Like a Dragon Bonus: Slot Review

A look at one of the game's overlooked corners.

I’m going to be talking about virtual video game gambling here. If you have had a gambling problem and you feel it’s possible that reading about simulated gambling could send you back in a bad way, I want you to please close the window. It’s not worth it. Everyone interested in modern video game design should read Addiction by Design.

I first encountered Japanese slots and pachinko while digging through the really obscure end of the PS2 import catalog back in the day, and I was fascinated. Especially on the licensed and anime side of things, some of these machines had extremely high effort behind them! High-quality original animation, unique mechanical gimmicks… it was all pretty impressive.

One imported Fist of the North Star machine later¹, I got the bug out of my system. But it was a really pleasant surprise for me— and perhaps nobody else— when I saw that Like a Dragon included a pretty strong selection of real-life Japanese slot machines. It’s not the first time the series has done this, but it has been a while.

So I thought that the really unique point of view I could offer is reviewing this one extremely specific section of the game that I’m actually kind of familiar with.

(Mahjong? I guess I’m familiar with mahjong, but that’s not so unique anymore, is it?)