Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the boldest turning point in the entire series — instead of action-brawling, it delivers a full-fledged turn-based JRPG, and instead of the taciturn Kazuma Kiryu, the hero is Ichiban Kasuga, a warm-hearted member of a lowly clan who, after eighteen years in prison, discovers that no one was waiting for him. Ichiban grew up on classic Japanese RPGs, so he imagines his own life as a party adventure: random passersby turn into monsters in his head, city jobs work like character classes, and special attacks look exactly as absurd as he'd wish. Thanks to this, the turn-based combat never feels like a compromise, but like a joke that holds the whole game together.

The game launched alongside the Xbox Series X|S and was one of the first titles to show off the new console's potential: higher resolution, smoother performance, and very short loading times when moving between streets and battles. Players who started on the older generation could carry their progress over. Yokohama's setting is dense and full of detail — arcades, restaurants, shops, karaoke, go-kart races, and dozens of other distractions that together take up more time than the main story. The music mixes jazz, rock, and bombastic battle themes, and the karaoke minigame turns into an attraction all its own.

Before this entry, the series held cult status in the West; this title in particular significantly widened its audience, since the turn-based system also appealed to players who never clicked with the earlier action combat. Critics especially praised the script, which can shift within moments from a grotesque gag to a very serious thread about poverty and exclusion. Its influence shows in the fact that the studio continued in this form with later entries as well. Today it's a great entry point into the whole Like a Dragon universe: the story stands on its own, the game explains the necessary context, and its scope will easily fill dozens of evenings.