Like a Dragon 8 Needs to Balance Its Protagonists Carefully

gamerant.com:

Fans were recently finally able to delve into some massively important information and details regarding the massively anticipated Like a Dragon 8. With information around the game and a slew of other titles being revealed at the recent Ryu Ga Gotoku summit, the next phase of the popular franchise has finally been outlined.

While Like a Dragon 8 received relatively little time in the spotlight at the presentation, enough was revealed to paint a picture of the game's plot and even the game mechanics. Crucially, the summit confirmed that the iconic franchise characters of Kazuma Kiryu and Ichiban Kasuga will act in dual protagonist roles, which is an extremely ambitious choice that requires a very fine balance to work properly.

Like a Dragon Gaiden Will Be A Smaller Scale Game Than Other Yakuza Games

While many fans were right in their predictions that Like a Dragon 8 would follow from the story of the well-received Yakuza: Like a Dragon and reprise Ichiban Kasuga as a protagonist, many were very surprised at the addition of series veteran Kazuma Kiryu in a seemingly equally-large role. The game will likely favor Ichiban in terms of screen-time and importance due to his role as the new face of the mainline franchise, but Kiryu will probably still play a big role in the game. In addition to this, a spin-off franchise title called Like a Dragon Gaiden was announced at the summit, which is set to feature Kiryu as a primary sole protagonist, telling his story between the events of Yakuza 6 and Like a Dragon.

Many fans were surprised at this revival of Kiryu-centric content in the franchise, as many saw Yakuza 6 as the farewell title for the longstanding character, and were subsequently expecting a much more reduced role in future