The Summer Game Fest kicked off last night, and unlike the recent PlayStation Showcase was far from a disappointment. With surprising announcements like a new Prince of Persia game and the official announcement and showcase of Final Fantasy Rebirth, the show was certainly as impressive as Geoff Keighley had promised weeks ago.
As well as the big hitters, there was plenty of space for the already announced titles to shine, with gameplay and story trailers left, right and centre. One such title that finally got some time to shine is the upcoming Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio game Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name – What We Know
The Yakuza franchise has been around for a lot of years now, and the most recent game Like a Dragon: Ishin was a considerable success. Essentially a remake of a 2014, Asia release only, it was modernised and certainly helped fill the gap since the previous game Like a Dragon. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name isn’t a sequel to either of those games however, but more of a bridge between Yakuza 6 and Like a Dragon, filling the gaps in the story for Kiryu.
“Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu, operating under the codename “Joryu.” Once a legendary yakuza, he faked his own death and abandoned his name to protect his family. Now, he is thrust into conflict by a mysterious figure attempting to drive him out of hiding.”
Fans of the Yakuza franchise will be well versed in the long and complicated history of both the franchise as a whole, but also of Kazuma Kiryu, and knowing we’ll finally be getting a few more gaps filled in to understand the wider picture is always good news.
Featuring real time action and combat, players will be able to choose between two fighting styles; Yakuza, or Agent. The Yakuza style will look and feel the most familiar to fans, with the over-the-top aggression and violence dispatching enemies with ease, or if you’d rather use the Agent style you’ll be able to remove enemies from the battlefield with speed and purposeful, well-aimed strikes. Different circumstances throughout the game will no doubt require different approaches, so it’s likely we’ll be using both styles regularly.
The franchise staple side missions and entertaining mini-games look to make a comeback, thankfully, as it’s not quite a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio game without drinking, karaoke, racing in the pocket circuit or the newest addition, a live-action cabaret club.
This is the second of three Like a Dragon games that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio announced in the recent past, with the direct sequel Like a Dragon 8 featuring both Ichiban and Kiryu following on the story from the last mainstream entry Like a Dragon. News on that is minimal at the moment, with the studio understandably focusing on this next release first and foremost. More news and information will be released closer to release, until then, we’ll continue to pick apart the above trailer bit by bit to get our Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name fix.
Related: Summer Game Fest: New ‘Conquest’ Competitive Mode Unveiled For ‘Marvel Snap’
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is due for release on November 9th on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Are you excited by the latest reveal of the upcoming game? Let us know in the comments!
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