Summary
One of the previews forLike a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Nameshows that Masaharu Kaito from the developer’sJudgmentspin-off series will be making an appearance, providing a surprising connection between it and the greaterLike a Dragoncanon. TheGaidentitle is a spin-off of the main series, where it focuses ona returning Kazuma Kiryu after the events ofYakuza 6. It shows what Kiryu has been up to throughout the events ofYakuza: Like a Dragonwhile also providing a connection to his appearance within the eighth game,Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The game also manages to tie itself toJudgment, a spin-off series developed by the same studio.
Judgmentand its sequelLost Judgmentare two detective thriller spin-off gamesthat utilize the sameLike a Dragonbeat-em-up action gameplay and open-world mechanics. These games combine that with investigations and mysteries for the player to solve as private investigator Takayuki Yagami. Yagami also has a partner at his detective agency, a former yakuza member of the Tojo Clan, Masahru Kaito. The games never directly reference each other beyond events that happen within the city of Kamurocho, so it’s surprising to see both Kaito and Kiryu now in the same game viaGaiden.
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This was revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu, where it reveals that Kiryu will eventually meet with Kaito, even showing a screenshot of the two together. According to a translation of the article, he will appear in a substory for the game, which also features some other returning bit characters like Etsuko fromYakuza 0. The article also gives a brief biography of Kaito, where he is described as a former lieutenant of the Matsugane family, who is part of the Tojo Clan, along with how he works with Yagami. The translation notes that this is the first time that he and Kiryu meet, even teasing what kind of interactions they might have inLike a Dragon Gaiden.
Longtime fans of both series were very curious about Kaito’s inclusion in the game, especially as part of a substory and their possible interactions. Kaito’s character shares a lot of elements with Kiryu, such as his flashy shirt being similar to the latter’s outfit fromYakuza 0. This extends toKaito’s gameplay inJudgmentandLost Judgment, where his moveset is borrowed from Kiryu’s Brawler and Beast styles from the same game.
Kaito meeting his direct inspiration in the upcomingGaidenshould be a great piece of fanservice forLike a Dragonfans. With Kaito’s appearance inGaiden, the door has been opened for other characters from the spin-off series to make an appearance in future entries, maybe evena cameo from Takayuki Yagamiif allowed. For now, fans will need to wait and see how and why Kiryu and Kaito get entangled in Sotenbori.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Namewill launch July 16, 2025, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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