A tenacious and beseeching defense for childlike creativity and the necessity of cherishing wonder in growth. In typical RGG fashion, Like A Dragon attempts to favorably honor the yakuza as an institution, and this time around with a charming new face for fans to get reattached to. Perhaps this job is done too quickly with how strikingly likable Ichiban is, and proof of this is found when we understand his place in all of this. He is not even a decade younger than Kiryu, yet his exuberance and excursion from rock bottom redeems him from feeling aged. Like A Dragon questions the very essence of torch passing while also reminding us how wisdom in the yakuza (and most organizations) is experiential. Ichiban is anything but young in society but evokes a spirit that rejects denotations often associated with a quadragenarian. This is what makes Ichiban so unique and worth rooting for against his adversaries.

It also subverts the typical rise in narrative RPGs as Ichiban has no concern of being at the top to bask in his own glory. His growth from nadir results in newfound solace in the ordinary. Sure, there is a power-of-friendship aura looming around your party, but that’s what Ichiban’s course is all about, and you’d be hard-pressed in denying me of that value morally. Plus, if we are scaling power in this ultimately ludicrous series in terms of defying human strength, then you should be able to get by with realizing Ichiban can force a stalemate with the power giants of previous entries after bountiful training. Even then, the most irrational fight ends up being the most challenging and will not hold your hand if under-levelled. Your inability to simply coast by later fights without preparation is a stark difference from other Yakuza games and that’s a minor difficulty spike that I do commend RGG for implementing.

And yes, our ‘hero’ is an everyday hero. Optimistic, specific, and caring. Empathy worth matching with Kiryu. Bless you, fans of RGG games, where your empathic accuracy is attributed to every human character, except for Kume, who represents a contemporary kind of evil. An emotional and stirring climax comes across as a desperate plea from Ichiban himself at an all-time high for vulnerability of not just this game, but all Yakuza games before it.