RGG Studio Talks About What Makes a Yakuza Game Truly Like a Dragon 

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG Studio), the developers behind the franchise of its company namesake, better known as Like a Dragon or Yakuza in the West, recently unleashed Kazuma Kiryu and Ichiban Kasuga in an unexpected adventure on the sun-drenched shores of Hawaii in the critically acclaimed Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Launched with much exciting fanfare, we have the honor to interview the production team of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, namely RGG Studio Director and Executive Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama, Chief Producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto, and Chief Director Ryosuke Horii about the behind-the-scene tidbits of Kasuga Ichiban’s new adventure.

This interview was edited for clarity.

Game’s Appeal 

Like any new entry in a long-running series, Infinite Wealth sees many improvements and new features being added. When talking about these new additions’ contribution to the game’s overall appeal and longevity, Producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto had this to say:

“Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a straight continuation from Yakuza: Like a Dragon, there are a lot of elements that consist of improving and polishing those from the previous title such as having the first ever overseas map as well as one of the largest maps within the series. We also wanted to give opportunities to sidelines as well like the Dondoko Island experience which allows players to enjoy a different perspective and gives freshness to the gameplay and more appeal over a longer period of time.”

“There are other elements to this current title which provide some uniqueness. For example, Kiryu’s Bucket List also impacts the main story and is not a standalone episode that is separate from the main story. Having the episodic value of Kiryu’s Bucket List gives more impact and depth to the main story while developing characters as well.”

Significance of Hawaii

As previously mentioned, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the first game in the series that is set in a new location outside of Japan, that being the palm-fringed paradise of Honolulu, Hawaii. This region’s culture and geography have certainly influenced the game’s narrative and gameplay mechanics, and Sakamoto said “Hawaii naturally fell into place within the main story as it progressed. It included popular resorts and holiday locations for many, not just the fans of the series.”

“So, we wanted to find a way in which we can include that into the story without it feeling out of place. On top of that, there have also been adjustments to include the underground world of Hawaii along with the story, feel, and mood of the game as well.”

In terms of the challenging aspects of bringing Hawaii into the game, Masayoshi Yokoyama noted that the obvious part is that this is the first-ever foreign location that is included in the series. “Some of the more challenging points during the early part of the development was making sure that we really caught the feel of being abroad as opposed to being in Japan still with a different skin over the top.”

“Some of the things that were taken into large attention were the models of the town citizens or the NPCs that were in the game. So adjusting body frame, facial shape, and other bone structures to make sure that these models were accurate enough to show that they were truly foreign as opposed to Japanese-based models that were then overlaid with hair and makeup. So that would imply that they were foreigners. That was a lot of a challenge.”

“The other aspect was making sure that when you’re viewing the angle frame from a third-person perspective within the town as you’re walking, that you truly felt that you were in a different location outside of Japan and not just a top-down view of the city, which was very challenging to accomplish.”

Light and Serious Tones

One of the big selling points of the Like a Dragon series is the gallery of diverse minigames and side activities available.

In regards to the way Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth utilizes its minigames and side activities in terms of enhancing immersion and providing meaningful diversions from the main story, Director Ryosuke Horii said that the content is designed to juxtapose each other.

“The main story is kind of on the serious side, handling issues like illness and other social issues, meanwhile the sub-stories and sub-quests around Hawaii add a little bit more color and lightness to the game.”

“The Like a Dragon progression is primarily led by the main story. However, as there are more people who have an increasing liking towards casual games or casual gamers who are joining the RGG fandom, we wanted to provide an opportunity for the users to try something different whenever they feel like for a change of pace as they are progressing with the main story.” 

Enriching Minigames

Of course, these minigames also enrich the game’s world-building and character development beyond the main storyline as Horii puts it, “The sub-stories are something that we are all very proud of, each and every single one of them, and as such, they were placed within the game. However, something that stands out more clearly to me with this question is Kiryu’s Bucket List. Within that, there is a section called Memoirs of the Dragon.”

“Within this particular sub-story, we come across certain characters who have not been brought to the front as much as they did within the sub-story. Some of the more unnoticeable characters were brought into the front face of the sub-story, showing the impact that these smaller characters in the past had on Kazuma Kiryu, and it really gives the depth of character development in Kazuma Kiryu, showing that even smaller, lesser-mentioned characters really had a deep impact on Kiryu’s life.”

