A Yakuza by any other name.
The Like a Dragon series has had one wild ride. From its main series entries to several remakes, and an additional spin-off in 2019’s Judgment, Kiryu and company have taken to the streets of Kamurocho several times over, throwing down with a population that would rival most countries. Still, the most dramatic turn for the series was 2020’s Like a Dragon, a turn-based take on the formula starring Ichiban Kasuga, a man who will soon join forces with series mainstay Kazuma Kiryu in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. However, to bridge the gap between Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Like a Dragon, and that eventual team-up, Kiryu’s story would have to be told, and that brings us to Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.
This latest outing for Kiryu was originally conceived as DLC for Like a Dragon, and it shows. The Man Who Erased His Name had a development timeline of about half a year, at least according to reports from the game’s writer. While the game’s story does get to a pretty great place with a powerful final act that is both brutal and deeply emotional, I’m not exactly sold on the padding done to make this a full-length release. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very fun and engaging entry into the series, but the bulk of this story feels stretched way too thin, with few moments or characters that really resonate with you. It’s classic Like a Dragon, but almost too much so with little to really justify its existence outside of that original DLC conception. Had this been an animated movie or something similar to convey this story, then I think it would have worked far better.
The Man Who Erased His Name directly follows the events of Song of Life, having Kazuma Kiryu living a new life after he made a contract with the Daidoji faction to fake his death. This was done to protect those close to Kiryu, and the Daidoji faction will certainly keep reminding him of this deal to keep him in line. However, despite the glasses that Kiryu will sport under his new alias in Joryu, having him out and about in territories that know of the famed Dragon of Dojima feels at odds with how Kazuma is meant to maintain this secret identity as an agent for this faction. And, as the story progresses, Kiryu will be out in public to a huge degree, going against what his role should be here given he is trying to lay low.
While he gets a lot of neat secret agent tools, such as a wire whip that really adds to combat, the whole hiding in plain sight scenario feels rather odd given the stakes. It also doesn’t help that there are countless times where Kiryu is deflecting those who clearly know of his past and who he actually is, calling him Kiryu right to his face. I get what they are trying to do here, it simply falls flat far too often and is a gimmick they repeat constantly after a while.
The falling apart of this new identity begins during a mission that goes horribly wrong. As the faction is attacked, there are those among the enemy forces who recognize Kazuma, retreating with the intel that the Dragon of Dojima is alive and well. While you’ll come to learn more about this mission and its true intentions, as well as the key players involved, it really shows that despite Kiryu attempting to leave the life behind that it has other plans for him. This is especially important as rumors begin to surface that the Yakuza way of life is likely at an end, something that we experienced in Like a Dragon. In fact, a bulk of the game’s best moments connect with that game to the point where a few scenes from Like a Dragon are here in almost their entirety, albeit from Kiryu’s point of view instead.
While Like a Dragon had a full English dub, The Man Who Erased His Name doesn't currently have that luxury. While that is coming, at launch we only have the Japanese default, which to be honest, suits Kiryu far better as my time with the Infinite Wealth demo convinced me that YongYea’s English dub as Kiryu just doesn't cut it, despite strong performances from many of the other actors. Regardless, Takaya Kuroda is back as Kiryu, and brings a damn impressive performance, especially in a late-game moment that brought me to tears.
Where I feel The Man Who Erased His Name suffers is that so much of this game feels padded to make this a full-length title. My playthrough was about 14 hours, but this was leaving plenty of sub-stories to resolve later, as well as plenty of upgrades to the combat system to flesh out. What I really enjoyed about previous Yakuza/Like a Dragon titles was the organic nature of stumbling upon these side diversions. Sadly, all sub-stories are chosen from a menu this time, making them feel more like chores than a benefit of exploration. As Kiryu progresses through the story, he will encounter Akame, a woman who has an underground information network throughout Sotenbori. This causes Kiryu to work for her to get the Intel he needs to complete his priority task.
As an agent for the Akame network, Kiryu will have a ton of secondary objectives to complete, with few of them feeling even remotely worthwhile. From protecting civilians from being assaulted on the street to supplying someone with some noodles, sushi, or toilet paper, these bite-size missions never amount to more than stocking up on a few of every item in the shops to accommodate their request. While the sub-stories are considerably better with a few that wink to prior characters like Ryuji Goda, as a group of lookalikes are running amuck around Sotenbori using his name, these quests are certainly worth doing, I just wish we could have found them while exploring. As it stands now, the only real reason for exploring is to find the shiny blue collectibles that you procure with your wire whip or the caches of consumable items found in briefcases left all over the city.
