Sega and RGG Studio have released a new trailer introducing us to Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name star Kazuma Kiryu.
But for the Yakuza / Ryu Ga Gotoku / Like A Dragon faithful, the Dragon of Dojima Kazuma Kiryu needs no introduction. An orphan who rises in the ranks to become of the Dojima clan’s most notorious members, Kiryu reveals a desire to leave the dangerous lifestyle. Surprisingly enough, we find out that what Kiryu really wants to do is build an orphanage and save others like him.
However, because of the events of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Kiryu is forced to fake his death and go into hiding, precisely to keep his new foster children safe. Kiryu has signed on to the Daidoji to work as one of their secret agents. However, in the events of this new game, Kiryu is forced to ditch his persona and go public, revealing to everyone that he is alive yet again.
Kiryu’s existence in the series is really unusual, and not at all characteristic of the life of a real life yakuza man. While Kiryu seems to be the mold of a classic film yakuza, he really takes on a variety of roles that yakuza don’t really do. For example, this isn’t the first time he has gone into hiding, having pretended to be a taxi driver in the vents of Yakuza 5.
In most of the games, Kiryu really plays the role of detective. Not a literal police licensed detective, but a pseudo-detective who works within the yakuza system. Kiryu has had to unravel the many plots used against him and the Dojima clan through the years. In his own way, Kiryu also pursued his own form of justice, not based on Japanese law, but his own moral code.
This game fills in some important blanks for Yakuza / Ryu Ga Gotoku / Like A Dragon fans who definitely want to know what happened after he went into hiding, but just before the events of Yakuza: Like A Dragon itself. Some of those fans had been following Kiryu since the franchise’s debut on the PlayStation 2 in 2005, so for them, this is literally a long time coming.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is releasing on November 9, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, via Steam and Microsoft Store. Since Sega’s age gating restricts how you can see it, you can watch Sega’s new trailer here.
