The entire Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza) series is available as part of theXbox Game Pass catalog, so you might be scratching your head wondering where to start. WithLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthlaunching in a couple of weeks and shaping up to be “the series’ ultimate climax,” the pressure is on to get into the series soon. Although every Like a Dragon game is worth a playthrough at some point for those who love crime dramas and video games with wild narratives, if you can only play one this month beforeInfinite Wealthlaunches, make itLike a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.
This isn’t the best game in the series; I gave it athree-star reviewwhen it launched in November. Despite that, I recognize that multiple factors makeLike a Dragon Gaidenthe perfect game in the series to get into before you playInfinite Wealth. And as a day-one Xbox Game Pass release, this two-month-old title cements itself as a must-play this month.
AsInfinite Wealthis a direct sequel toYakuza: Like a Dragon, that might seem like the better game to play beforehand. While I certainly recommend you do that at some point,Yakuza: Like a Dragonis a 50+ hour RPG that deserves to be savored at a slower pace. That means it’ll prove arduous to get through in a couple of weeks between now andInfinite Wealth’s launch. Thankfully,Like a Dragon Gaidenis an ample crash course in almost every narrative element players should be familiar with beforeInfinite Wealthand can be completed in under 15 hours.
That short length makes it a perfect Yakuza game to beat beforeInfinite Wealthlaunches, even if you can only squeeze in for an hour or two a day to play. It helps thatLike a Dragon Gaidenis an interquel toYakuza: Like a Dragonand directly leads intoInfinite Wealth. The game follows former Yakuza and now generally good guy Kazuma Kiryu, who is in hiding after the events ofYakuza 6: The Song of Life(and the entire franchise, of which he was the main character).
Kiryu abandoned that identity, now works as a secret agent, and lives under the name Joryu, hence the subtitleThe Man Who Erased His Name. Unfortunately, nothing can ever go that smoothly in a crime drama like this, so Kiryu is pulled back into a Yakuza conflict as the leaders of the major clans plan to disband the crime ring entirely. Essentially,Like a Dragon Gaidenexplains what Kiryu was doing during the events ofYakuza: Like a Dragon, which starred a new main protagonist named Ichiban Kazuga. It’s an engrossing narrative with an utterly satisfying climax, and it features one of the biggest tear-jerker endings I’ve ever seen in a video game.
Playing throughLike a Dragon Gaiden, you’ll meet many of the characters and learn much of the lore you’ll need to know before you head intoInfinite Wealth. Some of the substories in the game will also familiarize you with this series’quirky sense of humor, which you’ll need to accept as this franchise loves to juxtapose that with serious crime drama elements. Those who’ve already beaten the game have a reason to return and experience this story again: Sega added English voice-actingin a December update.
In terms of gameplay, this is an action game rather than an RPG, but even that can be seen as a strength beforehand as it’ll familiarize you with the series’ gameplay roots from before it went full-on RPG. And if you want to get familiar with that gameplay style,Like a Dragon Gaideneven contains a trial version ofInfinite Wealththat’s accessible after beating the main story. That’s right, if you have Xbox Game Pass, you’re able to play a bit of one of 2024’s biggest games early.
Although I think there are better games in the Like a Dragon series, there’s no denying thatLike a Dragon Gaidenis an excellent primer forInfinite Wealth. Doing so is like listening to a band’s greatest hits on vinyl before going to see them perform songs from a new album in concert.
The Like a Dragon series can be a bit daunting to get into, and I ultimately recommend picking the game that looks the most interesting to you and playing that. Still, if you only have time to play one shorter game in this series ahead ofInfinite Wealth’slaunch on January 26, your time is best spent playing throughLike a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Nameon Xbox Game Pass.
