Which explains why he will love the series no matter how much they mess up. Its just too much campy humor and stupid fun that players can't stay mad at the game. It's genius.
My favorite part of Yakuza Like A Dragon Ball was when Nanba said "Man I hate being homeless my life sucks" and Ichiban, CEO of a billion yen company, replied "Yeah man that's rough."
this is before the business stuff but I love the part where Ichiban, bless his heart, says to a group of homeless people "Why don't we all just get jobs?" and Nanba looks like he's ready to beat the shit out of this man
Honestly this is one of the few games where I don't mind everyone giving their life stories, just because it makes sense with the protagonist. Ichi's the kind of person to actually care about and listen to everyone around him. If you ran into Ichiban of Ichiban Confections, how are you not gonna tell him your entire autobiography?
On top of that it makes it even funnier then when someone tries to hint at Ichiban for him to solve all their problems, only for him to turn around like "aight, good luck with that" and try to peace out
An incredible transition from Kiryu as a main character to Ichiban. So difficult. 999 out of 1,000 series would have lost their way there. But fans embraced Ichiban.
I love how Dunkey only showed two guys from the peeing man quest, as showing the next one would have spoiled the entire storyline. Truly a professional reviewer.
The Yakuza games have some of the best balance between humour and emotion. Not unusual for me to be laughing my ass off in a substory and sobbing uncontrollably 5 minutes later.
Dawg if you're crying uncontrollably from a Yakuza game you have some deep seated emotional issues you have to work out at a therapist that you're clearly repressing.
@@andrewnicon dawg if you're unnecessarily commenting and judging on how somebody connects with a yakuza game you have some deep seated emotional issues you have to work out at a therapirst that you're clearly repressing.
@@jordanetherington1922 Don't you know? If the tone of something is silly, you're not allowed to emotionally connect with it at all. Weirdos on the Internet with Psychology degrees they drew in crayon will JUDGE you.
@@andrewnicon bruh yakuza is probs one of the few video games where i actual cried from the story. Especially Yakuza 0, the story in that game hit hard
This one's a real masterpiece, and I'm surprised Dunkey didn't mention how great the main party characters are as real people. Ichiban and everyone on his squad is like 40+ years old and there's so many great moments with each of them
"One of the most villainous groups in the game are a gang of Twitter users. But since they're outside, you know it's just happening in Ichiban's head" I love this joke so much.
As I age out of my 20s and into my 30s, this game actually did something to make me feel like theres a bunch of shit that I could still do. Obviously nothing they do in this game, but I guess when you are younger it kind of feels like you prepare 1-22 for the rest of your twenties and then thats it, funs over, time to get old and die, but theres like hopefully 2/3rds of your life left at that point. IMO it was genius having the main character be 42 in this game and having to start from scratch. Even though the average player that feels like it's too late and they wasted their life probably isn't just fresh out of jail and has a less solid reason for not making more of things, we really can't have any lower of a starting point than 42 ex-con with a hit out on him and no money having to work your way up from homelessness with no one and nothing to help him. If he can pick himself up from that and make his way to owning an orbital laser, maybe it's not too late for you or me either.
I was 42 when I bought this game. Dispirited seeing a new lead.. I started to play and Ichi states he's 42 and just starting his life. Made me feel awfully young and inspired.
I feel like what makes the serious stuff hit home is the fact that its steeped in absurdity. You get to see characters as well rounded people who laugh and cry, people with dreams and regrets. Easily one of my favorite games of all time.
I thought it was incredibly brave of them to try and make you feel like a dragon without letting you play as a dragon. Nintendo strikes again with yet another masterpiece. Thank you Reggie.
Honestly love this game, and half of that is just for Ichiban alone. At the time I had gotten into the Yakuza series, I was working a miserable job at Target that I absolutely hated. Felt really directionless and unsure about where I was gonna go. But this series really helped boost me up. Ichiban’s character especially helped. I really related to him being obsessed with his favorite game and even his poofy hair. But what really sold me on him was seeing how positive and hopeful he could be in even the absolute worst situations. He truly represents the dragon fish on his back well, being someone who will struggle toward his full potential, but that potential is something that is truly incredible. Makes me feel like I could rise up and become someone past me would be proud to one day grow up to be, just as Ichiban is trying to do. So, for as much as I love the wacky fun the Yakuza series has to offer, I have to say that aspect of it is what truly stuck by for me the most.
Agreed. As someone approaching his 40s with loads of unfulfilled dreams and ambitions, Ichiban and the themes of starting over from rock bottom hit hard.
the business management side stuff is so unironically good it could be its own game. the mid point of it gets so intense that you can't help but wanna ride it out to the end.
God I love and hate the Business minigame. I love it coz I basically stopped playing the main quest to get to Top 1 in the Management minigame and the game was very fun. I hate it coz it burnt me out on the game after I got to Top 1, and made me loose interest in the main game for MONTHS.. I recently started it up again and Im liking it again tho..
@@angelusvastator1297 The sequel does not need more jobs if the gameplay is gonna be as boring as 7's was. More choices aren't better if the choices aren't actually meaningful.
They definitely did a good job with him. They knew they could never top Kiryu in the badassery department, so they said "what if we made a character who's less powerful but more friendly and silly?" And they knocked it out of the fucking park
Kiryu: some would aspire to be like Ichiban: who many would relate to The latter is such a cool fella. The kind of friend who has close to nothing, but will give it to you because you need it more.
This was my first Yakuza game. I was not ready for the twists and the feels. God bless the Yakuza Devs. They made me cry, that's really hard to do in a videogame.
So glad more people are finally getting into the series. It truly deserves it. I recommend you play yakuza 0 asap! It’s such an awesome story converted through two awesome protags, and the side content kept me occupied for hours.
I never cry, it's not like a manly thing of men don't cry i just don't usually do it. But the yakuza games have made me tear up a lot, one of the games has a death that's really easy to see coming yet hearing Kiryu cry broke me and i started crying the hardest i've done so in years.
