What is a Yakuza story if not filler until the next side quest? Yakuza: Like A Dragon has a good narrative, but the real treat players often come back for are the hijinks involved with the side quests. While some fans may be disappointed that Kazuma Kiryu has been replaced by the newcomer Ichiban Kasuga, don’t fear - this entry still delivers where it matters.

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The side quests will not disappoint, from grannies racing around on kimchi to brawls with orange-headed mascots to encounters with literal ghosts. Not everything will be detailed about these quests, but there will be some spoilers involved in order to better discuss each mission.

Updated October 8th, 2022, by Leah Isobel: The Yakuza games are renowned for their endless flow of side content. While Yakuza: Like A Dragon changes the gameplay style, it carries on the tradition of excellent sidequests. Dedicated fans are still finding new quests to dig into two years after the original game’s release, but if you’re new to the game and want some direction, we’ve got you covered with even more sidequests to seek out.

15 Whispers Of The Underworld

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Ichiban debating whether or not to give a shopkeeper a secret password

One of Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s greatest qualities is its bounty of Easter eggs for players familiar with the mainline Yakuza games. And if you’ve played Yakuza 3, Whispers Of The Underworld will bring you face-to-face with a character you may have thought you’d never see again.

You can pursue this quest by talking to Iroha after you unlock the gambling hall; she’ll give you the password for a mysterious underground weapons shop run by a familiar face. By finishing this quest, you’ll gain access to a new shop and, once you get further into the game, a new Poundmate.

14 Welcome To Dragon Kart

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Ichiban starting a Dragon Kart race at night

Like A Dragon is full of meta-commentary on video games, using its modern setting to amplify the absurdity of normal gaming activities. The Dragon Kart questline, which is kicked off by the Welcome To Dragon Kart quest, is a prime example.

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To initiate this quest, you’ll have to find the old man who runs the Dragon Kart tournament in Hamakita Park. Speaking with him will unlock the Dragon Kart minigame, an in-universe take on Mario Kart-style racing, complete with coins and item boxes. It’s a nice break from the more story-focused content elsewhere in the game.

13 Forget-Me-Not

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Kaede stopping Ichiban on the street

While much of Like A Dragon’s side content is goofy, its sidequests can also lead to some of the game’s most emotional moments. And nothing in the game is more emotional than Forget-Me-Not.

You’ll start this quest by walking on the Carriage Highway in Yokohama; you’ll be stopped by a young woman named Kaede, who thanks you for saving her life some time ago. What follows is one of the most beautifully told stories in the game, capped with a gut-punch final scene that brings new depth to Ichiban’s character.

12 The Masked Murderer

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing a blood-drenched masked man grunting while holding a large knife

The Masked Murderer is the kind of sidequest indicative of the game’s overall tone: it swings from goofy to dramatic and back before concluding unexpectedly. It’s a campy nod to iconic slasher movies like Friday The 13th and one of the most memorable quests in the game.

To start this quest, you’ll have to approach a group of people gathered near Hyakei Street in Koreatown. They’ll discuss a scary masked murderer who’s been seen nearby, and you can decide to do them a favor and investigate. Finishing this quest nets you a new Poundmate, so it’s worth the effort.

11 The Lone Survivor

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Ichiban embracing Iroha

This quest requires a little more legwork than the rest, but if you enjoy the game’s sillier side, it’s worth pursuing. To complete The Lone Survivor, you’ll have to finish all the romantic sidequests in the game, which are scattered across the preceding chapters.

Doing so will unlock this quest during Chapter 15. Visit the second story of the Survive Bar, then sit back and watch as all hell breaks loose. But you’ll get a defense boost at the end, so it’s all worth it?

10 Who’s That Sujimon!?

A screenshot of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing the player choosing between green, red, and blue enemies in the Sujimon sidequest

This automatic quest happens when a streaker attacks the party in Chapter 4. Afterward, Ichiban and his friends are recruited by the Sujimon Professor to track down and categorize lost experiments.

In practice, this means that the game will track every enemy you fight in a digital Sujidex, initiating a hunt to find the rarest enemies all across Yokohama. Are you starting to get the reference? Perhaps we’ll get a Yakuza: Like A Pikachu spinoff next.

