S2 E44 - Yakuza 7: Like A Dragon Quest For Gangsters

This week, we’re talking about Yakuza 7 ...which is Like a Dragon (Quest). It’s a video game where players play as a Dragon Quest FAN, Ichiban Kasuga, which makes it fairly unique. It basically feels like Grand Theft Auto and classic arcade beat ‘em ups combined to make a weird gangster RPG baby.  It's really good, and even though we haven't gotten terribly far ito the game, we wanted to kind of give you an overview of what to expect and whether or not this was worth picking up for DQ fans. (Spoiler alert: it probably is.) We’re going to try to keep actual story spoilers to a minimum because the game is so new, so this episode is really just focusing on all the ways Yakuza 7 is like DQ, in terms of gameplay. In a way, it feels almost like DQ fan fiction, and we say that with as much love as we can. The protagonist is Ichiban Kasuga, a huge DQ fan who wants to be a Hero. He thinks about getting into fights like DQ games, so we get turn-based combat. You get cool party members who use an umbrella like a white mage staff, that sort of thing. It's great.  Over the course of the game, there are Puff-puff references, you can have monster arena-style fights, and there's even a Job System! You can be a Dancer, a Fortune Teller, Riot Police, or even an Idol. It's a lot like DQ 7's vocations, except instead of Alltrades Abbey, you go to the Employment Office.  For more details and info, just listen, would ya? Hit us up at @professorbeej, @dragonquaustin, or @dragonquestfm on Twitter. We also have a Discord server where you can join us to talk DQ whenever you want!