One Like A Dragon Gaiden Side Mission Has A Cool Connection To Judgment

Despite sharing a setting and game engine, the Judgment subseries has been fairly disconnected from the larger Like A Dragon franchise, but Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name finally has a proper Judgment crossover, which is good news for fans of both series. The Like A Dragon games, previously known as Yakuza in its Western releases, starred Kazuma Kiryu for the first seven mainline entries, which were beat-em-up style action RPGs. Yakuza: Like A Dragon introduced the new hero Ichiban Kasuga and switched to a turn-based JRPG format. Judgment, a detective genre spinoff, used the original combat style and followed Takayuki Yagami.

[Warning: This article contains story spoilers for Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.]

Many felt the Judgment‘s sequel improved on the original, and a few might even think Lost Judgment’s Yagami is the best hero featured in any of developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios’ games. The upcoming JRPG Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth will see the two mainline Like A Dragon stars, Kiryu and Ichiban, in a proper team-up, but Judgment fans have been hoping for a similar meeting with Yagami and the Yakuza heroes. Unfortunately, fans will have to keep waiting for Kiryu or Ichiban to fight alongside Yagami, but Like A Dragon Gaiden includes the next best thing in the Akame Network side mission called End The Destruction.

Yagami Does Not Appear In Like A Dragon Gaiden, But Kaito Does

The Akame Network offers the bulk of the game’s side stories in Like A Dragon Gaiden, as Kiryu, acting under the alias of Joryu, aids Sotenbori’s jack-of-all-trades and protector of the homeless in defending her hometown. Since the main story actually requires Kiryu to raise the Akame Network to level 10 to advance the story (which was arguably simply to pad the game’s short length), players would be wise to choose from Akame’s special missions, called Akame Network Requests. These net far more points than the random favors Kiryu can do for the townsfolk in the Network’s name, and some offer major cash rewards as well.

Following a guide to Like A Dragon Gaiden’s Akame Network quests can identify the most efficient ones for raising the Network level, but Judgment fans should prioritize End The Destruction. In this side story, Kiryu is assigned to investigate a disturbing pattern of “homeless hunts,” wherein Sotenbori’s unhoused are being violently assaulted. Following the trail of clues leads Kiryu to an encounter with Masaharu Kaito, Yagami’s partner in the Yagami Detective Agency from the Judgment series. In a scene mirroring a comic book superhero crossover, Kiryu and Kaito initially come to blows, as each mistakes the other for being the culprit behind the homeless hunts.

After sharing information, the two realize they are both working toward the same ends and team up to solve the case. Kiryu also later meets Kaito’s friend Toru Higashi. Kaito and Higashi are both ex-yakuza, like Kiryu, formerly allied with the Matsugane family. Though the absence of a Yagami appearance is disappointing, having Kiryu work alongside Kaito and Higashi might be more appropriate since they share the same background in organized crime. Yagami is an attorney turned private detective who occasionally still dons a suit and tie for the courtroom. There is a large gulf in ethics and priorities between Kiryu and Yagami, but Kaito is an ideal partner.

Kaito Has Common Ground With Like A Dragon Gaiden’s Kiryu

The original Judgment distanced itself from Yakuza intentionally, avoiding cameos and crossovers. Now that the legal drama and detective series has firmly established itself, fanservice like the Kaito cameo in Like A Dragon is more appropriate. Kiryu and Kaito identify the street gang Gehenna as the responsible party, but twists and surprises keep players guessing throughout the mission. Kiryu is a truly ethical person, concerned with the well-being of others, but Lost Judgment in particular made it clear that Yagami prioritizes the law over ideals of right and wrong. With their shared background in the yakuza, Kiryu and Kaito both realize the law does not always lead to ethical outcomes.