Like a lot of people, my love of the Yakuza series started with the Western release of Yakuza 0 back in 2017. I had been told it was this incredible, dense, sandbox adventure comparable to GTA in Japan (it really isn’t), so I gave it a shot out of curiosity. Obviously, with these misconceptions, I bounced off pretty hard the first time around. It was dark, slow, depressing, and didn’t feature a single Pokemon, so why would I have cared?
It was a few months later, with Yakuza fever at an all-time high, that I gave it another shot, desperate to see what other people found so appealing about this mobster story that was bumming me out more with each passing minute. Then I reached the mandatory karaoke minigame with Nishikiyama. My adoration for the series has only grown since.
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PostsKaraoke has been a vital part of the Like A Dragon series’ rise in popularity over the past decade. It’s a consistent minigame full of catchy tunes, backed up with silly and dramatic background videos, that do a brilliant job of setting the series apart from other RPGs out there. If you have an interest in gaming, you’ll have seen some kind of rendition of Baka Mitai floating around the internet, whether it be an official video, a cover, or a cursed meme, and I struggle to think of any other RPG series that owes so much of its initial popularity and viral success to its soundtrack.
Note: Persona and maybe Final Fantasy are the only two other series you could argue have soundtracks recognizable enough to have the same social media impact as a Baka Mitai, with songs like Mass Destruction; Specialist; Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There; and One-Winged Angel regularly featuring in viral videos.
Karaoke Is So Much More Than Just A Silly Minigame
CloseOver the years, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku has acknowledged that karaoke is an incredibly popular minigame for Like a Dragon fans, creating consistently brilliant songs that go much harder than they need to. Baka Mitai and 24 Hour Cinderella are classics, and Infinite Wealth carries on that trend with bops like Honolulu City Lights and Go! Shushou Summer. I’m listening to Like A Butterfly as I write this very sentence, and it’s an absolute banger.
These songs aren’t just silly little minigame tunes either, because they help flesh out each individual character’s personality. All of Kasuga’s karaoke songs are joyous and upbeat, reflecting his ever optimistic outlook, while Kiryu has been given a selection of somber and intense songs to reflect the multiple hardships he’s experienced throughout his life.
They’re even used as ways to show how the relationships between certain characters develop and grow. Judgment is another all time classic karaoke track, first featuring in Yakuza 0 with Kiryu singing alongside his brother Nishikiyama. It doesn’t feature again in the series until Infinite Wealth, with Kasuga taking the backup role that Kiryu’s surrogate brother used to fill. It’s subtle, but a great way to show the bond forming between Kasuga and Kiryu, and how he’s starting to see himself as an older brother figure for our new protagonist
Note: Heck, Honolulu City Nights is all about Chitose’s feelings for Kasuga, but knowing that she can’t have him and he’ll never reciprocate those feelings.
Like A Dragon's Music Strengthens Its Best Moments
Outside of karaoke, Like A Dragon is an exceptional example of a series that uses its music not just as a backdrop to intense boss fights, but as a method of storytelling. One of the best scenes in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is made much more powerful thanks to its music.
With the party getting ready for their final confrontation with the game’s criminal mastermind, Kiryu takes a moment to change his outfit, discarding the black suit he’s been wearing to hide his true identity in favor of his classic gray suit and red shirt combo. He then slicks back his hair into the style he was rocking before he passed the torch to Kasuga.
While he’s doing this, a new arrangement of Receive You can be heard in the background, a piece of music from earlier games that plays whenever Kiryu adopts his Dragon of Dojima fighting style. Not only is it a piece of music dripping with symbolism, as Kiryu casts off his Daidoji shackles and reclaims his true identity, but it’s a brilliant example of Ryu Ga Gotoku eliciting nostalgia from its most loyal fans to celebrate Kiryu and the series as a whole. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.
There are plenty of things to love about the Like a Dragon series, whether that be its drama-filled plots, eccentric characters, or wacky substories, but it would lose so much of its personality if Ryu Ga Gotoku didn’t put as much effort into its music as it does. It’s an often overlooked element of a game, but Like A Dragon makes sure to put its soundtrack front and center and give it meaning, and I can’t help but love it for that. However, if I don’t get a couples karaoke duet with Kasuga and Saeko in the next game, I will throw a tantrum.
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Like Follow FollowedLike A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
RPG Systems 5.0/5 8.0/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 90/100 Critics Rec: 97% Released January 26, 2024 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Simulated Gambling, Strong Language Developer(s) Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Publisher(s) Sega Engine Dragon EngineWHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALLike A Dragon: Infinite Wealth continues the story of Ichiban Kasuga, in the ninth mainline entry in the series formerly known as Yakuza. It will once again feature turn-based combat, and takes our protagonist outside of Japan for the first time.
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