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. maelronde
    May 15, 2021
    10
    A wonderful celebration of JRPG genre in a modern setting that supports the framework surprisingly well. The humor is silly and outrageous. Yet amidst the irreverence, the serious emotional storyline has me at the edge of my seat. The pacing is gripping and the difficulty is just right. I can't believe how well this game works -- a must have for jrpg fans.
  2. exeo
    May 13, 2021
    8
    Divertido, cachondo, bonito, dramático... podría ser perfecto, pero no acaba de conseguirlo. Quizás faltan variables en el combate que te hagan sentir que ganas por mérito propio, o más personajes de equipo...
  3. TheMegaGodz
    May 10, 2021
    7
    I'm not a huge fan of the JRPG mechanics, but the story and characters were great and kept me invested and motivated to finish it. I don't think it's a bad game, but I definitely don't agree with those calling it the best in the series.
  4. IcyBerg
    May 10, 2021
    10
    Trouxe de volta o RPG nostálgico, divertido, carismático, muito atraente tanto visualmente como em jogabilidade, gostaria de poder ver mais Jobs, aguardo pelos próximos
  5. Ourflag
    May 8, 2021
    10
    This game is very different than previous Yakuza games, but as a fan of the franchise I really enjoyed this game. Ichiban is a great protagonist and I loved him throughout the game. The story was very good and I think it was the best in Yakuza series.
  6. Liquid_panda
    May 4, 2021
    10
    Great game. Has a amazing overall theme and the game play is fun as hell. The missions range from funny to serious, like you would expect from the yakuza series, but all are solid fun.
  7. Larry-Katula
    May 4, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. El juego es entretenido de principio a fin, los personajes tienen un gran nivel de desarrollo y son muy carismáticos, haciendo que te encariñes con ellos. Además de la excelente historia lo que lo hace brillar aún más son la gran variedad de historias secundarias, además de las muchas actividades que puedes realizar en Yokohama.… Expand
  8. TheTeaMKiLLer69
    Apr 29, 2021
    0
    Boring to death. I literally started sleeping while playing this game. A boring cutscene simulator.
  9. Efendiminati
    Apr 29, 2021
    7
    with the great story and minigame and substories rgg studio just perfecting the formula, yes the combat system doesnt for me either but it doesnt change the fact that its a great game
  10. Daniel0809
    Mar 14, 2021
    9
    New combat is cool, interesting. story & side stories are fun, intriguing &great but its a grind.
    NPCs need some work because when you fight the NPCs they move exactly the same and respawn. The batting cage dragon & cart are so much fun, seagull cinema is hilarious! ! Im very satisfied w/ the game. Loving it im gunna platinum it.
  11. kings1985
    Apr 27, 2021
    10
    gran bel gioco anche questo, la traduzione in italiano finalmente!!!!!!!!! tutti i giochi yakuza dovrebbero avere una traduzione multilingua. continuate cosi!!!!!!!!!! Great!!!!
  12. edu_110
    Apr 20, 2021
    9
    Muy buen juego ,entretenido y bastante largo ,último es bueno y malo , ya que para mí fue largo de mas ,con tantas cosas que puedes hacer bien puedes llevar 30 horas de juego y apenas ir en el 4to capitulo.
  13. manute12
    Apr 13, 2021
    10
    This game is phenomenal, a love letter for those who love yakuza series and jrpg...It´s been a while since a game made me feel like this. 10/10
  14. ff9alex
    Apr 13, 2021
    8
    Amazing game, it's really funny but really serious when it has to, becoming an RPG turn based actually make the game way more interesting and I hope they co tinue this road in future games

    The cinematics are loooong but most of the times they paid off, some parts kind of become a soap opera but overall the story is great I don't give it a 9 cause it bothers me how much assets they    Amazing game, it's really funny but really serious when it has to, becoming an RPG turn based actually make the game way more interesting and I hope they co tinue this road in future games


    The cinematics are loooong but most of the times they paid off, some parts kind of become a soap opera but overall the story is great