@@jhondavidtabunan6581 He didn't, which is the funny part. Loads of new Yakuza fans are from LAD (Or Yakuza 7 as I like to call it). I was sucked in thanks to Yakuza 0 on PC (yes I had a controller before anyone says), but yeah. But yeah all should play all Yakuza games
I loved all the dialogue. I felt like they spared absolutely no expense, they got George freaking Takei and because of that I immediately assumed he would only have a few lines to say, oh no they gave this man a B O O K to read in the studio, INCREDIBLE. In the earliest bar sequences, listening to Adachi talk, I literally poured myself a glass of Bailey's and just listened along. From a young age I associated voice acting with budget/tech constraints and at 26, to get a game that they put everything they could into it is beyond satisfying. Love a good story, love JRPGs, this game is one of my absolute favorites.
I didn't realize that Arakawa was George Takei for the longest time. He was perfect for the English VA, really had that caring, yet stern father tone you'd expect from Arakawa
In general, the english dub for Yakuza 7 is outright one of the best english dubs I've ever heard. Not only did they translate the Japanese audio into english subtitles, but then made an entirely localized english script they then voiced, and EVERY performance is incredible
@@ImGonnaFudgeThatFish They really went the extra mile -- there's even an animation that's used only in the English version. When the English speaking man comes up asking for directions, they didn't switch him to another language. So you have an English dubbed Ichiban being confused by the English speaking foreigner. At this point they inserted a custom animation of Ichiban looking directly at the camera and giving a thumbs up in a "just go with it" gesture. Such a great little meta detail that plays with and elevates the absurd comedy of the series
I don't think think you've ever sold me on a videogame as much as you have with this one. Never been a fan of turn based type games, but I've never seen anything as imaginative as this before. Will pick this up soon, my first foray into the Yakuza series. Cheers.
I loved this game and I'm so glad Dunkey did too. Ichiban resonated with me because of his powerful desire to be a hero and because he's not afraid to pursue his dreams at an older age. Im not that old but I see a lot of "old dogs who refuse to learn new tricks" in my day to day life. It makes me sad to see people like that. Ichibans character however fills me with inspiration. Inspired me to start going to the gym and change my diet and pursue my own dreams. Such a great character dude. And I love his and Nanba's friendship. Cried and laughed a lot while playing this game. It's so worth playing...
There isnt a single character in this game I hate, or despise even (other than the character from the ending, you know who). Every person in the party felt like they had their own story and character. Maybe some would say that the game was long, but that way it had the opportunity to flesh out a lot of things about the characters. I always looked forward to the little chats the party would have upon seeing something in the street, it made every character come alive and feel special.
Dragon Quest is the definition of a comfort-food RPG for me, now that I’ve discovered it. It’s a shame less Westerners have discovered it and are instead preoccupied with the shenanigans at the “Square” part of “Square Enix.”
@@JeffreyThrash I just have trouble getting into JRPGs like Dragon Quest. I tried it, but it didn't grab me enough to play it more than a couple hours. For some reason, Persona 3 hooked me like crazy on the PSP, and I want to play 4 and 5 because of that. But my younger self would look at me and be ashamed of how a person that has Chrono Trigger as his best game of all time almost can't play JRPGs anymore. Yakuza Like a Dragon seems a good one to try out, because I love the series overall
@@mmd3585 Yeah, that's why I consider Dragon Quest a "comfort food" RPG for me, it doesn't really challenge me, it's best played on a portable device like the Switch, not even the narrative throws any particularly-nasty surprises at me when I just want to kick back after a long, hard day and grind Metal Slimes. Not exactly the most engaging thing ever, and therefore not for everyone, but something to keep you out of trouble for a while. Naturally, Persona is a much better alternative if you need something more exciting. And it's okay if you can't really get into JRPGs anymore, RPGs of any kind are crazy-long nowadays compared to Chrono Trigger and we have more responsibilities as adults keeping us away from all but the shortest action games. I just got Elden Ring myself and I don't know how I'm even going to make it a quarter of the way into the game unless they go through the trouble of making a semi-portable Switch version...
@@mmd3585 That's what happened to me as well. I tried multiple times to get into Dragon Quest 11, I think I tried to play the game 4 times and everytime it always bored me and I just couldn't get into it. Then the 5th time I really forced myself to play it more because people really attest to it. So I played maybe 7-10 hours of the game, that's when I got hooked on it. I dunno why, but I really started to enjoy it then to the point I actually completed everything in the game. If you're still interested in Dragon Quest I'd say give it a significantly fair shake if it didn't hook you.
@Jeffrey Thrash I'm not gonna pretend this is possible for everyone but I'll be honest I refuse to believe that if someone WANTS to make time for something they would be completely unable to do so freeing up 4 hours a week or more should be doable for almost anyone
Yakuza Like a dragon is unironically one of my favorite RPGs. It's so absurd but also the dramatic scenes hurt a lot. I laughed, I cried, I got angry, seriously this game has a lot to offer.
The yakuza series is up there for me. Love the balance of humour and it being serious at times. Its a very hard thing to get right but Yakuza does it very, very well.
one of the sidequests in this game almost made me cry. it's called Forget Me Not, and even after playing through the other yakuza games it took me way off guard with how emotional it is.
God that substory was so sad. Even if I knew where it was going, the ending of it was so incredibly sad. I’m hoping her and Ichiban get to meet again someday
@@phftheebonidiot637 No it's the one where you find a masturbating ghost who's in love with an idol but since he died he can no longer visit the idol. You're supposed to get an autograph for him but the minigame is like a rhythm game where you hit the notes to her singing on time.
Anyone who wrote this game off because "it's an turn based RPG" REALLY fucked themselves out one of the most fantastic experiences I've ever had with a game in a L O N G time. Yakuza, stay blessed. ✌️😎
I cannot believe this. Just when I am really starting to get into these Dunkviews, he turns it into a turn based RPG. 10/10 It has a little bit of something for everyone.
