Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō - PSP
Completed 19th January 2026
Kurohyo, or translated from Japanese to English, Black Panther: Like a Dragon New Chapter is a spin off game in the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series. The game was only released on the PSP and has never been released outside Japan. For so long I have wanted to play this game but (as of yet) it has never had an official English translation.
Thankfully, dedicated fans have released an unofficial English translation patch for the game and I can finally play and experience the title.
Apparently the spin off was created by the team that created the PS2 classic fighting games in the Def Jam series. The fighting of the game is rather similar to Yakuza games but the Def Jam team have put their own signature into the battling. You can select from a number of different fighting styles that you unlock throughout the title including Jiu Jitsu, Pro wrestler, Brawler, MMA, Boxing and Ancient Martial Arts.
Considering the title was released on a handheld console Kurohyo has a surprisingly intriguing story that can match with the main console titles. The cutscenes are presented in a visual novel style rather than using ingame graphics.
Just like other Yakuza titles you can run around Kamurocho and complete side stories, but this time the district is presented in an interesting isometric viewpoint.
As the game only released on a handheld console I thought that it would probably be fun, but not that great. I am happy to say that I enjoyed the game much more than I anticipated. There is also a sequel I hope to check out soon. I hope that some day the game sees an official translation and release on modern consoles - it is not completely out of the question as Sega released an English version of one of their Samurai spin off games in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series that was exclusive to Japan for many years.