Highlights
- The Like a Dragon franchise is at an all-time high, with three new games released and a new TV series announced.
- Sega hinted at a surprising new game with the trademark filing for “Yakuza Wars,” possibly a crossover with New Sakura Wars.
- Fans can expect more information on Yakuza Wars at Tokyo Game Show.
The stocks have never been higher for the Like a Dragon franchise. Three games in the series were recently released within 12 months of each other: Ishin, The Man Who Erased His Name, and Infinite Wealth; a new TV series was announced from Amazon Prime, and Sega confirmed it already has more titles in the works.
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Back in June, during its “Essence of Fandom” event at Anime Expo in LA, Sega revealed that fans of the series would be “surprised” by its next game, and if a new trademark is to be believed, it’s certainly not wrong.
Yakuza Wars Trademarked By Sega
First Spotted by Chizai Watch, the trademark is for a new title interestingly named Yakuza Wars. One of the many notable things about the trademark is that Sega is seemingly reverting to the old branding of “Yakuza” rather than Like a Dragon, as the series is now known.
While little else is revealed from the trademark filing, speculation has risen that this could be a crossover between the Like a Dragon franchise and another Sega series, New Sakura Wars.
Sakura Wars gameplay is conceivably a perfect fit for the Sega series, with elements from Action RPGs, dating sims, and visual novels combined. It’s easy to see how Like a Dragon could fit into all three of these genres, and the reveal of a Sakura Wars-esque game would certainly fit the “surprising” bill teased by Ryu Ga Gotoku.
The next game in the series is confirmed to be revealed during Tokyo Game Show next month, so we don’t have long to wait to potentially see whatever Yakuza Wars is.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon
Yakuza: Like a Dragon, known internationally as Yakuza 7, introduces a new cast of characters and an entirely new battle system. It also marked the first time a Yakuza game was available with both the original Japanese cast, and a localized English version.