Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a great continuation for the RGG franchise

This game has a lot of pressure. Seeing as this is the "next-chapter" in the Yakuza franchise separate from Kiryu, it has to sell us on not only a new protagonist worthy of carrying the next games to come, but also a reason to stick around for those next few games. So, does it live up to the high expectations? Mostly, yes.

The story in LAD is very good. Despite it taking MANY elements from Yakuza 1, I'd argue LAD surpasses 1's story (because this one's actually well-written). The way it unravels over time feels very natural. Seeing all the different parts of the conspiracy and slowly learning how they connect with each other is very captivating. However, what really makes the story surpass just being a regular Yakuza conspiracy, is the characters. This game's biggest challenge, like I mentioned in the beginning was selling us on a new protagonist, and it did that very well. Ichiban isn't just a copy paste of Kiryu, where Kiryu is a serious, one man operation, Ichiban is a more lighthearted and friendly fellow who sees the strength in numbers and heavily relies on them. The other cast-members are also great, they're all very vibrant and the way the gang bounces off of each other is really charming. And none of them ever feel out of place, because they each have or have had stakes in the story, giving them motivations to stick around (aside from Saeko she can feel pretty out of place sometimes). The Arakawa family is another standout in this game, Sawashiro and especially Arakawa, for having admittedly little screen time, cement themselves as great characters in the already great RGG games cast. Finally, Ryo Aoki is a phenomenal antagonist, up there with the Yakuza goats, Nishiki, Ryuji and Mine. Aoki's story is tragic, and, despite how evil they are, you really get to understand his motivations and why he does such evil things. That last scene between Ichiban and Aoki is also some of the greatest voice-acting I've ever heard. Despite his story copying a few things from Nishiki's, it's different enough to make it standout in its own way.

Onto the combat, it's not really my cup of tea. I really like the combat in previous Yakuza games, one of my favorite things was getting good at each game's fighting system. However, the turn-based system doesn't really have a learning curve, you just spam the most overpowered EX Heat moves and demolish every enemy encounter. I'm not saying it's a bad combat system, it's just not for me.

Like a Dragon is a good step forward for the franchise. There's a lot of potential going from here, and I'm sure RGG will deliver a arc akin to Kiryu's for Ichiban.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a great continuation for the RGG franchise This game has a lot of pressure. Seeing as this is the "next-chapter" in the Yakuza franchise separate from Kiryu, it has to sell us on not only a new protagonist worthy of carrying the next games to come, but also a reason to stick around for those next few games. So, does it live up to the high expectations? Mostly, yes. The story in LAD is very good. Despite it taking MANY elements from Yakuza 1, I'd argue LAD surpasses 1's story (because this one's actually well-written). The way it unravels over time feels very natural. Seeing all the different parts of the conspiracy and slowly learning how they connect with each other is very captivating. However, what really makes the story surpass just being a regular Yakuza conspiracy, is the characters. This game's biggest challenge, like I mentioned in the beginning was selling us on a new protagonist, and it did that very well. Ichiban isn't just a copy paste of Kiryu, where Kiryu is a serious, one man operation, Ichiban is a more lighthearted and friendly fellow who sees the strength in numbers and heavily relies on them. The other cast-members are also great, they're all very vibrant and the way the gang bounces off of each other is really charming. And none of them ever feel out of place, because they each have or have had stakes in the story, giving them motivations to stick around (aside from Saeko she can feel pretty out of place sometimes). The Arakawa family is another standout in this game, Sawashiro and especially Arakawa, for having admittedly little screen time, cement themselves as great characters in the already great RGG games cast. Finally, Ryo Aoki is a phenomenal antagonist, up there with the Yakuza goats, Nishiki, Ryuji and Mine. Aoki's story is tragic, and, despite how evil they are, you really get to understand his motivations and why he does such evil things. That last scene between Ichiban and Aoki is also some of the greatest voice-acting I've ever heard. Despite his story copying a few things from Nishiki's, it's different enough to make it standout in its own way. Onto the combat, it's not really my cup of tea. I really like the combat in previous Yakuza games, one of my favorite things was getting good at each game's fighting system. However, the turn-based system doesn't really have a learning curve, you just spam the most overpowered EX Heat moves and demolish every enemy encounter. I'm not saying it's a bad combat system, it's just not for me. Like a Dragon is a good step forward for the franchise. There's a lot of potential going from here, and I'm sure RGG will deliver a arc akin to Kiryu's for Ichiban.