Like a Dragon

Like a Dragon
Developer	NE R&D Dept., Ryū ga Gotoku Studio, Sega CS1
Publisher	Sega
Platforms	As noted below
Released	2005-present
Added to Museum	As noted below

Like a Dragon (龍が如く, "Ryū ga Gotoku") is a multimedia series created by Toshihiro Nagoshi of Ryū ga Gotoku Studio that consists of video games, films, a television show, magazines, books, comics, and music.

The series was known outside of Japan as Yakuza until the official reveal of in-progress projects by Ryū ga Gotoku Studio on September 14, 2022.

It was spun-off into the Judgment series.

Fictional character biographies

Kazuma Kiryu, the main protagonist in most games in the series, is a former yakuza based in the Kamurocho district of Tokyo nicknamed the Dragon of Dojima. Kiryu took the blame for a murder that he didn't commit and spent ten years in prison. He became the sixth chairman of the yakuza organization named the Tojo Clan. He left to raise the daughter of his only love, who was murdered by her ex-husband, a crooked politician.

Ichiban Kasuga, the series protagonist of the series after Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, is nicknamed the Rock-Bottom Dragon. He was abandoned at birth and raised in the streets of Tokyo, leading him to become a low-level yakuza in the Tojo Clan. Like Kiryu, he took the blame for a murder he didn't commit. However, when he was released from prison eighteen years later, he was shot after trying to reconnect with his yakuza family and was left for dead in the Isezaki Ijincho district of Yokohama.

Other playable characters include:

• Koichi Adachi, a former police officer: Like a Dragon Online, 7, and 8
• Shun Akiyama, a loan financier that ran Sky Finance: Yakuza 4, 5, Dead Souls, and Online.
• Daigo Dojima, Sixth Chairman of the Tojo Clan: Like a Dragon Online and Gaiden.
• Ryuji Goda, the main antagonist of Yakuza 2, the Dragon of Kansai: Yakuza: Dead Souls and Online.
• Joon-gi Han, a villain in Yakuza 6 that is an identity assumed by many people: Like a Dragon Online and 7.
• Eri Kamataki, the owner of Ichiban Confectionary: Like a Dragon Online and 7.
• Goro Majima, Kiryu's rival, the Mad Dog of Shimano: Yakuza 0, Kiwami 2: Majima Saga, Dead Souls, Online, and Gaiden.
• Saeko Mukoda, a mama of a hostess bar: Like a Dragon Online, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Online, and 8.
• Miyamoto Musashi, a historical rōnin: Like a Dragon Kenzan!
• Yu Nanba, a homeless man that was formerly a nurse: Like a Dragon Online, 7, and 8
• Sakamoto Ryōma (Saito Hajime), two historical samurai combined into one: Like a Dragon Ishin!
• Taiga Saejima, Majima's sworn brother, and shooter in the Ueno Seiwa massacre: Yakuza 4, 5, Online, and Gaiden.
• Haruka Sawamura, Kiryu's adopted daughter and a former idol: Yakuza 5 and Online.
• Tatsuo Shinada, a former baseball player for the Nagoya Wyverns: Yakuza 5 and Online.
• Masayoshi Tanimura, a member of the Tokyo police that is of Japanese and Korean descent: Yakuza 4 and Online.
• Tatsuya Ukyo, the Mad Dragon of Kamuro: Black Panther: Like a Dragon 1 and 2.
• Tianyou Zhao, the leader of the Yokohama Liumang: Like a Dragon Online and 7.