Part of working for Akame is exploring a whole new location in the Castle. This is a self-contained entertainment plaza that houses exquisite shops, VIP luxury, and the coliseum. The Castle is operated by a man named Homare Nishitani III, patriarch of the Kijin Clan, a subsidiary of the Omi Alliance. Eventually, the story shifts its focus towards ousting Nishitani from power, a scenario that tends to go on for much longer than it should have, honestly. I do enjoy Nishitani as a character, and where that whole story goes, but the whole narrative built around the Castle felt a tad bloated, especially the ways in which you climb the ranks of the coliseum, bit by bit.
As for Akame herself, she is a fairly fun and lively character, even if she at times can feel like the living embodiment of the menu to engage with this information network. I wish she was a bit more involved in the story instead of just being Kiryu’s access to the Castle and the network itself. While she has a few great moments across the story, the vulnerabilities of her location and network could have made for some great drama, but we never see a moment like that, despite how several people around her are targeted from time to time and the threats she has towards herself on a daily if not hourly basis.
Sotenbori does still offer a lot of the traditional Like a Dragon gameplay with various mini-games and over-the-top action as you throw down in the middle of the street with anyone that gives you a dirty look. While there really isn’t anything new brought to the game, due to the game’s quick development cycle, I certainly found the live-action Cabaret Club to stand out as a massive downgrade to what we’ve had in the past. From their makeup catching the light of the camera to create a glittering effect, to the ring lights present in the reflection of their eyes, to the atrocious dialogue and awkward pauses in the dialogue until the prompts appear. It’s one of the game’s only distractions that felt extremely thrown together for the sake of content. Apart from that, you’ll have pool, darts, pocket circuit racing, golf, and more to keep you busy, all side activities that return from previous entries.
With The Man Who Erased His Name being Kiryu’s possibly final real-time brawler, I am a tad disappointed at the slim offerings presented through combat. Here, you have two fighting styles; Yakuza, which is a more aggressive and punishing style and that of Agent, which uses the wire whip, shoes that can rocket Kiryu around, to explosive cigarettes, and attack drones, even if a few of them leave you pretty vulnerable while you attempt to pull them off. Both styles are fine as they have plenty to distinguish them from one another, but the simplistic nature of what they offer can make combat a bit more repetitive than previous entries. What causes a bit of a needless grind is that upgrading combat is done with not just money but Akame network points, which you'll earn from sub-stories and the various tasks offered. While there is an investment system to speed up earning Akame points, one that I didn’t even know existed for half the game, having to worry about two currencies for upgrades feels a bit too much of a grind at times, especially as most require at least two thousand and most tasks would give you maybe 300 or so.
As combat progresses, Kiryu will build up a heat gauge. Once filled, you'll have access to punishing abilities, increased speed, and brutal executions that are part and parcel for the series. In addition, you have an extreme heat mode that brings even more devastation to each encounter. You'll also have the standard ability to grab almost anything around from signs to weapons to bicycles to trounce your opponent. Lastly, Kiryu also has a counter to special attacks performed by the more boss-like foes. As their attack is about to be unleashed, you'll see them light up, and if you activate the counter, you'll have a moment to press a button to beat them down. It's a fairly alright system but lacks any variety to the type of counters you'll pull off. It’s basically the same animation each and every time.
While the agent fighting style is interesting, combat feels far more repetitive than previous entries. Encounters all generally feel far too similar and apart from a few instances, there really isn't a battle that really stands out. As the coliseum is the best method to rack up cash, you'll rarely look to engage with the gangs that tour the city due to most battles in the coliseum earning you anywhere from 500,000 to a million yen in less than a minute. While the coliseum allows you to recruit allies for large-scale battles that pit each team against one another, the solo fights are rarely engaging due to boring and lacking opponents, at least until you proceed to the sub-story mission about the undefeated champions, and even then they only entertain for a few brief fights.
While the Infinite Wealth demo certainly impresses with its visuals, as did both Judgement its sequel, The Man Who Erased His Name is a fairly decent companion to these titles. It certainly looks more visually pleasing than Like a Dragon, but I did notice some clipping and pop-in from time to time, as well as a lot of bizarre rag-dolling when you really trounce an opponent. While Sotenbori still looks great, especially at night, it’s the Castle that really stands out. This area feels bathed in money and luxury and the team really sells this location as feeling as expensive as it looks.
Even after wrapping credits and enjoying the final act quite a bit, I’m not sure The Man Who Erased His Name felt needed to be its own full game. The padding feels very apparent here and hard to escape the fact that this started out as a DLC for the previous main series title. Still, there is a decent Like a Dragon game here that allows Kiryu to have one last hurrah before joining Kasuga on his turn-based adventure. While its ending and resolution for Kiryu are its best components, little else allows The Man Who Erased His Name to feel like a memorable and worthwhile addition to the series. It’s certainly not the best Like a Dragon title, but it’s far from the worst.
Developer - Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Publisher - Sega. Released - November 8th, 2023. Available On - Xbox One/Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Windows. Rated - (M) Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name was purchased for review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.