Summary
- The producer explains the decision to bring back Kazuma Kiryu in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, stating it was always planned even during the development of Yakuza 6.
- Fans were divided about Kiryu's return, but he was included as a piece of fanservice and boss fight, not overshadowing the new protagonist Ichiban.
- Like a Dragon Gaiden serves as a bridge between Yakuza 6, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and the upcoming Infinite Wealth, delving into Kiryu's character and meeting with Ichiban.
This article contains SPOILERS for Yakuza 6 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon The producer behind the Like a Dragon series, Hiroyuki Sakamoto, explains why they decided to have Kazuma Kiryu return after the events of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Kiryu has always been the face of Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku's long-running franchise, having maintained this role ever since the first game in 2005. However, this would change with the release of Yakuza 6, which was billed as the final game in the Kazuma Kiryu Saga. It was seen as a bittersweet but understandable move, with the game giving a mostly graceful and heartfelt ending before passing on the torch to his successor, Kasuga Ichiban.
That said, despite Ichiban's newfound role as protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu still managed to make an appearance in Ichiban's debut game, Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Fans were okay with him showing up as a piece of fanservice and boss fight since Kiryu didn't overshadow Ichiban in the seventh game. What fans were a bit more split on was bringing back Kiryu twice, with him getting his own spin-off title along with being the secondary protagonist of the eighth game. Despite his return seeming almost too gratuitous in the eyes of some fans, the series' producer explains that the developers had always planned on bringing him back after Yakuza 6.
In an IGN interview, Hiroyuki Sakamoto claims that Kiryu's return has been in the works for a long time. He states that this plan goes back to even when they were developing Yakuza 6, where they wanted to make Kiryu and Ichiban the protagonists of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. This led to the hero becoming a supporting character in the seventh game, which then also gave way to the Gaiden spin-off in order to introduce new players to Kiryu.
Like a Dragon Gaiden in particular was made as a bridging point between Yakuza 6, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Infinite Wealth. It follows Kiryu after he faked his death at the end of the sixth game, where it delves into what he has been up to in the background of these titles. It also helps tie him into the story seen in Infinite Wealth, where he meets Ichiban who has somehow washed ashore to Hawaii.
The conclusion of Yakuza 6 was seen as a heartfelt and bittersweet end to Kiryu's character arc, where his fake death was in order to protect his children back at the Morning Glory orphanage. With Kiryu getting more focus in the Gaiden interquel, it will be interesting to see how his characterization is affected in both this upcoming spin-off and Infinite Wealth.
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: IGN