Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name lets players reunite with series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. It’s fun to again play as the yakuza organization’s star, but doing so raises a question: when does Like a Dragon Gaiden fall on the Yakuza timeline?
Like a Dragon Gaiden – where does it belong on the Yakuza timeline?
The official Yakuza timeline features games bearing two names: Yakuza and Like a Dragon. They are both the same franchise. The series simply had different names in the West and the East until Yakuza: Like a Dragon bridged the regional gap. Like a Dragon: Ishin! then cemented that change, earlier this year. At the time of its release, Like a Dragon Gaiden is the latest chronological update to the story and fits right at the end of the Yakuza timeline.
![Like A Dragon Gaiden Ichiban Kasuga Closeup](https://www.pcinvasion.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/like-a-dragon-gaiden-ichiban-kasuga-closeup.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
The timeline situation is set to change with the planned 2024 release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. That upcoming title picks up the story of Kazuma Kiryu (pictured at the top of this page) and Ichiban Kasuga (pictured immediately above), the two series leads. Like a Dragon Gaiden essentially runs parallel to the events depicted in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It also sets up the events that will follow in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Related: Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name review – Abbreviated heroics
Like a Dragon Gaiden opens in Roppongi, Tokyo in 2019. Kazuma Kiryu is working a job escorting a VIP. The game explains how he came to accept this assignment, following the ending of 2016’s Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. As far as many members of the yakuza organization know, he is dead. By the end of Like a Dragon Gaiden, some of them will understand reality a bit better.
What Like a Dragon Gaiden does for the Yakuza timeline
The final moments of Like a Dragon Gaiden catch players up to important events that take place as recently as 2023. Without saying too much, a post-credits scene sets the stage perfectly for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Originally, Like a Dragon Gaiden was planned as DLC. Then, it grew into a separate game. That evolution may help explain when it falls on the Yakuza timeline, as well.
If you can find the time, I highly suggest starting at the beginning of the current timeline. Play Yakuza 0 and then keep going, all the way through Like a Dragon Gaiden. But we don’t all have that kind of time, and there’s no completely wrong starting point.
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Published: Nov 8, 2023 8:21 PM UTC