    I don't give it a 9 cause it bothers me how much assets they reused from other of their games to notorious, also to many enemies on street sometimes it gets annoying    … Expand
  15. Primebear
    Apr 12, 2021
    10
    A game that showed the perfect generational change. The playstyle changed with the protagonist was not awkward and melted. The story is also excellent. There are so many things to enjoy, so I can't get it to myself.
  16. Juggajuggaoneli
    Apr 8, 2021
    5
    A Yakuza RPG but geared toward the younger audience and more Persona like. My main gripe is the endless cut scenes and rather inane story, The combat and overall grinding does very little to differentiate this from Persona and any other JRPG. It felt great for over half the game until I attempted to level up for Level 20 and above. The battles become relentless and even using Auto, itA Yakuza RPG but geared toward the younger audience and more Persona like. My main gripe is the endless cut scenes and rather inane story, The combat and overall grinding does very little to differentiate this from Persona and any other JRPG. It felt great for over half the game until I attempted to level up for Level 20 and above. The battles become relentless and even using Auto, it can be tiresome.… Expand
  17. marvsfontanilla
    Mar 31, 2021
    9
    Story: 10
    Graphics: 9
    Sound: 9
    Gameplay: 9
    Game Time: 60 Hours (Main Story + Extra)
  18. StarsWitch
    Nov 12, 2020
    10
    the gameplay is absolutely fun, the mini games are one of the best in the series and the story is on par with 0 if not better! I love it and I hope future games keep this up as well as provide mkre social commentary cause that stuff is amazing ❤️
  19. scruffy_77
    Mar 26, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a long standing Yakuza fan who has played every title to completion I was slightly sceptical about the turn based fighting system. None the less I wasn't going to pass up this having previously completed every instalment. At first I thought it was refreshing, and don't get me wrong the story is in depth and Ichiban took place of Kiryu in a well implemented manner.

    However, whilst I was enjoying the game I reached chapter 12 where it became apparent I was so under levelled to continue the story when having to fight Goro Majima, it was literally impossible to proceed, the spike here in difficulty was un-parallel.
    It took around 3 hours of grinding in the battle arena to continue the story at this point which managed to get me through the following two chapters, just marginally being able to beat the Kiryu boss fight.
    Being in the last chapter I came up across the boss fight with Tendo, after spending a good two hours making my way there through the continuous battles he managed to one hit me and wipe half way through the fight, a second time this happened and I resulted to watching the ending scenes on YouTube because I no longer had the patience or time to grind my character to finish the story.

    This is my only gripe, the game, the story all very strong – but the spikes in difficulty blocking you from just following the story and playing at leisure ruined this title for me. I never thought I would score a Yakuza game less than 10, but on this occasion I cannot justify my experience as more than a 7.    … Expand
  20. Lherm
    Mar 19, 2021
    10
    Never really enjoyed these turn based fighting system, but this game made me change my mind. It's so exciting, the whole plot is so intriguing, and every mini-game makes me want to play it forever.
  21. soooB
    Mar 19, 2021
    6
    New combat system works reasonably well, story is extremely tiresome and driven by extreme character idiocy making it very hard to watch through. Grinding isn't that bad for what's effectively a JRPG but the difficulty curve for the late game bosses is ridiculous given how easy the rest of the game is. I've played all the series and would probably prefer the other games if they had thisNew combat system works reasonably well, story is extremely tiresome and driven by extreme character idiocy making it very hard to watch through. Grinding isn't that bad for what's effectively a JRPG but the difficulty curve for the late game bosses is ridiculous given how easy the rest of the game is. I've played all the series and would probably prefer the other games if they had this turn based combat system now.… Expand
  22. Clockworknate
    Mar 17, 2021
    10
    I've only played 30 hours but so far its an amazing game, I love the turn based action and holy sh*t the story actually drew me in and got me hooked everytime something happens. Definitely suggest this to any turn based fans. I haven't loved a game that I wasn't sure about in the beginning this much for a long time!!!
  23. ScarTzi
    Mar 16, 2021
    9
    For those who doesn't like turn based games probably are not gonna like it however, for those like me who like a long game with good lore it's worth give a shot. The game has pretty good substories and develops the side characters pretty well... I cried at the end xD
  24. mediocreampuff
    Mar 14, 2021
    10
    Probably GOTY 2020 for me. Personally a better RPG than FFVII Remake and even Persona 5 Royal. The story is really compelling (theres a bit of slowdown towards the end) and I personally enjoy the turn based combat way more. However this is still a Yakuza gam
    e ,the only difference is the combat.Theres a few minor issues ,like at one point the story grinds to a halt as you have to collect    Probably GOTY 2020 for me. Personally a better RPG than FFVII Remake and even Persona 5 Royal. The story is really compelling (theres a bit of slowdown towards the end) and I personally enjoy the turn based combat way more. However this is still a Yakuza gam
    e ,the only difference is the combat.Theres a few minor issues ,like at one point the story grinds to a halt as you have to collect 3 million yen and theres no like contest or anything to get it you have to get it legitimately. You have to grind to get it. I didn't mind but its stopping me from just recommendations it to people as something that would be universally enjoyed. And afterword you need to grind for a boss fight. I still like it though    … Expand
  25. 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
  26. DrSiko
    Mar 6, 2021
    5
    This Yakuza game is a disappointment. I was open to new characters in the franchise since Kiryu became old and it's time for new blood. However, aside from Ichiban who's okay, the other characters are one-dimensional and have no likeable personality. I didn't care about any of them. The female character is very weak it ends up a punch bag rather than helpful in fights.

