Sega and RGG Studio unveiled new Like A Dragon Gaiden story details, and it looks like we’ll be seeing a new side of Kiryu when the action game launches (thanks, Gematsu). Like A Dragon Gaiden follows Kiryu after the events of Song of Life, as he retreats from the yakuza/ex-yakuza life in a bid to protect those he loves, even going so far as to erase his name – hence the game’s subtitle.
Anonymity can’t last forever for Kiyru, though. He gets drawn into a mission and recognized by a group that can’t be allowed to walk away knowing he’s still alive. Cutting himself off from his old life might be necessary to protect his loved ones, but RGG says the isolation has eaten away at Kiryu’s soul and created a “gaping hole” inside him, one he looks to fill by lashing out at those around him.
Back into Japan’s criminal underworld he goes, facing off once again with the Omi Alliance, now the country’s leading yakuza organization with the Tojo Clan’s dissolution. The Watase Family is one of the big players in Kiryu’s new tale, with the cruel Kosei Shishido and devious Yuki Tsuruno acting as Kiryu’s main antagonists. Homari Nishitani the Third leads another family in the Omi Alliance, a captain whose suave appearance masks dangerous, deadly tendencies.
Finally is Akame, an intelligence gatherer who operates in Sotenbori – a familiar location to those of you who played Yakuza 0 – who helps guide those her clients direct her to.
That’s a lot more in the way of people and motives than we saw at Summer Game Fest – but still no clear idea what Kiryu’s story is actually about. We don’t have much longer to wait, though. Like A Dragon Gaiden launches on Nov. 9, 2023. Infinite Wealth, the next mainline game that sees Ichiban Kasuga return, will release sometime in 2024.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