One of my favorite games! I got REALLY sidetracked by the business side game and came out WAY too rich for the level I was hahaha Edit: I ended choosing the Pee dude correct the first time, so I was super curious what the others were doing. Thanks for including that!
btw, I just get super confused and overwelled by all the menus and options in the bussiness sidequest, I'm about to reach chapter 11 and I have barely touched it.
One of my favorite games in the series. I'm so close to the ending of the game, I've been unable to push myself to finish because I kinda don't want it to end.
This was my very first Yakuza. Fell in love almost immediately with the game. Ever since I've played Zero, K1, K2, 3 and currently I'm playing the 4th one. Can't wait to play LAD again to get all the references.
@SaveRoomKnob for real. I was sprinting through the games for months, hit yakuza 5, and accidentally spent 60 hours doing side quests. I had to take a break part way through the last character and I haven't gotten back to it yet. Can't wait to finish though, great game.
@@ArGxITA Y6 is by far the shortest yeah. It took me 23 hours while literally every other Yakuza game took me exactly around the 55 hours mark. Except LaD because LaD just goes BIG mode
I cracked the widest smile at the interaction with Foreigner Man. that one interaction is all I need to know to add this to my list. Thank you for giving us a dunkview of it!
Dude was really inspiring when he told a bunch of homeless people that they just aren't trying hard enough, then got proven right in the narrative by lucking into a free apartment.
@@JayAreAitch its been quite a while since i played but i thought that he was given some shit for that from the other characters right? at the very least you can blame it on his obvious lack of maturity for his age. especially with that 22 yr old sounding voice he's got in the english dub. made him sound wayyy younger than he is.
Not even started the video just soooo happy you played it. It was your Yakuza reviews that got me down this amazing rabbit hole. I'm currently on lost judgement.
I absolutely loved this game. I still think Zero is my fav overall in the Yakuza franchise, but damn this was such a banger game. I think the biggest drawback was having to constantly grind the business mini game
@@Squintore I refer you to Max0r's comment on Yakuza 0 that essentially goes for the entire series - Yakuza's difficulty relies entirely on how much of a S I G M A M A L E you are.
Yakuza: Like a Dunkey is one of the most ambitious titles released in a long time, going from a distinct franchise renown combat system to a turn-based April fool's joke (I'm not even lying, the JRPG style of it was based off an April 1st video released by the game studio), it masterfully crafts cinematic tension with idiosyncratic humour, with a roster of likeable characters and minute details paid to their interactions, and a story that remains unpredictable but captivating, complemented by a beautifully crafted soundtrack. It makes me, a fan of the game, happy to know Dunkey has spent his time with it, and I like to believe the ending of the video suggests he holds it to such high affinity as Persona 5 and the like.
Like a dragon made me like games again. Every game seemed like every other game. in a sea of monotony, this game sticks out like the friendship between a 42 yr old homeless yakuza and a crawfish, which he rescues from its previous homeless owner who wanted to eat it after raising it as his pet.
Never thought i'd see dunkey do a dunkview on my favorite videogame of all time. The game has a lot of cutscenes and dialogue but that's what I loved about it. Because the dialogue was so well written and the characters were incredibly engaging and likeable. The side content stuff is also the best in the series with pretty much every unique minigame being a standout and very fun(especially can quest and the business minigame)
The thing is most other games in the franchise have that too and a funer gameplay... i dont mind rpgs when they have a fun interesting system, like Darkest dungeon and Hylics, but aside for everything else i hated the gameplay of Y7
As a Yakuza myself I can attest for the game accuracy of portraying the life of a Yakuza man and his daily struggles. The people we meet in our job make me want to become a Buddhist monk.
Last year I went through all the mainline Yakuza games in order because I enjoyed Yakuza 0 so much and when I finally got to LAD I didn't connect with Ichiban or the slower place of the battles. But I kept playing and they really grew on me. Sure, Ichiban is as dumb as a box of rocks but he has so much heart it was impossible to not root for him, especially at the very end of the game. As for the combat, it is slower and I didn't feel the hits as much, but being turn-based made it much more chill. I'm a sucker for levels and character upgrades too and this game is full of them. The only problem was the grinding. Fun, but still too much. 9/10
Thank you for covering this game since it’s one of my favorites! I agree that there is a lot of dialogue, but it never gets old! The main character is just so likable!
I am so glad you liked this game and gave it your blessing! It really is a great game and I too found myself loving the side quests. I don't know how Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and SEGA made side quests fun, but they did. This game is pure magic. What this video game does for you, your videos do for us. Thanks for playing all the silly games out there and writing funny and thoughtful reviews on them videogameichi!
Like A Dragon became one of my all time favorite games which is saying something when I've bounced off Yakuza Kiwami before. I love this game. No hyperbole.
At first i actually hated the management game, but then i understood it - climbing the ranks till you're number one and my god that laser finisher you get for that was PERFECTION. So worth it 10/10 Game
I was worried at first when they announced like a dragon would have different combat to the rest of the Yakuza games but after the first few minutes of playing this I feel in love with this game and really enjoyed Ichiban that he became one of my favourite Yakuza characters just behind Goro Majima, I really hope they do a sequel to this game 🤞
This video calls to mind a famous saying by the poet Nick Elback. The saying goes, "Take a look at this photograph, every time I do it makes me laugh". I'm reminded of it because this video is a succession of photographic images which I find to be very humorous!
This is the only Yakuza game I've played but I had an absolute blast with it. Just watching this video made me smile from all the fun memories I had playing it. I can't wait for the new Ishin one.
Had a great time with this one. The length of it and too many characters eventually bogged me down. But until then o shit it was great. And yes those mini-games and sidequest games are brilliant. You're going on for some long ass tangent in the hostess club mini game in Y0 or Kiwami 2 and you suddenly remember there's an actual video game
I hope that for the next entry they dont waste the opportunity to having Ichiban saying "It's Yakuzin time" and then dame da ne guy replying "We'll be more like a dragon" and then having both of them taking off their shirts.
