Yakuza: Like a Dragon

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 190 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 148 out of 190
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 190
  3. Negative: 29 out of 190

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  1. AllNewSuperfake
    Jun 2, 2021
    7
    +10 because every game could be a 10

    -1 The presentation does the job, but by now the "new" engine feels dated. Too many clones, too many reused assets, and the facial animations make everyone look like they just burst through a door with an axe shouting "Here's Johnny!". Especially "dungeons" are dull, repetitive affairs, the architecture has no recognition value in most places. In the    +10 because every game could be a 10

    -1 The presentation does the job, but by now the "new" engine feels dated. Too many clones, too many reused assets, and the facial animations make everyone look like they just burst through a door with an axe shouting "Here's Johnny!". Especially "dungeons" are dull, repetitive affairs, the architecture has no recognition value in most places. In the questionable tradition of older JRPGs items and treasure are never physically present in the world and only exist as boxes or sparkling points with added arrows so that you never feel like you found something, but it found you, and it won't leave you alone until you take it...
    -0.5 ... the loot. Into your inventory. Given your relatively short experience as a homeless person it makes sense that you collect trash, but you will already carry the equivalent of a hardware store in the pockets of your flashy suit when you finally get to use it in a convoluted and tacked-on crafting system. A lot of the stuff you find doesn't make sense.

    To find what you are looking for in excel-style menus with microscopic icons, navigating through the dungeon in your pockets and party is a burdensome and complicated affair. Obviously in the spirit of nostalgia, so...

    +0.5 for translating the yakuza series into something that resembles the old Dragon Quest series, because even though I've never played it I still recognize music and sound samples from those games, but....
    -0.5 ... it really doesn't do anything for you if you haven't played them except making the more emotional moments in the story come across like memes. Which is a real problem when it comes to

    -2 the story. I won't say it's not interesting. Seriously, this game left me terrified that I might not understand what the word "writing" means that everyone was praising here. It's a little bit like reading something a 13 year old boy comes up with when he is writing his first epic novel. There is a lack of basic understanding of the themes and subjects the story is dealing with that left me speechless on a regular basis.

    This is, of course, not a franchise where you would expect Shakespeare or serious life lessons or deep philosophy. But it's unfortunately not presented like the filler text it should be instead. I have spent roughly 90 % of the first 6 hours watching TV - meaning cutscenes - and clicking dialogue box after dialogue box without any actual interactivity or choices. It's a superstorm of dramatic tropes with everything from corruption to child abuse, wild conspiracies and power struggles. Tragedies and misery pile up and collide with honor codes and ancient morales, poverty, prison, prostitution, death. And all of that from the perspective of a 13 year old, with all the insight and deep reflection you would expect.

    You can basically witness in real time how the writers try to explain to themselves how they got to the point where they needed to be after they got there on a regular basis, and during that process they stumble upon all the plot holes and contradictions they created on their way. So you click away text window after text window and listen to hours of professional voiceacting that, once again, seems like a meme most of the time because it is so f*ing ridiculous. And yet, at the same time, it's like you are watching the main characters standing around, no one knows what is going on and how they got there, so everybody has to improvise while the director is whispering "Just act natural!" from the sideline.

    All of this could actually be fun or even well-made satire. But I'm afraid they were serious about this.

    -0.5 ... when they are not fighting. Which they will do a lot. You won't be able to walk down any given street without having at least one random encounter, and while I enjoyed the round-based combat because I feel more in control than with the typical button mashing throughout the series, it's just too drawn out, and with the added RPG-nostalgia full of flashy effects and ridiculous power moves it is like constant comical relief. I actually love the idea to have the classic RPG formula translated to a modern day scenario, but given the actual story it's like watching a really sad movie with a constant laugh track playing over it. Even that could work, but it just doesn't.

