Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name from SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is ready to rock you on PlayStation 5. Check our Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name review!

Please enter your date of birth to access this video.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name from SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is ready to rock you on PlayStation 5. The game is a spin-off of the Yakuza series, now known as Like a Dragon, hence the Gaiden part of the game. It falls between the events from Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Like Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which will be released next year on PlayStation and will follow the Yakuza: Like a Dragon storyline. What will you be doing in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name?

For this new journey, the legendary Kazuma Kiryu has faked his own death and has had to let go of his name, now living under the codename Joryu. Why has the great Kiryu had to do this? Because it was needed in order to protect his foster children. He’s signed a with the Daidoji faction to become their disciple, which has led to him now operating as one of their secret agents – hence the Joryu codename.

Combat will have you switching between the Yakuza and Agent fighting styles to make the most of Kyryu’s abilities. If you’re familiar with the series, then you know what to expect from the Yakuza fighting style. Kyryu will rush into action while unleashing powerful attacks that will strike fear into your opponents. The Agent style brings Kiryu’s new role as Joryu into action by giving you access to flashier, faster attacks that will make good use of the different gadgets at his disposal.

When exploring each location, you’ll control Kyryu with the left analog stick, interacting with objects or characters as needed with the X button. You can walk by holding down the R1 button and can sprint by holding down the R2 button. The Square button will activate the wire gadget. You can enlarge and minimize the minimap by pressing in on the right analog stick. Pressing in on the left analog stick will allow you to go into first-person view. You can use your phone’s camera by pressing up on the D-Pad and can read emails by pressing left on the D-pad. If you want to open up the full map, this is done by pressing the TouchPad on the DualSense.

Once you go into combat, you’ll need to move around to avoid incoming attacks as you make the most of the fighting style you’ve selected. If using the Yakuza fighting style, then you can dodge by pressing the X button. The Circle button can be used to grab an enemy. You can perform a rush combo with the Square button. The Triangle button will be used for dealing a finishing blow. To change between styles, you can press up on the D-Pad when in battle. You can guard in both fighting styles by pressing the L1 button, taunt enemies by pressing in on the left analog stick, and activate Extreme Heat Mode by pressing the R2 button once the bar has filled up.

If you’re battling against your opponents in the Agent fighting style, then the X button will be for the Serpent gadget, which will allow Kyryu to dash around the area with the help of rocket boots. Collide into an enemy while doing so, and it will fall to the ground. Pressing the Square button will activate the Firefly gadget. This one will give you explosive cigarettes you can throw at enemies to deal some good damage. Just be careful, because the explosion can also damage you! The Square button is for the Spider gadget. This will launch a razor wire that can latch onto an enemy, which can be used to then throw them at other enemies. The last gadget is the Hornet, which is mapped to the Triangle button. This one launches drones that will shoot at enemies.

You can use the catalog handed to you early in the game to order Daidoji martial arts manuals. You’ll need to spend a good amount of your money, but it will certainly be worth it. You can upgrade abilities from the pause menu to use the manuals you obtain. Not all Daidoji martial arts manuals can be bought with money, so as the story progresses, you’ll run into some that have other requirements for you to complete.

There are many elements that you can boost during your time with Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. You can increase your max health, which will be useful for combat. You could also increase the damage you deal to opponents by increasing your attack. Maybe you’d like to boost how you insult downed enemies by taunting them? You can also boost special actions when in Extreme Heat Mode or even upgrade the different gadgets you’ll gain as you complete the first couple of chapters in the game.

There’s a lot to do in this game… including playing other SEGA games! You can visit the Club SEGA arcades to play six different games: Fighting Vipers 2, Motor Raid, SEGA Racing Classic 2, Sonic The Fighters, Virtua Fighter 2.1, and UFO Catcher. You can even get your hands on a Master System console where you can enjoy 12 classic games from SEGA’s history, such as Alien Syndrome, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Fantasy Zone, Enduro Racer, Secret Command, and many more.

On top of that, there’s the option of playing poker or blackjack, taking on some karaoke, playing a bit of slot car racing, taking on some classic mahjong matches, engaging in shogi, playing some pool to unwind and relax for a bit, complete the cabaret mini-game where you can take on the role of a patron, try to survive through the challenge of the battles in the Coliseum, shoot some darts, or perhaps you’d enjoy some bingo golf? There’s a lot you can do when you’re not taking on bad guys!

And then, there’s the Akame Network. Akame is a woman you’ll meet early in the second story chapter. Akame helps the many homeless in the area, and, in exchange, she receives valuable information she then sells to others. She’ll be your main contact for the many side-quests you can take on during this journey. You can work on Stroll N’ Patrol missions, which consist of helping out the people in the area by retrieving objects they’ve lost, giving them the items they request, beating up those that are bothering them, or completing other miscellaneous objectives, such as singing a specific karaoke tune.

For your efforts, you’ll be rewarded with Akame Points – and some money every now and then. The more Akame Points you earn, the more you’ll level up the Akame Network. You’ll then be able to invest these points to unlock new customization options, items to sell at the pawn show, and more. You can level up the Akame Network up to level 30, which is not needed for getting all the trophies in the game – more on this below – but it will certainly help you have an easier time completing this adventure.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a game with a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy. And since this is a Cross-Buy title, if you own a PS5 console, you can download both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It’s a long list with 56 Bronze trophies, 4 Silver trophies, and a lone Gold trophy for you to work on. There are trophies tied to completing each of the story chapters, as well as for finishing the game. You’ll also have to use the different Agent gadgets dozens of times, make your way through the battle Coliseum, work on special missions for Akane, recruit many members to the Joryu clan, obtain many outfit items, and more.

The Yakuza series has come a long way from when its first game was released back in 2006 on PlayStation 2. The jump from PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 5 is a big one, and this shows in the detailed depiction of the many locations you’ll visit, the solid flow in the animations of the many characters you’ll meet, and the scope of each subsequent game growing. With Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, we’re getting a great game in the franchise that serves as a good option for those of you who need their Yakuza fix as they wait for next year’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, all while giving us a new story with the beloved Kazuma Kiryu. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is available as a Cross-Buy title with a $49.99 asking price, so your purchase will allow you to download both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game at no extra cost.

Disclaimer
This Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by SEGA.