Played on Xbox

A promotional graphic for video game titled “Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name,” featuring a stylized male character in a suit and a cityscape silhouette in the background.

Gaiden is used in Japanese media to indicate a product is a side story or spin off from a main series, and this game follows Ryu Ga Gotoku/Yakuza 1 protagonist Kazuma Kiryu filling in some gaps between the 6th and 7th title in the series which also moved the gameplay style from being a fighting/action game into a full blown turn based RPG.

I love this series. I remember when Sons Of Anarchy was on TV a review referred to it as “telenovela for men” , and this is absolutely an anime/Japanese spin on that. Friendship, betrayal, loyalty, honour, doing the right thing are all themes across the series.

It spins from taking itself extremely seriously to being the most ridiculous spoof of itself. Sometimes within the same scene and it’s all the better for it. You never quite know what to expect but it’s always a fun time and the plot absolutely keeps you hooked.

The gameplay is fun. It’s a solid fighter but not as combo heavy as a street fighter or tekken game, with lots of mini-games such as Japanese claw games, pool, snooker, and Sega always sticks a few of its arcade classics in for good measure.

As the places it’s based from are based on real life locations such as Kabukichō and Dōtonbori it’s a really fun game to just walk around and take in the sights and sounds of Japan. the game as a built in camera and it’s really fun to just wander around and take some shots.

A neon-lit urban scene at night featuring signs for various entertainment venues, including “GIRLS CLUB FLYHIGH,” “SEXY PUB PRISON,” and other illuminated billboards with Japanese text, indicative of a nightlife district. Who wants to go to Sexy Pub Prison? 🤣

This is a much smaller game than previous entries in the series being it’s a “Gaiden” but I still had a great time with it. So. Good in fact that I’m going to rock right into the next game in the series, Infinite Wealth

Being on Microsoft GamePass was an added benefit as well! If you have a GamePass sub, nearly the entire series is on there so it’s well worth a look if you’ve never played these! 🎮

  1. The series was called “Ryu Ga Gotoku/Like a Dragon” in Japan but went by “Yakuza” in the west until the 7th game, the series now goes by “Like a Dragon” in the West. ↩︎