    +0.5 still, even though I felt like I was part of an elaborate joke that I didn't really get - great writing? great scores? Deep characters? Are you f*ing kidding me - I never really got bored. The never-ending storytelling clears up after a few hours and releases you fully into an absurd sandbox that never makes sense, but always comes up with a new ridiculous idea. The actual gameplay has a satisfying flow and sense of progression. I love to hate this series, but I also hate to love it.    … Expand
  2. SomeName
    Feb 21, 2021
    8
    Yakuza 7 is in many ways, a new chapter in the series, using a new combat system and character cast to breathe some life into a franchise that had become rather formulaic. I'm glad the developers had the courage to go off the beaten path and try something a bit different. Anyways, here's my assessment after finishing it:

    ++The new turn-based combat engine allows playing as multiple    Yakuza 7 is in many ways, a new chapter in the series, using a new combat system and character cast to breathe some life into a franchise that had become rather formulaic. I'm glad the developers had the courage to go off the beaten path and try something a bit different. Anyways, here's my assessment after finishing it:

    ++The new turn-based combat engine allows playing as multiple characters and manages to keep a decent pace with action prompts as characters use abilities (basically heat actions). There is a great diversity of abilities and enemies, introducing new ones right up until the end of the game.

    -While I find that this new combat works really well for the random encounters on the street, it stagnates a bit during the "storm the castle" yakuza office gauntlets where you fight your way up to some boss. Due to limitations of the system you will only ever fight a maximum of 10 enemies and there is very little usage of furniture or other environments to really turn it into a fun chaotic brawl. Similarly, the boss fights are not really that challenging (barring 1-2 very good exceptions) or interesting. It's mostly a pattern of debuffing the boss, buffing your characters and then spamming every character's hardest-hitting moves. This is something the previous fighting-game style combat did better.

    +There's generally a decent number of new mini-games to play, some of which are very creative and enjoyable. I particularly like the one in the movie theatres, which comes with its own little subplots and dialogue.

    -The main money-making minigame (that you will have to play because there's no other way to make some real money), is a glorified spreadsheet business-management simulator. It's not very interactive and once you reach the end, there's basically no variety either. Yet you'll still come back because the endgame gear costs ~10 million yen a piece and this game spits out a lousy 3 million, making you pay 5 minutes of your life each time for doing the same thing over and over.

    +The new character cast is strong and really helps the main storyline become more interesting. Their personal investment in the events and antagonists really help the game stand above previous instalments, where it was mostly the plot dragging Kiryu back to save the Tojo clan again. That said I'm a little worried that the writers will make them star in so many sequels until they too, become very tired and disinterested in what the plot wants from them.

    +Very good sub-stories with multiple parts and recurring characters. They have cut out most of the "go there and have some angry men start a fight with you" missions and put them into a separate section where they can be largely ignored.

    -The game is lacking in this kind of side-content for the last 3rd of the playthrough. Even though it unlocks 2 areas to explore, there's not really much to do in them (especially if you've played previous titles) except grind for levels.

    +Good graphics, effects and soundtrack, consistent with the series.    … Expand
  3. Parrots
    Dec 29, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Outside of a few nitpicks, this game is one of my favorites this generation. While I agree this should be a spin-off title or atleast not be a mainline one, the story fits Yakuza and Ichiban Kasuga is a great character to fill in. It's still sad to see Kiryu in the sidelines and not an available ally. It's the least they could've done.

    Some fans are unhappy it's a Turn Based RPG but I think the change is great. It also opens up for many different types of spin-off RPGs too in the Yakuza type games/universe. Heck wouldn't you want to see games like Kiryu in a Turn Based style game working with other people fighting too?

    It doesn't need to be Turn Based but still it creates several things to work with. Older fans that like the Fighting better, don't worry I like it too and would prefer for mainline Yakuza games to return to it. However since I love RPGs too, I wouldn't mind the change for Spin-Offs.    … Expand
  4. Crackfarmer
    Jun 8, 2021
    7
    Positive:
    - Fluent 60fps capped @maxed settings on 1440p
    - Interesting story - Fun side quests - Good variety in weapons/gear to use (this was before i found out that you have 100 different jobs to choose and use a different weapon on every job too....) - Great main/party characters - Good character design - Voice acting is good - Treasure hunt feature, sadly doesn't get much from    Positive:
    - Fluent 60fps capped @maxed settings on 1440p
    - Interesting story
    - Fun side quests
    - Good variety in weapons/gear to use (this was before i found out that you have 100 different jobs to choose and use a different weapon on every job too....)
    - Great main/party characters
    - Good character design
    - Voice acting is good
    - Treasure hunt feature, sadly doesn't get much from it. Almost not worth the time it takes to do it.
    - You can save for the most part at any given state
    - Ichibans investment company

