Turn-based strategy was a weird direction to take after honing the beat-em-up formula in Judgement (PS4), but Like A Dragon pulls it off aplomb. Especially so when the game requires little to no knowledge of prior games.

The classes are incredibly inventive (Chef as your Ninja with all the movements that come with that, anyone?) based on real-world jobs outside of character unique classes, which you - of course - spec into from a job centre. The game manages to make these outright daft concepts work in the serious framework of the central narrative by enabling the more strange aspects to come in full-force in the substories - though this is no secret to anyone who's played a previous Yakuza.

Managing the tone shift between a serious crime drama and a lighthearted, goofy adventure is something Yakuza has ♥♥♥♥♥♥ incredibly adept at. Delving into oft-forgotten and heavily downtrodden rungs of society, political corruption from the head of state, and the ramifications of well-intentioned activists tearing down the walls of illegal immigration leading to vast amounts of suffering are all explored quite lengthily in this game. Yet, this is also a game where you can fight a gigantic roomba that has a secret ultra-hyper mode. So, you know.

After finishing the story in roughly 70 hours, including some time spent in minigames and class grinding at the battle arena, I can safely say I do think Yakuza handles a turn-based strategy story-heavy RPG with mastery. The narrative was wildly engaging, even if it felt to go off track during some early portions. These early moments in the game do however open up new aspects of the title, such as the job centre, substories, summons, or otherwise simply encouraging you to play some minigames.

The only real downside to the game's mechanical systems is that the classes peak around their level 30s, which is where the story climaxes with your actual character levels (separate from their class) around level 60. With no real reason for the rest of the levels to exist beyond a final bonus dungeon after the story's climax, this is a bit of a shame given how inventive the classes truly are. A few more moves to level up and obtain as character skills would do wonders for the game, especially if there were more class options to choose from. What the game has already does, admittedly, serve a wonderful base of simple class archetypes, but with a bit of imagination it's hard not to see the system being developed further and further, with more choices and levels to attain.

All this said, I do not regret my purchase one bit. I adored every second of this game, and I'm still listening to the soundtrack weeks after completing it. If you're looking for a Yakuza to start with, this one might just be the one you're looking for.