The Yakuza (or Like a Dragon) franchise is known for being a tad wacky, but publisher Sega is bringing the weirdness to the real world by basically hosting a funeral for all the series’ dead characters in Tokyo.
As reported by Famitsu and translated by Siliconera, Sega is teaming up with department store chain Parco to host an exhibition where players can visit fake gravestones and leave flowers at portraits of the deceased video game characters.
A play on the latest game, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, the event will be called Like a Dragon: The Men Who Perished. It will cost ¥700 (around $5) to enter and will run from December 30 to January 15 in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Subsequent exhibitions will take place in Nagoya from January 20 to February 4 and Sapporo from February 16 to 25.
『龍が如く』シリーズ“散っていった男たちの追悼”をテーマにした展覧会
未プレイの方はネタバレ注意！ 池袋パルコにて12月30日より開催。葬儀場ゾーンでは好きなキャラクターの遺影に献花できる。位牌アクリルスタンドなどのグッズも販売。#龍が如く
https://t.co/FNbdYQUXiY pic.twitter.com/YOfE1TAzqJ
— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) December 13, 2023
Starting in 2005, the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise spans seven mainline games but 19 entries in total including spin-offs and remakes. And while its main protagonists Kiryu Kazuma and Ichiban Kasuga swear against murder, there are still plenty of dramatic deaths. One character was blown up atop a skyscraper alongside ¥10 billion, for example, while another was thrown from the top floor of a secret underground castle.
We won’t say exactly whose graves can be visited in the exhibition to avoid spoiling the games, but fans can also buy merchandise of their favourites. Dioramas, bookmarks, “death portrait charms”, face towels, gravestones, incense sticks, postcard books, stickers, tear-shaped can badges, tote bags, T-shirts, and more are all on offer.
The Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise is growing again in January 2024 with the release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which despite being the 20th game overall, is basically Yakuza 8. The series had a name change following 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7), with the subtitle becoming the series main name going forward.
Infinite Wealth takes players beyond Japan for the first time with a Hawaii map three times the size of the previous game’s. Developer Ryu Ga Gotaku Studio has otherwise promised a “monster class” video game.
In our preview of the game, IGN said: “[Our] time with Infinite Wealth was about as brief as Ichiban’s board shorts, but it left [us] to ponder the infinite possibilities for fun that might be hidden around its sizeable Hawaiian island expanse.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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