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. 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
  2. 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.
  3. 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
  4. 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.
  5. 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
  6. DragonOfDoGYMa
    Nov 14, 2020
    4
    I am writing this review as a long time Yakuza fan, and this is going to be small, spoiler-free review.

    Story - The story started out pretty strong in the first few chapters, and Ichiban himself came across as a likable character. However, certain plot twists in the game really dragged it down up to a point where I consider it one of the worst entries in the series. The game doesn't do    I am writing this review as a long time Yakuza fan, and this is going to be small, spoiler-free review.

    Story - The story started out pretty strong in the first few chapters, and Ichiban himself came across as a likable character. However, certain plot twists in the game really dragged it down up to a point where I consider it one of the worst entries in the series. The game doesn't do a completely great job fleshing out the characters that are introduced (in terms of most of the party members). As a result of that, you don't form an emotional connection with most of your party members. At a certain point in the story, certain characters from the previous games come back, and despite it being cool to see them again, it felt like fan service and something which ultimately wasn't needed. The story ends good, and RGG can really go wherever they want next with Ichiban.

    Gameplay - Now this is the main topic of discussion. I personally didn't really enjoy the combat much in this game. When I first heard that the combat was going to be turn based, I was still willing to give it a shot since RGG generally haven't disappointed me in the past. However, upon playing this game I was very disappointed. It's clear to me that RGG's talents rely on action combat more than turn based (though to be fair, it is just one entry). Gone are the days of brutal, action boss fights, epic long battles and exhiliarting QTE sequences and now we have turn based fights. I have nothing against the genre, but to me it just didn't feel as engaging as the fights we had in the older games. Some of the bosses have an awesome dynamic intro, only to result in you and the boss staring at each other waiting to take a turn, it just simply doesn't flow as well as a Yakuza game.

    The combat did get better once summons and jobs were introduced as they introduced more variety, however some of the street fights became a chore in these turn based fights. What would have taken a minute max before, now can potentially turn into a 3 - 5 minute fight. I personally felt the encounter rate was the same as Yakuza 5 which had a terrible encounter rate, but at least fights in Yakuza 5 ended quickly. In this game I actively tried to avoid street fights from a certain point in the game.

    Another thing to touch on is the game can be quite grindy. At a certain point in the story, I had to grind for a dual boss fight, since I was originally underlevelled, I had to grind for several hours until I was able to finally defeat them. Certain instances in this game will require you to grind.

    Side Content - This is where the game truly shines. This games has one of the best side content and minigames in the series. (Makes sense since the director of the game is actually the man responsible for making the minigames in the previous entries!). Dragon Kart is actually a ton of fun to experience, Karaoke is fun as always and has some great new songs whilst also bringing back some old classics (the dubbed karaoke is good too!). The theatre minigame where you have to try to keep Ichiban awake is also hilarious, amongst the other minigames introduced. The substories are also great this time around and quite a bit are voiced too.

    Overall - In conclusion, I do think the story beats in this entry could have been better. Ichiban's a very likable protagonist and has a great backstory, but the story fell apart midway with some of the twists they introduced. Even though some of the other games may have had bad twists too, the gameplay and the characters were good enough to save the story, but I couldn't say that in the case of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I believe that RGG should have made this game as a spin-off title so it could have been better received, because as a mainline entry the combat in this game did not feel like Yakuza game at all. The saving grace in this game is the side content. There's lots of fun minigames and distractions which you will really enjoy, and the substories are quality this time around. I believe, this is my first Yakuza game where I actually like the side content more than the main story / combat.    … Expand
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. RichCollar
    Nov 13, 2020
    3
    I think this one's a bit disappointing, there are some really good moments in this game, but the whole thing feels muted because of the turn based aspect. I think sega has enough properties and licenses that are turn based such as persona and phantasy star. Making this series turn based wasn't a good idea, it might be better to switch around production staff or change how the action combatI think this one's a bit disappointing, there are some really good moments in this game, but the whole thing feels muted because of the turn based aspect. I think sega has enough properties and licenses that are turn based such as persona and phantasy star. Making this series turn based wasn't a good idea, it might be better to switch around production staff or change how the action combat works if the staff are getting bored of action games.… Expand
  13. h_ero
    Nov 13, 2020
    3
    Boring game with no actual innovation, actually feels they are going backwards. This game feels something that could have come out in 2006 and i don't mean any good 2006 game, i mean something meh.
  14. 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
  15. Verserk_20
    Nov 11, 2020
    2
    Horrible combat system compared to the previous games in the series, extremely slow and way too grindy with a massive lack of depth, Story was going alright until chapter 12 where they just ruin the previous saga's characters just to make them summons for fanservice, The only upside of this game is the side content and good substories and that's it, the story and the battle system areHorrible combat system compared to the previous games in the series, extremely slow and way too grindy with a massive lack of depth, Story was going alright until chapter 12 where they just ruin the previous saga's characters just to make them summons for fanservice, The only upside of this game is the side content and good substories and that's it, the story and the battle system are horrible considering this is a main yakuza game ( Yes it is Yakuza 7 and not a spin-off ).

    This game is not that bad of a game, but its not a good yakuza game specially when you consider the fact that its a main title, Its just a persona wanna be, do yourself a favor and Play Judgment instead    … Expand
  16. Hex89
    Nov 12, 2020
    2
    Pretty outdated and boring, would recommend this game to anyone honestly. Meh.
  17. makessense
    Nov 13, 2020
    2
    Turn based Yakuza game in 2020? Are you actually serious? I'm so glad Final Fantasy dropped that bs and now yakuza wants to bring it back, no thank you, i will pass.
  18. rocknroll35
    Nov 13, 2020
    2
    Boring waste of time, i would rather watch paint dry than play this ever again.
  19. troyan3346
    Nov 13, 2020
    2
    I found absolutely nothing fun or cool in this game. It's slow, it's boring and graphics are weak for 2020.
  20. Radio78
    Nov 13, 2020
    2
    Just meh................................................................................................................................................
  21. lainiwaku
    Nov 13, 2020
    2
    I am very dissapointed with the turn that yakuza series take, and i hope it just a spin off and sega will go back to the normal gameplay !
    this yakuza doesn't feel like a yakuza at all !
  22. 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...
  23. 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
  24. OrochiamruSama
    Nov 17, 2020
    1
    The battle system is just boring and slow that requires no skill but just tedious grinds , going from beat em up action to this menu based combat is such a massive downgrade, the story starts strong but goes off the rails in the final chapters and is full of nonsesne and easily has the worst story twists in the franchise history.

    First game in the series that i couldnt enjoy at all not    The battle system is just boring and slow that requires no skill but just tedious grinds , going from beat em up action to this menu based combat is such a massive downgrade, the story starts strong but goes off the rails in the final chapters and is full of nonsesne and easily has the worst story twists in the franchise history.

    First game in the series that i couldnt enjoy at all not for a slight moment    … Expand
  25. dreamer_iiit
    Jul 10, 2021
    1
    Could have been a great game only if there was any effort in balancing the later part.
  26. Pladidus
    Nov 19, 2020
    1
    **** game. Should have just stop from Yakuza 2. Ichiban is not equal to Kazuma Kiryu. The RPG part is also ****ty.
  27. Trollamiity
    Nov 13, 2020
    1
    Turn based?? Come on fam. this aint it chief. It would seem like micecraft is calling again.
  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. 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.
  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

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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