Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS5 release date set for March, four months after the other versions

The Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS5 release date has been revealed at last, and it will follow about 4 months after all the others.

The official Twitter account for series developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio revealed the Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS5 release date of March 2, 2021. It also confirmed that purchasing the digital version of the game on PS4 - which is coming out on November 10 - will entitle you to a free PS5 upgrade as soon as the new version is available. Update: RGG Studio confirmed in a followup Tweet that it will work for the physical version, too.

The announcement from RGG Studio also showed off our first look at Yakuza: Like a Dragon running on PS5 hardware. The video shows part of an emotionally charged scene where new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga agrees to take the fall for a crime he didn't commit to help out his Yakuza family. Our old hero Kiryu did pretty much the same thing in the first Yakuza, so Kasuga's already in good company.

We got a second look at Yakuza: Like a Dragon gameplay immediately after, and it swings in the complete opposite direction with a big boss battle against an excavator. As in the piece of heavy machinery with treads and a big bucket arm for digging into the earth. After some consternation, Kasuga's party agrees to punch the hell out of the arm part and hope for the best. Its life gauge depletes when they hit it, so I guess it must be working?

Speaking of punching, I took a look at what Yakuza: Like a Dragon's turn-based combat means for folks who aren't so into JRPGs.