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In Like a Dragon Gaiden, despite a shorter main story than other series titles due to its brief development period and initial concept as DLC, there is certainly no shortage of gameplay activities. The Akame Network feature, akin to Yakuza: Like a Dragon's Part-Time Hero system, brings together substories and requests with various rewards, enriching Joryu's journey. Additionally, Gaiden brings back an array of Yakuza series minigames, with several introducing fresh twists on beloved, long-standing favorites.
The Yakuza and Like a Dragon series have always offered numerous entertainment options via minigames featured prominently in their many Japan-inspired locales. These are ideal for players needing a break from the main story or those interested in tackling the game’s numerous minigame-related completionist tasks.
Like a Dragon Gaiden continues this tradition, featuring a variety of minigames, including updated versions of series favorites like the Battle Coliseum and Cabaret Club, and the triumphant return of Pocket Circuit. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of all the minigames in Like a Dragon Gaiden, along with their respective locations for players to explore and enjoy.
Billiards
Though absent from Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Billiards (or Pool) makes a return in Like a Dragon Gaiden. The city of Sotenbori, a longstanding entertainment hub in the Yakuza universe, hosts many bars where players can enjoy billiards or darts. The game includes several completion entries and Akame Network requests focusing on conquering billiards challenges.
Where to Play Billiards
Joryu can play Billiards at the Kiss Shot Billiards & Bar, located in the bottom left corner of Sotenbori's map. Once inside, he can speak with the employee in front of the billiards table and select from its variety of game modes.
Cabaret Club
Like a Dragon Gaiden offers an updated version of the series’ cabaret club minigame, where players experience the cabaret as patrons, without the option to manage a club or enter Grand Prix tournaments. Joryu can visit the game’s two cabaret clubs and spend quality time with its hostesses, raising their affection through his smooth talk and loose wallet. The use of real video for these interactions, while unsettling for some, adds a new dimension to the cabaret experience.
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Players that want to earn an after-hours date with Hostess Kokoro in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name can find help here.
Where to Find Cabaret Clubs
Like a Dragon Gaiden features two cabaret clubs, each featuring two exclusive hostesses with whom Joryu can spend time. Sotenbori's Club Heavenly is located on the southern end of E Shofukucho, right where it branches off from the main Shofukucho street.
The Castle Cabaret, on the other hand, is located on the Castle and can be found on the left side of Castle Central Street, right before reaching the gate to The Coliseum.
Club SEGA Arcade
While, sadly, the real-world Club SEGA arcades are a thing of the past, Sotenbori’s Club SEGA still offers all the beeps, boops, and UFO catcher frustrations a player can ask for.
Gaiden’s Club SEGA features a new assortment of classic SEGA arcade titles alongside its standard UFO catcher machines, featuring a handful of new prizes. Players can stop by the Sotenbori Club SEGA to play any of these titles:
All SEGA Arcade Games in Like a Dragon Gaiden | |
|---|---|
Fighting Vipers 2 | Sonic The Fighters |
Motor Raid | Virtua Fighter 2.1 |
SEGA Racing Classic 2 | UFO Catcher |
As in previous Yakuza series titles, each of these games features multiple challenges, so players looking for 100% completion will likely spend a bit of time pumping tokens in the arcade.
Where to Find Club SEGA
Club SEGA Sotenbori is situated on the northern side of Sotenbori St., housed in a prominent building located just before the Iwao Bridge.
Coliseum
The Coliseum in Like a Dragon Gaiden, highly praised as one of the game's standout features, merges elements of Yakuza's previous Clan Creator and similar minigames with the battle dynamics of the Purgatory Coliseum, creating an all-new arena fighting experience.
Players are required to engage in Coliseum battles at certain junctures in the game's storyline, and by fulfilling Akame’s requests, they can unlock new members for Joryu's elite fighting team. Players have the flexibility to return to the Coliseum almost any time to participate in fresh battles, improve their records, and advance the levels of their clan members, all while accumulating a substantial amount of cash and fame.
Where to Find the Coliseum
The Coliseum takes center stage within The Castle, located inside the grand, ostentatious replica of Osaka Castle. To access the Coliseum and join a battle, players should use either of the elevators and then speak with the Coliseum attendant at the main desk.
Darts
Darts is a traditional bar game in the Yakuza series, with DARTS Live machines found in many bars and clubs across the series. In Like a Dragon Gaiden, the game presents one of its most player-friendly versions, greatly simplifying the process of completing various requests. Players have the opportunity to discover and collect diverse types of darts, each boasting unique designs and a range of quality and performance levels.
Where to Play Darts
In Sotenbori, Joryu can play a few rounds of feathers by visiting Shot Bar Stijl located on the eastern end of Sotenbori St., just before reaching the Bishamon Bridge. While aboard The Castle, Joryu can play Darts inside the Coliseum Lobby, accessible via elevators found at the entrance to the Coliseum.
Golf
The Yokobori Golf Center continues to thrive in Gaiden, its showy façade remaining a long-standing feature of Sotenbori St. The center has introduced updates to its puzzle modes, including Bingo Golf, providing a refreshed perspective on these classic minigame challenges.
Where to Play Golf
Joryu can engage in a range of indoor Golf challenges at the Yokobori Golf Center in Sotenbori, found at the northeastern end of Sotenbori St. The center is hard to miss due to the hilariously large golf balls adorning its signage.
