Grinding at age Forty, huh?
It has been absolutely years in the making, as I've followed along the franchise at an arms length desperately trying to catch up with the curve- but after a simply horrendous amount of tailing I am finally at a stage where I'm one integer game behind the latest Yakuza- and thus can soon enjoy the latest game along with every one el- oh wait, there's 'Like a Dragon Ishin'. And Judge-Eyes. And Lost Judge-eyes. And 'Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man who Erased his Name'. (Sometimes I hate how efficient RGG are at putting out new entries in this bloody brilliant franchise.) At the very least I can mark this as the big turning point of the franchise where Yakuza became Like a Dragon and where the main series followed up on the April's fools prank to actually become an RPG!
In actuality that was a joke sentiment by the developer. Yakuza 7 was planned to be a huge shift away from the action elements of the Kiryu Kazama saga long in advance, likely to herald in the new age of Ichiban Kasuga in a genuinely distinct fashion- they didn't just change the trajectory of the entire franchise based on the whims of a decent reaction to a proposed joke video. (It is slightly curious why that was an April Fools video at all, though- considering it was literally just an announcement for the next game hidden as a joke.) But one needs merely to play the game to see how intrinsically linked the switch to Turn Based RPG fit in with Kasuga's personality and history; making this one of those delicious moments of a truly diegetic game design swing.
After more than a decade playing with Kiryu Kazama, living the journey of the Dragon of Dojima, any proposition of change was bound to rustle feathers with long time fans and new fans who had just jumped aboard with Yakuza 0 with the franchise's sudden meteoric rise to international fame and relevancy. The man was the heart and soul of the Yakuza franchise, a steadfast moral centre of the crime world imposing his values of peerless chivalry through a tiger dropping fist he connected with the skulls of all comers. Street thugs, Triad bosses, Mob lords, other Yakuza legends, a guy he used to babysit once, some guy who got his crush pregnant, a blonde guy who's sister he had a crush on, this one self-piteous young guy with a major supercity complex and daddy issues, a couple of guys he was pretty sure were actually on his side but he just felt like beating up some fools that day anyway- oh, and the Takeshi of Takeshi's Castle fame. He punched a lot of people. And in doing so forged an unbreakable legacy.
Bringing in someone new was going to be a challenge of similarities and differences. What about the man will make him as endearing as Kiryu was? What about Ichiban will make him stand out as his own man? How will this new Turn-Based action effect the player's relationship with the action of the game and the presentation of the world space? How will the narrative of Yakuza be changed with a man at the helm who doesn't start off from the beginning as a legend? (I know that chronologically Kiryu isn't a Legend in Yakuza 0- but that game is a prequel- the original introduction to the character came with all the headscratching bells and whistles attached.) I hope to touch on most of these angles in my breakdown of exactly how I felt brushing up with the brand new face of the Yakuza franchise.
Early Game
'Yakuza: Like a Dragon' carries with it a uniquely cinematic quality that feels even a step beyond the usual ply of a Yakuza game. The story lays itself out in epic fashion, starting generations before the day of Kasuga laying out a story of smatterings of characters and burning mysteries that are left entirely to fester of the course of most of the game. There's this inescapable feeling that what RGG are shooting for is something epic feeling- so much grander then itself stretched across the entire history of the Yakuza franchise. And whilst we don't get the lengths of 'throwing a character in the background and pretending they were there the entire time' kind of tie-in, the lengths of time covered does inherently feed into this perception of an epic playing out before us.
And given the rise of the franchise in the years since 0's release- you can tell the massive effect that RGG's resources have had on both the scope of the stories they're telling and how they present them. You'll find fully voiced cutscenes, multiple forms of cutscene that are used stylistically instead of just for budget reasons (the 'slideshow still'- style cutscene returns, but exclusively as a tool to denote a flashback of a previously witnessed full motion scene.) Of course there's still the occasional stab of franchise typical quirk- such as the early scene of Kasuga and his boss Arakawa walking through what appears to be a 2D PNG of what I believe to be Ijincho, like this is the original Final Fantasy 7 or that Blade Runner game. (I'm picking at seams, though. The presentation is overall stellar.)
In a mirror of Kiryu's first outing, our journey begins with a prequel setting us in the world of good 'ol Kamurocho in the before days, giving us a time to grow accustomed both to Ichiban and the found family of the Arakawa group before his prolonged prison sentence. (No big spoiler there, it's literally in the trailer.) Here we are highlighted to just how distinct of a person Ichi is. He's so much more hot headed and impulsive when he gets ticked off, but he's also more personable and harder to bait. Kasuga knows how to disarm a situation using his charm, rather than the no-nonsense brute force attitude of Kiryu- and though Ichiban might be classically unlearned, there's a sly resourceful streetsmart streak that flares up in moments of need. Right from the beginning we can see that whilst Kiryu was this force of nature that the world moved around, Ichiban is more of a bug that the world moves over- which makes him all too easily underestimated.
