Despite an influx of new fans, the long-running Yakuza (now Like a Dragon) series will continue being about "middle-aged guy things," according to the studio leads at Ryu Ga Gotoku.
"I think that this is precisely one of Like a Dragon’s selling points," said series director Ryosuke Horii in an interview with Automaton. "In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, everything starts with three unemployed middle-aged guys being like 'Let’s go to Hello Work.' They have a different air about them than a group of young heroes would, complaining about back pain and the like. But this 'humanity' you feel from their age is what gives the game originality."
Like a Dragon series lead planner Hirotaka Chiba added, "We’re making the hearty talks of middle-aged dudes our identity, rather than youthfulness," pointing to a scene in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth where one of the lead heroes, Koichi Adachi, voices reservations about drinking beer "because he's worried about his uric acid level."
"We have had a large increase in new fans, including women, which we’re truly happy and grateful for," said Horii. "However, we don’t plan to do anything like deliberately changing conversation topics in order to cater to new fans. That would make us unable to keep talking about things like uric acid levels… (laughs)"
Chiba cited another scene in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth in which Seonhee and Saeko's "girl talk gets hijacked by Nanba and ends up turning into guy talk" as another thing that will "keep on happening" in the series going forward.
Despite this relatively niche narrative appeal, the Yakuza series is more popular than ever. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth wasn't just the fastest-selling Yakuza game ever when it launched in January, it's also the best-reviewed Yakuza game to date, topping beloved entries like Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami 2. Ryu Ga Gotoku is also teaming up with Amazon to develop a live-action Like a Dragon TV series, which is due to premiere on Prime Video on October 25.
