Fighting style differences in Like a Dragon Gaiden explained
If you're not sure which fighting style you should use in Like a Dragon Gaiden, we're here to break them down and help you learn which to use and when.
In Like a Dragon Gaiden, Kiryu has two fighting styles, Agent and Yakuza, so you might be wondering what the differences are and which one is best to use in each scenario.
You can change Kiryu's fighting styles on the fly (unlike your outfits), and each one has particular uses, but is there a 'best' style in the game? And when should you change between them? Let's find out.
Which fighting style should you use?
Put simply, the Agent fighting style is better suited for taking on groups of enemies, while the Yakuza style is more suited to fighting single targets.
There is much more leeway to this, but that is the general idea of how you "should" use them. This means the 'best' fighting style to use will usually depend on the situation you find yourself in.
Agent style explained
Agent style's strengths are speed, range, and the new gadgets added in Like a Dragon Gaiden. Attacks in this style are lightning-fast and can cover a good deal of ground. Also, many attacks in this style can hit multiple enemies at once, especially in Heat mode.
The gadgets are particularly useful for clearing out groups of enemies; whipping enemies into each other or clearing a group with a cigarette bomb is great for crowd control.
That said, the Agent style is still perfectly usable against small groups or even single enemies. Likewise, the Yakuza style absolutely works against groups, it just works a bit better against one target at a time.
Yakuza style explained
Yakuza style is the familiar Kiryu fighting style, the attacks are slower than Agent style but they do quite a bit more damage per hit. This style incorporates more heavy attacks, giving you more ways to end your combos. Especially useful in one-on-one fights is the Heat mode for Yakuza style, which has Kiryu absolutely pummel a single target, doing huge damage.
In truth, there is no wrong answer when it comes to choosing a fighting style, but some situations are better suited to one style or the other. For maximum efficiency, we recommend you use Agent style when taking on groups of enemies, then Yakuza style for the tougher fights. That said, don't feel tied to using the styles exactly this way, use the style that feels the most fun for you.
Where previous Yakuza games that incorporated multiple fighting styles (Yakuza 0, for example) had more distinction between styles and a clearer sense of which you should use, Like a Dragon Gaiden's fighting style choices are more about personal preferences than right/wrong answers.
That is it for our Like a Dragon Gaiden fighting style guide. For more on the game, head to our Like a Dragon homepage for guides on how to lock on or how to increase Akame network level.
About The Author
Dave McAdam
Dave is a Senior Guides Writer at GGRecon, after several years of freelancing across the industry. He covers a wide range of games, with particular focus on shooters like Destiny 2, RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.
