What Does It Mean To Be “Like A Dragon”?

Content originally posted to Instagram on December 22, 2022. FYI, for those unaware: when I say Yakuza/RGG 7, I'm referring to "Yakuza: Like A Dragon" (the game's Western name). With the series now dropping the "Yakuza" title completely for "Like A Dragon" instead, I have to decide whether I'll keep referring to these games as Yakuza games or not. 😂 Anyways, on with the text!

Some will tell you that the endings of certain Yakuza/RGG games have made them cry…unfortunately, I can’t claim that 😅 But having played RGG 0 and 7’s stories to the end, I can say that I truly enjoy them for the *mostly*-based-in-reality, character-driven dramas that they are (I’ve also teared up watching certain RGG 6 cutscenes 🤣)



Even so, I couldn’t help but linger on 7’s ending. I recently finished the story after ~4 months of slowly working my way through it. And there’s a lot of heavy themes and big character moments which come into play during that final stretch.

Without spoiling too much: I admittedly saw small parts of myself in the main villain, a man so committed to change and escaping the life he’d come from that he lost himself. And on the flipside, there were times I couldn’t fully relate to the protagonist Kasuga Ichiban. How could he be so forgiving to those who wronged him badly? Still willing to strive, even after being beaten down by life more times than anyone would wish?

In that sense, Ichiban is more of an aspirational figure to me than relatable. And honestly?…it’s probably better for me that he is that way.

Because if he (& other characters in the game) reminds me of anything, it’s that you can’t always change your circumstances. And regardless of what you do, sometimes you can’t avoid ending up at rock bottom. But whether you’re stuck or just got down there, don’t forget that there will always be something above. The best thing you can do in that case is to raise your head + trudge towards it, all while trying not to lose sight of who you are. We can be weak, but in the end we have to do right.

I suppose that’s one way of thinking what “like a dragon” means (for those unaware, RGG = Ryu Ga Gotoku / 龍が如く= Like A Dragon). Fitting that Ichiban, like Kiryu Kazuma before him, is the next leading protagonist of the series. 🐉