Why this not called "Yakuza" this time?

[hypercybermegatron]

I'm out of the loop on this. Why is this not called Yakuza like the other games in series?

[Sixtyfivekills]

They wanted to be like the original Japanese title of the series, Ryu Ga Gotoku which translates to Like A Dragon. I am not a fan of this change because now there are long titles instead of numbers.

Its just a confusing mess, there's:

- Yakuza 0-6
- Yakuza: Like A Dragon which is just Yakuza 7
- Like A Dragon Gaiden which is RGG7 Gaiden in Japan so its Yakuza 7 but Kiryu's little story.
- Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth which is Yakuza 8
- Like A Dragon Ishin, which is actually a Kiwami game and not the original which its named after.

[Hajber]

It would have been way better if they had switched to Like a Dragon with 0, when the series was dead in the West.

[Valk]

Originally posted by Hajber:

It would have been way better if they had switched to Like a Dragon with 0, when the series was dead in the West.

Doubtful. The whole reason for calling it Yakuza was to try and get more popularity in the west, where short snappy titles tended to do well. This is likely the same reason we didn't get the subtitles on things like 4 (Successor to the Legend). They only changed it back to LAD now because the snappy title did its job, and they're now able to rely on things other than brand recognition

[Hajber]

Yeah, but before 0 there was no brand recognition. Half of the fans on forums were calling these games Ryu Ga Gotoku/Like a Dragon anyway and barely anyone bought these games outside of the action game nerds sitting on those exact forums

[Cooperal]

Yakuza was an umbrella title for the games where you played as Kiryu. LAD signposts a shift to all new protagonists Joryu and Ichiban. I think Ichiban is a welcome edition but I admit Joryu is taking some time to grow on me.

[Valk]

Originally posted by Cooperal:

Yakuza was an umbrella title for the games where you played as Kiryu. LAD signposts a shift to all new protagonists Joryu and Ichiban. I think Ichiban is a welcome edition but I admit Joryu is taking some time to grow on me.

This is blatantly false in so many ways.
Infinite Wealth will be Kiryu's final game.
The japanese names for the games are "Like a Dragon" (Ryu Ga Gotoku)
Yakuza was chosen as a localised name in a time where many series from Japan were getting vastly different titles to their JP name (Eg, Resident Evil vs Biohazard) compared to more modern games which usually stick fairly close to the original name, and not to specifically cover one part of the story.

[Kamikaze$X-GEN$]

because I guess since they started with Like a Dragon with Ichiban and this is clearly the story how Ichiban and Kiryu met in the end. At least here in the western market.

[Rocky McRockerson]

Originally posted by Valk:

Originally posted by Cooperal:

Yakuza was an umbrella title for the games where you played as Kiryu. LAD signposts a shift to all new protagonists Joryu and Ichiban. I think Ichiban is a welcome edition but I admit Joryu is taking some time to grow on me.

This is blatantly false in so many ways.
Infinite Wealth will be Kiryu's final game.
The japanese names for the games are "Like a Dragon" (Ryu Ga Gotoku)
Yakuza was chosen as a localised name in a time where many series from Japan were getting vastly different titles to their JP name (Eg, Resident Evil vs Biohazard) compared to more modern games which usually stick fairly close to the original name, and not to specifically cover one part of the story.

They called it Yakuza because they thought "Like a Dragon" would be seen as an RPG title. It was called Resident Evil here because a company owns the copyright to Biohazard from what I heard. And finally, the Joryu thing is a joke.

[Yukimura]

All of above. plus in game Tojo and Omi alliance (yakuza organizations) are disolved (why call yakuza a game were there is no a yakuza organization anymore); the original creator is no longer in Sega. Now the protagonist are more political correct characters.

[Stoibs]

Originally posted by Yukimura:

All of above. plus in game Tojo and Omi alliance (yakuza organizations) are disolved (why call yakuza a game were there is no a yakuza organization anymore)

This is the in-game reason and best explanation that I agree with.
7 was "Yakuza: Like a Dragon" since it was a transitional phase regarding the storyline and the clans, now that the Yakuza is dissolved (And 8 takes place in Hawaii of all places) it makes less sense to continue the name.

[Dust]

Originally posted by Valk:

This is blatantly false in so many ways.
Infinite Wealth will be Kiryu's final game.

Don't speak if you don't actually know.
Yakuza 6 was Kiryu's final game. RGG studio introduced the new protagonist Joryu in 7 annd fleshed him out in Gaiden, and will star alongside Ichiban in 8.

[Valk]

Originally posted by Dust:

Originally posted by Valk:

This is blatantly false in so many ways.
Infinite Wealth will be Kiryu's final game.

Don't speak if you don't actually know.
Yakuza 6 was Kiryu's final game. RGG studio introduced the new protagonist Joryu in 7 annd fleshed him out in Gaiden, and will star alongside Ichiban in 8.

Please don't spread misinformation like that. This is why we have so many people thinking Gaiden is a perfect entry point.

[LouisKM124]

Because it's always "Like a dragon" at the beginning. It's the direct translation of the japanese title. "Yakuza" isn't.

[Spazticus]

Originally posted by Stoibs:

Originally posted by Yukimura:

All of above. plus in game Tojo and Omi alliance (yakuza organizations) are disolved (why call yakuza a game were there is no a yakuza organization anymore)

This is the in-game reason and best explanation that I agree with.
7 was "Yakuza: Like a Dragon" since it was a transitional phase regarding the storyline and the clans, now that the Yakuza is dissolved (And 8 takes place in Hawaii of all places) it makes less sense to continue the name.

It's also worth adding that as of the "current" events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, both Ichiban and Kiryu are FORMER Yakuza. With that, and the aforementioned location shift for Infinite Wealth, it makes even less sense to keep "Yakuza" as part of the title.

[ValentB]

Kiryu is former Yakuza in most games, so?

I wish this one would be called Yakuza Gaiden at least.
They should've started LAD with 8th one (and Ishin).