This was so good. Made Gamepass worth it for me. Was able to switch between PC and the couch flawlessly. It’s so ridiculous it’s fun and keeps you engaged. Took almost 90 hours to beat.
Yakuza is the kind of game series that writes all of Dunkey's absurdity into the actual game, so he doesn't have to do any of it himself.
Perfect analogy.
HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH
@Jack Wrath disgusting lie
same goes to Forspoken，wish dunkey does a video on that one
Which explains why he will love the series no matter how much they mess up. Its just too much campy humor and stupid fun that players can't stay mad at the game. It's genius.
My favorite part of Yakuza Like A Dragon Ball was when Nanba said "Man I hate being homeless my life sucks" and Ichiban, CEO of a billion yen company, replied "Yeah man that's rough."
Somehow it wasn't a bigger news story when the CEO of the number one business in Japan runs for office, dies in an explosion, then comes back.
To be fair a billion yen is like 3 cents
this is before the business stuff but I love the part where Ichiban, bless his heart, says to a group of homeless people "Why don't we all just get jobs?" and Nanba looks like he's ready to beat the shit out of this man
@@MasterMemo I mean it's the Yakuzaverse, that shit happens all the time
I like that too, really highlights the realism that Yakuza is known for.
“Hit him with a level 2 apology” is such a good sentence
*Belive in uRself*
And this is exactly what happens in the game. It's an actual attack to bring the shareholder skepticism meter down.
Just wait till you see what the Level 3 apology looks like
or a logan paul apology level
UA-camrs better study that one hard
Honestly this is one of the few games where I don't mind everyone giving their life stories, just because it makes sense with the protagonist. Ichi's the kind of person to actually care about and listen to everyone around him. If you ran into Ichiban of Ichiban Confections, how are you not gonna tell him your entire autobiography?
keep it at 420 boys
more like Ichiban Confessions haha
On top of that it makes it even funnier then when someone tries to hint at Ichiban for him to solve all their problems, only for him to turn around like "aight, good luck with that" and try to peace out
I can tell he left an impression because you refer to the guy as, Ichi.
An incredible transition from Kiryu as a main character to Ichiban. So difficult. 999 out of 1,000 series would have lost their way there. But fans embraced Ichiban.
to be fair I'd imagine it's easier to do after Kiryu already has like, his 7th fake death ending.
Tbf this was their second attempt at a new character
@@georgegeorge25812g Yeah, it's too bad Taichi Suzuki didn't get a game after Yakuza 5 and they brought back Kiryu for 6.
I'm really hoping that out of the two, they focus more on Ichiban in the next one. It's weird that Kiryu is gonna be a protagonist at all to be honest
@@georgegeorge25812g What was the first? Yakuza 4?
I love how Dunkey only showed two guys from the peeing man quest, as showing the next one would have spoiled the entire storyline. Truly a professional reviewer.
Wait storyline? So it isn't just a single side quest? I haven't found it yet.
Was one of my favorite side quests
Xenoblade fans: 😐
@@doggyfizzle719 The difference is that with Xenoblade 3, a MAJOR plot beat about Xeno 2 was spoiled.
@@doggyfizzle719 luckily this Yazuka side quest is more interesting and well-structured than the entire Xenoblade franchise
The Yakuza games have some of the best balance between humour and emotion. Not unusual for me to be laughing my ass off in a substory and sobbing uncontrollably 5 minutes later.
Dawg if you're crying uncontrollably from a Yakuza game you have some deep seated emotional issues you have to work out at a therapist that you're clearly repressing.
@@andrewnicon dawg if you're unnecessarily commenting and judging on how somebody connects with a yakuza game you have some deep seated emotional issues you have to work out at a therapirst that you're clearly repressing.
@@andrewnicon What are you talking about? The storylines are super emotional
@@jordanetherington1922 Don't you know? If the tone of something is silly, you're not allowed to emotionally connect with it at all. Weirdos on the Internet with Psychology degrees they drew in crayon will JUDGE you.
@@andrewnicon bruh yakuza is probs one of the few video games where i actual cried from the story. Especially Yakuza 0, the story in that game hit hard
This one's a real masterpiece, and I'm surprised Dunkey didn't mention how great the main party characters are as real people. Ichiban and everyone on his squad is like 40+ years old and there's so many great moments with each of them
Not to mention Saeko isn't some damsel in distress who calls Ichiban "Senpai uwu", she a bad bitch
@@carbonfibercarpet4655 all my homies love saeko cuz saeko is for the da homies 🙏🏼
Is this game really good? I read that fans of Yakuza are mixed about it.
@@NinjapowerMS lol
@@NinjapowerMS nope it really is that good, I think Ichiban is an amazing main character that I'm super excited to see more of
"One of the most villainous groups in the game are a gang of Twitter users. But since they're outside, you know it's just happening in Ichiban's head"
I love this joke so much.
he ain't wrong tho.
That's not a joke. It's facts.
does it qualify as a joke when he's right tho
As I age out of my 20s and into my 30s, this game actually did something to make me feel like theres a bunch of shit that I could still do. Obviously nothing they do in this game, but I guess when you are younger it kind of feels like you prepare 1-22 for the rest of your twenties and then thats it, funs over, time to get old and die, but theres like hopefully 2/3rds of your life left at that point. IMO it was genius having the main character be 42 in this game and having to start from scratch. Even though the average player that feels like it's too late and they wasted their life probably isn't just fresh out of jail and has a less solid reason for not making more of things, we really can't have any lower of a starting point than 42 ex-con with a hit out on him and no money having to work your way up from homelessness with no one and nothing to help him. If he can pick himself up from that and make his way to owning an orbital laser, maybe it's not too late for you or me either.
In 10 years, 20 year olds will be "over the hill".
I was 42 when I bought this game. Dispirited seeing a new lead.. I started to play and Ichi states he's 42 and just starting his life. Made me feel awfully young and inspired.
