Like A Dragon Gaiden Pocket Circuit: How To Beat All Rivals & Races

With the return of Pocket Circuits in Like a Dragon Gaiden you can put a lot of time into figuring out how to beat every rival on your own. But with our guide we give you possible builds how to win without taking even a sweat!

Like a Dragon Gaiden How To Beat Rivals and Races in Pocket Circuit
Like A Dragon Gaiden: How to beat all rivals and races. | © Sega/EarlyGame

The devs behind the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise have a habit of including a lot of different mini-games to their games, making it an unforgettable experience. And Like a Dragon Gaiden isn't any different.

Actually, with the Pocket Circuit making a comeback, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio gives us access to one of the bigger mini-games in the series. It's also a nod to fans, remembering when Kiryu first started building his small cars in Yakuza 0 . Like a Dragon Gaiden serves as a farewell to Kiryu as the main character, which is kind of beautiful in its own way.

But hey, let's not get too emotional about it! This guide is solely focused on how to create the best build for each race and how to beat your Pocket Circuit rivals in this mini-game.

Like A Dragon Gaiden Pocket Circuit: Beat Rivals & Races

Like a Dragon Gaiden Pocket Circuit Location
Like A Dragon Gaiden: Pocket Circuit location in Sotenbori. | © Sega/EarlyGame

In Pocket Circuit, you need to assemble your small cars with all kind of different parts to achieve victory. This mini-game is particularly difficult, especially if you unlock the later races.

If you don't know how to assemble your car correctly to win against your rivals, here are our build ideas for each race:

Introductory Race & Rival Kensuke

  • Tires – Slim Tires
  • Frame – Speed Frame
  • Motor – Speed Motor
  • Gears – Balanced Gears
  • Battery – High Speed Battery

Rookies Welcome Race & Rival Kanami

  • Tires – Slim Tires Plus
  • Frame – Speed Frame Plus
  • Motor – Speed Motor Plus
  • Gears – Balanced Gears Plus
  • Battery – High Speed Battery

Rookies Race & Rival Yusuke And Hammerhead

Like a Dragon Gaiden Pocket Circuit Beginner
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The first few rivals you're able to race against. | © Sega/EarlyGame
  • Tires – Slim Tires Plus
  • Frame – Speed Frame Plus
  • Motor – Speed Motor Plus
  • Gears – Balanced Gears Plus
  • Battery – Regular Battery

Standard Race & Rival Kazuko

  • Tires – Extra Spiked Tires
  • Frame – Extra Metal Frame
  • Motor – High Torque Motor Mark II
  • Gears – Extra Balanced Gears
  • Battery – High Capacity Battery

Pro-am Race & Rival Shiori

Like a Dragon Pocket Circuit Track
Like A Dragon Gaiden: Pocket Circuit isn't just for kids. | © Sega/EarlyGame
  • Tires – Extra Slick Tires
  • Frame – Metal Frame Plus
  • Motor – High Torque Motor Mark II
  • Gears – Regular Gears Plus
  • Battery – High Capacity Battery
  • Suspension – Light Suspension

Veteran Race & Rival Toru

  • Tires – Super Slick Tires
  • Frame – Super Balances Frame
  • Motor – High Torque Motor Mark II
  • Gears – Super Balanced Gears
  • Battery – Regular Battery
  • Suspension – Light Suspension

Expert Race & Rival Yuko

Like a Dragon Gaiden Pocket Circuir Master
Like A Dragon Gaiden: There is even a Masters Circuit. | © Sega/EarlyGame
  • Tires – Super Soft Tires
  • Frame – Super Speed Frame
  • Motor – High Torque Motor Mark II
  • Gears – Godspeed Gears Plus
  • Battery – High Capacity Battery
  • Front Wing – Front Wing

Official Race & Rival Saburo

  • Tires – Super Spiked Tires
  • Frame – Super Balanced Frame
  • Motor – Godspeed Motor
  • Gears – Super Balanced Gears
  • Battery – Regular Battery
  • Suspension – Light Suspension