And the morality of the man is of course his very first challenge put to us. This is the first time since 0 that we've actually seen a Yakuza do what they're supposed to be doing- extorting the public. Of course, through his debt collection Ichiban is able to showcase how crafty he is and the subversive nature he cleverly wields in order to remain true to his morals. Being a Yakuza is important to him, unlike with Kiryu who seemed so diametrically opposed to everything the Yakuza did it was a wonder why he ever joined them in the first place, but Ichiban isn't ever willing to compromise his own morality. Still the franchise treats the good-end of Yakuza like community workers more than criminals, but at least there's a bit of pull and give with Ichiban to make him less caustic to the Yakuza conceptuals.
And of course, as with any stellar prequel RGG put in the effort effectively laying out the characters and their relationships with such exacting precision you feel well acquainted with them all before the time skip. Boss Arakawa with his fatherly informality over his family members, a natural community leader who serves as an inspiration for a soap-house birthed orphan like Ichiban. Sawashiro the whip cracking hardhead who feels like the kind of guy who goes around carrying a block of wood on him at all time to collect subordinate's fingers everytime they take too long to fetch his morning coffee. And of course, the Young Master- Arakawa's wheelchair bound son Masato, a young man entrapped within his own 'weakness' and the disgrace of the crime family he is inescapably tied to by merit of his lineage. All strong depictions, all heavily foreshadowing the roles they'll play in the story to come. (And if you're familiar enough with the franchise by now- you probably know where two out of three of them end up after the first scene in which you meet them. Although personally, I did predict a Cyborg boss fight I didn't get, but I suspect that might have been RGG missing a trick rather than just a straight missed forecast.)
Like a Dragon brings us to a new world space, the most detailed and expansive city location since Kamurocho and a breath of fresh air for a franchise that has reused that map since the beginning. Yokohama's Ijincho is a town with a pleasing mix of tight streets and open highways, seedy red light districts and classy cultural districts- it carries a touch of everything you want out of an explorable world space and ties it all down with classy diversity. Fitting for a narrative which is designed to take the audience through the dregs of the disregarded and overlooked. Sex workers, the homeless, all the downtrodden are peers to Ichiban, and this marks one of the only depictions in media I can think of where they are treated as genuine people struggling to pick themselves up whilst the ruling class uses them as scapegoats in their own grand schemes.
The theme of 'rising from rock bottom' is reflective of both the tone of the narrative and the events themselves, as Ichiban finds himself literally being discarded with the trash and living within the Ijincho homeless camp- scavenging under vending machines for scraps of Yen or collecting cans in a really fun little bike-racing minigame in order to recycle them for 'trade credits'. This presentation of consummate resolve underlines one of the key characteristic foils of Ichiban- his creativity and active imagination which allows the gangster to align his world views with his love of the resolute morality of video games. And not just any video games, but his favourite RPGs: The Dragon Quest franchise. Yes, they literally just name drop Dragon Quest, a Square Enix licence, in this Sega game. Often, in fact. Because that's just how important it is to Ichiban and the way he compartmentalises the world and his role within it.
Yes, 'Yakuza: Like a Dragon's switch to RPG gameplay is wonderfully diegetic with Ichiban's world view to the point where enemy spawns will literally transform into caricatures of themselves when fighting Ichiban to replicate the way that paper dolls get replaced with higher rendered models in old school JRPGs like Dragon Quest. When Ichiban is sent to the job centre in order to seek gainful employment- the game treats this like an RPG 'job system'; (The JRPG term for 'classes') allowing the player to take up a job as a 'Bodyguard' or a 'Host' and access a plethora of job specific moves as you level up in that profession. And just to make things even smoother, stat boost increases earned every 5 levels of a job are shared across all jobs- so the strongest character is actually someone who switches regularly and tries out every job. There are even some skills that pass between classes, allowing you to build actually diverse character builds in this franchise that just took on RPGs as a half-joke! Who would have thought?
Special moves are treated like delusions from Ichiban's overactive imagination, allowing them to be brilliantly creative flights of fancy, such as Ichiban calling down a laser from space or Namba firing spiralling torrents of fire breath to cover the entire area. This passes on to summons as well; (Or 'Poundmates' as they're rather curiously named) giving us series-typical silly moments such as a Crawfish death squad raining from the sky, a grown Yakuza boss in a diaper crying so loud it damages the enemies ears or Majima running down the face of a skyscraper throwing electric knives to the beat of 'Receive and Bite You'- his theme for Yakuza 4 which was so impeccably brilliant that I refuse to accept any appearance from Majima lacking it. This is the second time they've used it, I consider it his official theme now. Fight me.