@@SeasoningTheObese What do you mean? I'm 28 now and feel like I went through my midlife crisis at 16 lmao. If I live passed 32, it'll be living hell!
@@blindfire3167 I'm 40 and have been constantly midlife-crisising since I was 19...yes, it's hell, but you get used to the heat after a while.
I’m 37 and having a midlife crisis.
I feel like what makes the serious stuff hit home is the fact that its steeped in absurdity. You get to see characters as well rounded people who laugh and cry, people with dreams and regrets. Easily one of my favorite games of all time.
I like that there’s so much crying in Yakuza. They don’t play the characters up to be macho men incapable of emotion beyond “neutral” and “angry”
Well...they're Japanese
@@sheiryard8149 Even Kiryu with his one single facial expression has more emotions as a single character than most entire video game casts.
Same bro.
similar formula to gintama
You gotta love any game that does not take itself too seriously and just loves to do some of the wildest stuff imaginable.
Even though I would say a similar thing about other actual games
If you haven't played earth defence force then that's the next game your looking for. Goofy ahh the game
@@Joshrouss The EDF games are awesome 👍
I mean Id say its just a Japan Simulator lol
Absolutely loved the kimchi side quest. Makes me want to try kimchi
I thought it was incredibly brave of them to try and make you feel like a dragon without letting you play as a dragon. Nintendo strikes again with yet another masterpiece. Thank you Reggie.
Still ain't no Fortnite and for that 3/5
Doubt it
@Jack Wrath you are objectively wrong
Reggie that’s the wrong system!
Nintendo did it once again, sega should really learn from this and make a similar game
Honestly love this game, and half of that is just for Ichiban alone. At the time I had gotten into the Yakuza series, I was working a miserable job at Target that I absolutely hated. Felt really directionless and unsure about where I was gonna go. But this series really helped boost me up. Ichiban’s character especially helped. I really related to him being obsessed with his favorite game and even his poofy hair. But what really sold me on him was seeing how positive and hopeful he could be in even the absolute worst situations. He truly represents the dragon fish on his back well, being someone who will struggle toward his full potential, but that potential is something that is truly incredible. Makes me feel like I could rise up and become someone past me would be proud to one day grow up to be, just as Ichiban is trying to do. So, for as much as I love the wacky fun the Yakuza series has to offer, I have to say that aspect of it is what truly stuck by for me the most.
What did Dunkey JUST say about huge exposition dumps?!
@@buddabellyboom He can be wrong
YOU CAN DO IT! BELIEVER YOURSELF!
Agreed. As someone approaching his 40s with loads of unfulfilled dreams and ambitions, Ichiban and the themes of starting over from rock bottom hit hard.
You got this.
the business management side stuff is so unironically good it could be its own game. the mid point of it gets so intense that you can't help but wanna ride it out to the end.
My favorite Employee has to be the 10 Year old Boy you meet in a McDonalds. Surprisingly good at Management, he is.
You just described almost every yakuza mini game
@@ironwraith852 yeah but he ain't no chicken ill tell ya that
God I love and hate the Business minigame. I love it coz I basically stopped playing the main quest to get to Top 1 in the Management minigame and the game was very fun. I hate it coz it burnt me out on the game after I got to Top 1, and made me loose interest in the main game for MONTHS.. I recently started it up again and Im liking it again tho..
Ehh... I had fun with it, but it's wayyyyy too barebones to be its own game.
I love this game. It’s so charming, dramatic, and goofy.
Just like dunkey
The Japanese national character personified.
Yeah indeed. I want to see more jobs and faster grinding in the sequel.
@@angelusvastator1297 The sequel does not need more jobs if the gameplay is gonna be as boring as 7's was. More choices aren't better if the choices aren't actually meaningful.
Kasuga Ichiban has to be up there for one of the best, most likeable video game protagonists
for real! they made him so delightful and charming and for what?
And he had to take it from kiryu too, its so good, i never thought id like him as much as i did
An absolute golden retriever of a man
They definitely did a good job with him. They knew they could never top Kiryu in the badassery department, so they said "what if we made a character who's less powerful but more friendly and silly?" And they knocked it out of the fucking park
Kiryu: some would aspire to be like
Ichiban: who many would relate to
The latter is such a cool fella. The kind of friend who has close to nothing, but will give it to you because you need it more.
This game is such a blast I am soo happy dunks is playing this game
For me it was good until the majima fight, it had to many levels
@@chunificationify skill issue
@@chunificationify when u get to that fight thatz when u know u gotta do some level grinding
@@chunificationify kiryu was way harder imo
@@chunificationify when u have to spending grinding levels instead of being able to beat every boss first go 😭😭😭
This was my first Yakuza game. I was not ready for the twists and the feels. God bless the Yakuza Devs. They made me cry, that's really hard to do in a videogame.
Now wait until you meet Haruka
So glad more people are finally getting into the series. It truly deserves it. I recommend you play yakuza 0 asap! It’s such an awesome story converted through two awesome protags, and the side content kept me occupied for hours.
I never cry, it's not like a manly thing of men don't cry i just don't usually do it. But the yakuza games have made me tear up a lot, one of the games has a death that's really easy to see coming yet hearing Kiryu cry broke me and i started crying the hardest i've done so in years.
How could u skip the past games
@@jhondavidtabunan6581 He didn't, which is the funny part. Loads of new Yakuza fans are from LAD (Or Yakuza 7 as I like to call it). I was sucked in thanks to Yakuza 0 on PC (yes I had a controller before anyone says), but yeah. But yeah all should play all Yakuza games
I loved all the dialogue. I felt like they spared absolutely no expense, they got George freaking Takei and because of that I immediately assumed he would only have a few lines to say, oh no they gave this man a B O O K to read in the studio, INCREDIBLE.
In the earliest bar sequences, listening to Adachi talk, I literally poured myself a glass of Bailey's and just listened along.
