The Steam Machine PC Gaming Podcast · Dalton Suter, Willie Eaton, TeamRetrogue

Yakuza: Like A Dragon (Part 1: Gameplay and Side Stuff)

·1 hr 35 min·5 clips

Ichiban tackles a porn seller and yells about "animal fuck videos" being sold to kids.

The episode opens with a messy computer problem and a joke about doing the whole thing from a handheld because PCs are a pain in the ass. That gets the tone set fast: the session is here for Like a Dragon, and it is not pretending to be polished about it. The hosts lean into the idea that the music should sound like Dragon Quest, because that would make Ichiban happy. The opening stretch is mostly the kind of wandering banter they are good at, where the topic takes a little while to arrive but still feels like the point. Once they settle into the game, the conversation stays focused on the early hours and the weird charm of Ichiban's setup. The starting class gets called out as homeless guy, which is exactly the sort of dumb-perfect detail they enjoy. His early combat moves turn into a running joke because they are funny and, somehow, dead on. Seeds, pigeons, homemade alcohol, a lighter, bad breath. The game keeps turning nonsense into combat logic, and the hosts are clearly into that. They do not treat the absurdity like a gimmick. They treat it like the whole idea. Nanba becomes the first real side conversation. They keep circling him because he does not feel like a simple party member. His former nurse background, his criminal side business, and the possibility that he is not telling the whole truth all make him seem like the kind of character this series loves to tuck layers into. One host says there is more to him, and the other nods along without trying to force a clean answer too soon. That matters. They are interested in the mystery, but they are not pretending they have solved it. From there, the discussion widens into the party structure. They count the people they have met so far and go through them one by one. Nanba is in there. Adachi is in there. Ichiban's sister is in there. Another party member tied to the management game is in there too. It feels like they are mapping the shape of the group as much as they are talking about individual scenes. That is the right way to talk about a game like this, because the party is part of the joke and part of the emotional weight. The management mode gets singled out as something one of them already loves and the other has not reached yet. That becomes the kind of eager, slightly impatient teaser that only works when the person describing it genuinely wants the other host to catch up. The segment does not try to explain the whole system. It just makes clear that it exists, that it matters, and that it is one more reason the game keeps sprawling sideways. They keep leaning on small descriptive details instead of making broad pronouncements. They talk about how the class system looks, how the spells read, and how the game keeps finding room for ridiculous tools that still have clear mechanical effects. The result is not a formal review. It is more like a shared discovery session with a lot of interruptions and a lot of agreement. That is the show's strength. It sounds like people who are actually playing the thing, not grading it from a distance. There is also a nice sense of pacing in the way they move from jokes to explanation. A line about Dragon Quest music turns into a bit about the JRPG report. A joke about the starting class turns into a real talk about how combat skills work. A throwaway comment about Nanba turns into speculation about his whole deal. The episode keeps using little details as springboards for bigger reactions. That keeps the conversation moving without making it feel stiff. The whole thing stays anchored in early-game material, and that matters. They are careful about not drifting into full spoilery territory. When a topic starts pointing too far ahead, they pull back and leave it for later. That makes the episode feel like the first half of a longer run instead of a complete summary. It also keeps the energy exploratory rather than definitive, which suits both the game and the panel. By the end, the discussion has nailed down the game's personality through combat quirks, party setup, and side-content enthusiasm. The hosts sound amused, curious, and happy to let the game get ridiculous. They also sound comfortable enough with each other to leave the talk messy, which helps the whole thing breathe. That is probably why the episode works: it knows Like a Dragon is funniest when people let it be strange without sanding off the edges.

As heard by us

A focused hang on Ichiban's early absurdity, the first party members, and the side content around them.

This episode stays in the early stretch, where Ichiban's starting class, his odd combat tricks, the first party members, and the management-game detour set the tone.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a spoiler-light hang about Like a Dragon's weirdest early hours, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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