How to Complete All Puzzle Shogi Challenges

In Like a Dragon Gaiden, conquering the Puzzle Shogi challenges without knowledge of this traditional Japanese board game is a daunting task. Thankfully, the game does offer a fair bit of instruction by way of in-game tutorial documentation, most notably of which involves understanding the movement limitations of each piece and some basic mechanics such as the promotion of units.

Players who successfully complete these Puzzle Shogi challenges will earn a significant amount of Shogi Points, which they can spend by interacting with the Shogi-Playing Man. These points can be exchanged for various rewards, including a Genbu Bracelet and Calming Kerchief, as well as consumables and plates that can be sold for money. Each challenge can be completed, and its rewards claimed, just a single time. Here’s everything players need to know to easily clear the Shogi Puzzle challenges in Like a Dragon Gaiden.

Understanding Shogi Piece Labels

Every Shogi piece, or koma, is marked with kanji denoting its type, accompanied by a letter abbreviation representing the piece’s name. For instance, “K” stands for “King,” “R” for “Rook,” “B” for “Bishop,” and so forth. In certain puzzles, players will encounter Promoted pieces, which are distinguished in the game by an asterisk (*) next to the piece’s abbreviation. The player has the option to promote eligible pieces once they have reached any of the three rows opposing the player, affecting that piece’s movement once promoted.

Types of Puzzle Shogi Challenges

Puzzle Shogi in the Like a Dragon Gaiden presents two types of challenges: One Move Mate and Three-Move Mate. These challenges require players to find a solution within one or three moves, respectively. If a mistake is made, players have the option to use a Take Back feature to reverse their last move. However, if players follow the provided instructions carefully, this feature should be unnecessary.

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The puzzles only include pieces essential to the challenge, aiding players in easily identifying which pieces to move and allowing for a bit of trial and error with minimal understanding of the game’s rules. However, for players not interested in learning the ins-and-outs and complicated strategies surrounding Japanese chess, each of the Puzzle Shogi challenges in Like a Dragon Gaiden can be solved by following the directions below.

How to Solve All Puzzle Shogi Challenges in Like a Dragon Gaiden

Like a Dragon Gaiden features a total of 10 unique Puzzle Shogi challenges that Joryu can undertake by speaking with the Shogi-Playing Man in Sotenbori sitting outside the Gambling Hall at the western end of S Shofukucho. If he happens to be in Yokohama, he can take a cab to the S Central St stop where he’ll find abother Shogi-Playing Man sitting on the grass outside Romance Workshop. The challenges and rewards are identical at both locations, so the choice of where to tackle them doesn’t matter.