The extent to which Stranger Than Heaven is or isn't a Yakuza or Like a Dragon game is unclear. Both share a setting and a Japanese crime family theming, but what is certain is that it's the shot in the arm RGG Studio's crime dramas desperately need. The action feels zoomed-in, grittier, following two equally desperate young men trying to make names for themselves after being smuggled into early 20th century Japan.
It's the intimacy that's impressing me so far, seeping into every aspect of Stranger Than Heaven. This is, after all, a game where protagonist Makoto Daito can pummel enemies with his fists then moments later become inspired musically by their rhythmic hammer attacks for a tune he can take back to the jazz bar. And, set across fifty years (and five time periods), we get to see Makoto and fellow stowaway Yu as they grow from boys to men and then, well, older men.