Being in a totally new environment with a brand new protagonist really gives Like a Dragon room to spread it's legs as the story develops, resetting the balance of power entirely by writing the series staple Tojo clan right off the script. Instead we're introduced to whole new factions with developed cultures and history's that no longer feel like side players to the big Yakuza clans as they would have done in past games- simply through merit of sharing space with the Tojo. The Ijin Three spread their own mysterious agenda across the middle length of the plot, giving stepping stone journeys on the way to the bigger conundrum in a manner we haven't seen done since Yakuza 5. And they were done particularly poorly in Yakuza 5 too, so I'm quite happy with Like a Dragon's performance of this trope.
It's in these middle parts that Like a Dragon starts to set a previously untouched precedent for the amount of referential humour the game can slide into it's play cycle. I mean we already have the classics, the arcades full to the brim with other SEGA products. (With Virtua Fighter 5 being available this time around. Although I did notice how it was also accessible in the prequel chapter despite it not technically being released during when that chapter is set! Count on me to be the detail's scout!) But I didn't think RGG was big enough to just bring up other studios. I already mentioned Dragon Quest, but what if I told you that RGG take aim at the biggest Japanese developers in the world, Nintendo! Even more so than they naturally do by telling stories about Nintendo's formerly biggest client base?
With all the new creative imagination enemies that Kasuga is dreaming up, the 'Sujimon' system is conjured to categorise and 'collect' information on them in order to fill up a 'Suji-dex'. (Yes, this entire system is stuffed silly with Pokemon references.) And then there's a fully functioning Kart racer called 'Dragon Kart' which serves as one of the game's overarching metagames! Oh yeah, not even Mario is safe from Yakuza's all consuming reference-spree: and whatsmore, RGG did a damn good job with the racing minigame too! At the very least they figured out how to give vehicles a reverse since the dark ages of Yakuza 5's Taxi minigame.
And then there's the other minigame of 'Ichiban's Confections'- wherein our boy is unceremoniously promoted to CEO of a struggling business he needs to whip back into shape through management of staff, appeasement of investors and careful investments. This marks yet another RGG totally original Minigame that they've positively smashed- because yes, it's a really fun little metagame to get lost in between major story beats. Not quite as good as the good old Hostess club, mind- but for what it's supposed to be depicting, the agonising process of managing a small scale company and gradually scaling up, they pulled wonders making that feel involved but enjoyable. And of course, it comes with an overarching metagame narrative about the evil cadre of Business people who want to squander your chances, which surprisingly is probably the weakest iteration of this trope the franchise has put together yet. There didn't even really seem to be a sweet message at the end like 'You have to remember how to love what you do' or 'don't lose sight of the little people'- it just sort of ends. A rare disappointment out of this game.
One of the newer editions to the franchise which I think has resulted in incredible benefits for the narrative is the party system because yes- this is a full RPG with party members. These span a vast array of characters, many of which you'd never have expected joining Ichiban on his underworld spanning adventures, and all of whom are provided fantastic opportunities to shine. Like a Dragon prominently features it's party and the bond they build alongside Ichiban as key aspects of the game's narrative and character progression. Just by doing anything in the open world, fighting, eating, Karaoke, performing the 'classic movies' video game in which you battle sheep-head demons to stay awake throughout the showing; (Like I said, this is a weird game) you earn and accumulate bond points. These unlock bond-conversations you can have back at the Hub 'The Survive Bar' which deepens your understanding of the cast and their personal motivations- enriching their place in the story alongside Ichiban.
RGG didn't have to go to these lengths, all of these characters already feature prominently enough within the narrative to be well rounded characters through the script, but these optional and considerably more intimate shared moments allow for even deeper connections to form. Touching on the roots of Adachi's guilt over his unfulfilled past in the police force, Seako's mother hen syndrome and how it frayed her relationship with her sister, Namba's professional disillusionment and the spiralling hole he's not even trying to climb out of. These are complex character moments that couldn't have naturally fit within the main narrative, but which enrich these characters into being so much more than the typical revolving door of side characters that we meet, and then subsequently lost track off from Yakuza game to game. They even gave a good go at justify the recycling of Joon-Gi Han's character model and I almost bought their reasonings. Almost.
Late game
By the twilight chapters, the narrative really begins to bear the fruit of the many seeds it planted- to a degree arguably unmatched since the days of Yakuza 0! Though I still hold the narrative of that game apart as the series' one masterpiece, there are so many clever plot developments and stake-heightening twists that I found myself positively enraptured with the direction events were progressing in. I think I've been yearning so long for that feeling of being pulled between several incredibly intelligent people playing a game of chess by massive proxy, and though you might call this a imitation of Yakuza 0's structure in that way- I positively love the effect it has on the weight and gravitas of events. Also, Kudos on 'Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon' for raising the stakes considerably without spinning off into lunacy like Yakuza 3 ended up doing. International gun smuggling conspiracies are yesterday's news, now it's about national puritanical campaigns and the unseen human cost of blind systemic 'bleaching'. Extremism is a catastrophe at any end of the spectrum.
