It should come as a surprise to no mortal man upon this world that you are currently reading the words of a Like a Dragon addict. I've played every one of their games, written exhaustively about each and every game. Dressed up as Kiryu Kazama to multiple comic cons. There's not a single part of this franchise I could obsess over more- and the fact that they even threw in a JoJo reference in Yakuza 0 is just the golden cream atop the glorious broth to me. But I will be the first to say that when I finally reached that (disappointing) final boss at the end of the DLC endgame dungeon in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth I breathed a sigh of relief for having reached the end of my journey for at least a year. I figured I could put to rest my fandom until 2025 and maybe catch up with the rest of the world for a time. Beat those Souls-likes I've always wanted to play. Go outside for a bit. And I have. And it's been nice.
But Sega want me back.
Of course I heard the movement that this franchise was bubbling up in the background- how could I not? I knew that Like a Dragon would be getting it's own series under the Amazon label and that would give me an excuse not to retire my cosplay just yet after Kiryu takes his back seat from the franchise- for which I am supremely grateful. And I even heard the coy conversations about what the next game might hold- how it will be 'a surprise' and the lofty, silly ideas I had about what that could even mean. But it seems I blotted out the part where all this movement means that any marketing team is going to make an announcement sooner rather than later. That's kinda how stuff like this works. I was a fool- and now I will suffer for my foolishness by soon having to slot in the next adventure in the Like a Dragon universe into my 'to play list'. There's goes my free time.
So indeed- this September at the Tokyo Games Show we will have the next instalment of the Like a Dragon franchise fed down our throats, willing or otherwise, and in that brief sliver of time between now and then my mind boggles at the possibilities. What could it be? All we have to go off of is that this is 'not what we're expecting', whatever that means. Well, actually I know kinda what it means in the macro sense. It means we won't yet be getting a follow up to the incredible Lost Judgement, which is a shame. And we're probably also not looking at Kiwami 3 (thank god) or a remake of Kenzan. This really might be another side sequel in the vein of Gaiden, which could go practically anywhere in the franchise.
But let me get a bit wild for a bit. So if I was to get crazy with a Like a Dragon game that I would never see coming being announced, I would perhaps look at a prequel game starring Nishkiyama. And yes, there already was one such game- but that PSP exclusive could hardly match up to the sheer power of modern day Like a Dragon so I'd assume they'd either make a new one or totally remake that game from scratch- even more so than the visual and engine overhaul they did with Ishin. And if I were to get more out there with it- wouldn't it be cool to go off with some of the characters we've lost upon the way? I may dislike Yakuza 3, but I can't pretend I'm not interested in what it was that Mine has gotten up to in the years since his education beatdown atop Millennium Tower- and given the fact he recently got an updated model in order to star as a face-swap in Ishin, maybe it's time our shirtless push-up boy received his own spin-off?
There's plenty of villains who have peeled off over the years but few really hit as strong as Mine did. With his world view shaped under the boot of an unforgiving upbringing and an inability to form meaningful relationships with those around him- don't you want to see what a man like him could become under different circumstances? Of course, that might be a little difficult to pull of considering this is a Like a Dragon game and Mine was last seen plunging off the side of Millennium Tower. But then... he was seen plunging off Millennium Tower- whilst dragging Richardson with him! The very same Richardson who is runs the Revolve Bar in Infinite Wealth! So... I mean he could be alive... don't see why not...
But let's get wild- we're talking about a game totally unexpected which could mean a totally different genre! And for that- well we might be looking at a fully fledged Like a Dragon Strategy game! There have already been a slate of strategy mini-games in some of their games, I don't consider a totally wild proposition out of the blue for a fully fledged game to give us a spin at commanding an army of Yakuza thugs. Or maybe a squad-based tactical game like X-Com? (I'm trying to think outside of the box here!) There could certainly be something to be said about commanding armies of Tojo in the war against the Omi, with classic franchise characters starring as guest hero units. Battling through the streets of various locations throughout the franchise. Maybe through the eyes of Daigo Dojima, the only character who never really get's a spotlight to himself throughout the franchise?
And if I were to shoot for the moon? Well, I would expect for a totally alternative universe Like a Dragon game, in the same vein as Ishin where we have classic characters playing recognisable roles but as different characters- and for it to be sci-fi. I know- what? But imagine it- Cyberpunk a Dragon! Robot armed Kiryu Kazama! Or 'Like a Trek'- travelling through the stars and meeting aliens who are just characters throughout the franchise with different colour skin and bad ear prosthetics! I don't know- I'm just trying to think as 'outside of the box' as feasibly possible with this one! Maybe we'll get a fully fantasy game where we travel across a vast fantastical kingdom slaying some evil presence that has laid waste to the lands and- maybe it could be a Souls-like? Could you imagine?
Like a Dragon is just one of those franchises entirely unrestrained by the confines of genre or setting- and unlike many others in similar straits it never seems to lose it's identity in the chaos of it all. It's not like Call of Duty slowly diluting itself with bad crossovers or Fortnite burning out it's soul to become a marketing receptacle for all the world to urinate in. When you tell me to expect the unexpected there's just no limit to where my mind can go and I truly expect my wallet to cry out in agony at whatever chaos September has for us. So please go gentle on me, SEGA- I really would like a bit of freedom from this franchise for a bit. Maybe just until February? Come on, man!
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