Goro Majima's role is confirmed in Like a Dragon 8

The director confirms that Goro Majima, a fan favorite, will appear in Like a Dragon 8 but with a small caveat.

Although there is a small catch to his appearance, the director of the upcoming Like a Dragon 8 will feature Goro Majima, who is a fan favorite. The Yakuza: Like a Dragon sequel, Like a Dragon 8, continues Ichiban Kasuga's misadventures from the previous mainline title. A returning Kazuma Kiryu will be playable alongside Ichiban as the game's protagonist, and he will have his own set of party members with the same JRPG mechanics as its predecessor. This may prompt some fans to wonder which characters will take part in the quest as well as who will be in the two heroes' party.

A brief showcase of cutscene videos from Like a Dragon 8 suggests that Saeko, Nanba, and Adachi are part of Ichiban Kasuga's party and are well-known Yakuza: Like a Dragon party members. On the other hand, Kiryu's party members remain a bit of a mystery because they could be brand-new characters created especially for the game or a variety of legacy characters, such as Goro Majima, Shun Akiyama, or even Taiga Saejima, to name a few options. Both the game's director, Masayoshi Yokoyama, and Majima's voice actor, Hidenari Ugaki, expect Goro Majima to at least make an appearance in the upcoming JRPG.

This was proven in a recent marathon stream of several Like a Dragon Yakuza games, from Yakuza 0 to Yakuza 6, in the Kiryu saga. Yokoyama and Ugaki had a sit-down interview on the stream where they talked about Majima's persona. (translated by Dragon Enterprise). Beginning with Yokoyama talking about how surprised he was by Majima's popularity, he even mentions how perplexed he was by the character's "legendary" status. To Ugaki's delight, Yokoyama subsequently affirms that Majima's popularity is what led to the character appearing in Like a Dragon 8.

Then, after confirming that Majima won't have a significant role in the game's plot, Yokoyama tempers fan expectations regarding his appearance in Like a Dragon 8. When Ugaki inquired about how much he was permitted to reveal about his appearance, Yokoyama responded that Majima would not be a member of the main cast because, as per the translation, he was a late addition to the game. As a result, Majima won't be a part of the playable party in Like a Dragon 8 and her screen time will be somewhat diminished.

With one of the most well-liked characters in the entire cast, some fans are divided over this choice. This implies that Majima will probably make fewer appearances in Like a Dragon 8's main plot than she did in Yakuza 5 and 6, which some people think is a waste. Others are hoping that despite his diminished role, he will still be contributing to the story and not just being there for fanservice.

Like a Dragon 8 will release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2024.

Source: Youtube