Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name – Exploring the Game World Within

The Yakuza franchise is unstoppable. You could say that from the ashes of the relative failure that was Shenmue, this series of games was born in the early 2000s, and although they’ve never been blockbusters, their place in the market is solid. They’ve even managed to create and market two spin-off entries that compete with and even surpass the main series in quality. Yes, I’m talking about Judgment.

But let’s return to the present because Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is the perfect Shenmue. This installment serves as a bridge between Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. In Gaiden, the narrative bridges necessary to understand what happened to Kazuma Kiryu after making friends in Yokohama through role-playing and many minigames will be constructed. Because Yakuza, in addition to combat, exploration, and a deep storyline, also gifts its followers with an immense amount of minigames. These include quick proposals like arcade games, the gambling match with no deposit bonus codes, as the typical risking offer included in all these games, and more thoughtful pastimes reminiscent of a strategy title.

Let’s go over some of the games we can find within Like a Dragon Gaiden.

Wave Fighting in the Coliseum and Hell Arena

Before discussing these game modes, it’s important to remember that SEGA has divided Yakuza into two distinct modes in terms of how we face enemies. The early Yakuza games, Judgment, and this Gaiden develop with real-time combat, while the first Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth feature turn-based combat.

This upcoming Gaiden will include a mode called the Coliseum where we can fight against a multitude of enemies to obtain various goodies that we can use in the main adventure. We’ll have to overcome several waves of increasing difficulty.

Hell Arena offers 1 vs. 1 battles, a sort of Royal Rumble mixing a variety of fighters, and a team mode that expands on what was seen in Yakuza 6 in the clan mode. Essentially, it’s the same but broadening combat options and our clan management.

Classic Karaoke

A Yakuza game wouldn’t be a Yakuza game without a karaoke minigame. Although the total number of songs included in Gaiden hasn’t been revealed, we can enjoy “Sayonara Silent Night,” the main theme of Like a Dragon. Expect bizarre moments in side stories with karaoke taking the spotlight.

SEGA’s Real Games

One of the legendary additions from Shenmue that surprised players was Ryo’s ability to go to arcades to enjoy SEGA classics like Hang-On or Space Harrier. This fantastic addition has been retained in every Yakuza installment, including those same classics from Shenmue and many others.

In Like a Dragon Gaiden we can play various Master System titles and arcades like Daytona USA 2 and the impressive Fighting Vipers 2, a game that I believe had less recognition than it deserved at the time. To enjoy these titles, all you need to do is visit the SEGA CLUB – spoiler alert, the real one closed down a few years ago in Japan.

Pocket Circuit Racing

In Sotenbori, one of the main locations in the SEGA game, we can play Pocket Racing, which means racing with remote control cars. The charm of this addition is that we can obtain new parts for the cars in the main adventure. Besides racing on different tracks, there are resource management options included that will require us to build the best vehicles by customizing 9 specific parts of the chassis and exterior of these miniature speedsters.

Like a Dragon Gaiden can be considered a game that includes many other games within itself, a rarity in the industry.