From a young age I associated voice acting with budget/tech constraints and at 26, to get a game that they put everything they could into it is beyond satisfying. Love a good story, love JRPGs, this game is one of my absolute favorites.
I didn't realize that Arakawa was George Takei for the longest time. He was perfect for the English VA, really had that caring, yet stern father tone you'd expect from Arakawa
In general, the english dub for Yakuza 7 is outright one of the best english dubs I've ever heard. Not only did they translate the Japanese audio into english subtitles, but then made an entirely localized english script they then voiced, and EVERY performance is incredible
@@ImGonnaFudgeThatFish They really went the extra mile -- there's even an animation that's used only in the English version. When the English speaking man comes up asking for directions, they didn't switch him to another language. So you have an English dubbed Ichiban being confused by the English speaking foreigner. At this point they inserted a custom animation of Ichiban looking directly at the camera and giving a thumbs up in a "just go with it" gesture. Such a great little meta detail that plays with and elevates the absurd comedy of the series
This dropped less than a week after I beat the game, thank you Dunkey for telling me how to feel about it
@Jack Wrath Yeah your content is so good that you have to spam that same message a billion times instead of actually creating good content
You beat the whole game and still didn't have any feelings on it of your own?
I was planning on starting it today, this is wild.
@@Skitz0frenix don't feed the bots
@@PredictableEnigma I was kidding, but I do agree with Dunkey
Yakuza really makes you feel like you're the audience and only exist to clap
@Jack Wrath algorithm and simple entertainment value say otherwise buddy
Vravo Bince
I don't think think you've ever sold me on a videogame as much as you have with this one. Never been a fan of turn based type games, but I've never seen anything as imaginative as this before. Will pick this up soon, my first foray into the Yakuza series. Cheers.
How’s it going for ya? You get the game yet?
I loved this game and I'm so glad Dunkey did too. Ichiban resonated with me because of his powerful desire to be a hero and because he's not afraid to pursue his dreams at an older age. Im not that old but I see a lot of "old dogs who refuse to learn new tricks" in my day to day life. It makes me sad to see people like that. Ichibans character however fills me with inspiration. Inspired me to start going to the gym and change my diet and pursue my own dreams. Such a great character dude. And I love his and Nanba's friendship. Cried and laughed a lot while playing this game. It's so worth playing...
Maybe I should play this game
There isnt a single character in this game I hate, or despise even (other than the character from the ending, you know who). Every person in the party felt like they had their own story and character. Maybe some would say that the game was long, but that way it had the opportunity to flesh out a lot of things about the characters. I always looked forward to the little chats the party would have upon seeing something in the street, it made every character come alive and feel special.
I'm so happy that dunkey is spreading the good word about dragon quest here in the west.
Dragon Quest is the definition of a comfort-food RPG for me, now that I’ve discovered it. It’s a shame less Westerners have discovered it and are instead preoccupied with the shenanigans at the “Square” part of “Square Enix.”
@@JeffreyThrash I just have trouble getting into JRPGs like Dragon Quest. I tried it, but it didn't grab me enough to play it more than a couple hours.
For some reason, Persona 3 hooked me like crazy on the PSP, and I want to play 4 and 5 because of that. But my younger self would look at me and be ashamed of how a person that has Chrono Trigger as his best game of all time almost can't play JRPGs anymore. Yakuza Like a Dragon seems a good one to try out, because I love the series overall
@@mmd3585 Yeah, that's why I consider Dragon Quest a "comfort food" RPG for me, it doesn't really challenge me, it's best played on a portable device like the Switch, not even the narrative throws any particularly-nasty surprises at me when I just want to kick back after a long, hard day and grind Metal Slimes.
Not exactly the most engaging thing ever, and therefore not for everyone, but something to keep you out of trouble for a while. Naturally, Persona is a much better alternative if you need something more exciting.
And it's okay if you can't really get into JRPGs anymore, RPGs of any kind are crazy-long nowadays compared to Chrono Trigger and we have more responsibilities as adults keeping us away from all but the shortest action games. I just got Elden Ring myself and I don't know how I'm even going to make it a quarter of the way into the game unless they go through the trouble of making a semi-portable Switch version...
@@mmd3585 That's what happened to me as well. I tried multiple times to get into Dragon Quest 11, I think I tried to play the game 4 times and everytime it always bored me and I just couldn't get into it. Then the 5th time I really forced myself to play it more because people really attest to it. So I played maybe 7-10 hours of the game, that's when I got hooked on it. I dunno why, but I really started to enjoy it then to the point I actually completed everything in the game.
If you're still interested in Dragon Quest I'd say give it a significantly fair shake if it didn't hook you.
@Jeffrey Thrash I'm not gonna pretend this is possible for everyone but I'll be honest I refuse to believe that if someone WANTS to make time for something they would be completely unable to do so freeing up 4 hours a week or more should be doable for almost anyone
Yakuza Like a Dragon is my favourite game of all time, I was sad when Dunkey didn't make a video on it but now I am happier than ever.
Now he has to play Judgment
A game that is fun and silly yet genuinely made me cry, love this game
Yakuza Like a dragon is unironically one of my favorite RPGs. It's so absurd but also the dramatic scenes hurt a lot. I laughed, I cried, I got angry, seriously this game has a lot to offer.
The yakuza series is up there for me. Love the balance of humour and it being serious at times. Its a very hard thing to get right but Yakuza does it very, very well.
one of the sidequests in this game almost made me cry. it's called Forget Me Not, and even after playing through the other yakuza games it took me way off guard with how emotional it is.
Is that the horder one?
God that substory was so sad. Even if I knew where it was going, the ending of it was so incredibly sad. I’m hoping her and Ichiban get to meet again someday
fr dude
@@phftheebonidiot637i think the ghost one
@@phftheebonidiot637 No it's the one where you find a masturbating ghost who's in love with an idol but since he died he can no longer visit the idol. You're supposed to get an autograph for him but the minigame is like a rhythm game where you hit the notes to her singing on time.
