Ichiban will find out who Kazuma Kiryu is in the next title.
We have seen that Ichi has little idea of who forced him off the yakuza and had the information about Aoki. It stands to reason that he will probably find out in the next title. Whether it is an old newspaper clipping of Haruka's downfall and he will go "Hey, that face looks familiar," or someone will make an offhand comment. I mean, it didn't take Nakahara long to recognise Kiryu and know who he was.- Confirmed: Kiryu returns as the secondary protagonist of Infinite Wealth and forms a friendship with Ichiban.
The turn-based battle sequences are all in Ichiban's head from playing too much Dragon Quest.
Dragon Quest is a turn-based combat JRPG where the hero is usually accompanied by a party. Obviously, some battle actions (particularly in regards to healing) are not possible in reality.So what may be happening is that Ichiban and co. are just having a punch-up in real life, but summoning his Poundmates and applying status effects in his own head.- Confirmed: It was indeed revealed that Ichiban is thinking this through his head, and he wasn't lying when he said that it was bizarre.
Kiryu might turn up again in another game.
Even though Nero effectively succeeds Dante as the main protagonist from Devil May Cry 5 onwards, it's more than likely that he'll still be around when shit hits the fan. The same can likely be said of Kiryu. Even though his story has long since been wrapped up in Yakuza 6, Kiryu may occasionally lend a helping hand to Ichiban more or less as if he were doing a substory. Hell, his encounter with Ichiban during Chapter 14 would pretty much play out just like a substory from Kiryu's perspective, if anything.It's also worth noting that, after Shin Amon's defeat, Kiryu points out that Ichiban isn't his direct successor, but one who "follows his own path", as he puts it.
After all, most long-running franchises don't quite retire their main protagonists as often as they'd like.
- Confirmed: Kazuma Kiryu will return in not only his own spin-off, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, but also as the secondary protagonist of Like A Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth.
The next game will heavily involve the Yomei Alliance.
With the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance having disbanded, the Yomei Alliance are likely to take advantage of the power vacuum and attempt to seize control of Ijincho, which Ichiban and his allies will have to contend with.- Downplayed: Matsunaga and Tagashria only appear as part of Kiryu's Life Links and it's also implied that the Yomei Alliance has kept its policy of sticking to Hiroshima. It is instead the Seiryu Clan which has taken advantage of the power vacuum and become the dominant yakuza organization in Japan after the dissolution.
This will be the last game entitled Yakuza in the west, with the next title being Like a Dragon 2.
In real life, the Yakuza have been heavily damaged by anti-Yakuza laws. With the disbanding of the Tojo and Omi, the next game will focus on non-Yakuza crime gangs and the series will drop the Yakuza title going forward. This will mean Ryu Ga Gotoku 8 will be Like a Dragon 2, confusing everyone.- Confirmed on the "Yakuza will be dropped" part, however, the next game will just be called Like a Dragon 8.
Future Entries will have more optional party members, possibly recruited via sidequests.
In the various minigames such as real estate in these games have you recruit managers via completing their sidequests, why not make at least a few into full fledged party members? Potential future party members for the next games.
Returning members:
- Adachi
- Nanba
- Saeko
- Joon-gi Han
- Zhao
- Eri, although possibly unlikely due to her being a fictionalized version of herself.
- All of them save for Eri return in Infinite Wealth.
New members:
- Seong-hui, to make up for her lack of action and characterization. Not to mention she was voted as most requested party member in a poll.
- Confirmed.
- Mitsuo, he was Ichiban's friend in the Arakawa family, might as well have him tag along.
- Long shots, but Mitsuo and Taichi from Yakuza 3. The timing works out; they'd be young adults by this point in the narrative and both have a readymade Job based on their backgrounds of Baseball Player and Wrestler respectively.
- Downplayed: Taichi appears in one of Kiryu's Life Links, but not as a party member,
Guest members:
8 will be Grid-based.
YLAD got some flack for Enemy Area skills being hard to use, the blocking (attack interruption) mechanics and the weapon mechanics (you can just happen to be in front of a weapon, but there's no way to determine whether you'll pick it up or kick it). Therefore, to fix these problems, 8 will be grid-based. "Ryu Aoki" died, but "Masato Arakawa" lived.
In short, it's theoretically possible that the young master survived that final Heel–Face Door-Slam from Kume, following along with the trend of bookend plots. We know Ichiban was able to narrowly survive getting shot by being taken by Arakawa to the hobo camp where he was healed by Nanba. Heck, the camp has an official agreement to take in and heal anyone alive that any Arakawa brings to them, hide their identity, and let them escape back out into society. Thus, the one out that allows Ichiban to save Masato without being immediately arrested by police and likely executed. This would both mirror Arakawa successfully saving Masato as a baby from those lockers so long ago, and Arakawa 'saving' the shot Ichiban after his release from prison. 'Ryu Aoki' is declared dead, mirroring the way Masato was once before, the only people left to know of his true fate being Ichiban and the camp. As a note, this would also help to explain why Ichiban isn't utterly beside himself at the funeral; he already has had a chance to process his grief over Arakawa, and didn't have to have his foster brother die in his arms after all. Masato truly does get to rise from the bottom once again, now under another new identity, grasping for that ray of hope once again, as Ichiban did before.