There sure are a lot of references to Dragon Quest in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, aren’t there? In fact the protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, attributes his world outlook and combat abilities to his childhood spending hours playing the DQ games of the 80’s and 90’s. The influence of Dragon Quest is evident from the job system to the delightful jingles that play when you gain a party member or complete a quest. I personally love Dragon Quest and I love all the little mentions Yakuza gives the franchise, but there was one thing that I appreciate above all else. The themes of Yakuza: Like a Dragon are clearly influenced by the core theme of the original Dragon Quest from 1986.
The JRPG genre of the 80’s and 90’s was defined by storytelling. The main motivation was a narrative one, built on worlds and characters, to a depth that their action-oriented counterparts didn’t usually focus on. Many of the classics have amazing, critically acclaimed narratives, but the original Dragon Quest (considered to be a progenitor of the JRPG genre) wasn’t really like that.
No disrespect, but Dragon Quest 1 had a fairly basic plot. There’s an evil dude in a castle and you, as the hero, go fight him. It sounds simple, but it wasn’t. At the start of the game, you are weak and lack the ability to make it to the castle, let alone fight the bad guy. Not because there are large set-piece obstacles in the way, rather the enemies between the starting town and the castle will murder you. This is when the core theme of DQ sets in - self-improvement. You need to fight enemies to gain EXP and items that you can sell for money. You need to get money so you can get better equipment. You need to explore and help people for rewards that will make you strong enough to push on to that castle.
Now, games built around getting better were nothing new but Dragon Quest really hammered the point home. When you make it to the gate of that castle, you feel so much stronger than when the game sta and the story of your growth became the main story of the game.
What I love about Yakuza: Like a Dragon is how it replicates this for a modern audience. Kasuga begins his story abandoned in a garbage can with nothing but his clothes and a bad haircut. He strives to get stronger by improving himself the same way he did in those games; by fighting bad guys, earning money and helping people in order to make himself a better hero and a better, more competent person.
Lots of games are inspired by classics, but it's always nice to see something take it's predecessor core themes and adapt beyond face value. Even though one game is about a fantasy hero and the other is about an ex-yakuza picking picking up cans in a bicycle and fighting violent chefs.
Comments