Yakuza: Like a Dragon

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 583 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 460 out of 583
  2. Mixed: 47 out of 583
  3. Negative: 76 out of 583
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  1. WintherMan
    Jul 7, 2023
    0
    This is not a yakuza game.. This should be an entire game on its own, different setting like they've done with "Judgement" game.. The new characters, turn based RPG.. Eh.. Its just.. Boring.. For people who like Turn based, grindy, slow pacing RPG's this is up their alley.. BUT! this is the Yakuza SERIES.. Let me feel like i am about to be **** pounded.. Let me feel how MY fist, smacks aThis is not a yakuza game.. This should be an entire game on its own, different setting like they've done with "Judgement" game.. The new characters, turn based RPG.. Eh.. Its just.. Boring.. For people who like Turn based, grindy, slow pacing RPG's this is up their alley.. BUT! this is the Yakuza SERIES.. Let me feel like i am about to be **** pounded.. Let me feel how MY fist, smacks a dude through a **** wall.. Not Spend my time scrolling through attack moves while i try to find this cringe ass protagonist somewhat enjoyable.. I am looking forward to the new game, as it appears they have gone back to the original style.. AND THANK **** FOR THAT!

    This.. In my opinion.. Is trash    … Expand
  2. CaptainRock
    Mar 6, 2023
    2
    Turn based combat=Mobile Gaming

    If I wanted to play chess, I would play chess. This is not a Yakuza game...
  3. Max552
    Dec 31, 2022
    0
    Can't say I was a fan. Played and found it too easy and quite boring. I really don't see the fuss about these games.
  4. grafpsycho
    Dec 17, 2022
    1
    Why they had to make it turn based one wonders, this game is the only one so far that really sucks
  5. Mrboomboom
    Aug 14, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game initially sets off at a decent pace with a good story. Halfway through the game though extremely spongy enemies and tedious gameplay ruined everything I liked about it. The job system is cool, but who wants to level up eight jobs to 99 any game that barely lets you get past level 10.… Expand
  6. vvv123
    Aug 9, 2022
    4
    I've played 0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, 3 and 6 and all were better. The stakes were higher, with something major happening within the first 30 mins to keep me invested. I'm about 4 1/2 hours into the game and find it boring, with long unnecessary cutscenes. While I do like turn-based combat, it doesn't suit the Yakuza series. The combat in previous games is what made the series unique to otherI've played 0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, 3 and 6 and all were better. The stakes were higher, with something major happening within the first 30 mins to keep me invested. I'm about 4 1/2 hours into the game and find it boring, with long unnecessary cutscenes. While I do like turn-based combat, it doesn't suit the Yakuza series. The combat in previous games is what made the series unique to other games. The protagonist would need to be as interesting as Kiryu but it isn't the case, so I'm not invested in the game.… Expand
  7. Fourdetrance
    Aug 7, 2022
    0
    Bunch of perverts. I didn’t make it past the first two characters talking about “selling animal p0rn to kids”… in the beginning of the game. Who the f&$k is into this stuff?! If you’re into this game, you’re a nasty pervert that needs some serious help. Seek out a psych quick. I deleted the game immediately.
  8. shin777
    Jun 6, 2022
    0
    Best yakuza game ever, and so good sega translate their game now. Sadly they have denuvo now, they always do a mistake
  9. furyohfury
    Mar 28, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Plot wise, pretty standard yakuza game, but they decided to make it a goddamn persona with all the WE ARE FRIENDS AND WE HELP EACH OTHER **** And if it worked in persona,here it looks stupid most of the time. As for gameplay they added personality stats like in persona which can't even be upgraded if you complete local university, which is made for it. Fight system is fine actually but at the endgame i found myself in a **** situation. I completed most of the sidequests, sotenbori battle arena (which as i googled gives you many xp). Then i come to fights with majima/saejima, kiryu and tendo and I am somehow underleveled on ~10 levels. I dealt with first two fights (roughly) but then there is tendo. And i just **** dropped the game. I went through all the tower and its about 15 fights, and got to fight tendo. I fought him like a **** 30 minutes i guess (because of the level) and he oneshotted Ichiban (game over) and i couldnt even do something about it because he can do multiple turns at once. So its either i poke this **** for 30 minutes again and pray to all gods that he wont do it again, either i go back to checkpoint, make the build against oneshot and go through all tower AGAIN. NOPE thank you, **** that. Seems like devs didnt even play their game if they didnt see that total ****… Expand
  10. Bulbotrax
    Dec 13, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a huge piece of crap, designed by a bunch of stupid morons. The writings are very bad,, yeah i'm talking to you endless stupid dialogues.
