Party Members - Yakuza: Like a Dragon Guide - IGN (2024)

Across Yakuza: Like A Dragon, there are seven different characters you can have in your party. However, they all arrive at different times (plus some will leave), only six of them are unmissable, they each have different unique jobs, and you can only have four active at any one time. The Jobs guide and Bond guide offers more information about getting the best out of each character, but if you just want to know who they are and when they arrive, this is the guide for you.

Ichiban Kasuga

Available From: Chapter 1

Default Job: Freelancer, Hero

Kasuga is the new player character in Yakzua: Like A Dragon, and as such you play as him from the start, and will spend the early portion of the game as him alone. In his default Hero role, he's a very accomplished fighter, and with lots of Hero weapons available throughout the game, you won't resent the fact he always needs to be in play. However, if he falls in battle, even if everyone else is on full health, you'll get a game over.

Koichi Adachi

Available From: Chapter 2, Chapter 4

Default Job: Detective

Adachi is briefly in your party for Chapter 2, but he doesn't really become a full party member until Chapter 4. A disgruntled cop, fired from the force for trying to tackle corruption, he's got a point to prove and nothing to lose.

Yu Nanba

Available From: Chapter 3, Chapter 10

Default Job: Homeless Guy

Nanba is the most streetwise of the party, and he's the one who saved Kasuga's life when his body was dumped in the homeless camp. He will leave the party for several Chapters at the end of Chapter 7, but when he returns, he brings some extremely powerful Pyro attacks with him.

Saeko Mukuoda

Available From: Chapter 5

Default Job: Barmaid

If you also get Eri in your party, you can experiment a little with Saeko's job, but without her, Saeko really needs to be an Idol so she can act as Healer. She offers some variety to the party, both in terms of the jobs available to her and her perspective on things. For a decent chunk of the mid game, it'll be Kasuga, Adachi, and Saeko as the default party, with Nanba before he leaves and possibly Eri if you succeed at business management.

Eri Kamataki

Available From: Chapter 5

Default Job: Clerk

Eri is the woman who works alongside you at Ichiban Confections, as part of Substory 15: Ijincho's Safety Net, which becomes available in Chapter 5. However, she will not join the party automatically, but will instead wait until Ichiban Confections is Rank 100 or higher. Since you can skip the business management minigame entirely after the first meeting, Eri is the only missable party member in the game.

• View How to Unlock the Secret Party Member

It is recommended that you have one female party member in the Idol role at all times, since this is the game's best healer. Therefore, without Eri, you will not get to explore the female job options.

Joon-gi Han

Available From: Chapter 10

Default Job: Hitman

Joon-gi Han is named after and looks like Joon-gi Han from Yakuza 6, but narratively, is a different person. In Chapter 14, you will meet a fan favorite Yakuza character who alludes to this. Relative to your level when you face him, Joon-gi is one of the game's toughest bosses in Chapter 7. Once he joins your team in Chapter 10, he becomes a valuable ally.

Tianyou Zhao

Available From: Chapter 11

Default Job: Gangster

You meet Zhao fairly early in the game, but he's the last available party member, coming hot on Joon-gi Han's heels in Chapter 11. As you go into the endgame, it pays to have a wide variety of jobs with different skillsets and elemental attacks, so it's well worth keeping Zhao trained up rather than just sticking with what got you here.