Masterpiece of a game
Masterpiece of a video too! Zero dislikes since 2023
It’s always good when Dunkey uploads.
Anyone who wrote this game off because "it's an turn based RPG"
REALLY fucked themselves out one of the most fantastic experiences I've ever had with a game in a L O N G time.
Yakuza, stay blessed. ✌️😎
Not really
@@Deniz2635 yes, really
@@Deniz2635 yes, really
i've come around from being indifferent towards it to loving it.
who would've thought a turn-based system could be so fun?
@@Deniz2635 yes, really
i love you dunkey, your videos always crack a smile on my face.. so good to come home, after a hard day of work, to watch one of your videos
3:39 And just like that, I love Diligent Man and I would die for him. We should all strive to be more like Diligent Man. Believe yourself!
I cannot believe this. Just when I am really starting to get into these Dunkviews, he turns it into a turn based RPG. 10/10
It has a little bit of something for everyone.
Dunkey's videos have always been fantastic, truly a UA-cam of all time.
He really makes you feel like he's a UA-cam
@@ianhubble9973 Wasn't even him, was his little brother being a UA-cam
What a great way to end video with one of the best songs in Yakuza series. Excellento!
'Like a Dragon' was my first Yakuza game, and it was every bit as fun and insane as the internet lead me to believe the series was.
play yakuza 0. Its so good
I was literally planning all week on starting this game today. This is a sign from above! Thanks dunkle
This game was one of my fav rpgs of all time.
One of my favorite games! I got REALLY sidetracked by the business side game and came out WAY too rich for the level I was hahaha Edit: I ended choosing the Pee dude correct the first time, so I was super curious what the others were doing. Thanks for including that!
The one that he didn't show was fishing, btw.
btw, I just get super confused and overwelled by all the menus and options in the bussiness sidequest, I'm about to reach chapter 11 and I have barely touched it.
Literally one of my favorite games of all time, glad you finally got to it
Do not ever refer to the man, the myth, the LEGEND Gary “Buster” Holmes as “this guy”
One of my favorite games in the series. I'm so close to the ending of the game, I've been unable to push myself to finish because I kinda don't want it to end.
You could grind up and take on the true final millennium tower. It's worth it if u wanna get into some really good rpg mechanics but it's tough.
You should finish it. It really ramps up the emotion as it reaches the end.
The sequel is on the way, so don't feel too bad about finishing it
So in other words this is the only game that actually has a little something for everyone. 10/10
This was my very first Yakuza. Fell in love almost immediately with the game.
Ever since I've played Zero, K1, K2, 3 and currently I'm playing the 4th one. Can't wait to play LAD again to get all the references.
See you in a year when you’ll finally get to the end of Y6. Because Y5 is insanely long
@SaveRoomKnob for real. I was sprinting through the games for months, hit yakuza 5, and accidentally spent 60 hours doing side quests. I had to take a break part way through the last character and I haven't gotten back to it yet. Can't wait to finish though, great game.
same experiance
It's such whiplash to play Y5 for 3 months straight and then play 6 and be done in like 3 weeks
@@ArGxITA Y6 is by far the shortest yeah. It took me 23 hours while literally every other Yakuza game took me exactly around the 55 hours mark. Except LaD because LaD just goes BIG mode
I cracked the widest smile at the interaction with Foreigner Man. that one interaction is all I need to know to add this to my list. Thank you for giving us a dunkview of it!
I'm glad Dunkey liked this one because it's genuinely one of the funniest RPGs I've ever played.
One of the very few games where I did absolutely every single side quest
Ichiban is SUCH a good protagonist, dude is actually inspiring.
Dude was really inspiring when he told a bunch of homeless people that they just aren't trying hard enough, then got proven right in the narrative by lucking into a free apartment.
FOR REAL
@@JayAreAitch this but unironically
@@JayAreAitch based
@@JayAreAitch its been quite a while since i played but i thought that he was given some shit for that from the other characters right? at the very least you can blame it on his obvious lack of maturity for his age. especially with that 22 yr old sounding voice he's got in the english dub. made him sound wayyy younger than he is.
Not even started the video just soooo happy you played it. It was your Yakuza reviews that got me down this amazing rabbit hole. I'm currently on lost judgement.
I absolutely loved this game. I still think Zero is my fav overall in the Yakuza franchise, but damn this was such a banger game. I think the biggest drawback was having to constantly grind the business mini game
Just maxing the mini game took a long time. Weird that they allowed it, and even weirder how you still lack money for everything.
Yea I left that bit till new game+ 😂
The reward you get for beating the mini game is too op for fights. It carried me through most of the endgame bosses.
@@Squintore I refer you to Max0r's comment on Yakuza 0 that essentially goes for the entire series - Yakuza's difficulty relies entirely on how much of a S I G M A M A L E you are.
I got hella addicted to the business mini game so I honestly wasn't bothered. I beat it in one sitting for fuckin hours.
Yakuza: Like a Dunkey is one of the most ambitious titles released in a long time, going from a distinct franchise renown combat system to a turn-based April fool's joke (I'm not even lying, the JRPG style of it was based off an April 1st video released by the game studio), it masterfully crafts cinematic tension with idiosyncratic humour, with a roster of likeable characters and minute details paid to their interactions, and a story that remains unpredictable but captivating, complemented by a beautifully crafted soundtrack. It makes me, a fan of the game, happy to know Dunkey has spent his time with it, and I like to believe the ending of the video suggests he holds it to such high affinity as Persona 5 and the like.
good game
Like a dragon made me like games again. Every game seemed like every other game. in a sea of monotony, this game sticks out like the friendship between a 42 yr old homeless yakuza and a crawfish, which he rescues from its previous homeless owner who wanted to eat it after raising it as his pet.
This game is a fever dream. The Chicken absolutely crushes at the board meetings.
This is why i LOVE the Yakuza series. One of my top 5 favorite game franchises ever. Really fun to play and hilarious sometimes like this game.