    Negative:
    - Getting overwhelmed with equipping, collecting and leveling up several characters alongside with exploring 3 cities ....
    - No hostess club minigame like it used to be in Zero and the Kiwami games
    - The amount of "Jobs" doesn't benefit the game, considering you have to level up each job from level 1 again plus get different weapons, only the character level sticks
    - Slow leveling, need to level & equip your allies too
    - Too many different towns to attend, kamurocho would've been enough
    - Lipsync isn't too good
    - Just go over one street in yokohama - enemies skyrocket in level, almost oneshot you
    - Debuffs / Skills aren't much useful in fights
    - Many dialogue is replaced by cheap text lines and some moans. Low effort. Most games have full voiceovers for pretty much all dialogues
    - Game consumes too much ressources for the results of how it looks.
    - Paid DLCs, garbage ones too
    - Gold safes require keys which have to be purchased and can't be found, money is the issue in early/mid game
    - Too much stuff to collect throughout the game
    - Turn based game, wish it was the combat as Zero had, fights get annoying really quick
    - All prices are insane, the only affordable part is food in restaurants, stores are overpriced
    - Transition from ingame to cutscene often stutters or even freezes the game for a couple seconds

    For now the negative overweights the positive, so i have to give it a negative review for now.
    Will reconsider the review until i'm fully through the game or so annoyed that i quit playing.    … Expand
  5. Dco326
    Aug 28, 2021
    7
    Ne znam meni je sve ovo isto kao i pre stim sto su lose uradili ovaj fajtring sistem na kraju sam cepao sve na brzaka i igrao samo story u globalu smorio sam se i ne bih je igrao opet. fajt sistem mi je sve usrao vala.
  6. Mr_Eleganto
    Jul 16, 2021
    7
    As much as I like the series, this entry was a bit rough for me, so I won't hail or hate it's guts. I'll just leave it be like a good jrpg about Yakuzas criminal world and hell it was fun! Story goes down with time, yeah, but the whole experience worth it's end titles if you chose to play this unique experience, like RGG STUDIOS always do. Thanks!
  7. truemask
    Jun 7, 2021
    9
    A excellent RPG and the best Yakuza game to date.

    The story in LAD is great, it remains interesting from beginning to end, and has an excellent cast of side characters. i Liked the main protag from other games Kiryu but Ichiban Kasuga is a much more dynamic character, he had a range of emotions he's funny, a bit of a knucklehead, stubborn, loyal, he heart but it also a badass (more    A excellent RPG and the best Yakuza game to date.

    The story in LAD is great, it remains interesting from beginning to end, and has an excellent cast of side characters.

    i Liked the main protag from other games Kiryu but Ichiban Kasuga is a much more dynamic character, he had a range of emotions he's funny, a bit of a knucklehead, stubborn, loyal, he heart but it also a badass (more fun personality overall) whereas Kiryu only has one setting "mean-mugging Yakuza tough guy"

    another thing that made this game much more enjoyable for me is English voices, all other Yakuza games are Japanese only and after hours and hours it got tiring to listen to. this game also has phenomenal VA's cast like Matt Mercer, George Takei, Elizabeth maxwell, David Hayter and more

    turn paced gameplay is excellent but still has that punchy Yakuza feel,

    the only real gripes i have about the game is grinding and difficulty spikes.

