinal Fantasy 3style job system, allowing players to assign any class they choose to any of their party members. The game also includes summons, which are based on characters featured throughout the story.
Like usual,Yakuza: Like a Dragonwill also see the return ofYakuza’s iconic sub-stories and side-activities. While not many sub-stories have been revealed, likely to avoid spoilers, Sega has detailed some of the game’s side-activities. This include a new kart racing mini-game known as “Dragon Kart,” which sees the characters driving through Yokohama in a cartoonish adaptation of some of Japan’s kart racing outlets.
For the first time since the originalYakuzafor the PlayStation 2,Like a Dragonis reintroducing English voice actingto the series. This is likely the result of 2019’sJudgmentfeaturing a well-received English dub. Purists will be happy to know that, like withJudgment, the game will also feature the Japanese voice track, which has its own subtitle option so fans do not have to use the subtitles matching the English dub’s dialogue.Like a Dragon’s dub includes actors such as George Takei (Star Trek,) Kaiji Tang (Berserk,) Andrew Morgado (Fallout 76,) Elizabeth Maxwell (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,) and Greg Chun (Overwatch.)
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Yakuza: Like a Dragon Release Date, Price, And Editions
Yakuza: Like a Dragonis releasing on almost every major current home console, but it is immediately important to mention that the gamewill not release on PlayStation 5 until March2, 2021. This appears to be the result of a marketing agreement between Microsoft and Sega, which will keep the title as a next-generation exclusive release for Xbox Series X and S until next March. With that in mind,Yakuza: Like a Dragonwill release on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on August 04, 2025. The game will retail for $59.99, yet there are multiple versions to choose from.
The base version of the game is the Day Ichi Edition. This versionis available both physically and digitally, with the physical edition featuring a special steelbook case. Both versions of the Day Ichi Edition come with the Legends Costume Pack, which includes costumes based on characters from the previous titles. Following this is the $69.99 Hero Edition, which is digital only. This version includes the Legends Costume Pack, Job Set, and Management Mode set, which act as boosters for some of the game’s side-activities. Finally is the digital-only $89.99 Legendary Edition, which includes all of the content from both previous editions, combined with the Crafting Set, Karaoke Set, Stat Boost Set, and Ultimate Costume Set.
Despite releasing alongsidemajor titles such asAssassin’s Creed Valhalla,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, andMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sega and Microsoft are putting a lot of faith intoYakuza: Like a Dragon. While the title might not catch on as well as those bigger titles, positioningYakuzaas a launch title for the Xbox Series X/S could see the series make a huge leap in popularity as the hype surrounding the bigger launch titles begins to die down.
Yakuza: Like a Dragonwill release on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on November 10th 2020. The game will release on PlayStation 5 on March 2nd 2021.
