Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio plans to continue making Yakuza/Like a Dragon games about middle aged men doing “middle aged men things.”
Series director Ryosuke Horii told Automaton he’s grateful for Yakuza/Like a Dragon’s influx of new players, which includes younger people and women, but said the studio doesn’t plan on changing its approach because of it.
“We have had a large increase in new fans, including women, which we’re truly happy and grateful for,” Horii said. “However, we don’t plan to do anything like deliberately changing conversation topics in order to cater to new fans.”
He continued: “We are middle aged guys ourselves, so I guess that’s the kind of target audience we’re going for, probably. I think this is precisely one of [the series’] selling points. In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, everything starts with three unemployed middle aged guys being like, ‘Let’s go to [the job centre].’ They have a different air about them than a group of young heroes would, complaining about back pain and the like. But this humanity you feel from their age is what gives the game originality.”
The Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, which had a confusing name change in 2022, focused on original protagonist Kiryu Kazuma through the first six games and prequel Yakuza 0. While he was just 20 in that game, Kiryu was 37 in the first Yakuza (which was remade as Yakuza Kiwami in 2016), 38 in Yakuza 2 (remade as Yakuza Kiwami 2), then 41, 42, 44, and eventually 48 in Yakuza 6. He appears in later games too, and continues to grow older alongside the series.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, who takes over from Kiryu in what’s essentially Yakuza 7, is 42 in that game and 46 in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (essentially Yakuza 8). The series does feature plenty of characters who aren’t middle aged men, but most of its main cast are.
“The characters are flesh and blood human beings much like our players are, so their problems are relatable,” Horii said. “That’s why it’s easy to really get into the game and feel like you’re listening to conversations between ordinary people. There isn’t any typical ‘game-like’ language like ‘where is the treasure chest?'”
Yakuza/Like a Dragon lead planner Hirotoka Chiba gave an example. “There’s a conversation where Adachi is conflicted about whether he should drink beer or not because he’s worried about his uric acid level,” he said. “We’re making the hearty talks of middle-aged dudes our identity, rather than youthfulness.”
Fans expecting a hard left turn in the next game, which is being revealed on September 20, may therefore have to think again.
It’s unknown if this new game (or potentially games) is the next mainline Yakuza/Like a Dragon entry, another spin-off game like Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, another remake like Yakuza: Kiwami or Like a Dragon: Ishin, another game from spin-off series Judgment, or something else entirely, however.
Publisher Sega did register a trademark for something called Yakuza Wars in August 2024, however, and RGG has already said fans will be “surprised” by the reveal.
In our 9/10 review of the last game, IGN said: “Sprawling, enthralling, and packed with dynamic brawling, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t just the best turn-based Like a Dragon game, it’s one of the greatest games in the entire series.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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