    when the difficulty increases the game requires you to spend a large amount of time, fighting in dungeons to level up and collect gear and cash
    there are some difficulty spike for me the difficulty spiked a few times for some really hard bosses and most notably this happens for the first time for the boss of chapter 9. and then again for a few sections including 2 more notable bosses later on

    also there are some things the game does not tell you like you drop half your cash when you die and you can use ATMS to stash your cash.    … Expand
  8. MrIslamic
    Jan 27, 2021
    9
    One of the best games in the series, the turn-based combat can be annoying at times but as long as you don't rush boss fights and train when they give you the opportunity you should be fine.
  9. La-li-lu-lelo
    Dec 25, 2020
    10
    The main story and side stories are great, the combat is good but not challenging, the references to other games are very creative and the dialogues are most of the time funny and catchy, this game deserves more love from the PC users because for me it is one of the best games of 2020
  10. Caetano1501
    Jan 11, 2021
    10
    Excellent story and gameplay. I have played this game non stop and loved it. Clearly a lot of users here have no idea how turn based rpgs work and hate the gameplay. the game is fluid and addicting.
  11. Zapp_Brannigan
    Nov 12, 2020
    10
    If you like turn base RPJ combat this is your game, the phenomenal combat system plus, a really god and interesting history and cool graphics makes this game a 10/10 for me, you at least need to try it ask for it to a friend our something.
  12. TokyoPL
    Dec 31, 2020
    10
    It's been a while since I've played a game that's so detailed, so interesting story-wise and most importantly - so much fun! Yakuza: Like a Dragon brought back my joy of playing video games, and I really mean it. I usually skip all of the stupid mini-games in similar games, but here I was craving for more activities and more subquests, that's how well they were done. Definitely my GOTY 2020.
  13. SMITHBOY12
    Feb 15, 2021
    9
    Great game if your into turn based. I personally prefer this to the old series
  14. TheL0neW0If
    Aug 24, 2021
    2
    I do not like the fact that I had to give a yakuza game a negative rating.
    Unlike previous games some characters lack depth and are in a way less serious to previous yakuza games.
    the game combat system gets very repetitive and it is very slow. for people who use to play the game only for the sake of the main story, now have to be ready to grind a lot to be on the same level as the    I do not like the fact that I had to give a yakuza game a negative rating.
    Unlike previous games some characters lack depth and are in a way less serious to previous yakuza games.

    the game combat system gets very repetitive and it is very slow. for people who use to play the game only for the sake of the main story, now have to be ready to grind a lot to be on the same level as the enemy.
    combat system can leave you wanting to tear your hair and smash your head against the keyboard. a third of the time you will see your character running to the enemy and back to his position.

    from my readings the developers had to change the project direction, because beat em up was not attracting enough players from the japanese market, but in doing so they took one of the core elements of the game.

    the fights not only in the sub story but also in the main story became way too comical, a charachter would blow a kiss to an enemy lowering their defense stats, compared to the old games where majima or kiryu would scream furiously and charge their heat to pull sick moves.

    the city is impressive as always the side activites too. the graphics is great, voice acting I can not complain always on point.

    big minus points are the grinding you might need to spend 8 hours or so preparing for a fight. a fight can take 45 mins to an hour sometimes and it is less exciting and extremely repetitve, you would skip some turns with no action just to heal your charachters.

