WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS for Like a Dragon Gaiden ahead. Proceed at your own risk.Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name was released earlier this month, continuing the story of former protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. On the heels of the Yakuza franchise’s next major release, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the title explores Kiryu's actions after Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. While Kiryu has since taken on a new alias, Joryu, Like a Dragon Gaiden sees a host of new and returning characters refer to the legendary Dragon of Dojima by a variety of former titles. During the game’s concluding scenes, Daidoji Faction manager and agent Kihei Hanawa assigns a new alias to Kiryu as he embarks on a trip to Hawaii - Taichi Suzuki. While the name may be just another alias to recent fans, veterans may recall its significance. The title of Taichi Suzuki comes from an earlier era in the Yakuza franchise, and Hanawa's use of the title in Like a Dragon Gaiden holds a surprising reveal.
Like a Dragon Gaiden follows Kiryu Kazuma after the Daidoji faction helps him fake his death to protect those he loves. Despite adopting a number of peaceful philosophies in the time since his heyday, Kiryu is quickly placed at the center of a critical situation, as a massive shift threatens to throw all of Japan into turmoil. Like a Dragon Gaiden sees the character encounter several familiar faces while doing tasks assigned to him by Kihei Hanawa. It’s clear early on that Kiryu and Hanawa share a deep bond of trust, as the two trust each other with their lives on multiple accounts. However, Hanawa’s final assignment to Kiryu, his new alias, reveals that the connection between the two goes farther back than anyone had realized.
Taichi Suzuki is one of Kiryu's Yakuza Aliases
While Like a Dragon Gaiden takes place between 2019 and 2020, the "Taichi Suzuki" alias dates back to 2011. Many of Kazuma Kiryu’s recent adventures stem from his connection to the Morning Glory Orphanage, which he has sworn to support and protect with his life. During the events of Yakuza 5, Kiryu takes on the alias of Taichi Suzuki and becomes a taxi driver in Nagasugai, Fukuoka, in order to distance himself from Haruka Sawamura and the Morning Glory Orphanage, as the former attempts to become a pop star. While Kiryu has very little contact with the orphanage, he continues to support them from afar, sending nearly all of his paychecks to the orphans.
Throughout Yakuza 5’s story, a massive plot to murder members of the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance draws Kiryu into a rapidly spiraling series of events. With the 7th chairman of the Omi Alliance terminally ill and interim leader of the delegation, Daigo Dojima, missing, Kiryu searches for the truth as a series of murders unfold, eventually leading him to Tokyo. There he again crosses paths with Haruka and is forced to protect her concert, before finally discovering the motive for the murders. After Kiryu emerges victorious from a climactic life-or-death battle, Haruka decides to reveal her past to the public, retires from being an idol, and reunites with him.
How Hanawa Knows Taichi Suzuki
The major events of Like a Dragon Gaiden see the Omi Alliance and Tojo Clan officially disbanded after Kiryu rebuffs all opposers to Masaru Watase’s dissolution order at a leadership gathering. The dissolution results in the Daidoji faction growing in power, as organized crime's biggest powers are no longer active. As a reward for his service, Hanawa shows Kiryu a video of the Morning Glory residents visiting his grave before he departs on a trip to Hawaii, USA. To travel beyond the Daidoji Dojo, Hanawa forges Kiryu a new identity, Taichi Suzuki, before revealing that, in his “former life”, Hanawa had met Kiryu under that same alias.
Like a Dragon Gaiden refrains from shedding more light on Hanawa and Kiryu's first meeting, but fans can narrow down the time and place. As the Taichi Suzuki alias is contained to Yakuza 5, the two would have to have crossed paths between 2011 and 2012 in Nagasugai, Fukuoka, before Kiryu left for Tokyo. While Hanawa's former life is shrouded in mystery, fans may not have to wait long to learn more about this fated meeting. Both Hanawa and Kiryu are set to return in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which is due to arrive in January 2024.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a spin-off game that focuses on Kazuma Kiryu's actions after Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Unlike the main entries' shift to turn-based combat, Like a Dragon Gaiden returns to the franchise's classic beat 'em up combat.
