We all love to represent our most beloved games by dressing to impress with some iconic branded gear. As a self-confessed Yakuza-obsessed fan, I snap up just about every bit of merch I can get my hands on, including Insert Coin’s popular clothing range.

Insert Coin began in 2010, making t-shirts to celebrate the team’s favourite games, and now, over a decade later, it’s still going strong, making apparel for everything from Dead Space to Hi-Fi Rush. We recently spoke with Insert Coin director Jon Rhodes and senior designer Mark Johnson about their Yakuza range and the work involved in bringing the essence of the game into its merchandise.

Related

Against All Odds, I Want To 100% Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

I rarely even finish games, but I want to play Infinite Wealth until I’ve achieved everything I possibly can

Posts

“Like a Dragon is a great series, and we all love it here, so it was definitely one we wanted to represent on the Insert Coin store,” they tell us. Insert Coin has been working with Sega almost since the clothing company was founded. Because the team already had a great relationship with Sega, it was “an obvious step to add the Yakuza series to our collection”.

Although the series is now known as Like A Dragon, Insert Coin’s range goes by its older name of Yakuza.

Insert Coin works closely in partnership with game studios, so for its Yakuza range, it worked not only with Sega but also Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio itself. “It’s very much a partnership on developing products that we ALL love—and, perhaps most importantly, we think the community will love too.”

I’ve always wondered whether Insert Coin’s designs come from some die-hard fan on the team immediately gushing about possible ideas as soon as they decide on a new project, or whether the team sits down and plays for hours on end to get some inspiration. It turns out it’s a little bit of everything.

“As with all the games we work on, the creative process is a blend,” Rhodes and Johnson tell us. There are some instant ideas, others become apparent through playing the game, and some are born from the community around them. It’s a lot of playing games, watching videos and listening to what people are talking about online. We draw out the best bits of all of those strands to create a range that covers the full experience of playing the series and put it into the real world.”

The first Yakuza products Insert Coin released were its ‘Mad Dog Majima’ and ‘Dragon Of Dojima’ jackets, alongside the Kamurocho t-shirt. “These were all so well loved,” the team tells us. “The jackets especially, with both selling out multiple times. In fact, even now, some five years later, we still struggle to keep up with demand.”

Insert Coin’s sukajan souvenir jackets, themed after different Yakuza characters, are often considered the best of the collection, and I have to agree, as my Majima jacket is a firm favourite in my wardrobe. However, Insert Coin has also created clothing that closely resembles the outfits Yakuza characters wear, such as Ono Michio’s top or Koichi Adachi’s jacket.

The team tells us they like to do a mix of ‘in-game items’ and ‘inspired-by’ products. For instance, the Taiga Parka takes inspiration from Taiga Saejima’s famous parka, but to add its own flair, Insert Coin put Saejima’s tiger tattoo on the back of the coat.

“If something is distinctive and looks cool—and most importantly we can make it—then we will do just that. Sometimes, it’s more about a place, feeling, memory, or even a meme. Then, we take a different approach and try something that is more meta rather than a replica. Our souvenir jackets have been so well received and the craftsmanship in them is incredible—so we are definitely proud of those. Likewise, the Adachi jacket is such a perfect replica it makes you smile every time you see it.”

When it comes to creating replica items, the team has many assets supplied by Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku to help create their designs, but they also spend a lot of time studying in-game models to get each product exactly how they want them. Other times, Insert Coin likes to think outside the box a little and create their own sympathetic designs.

Close

With the series recently changing its branding from Yakuza to Like a Dragon, I asked if Insert Coin would be following suit on its website. While the team is interested in seeing how fans continue to identify with the series going forward, they expressed that fans are great at recognising both titles, likely due to Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Insert Coin can’t pick which item has been the most popular with fans, telling us, “They’ve all been really popular. Fans of the series love the same characters we love, mainly because we are fans too! So products that help them represent Majima, Kiryu, Nishikiyama, Ichiban, Adachi—those are particularly well-received.”

Insert Coin has continued to add to its Yakuza range over the years, and though it won’t confirm or deny any current plans, the team says they “would definitely love to head back to the world of Majima, Ichiban, and Kiryu in the future.” There’s still time for us to get that Majima-inspired faux snakeskin jacket, guys.

Like a Dragon Week

Dates March 25-31, 2024 Genre Action-Adventure Developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios Publisher Sega Franchise Yakuza Games Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, Yakuza 5, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Judgment, Lost Judgment

Like a Dragon Week is TheGamer's celebration of all things Yakuza/Like a Dragon, with features, interviews, and opinions on Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's massively popular series of action-adventue brawlers.

Expand Collapse Next

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Is Finally Making Me Get Into Yakuza

The latest game looks great and has earned the series' best reviews. I can't hold out any longer.

Posts