9 Baby Don’t Cry

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Ichiban standing in a nursery with the Gondawara clan

One of the most iconic quests from the mainline Yakuza games introduced the Gondawara clan, who enjoy being treated like babies behind closed doors. Like A Dragon nods to this fan-favorite sidequest with Baby Don’t Cry, which brings back the oddball crime family.

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To initiate this quest, you’ll need to find the man being hassled for baby formula on Ohama Street. Things spiral out of control from there, culminating in Ichiban himself enjoying a bottle of warm milk and raising his Passion stat in the process - and you’ll even gain a new Poundmate summon for use in battle.

8 Persimmon Premonition

A screenshot of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing a little girl sitting in a wheelchair in a vacant lot

This quest involves a little girl, Kanako, who believes she will die when this last persimmon falls from the tree. Ichiban is tasked with protecting the fruit until her operation goes smoothly, but protecting the fruit and tree is anything but smooth.

Ichiban has to fend off a practicing sumo wrestler, a trained sniper, and a jealous boy wishing to curse his ex-girlfriend. The end to this is one of the sweeter tales in the game - plus, it has a great payoff via a new Poundmate.

7 Bubble, Bubble Toil And Trouble

A screenshot of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Awano hiding behind a wall

This side quest features a man named Awano who ran out of a bubble bath when he heard about a family emergency. The emergency was so intense, in fact, that he forgot to put on clothes... and is only wearing bubbles.

You’ll have to guide Awano to a clothing store in order to make him presentable, all while trying to dodge water being thrown around. It’s as goofy as it sounds.

6 Fifty Shades Of Play

A screenshot of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Yumiko glaring into the camera

This quest begins with Ichiban witnessing a dominatrix, Yumiko, being bullied in the streets by her fellow workers. After scaring them away, the quest then picks up with a man known as Mr. Masochist.

Even though he wants to have fun in the club like a normal masochist, his skin is too tough to be damaged. The rest of this side quest is best witnessed while playing, but rest assured - it’s exactly what you think it is.

5 Preparing To Suck

A screenshot of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Ichiban preparing to fight a giant vacuum

This is a costly quest because Professor Okita needs a million yen to create the ultimate vacuum, Sojimaru. Once players do, this eventually turns into a boss battle because the dear old professor programmed his robot wrong - it cannot stop cleaning, no matter what.

This would be a good enough setup for a quest on its own, but the best part of this whole exchange is that the professor keeps calling Ichiban “Lord Shrub” because of his hair.

4 The Miracle Of Spice

A screenshot of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Ichiban staring at a pot of spicy kimchi

This one begins with an old woman named Umeko, who can’t cross the street before the crosswalk fades away. She refuses help from Ichiban, but he finds a way to put some pep in her step via spicy kimchi.

There’s a local peddler that sells the hottest in the city, which Ichiban discovers the hard way. It’s Like A Dragon in a nutshell: in trying to do good, you’ll come up against seemingly impossible odds and find strange solutions.

3 Ringleader Roundup

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Ichiban facing an angry bear

This quest actually has three separate entries, all under the head banner of Ringleader Roundup. The basic premise is that Ichiban meets a ringleader in Hamakita Park named Yasuda. He believes his animals are well-trained, but they manage to escape every time, leading to a boss fight.

You’ll go from fighting a bear, to a tiger, to a monkey... operating heavy machinery. Suffice it to say that this questline gets totally bananas.

2 The Michio Minefield

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing two people dressed in Michio costumes staring at each other

The Michio Minefield is also the first of a longer questline, one that’s so goofy it’s worth seeking out. In it, Ichiban helps out a businessman, Hironaka, who is trying to discover fake merchandise of a mascot character called Ono Michio.

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This then leads to the sequel quest, Faux Michio, which is stacked to the brim with goofy puns like “Ono Michio is gonna suit up and Ono-beatchio all of you!”

1 The Crawfish Caper

A screenshot from Yakuza: Like A Dragon, showing Ichiban contemplating whether or not to take a crawfish with him

While walking past the homeless area, Ichiban discovers a crawfish. Thinking it crawled out of the river, he decides to pitch it back in, only to discover it was a pet named Nancy via its owner, Ebihara.

Ichiban eventually finds Nancy again and delivers it to Ebihara, only to find out he has been raising her as a baby just to get the meat perfectly tender. It takes a dark turn, but it ends on a happy note.

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