Do you have anything to do at the end of October? I hope not, because Like a Dragon: Yakuza, the series based on the video game saga of the same name, will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on October 24th. Ryu ga Gotoku Studio showed the first trailer of the series on Saturday, starring our beloved Kazuma Kiryu, the ‘Dragon of Dojima,’ and, as expected, it looks spectacular.
Many fans, myself included, are afraid of the final result for a simple reason: Yakuza is more than a dramatic saga. As I mentioned in another article about this magnificent video game series, which has given me so many hours of fun, the franchise now known as Like a Dragon is famous for how well it balances the most tense moments with the most absurd and Japanese humor you can imagine. Bringing that to the small/big screen can be quite a challenge.
Although the main story of Yakuza has some comedic moments, it is really in the side missions where the player can experience the other side of this saga, with even more hilarious and crazy moments than ever. Do you want to have a little preview of what you can experience playing Like a Dragon? Here are 4 of the craziest side stories in Yakuza. And believe me, there are many more.
How to train your Dominatrix
Training a dragon is a complicated task, yes, but Kiryu can attest that training a dominatrix can be even more challenging. In Yakuza 0, the first game in the chronological order of the series, we will meet Ayu, a novice dominatrix who kindly asks us to help her improve her work. And yes, you read that right.
After defeating a group of hooligans who harass her, Kiryu will have to role play as a submissive sadomasochist so that our beloved dominatrix can do her job wonderfully. The best part is that we can also make Ayu more of a ‘tsundere’ character, with options like ‘I’m not happy to see you or anything!’ There is a before and after in your life after completing this side mission, trust me.
Oh no! It’s Ono Michio!
Yakuza 6 introduces us to the beloved, adored, and even desired Ono Michio, the mascot of the Japanese town of Onomichi. In this side story, a promoter complains that he has run out of actors to play Ono Michio in a small show that will give more prominence to the mascot he created himself, and offers the role to Kiryu, who reluctantly accepts.
After a presentation in which Kiryu shows each of the elements that make up his outfit (typical things from Onomichi) and a small interview in which Kiryu perfectly portrays the character, a group of thugs will try to ruin the party for the children present. But our ‘Dragon of Onomichi’ is not willing to let this happen and ends up beating up these thugs, costumes included, to the immense joy of the children. A hero is born. And he has an orange head.
Director’s Rodeo (Ringleader Roundup)
Yakuza: Like a Dragon has the honor of being one of the Yakuza games with the highest number of crazy missions (only surpassed by its sequel, Infinite Wealth). And that’s saying a lot. This is the case of Director’s Rodeo, a series of 3 side missions in which a master of ceremonies from a traveling circus shows our protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, three cute little animals that are locked in cages. The good thing is that they won’t take long to open their confinements and escape. The bad thing is that we will have to battle them to recover them and prevent them from hurting anyone.
In the first mission we will face a bear named Catherine, in the second one a tigress named Charlotte and in the third one a chimpanzee named Clara… who controls an excavator. The three missions are gold, but the third one is pure comedy. And, it may sound very absurd at first, yes… but it is even more so when you play it.
Getting Ready for Suck
Yes, it’s not popular to repeat a game when you have so many examples throughout the saga, but this case of Yakuza: Like a Dragon is special to me. And when I try to convince friends and acquaintances to start the Yakuza saga, I always tell them the same thing: there’s a mission where you face a giant Roomba. Just like that.
Among adventures, Ichiban meets Professor Okita, who will ask us for 1 million yen to make his latest invention come true. After giving him the money and waiting for a while, we can see his creation: a giant Roomba capable of cleaning the streets with unmatched suction. The problem is that the device breaks down and accidentally sucks in an elderly woman, a cat, and the professor himself. Fortunately, in this saga, everything is resolved through a good fight, and after a rather peculiar battle, we manage to free all these poor people (and the cat).
