Like a Dragon Gaiden Says Farewell To Kiryu Kazuma (Analysis) @WritingOnGames

Uploaded December 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

Well, not literally... yet anyway. An analysis of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, identity, and how it represents the point at which Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is finally ready to say goodbye to Kiryu Kazuma as the face of the long-running franchise. Spoilers for Yakuza 6, but if you've played Gaiden you've already had 6 spoiled for you.

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0:00 - Like A Dragon Gaiden is about identity
3:53 - The intro says it all
5:32 - The mechanics of Like a Dragon Gaiden
7:50 - My issues with the story structure and characters
10:33 - The existential disarray of Like A Dragon Gaiden
12:07 - Kiryu is a changed man
14:57 - Conclusion
16:21 - Outro

Text animation intro by Isaac Holland - twitter.com/drazgames

Like a Dragon Gaiden Says Farewell To Kiryu Kazuma (Analysis)

$Examining the Battle Royale Landscape, One Year Post-PUBG Support the show on Patreon - http://patreon.com/writingongames Podcast (iTunes) - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/writing-on-gamescast/id1124674245?mt=2 Second Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1xxfS_HILi09yaELQdmV1A Call of Duty had multiple games under its belt before capturing the zeitgeist with Modern Warfare. Minecraft took a few years to become the household name we know it as today. In a fraction of that time, weve seen the genre of battle royale thrust into the spotlight thanks to the release of Playerunknowns Battlegrounds, the seemingly unstoppable rise of competitor Fortnite, the inevitable imitators trying to cash in on the hype, the catastrophic failure of those imitators (with one studio closing within a month of their release), all while fatigue sets in with an increasingly disgruntled playerbase. As someone whose interest in battle royale games has long faded but whose fascination at their cultural impact has only grown as its popularity has, I thought it might be interesting to examine where the genre stands one year on from PUBGs release; examining why genre mechanics and release models might be responsible for the situation we find ourselves in, and why any further competition faces an unbelievably steep uphill battle. Intro text animation by Draz: https://twitter.com/DrazGames https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd3x2o76QHYNy4Vh6rkRtfg Also apologies for failing to credit Noclip in the video for their Brendan Greene internet footage - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e9EjExsMvI Thank you so much for your continued support! Production work by Nico Bleackley$

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