Skip to main content

Don’t miss Like a Dragon Gaiden’s hilarious ChatGPT side-story

Substories often feature some of the best and funniest parts of the Like a Dragon games, and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is no different. From one that crosses over with Judgment to another where players fight a bunch of overweight criminals who call themselves the White Knights, the game is full of memorable side-quests. My favorite substory from Like a Dragon Gaiden — and possibly the entire series — stands out because it takes on something that’s been a hot topic in the tech space for the past year: ChatGPT.

AI has been the biggest buzzword in tech industries for the past year; just earlier this week, Microsoft announced it plans to partner with Inworld AI to create game-writing AI technology. There are plenty of controversial and potentially unethical uses of AI that people are wary of and unpacking. Like a Dragon Gaiden’ uses its signature brand of social satire to lampoon AI from a specific angle: by showing how bad AI is at giving dating advice.

Recommended Videos

This article contains spoilers for the Looking for Advice substory in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

Looking for Advice

Starting in Chapter 2 of Like a Dragon Gaiden, players can come across the Looking for Advice substory through the Akame Network. The mission begins with Kiryu going to a Smile Burger to meet a teenager who needs advice. When Kiryu gets there, it turns out the boy, named Kusano, is looking for advice on how to speak to a girl he likes named Takaishi. He says he no longer needs Kiryu’s help, though, as he’s using an artificial intelligence playfully named ChotDDT.

As Like a Dragon substories usually do, Looking for Advice pushes this premise to its logical extreme. ChotDDT convinces Kusano that he needs to jump off a bridge to impress Takaishi, and he runs out of the Smile Burger to do so before Kiryu can stop him. Kiryu pursues and eventually talks Kusano down by explaining that there will never be a date if he hurts himself. He then asks ChotDDT for advice again, and it tells him to try protecting Takaishi from an assailant to woo her.

Chot DDT in Like a Dragon Gaiden.
Sega

Kusano rushes off yet again before Kiryu can stop him, with Kiryu convinced that ChotDDT is just making Kusano a “menace to society.” As you can probably predict, this does not go well, as the violent punk Kusano tries to recruit gets mad at and attacks him. Kiryu steps in and beats up that punk, but even that is not enough to dissuade Kusano, who thinks the only reason Takaishi is talking to him is ChotDDT, as it had given him the words to finally ask her out. After using it to write a message full of cat puns, Takaishi and Kusano agree to meet in person.

Kiryu snoops in on this meetup and finds Kusano spouting terrible lines from ChotDDT at Takaishi, who doesn’t seem to know how to respond. Kiryu steps in and drops a bit of wisdom: “Genuine communication is better than imperfect communication,” he says. “If you’ve got something important to say, don’t go searching for the cleanest, best-edited version. Take a risk for once, speak from your heart.”

Kiryu tells Kusano to genuinely communicate in Like a Dragon Gaiden.
Sega

Of course, as Like a Dragon stories go, it all ends in a fistfight as ChotDDT urges Kusano to beat up Kiryu — its worst idea yet. Kusano loses, but then he learns that Takaishi’s not being awkward towards him because she doesn’t like him. It actually just turns out Takaishi was also using ChotDDT to come up with responses for their conversation. This revelation causes Kusano to admit his feelings outright without the help of ChotDDT. Takaishi reciprocates, and Kusano vows not to rely on AI as heavily anymore. Kiryu ends the substory wondering if he would’ve used AI to talk to Yumi had the technology been around when he was younger and she was still alive but ultimately determines that he wouldn’t have used it for her.

Looking for Advice is a hilarious substory full of memorable moments. From Kusano’s constant gullibility to the wild things the AI tells him to do to the twist ending, every part of this quest sticks out in my mind, even over a week after I beat the game. It also feels very relevant for the current moment as more and more people use AI for writing purposes, and the ethicality of that is questioned. On top of that, it caps off a nice moment that closes off Kiryu’s romantic arc with Yumi. By balancing satire and a heartfelt message about communication, Looking for Advice nails everything that makes Like a Dragon substories fantastic.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Tomas Franzese
As a Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
This Alienware gaming PC with RTX 4090 is almost $1,000 off
Alienware Aurora R16 sitting on a coffee table.

Is your current gaming PC on its last legs? If you need an upgrade, check out Dell's offer for the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card. From its original price of $4,695, the machine is down to $3,700. It's still pretty expensive, but you won't always get the chance to buy such a powerful gaming PC with a nearly $1,000 discount. However, if you want to pocket the savings of $995, you're going to have to be quick with your purchase as there's no telling when this bargain expires.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop
The Alienware Aurora R16, which received a rating of four out of five stars in our review, sits on top of our list of the best gaming PCs. Compared to the Alienware Aurora R15, this latest version of the gaming desktop is around half the size without compromising power or thermals, with upgraded internals for even better performance. In addition to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, this configuration of the Alienware Aurora R16 features the 14th-generation Intel Core i9 processor and 64GB of RAM, which our guide on how to buy a gaming desktop says would be useful for those who will use their machine for other purposes beyond gaming, such as editing videos.

Read more
Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for November 5
Someone playing Wordle on a smartphone.

We have the solution to Wordle on July 16, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "VINYL." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.
Hints for today's Wordle
Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter C.
Today’s Wordle uses two vowels.
Today's Wordle is a word for groups of eight.

Read more
NYT Connections: hints and answers for Tuesday, November 5
New York Times' Connection puzzle open in the NYT Games app on iOS.

Connections is one of the best puzzle games from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.

Some days are trickier than others — just like other NYT Games favorites The Mini and Strands. If you're having a little trouble solving today's puzzle, check out our Connections tips and tricks guide for some good strategies or check out the hints for today's Connections puzzle below. And if you still can't get it, we'll tell you today's answers at the very end.
How to play Connections

Read more