A Turn-Based Yakuza Game Should Be More Than Just an April Fools’ Joke
Another April Fools’ Day has passed, and several jokes and posts that ostensibly seemed like jokes were made. Several interesting examples again came from the Japanese gaming industry, whose attempts they consist of cute little jokes or amount to teasing projects they should seriously make, with little in between them. This year lagged behind previous years in the sheer number of jokes available, but there was one clear standout example from Sega that I’m still thinking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoyMMMkmtW0
It came from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, the team responsible for the Yakuza titles. This year, they fulfilled the imaginations of anyone who wondered what a Yakuza game would look like as a turn-based RPG. The results were well-done, and resembled a good fusion of the series’ traditional combat system with turn-based commands. The video featured Ichiban Kasuga, who’s set to take Kazuma Kiryu’s place as the main character in the next Yakuza game. He’s approached by thugs while roaming down the mean streets of Kamurocho with a woman who appears to be his date. In Yakuza series fashion, it doesn’t take long for a fight to ensue.
The idea of turn-based battles in this series is good thanks to how they can involve a team of characters fighting several enemies simultaneously, instead of merely having one character fight against a group of them. Kasuga mostly fights with his fists, while his presumed date can distract enemies with her charms. Two accomplices also come to help Ichiban, who could be his friends from the upcoming game.
The ideas here are too good for the RGG team to simply use as a joke, so I’m hoping they at least include a turn-based RPG minigame in the next title. It would be even better if they made a full turn-based spinoff, but I won’t raise my expectations too high here. We’re talking about a company that could have released the deep and intricate cabaret club minigame from Yakuza 0 (with its super-catchy theme) as its own title digitally for consoles or as a mobile title, but hasn’t. A side mission in this style would be nice.
This video provided first good look at the character models and techniques that will be in the new Yakuza title, and is an indication that more of it will be shown soon. It’s still very much in development, since the team is holding open auditions for the lead female character. But this shows that the project has been coming along well since its announcement in August 2017, and should be ready to show and potentially release this year. Hopefully the team does something with the concept of a turn-based Yakuza in the near future.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
