Fans know Nintendo for remaining ultra popular even though the company seems to spitefully go against what everyone wants from it. This is not Nintendo’s story. This is the story of Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the people behind the Yakuza series. Disclaimer: no, they’re not actual Yakuza. Relax, no one is forcing us to write this at samurai swordpoint. The studio has just announced not just one but three Yakuza titles coming to the West, and that’s arguably as exciting as everything that Sony and Nintendo have recently announced.
Yakuza Like A Dragon Ishin is a remake of a PS3 and PS4 title that only came out in the East, sure, but a) it’s a Yakuza title set in ‘1800s Japan and b) the remake will bring the series’ most popular characters to the past and turn them into actual samurai. If that alone isn’t more interesting than the newly announced Assassin’s Creed game that’ll take place in Japan, then we don’t know how to help you.
It’s completely ok to be hyped for this rehash because it came paired with the announcement of two other Yakuza games – especially because one of them is the new mainline title in the series. The announcement shows two things. First, we learn that Yakuza 8 will drop the Yakuza title and will be called Like A Dragon 8 instead. The second interesting detail is how the game will feature the return of Kiryu, the usual protagonist, as well as Ichiban Kasuga, the protagonist from the seventh game in the series.
And that would’ve been enough for a more-than-hype showcase, but then they also announced Yakuza Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. The most overly complicated titled entry in the series is an action-adventure title in the vein of classic Yakuza games and will tell us what happened to Kiryu between the events of Yakuza 6 and 7 in preparation for the eighth game in the series.
The effort Sega is putting into the series is laudable, and we can only hope other big companies follow suit.
Top Image: Sega
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