Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have revealed that long time leads Toshihiro Nagoshi and Daisuke Sato have left the company and the studio has undergone a restructure as a result. Masayoshi Yokoyama will now take over from Nagoshi as the studio’s Director and Executive Producer.
Toshihiro Nagoshi has been a SEGA mainstay since 1989, starting as a designer and director on games like Virtua Racing, Daytona USA and Shenmue before finding fame as the lead director of the Super Monkey Ball and Yakuza franchises.
Daisuke Sato is also a long-tenured SEGA employee starting his career on field map production for 1995’s Magic Knight Rayearth on the Saturn and having designer credits on games like SEGA Super GT, Virtua Fighter 3tb and Shenmue. Sato’s career highlights also include directing duties Yakuza 3 and Binary Domain.
You can read the full story on RGG Studio’s restructure by clicking this link.
Laced Records will be releasing a 6 LP boxset of the entire Yakuza 0 soundtrack in October 2021. This limited edition box set features 90 songs spread over 6 records that feature a colour-in-colour effect. The box set can be pre-ordered now for £100.
Thankfully Laced Records are also offering a cheaper alternative with an abridged double LP version also being made available for £33. This pressing will be made available on blue and green vinyl and will also ship in October 2021.
Click the links below to be taken to the online store listings for both variants:
The PS5 version of Yakuza: Like a Dragon lands today! This version of the title offers 4K resolution support as well as a locked 60fps framerate. Loads times should also be dramatically reduced across the board.
PS4 owners can now also upgrade to the PS5 version free of charge. Simply navigate to the game’s page on the PS5 dashboard and select “Upgrade” on the right-hand side of the screen. Unfortunately, saves cannot be transferred from PS4 to PS5, so a new game will have to be started from scratch.
Check out the PS5 launch trailer below and its fantastic choice of music:
The 7th mainline entry in the Yakuza franchise is finally upon us with Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Both Tracker and Sonic Yoda have played the game extensively on PC and PS4 and have prepared a bumper review of both versions for you to get stuck into. Does the franchise successfully transition from brawler to RPG? Find out by clicking below!
On the 29th of August, Yakuza 7 was officially revealed and while an English-translated trailer was shortly available, it was taken down by SEGA Europe very quickly. However, we now have official confirmation that the game is headed West and a new English version of the announcement trailer is available to view.
Called Yakuza: Like a Dragon in the West, this new entry in the series features a re-imagined combat system that features a heavy emphasis on turn-based RPG mechanics. It also features a new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga. Yakuza: Like a Dragon will launch sometime in 2020 exclusively for PS4.
On the 30th of May 2019, SEGA Europe held a preview event for the upcoming Judgment game, aptly named Judgment Day. At this event we got a chance to play the game and in this video we share our thoughts on both the game and the event itself:
It has been revealed that Ichiban Kasuga of Ryu Ga Gotoku Online fame is going to be the star of the next PS4 Yakuza title. This new Yakuza game is currently untitled and there’s no word on a release date at this time.
In addition, a new casting call has been put out for actresses to play Kasuga’s love interest. The chosen actress will appear in the game and promotional material, but also receive a 1 million yen prize. Applications can be completed on this website.
If you’re unfamiliar with Ichiban Kasuga, that’ll be because the game he features in is currently Japan-only. Ryu Ga Gotoku Online is a free-to-play Yakuza spin-off that stars both Kiryu Kazama and Ichiban Kasuga. It is currently available in Japan for PC, iOS and Android devices. There is no word on a Western release at this time.
Dengeki Playstation has exclusively revealed that PS4 remasters of Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 are happening and the first release will be Yakuza 3 on August 9th 2018. This is currently only confirmed for a Japanese release, but it will include a download code for the game’s original soundtrack and will cost 3990 yen.
The Yakuza 4 remaster will then arrive in an “Autumn 2018” launch window, with Yakuza 5 set of Spring 2019. The only improvements confirmed for all 3 games so far is increased resolution and higher framerates. There is currently no word on whether these are Kiwami-style remakes with new and exclusive content.
A new extended 6 minute trailer of Hokuto Ga Gotoku has also gone live. This new title based on the Fist of the North Star series is being developed by the Yakuza Studio and is due for release on PS4 on the 22nd of February 2018 in Japan. Check out the new trailer by clicking below:
Hokuto Ga Gotoku is currently only due for a Japanese release. A Western release has not been confirmed at this time.
A new mobile Yakuza title called Yakuza Online is in the works for iOS, Android and PC. This new title sees you playing as a new character called Kasuga Ichiban and is a free-to-play affair with optional micro-transactions. You can see the game in action by clicking below:
Yakuza Online is due for release in Japan at some point in 2018. There is currently no word on a Western release at this time.
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