For a long time, Sega's Yakuza franchise has been one of the last bastions of old-school style beat 'em up action. Combining elements of other Sega franchises like Shenmue and Streets of Rage, the series couples adventure and storytelling with nonstop fisticuffs on the mean streets of Kamurocho.

This has all changed with the series' newest entry, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which features a new hero and new gameplay style that are vastly different than what's come before. As much of a left turn as this seems for the franchise, it's all based off of classic Japanese role-playing games, particular some of Square Enix's catalog. From the battle system, to the job system, to some of the game's wacky plot twists, Like a Dragon is a fantastic send-up and celebration of old RPGs.

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Like a Dragon Quest

In the real world, the most likely reason for switching to a turn-based battle system was to switch up the franchise's well-worn path as a beat 'em up game. There is, however, an in-game explanation for this change in gameplay. The new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, is worlds away from the serious characterization of the stoic Kazuma Kiryu from the first seven games. This is evident in how he sees the world and the way in which he approaches things. A mop-headed goofball, Ichiban is a huge fan of video games, namely classic JRPGs such as Dragon Quest. In fact, playing the game is listed as one of his special abilities.

Released from prison and now wanting to become a hero in the Japanese criminal underworld, Ichiban literally behaves and sees the world through the lens of said RPGs. This explains the shift to turn-based fighting, as well as the many outlandish attacks that he and his party members are able to engage in during the skirmishes. In fact, the party system is another element borrowed from JRPGs that heretofore has not really been present in the Yakuza series.

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Gotta Catch 'Em All!

There are also classes that each party member can join, similar to the jobs/classes found in certain entries of the Final Fantasy series. Likewise, other references to Dragon Quest include the wholesale replication of the infamous "Puff-Puff" gag from that series. While shoutouts to Square Enix's iconic RPG franchises are some of the most obvious, there are also elements that homage and parody different Nintendo RPGs.

Ichiban is seen prominently wielding a baseball bat (obviously in place of a sword in traditional medieval RPGs), which itself is not outside of the norm for the series. Some of the enemies that he and his party are, however, with the most outlandish foes to grace a Yakuza game standing in their way. These include crooked cooks, angry old men, flashers, nerds, crazed cultists and the occasional old-school looking greaser. When combined with Ichiban's choice of weaponry, these seem like clear callbacks to Nintendo's cult hit Earthbound, which featured a baseball wielding protagonist and a treasure trove of cartoonishly weird enemies.

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The wider variety of foes faced when compared to the game's predecessors also leads to the introduction of the Sujidex. This contraption, which logs the various enemy types, is an obvious parody of the Pokédex from the Pokémon franchise, and the reference goes further with a side-quest involving a professor and picking between a trio of "Sujimon" that are colored green, blue and red respectively.

The fact that party members can actually become stronger through having Ichiban spend time with them outside of battle also recalls the social links of the Persona games, which themselves are perhaps the modern face of JPRGs. This all adds up into a Yakuza game that's just as interested in looking back at SNES and Game Boy-era RPGs as it is in uncovering the fate of Kamurocho's Tojo clan.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is currently available for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One X and Xbox Series X.

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