While many franchises delve into the criminal underworld, few are as unique as SEGA’s Like A Dragon series, formerly the Yakuza series. These games combine the action of a crime thriller with many endearing mini-games and activities. The series’ technical director recently expressed his desire for future games to abandon the current Dragon Engine and create something compatible with modern technology. Here is a breakdown of these plans for the iconic Like A Dragon series and what fans can expect.
Upgrading Like A Dragon
According to IGN, one of the developers behind SEGA’s popular Like A Dragon/Yakuza series said he wanted to create a new engine for the series. The statement came from technical director Yutaka Ito, who wanted to upgrade to a new engine tailored for “high-spec” consoles like the PlayStation 5. The current engine, the Dragon Engine, has been in use since 2016’s Like A Dragon: The Song of Life. While it’s served the series well, Ito is right to say that the series should upgrade its technology.
However, he also confirmed that this was his personal opinion. Fortunately, given his seniority and experience within the company, his wishes will hopefully be listened to. While their series was well-received, one common complaint among fans cited by the article is reused assets and animations between these games as a drawback of their frequent releases. A new engine could remedy this.
The Acclaimed Series
For those unaware, Like A Dragon is an acclaimed, long-running series of sandbox RPGs from SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios. The series was originally known as Yakuza in the West before changing the name to remain consistent with the Japanese name. The games follow a member of the Yakuza as they are caught between various criminal activities, daily life, and interpersonal drama.
Since 2005, nine main Yakuza games have been released, along with many remakes, DLC, and spinoffs. The series is one of SEGA’s most iconic, alongside Sonic the Hedgehog and Shin Megami Tensei. It was successful enough to inspire a big-budget series on Amazon Prime. Furthermore, songs like Baka Mitai have gone viral beyond the fanbase.
Many consider the series a Japanese “counterpart” to the massively popular Grand Theft Auto franchise from Rockstar and 2k. Both are open-world crime dramas examining their own culture’s underworlds. In comparison, Grand Theft Auto relies on vast maps where players become criminal masterminds, while Like a Dragon takes place on a much smaller scale as a beat-’em-up.
Evolving Technology
Many other forms of video game technology are evolving, with each new console having exponentially more processing power. With these new tools, developers are taking advantage of these advances, such as Insomniac releasing a PlayStation 5 Pro version of Spider-Man 2. Furthermore, this technology has created breathtaking remakes for classics like Silent Hill 2 and Demon’s Souls.
On the one hand, new technology always opens up new possibilities. One example is the ever-upgrading Unreal Engine, which is used across many AAA games worldwide. At the same time, an upgrade would be a huge investment and leave behind those on previous consoles, as Ito said in the interview. However, given that the current engine is nearly a decade old, it’s bound to be replaced sooner or later.
Conclusion
To summarize, the Like a Dragon series is due for a proper upgrade to its impressive engine. While it served the series faithfully over nearly a dozen games, its technical director and the fans have been yearning for the series to upgrade. Either way, there is no denying that RGG’s creative genius and design within this engine brought the series its acclaim and sales. With the latest entry, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, using the Dragon Engine, this software has a last chance to prove itself as a timeless tool.
