Highlights
- Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will feature the character Masaharu Kaito from the developer's Judgment spin-off series, connecting it to the greater Like a Dragon canon.
- The game ties itself to the spin-off series Judgment, which also utilizes Like a Dragon gameplay and mechanics, but has never directly referenced each other until now.
- Kaito's inclusion in Gaiden opens the door for other characters from the spin-off series to make an appearance in future entries, potentially adding to the fan service of the game.
One of the previews for Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name shows that Masaharu Kaito from the developer's Judgment spin-off series will be making an appearance, providing a surprising connection between it and the greater Like a Dragon canon. The Gaiden title is a spin-off of the main series, where it focuses on a returning Kazuma Kiryu after the events of Yakuza 6. It shows what Kiryu has been up to throughout the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon while also providing a connection to his appearance within the eighth game, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The game also manages to tie itself to Judgment, a spin-off series developed by the same studio.
Judgment and its sequel Lost Judgment are two detective thriller spin-off games that utilize the same Like a Dragon beat-em-up action gameplay and open-world mechanics. These games combine that with investigations and mysteries for the player to solve as private investigator Takayuki Yagami. Yagami also has a partner at his detective agency, a former yakuza member of the Tojo Clan, Masahru Kaito. The games never directly reference each other beyond events that happen within the city of Kamurocho, so it's surprising to see both Kaito and Kiryu now in the same game via Gaiden.
This was revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu, where it reveals that Kiryu will eventually meet with Kaito, even showing a screenshot of the two together. According to a translation of the article, he will appear in a substory for the game, which also features some other returning bit characters like Etsuko from Yakuza 0. The article also gives a brief biography of Kaito, where he is described as a former lieutenant of the Matsugane family, who Tojo Clan, along with how he works with Yagami. The translation notes that this is the first time that he and Kiryu meet, even teasing what kind of interactions they might have in Like a Dragon Gaiden.
Longtime fans of both series were very curious about Kaito's inclusion in the game, especially as part of a substory and their possible interactions. Kaito's character shares a lot of elements with Kiryu, such as his flashy shirt being similar to the latter's outfit from Yakuza 0. This extends to Kaito's gameplay in Judgment and Lost Judgment, where his moveset is borrowed from Kiryu's Brawler and Beast styles from the same game.
Kaito meeting his direct inspiration in the upcoming Gaiden should be a great piece of fanservice for Like a Dragon fans. With Kaito's appearance in Gaiden, the door has been opened for other characters from the spin-off series to make an appearance in future entries, maybe even a cameo from Takayuki Yagami if allowed. For now, fans will need to wait and see how and why Kiryu and Kaito get entangled in Sotenbori.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will launch November 9, 2023, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Noisy Pixel
