I stumbled upon the cabaret club by chance. I was given limited time to play Like A Dragon Gaiden and told to explore thoroughly. But I didn’t expect to stumble upon this.
I emerge into a city on a boat, complete with replica Osaka Castle. It’s a hedonistic theme park, a Japanese Las Vegas, filled with gambling parlours, women in bunny ears, and a giant clown. Everything is luminous.
I potter around for a bit, eager to find out what awaits me in each building. The Like A Dragon (or Yakuza) series is known for its mini-games: mini car racing, karaoke, club management. Many of these return for Gaiden, including the cabaret club.
That’s where we meet. Her name is Kaname and she’s a real woman – indeed, that’s the actress’ real name, I later discover. I can choose from three women for this “date”, but the Gamescom demo build I’m playing has only one available. This isn’t the first time the series has included live-action mini-games, although it is the first time for this kind of experience. For me, the sudden change from in-game graphics to live-action here is jarring to say the least.