Like a Dragon

The Like a Dragon series (龍が如くシリーズ, Ryū ga Gotoku Shirīzu), formerly known as the Yakuza series outside of Asia, is a franchise of primarily action-adventure and role-playing games. It was created by Toshihiro Nagoshi and SEGA, beginning in 2005 with Yakuza, and ending series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu's journey with Yakuza 6 in 2016. Yakuza: Like a Dragon begins the journey of the new series protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, who debuted in Ryū ga Gotoku Online. Several spin-offs to the series include Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! and Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!, historical adventures which use the characters of the Yakuza series in place of historical figures, and Yakuza: Dead Souls an apocalyptic 3rd-person zombie shooter.

The series features primarily a "beat 'em up" style of gameplay, with multiple new locations in each game to explore, though the events of the series generally take place in Kamurocho, a fictional city in Tokyo's Red Light District. Though Kiryu is the primary main character, beginning with Yakuza 4, more playable protagonists are introduced, including Shun Akiyama (Yakuza 4, 5, Dead Souls), Taiga Saejima (Yakuza 4, 5), Masayoshi Tanimura (Yakuza 4), Goro Majima (Yakuza 0, Dead Souls, Kiwami 2, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii), Ryuji Goda (Dead Souls), Tatsuo Shinada (Yakuza 5), and Yoshitaka Mine (Dark Ties). Haruka Sawamura is playable in Yakuza 5, though she is the only protagonist that does not physically engage in combat.

Games

Main games (chronological order)

Spin-off games

Remakes and remasters

Special bundles

Other Media

Live Action

Comics and Manga

Soundtracks and Music

Pachinko

CR Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan!
CR Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! Tenshou Gion-hen
Pachislot Ryu ga Gotoku of the End

Collaborations

Several works from other studios have collaborated with the franchise and/or RGG Studio.

Project X Zone 2: Brave New World: Kiryu and Majima are playable
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise^WP: Uses the Dragon Engine, made by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and Kazuma Kiryu appears as a downloadable costume.
Virtua Fighter 5: the "Yakuza Series Collaboration Pack" contains multiple cosmetics, costumes, music, etc. from the franchise.
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight: the "P5D: Yakuza Set" contains a few costumes based on the franchise.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania: Kazuma Kiryu is an unlockable playable character, and the bananas are replaced with Staminan X bottles when playing as him.
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational: Kazuma Kiryu appears as a DLC golfer in the Japanese version.
Binary Domain: Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, Ryuji Goda, and Shun Akiyama appear as guest characters.
Sega Heroes: Goro Majima, Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, and Taiga Saejima all appear in the game.
Taiko no Tatsujin Portable DX: features a music track from Yakuza: Dead Souls.
maimai GreeN: music from the series was added to this version.
Kyoutou Kotoba RPG: Kotodaman: a few characters from the series appear during a "Sega All Stars" collaboration.
Kabukicho Detective Seven: a limited-time case made in collaboration with the series for the in real life mystery game "Kabukichō Tantei Sebun".
LINE Rangers: some characters from the series appear in the game.
Mafia City: there was a special collaboration with the series in the game.
Dragon Poker: characters from the series appear as part of a special collaboration.
Boku & Dragons (characters from the series appeared as part of a special collaboration)
Phantasy Star Online 2: outfits based on Kasuga, Majima and Saeko in her Matriarch outfit appear, along with cosmetics from the series.
Rainbow Six: Siege: outfits based on Kiryu, Majima and Kaoru and Cosmetics from the series appear.
Astro Bot: Kiryu, known as "Tattooed Dragon", appears as one of the "VIP Bots" in the game, along with the "Iconic Gate" accessory referencing the Kamurocho gate, and there is a PlayStation trophy associated with punching him.
Among Us: costumes based on Kiryu, Majima, Saejima, Akiyama, Kasuga and Zhao from the series appear; along with other cosmetics such as nameplates and pets based on Nancy and a DRAG-ON pocket circuit model.
DAVE THE DIVER: A currently available DLC titled "Ichiban's Holiday" features a few characters and minigames from the series, as well as new quests and a unique storyline.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds: Kasuga appears as one of the guest playable characters.
Initial D: The Arcade: Limited-time cosmetics based on Kiryu and Majima from the series appear.