In terms of feel, Like a Dragon Gaiden sits somewhere between Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Lost Judgment. Dragon Engine combat has come a long way from Yakuza 6, but some of Gaiden's quirks might strike some fans as downgrades compared to Judgment.

• Launchers are less prevalent.
  
• Juggles are nerfed.
  
• Quickstep is tied to fighting stance. (!)
  
• On average, there's more enemies per encounter. Enemies are more aggressive.

Owed to only having two fighting styles and no parries, Joryu needs to work a little harder to fling his opponents into the air. No more free backturned starters like with Lost Judgment's Snake style.



Agent's Spider Wire bounds for an easy follow up, but only on lower tier enemies. For most of the game, you'll be charging launchers during your strings in Yakuza style:

Yakuza Lx3, [H] xx Agent LxN, H
Or
Yakuza L, H, [H] xx Agent LxN, H

Charged Finishing Blow from the third hit of Joryu's Yakuza string is a tremendous, armored juggle starter that's still a free Stance Cancel to Agent if it doesn't launch.


Combo variety on the whole is still quite high in this game. You just need a good setup for the crazy stuff.

Lost Judgment spoiled us with multi-minute long juggles and some of the strongest movesets ever in an RGG game. When mastered, Boxer and Snake utterly break that game's combat.

Like a Dragon Gaiden increases juggle gravity and curtails Lost Judgment's "infinites" by reintroducing a quirk I'll call unjuggle.

When an opponent is in the air, you can suspend their fall slightly with a strike. Joryu's strings should be fast enough to generate Lost Judgment-esque juggles. Mash your attacks, however, and the enemy will somehow fall out.


Overusing light attack strings or style switches triggers unjuggle. If the game decides your combo is too repetitive, it'll drop.

As far as I know, this mechanic was in Lost Judgment. But hitting the juggle limit was far harder. You'll know your opponent is unjuggled if they "teleport" onto the ground during your combo or after an extension.

It's early days, but seeing as this will be the last real time combat Yakuza will see for a while-- Expect updates as the system is better documented.

Longtime fans might be surprised at just how many enemies Like a Dragon Gaiden throws at them on the street. Encounters aren't limited to parties of four anymore: Sotenbori goon squads run up to around eight strong. The boost in numbers must’ve done wonders for morale, because Joryu’s foes in Gaiden are the scrappiest in the series.

In the early game, expect to be surrounded and utterly bullied by enemies on the street. They don’t fight fair, and neither should you.

When your Take Stance button isn't pressed, you can swing your attack strings in any direction and keep enemies off your back. This feature has been in Yakuza forever, but it's especially useful here. Meterless Agent style is especially weak when surrounded.

Start a fight on the right foot by plucking weaker enemies from their crew with your Spider gadget. Once you’ve upgraded to multiple wires, flick the Left Stick to send an entire squad tumbling. The Dragon Engine’s improved physics mean even enemies you haven’t grabbed might get tripped.

If things get sketchy (And they will), leave! Joryu’s Serpent Boots double as an attack and an awesome movement option. When you need your space, hold your Quickstep button and bowl right through any troublemakers in your path.

Thanks for reading! More updates to come. Consider this guide to be in Beta.