CourStar Race & Rival Tomoya

  • Tires – Ultra Slim Tires
  • Frame – Ultra Metal Frame
  • Motor – Godspeed Motor
  • Gears – Godspeed Gears Plus
  • Battery – Regular Battery
  • Suspension – Medium Suspension
  • Front Wing – Flat Wing

Invitational Cup & Rival Masashi

Like a Dragon Gaiden Pocket Circuit Pro
Like A Dragon Gaiden: Pocket Circuit against some pros. | © Sega/EarlyGame
  • Tires – Ultra Slim Tires
  • Frame – Ultra Speed Frame
  • Motor – Godspeed Motor
  • Gears – Extra Boost Gears
  • Battery – High Capacity Battery
  • Suspension – Light Suspension
  • Front Wing – Box Wing

Champions Cup & Rival Keiko

  • Tires – Ultra Spiked Tires
  • Frame – Rubber Frame Plus
  • Motor – Power Motor
  • Gears – Balanced Gears Plus
  • Battery – Regular Battery
  • Side Stabilizer – Side Stabilizer 3.0
  • Suspension – Heavy Suspension
  • Front Wing – Rainbow Wing

Expert Cup & Rival Momozo

  • Tires – Ultra Slim Tires
  • Frame – Ultra Rocket Frame
  • Motor – Godspeed Motor
  • Gears – Ultra Godspeed Gears
  • Battery – Regular Battery
  • Suspension – Heavy Suspension
  • Front Wing – Rainbow Wing

Rival Ran

Like a Dragon Gaiden Pocket Circuit Parts Shop
Like A Dragon Gaiden: Buy your car parts at pro parts shop. | © Sega/EarlyGame
  • Tires – Ultra Spiked Tires
  • Frame – Ultra Rubber Frame
  • Motor – Godspeed Motor
  • Gears – Ultra Boost Gears
  • Battery – Regular Battery
  • Suspension – Heavy Suspension
  • Front Wing – Rainbow Wing

Professional Cup & Rival Ami

  • Tires – Ultra Spiked Tires
  • Frame – Ultra Balanced Frame
  • Motor – Godspeed Motor Mark II
  • Gears – Ultra Balanced Gears
  • Battery – Regular Battery
  • Side Stabilizer – Side Stabilizer 2.0
  • Suspension – Medium Suspension
  • Front Wing – Rainbow Wing

Masters Cup & Rival Gou-ou

Like a Dragon Gaiden Pocket Circuit Yakuza 0
Like A Dragon Gaiden: Memories of your time in Yakuza 0. | © Sega/EarlyGame
  • Tires – Ultra Slim Tires
  • Frame – Ultra Balanced Frame
  • Motor – Ultra Godspeed Motor
  • Gears – Ultra Balanced Gears
  • Battery – High Speed Battery
  • Suspension – Heavy Suspension
  • Front Wing – Rainbow Wing

Grand Masters Cup & Rival Masaru

  • Tires – Ultra Slim Tires
  • Frame – Ultra Metal Frame
  • Motor – Ultra Godspeed Motor
  • Gears – Ultra Boost Gears
  • Battery – High Capacity Battery
  • Side Stabilizer – Side Stabilizer 3.0
  • Suspension – Heavy Suspension
  • Front Wing – Rainbow Wing

Rival Manager

  • Tires – Ultra Slim Tires
  • Frame – Ultra Balanced Frame
  • Motor – Ultra Godspeed Motor
  • Gears – Ultra Boost Gears
  • Battery – High Speed Battery
  • Side Stabilizer – Side Stabilizer 3.0
  • Suspension – Heavy Suspension
  • Front Wing – Rainbow Wong

But don't forget: There are a lot of other different builds possible to achieve victory, and experimenting a little bit is also great.

Ewelyn Derc

Ewelyn is a Content Creator at EarlyGame. She's mainly interested in everything that comes from Japan and has to do with JRPGs. But also Souls-like, Indies, Shooter, Rogue-likes, Otome, Visual Novel and more are in her field of expertise....