Yakuza 8 has just been announced, and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has revealed that the game will feature both Kiryu and Ichiban as dual protagonists.
During the RGG Summit 2022: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio presentation today, the studio unveiled that Yakuza 8, officially titled Like A Dragon 8, will include both Kiryu and Ichiban as its protagonists.
As seen in the screenshot above, Kiryu is sporting a brand new look. According to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, he has changed his hair for a certain reason, which has yet to be revealed.
Yakuza 8 will feature the same RPG-like turn-based combat system that was introduced in Yakuza 7. It appears that Kiryu will have his own party of characters instead of him being a part of Ichiban’s party.
Like a Dragon 8 is deep in development, and plenty of work, such as recording character voice lines, has yet to be done. As such, it is tentatively set to arrive on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam) in the year 2024. The announcement trailer can be seen below.
The previous game in the series, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a role-playing game in the popular Yakuza series developed and published by Sega. On January 16, 2020, the PlayStation 4 version of the Yakuza franchise’s first turn-based RPG was made available in Japan and Asia. On November 10, 2020, the game was released in the west for the PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It includes additional outfits, English voice overs, and certain previously paid DLC.
On February 25, 2021, this updated version was made available for Windows and Xbox platforms in Japan and Asia under the subtitle International. On March 2, 2021, the game’s PlayStation 5 version was released globally, followed by an Amazon Luna version on December 10, 2021.
Like a Dragon brought forth a new protagonist named Ichiban Kasuga as opposed to earlier Yakuza games that focused on the life of Kazuma Kiryu, a man attempting to lead a regular life after quitting the yakuza lifestyle. After being in prison for 18 years, only to then be betrayed by his former boss, Ichiban embarks on a personal mission to become a “hero” and uncover the reason behind his betrayal alongside his companions.
Milk_A_Pikachu on September 14th, 2022 at 15:31 UTC »
On the one hand, I am super happy to see more Kiryu. His brief appearances in 7 were all "holy fucking shit" moments and I do feel that him just letting The Bad Guys win is not something Kiryu would do (even given the circumstances)
That said: This is actually really depressing. For as much as the player grows to live Kamurocho and view it as a home away from home, it becomes increasingly clear that Kiryu hates those couple blocks for all that it has taken away from him and the constant suffering he and his loved ones endure. Throwing him back in just feels heartless. Especially as his previous (final?) visit bookended his story so well in that The scared orphan he changed the entire course of his life to rescue is now a grown mother who, without a moment's hesitation, was willing to sacrifice her life for that of her child. For all of Kiryu's flaws, he raised Haruka to be all of the good of Kiryu while managing to find a way to actually be there for her loved ones. And her fuckboi partner isn't THAT much of a douche.
And I fully understand the business reasons for this. Nagoshi got the ball rolling (pun intended) and made a team that have elevated the Yakuza/LAD series from "like Shenmue but actually a game" to "holy fucking shit this is good". There is a lot of uncertainty with the studio lead/figurehead gone so puling out the crowd pleaser is a way to maintain interest.
thatguy01220 on September 14th, 2022 at 13:11 UTC »
I haven’t played Yakuza 5-7 yet but from what I understand Yakuza 7 is turn based because thats how Ichiban sees the world when he fights. So will the will Kiryu be classic style? Or will both be Turn based?
SuperArppis on September 14th, 2022 at 13:10 UTC »
Ohh... Very interesting.