“So, within the game, as mentioned previously, some of these characters who had smaller roles in the past titles did not carry over to other games within the series, but that doesn’t mean that they all suddenly disappeared. They had their own individual lives behind the scenes, and their lives developed as well.”

“Within the Memoirs of the Dragon, it really gives light to the world feel of Like a Dragon and the Yakuza series, showing that these characters have aged, grown old, or had their own life decisions to make, and we really felt like it was a nice touch to have that in there to show the overall timeline development as well.”

“There’s also Pocket Circuit Fighter, who was in Yakuza 0, included in the game as well, so we believe that fans of Yakuza 0 will be able to find that as a little gemstone to enjoy within the game.”

Sicko Snap 

Among the many minigames, there is the Sicko Snap, a minigame that revolves around you snapping photos of some rather interesting people doing questionable things around the island of Honolulu in a moving trolleybus.

As for the inspiration for the minigame, Horii noted that the concept creation was in a way logical.

“When we thought about what is natural to Hawaii, we thought about these trolleybuses and you would go sightseeing around the city and town within these buses as they move around. When going over the idea of these trolleybuses and how to utilize them best, I actually went on and rode one. After a little bit of time on the trolley, it was kind of difficult to keep myself entertained. When I was thinking of ways to keep myself entertained while on the bus, I decided to take photos”

“So on my journey, I was trying to decide on what kind of photos to take. Taking photos of scenery and the environment is one thing, but I thought something should be even more entertaining than that. And then I thought of ideas that pretty much led up to Sicko Snap, that I thought were generally really interesting and kind of wacky and out of place, but it definitely kept me entertained with that idea. I didn’t want to particularly come up with that idea from the get-go. It was something that was organically brought up to my inspiration.”

What Defines Like a Dragon 

The crime drama action-adventure series has been ongoing since 2005 with its first release for the PlayStation 2, and has been a commercial success, selling a combined total of 21.3 million units in 2023. Despite being a long-running franchise with elements from various genres incorporated in the games throughout the years, the series stayed consistent and recognizable.

From the perspective of the developers, Sakamoto and Yokoyama explained what they believe is the core essence that defined the Like a Dragon franchise throughout the years. “The series has gone through a lot of different genre shifts, gone through different characters, and each and every time that a game is in development, we kind of sit down and have a look to see if it feels like a Like a Dragon series game,” said Sakamoto.

“The essence of it is that it tends to include a narrative story, but the narrative story doesn’t really focus on peacefulness as much as maybe some other lines that we can take with it. But it has elements of struggles and dramas of the underworld and suspense and development with a movie-like feel to it. Additionally, if the gameplay itself has a lot of variety, we kind of feel like all of this together feels like a Like a Dragon title.”

Yokoyama chimed in and said, “We kind of feel like, well, narration and storytelling is one thing. You may be thinking that if a narration is a narration, then why not be a book? However, we feel like all sorts of entertainment objectively have a narrative, a story at its core. In the past, when we were able to come up with letters, books, and put pen to paper, that was the best form of telling a story. However, as time progressed, things changed from books to manga, from manga to moving animation, and from moving animation to videos and movies where you experience other people’s experiences through your eyes and experience a story that way.”

“That said, we personally feel that the current best medium for us to tell a story and for you to feel that experience is through video games – where you can really have a hands-on and get the best experience, not just the story itself, but a first-hand experience of living through that story yourself.”

“In the future, it’s likely that there will be loads of innovation that outdo gaming or even other means of experiencing a story. However, we still feel like games are the best medium at this current time with the current technological innovations for us to provide the best experience possible within a given story, not just for a good story, but for a good experience.”

“So, at the moment, RGG as well is in the process of utilizing this best medium, which is through games, to give lots of fascinating and inspiring experiences moving to the future and in current.”

Reception So Far

Different regions have different gaming preferences and the Yakuza series has always been more known in Asia compared to the West. However, in recent years, the series has started to see growth in the Western market. Given the success of Infinite Wealth’s launch, we curiously asked about how the reception has been between both the Asian and Western markets.

To that, Sakamoto responded “In the past, there may have been differences when it comes to player reaction and reviews, but currently, there really isn’t anything that stands out all too much. Obviously, there are some funny differences such as people’s reactions to the return of chickens, and that seems to be something that really captures the heart of people in the West. Possibly it’s something that isn’t as excitedly awaited by fans here in Japan, but aside from that, when it comes to overall perception, reactions, and reviews of our games, there really isn’t that much of a regional difference.”