Video games

Title	Developer	System	Release	Notes
Yakuza	Sega New Entertainment R&D Dept.	PS2	2005	Takes place in 2005, with former yakuza Kazuma Kiryu as the playable character.
Yakuza 2	Sega New Entertainment R&D Dept.	PS2	2006	Takes place in 2006, with former yakuza Kazuma Kiryu as the playable character.
Like a Dragon Kenzan!	Sega CS1	PS3	2008	Takes place in 1605, with the historical rōnin Miyamoto Musashi as the playable character. Released in Japan only.
Yakuza 3	Sega CS1	PS3	2009	Takes place in 2009, with Kazuma Kiryu as the playable character.
Yakuza 4	Sega CS1	PS3	2010	Takes place in 2010, with Kazuma Kiryu, Masayoshi Tanimura, Shun Akiyama and Taiga Saejima as the playable characters.
Black Panther: Like a Dragon - New Chapter	Sega CS1 Syn Sophia	PSP	2010	Takes place in 2010, with Tatsuya Ukyo as the playable character. Released in Japan only.
Yakuza: Dead Souls	Sega CS1	PS3	2011	Takes place in 2011. A zombie shooter with Shun Akiyama, Goro Majima, Ryuji Goda, and Kazuma Kiryu as playable characters.
Black Panther 2: Like a Dragon - Ashura Chapter	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio Syn Sophia	PSP	2012	Takes place in 2012, with Tatsuya Ukyo as the playable character. Released in Japan only.
Like a Dragon 1&2 HD Edition	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS3 Wii U	2012	Japanese-exclusive remaster of Yakuza and Yakuza 2. Known as Like a Dragon 1&2 Wii U Edition on Wii U: Takes place in 2005 and 2006, with former yakuza Kazuma Kiryu as the playable character.
Yakuza 5	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS3	2012	Takes place in 2012, with Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, Haruka Sawamura, and Tatsuo Shinada as the playable characters.
Yakuza Kiwami	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS3, PS4, Windows, Xbox One	2013	Remake of Yakuza: Takes place in 2005, with former yakuza Kazuma Kiryu as the playable character.
Yakuza Kiwami 2	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, Windows, Xbox One	2017	Remake of Yakuza 2: Takes place in 2006, with Kazuma Kiryu as the playable character. The unlockable Majima Saga adds playable chapters as Goro Majima.
Like a Dragon: Ishin!	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS3, PS4	2014	Takes place in 1863, with the historical samurai Sakamoto Ryōma as the playable character. Released in Japan only.
Yakuza 0	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS3, PS4, Windows, Xbox One	2015	Takes place in 1988, with playable characters Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima. Released on PS4 worldwide and on PS3 in Japan only.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, Windows, Xbox One	2016	Takes place in 2016, with Kazuma Kiryu as the playable character.
Yakuza 3 Remastered	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, Windows, Xbox One	2018	Remaster of Yakuza 3: Takes place in 2009, with Kazuma Kiryu as the playable character.
Like a Dragon Online	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	Android, iOS, Windows	2018	Takes place in 2018. An online turn-based RPG with gatcha mechanics, with Ichiban Kasuga as the main character.
Yakuza 4 Remastered	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, Windows, Xbox One	2019	Remaster of Yakuza 4: Takes place in 2010, with Kazuma Kiryu, Masayoshi Tanimura, Shun Akiyama and Taiga Saejima as the playable characters.
Yakuza 5 Remastered	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, Windows, Xbox One	2019	Remaster of Yakuza 5: Takes place in 2012, with Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, Haruka Sawamura, and Tatsuo Shinada as the playable characters.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Series X/S	2019	Takes place in 2019. A turn-based RPG with Ichiban Kasuga as the playable character.
Yakuza Remastered Collection	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, Windows, Xbox One	2019	Remaster of Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5: Takes place in 2009, 2010, and 2012, with Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, Masayoshi Tanimura, Haruka Sawamura, and Tatsuo Shinada as the playable characters.
Like a Dragon: Ishin! Kiwami	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Series X/S	2023	Remake of Like a Dragon: Ishin!: Takes place in 1863, with the historical samurai Sakamoto Ryōma as the playable character.
Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Series X/S	2023	Takes place between 2016 and 2019 with Kazuma Kiryu, as Joryu, as the playable character.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Series X/S	2024	Takes place in 2024 with Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu as the playable characters.

Films

Title	Production company	Distributor	Release	Notes
Like a Dragon: Prologue	Art Port	Sega	2006	Prequel to Yakuza.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon	Art Port	Toei	2007	Based on Yakuza.

Television series

Title	Production company	Distributor	Release	Notes
Black Panther: Like a Dragon - New Chapter	TBS Television	TBS Television	2010	Adaptation of Black Panther: Like a Dragon - New Chapter.
Black Panther 2: Like a Dragon - Ashura Chapter	TBS Television	TBS Television	2012	Adaptation of Black Panther 2: Like a Dragon - Ashura Chapter.
Like a Dragon: The Song of the Soul	Apex	Apex	2016	Series with an original storyline created to advertise Like a Dragon: The Song of Life.

Other games with Like a Dragon characters

Title	Developer	System	Release	Notes
Everybody's Golf 6	Clap Hanz	PS3, Vita	2011	Kazuma Kiryu is a DLC character in the Japanese version of this golf game.
Taiko no Tatsujin Portable DX	Taiko Team	PSP	2011	MachineGun Kiss has cameos from Shun Akiyama, Ryuji Goda, Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, Haruka Sawamura, and cabaret club hostesses.
Binary Domain	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PS3, Xbox 360, Windows	2012	Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, Goro Majima, Taiga Saejima, and Ryuji Goda were available as DLC in the Japanese version of this third-person shooter set in 2080 in a Tokyo that has been ravaged by global warming.
Project X Zone 2	Monolith Soft	Nintendo 3DS	2015	Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima are in this crossover tactical role-playing game with characters from franchises by Bandai Namco, Capcom, Sega, and Nintendo.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise	Ryū ga Gotoku Studio	PlayStation 4	2018	A Kazuma Kiryu skin for Kenshiro Kasumi is available as DLC.
Streets of Kamurocho	Empty Clip Studios	Windows	2020	Endless Beat-em 'up in the 16-bit Streets of Rage style, with Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, and Ichiban Kasuga as the playable characters.

Pachinko games

Title	Developer	Release	Notes
Like a Dragon Kenzan! 2 Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! 2 (龍が如く 見参!, "Like a Dragon Arrives! 2")	Taiyo Elec	2014	Pachinko game.
Like a Dragon: Of the End Ryū ga Gotoku OF THE END (龍が如 OF THE END, "Ryū ga Gotoku")	Taiyo Elec	2015	Pachislot game.

Soundtrack albums

Title	Studio	Release	Notes
Dragon Song: Like a Dragon - Karaoke Best Selection	Sega	2011	Preorder bonus for Like a Dragon Of the End.
Dragon Song: Like a Dragon 5 - The Best Songs Selection	Sega	2012	Preorder bonus for Like a Dragon 5.
Like a Dragon Series: Best Soundtrack	Sega	2014	Preorder bonus for Like a Dragon Ishin!.

Magazines

Title	Publisher	Release	Notes
Kamutai Magazine (December 2006)	Sega	2006	Preorder bonus for Like a Dragon 2.
Kamutai Magazine (March 2008)	Sega	2008	Preorder bonus for Like a Dragon: Kenzan!
Kamutai Magazine (February 2009)	Sega	2009	Preorder bonus for Like a Dragon 3.
Kamutai Magazine (March 2010)	Sega	2010	Preorder bonus for Like a Dragon 4.
Hot•Dog Press (March 2015)	Sega	2015	Preorder bonus for Like a Dragon 0.