    as someone who played yakuza from 0 until 7 I unfortunately might stop following the series or just watch a lets play on YouTube, because i can not put myself through a yakuza similar to like a dragon. I quit the game toward the last 3 or 2 chapters and started watching lets play while skipping the fights, during my own gameplay i left it on autopilot sometimes until fights finished and then I came back.    … Expand
  15. MinionX
    Dec 24, 2020
    0
    YAKUZA 7 should have been a spin-off, not a central title, since it is a turn-based RPG & the fact that Kiryu Kazuma is not its main protagonist, or one of its protagonists!
    Which means that this title is just a CASHGRAB--- what a shame!
  16. randal750
    Dec 3, 2020
    10
    game of the year
    Your review must be at least 75 characters long.
    Your review must be at least 75 characters long.
  17. ErikLepp
    Nov 26, 2020
    10
    A departure from the serie's gameplay formula that works so well. Certainly worth the buy for any RPG fan.
  18. FlyingUFO
    Dec 8, 2020
    1
    Turn based combat just doesn't fit into games like this, it's that simple. I absolutely hate this game.
  19. polly_the_cat
    Dec 13, 2020
    10
    I really like drama in 龍が如く series and that one was perfect too. I was crying almost whole game. However, there were a couple of annoying logical mistakes in the plot but that's doesn't affect overall experience from the game. Really strong meaningful story.
    Спасибо за игру
  20. ashwathama199
    Jan 17, 2021
    9
    Yet another Master Stroke by RGG studios, Yakuza Like a Dragon has freshened up the beloved franchise with a new protagonist and a new and innovative battle system which is turn based with real time battle components, while still preserving the franchise's authenticity. Just like it's previous titles, it has a deep story revolving around politics and organised crime, with emotional scenesYet another Master Stroke by RGG studios, Yakuza Like a Dragon has freshened up the beloved franchise with a new protagonist and a new and innovative battle system which is turn based with real time battle components, while still preserving the franchise's authenticity. Just like it's previous titles, it has a deep story revolving around politics and organised crime, with emotional scenes and marvelous voice acting, and off course some stupid plot holes ( very less this time though) . The new Protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga is as lovable as the previous one (Kiryu Kazuma). He is caring, funny and puts friendship above everything else, and believes in resolving issues by talking, which makes him resemble generic shounen manga protagonists like Naruto, but what makes him different and defines him is his loyalty and gratefulness to the people. His love for Dragon Quest makes him perceive his every battle as a Dragon Quest battle, which fits as a nice excuse for turning the franchise defining hack and slash combat into turn based. With 3 cities of Japan to explore and 7 playable characters with deep background story, Yakuza 7 tends to be the largest Yakuza game after Yakuza 5. As a jrpg, it has paid a tribute to legendary games like Persona 5, dragon quest ,Sonic and has references from previous Yakuza games. Besides its long Main Story it has tons of side activities to enjoy, especially the mini games like Dragon Kart which is inspired by Mario Kart, the can collector, and a weird mini game in which you have to prevent yourself from sleeping while watching boring Vintage films by pressing some buttons ( QTE basically) . The main in-game city ,Ijincho, Yokohama, almost 2 times bigger than Kamurocho, is full of life with Sub stories which are less in quantity but better in quality and feature voice acting unlike previous titles which relied mostly on text conversations. These substories represent the issues which common men go through in their day to day life and are very much relatable. All of this and its great character development makes it the best Yakuza game after Yakuza 0 in my opinion . I have put in 90 hrs in the game and finished it's Main story and sub stories, my player level is 65 currently and I am absolutely sure that I can easily put 90 hrs in this game. I want to give a big thumbs up to RGG studios and Sega for being able to maintain such an age old franchise without disappointing the fanbase, something which many other franchises have failed to do, but as a critique I would say the new battle system has a lot of flaws to be worked upon, for instance there is a sujidex which tells the weakness of different enemies but it can't be used during combat which renders it useless. I hope they work on it.… Expand
  21. Elenothar
    Dec 24, 2020
    10
    Sin duda es un juego increíble. Historia profunda, un mundo abierto muy rico, japonesadas, increíbles gráficos next-gen... La esencia Yakuza refinada hasta el extremo. No entiendo el review bombing que se está llevando. Es cierto que el combate ha "sufrido" un giro de 180º, pero el resultado es adictivo, excelente.

