Yakuza has seen 'a large increase in new fans, including women', but the JRPG series will continue being about 'middle-aged guy things'

Despite gaining a wider audience, the Yakuza (now Like a Dragon) series will stay true to its focus on middle-aged protagonists and their relatable struggles, with developers citing the series' unique appeal in showcasing the humanity of aging characters.

Despite an influx of new fans, the long-running Yakuza (now Like a Dragon) series will continue being about "middle-aged guy things," according to the studio leads at Ryu Ga Gotoku.

"I think that this is precisely one of Like a Dragon’s selling points," said series director Ryosuke Horii in an interview with Automaton. "In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, everything starts with three unemployed middle-aged guys being like 'Let’s go to Hello Work.' They have a different air about them than a group of young heroes would, complaining about back pain and the like. But this 'humanity' you feel from their age is what gives the game originality."

Aside from the prequel entry Yakuza 0, in which lead protagonist Kazuma Kiryu is only 20, the mainline Yakuza games all center around men nearing or over 40 years of age. Kiryu is 37 in the first Yakuza and 55 in the most recent entry, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, while his co-lead protagonist Ichiban Kasuga is 42 when he makes his first appearance in Yakuza: Like a Dragon and 46 in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. While the story includes a diverse cast of characters of all ages, the main focus is on middle-aged members of various Yakuza families in Japan trying and often failing to separate themselves from the seedy underbelly of society.

Like a Dragon series lead planner Hirotaka Chiba added, "We’re making the hearty talks of middle-aged dudes our identity, rather than youthfulness," pointing to a scene in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth where one of the lead heroes, Koichi Adachi, voices reservations about drinking beer "because he's worried about his uric acid level."

"We have had a large increase in new fans, including women, which we’re truly happy and grateful for," said Horii. "However, we don’t plan to do anything like deliberately changing conversation topics in order to cater to new fans. That would make us unable to keep talking about things like uric acid levels… (laughs)"

Chiba cited another scene in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth in which Seonhee and Saeko's "girl talk gets hijacked by Nanba and ends up turning into guy talk" as another thing that will "keep on happening" in the series going forward.

Despite this relatively niche narrative appeal, the Yakuza series is more popular than ever. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth wasn't just the fastest-selling Yakuza game ever when it launched in January, it's also the best-reviewed Yakuza game to date, topping beloved entries like Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami 2. Ryu Ga Gotoku is also teaming up with Amazon to develop a live-action Like a Dragon TV series, which is due to premiere on Prime Video on October 25.

Find out which Yakuza game made our list of the best JRPGs ever.