I once read an opinion piece on Like a Dragon 6 that took issue with how it concluded Kiryu's story. The author argued that the game ought to have either killed Kiryu off or gave him a happy ending rather than have its cake and eat it too. I disagreed with this, finding the bittersweet finale a more than suitable farewell (to be fair I'd played only Like a Dragon 0 and Kiwami by this point, as these 3 and Like a Dragon 5 were the only available RGG games reasonably accessible to me at the time). When the trailers for Like a Dragon 7 revealed that Kiryu would be back I couldn't help but get excited despite feeling it somewhat wrong for him to return. By the time I reached his section of the game, having already been skeptical of the turn based combat from the start, weary of some of the games RPG mechanics, and a little let down by its story, I found myself annoyed at Kiryu's presence, here it seems only to pass the torch to Ichiban as the series' new dragon, when his story was already done. I said fine, this special appearance served its function, now lay the character to rest. When it was announced Kiryu was returning as a protagonist for Like a Dragon 8 (people were already calling him Joryu online, not sure when or how it was announced that was his codename), I wondered if I would even keep playing the games in this series. I considered it a relief when it came to my attention that Kiryu would be dying of cancer (I presume) in Infinite Wealth. The game is yet to release but to RGG's credit it seems that they are both seeing Kiryu's "send-off" from The Song of Life to its conclusion and bringing a greater finality to his character. I doubt it'll be as admirable as Like a Dragon 6's choice of forgoing many of the series' regulars (aside from brief appearances at the start and finish) to instead focus on Kiryu and the new (but familiar to fans of Like a Dragon 3) cast, but giving him a somber and "proper" send-off with all the faces we've visited time and again across all these games seems as good a way to go as any. RGG Studios knows what they're doing having a "broken" Kiryu back under those arches, I'm not made of stone.
So that leaves us with Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. Narrative wise it's almost completely superfluous to Like a Dragon 7, there's next to nothing that Kiryu is up to in the lead up to the dissolution of the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance outside of maybe meditating that's all that interesting or couldn't be summed up briefly in a cutscene or two (it's unsurprising that this was apparently originally intended as DLC). But as a last hurrah for the brawler combat of this series, featuring subtories tinged with reminiscences and a finale where you get shirtless with the boys to trash the Omi headquarters one last time, it's a brief yet savory romp that reminded me why I love this series (and that I need to finish Like a Dragon 3) The trailers promised a lot with the image of a sobbing Kiryu, and while the rest of the story is mostly take it or leave it, RGG Studios (and especially Takaya Kuroda) more than delivered right at the end.