    The story sucks. (all the political aspect are childish...)
    The turn based gameplay is a joke.
    And the jerks behind this game choose to put artificial difficulty at some point (chap 12/chap 15 with the fight vs Tendo) because their **** game was too short. Maybe the wost episode of the yakuza serie and a big shame for the game industry.    … Expand
  11. KazamaKiryu
    Dec 2, 2021
    4
    This game didn't seem that bad at first, this game was very dissapointing for a long time yakuza fan. I Love all of the RGG games but this one doesn't do it for me. I do love JRPG's too! Some of my favorite games are persona, fire emblem, shin megami tensei, and dragon quest. The yakuza formula doesn't mesh well as a jrpg however. I do like the parry system and I don't mind Kasuga beingThis game didn't seem that bad at first, this game was very dissapointing for a long time yakuza fan. I Love all of the RGG games but this one doesn't do it for me. I do love JRPG's too! Some of my favorite games are persona, fire emblem, shin megami tensei, and dragon quest. The yakuza formula doesn't mesh well as a jrpg however. I do like the parry system and I don't mind Kasuga being much weaker than former protagonists, the story is just very very mediocre. Boss fights start off kinda long (About 20 min for the first one I can recall) and in certain chapters it can take literal hours. The amount of time I spent grinding to fight the final boss was absurd and I almost just googled the final cutscene. Maybe it was input delay on my controller, but parries never felt very precise, it felt usually lucky. There is one chapter in the story where you need to find 3mil yen it is such a pain. I understand why they wanted players to do this, so they could explore Kamurocho, Yokohama and Sotenbori, and while yes I did actually enjoy the new area of Ijincho, it felt more forced than my personal prefrence of freedom and exploration. I usually prefer to explore open world or any level on my own terms. The graphics and voice acting is some of the best in an already strong series in those regards, but the flashly colors and superb voice acting doesn't make up for the underdeveloped characters and the tedious, boring gameplay.… Expand
  12. dreamer_iiit
    Jul 10, 2021
    1
    Could have been a great game only if there was any effort in balancing the later part.
  13. Seinto72
    Jun 14, 2021
    4
    couldn't play more than 5 minutes i was socouldn't play more than 5 minutes i was so bored,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,… Expand
  14. TheTeaMKiLLer69
    Apr 29, 2021
    0
    Boring to death. I literally started sleeping while playing this game. A boring cutscene simulator.
  15. Gonoru
    Mar 7, 2021
    4
    Mediocre, there is no meaning for 90% of your missions and actions, story is dumb (even for a Yakuza game, which I usually love), I was bore almost 80% of the time
  16. Nobilis1984
    Mar 2, 2021
    4
    Very boring.
    I'm not a fan of the series, but at least I've tested all of its predecessors. I've always preferred GTA, but they were pretty good.
    The latest work is now more of an RPG and the fights are not that good anymore. The characters are too weak for me and the story is boring.
    Everything is better, dear developers.
  17. Olkadan
    Jan 5, 2021
    4
    I do not like these changes.
    I hope they will not stick with thi formula for the next game.
    Play zero instead.
  18. NotGudo
    Dec 27, 2020
    4
    As a jrpg fan this games combat is terrible compared to masterpieces like Shin Megami Tensei 4 or Shin Megami Tensei 4 apocalypse which is quite odd since Atlus and RGG are both under SEGAs wings. The story and characters are pretty well written and likeable but music which is one of the weakest in the series and unholy amount of grind is a big turn of, to top it all off it also has expAs a jrpg fan this games combat is terrible compared to masterpieces like Shin Megami Tensei 4 or Shin Megami Tensei 4 apocalypse which is quite odd since Atlus and RGG are both under SEGAs wings. The story and characters are pretty well written and likeable but music which is one of the weakest in the series and unholy amount of grind is a big turn of, to top it all off it also has exp boosts that you can buy for real money. In the end no matter how likeable the cast is Yakuza 7 is is the weakest entry in the series.… Expand
  19. 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.
  20. 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!