Makes me so glad that Dunkey still holds P5 as one of the best rpgs in his head
Thank you dunk for reviewing this, one of my favorites.
Never thought i'd see dunkey do a dunkview on my favorite videogame of all time. The game has a lot of cutscenes and dialogue but that's what I loved about it. Because the dialogue was so well written and the characters were incredibly engaging and likeable. The side content stuff is also the best in the series with pretty much every unique minigame being a standout and very fun(especially can quest and the business minigame)
Glad to see Dunkey reviewing the first dragon-type game.
It's a dragon-like
I know this game didn't have the most complex gameplay but it makes up for it for its story, characters, and unique style
The thing is most other games in the franchise have that too and a funer gameplay... i dont mind rpgs when they have a fun interesting system, like Darkest dungeon and Hylics, but aside for everything else i hated the gameplay of Y7
Hands down one of the greatest games I have ever played
I haven’t played this in over two years, but I remember every single part dunkey shows, that’s how memorable this game is!
As a Yakuza myself I can attest for the game accuracy of portraying the life of a Yakuza man and his daily struggles.
The people we meet in our job make me want to become a Buddhist monk.
2:40 But... Dunkuza 3 is a masterpiece...
and it seemed like he got pretty far in the story in that video too. but that was like 8 years ago to be fair
@@aoBubsnone of it is his gameplay
Absolutely loved this game. I also forgot that building a whole empire and reaching rank 1 in sales was a mini game.
Last year I went through all the mainline Yakuza games in order because I enjoyed Yakuza 0 so much and when I finally got to LAD I didn't connect with Ichiban or the slower place of the battles. But I kept playing and they really grew on me. Sure, Ichiban is as dumb as a box of rocks but he has so much heart it was impossible to not root for him, especially at the very end of the game. As for the combat, it is slower and I didn't feel the hits as much, but being turn-based made it much more chill. I'm a sucker for levels and character upgrades too and this game is full of them. The only problem was the grinding. Fun, but still too much. 9/10
You sold me on a game I would've never touched. Thanks Dunlee
Thank you for covering this game since it’s one of my favorites! I agree that there is a lot of dialogue, but it never gets old! The main character is just so likable!
I am so glad you liked this game and gave it your blessing! It really is a great game and I too found myself loving the side quests. I don't know how Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and SEGA made side quests fun, but they did. This game is pure magic. What this video game does for you, your videos do for us. Thanks for playing all the silly games out there and writing funny and thoughtful reviews on them videogameichi!
A masterpiece of a video game series that does exactly what Dunkey imagines it to be
Really fun seeing ya cover this, Dunk
"Had to hit them with a level 2 apology" 4:12
Like A Dragon became one of my all time favorite games which is saying something when I've bounced off Yakuza Kiwami before. I love this game. No hyperbole.
At first i actually hated the management game, but then i understood it - climbing the ranks till you're number one and my god that laser finisher you get for that was PERFECTION. So worth it 10/10 Game
I was worried at first when they announced like a dragon would have different combat to the rest of the Yakuza games but after the first few minutes of playing this I feel in love with this game and really enjoyed Ichiban that he became one of my favourite Yakuza characters just behind Goro Majima, I really hope they do a sequel to this game 🤞
They are making a sequel. They already announced it. It's coming next year. Yakuza 8
@@tigerishrumble7976 sweet! Plus we got Like a dragon: Inshin to look forward to aswel in a few months
@@nixinkz2811 And Gaiden. It sounds like you didn't hear about the stream they did a while back where they announced basically everything.
Yakuza is like the modern day final Fantasy 7. Super goofy and cheery until it isn't and then those moments hit hard
Another banger from the Dunk man
Love this game. Its a very well made and unique rpg. Lots of cutscenes tho but thats an appeal since they are immersive
Yakuza is special and has so much content. Honestly we need yakuza ports on switch next
1:29 YOU BUMBLER, YOU BUMBLER
Man dunkey you really hit the nail on the head with this one. Great review
Dunkey is always such a UA-cam! One of the best!
Dragon Quest 11 is such a great game. P5 and ER as well.
This video calls to mind a famous saying by the poet Nick Elback. The saying goes, "Take a look at this photograph, every time I do it makes me laugh". I'm reminded of it because this video is a succession of photographic images which I find to be very humorous!
1:02 Sneak peek at the Big Mode office.
So happy that Gary Buster Holmes is here after leaving the coliseum.
Dunkey voice changed 3:22
This is the only Yakuza game I've played but I had an absolute blast with it. Just watching this video made me smile from all the fun memories I had playing it. I can't wait for the new Ishin one.
You should play 0. It's as good as 7.
They managed to make Shareholder meetings fun in a turn based RPG about japanese crime drama. I'm just gonna leave it at that.
Still hella mad I paid full price and the game went on gamepass not even a year later.
Had a great time with this one. The length of it and too many characters eventually bogged me down. But until then o shit it was great. And yes those mini-games and sidequest games are brilliant. You're going on for some long ass tangent in the hostess club mini game in Y0 or Kiwami 2 and you suddenly remember there's an actual video game
Ichiban saying it's " Yakuzin time" and enters Yakuza Mode will always hit different
I hope that for the next entry they dont waste the opportunity to having Ichiban saying "It's Yakuzin time" and then dame da ne guy replying "We'll be more like a dragon" and then having both of them taking off their shirts.
This was so good. Made Gamepass worth it for me. Was able to switch between PC and the couch flawlessly. It’s so ridiculous it’s fun and keeps you engaged. Took almost 90 hours to beat.
As someone who lives in Japan I can say the interaction with "Diligent Man" is entirely realistic.
Elden Ring being the first pretzel-like RPG for Dunkey to recommend is really something special!
For anyone who is watching this and wants to play this game, it's on sale on steam for 20 bucks or even 16 bucks at Gamestop for a new copy.
My favorite part was the mechanic with 13 ADJUSTABLE wrenches. Really some mind blowing attention to detail in this game.