    The turn-based    This Yakuza game is a disappointment. I was open to new characters in the franchise since Kiryu became old and it's time for new blood. However, aside from Ichiban who's okay, the other characters are one-dimensional and have no likeable personality. I didn't care about any of them. The female character is very weak it ends up a punch bag rather than helpful in fights.

    The turn-based fighting system can be a change for the first few hours in the game, then it gets so boring I kept auto-combat on all the time (thanks for whoever programmed it) unless the characters screw up I take control again.

    What makes me give up is the grinding. Previous Yakuza games didn't need this cheap way to make the game "last longer" while you need to go through hundreds of fights to farm exp points and level up the characters. What I usually immerse in is the story. I don't want to spend 20+ hours to grind only to be able to defeat a boss. This is a bad practice I don't know how gamers today accept this. RPG? Sure, but it doesn't have to be this grindy. This is not Destiny or some MMO game.

    I even didn't like the story much and it felt weak. Reading that it has many unreasonable twists, it sounds it's not worth it investing into the story either.    … Expand
  27. 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.
  28. anuva
    Feb 28, 2021
    10
    I want everyone to be ichiban, the world would be a better place.

    This game makes me happy and I'm super into it
  29. Underpants158
    Feb 28, 2021
    7
    I will write this review based on the assumption you already know about the game. So... I loved the party members in the game. I loved building your relationship, chatting at the bar, learning their personal stories piece by piece. Kasuga is also a worthwhile character to move the franchise into the future and his story and the story of Yokohama was really intriguing. However the grindingI will write this review based on the assumption you already know about the game. So... I loved the party members in the game. I loved building your relationship, chatting at the bar, learning their personal stories piece by piece. Kasuga is also a worthwhile character to move the franchise into the future and his story and the story of Yokohama was really intriguing. However the grinding you need to do in this game is TOO much. I believe grinding to be a design flaw in these types of games and it pains me to see design flaws loving emulated. Despite all that I still think it is a good game. I just think this game could easily be a 9/10 if they balanced it and condensed it a little more. I really did like the combat system...for most of the time, until your go to moves basically became animations instead of timed interactions or strategic AoE placements. Also a minor defense of the AoE attacks. So, a common criticism is that all the characters are moving constantly all wily nily like so you can't be strategic with your placement of AoE. Yes... but if you wait and try to predict the movements of the enemies it can be very satisfying when you guess correctly and land a big AoE attack.… Expand
  30. SplitMind
    Feb 26, 2021
    6
    Like a Dragon was a great opportunity to shake up the Yakuza formula as the games have been similar for a very long time, however the game falls short for me, changing the wrong aspects of the game.

    The graphics of Yakuza didn't need changing and I'm glad they haven't. The nightlife in particular is as effervescent as ever and a pleasure to traverse. This is balance out by daytime    Like a Dragon was a great opportunity to shake up the Yakuza formula as the games have been similar for a very long time, however the game falls short for me, changing the wrong aspects of the game.

    The graphics of Yakuza didn't need changing and I'm glad they haven't. The nightlife in particular is as effervescent as ever and a pleasure to traverse. This is balance out by daytime skylines that are a bit more drab and grayscale.

    The story of Yakuza contains all the familiar hallmarks: wacky characters, dramatic betrayals and plot twists. My issue with the story is that Yakuza remains dialogue-heavy and packed to the brim with cut-scenes. This is something that I would like to have seen changed, as the gameplay has slowed down also, bringing the whole Yakuza experience to a bit of a turtle-craw. The substories are of course hilarious and fun, but also full of dialogue that tested my patience.

    The gameplay is where the game has completely changed. For me this was the wrong move to make. Combat has always been repetitive, however it has also been frenetic and furious. In Like a Dragon however, the combat is insanely slow and monotonous due to being turn-based. There are also issues of enemy placement and getting caught n the environment. I also found the job system very cumbersome and a nuisance, reminiscent of the sphere dresses from FFX-2. Very strange to see Like a Dragon taking its lead from game mechanics that were outdated long ago.

    One last thing that exasperated me above all; the difficulty spikes and subsequent grinding. Many people have noted Chapter 12 in particular, but for me it was before this where I was level 20 and a boss was level 25 and subsequently wiped the floor with me. In the hours leading up to this I had not encountered such an imbalance of power so was woefully under-prepared. Such an intense grind lay ahead that it just made me put the game down entirely, as grinding is much more tedious in Like a Dragon than in any typical RPG.

    Now that we have experienced a fundamental change in Yakuza, I think we now need further changes. This style does not work for me. Previously I could play the game with more freedom and at my own pace and style. Like a Dragon's random difficulty spikes (or single spike in my case) make me yearn for the older games, warts and all.    … Expand
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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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