The most recent Yakuza game has introduced a new playable Hero, Ichiban Kasuga. Will he be able to overthrow the old legends and esteemed officers? Here are the Main Bosses in Yakuza: Like A Dragon ranked from worst to best. Please note that this article contains plot spoilers.
8. Akira Mabuchi
Akira Mabuchi is one of the early bosses in the game. You fight two times in the game and both these times, Mabuchi will have more people with him. He skillfully and elegantly wields a Chinese Guandao and his boss theme is a fan favorite. Mabuchi isn’t a difficult boss to beat and there aren’t any specialties in his fights.
The dynamic intro of this fight is very generic too. There aren’t any cool intro animations like most of the fights on this list.
Did you know that Like A Dragon‘s soundtrack is available on Spotify? It’s good workout music and all of the boss themes are there, including Mabuchi’s. Check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/album/7I23Ozytuydr8LCgRiHNY5?si=QuqAokzbQ_GpD5PApEdt5A
7. Reiji Ishioda
Reiji Ishioda is a boss on two occasions. Three occasions if you count the time when he tries to make Ichi‘s party into pancakes with a huge crane with a gigantic metal wrecking ball. He clearly isn’t afraid to use excessive and over-the-top methods to defeat his enemies. Like Mabuchi, Ishioda doesn’t have many animations and dynamic intros. He uses a pistol and brawling as combat methods. His boss theme is used in other fights as well, so it’s not as unique as other boss fights.
In one fight, he will have Yu Nanba with him, who was a member of Ichi‘s party at first. Despite using excessive force and destructive machinery, Ishioda is not difficult to beat. In another fight, he will have an assassin named Mirror Face with him.
6. Joon-Gi Han
Yakuza 6 players will remember Joon-Gi Han from that game. In Like a Dragon, Joon-Gi Han is the advisor of the Korean Mafia Geomijul. His upbeat theme from Yakuza 6 can be heard in this fight as well. He uses a variety of weapons like dual pistols, a karambit knife, and a stun gun. He’s a skilled Assassin after all.
After defeating him, you will be able to get him to join your party eventually and he’s a valuable asset.
5. Masato Arakawa
Masato Arakawa is the main villain and final boss of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The fight between Ichiban Kasuga and Masato Arakawa is an iconic one because this one final fight let players take part in a QTE like the old Yakuza games. And Ichiban does not fight Masato with his usual weapon, the baseball bat. Instead, this is a one-on-one fistfight that surely gave veteran Yakuza players good memories of the previous titles. This is an easy boss to defeat.
Masato Arakawa’s theme is very solemn and sad, with instruments like violins playing. While he doesn’t have a dynamic intro, the first and only QTE of this fight is brilliant.
4. Jo Sawashiro
Jo Sawashiro is the first boss of the game and also is one of the final bosses. Both of these fights have brilliant action sequences and music. In the first fight, Ichi fights Sawashiro alone. But in the other fight, Ichiban has the whole party with him and Sawashiro is way deadlier than ever.
The dynamic intro of the second fight with Sawashiro is absolutely action-packed and brilliant. His theme is so catchy and badass too. He uses a Katana in his first phase, but the blade breaks and he picks up a cane to continue the fight. One might say that the cane is less powerful than the Katana but they would be dead wrong. Sawashiro uses the Canne de Combat martial art from France for the second phase, and he’s way more aggressive.
The last phase is the deadliest and it’s also the one that looks the best. Sawashiro‘s cane breaks in half and he picks up the piece of the blade which broke from the Katana… This shocks the party and they comment about how vicious and savage Sawashiro is. This fight is perfect.
3. Kazuma Kiryu
Ichiban gets to fight the most legendary and strongest fighter in the Yakuza universe, the Dragon of Dojima himself. And guess what? Ichiban loses.
The dynamic intro is brilliant. Kiryu does his Beast Guard ability from Yakuza 0 and Kiwami at first. Then he performs the Komaki Knockback to throw Ichiban back, and the fight starts. There’s a surprise in this fight. Kiryu actually switches his fighting styles, as he did in Yakuza 0 and Kiwami. This style-switching surprises Ichiban, who knows nothing about Kiryu. He uses the regular Dragon Engine fighting style at first. Then he switches to Brawler, Rush, Beast and finally, the Dragon of Dojima style. In this ultimate style, he will use The Tiger Drop, his most powerful attack.
When Kiryu‘s health runs out, the fight ends. But the one who falls to the ground of exhaustion is Ichiban. Kiryu stands tall as if nothing happened. Kiryu then proceeds to punch Ichiban so hard, he gets knocked unconscious and has a dream. This is also a perfect boss fight.
2. Goro Majima and Taiga Saejima
Yes, you have to fight both of these beasts in one fight. This fight ends in a draw, and Majima and Saejima had obviously held back on Ichiban and his party.
The dynamic intro is really good and the soundtrack is insanely good. Majima and Saejima will use unstoppable moves that might knock Ichiban out instantly. This is one of the most difficult fights in the game, and no matter what your character level is, you will have serious trouble with the Mad Dog of Shimano and the Slayer of Eighteen.
In the fight, Saejima doesn’t use his Charged heavy attacks. He only uses his Rush combo but it’s enough to knock out almost any member of the party except maybe Ichiban. Majima doesn’t use his most powerful techniques either, for example, the leaping attack which allows him to slash multiple foes with quick succession, or the double kill heat action…
This fight would’ve been a single-sided massacre if they didn’t hold back.
1. Yosuke Tendo
Yosuke Tendo is the Senator Armstrong of Yakuza: Like A Dragon. He’s an overpowered monster who uses boxing as his fighting style. This conventional but lethal style consists of heavy and fast combos and insanely powerful punches. There is one punch called God’s Right Hand. This is a heavy right-hand boxing punch with tons of mass behind it. This punch WILL knock out anyone in the party with one hit. Even Ichiban won’t be able to withstand this attack. You will need Ichiban’s Peerless Resolve skill to win this fight.
The action sequences and dynamic intro of this fight are immensely satisfying to watch. The theme song is also extremely good and catchy.
Tendo has a Dragon Tattoo, so he’s obviously an insanely skilled fighter.
Ichiban and his friends will not survive if they don’t think tactically and fight Tendo very carefully. This just might be one of the greatest boss fights in the series.
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