New Video (1 of 2)! Like a Dragon Gaiden: Letting Go of Kiryu Kazuma (ad-free!) (Patreon)

Hey everyone! 

Got a few posts coming your way in the usual end-of-month-Patreon-rush fashion.

First is a video about Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. It feels odd to say that Like a Dragon Gaiden (a supposed side-game in the long-running Yakuza franchise designed to bridge the gap between 6 and 7) is a game about identity and passing the torch, because in their struggle to truly let go of the face of the franchise, Kiryu Kazuma, it feels like all their games (Judgment included) are about the same kinds of identity crises faced by RGG Studio. What The Man Who Erased His Name represents then, to me, is the end result of years turning this notion over in their heads, presenting a deservedly sombre but no less heartfelt, true send-off for the Dragon of Dojima... whatever his future in the franchise may be. 

So yeah, I didn't expect this one to be anything more than a quick-fire review but it ended up being a bit bigger in scope than that. I'll say that it does discuss where Yakuza 6 left off briefly, but only because the start of this game necessarily gives context for that anyway. 

This one will be going up on the main channel tomorrow at some point, once I finalise the thumbnail and everything. You're all getting early access to it, in other words.

I'll talk more about plans for December in the next post, which I'll make quickly—all I'll say for now is, I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed digging into my own perceptions of Like a Dragon's trajectory as a series! 

As always, I would not be able to spend the time I do on writing like this were it not for your continued, unbelievably generous support. You are all the best and I cannot thank you enough. 

See you in the next post I guess!

Thanks again,

Hamish

Writing on Games