Yakuza Is About To Crush It On Xbox

Yakuza has secretly been one of the Playstation’s best kept secrets until recently. Originating nearly fifteen years ago on the PS2, Yakuza finally hit mass appeal during the current console generation. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio knocked it out of the park when they released Yakuza 0 back in 2015. This prequel to the first five games in the series not only proved to be a worthy entry into the franchise, it brought Yakuza to mainstream audiences. And this didn’t only happen in Japan, but to the Western World as well. What followed has been pure magic. We saw remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2, remasters of 3-5, and a brand-new entry this generation with Yakuza 6. At the close of this generation of consoles, the story of Kazuma Kiryu has all but come to a close – saddening us, but also paving the way for new stories to be told.

Enter, Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

This is not only a fresh start for the franchise, it’s going to take the series to places it really hasn’t been yet… Xbox.

Fans of Microsoft’s current console finally had a taste recently when Yakuza 0 was made available for the Xbox One. Like a Dragon, however, will see the series go into uncharted territory. Outside of the spinoff, Judgement, Kazuma has been the protagonist and face of the Yakuza franchise. This time around we get a new character for a new generation. Kasuga Ichiban, like Kazuma, is a former Yakuza member that finds himself alone after his gang abandons him. This is a perfect jumping on point for anyone that plans on getting the Xbox Series X when it launches. With a fresh start for the franchise, it was a key time for Sega to finally start bringing the games to Microsoft as well as Sony. Anytime more people can play a game the better.

Not only do we see a new cast of characters, but gone is the old action elements which have been replaced with RPG mechanics. Battles now take place in a turn-based RPG format – which is a first for the series. While each game did things differently to try and keep it fresh, the combat was ultimately the same in all the prior releases. This will make Like a Dragon feel much different than the games that followed Kazuma around.

The location will be unfamiliar to fans of the series as well. Gone is Kamurocho, for the most part, as we spend most of our time in modern day Yokohama. This will be a nice change of pace as well. It was fascinating to see Kamurocho change over the years, but it ultimately stayed familiar. This will give new and old fans a chance to really have a fresh experience.

We’re excited to see a series like Yakuza grow and flourish into the next generation and, with Smart Delivery, you’ll be able to upgrade for free on the Series X if you originally purchase the game on your old Xbox One X before you have the chance to pick up the new console.

The next generation of gaming is unfolding before our very eyes… and it looks like it’s going to be pretty exciting to say the least.