The new Like a Dragon: Yakuza teaser trailer oozes style but doesn’t give much away, including which of the franchise’s video games it takes its cues from. So, what Yakuza game is Like a Dragon Season 1 based on?
What Yakuza Game Is Like a Dragon Season 1 Based On?
Like a Dragon: Yakuza Season 1 is loosely based on Yakuza, the first installment in the Like a Dragon video game franchise. Both the show and the game chart the exploits of Kazuma Kiryu, a Yakuza who spends 10 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Like a Dragon also seemingly draws inspiration from the 2016 remake Yakuza Kiwami, which adds a flashback subplot to the original game’s narrative. This subplot focuses on Kiryu’s best bud Akira Nishikiyama, who is set to appear in the Prime Video adaptation. That said, Prime Video’s press materials note that Like a Dragon: Yakuza Season 1 will incorporate characters and themes that “games in the past have not been able to explore.” So, don’t expect the show to mirror the video game exactly.
Related: Live-Action Like a Dragon Series Coming to Prime Video
Check out Prime Video’s official synopsis for Like a Dragon: Yakuza Season 1 below:
“Like a Dragon: Yakuza is a crime-suspense-action series as well as a live-action adaptation with an original story based on SEGA’s global hit game franchise, Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The story is set in Kamurochō and tells the story of the main character, Kazuma Kiryu, and his growth through an original screenplay. The series is directed by the critically acclaimed Masaharu Take and features Ryoma Takeuchi as the lead character, Kazuma Kiryu. Spanning across 1995 and 2005, the series follows the lives of childhood friends, and the repercussions of the decisions of Kazuma Kiryu, a fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty, and humanity.”
Is Like a Dragon Season 1 Connected to the Like a Dragon Movie?
Nope, Like a Dragon: Yakuza Season 1 is entirely separate from 2007’s Like a Dragon: The Movie. Honestly, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The film also adapts the first Yakuza game, so there’s limited scope for it to co-exist with the new show.
Related: The Best Order to Play the Yakuza/Like a Dragon Series
Similarly, the Prime Video series isn’t set in the same universe as any of the earlier Like a Dragon TV shows. This includes 2010 drama Black Panther: Like a Dragon New Chapter and its 2012 follow-up, and four-part miniseries Yakuza: Soul Song.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza premieres on Prime Video on Oct. 24, 2024.
Published: Aug 1, 2024 09:26 am