Masayoshi Yokoyama, head of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, said that he was heavily inspired by One Piece when developing Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
This information was first published by Crunchyroll during an exclusive interview with Yokoyama. If you’re interested in games from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and SEGA, you can check out our other articles here.
Masayoshi Yokoyama Was Inspired by One Piece When Developing Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Speaking with Crunchyroll, Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed that One Piece was on his mind during the entire process of writing Yakuza: Like a Dragon. In essence, the game was Yakuza: One Piece in Yokoyama’s mind.
I’ve never really talked about this before, so I’m not sure if I should now, but for [Yakuza: Like a Dragon] I was really inspired by One Piece. To me, Ichiban is basically Luffy. Around him are Zoro, Nami, and basically the rest of the party, you know? The composition of the One Piece party was very much on my mind during writing and it was a huge influence.
If I remember correctly, even the catch copy for 7 was something like “Life is an adventure”, with the keyword being “adventure”. You can definitely feel the One Piece inspiration that appears there. This is obviously unofficial, but in my own heart, Yakuza 7 is basically my ideal version of what Yakuza would be: One Piece. That’s how I got the inspiration to make it!
Masayoshi Yokoyama, Head of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Surely this statement gives us a new way of looking at Yakuza: Like a Dragon. In retrospect, the game was a lighter version of the Yakuza franchise that featured a protagonist that, in retrospect, looked a lot like Luffy from One Piece.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store).
