Mintrocket’s boss says it’s a great honor to have these guest stars in Dave The Diver.

When a collaboration between two brands creates some kind of crossover, it can be a great idea or it can be a big flop. The fact that Dave The Diver is getting a Like a Dragon DLC doesn’t seem like a bad idea, and the backstory is quite nice. Mintrocket’s DLC (due out in April) will bring Ichiban Kasuga to the game, as well as many other characters and mini-games from the franchise. Writing on the PlayStation Blog, Jaeho Hwang, director of Dave The Diver, explained how the collaboration came about:

“As some of you may already know, I’ve often cited the Like a Dragon series as one of my greatest game inspirations. From the original release in 2005 to the latest RPG iterations, I’ve been captivated by the rich character development and genre-defining gameplay. It’s been a dream of mine to invite these iconic characters into Dave’s world, and now that dream is becoming a reality,” Hwang wrote. But it’s not just a marketing ploy, because if you dig a little deeper, you’ll learn the rest of the story.

One LinkedIn post in particular is worth highlighting, in which Hwang recounts how he met Masayoshi Yokoyama, the head of the Like a Dragon (formerly Yakuza) franchise. According to Hwang, he was screaming like a K-Pop fan when he met Yokoyama and had him sign his dialog book (containing the first Yakuza story), which has been preserved since 2005. Since he also mentioned here that Dave The Diver was inspired by Like The Dragon, what Hwang says seems quite credible.

In the Like a Dragon DLC, Ichiban and the Survive Bar bartender are taking a break at the Blue Hole when they stumble upon a sinister conspiracy involving a dolphin hunting syndicate that trusty Dave is helping them unravel. The DLC also includes a beat ’em up-style infiltration mission in which Ichiban and a former arms dealer named Cobra infiltrate the poachers’ hideout, while together we can cheer on Ichiban’s unforgettable karaoke performances and hire various other Like a Dragon characters to staff our restaurant.

DLC coming in April.

Source: PCGamer, PS Blog, LinkedIn