“So when we kind of look at the past of the user reaction and user difference, we feel that maybe the biggest difference and biggest change over time was when the voiceovers were added in. People were probably able to understand and feel the experience better than just reading subtitles.”

Considering the scale of Infinite Wealth and its success, the development team would certainly be proud of their achievement, but Yokoyama said otherwise, “At the point of the game’s launch, there really is, to be frank, and 100% honest with you, no feeling of a pride and satisfaction because the focus is already onto the next project, the next game.”

“Everybody is looking towards the future and how they can improve things and make things even better for future games. However, when it comes to the initial planning phase, that is in the rows of 10 years or maybe 5 years before a game comes out, that’s when the true feeling of pride comes into play. Because you’re thinking, okay, in the future, we’re going to be able to complete something truly amazing.”

Future of Majima, Saejima, and Daigo 

As the series grew more and more ambitious with each entry, fans were certainly excited about the prospect of more new games in the franchise, and many were hoping to see the return of different fan-favorite characters such as Majima, Saejima, and Daigo.

While fans are begging for more of these characters, in hopefully a new Gaiden game, Yokoyama replied “Please feel free to expect however you want to. You can expect it in your own personal way, but the standpoint of RGG and ourselves as well is that we want to provide and create something that really surprises and provides joy to the player. If you’re thinking of something, we’re probably going to surprise you regardless, so please feel free to look forward to the future. There’s always movement going on at RGG to exceed expectations and go into brand new directions to bring something new and surprising.” 

Closing Words 

As we moved closer to the end of the interview, we asked Sakamoto-san, Yokoyama-san, and Horii-san if they had any comments left to share with fans.

Horii said, “Thank you to everybody for continuing to play and support the RGG Studio products, as well as the RGG Studio itself. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is one of the best efforts and most entertaining products that we have produced to date. We aim to further improve and provide amazing experiences in the future, but for the time being, Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth is a must-play for anyone with even the slightest interest in the Like a Dragon series, and we hope that you will be able to continue to enjoy this game until the next product comes out. We can’t confirm what that next product will be, but until then, we hope that you will enjoy Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Sakamoto then followed with this message, “Being with the Southeast Asian media and the interview itself, it really brings to light that in the past, the Like a Dragon Yakuza series was primarily enjoyed only in Japan, but knowing that now everybody around the world can enjoy and play it really comes to hit me as a reality. More specifically in Southeast Asia, we feel like there could be more events within the region to bring more of a community feel within the region as well. Definitely, it’s an area where we would like to have more future events with the fans in the future for us to enjoy our series games at the current and into the future. In the meantime, however, I hope that you will be able to continue to enjoy the game that we’ve put out.” 

Lastly, Yokoyama-san said, “When you have something fun that you feel like you want to share with everybody and anybody around you, so that you have that common experience and common joy. Recently, I’ve been enjoying something on Amazon Prime and with that conversation, I think I’ve already spoken to about 30 people about it, and I haven’t been stopping to share what I’ve learned and experienced and found very fun.”

“I really hope that in the Southeast Asia region as well, the same can be done with our games if you are enjoying it. I also feel like at this current time, this is the first big generation of people in Southeast Asia that are enjoying RGG titles, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is one of those titles that everybody is able to enjoy. Obviously, if you are enjoying it, we hope that you will share that word, and spread that word. If people pick it up out of word of mouth, then that’s also a bonus, but definitely give it a go. If you are enjoying it, have a good time playing it, and we hope that you will be able to continue to support the studio.”

We would like to thank Masayoshi Yokoyama, Hiroyuki Sakamoto, and Ryosuke Horii of RGG Studio for taking the time to answer our questions regarding Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and the Yakuza series as a whole.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is now available for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

In our 9/10 review, we described the game like a vacation, “it’s a vibrant experience filled with action, laughter, and heartwarming stories. So pack your luggage bags, brush up your karaoke skills, and get ready to punch your way through paradise with Ichiban and Kiryu.”

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Release Date: 2024-01-26

Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Two larger-than-life heroes, Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu are brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister… Live it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an RPG adventure so big it spans the Pacific.

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