50 Fun Facts About Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Which Japanese port city, home to the Isezaki Ijincho district, is the main setting of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Yokohama took over from Tokyo as the series' main stage for the first time, with Ijincho modelled on the city's real Isezakichō district.

Which style of combat did Yakuza: Like a Dragon adopt in place of the street brawling of earlier Yakuza games?

Turn-based battles for a party of up to four replaced the old real-time brawls, and the studio said it would switch back if players hated the change.

What must players stop Ichiban Kasuga from doing during old films at the Seagull Cinema in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Falling asleep ends the Vintage Film Theater minigame, so players must swat the REM Rams drifting across the screen but spare the Alarm Cocks, whose cymbals perk Kasuga up.

Which role-playing series is the favourite video game of Ichiban Kasuga, hero of the 2020 Yakuza RPG?

Dragon Quest is named in the game with the blessing of its creator, Yuji Horii, and Kasuga's love of it is why he pictures his street fights as role-playing battles.

Which Star Trek actor voices yakuza patriarch Masumi Arakawa in the English dub of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

George Takei, Star Trek's helmsman Sulu, plays the patriarch in English, while screen actor Kiichi Nakai performs the part in Japanese.

Which video game company has its own proficiency exams at Ounabara Vocational School in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Sega, the game's own publisher, quizzes Kasuga on its history in two tiers of exam, and the tougher one costs 50,000 yen to sit.

Which creature-collecting franchise is spoofed by the Sujidex and its lab-coated professor in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Pokémon gets an affectionate send-up: a scarred professor in a lab coat asks Kasuga to log every breed of street thug he fights in an app.

Which karaoke ballad, the basis of a deepfake meme in 2020, returns as a minigame song in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Baka Mitai made its debut in Yakuza 5 and went viral in 2020, when deepfake videos showed all sorts of people and fictional characters crooning its chorus.

What kind of creature is Nancy, the rescued pet Ichiban Kasuga can summon into battle in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

A crawfish with an X-shaped scar, Nancy was about to be eaten by her homeless owner until Kasuga traded a sushi set for her.

Which protagonist of the earlier mainline Yakuza games makes way for Ichiban Kasuga in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Kazuma Kiryu led the series for seven mainline games; here he appears only late in the story, unmasked as an Omi Alliance captain's anonymous bodyguard.

Which Critical Role star replaced Mark Hamill as Goro Majima in the English dub of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Matthew Mercer took over the role Mark Hamill played in the original game's English dub, the last mainline entry before this one to be dubbed in English.

Which 3D fighting series from the 1990s has two entries playable in the arcades of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown both sit in the arcades as fully playable cabinets, beside Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone.

Which 2024 sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon sends Ichiban Kasuga to Hawaii in search of his mother?

Infinite Wealth was the first game in the series with settings outside Japan, teaming Kasuga with the franchise's original lead in Honolulu.

Which unstoppable vehicle sends Ichiban Kasuga back to the start in the Can Quest minigame of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

A garbage truck that cannot be harmed patrols a fixed route, and a collision costs Kasuga 100 cans as well as his position on the course.

Which office, named after Japan's real public job centres, lets the party switch careers in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Hello Work is what Japan's government employment offices are really called; the game's branch first refuses to help Kasuga because he has no home address.

Which piece of sports gear does Ichiban Kasuga swing like a sword in his Hero job in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

A bat is the Hero job's signature weapon, and its Mega Swing skill hits harder the lower Kasuga's health has fallen.

Which party member in Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a homeless former nurse who treats Ichiban Kasuga's gunshot wound?

Yu Nanba finds Kasuga dumped in Ijincho three days after the shooting and patches him up; in a fight he wields umbrellas and his own foul breath.

Which optional party member joins Ichiban Kasuga through the business management minigame of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Eri Kamataki shares her name and face with a real Japanese actress, who also voices the character in the original Japanese audio.

What does Ichiban Kasuga use to call Poundmates into battle for a fee in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

His smartphone acts like a delivery app for hired help, and top-tier allies such as the Tojo Clan's old guard charge a million yen a visit.

What kind of real arcade machine are the UFO Catchers found in the game centres of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Claw cranes are known as UFO catchers in Japan because their claws resemble flying saucers, and the game's machines hold prizes such as Bunchan the Java sparrow.

Under which false name does Masato Arakawa rise to become Governor of Tokyo in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Ryo Aoki is the reinvention of the patriarch's frail son, long believed dead, whom Kasuga had once served as a chauffeur.

Which movement is fronted by Tokyo's governor and his fanatical protégé Sota Kume in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Bleach Japan claims to be scrubbing out the country's 'grey zones', such as prostitution and organised crime, while quietly serving its founder's ambitions.

Which Korean-Japanese mafia completes the Ijin Three alongside the Seiryu Clan and the Liumang in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Geomijul is an offshoot of the Jingweon Mafia seen in Yakuza 6, and its operative Joongi Han ends up fighting in Kasuga's party.

Which fictional Tokyo district, home of earlier Yakuza games, has fallen to the Omi Alliance in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Kamurocho, the series' take on Tokyo's Kabukichō, takes a back seat for the first time as the story moves to another city.

Which Arakawa Family captain's alleged crime does Ichiban Kasuga confess to at the start of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Jo Sawashiro's supposed murder costs Kasuga 18 years behind bars, and nobody from the family is waiting when he finally walks free in 2019.

