Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku have released a lengthy new overview trailer for Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which includes a wealth of new details, including a demo for the next mainline entry.
The big piece of news is that The Man Who Erased His Name will include a trial demo of Like a Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth, unlockable by completing the main game. Apparently, this demo will contain exclusive scenes and events that won’t be present in the main game. Infinite Wealth follows up on the events of the seventh game, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and is set for release sometime in 2024, although it doesn’t have a release date as of yet.
Past that, the trailer gives an in-depth look at the story and gameplay of the new spinoff, which returns to the series’s tried-and-true action combat.
Like a Dragon Gaiden puts longtime protagonist Kazuma Kiryu back in the spotlight, chronicling what happened after he forsake his name and life at the end of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Operating under the codename “Joryu,” Kiryu’s family is put in danger by someone that wants to force him out of hiding, kicking off a new series of events that once again puts Kiryu in the heat of the action.
As with past games, Like a Dragon Gaiden will feature two distinct combat styles for Kiryu, Yakuza and Agent. The Yakuza style is a heavy brawler that functions a lot like his skills in past games, but Agent looks like a wild twist on the formula. With this style, Kiryu can use an array of secret agent gadgets, including rocket boots, an exploding cigarette, and a wild wire weapon that lets him wrap up enemies and swing around like Spider-Man. It’s absurd in the kind of way only the Like a Dragon series can be.
The bulk of Like a Dragon Gaiden will take place on a massive shipping container that doubles as a kind of theme park, filled with all the minigames you could want. Here’s a quick list of the minigames we noticed in the trailer.
- New Battle Arena minigame with group combat
- Cabaret Club (live-action scenes with hostesses)
- Pocket Racer (miniature car racing)
- Golf
- Karaoke
- Pool
- Darts
- Classic Arcade games, including Sonic Fighters
Interestingly, it also looks like this will be the first game in the franchise to feature full outfit customization, letting you equip different hats, clothes, shoes, accessories, and more on Kiryu.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name launches on November 9 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
