Yakuza Fans Pick Bizarre Official Merch: Traffic Cones, Cult Clothes

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the iconic Yakuza / Like a Dragon series, and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is celebrating in style by letting fans decide on the next official merchandise. The choices are as diverse as they are eccentric, featuring everything from cult clothes to traffic cones, golden underwear, and beyond. With a staggering selection of 100 different items to choose from, RGG Studio has promised to bring the top two fan-voted items to market within the next two years. Although the competition is currently listed in Japanese, fans can cast their votes on the official website.

The merchandise options range from the conventional to the utterly bizarre. More typical items include a 20th anniversary celebration hoodie and a Yakuza-themed pencil case. However, the franchise's famously wild history offers more unusual choices, such as the cult outfit worn by Munan Suzuki, leader of The Order of Munan Chohept Onast cult in Yakuza 0, the giant traffic cone Majima uses to ambush Kiryu in Yakuza Kiwami, and the eye-catching "Puffy Gold Pants."

Other intriguing items up for vote include the sake Majima sips in a shack in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the gold watch sported by fan-favorite Akiyama, the fountain pen Kiryu uses to write to Dojima in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, the tambourine Kashiwagi plays during karaoke in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Kiryu's wrestling mask from Yakuza 3, and Saejima's prisoner uniform from Yakuza 4, among many other quirky offerings.

As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations, fans can look forward to at least one new release in 2025: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, scheduled for February 21. While RGG Studio marked the 10th anniversary with the beloved prequel Yakuza 0, no similar project has been announced for the later part of this year. However, given RGG Studio's track record of rapid development, the possibility of multiple releases in a single year isn't out of the question. Over the past five years, they've launched an impressive lineup including Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Judgment Remastered, Lost Judgment, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, along with two Super Monkey Ball games and an enhanced remaster of Virtua Fighter 5, totaling nine games.