    Espero que el tiempo ponga a esta joya en el lugar que se merece.
  22. GabrielYisus
    Nov 12, 2020
    0
    The worst gameplay i've ever seen. Although it has a good story but I don't really like the gameplay. I prefer the old gameplay than this gameplay
  23. Leafy_
    Jan 31, 2021
    2
    They totally broke the Yakuza Series, they literally threw the entire franchise in the trash. This damn virgin humor from Japan is the worst thing in the game, I can't stand that terrible combat system and those "anime power moves" that make me cringe so hard.
    Anyone who has played the Yakuza franchise knows that Yakuza: Like a Dragon has gone too far in terms of "innovation", it's good    They totally broke the Yakuza Series, they literally threw the entire franchise in the trash. This damn virgin humor from Japan is the worst thing in the game, I can't stand that terrible combat system and those "anime power moves" that make me cringe so hard.
    Anyone who has played the Yakuza franchise knows that Yakuza: Like a Dragon has gone too far in terms of "innovation", it's good to have a new character with a new story to tell, but Yakuza started from a serious game with a very good humor and mini-games to break the tension, to a completely child's game. Anyways, good story but the worst combat system of all times, they screwed up really bad.    … Expand
  24. AvengedSkull
    Dec 8, 2020
    0
    This game is way too basic to be cool fighting game. It's just meh at this point.
  25. Jamejarrs
    Nov 30, 2020
    10
    Whether you're a newcomer to the series (This is probably the second best jumping on point aside from 0) or a veteran, this game has a lot to love. Ichiban's party give both the combat and the story a lot of depth, and as someone who has spent years with the Japanese actors, the English dub absolutely knocks it out of the park. There wasn't a moment that I'd thought I would rather beWhether you're a newcomer to the series (This is probably the second best jumping on point aside from 0) or a veteran, this game has a lot to love. Ichiban's party give both the combat and the story a lot of depth, and as someone who has spent years with the Japanese actors, the English dub absolutely knocks it out of the park. There wasn't a moment that I'd thought I would rather be playing in Japanese.

    Personally I'm a huge fan of the switch to turn-based combat. The ways they portray real-world fights as fantastical RPG battles is constantly inventive and it's a blast to see new moves from both your party and the fighters you come across throughout the city.

    Everything to love about Yakuza is still here. The story is an incredibly gripping crime drama, it still has that same zany sense of humor, the side stories always get you invested, and there's hours upon hours of mini games to get yourself lost in.

    I have veeery minor nitpicks about the story but nothing big enough for me to consider this as anything other than my 2020 Game of the Year, no contest.    … Expand
  26. CloudAtlas
    Dec 12, 2020
    0
    Pretty overrated for what it is, i didn't enjoy it at all. Just completely honest and i think it's still allowed to be completely honest.
  27. SargeX
    Dec 24, 2020
    0
    TRASH YAKUZA MAIN TITLE
    -The Yakuza are not turn-based RPGs.
    -Kiryu is always one of the protagonists of the central titles.
    -Even its combat T-RPG system is silly or outright ridiculous.
  28. Tigolbitty
    Nov 14, 2020
    10
    Definitely one of the most fun games I’ve played in a while. Totally worth the purchase.
  29. IDQDS
    Jun 6, 2021
    0
    Отличная игра
    Местами графика очень радует
    Но местами есть мыльцо, но не так сильно бросается в глаза, а так игра отличная!
  30. GoodLuck99
    Dec 8, 2020
    1
    If anyone likes this, well good for you. I absolutely hate this combat system. It feels like game from 2001 not 2020.
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Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Best PC Game of 2020
61
#61 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. PCMag
    Mar 30, 2021
    90
    Yakuza: Like a Dragon transforms the long-running beat'-em-up series into a Japanese role-playing game—and it's shockingly good. Though it retains some of the past games' clunky character animations, Like a Dragon's action-packed combat and engaging story make it a must-own RPG.
    Read full review
  2. RPG Fan
    Jan 11, 2021
    94
    After over 100 hours of play, I’ve completely fallen in love with this new take on Yakuza. With its robust character relationships, expansive job system, kinetic turn-based combat, and all of the usual Yakuza wackiness and heartbreak, this has rapidly become my current favorite in the series. For traditional RPG fans on the fence about Yakuza, this new JRPG-inspired entry is the perfect place to start! For those who prefer the classic beat-em-up combat, I implore you to give the new gameplay a try. If it doesn’t stick, don’t worry, because I suspect that Judgment will become the new home of this time-tested combat system. For me, Yakuza: Like a Dragon stands as one of the greatest RPGs of 2020 and (hopefully) the beginning of a brand-new era of Yakuza!
    Read full review
  3. Ragequit.gr
    Dec 7, 2020
    85
    Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a brave reboot that manages to change the recipe very successfully and you will love it, especially if you have even a slight appeal to JRPGs or turn-based games in general. It is not perfect, mainly thanks to the "childhood" diseases which were inherited from other representatives of the genre (such as grinding), however it remains a highly enjoyable and entertaining game that can offer dozens of hours of enjoyment.
    Read full review
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