Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the first main title in the Yakuza series to switch up the playable protagonist from Kazuma Kiryu, and instead, it treated players to Ichiban Kasuga as the main character. As the franchise decided to go down the RPG route, there's also a host of new characters that players can choose to have in their party.
In addition to Ichiban, there are six characters in total that you can recruit to your party, five of which come as a natural part of the story progression, and one secret party member that you can unlock through the business management minigame. If you're currently enjoying Like a Dragon and you're wondering all about your favorite character, read on!
7 Eri Kamataki
You'll first encounter Eri Kamataki as the owner of Ichiban Confectionery, but she's actually a secret party member that you can unlock by reaching the top 100 in the Company Management minigame.
What you might not realize is that Eri not just some fictional character, but is actually based on an actual Japanese model and actress who lent her name, appearance, and voice to the game. In the game, her default exclusive job role is Clerk, which sees her combining ninja-style fighting with office supplies as her weapons of choice.
Eri's birthday falls on the same day as that of her real-life counterpart, April 7th, 1995, making her twenty-four years old during the events of Like a Dragon. Her height is listed as 5'57".
6 Tianyou Zhao
Zhao is arguably the fan-favorite when it comes to Like a Dragon and it's not hard to see why as he absolutely exudes awesomeness with his unique style and killer battle moves. Zhao is the leader of the Yokohama Liumang, the Chinese mafia, which makes up one-third of the Ijin Three.
Players can have Zhao in their active party from Chapter 11 onwards, and his default exclusive job role is Gangster. In this role, Zhao uses a mixture of Chinese martial arts and swordplay and is an offensive powerhouse.
Though Zhao initially appears indifferent in his role as a mafia boss, once he becomes a party member, we get to see a softer side to him and learn more about his quirks and hobbies, such as that he loves to cook and especially likes to make chili shrimp.
5 Joon-gi Han
Han is a member of the Geomijul, a Korean-Japanese criminal organization that makes up another third of the Ijin Three. He is the second in command to the Geomijul's boss, Seong-Hui.
Han becomes an active party member during Chapter 10 and his exclusive default job is Hitman. This role has him using chain bracelets as his main weapon to add extra damage to his punch attacks. He also has gun abilities, which offer great shooting damage that is rarely resisted by enemies.
Spoilers ahead! For fans of the Yakuza franchise, Han is a familiar face as Joon-gi Han was a member of the Jingweon Mafia and one of the antagonists of Yakuza 6: Song of Life. However, during Like a Dragon you come to learn that Han is not the real Joon-gi Han, but is actually a man named Yeonsu Kim who underwent plastic surgery in order to act as a body double for his former boss, the real Han.
4 Saeko Mukoda
Saeko Mukoda becomes a party member during Chapter 5, though she's already a familiar face as she is the twin sister of Nanoha Mukoda, who players see before meeting Saeko. Naturally, it leads to the characters mistaking her for her sister at first.
Saeko was the mama of a hostess bar prior to joining up with Ichiban and friends, and her default exclusive job role is Barmaid. This job uses handbags as its primary weapon, though Saeko can use other cosmetic items during different skills. As well as attacking, this role can debuff enemies and buff the party, but ultimately it's not one of the best job roles and you'd be better off switching Saeko to another job as soon as you can.
3 Yu Nanba
Yu Nanba joins Ichiban's party during Chapter 3, and his default exclusive job role is Homeless Guy. This role uses cane-type items as its main weapons, with his default weapon being an umbrella. This job is great for inflicting fire attacks, as well as crazier attacks, such as sending a bunch of pigeons to attack enemies. Normal attacks in this role will allow Nanba to recover some MP.
Nanba is a useful party member to have as his unique character skills allow him to regain his own HP, replenish the HP of party members, and even revive fallen allies eventually. Nanba is a former nurse who lost his license and is living in a homeless camp when Ichiban first meets him. He is 41 years old during Like a Dragon.
2 Koichi Adachi
Koichi Adachi is technically the first party member that you'll recruit, with him temporarily pairing with Ichiban early on, before becoming a fully-fledged party member in Chapter 4.
Adachi is a former police officer, so it's no surprise that his exclusive default job role is Detective. Batons are the main weapons for this role, though Adachi also uses judo attacks. This role is essentially a tank and is great at drawing the attention of the enemy away from allies and protecting them.
Adachi is 59 years old during the events of Like a Dragon and despite his previous upstanding job on the police force, he reveals that he is terrible with money as he often spends it on boozes and women.
1 Ichiban Kasuga
Ichiban is the main protagonist of Like a Dragon, and he was also the main character in the Yakuza spin-off title Ryu ga Gotoku Online. He has a back tattoo of a dragonfish, showing the in-between state of a koi during its legendary journey of swimming upstream to become a dragon. This tattoo earned him the nickname of "The Rock-Bottom Dragon".
He was born on January 1, 1977, making him 42 years old for the majority of Like a Dragon, though during the first chapter he is only 23. He is listed as being 6' 0" in height. Ichiban is fiercely loyal to his friends and patriarch, and he possesses many qualities such as confidence and passion, which make him particularly endearing to all. It's no wonder that he managed to recruit so many allies to his cause with his charismatic personality.
Ichiban's youth largely consisted of him growing up in a soap house playing games, namely his favorite title — Dragon Quest. Some of the RPG elements within the games are explained away as being Ichiban's imagination, such as enemies and party members transforming when battles begin. He also compares many of his real-life tasks to games, such as referring to quests and leveling up.