Yakuza: Like a Dragon – The failed PS5 launch

This game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is the eighth in the Yakuza series. Roughly one year ago, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, published by SEGA, was originally made available on the PS4 (and Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Steam), and with the release of the PS5 console, owners of the PS4 copy were promised an upgrade at no additional cost.

This upgrade to the game will include enhancement to the frame rates, resolutions, and most notably to the loading times, which have been reduced to mere seconds. This is quite a noticeable improvement compared to the PS4 version of the game, in which cutscenes frequently were interrupted by a black screen. New subtitle options for Brazilian Portuguese and Russian have also been added. However, it should be noted that any save data you have from your PS4 playthrough will not be compatible with the PS5 version, so you will need to start a new game.

Although that may be frustrating for some, we’re sure most players won’t mind. This title of the Yakuza series is as innovative as it is controversial, considering its radical change from the series staple beat ‘em up to a more tactical form of turn-based combat. That said, fans of the series love it, and it has earned excellent reviews.

For those reading who have yet to play it, Yakuza: Like a Dragon follows the story of Ichiban Kasuga, a family of the Arakawa clan, and a Dragon Quest series fanboy. To repay a debt to the head of his family, Kasuga takes the fall for another family member and must spend the next 18 years in prison.

While the quality of the free upgrade is undoubtedly excellent, yesterday, longtime fans were frustrated to find out that they couldn’t get to play their favorite game because of an error in which the option of upgrading did not even appear in the menu. It seems this issue only affected those who bought their copy digitally, with owners of the physical copy not reporting any upgrade issues. Apparently, this caused some gamers to buy a new PS5 copy without realizing they didn’t need to, or for some, maybe because they couldn’t wait any longer. Thankfully, the bug has seems to have been fixed, and upgrades should be working as expected. The developers took to Twitter:

“The issues related to the upgrade path for Yakuza: Like a Dragon on PlayStation 5 have been resolved! Please let us know if you encounter any further problems and thank you again for your patience!” – RGG Studio (@RGGStudio) March 2, 2021

Despite these minor but frustrating issues, SEGA celebrates the PS5 release by handing out the Legends Costume Set for free. This set pays homage to fan-favorite characters from earlier games in the series, including costumes based on:

• Goro Majima Yakuza 0
• Kazuma Kiryu Yakuza 0
• Taiga Saejima
• Haruka Sawamura
• Ryuji Goda
• Daigo Dojima
• Makoto Date
• Kaoru Sayama

But don’t forget! This costume DLC will only be available until the end of March, so don’t miss out!