A lot of RPGs are coming-of-age stories — young people finding their place and purpose in the world while fighting some malevolent force. And despite how many of those stories we see, there’s a reason coming-of-age tales are inherently relatable; we want stories about people changing and growing, because we want to do that ourselves. But what you don’t often see are games about adults hittting rock bottom, and getting a second chance at life — the idea that life doesn’t somehow magically end when you hit your thirties. That’s exactly what Yakuza: Like a Dragon is all about — the wonder that life can constantly hold, and how it’s literally never too late to make a change. It’s one of the most inspiring tales video games has ever seen, and it just so happens to be one of the best turn-based RPGs on top of that. Basically, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t play Like a Dragon, especially now that it’s on PS Plus.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is technically the seventh entry in the longrunning crime series, but for all intents it was a fresh start — and the best place to jump in outside of the very first Yakuza. Admittedly, the Yakuza series is a bit hard to explain or define in a succinct way — if you’ve ever talked to someone who loves these games you’ve likely heard about its bizarre mix of crime melodrama and utterly off-the-wall weirdness and humor.
