, is a fictional character from Sega's action-adventure game Like a Dragon series, previously known as Yakuza outside of Japan, first appearing in 2006's Yakuza 2. Goda also appears as one of the main characters in a spin-off title of the series, Yakuza: Dead Souls, which does not follow the series' canon and is set in an alternate timeline where Goda survives his wounds at the end of Yakuza 2. Goda is voiced by Masami Iwasaki in all media.
Within the series, Goda is the patriarch of the Go-Ryu Clan, an organized crime yakuza group that is a subsidiary of the Omi Alliance, the dominant yakuza association based in Osaka. Ryuji is the adopted son of Jin Goda, chairman of the Omi Alliance, and is often referred to as the due to the tattoo of a golden yellow dragon on his back. He expressed dissatisfaction towards the sobriquet however, as he believes that there could only be "one true dragon" in Japan. To this end, his primary motivation in Yakuza 2 is to defeat series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, the "Dragon of Dojima", who is presented as his premier rival.
Goda has received a positive reception. The character's popularity in Japan has seen the character being periodically re-introduced into the franchise in spite of his death in Yakuza 2 and its 2017 remake, Yakuza Kiwami 2. Many reviewers called Goda the best villain of the franchise and consider the character's depiction in Yakuza 2 and its remake to be a series highlight.
Creation and development
Goda's concept as a character originated from the developers' desire to create an overwhelmingly powerful antagonist that makes players think that they may not be able to win in terms of raw power, strength, and organizational strength. His personality has been described by the head writer of ONLINE Kazunobu Takeuchi as arrogant and violent, as well as an enigma as he is the type of person who does not really disclose his true feelings. In his first appearance, Goda carries a Japanese sword which he occasionally uses as a weapon, and is known for his dragon tattoo; the series' developers have used tattoos to provide characterization or highlight the relationship between friends or enemies throughout the franchise, and are designed by Kazuaki Kitamura, a Japanese tattoo artist better known as Horitomo. The character is redesigned for Dead Souls, where his right arm has been replaced by metal prosthetic, and is later outfitted with a portable gatling gun. The segment of ONLINE which details Goda's life before he became the leader of the Go-Ryu Clan was released in March 2020.
The character's popularity with the franchise's Japanese fanbase has encouraged the developers to present Goda in recurring appearances well after his canonical demise during the events of Yakuza 2. When Goda was announced as the fourth and final playable character for Dead Souls on August 18, 2010, Yakuza producer Toshihiro Nagoshi acknowledged the demand for further appearances for the character, noting his "manly, brawny" appeal as a "rival character who gives off a powerful aura" and that his story arc would follow the events of Yakuza 2. At the 2019 Tokyo Game Show, Goda's actor Iwasaki stated in a Q&A session that he rarely gets to play the characters he wants to play in the voice acting industry, but he managed to land the role of Ryuji Goda whom he really wanted to play after having auditioned for it, and is thus very fond of the character.