Like a Dragon (Japanese: 龍が如く, Hepburn: Ryū ga Gotoku), formerly known outside of Japan as Yakuza, is a video game franchise by Sega.

While Kiryu often finds himself working with the leaders of the Tojo Clan to thwart conspiracies aimed against them, the primary theme of the series is his desire to leave the yakuza for good and start over by raising orphans and trying to assimilate into civilian life.

The gameplay of Yakuza / Like a Dragon has the player controlling Kiryu (or another character, depending on the title) in an open world where he can fight random groups of punks and gangsters, take on side missions and activities to earn experience and money, learn new moves from non-player characters (NPCs), eat and drink at various restaurants, visit hostess and cabaret clubs, craft items, and engage in a variety of mini games such as golfing, bowling, batting cages, video arcades, karaoke, and gambling games including poker, blackjack, Cee-lo, and Koi-Koi.

The franchise has become a commercial and critical success, and as of 2024, Sega has reported that the video game series has sold a combined total of 27.7 million units in physical and digital sales since its debut in 2005.

[1] Strong sales of the games in its original Japanese market has led to the franchise's expansion to other media, including film adaptations and a television series.

[16] However, specific stores and buildings are often different or carry fictionalized branding compared to their real life counterparts, replacing them with real-life product placements or plot-important locations.

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, a video game adaptation of the manga franchise Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara, features similar gameplay and thematic links to the Yakuza / Like a Dragon franchise, with many of its characters like Kenshiro voiced by the same voice actors who play recurring characters in the main series games.

Battles end quicker by finishing the enemies using powerful moves called Heat Actions, which require the filling of the 'Heat Gauge' to become usable.

Toshihiro Nagoshi brought his story for Yakuza to scenario supervisor Hase Seishu two years before the game started development.

Seishu had been a video game player since the days of Space Invaders, but over the past four or five years he had lost interest, as he was less concerned with 3D visuals and gameplay than he was with story.

[28][29] The three Yakuza original soundtrack albums are composed by Hidenori Shoji, Hideki Sakamoto et alii and are published by Wave Master.

Additional soundtrack features songs from Japanese artists Crazy Ken Band, Zeebra, Ketsumeishi and Eikichi Yazawa.

Since the 2008 spin-off Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!, the game series' main characters have their face modeled in 3D after their voice actors.

The PlayStation 3 installments' realistic character design is based on Cyberware 3D scanner, Softimage XSI 6.5 3D models[30] and Sega's Magical V-Engine.

This includes a direct-to-video movie, a feature film, a stage play, original soundtracks, official guides, Kamutai Magazines (pre-order campaign limited book) and other licensed products such as Cropped Heads long tee shirts and parkas based on main characters tattoos,[68] limited edition PlayStation 3 console packs,[69][70] Kubrick toys[71] and action figures manufactured by Maitan.

Many of the new Yakuza series games since have included a new Kamutai Magazine issue as a preorder bonus in Japan, featuring a voice actress as cover girl.

Takeshi Miyasaka directed an original video during the promotion period for the Western release of the game, which depicted Kiryu, Nishikiyama, and Yumi growing up at the Sunflower Orphanage and leaving for Tokyo.

This short film called Like a Dragon: Prologue (龍が如く 〜序章〜, ryu ga gotoku -joshou-) serves as a prequel and sets up the events that take place in the game.

A film adaptation was released in Japanese theaters on March 2, 2007, called Like a Dragon: The Movie (龍が如く 劇場版, ryu ga gotoku: gekijoban).

[86] A television series was adapted based on the spin-off PSP title Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō which began airing on TBS on October 5, 2010, and ended after 11 episodes.

Main contents are audition and girls profile, but it can also be related to other aspect of the game series; for example volume 15 focuses on its soundtrack artists.

[89] A four-episode television drama titled "Yakuza: Soul Song" premiered in 2016, starring Shono Hayama in the lead role.

[90] A Japanese and American co-produced television series adaptation titled Like a Dragon: Yakuza premiered on October 25, 2024, with Ryoma Takeuchi in the lead role of Kazuma Kiryu.

[131] Taking the criticism into consideration, development staff member for Judgment Scott Strichart said players have the opportunity to empathize with the sexism experienced by female characters like Saori Shirosaki in the English localization.

[133] However, after Yakuza 4, Sega said that sales were slow in North America and Europe due to "the adverse market condition", noting "sluggish personal consumption" in those regions.

[140][141] One reviewer praised the detailed recreation of specific districts, including "trivial, incidental stuff", that enables virtual exploration of real-life locations.

[142] Although not explicitly marketed as "virtual tourism", another reviewer noted "Yakuza still gives you the best opportunity to really get engaged with a country and its people that I can think of.

[144] In 2020, an internet meme emerged utilizing deepfakes to generate videos of people and fictional characters singing the chorus of "Baka Mitai" (ばかみたい, lit.