  21. Hellishmoon
    Dec 10, 2020
    1
    Love the other Yakuza Games but sadly not this one the turn base combat in this feel weird/off/Forced for the this one and being a Yakuza game. The story is great but all the other Yakuza had great stories too.so I cant compare that Part of the game to the other so my review is base solely on the fighting style in this one. So if you not a Fan of Turn base Combat skip this one
  22. 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.
  23. AvengedSkull
    Dec 8, 2020
    0
    This game is way too basic to be cool fighting game. It's just meh at this point.
  24. 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.
  25. Acer99
    Dec 2, 2020
    4
    Love Yakuza games and this one would be no different, however, like many others have indicated, the turn based is only good if you really love turned based games. I have to admit that the fighting style in Yakuza games was getting stale and needed an overhaul but there were so many amazingly cool options available to them, rather than heading all the way to the other end of the spectrumLove Yakuza games and this one would be no different, however, like many others have indicated, the turn based is only good if you really love turned based games. I have to admit that the fighting style in Yakuza games was getting stale and needed an overhaul but there were so many amazingly cool options available to them, rather than heading all the way to the other end of the spectrum (turn based). Let's be honest here, this is no Baldur's Gate 3 turn based system - this is a pretty dull iteration.

    Liked the story, loved all the side games, graphics are great and much more, but for me, turn based was a poor decision. Again, to repeat my previous statement, the combat was stale in the Yakuza series, but this went too far away from what made Yakuza amazing - intense boss fights and incredible action. Now I get to a boss and we stand there looking at each other, I click a few buttons, he responds, and round and round we go (sigh). Would not buy further Yakuza games if this system stays. Good luck and if you decide to buy the game, I hope you enjoy it more than me!    … Expand
  26. jackson123
    Nov 27, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The yakuza 7 feels worse than the previous one. The battle system is terrible and boring, and Kasuga Ichiban is less attractive than Kiryu as the main character.… Expand
  27. Tatsuo6
    Nov 24, 2020
    0
    Waste of money, I bought this expecting it to be a Yakuza game not a JRPG cliche power of friendship, you never should change an amazing action franchise like yakzua to trash based battles.
  28. Gokudo33
    Nov 23, 2020
    1
    I was not impressed by this games battle system, It is very slow and boring and the animations dont look good, The characters are not that good and dont feel even close to being as good as previous characters in the yakuza games, The only good thing was the mini games in this game and that is it, the rest was boring and uninteresting.
  29. Jenola25
    Nov 22, 2020
    3
    The story is ok I have only played a little bit so my review is mostly based on combat so I might raise my vote higher if the story meets the caliber of the previous installments. But I gotta say I absolutely despise the combat . I always enjoyed the beat it up style. This new turn based combat just doesent seem to fit well with games like yakuza and I'm not sure I will continue buyingThe story is ok I have only played a little bit so my review is mostly based on combat so I might raise my vote higher if the story meets the caliber of the previous installments. But I gotta say I absolutely despise the combat . I always enjoyed the beat it up style. This new turn based combat just doesent seem to fit well with games like yakuza and I'm not sure I will continue buying the games if this is the path that they continue to want to take . So far my experience has seemed synthetic instead of the authentic feeling I felt when playing the previous installments… Expand
  30. ArthurJoelLeo
    Nov 19, 2020
    0
    The game is forcing you for leveling up but even if you level up your enemies are always more powerful than you. Even a normal enemy is like a boss fight, this game is boring and annoying.
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best PS4 Game of 2020
27
#27 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. CD-Action
    Jun 9, 2021
    85
    Like a Dragon is the eighth installment of Yakuza, but a new protagonist makes it a great opportunity to get acquainted with the franchise. Even though the new turn-based combat system may become tedious at some point and I was disappointed with the lack of thrilling boss battles, it’s one of the best games in the series. Ichiban Kasuga and his friends are a really awesome bunch and I very much enjoyed experiencing Yokohama through their eyes. [01/2021, p.70]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 12, 2021
    100
    A great detour from the classic Japanese series, which shows that the Yakuza can work with turn-based battles and a ton of bizarre humor. [Issue#309]
  3. GameCritics
    Feb 27, 2021
    90
    Issues aside, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a masterpiece that might also be of historical note, since I’m hard-pressed to come up with another series that changed genres without losing what made it special in the first place. Players come to Yakuza games expecting fantastic storytelling, a bustling open world, and intense combat. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios have proven they can swap out one leg of that stool without sacrificing its strength, and that’s an accomplishment few can claim.
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