Of course, as with any RPG it's in the later chapters that the game starts tightening it's belt and restricting that 'freedom to experiment' through genuine challenge, something the Yakuza franchise had trouble grasping in it's action age. Not so much nowadays, as the all classic 'grind' becomes a practical necessity. The original Kingdom Hearts was the game which pretty much wrote the book on how to do grinding right, directing players to a plethora of old locations and revisiting old challenge locations in a material hunt. 'Yakuza: Like a Dragon' is much the same as building your initial starting weapons into godly boss killers will require all manner of strange items- and a frankly extortionate amount of Yen in the later stages which is entirely unreasonable for minuscule amount of ways there are to make money in this game. (Grinding out the Business minigame for an hour just to waste it all on one upgrade really sucks.)
It is here that Yakuza 7 reveals it's late game grind markets- the all new Sotenbori arena and Kamurocho dungeon. Because yes, this game even has dungeons. (It is the Tokyo sewers, if you were wondering.) Grind allergic players will probably gall at the prospect of doing runs of these dungeons for either resources or to hit that one 'EXP bank' enemy for a free level or two, but as someone inbetween I really appreciate the forethought to provide a grinding experience that makes the player feel like they have to work in order to break those all-important damage limits, whilst providing the materials to streamline that process as much as possible without undermining it. That's the kind of consideration a clinical designer wouldn't think of, but a team of RPG lovers wouldn't ignore for the world. Which probably explains why RGG decided to go this path in the first place.
The end
The closing chapters of 'Yakuza 7' are perhaps some of the game's strongest from a character writing angle. They really highlight what makes Ichiban a legend entirely in his own making by highlighting an aspect of the character which would never have been a key deciding factor in a Kiryu driven narrative- his ingenuity. Restricting the omnipotence of the viewer in moments like these allow the impact of unravelling the ruse to naturally knock off the players socks along with the characters- and though that is an aspect of storytelling slowly being forgotten in the modern age- RGG still remember the classics. And let it not be overlooked that Ichiban has some incredible emotional confrontations at the height of the journey, the likes of which we never get out of the loveable stone wall which is Kiryu. I'll even confess that the game made me a little misty eyed in it's final post-credits moments- which only Yakuza 0 had managed before in this franchise!
'Like a Dragon' really does start to push the boundaries of difficulty in it's end and post game, however. Giving the final boss a one-hit kill move is a bit over the top when you're operating with one of the most annoying JRPG rules of all time. (if your partly leader goes down then it's game over) And the True Millennium Tower and Final True Millennium Tower require so much experience grinding in order to have a chance to do them that it really isn't worth it just to see the Amon storyline passing on to Ichiban. I mean I grinded to True Millennium on a whim, but when enemies are one shotting you with a basic attack in 'Final True', you really have to start asking yourself how much of a self-hating RPG purist you are. And in myself I found the answer to be- not fully.
Summary
I admit to being a little bit worried about how the great franchise hand-off from Kiryu to Ichiban would go in 'Yakuza: Like a Dragon', but it seems by worries were wholly unfounded because this is most engaged I've felt with this franchise since I started. Like an addict I know I've been chasing the high of my first experience ever since I first completed Yakuza 0, and though I've had some comparable blasts (Yakuza 4 is a banger even in it's age) I think it's only been now that I've finally slapped that same haze. Ichiban's journey made me smile, laugh, cheer and nearly cry- and if he will continue to be the face of this legendary franchise then I'm all for seeing where he goes next and what friends he'll make along the way! (As though I don't already know the answer to most of those questions given the sequel just came out.) Of course I recommend the game, it's a Yakuza game that is pretty much a given for me. (Unless it's Yakuza 3.) and my grade is pretty much a no-brainer too. Just like with 0, this is an easy A Grade game worthy of the attention not just of any Yakuza fan but of RPG games in general. And in fact, because I happen to be an RPG fan and this game did such a fantastic job leaning into the world of RPGs in it's narrative and presentation, I'm going to do a little bit of a bias bump. This is now going down as an A+ Grade on my arbitrary review scale- making this the top rated Yakuza game I've ever reviewed. Now if you don't mind, I need to get back to figuring out how in the hell 'Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man who Erased his name' has one third of the chapters that this game had but requires 30gb more room to install! Holy install size ballooning, Batman! 
It's only a real fight when you're up against someone so strong, you're screwed!
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