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Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Nameis a spin-off that follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu (known as Joryu) betweenYakuza6: The Song of Life andLike A Dragon: Infinite Wealth(a.k.a. the seventh and ninth mainline titles).
While this title is smaller in scope, the story doesn’t waste any time getting into the action, which may be preferable to you if the 30-hour epic of a standard Like A Dragon title feels drawn out. Theminigames are wonderfully executed, and some combine and refine previous iterations with remarkable synergy.
Review
Like A Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name is a much more distilled experience than previous entries, and certainly makes powerful use of each scene. Every act moves the story at a remarkably satisfying pace andanswers some essential questions that were previously left unanswered.
Minigames and substories are back as a core part of the main story experience, seamlessly integrating side content with the critical path. Our Lead Guides Editor,Meg Pelliccio’s review of Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Namehighlights theincredible attention to detailthat makes this game so successful:
This could have easily been a dull retelling of events, but Gaiden works hard to deliver intriguing new characters and subplots, adding depth to a tale we thought we’d already been told.
Gaiden is interwoven with the events of Like a Dragon, so it doesn’t ever feel out of place…[It] expertly blends in new moments from Kiryu’s perspective, adding narrative significance without ever causing awkward plot holes.
If you’ve played other series entries such asLike A Dragon: Ishin, then The Man Who Erased His Name will have some clear nods to the features that Ryu Ga Gotoku built on in that older entry, like Ishin’s Arena.
For example, The Coliseum in The Man Who Erased His Name bears noticeable similarities to the style of fights you’d experience at the Arena in Ishin.
The Coliseum also combines the team fights and character-recruitment elements found in other mini-games, like Majima Construction, and brings these various elements together in perfect harmony.
If you’ve enjoyed the Like A Dragon series and associated spin-offs, then this game will offer significant improvements you’ll appreciate along with Kiryu’s incredibly moving story.
Time Expenditure
The Man Who Erased His Name is much shorter than most Like A Dragon entries, coming in atroughly ten hours to complete,with a total of five chapters to play.
Most mainline entries can exceed 25–30 hours, so this is a remarkably more succinct experience. Don’t let the shorter story fool you, as this title is packed with tons to do, especially if you’re a completionist.
If you plan to take things a little slowerand enjoy a few adventures on your way to the finale, you’ll likely be in forabout 15 hours of content, unless you decide to spend an entire day trying to win the crane game in the arcade.
If you wantto 100 percent this title, then you’re in luck as you’llonlyneed to invest about 30–35 hoursto get your platinum trophy.
Getting 100 percent will require a great deal of effort, but significantly less than it would in other Like A Dragon games.
If you want to fully complete one of the games in the series,this is easily one of the most approachable.
Cost
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is slightly cheaper than most full-fledged AAA games, coming in at these prices:
$49.99
Xbox
Despite the quick paid-to-free change for Xbox users, anyone who pre-ordered the game received exclusive content in the form ofthree bonus fighters to use in the Coliseum:
What People Are Saying
My First Yakuza/Like A Dragon Game And It Won’t Be My Last! – Dennis Moiseyev
When I started Like A Dragon Gaiden, it felt daunting, since I didn’t have any previous knowledge of the storylines, and was just vaguely familiar with some of the characters. However, all of that went away, and I was sold with the very first scene. I was completely engaged and captivated into taking on this new journey with Kazuma Kiryu. The Man Who Erased His Name is another great entry in the sprawling Like A Dragon series. The writing is impeccable, every emotion is felt, the minigames are on fire once again, and the gadget combat is some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I could spend the entire game just ignoring main quests and beating up groups!
Like A Dragon Gaiden Is So Much More Than Just A Side Story – James Kennedy
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is, down to its core, a classic Yakuza game. However, there are two notable departures. For starters, with the introduction of the Agent Tools, Like A Dragon Gaiden has a more elastic, arcadey gameplay style than ever before. While Yakuza has never been afraid to lean into absurdity, it feels like Gaiden dives in head first right from the start. As a result, the combat ends up being just atonof fun to fool around with.The next big departure is the length. For the most part, this just feels like a fully-featured Yakuza game. But it is considerably shorter and, I have to say, I sorta dig it. It helps the story feel more immediate, and it helps to establish a pretty engaging pace. I wouldn’t mind if more Like A Dragon games in the future kept this breakneck tempo. So is Like A Dragon Gaiden worth it? Yes. Obviously. This is yet another excellent game in the legendary Yakuza franchise!
As Short As It Is Sweet – Johnny Garcia
Like A Dragon: Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is notably much shorter than any of the previous installments of the franchise, but every minute of it feels fantastic. Admittedly, the early plot felt somewhat nonsensical at points but builds upon character relationships to make it feel like we’ve been with them for years despite this game being their first appearance. Chapter Four is a huge highlight of the game, and throughout the part with a particular group, I had a giant smile on my face the whole time. The ending is one of the biggest emotional payoffs in any Like A Dragon game and had me close to tearing up after what felt like an ending years in the making. A big draw is the combat. I never thought I’d enjoy combat as much as I did in the Judgement spinoffs, but The Man Who Erased His Name proved me wrong. The new Agent style is incredibly fun, and the novelty of swinging my enemies all over the place never wore thin. There’s a nice blend of needing to use both styles which kept combat fresh throughout the whole game. Although the game is short, the side content is plentiful to help get the most bang for your buck (and the only way to play a home version of Fighting Vipers 2 in the US, something this fighting game lover appreciates).
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