Karaoke
In Sotenbori, the Yakuza series' iconic Karaoke rhythm game experience unfolds in a quaint bar where Joryu, for a modest fee of ¥1000, can enthusiastically sing to his heart's content. As his friendship with the delightful Akame grows, he can invite her to join in. Together, they enjoy her excellent performance of "Like a Butterfly," complemented by Joryu's spirited and amusingly lively interjections. Like a Dragon Gaiden features the following Karaoke tracks:
All Karaoke Tracks in Like a Dragon Gaiden | |
|---|---|
Baka Mitai | Sayonara, Silent Night |
Hands | Shin Ichizu Samurai |
Like a Butterfly | TONIGHT |
Where to Sing Karaoke
Joryu can sing Karaoke at Bar New Momoko in Sotenbori, located on the eastern side of Sotenbori, south of the river and just south of Shofukucho St. The bar's entrance is atop a flight of stairs and, once inside, he can speak with the bar's Mama and sing to his heart's content for the low price of ¥1000.
Mahjong
Mahjong returns in Like a Dragon Gaiden, bringing two challenges for players to complete. This minigame has historically been a notoriously challenging endeavor for Yakuza series completionists, primarily due to its intricate and daunting ruleset.
As a result, many players rely on in-game “cheat” items like the Peerless Tile, seemingly absent in Gaiden, or mobile apps to help them navigate and complete the various objectives associated with this traditional game.
Where to Play Mahjong
Joryu can play Mahjong by visiting Riichi Tower Mahjong parlor, housed on the second floor of a building located right below the "W Shofukucho" street label on the map. The building features street signage for Bar RC and Cafe and Bar Sauvage and an elevator the player needs to take to reach the parlor.
Oichu-Kabu & Koi-Koi
In Like a Dragon Gaiden, the card-based casino games Oichu-Kabu and Koi-Koi are back, providing Joryu a chance to engage in these traditional gambling games. These games balance skill and luck, creating a challenging and engaging experience accompanied by some pretty fantastic sound effects.
Where to Play Oichu-Kabu & Koi-Koi
Both Oichu-Kabu and Koi-Koi are playable in Sotenbori's Yotsudera Kaikan Gambling Hall, a large building located in the bottom left corner of Sotenbori, directly across from the Kiss Shot Billiards & Bar. The entrance to the gambling hall is at the end of a long hallway that Joryu enters from the street.
Pocket Circuit
Pocket Circuit, the beloved slot car racing game, makes a celebrated comeback in Like a Dragon Gaiden after being absent since its debut in Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami. Unfortunately, Pocket Circuit Fighter is notably missing, probably preoccupied with managing the Dragon Kart Circuit in Ijincho.
While the setting has shifted to a stylish bar tailored for an older audience, the essence of Pocket Circuit remains unchanged. This environment allows Joryu to indulge in the intricacies of his car and its components, crafting the ideal racer for each track and making new rivals along the way.
Where to Play Pocket Circuit Racing
In the second chapter of Like a Dragon Gaiden, Joryu is reintroduced to the competitive world of Pocket Circuit. Excited by the resurgence of his beloved hobby and the prospect of racing against a more diverse group of competitors (not only young children), Joryu can enjoy Pocket Circuit at the CourStar Pocket Circuit Bar. CourStar is located at the eastern end of E Shofukucho on the Sotenbori map, distinctly positioned to the far southeast of Iwao Bridge.
Poker & Blackjack
The Castle, a flamboyant gambling paradise, houses an extravagant casino where players can delve into low and high-stakes Poker and Blackjack. Poker offers a range of strategic plays and bluffing opportunities in this lively setting, appealing to both novices and seasoned gamblers. On the other hand, Blackjack provides a classic casino experience where players can test their luck and skills in trying to hit the magic number 21.
Where to Play Poker & Blackjack
Joryu can play Poker and Blackjack by visiting the Casino located in The Castle once access to this area has been unlocked.
SEGA Master System
The Club SEGA arcades in the Yakuza series have long paid tribute to iconic SEGA titles like Out Run and Virtua Fighter. Like a Dragon Gaiden elevates this nostalgia for classic SEGA games to new heights. The game introduces a playable SEGA Master System, a legendary console that stood as SEGA's answer to the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Players can discover a remarkable collection of 12 different Master System game cartridges scattered across Sotenbori and The Castle, offering a deep dive into SEGA’s classic gaming legacy.
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Where to Play SEGA Master System
The SEGA Master System is available for play inside a Hideout unlocked during the story in Like a Dragon Gaiden's Chapter 3.
Shogi
Joryu has the opportunity to engage in Shogi at any of the outdoor tables scattered throughout the game world. This strategic board game played with koma tiles on a wooden board, boasts a ruleset more intricate than many chess variants.
While Like a Dragon Gaiden provides a comprehensive in-game manual detailing the rules, including the ranks of koma and their movements, mastering shogi remains a formidable task. It's one of the more demanding minigames in the Yakuza series, presenting a significant learning curve for those aiming to conquer its various challenges.
Where to Play Shogi
To get his Shogi fix, Joryu has the option to visit any of the outdoor Shogi "tables" situated on the western end of S Shofukucho, conveniently close to Akame's Hideout.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
- Franchise
- Yakuza
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- November 9, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