Which voice actor, also the English Satoru Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen, plays Ichiban Kasuga in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Kaiji Tang has called Kasuga the opposite of the series' previous lead in temperament, and he returned to the role for the 2024 sequel.

Which Metal Gear Solid voice actor plays bartender Osamu Kashiwagi in the English dub of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

David Hayter, the English voice of Solid Snake, replaced John DiMaggio in the part and is credited only as 'The Bartender'.

Which 1986 arcade driving game, designed by Yu Suzuki, can be played in the game centres of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Out Run appears with its Ferrari details altered in the emulated cabinet, a change made because of licensing issues.

What happens to a Dragon Kart racer who gets lapped during a race in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

They are disqualified, a rule borrowed from the Pocket Circuit races of earlier games, while finishers score from 8 points for a win down to 1.

What do Ichiban Kasuga's certificate exams at Ounabara Vocational School raise in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

His personality is split into six traits, from Passion to Style, which unlock new jobs and grant resistance to mental status effects such as rage.

Which traditional game is played at Ijincho parlours named Vista and Citron in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Mahjong tables are found in Chinatown and in a Koreatown basement, with two more parlours waiting in the game's Tokyo and Osaka districts.

What does Ichiban Confections, the struggling family firm of the management minigame in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, make?

Rice crackers, known as senbei, are the family shop's speciality when Kasuga takes over as president and starts growing it into the sprawling Ichiban Holdings.

Whom must Ichiban Kasuga win over in debate battles during the management minigame of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Shareholders air complaints about staff, products or funds at regular meetings, and Kasuga wins by persuading them all or by holding at least 50% support.

Which police veteran picks up Ichiban Kasuga on his release from prison in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Koichi Adachi breaks the news that the Tojo Clan has collapsed, then gets himself arrested for trespassing when the pair crash an Omi Alliance meeting.

Which Liumang leader hands his gang to a rival boss and joins Ichiban Kasuga's party in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Tianyou Zhao steps down after his own deputy betrays him, passing control to the head of the city's Korean mafia before taking up arms with Kasuga.

Which birds does the Homeless Guy job unleash on enemies after pelting them with beans in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Pigeons do the damage in the Pigeon Raid skill, one of several street tricks in the job's arsenal alongside breathing flames and weaponised bad breath.

Which Ijincho bar, run by a former Tojo Clan officer, becomes the party's main hangout in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Survive got its name because its owner lived through a helicopter attack, and friendships are deepened there once a companion's bond is high enough.

Which mode was paid DLC in Japan but included free in the Western release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

New Game Plus arrived with extra difficulty settings that exist only in that mode, alongside the dub and the bonus costumes added for the West.

Which console went on sale the very day Yakuza: Like a Dragon reached the West in November 2020?

Xbox Series X and its smaller sibling, the Series S, went on sale on 10 November 2020, the very day the game's Western version came out; the PlayStation 5 edition followed in March 2021.

What does Ichiban Kasuga ride while gathering empties in the Can Quest minigame of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

A three-wheeled bike with a cart attached is the handiwork of Kan, a fellow homeless man who pays out Eco Points for every haul of cans.

Which job does Ichiban Kasuga hold before he automatically becomes a Hero in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Freelancer is the bare-handed job Kasuga starts with; he trades it for Hero in Chapter 4, a chapter before the party can change jobs at will.

What does Masumi Arakawa slip into Ichiban Kasuga's pocket after shooting him in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

A counterfeit bill was his coded message: it steered Kasuga towards the Seiryu Clan chairman, who had given the patriarch the note in the first place.

Where was Ichiban Kasuga left as a newborn, a secret revealed near the end of Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

A coin locker bank held two abandoned babies, and the patriarch carried home the wrong one, raising another man's son as his own.

What does ichiban, the given name of the hero of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, mean in English?

Number one also sits in the title of the main theme, Ichibanka, and fits a hero whose birthday falls on the first day of the year.

What does Ichiban Kasuga do to block Sota Kume's bid to become a regional representative in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Stands for election himself, as an independent, on the advice of the Seiryu Clan's chairman, who is later assassinated on the governor's orders.

In which sport was Omi Alliance schemer Yosuke Tendo a disgraced former professional in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Boxing was Tendo's trade before his disgrace, and he proves to be the man who killed the Arakawa patriarch on the governor's orders.

Which Japanese reggae group performed the main theme of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, as it had for Yakuza 0?

Shonan no Kaze teamed up with producer Yasutaka Nakata for the song, Ichibanka, which borrows the hero's own name for its title.

Where in Ijincho does an old man introduce Ichiban Kasuga to Dragon Kart racing in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Hamakita Park, the game's version of the real Yamashita Park, is where a first race ends with a string of rivals lining up to intimidate the newcomer.

Which Dragon Kart starter car is the standard model with the best handling in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Crimson Fire is the balanced pick of three starter karts, set against a speed specialist and a durable bruiser with the worst handling of all.

Which skyscraper, a landmark of the Yakuza series, becomes a post-game dungeon in Yakuza: Like a Dragon?

Millennium Tower reopens after the main story as a gauntlet with Shin Amon waiting at the end, and beating him unlocks an even harder 'True' version.