Yakuza Kiwami, the remake of the very first game in the Yakuza series, is coming to Nintendo Switch. Announced during the?? Nintendo August 2024 Showcase, the game invites players to check out the story that kicked the epic franchise off and follow protagonist Kazuma Kiryu on a path of redemption.

Kazuma Kiryu is a yakuza accused of murdering his clan's patriarch. After a lengthy prison sentence, Kazuma heads out in search of his friends, who have now gone missing. Along the way, he'll meet a young girl, the key to a fortune, and as their fates intertwine, it leads Kazuma on a bloody path that wil?l see him battling it out with prett??y much everyone in Kamurocho, Tokyo.

One more battle

Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the original Yakuza title that really put the series on the map. However, many additional elements have been added to the story in this vers??ion of the game, making it a bigger and, in some ways, more complete entry?? that feels as though it fits better with the rest of the games.

For example, an expanded storyline about Akira Nishikiyama's corruption during Kazuma's prison sentence, and constant struggles between the protagonist and his biggest rival, Goro Majima. But? it's more than story additions that have been made.

The gameplay in Yakuza Kiwami has been tweaked to match that of Yakuza 0, which was the most recent release at the time of the remake's launch. New systems such as Majima Everywhere were introduced, and combat was aligned with Yakuza 0's to make?? it feel like a more coherent entry in the series since it was released after that title.

The gameplay in Yakuza Kiwami is pretty simple. There are major story beats, but for the most part, you're explo?ring a sandbox open world filled with activities, way more than you'd expect, and dozen??s of enemies to fight. In combat, you'll swap between fighting styles to best your opponents, as well as using parts of the environment to beat them to a pulp.

The Yakuza series has an incredible sense of humor that might feel like it doesn't fit at first, but by the time you're a few hours into any of the games, you're completely invested in this mad world.?? The stakes are often high and very serious, but the comedy between those story beats and the way they flesh out the world make it one that you never wa??nt to leave until you've completed everything there is to do in it.

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Get your Kiryu on

Fight like a dragon, sing in B. Yakuza Kiwami, Sega's remake of 2005's original Yakuza, is now avail??abl?e on Xbox for the first time ever.

This tale of revenge, brawling, and karaoke is highly accessible because it's debuting on Xbox Game Pass -- both for Xbox One and PC. Subscribers get it on day one, just like when Yakuza 0 first launched on Xbox back in February.

Kiryu's come-up has a staggered history. Yakuza Kiwami first released on PS3 and PS4 in Japan ?in early 2016 before getting a worldwide PS4 version in 2017. Then, it came to PC via Steam in 2019. Now it's?? also on Xbox One and the Windows Store.

Go play hide-and-seek-and-s??cuffle with Majima. Sometimes he'll be in the sewers, sometimes he'll be in the strip club.

The post Yakuza Kiwami is now a part of Xbox Game Pass appeared first on Destructoid.

Kazuma stoically nods in approval

If you own either Yakuza 0 or Yakuza Kiwami on Steam - and to be honest there's little reason not to - you will be pleased to hear that Sega has auto-upgraded both titles to their respective D??eluxe Edition releases, adding a selection of neat extras to the wild 'n' wacky ??brawler RPGs.

By visiting "Extras" in either titles' installation folders, players now have access to a digital manga for each game, as well as a selection of avatars and wallpapers. There are also a couple of neat animated Steam banners, so you can dress up your desktop and interface lik?e a hard-drinkin', ha?rd-fightin' night in Kamurocho.

While these upgrades are hardly ground-shaking events, we currently live in an avaricious era of video gaming, and as such the "little things" matter. Publishers like Sega having the fores?ight to appreciate its loyal fanbase is something to be commended, no matter how small the gesture.

Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 are al?l available on PC via Steam. If you hurry, you ca??n capitalise on the current "Big in Japan" promotion, offering all three titles at great, discounted prices.

Yakuza 0 and?? Yakuza Kiwami owners get deluxe editions for free on Steam [PCGamesN]

The post Steam ports of Yakuza ??0 and Yakuza Kiwami auto-upgraded to Deluxe Editions appeared first on Destructoid.

Well yak-xcuse kiwa-me

Take on gang violence with the power of goofiness in today's contest for a Steam copy of Yakuza Kiwami!

I know there are a ton of Yakuza fans here on the site, so I'll make this one brief: We've got some Steam copies for the PC version of Yakuza Kiwami, and we're giving them away. To you. Right now. Y??ay!

The remaster of the popular game that started it all finally hit PC a few weeks ago, bringing with it ?4k resolutions, uncapped framerates, and fully customizable controls! In this ultimate version of the fan favorite you'll take Kazuma Kiryu, fresh out of jail after a 10-year stint, back to the streets of a changed Kamurocho. Names, faces, and even traditions may have changed, but one thing hasn't: Being a badass.

To enter to win your c??opy, use the widget bel??ow to leave your name and email address. You can repeat daily for additional chances to win. For bonus entries, follow Dtoid and SEGA on Twitter and share our contest post with your friends.

While you're waiting around for me to draw winners, talk about Yakuza in the comments below. Just shoot the shit, man. I don't need to guide every conversat??ion. What do you like about the series? Which game is your favorite? Why haven't I played any of them yet? Just have fun, y'all.

We have seven Steam keys to gi?ve away. Winners will be? drawn on Monday, March 11.

Yakuza Kiwami is available now on PC and PS4. Head over to PC Invasion for more chance to win.

Dtoid Contest: Win Yakuza Kiwami for Steam

The post Contest: Win Yakuza Kiwami for Steam appeared first on Destructoid.

Kiryu, you...bastard..!

During the events of Yakuza 0, protagonist Kiryu Kazuma had to continuously deal with Dojima Clan Lieutenant Daisuku Kuze. The point of their various struggles was to show where Kiryu got his unstoppable will from. It also helped that Kuze had an incredibly punchable face and was a total joy to fight. Through the glory of modding, PC players of Yakuza Kiwami can now replace Majima Goro in the "Majima Everywhere" system with Kuze's character model and relieve the Yakuza 0 days!

In all honesty, I think having Kuze around would fix my complaint about Majima's character in Kiwami. I liked the thrill of having to deal with a boss battle at any moment, but the original plot conflicted with the extended bits made for Kiwami. Replacing Majima with Kuze could serve the same role and even expand Kuze's character. It only makes sense he'd still be piss?ed 17 years later.

?If nothing else, at least you can punch him again.

Ya'll need a better reason for Sega to port the Yakuza games to the PC? [Reddit]

The post This Yakuza Kiwami mod reunites Kiryu with an old ??foe appeared first on Destructoid.

A Legend Reborn

Remakes in the gaming space have kind of gone the way of the dodo. With HD remasters being a lot easier to produce, most publishers don’t feel the need to commission full-on restorations of their back catalogs anymore. The last time we saw some truly extensive remakes was back in the early ‘00s with Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (both on GameCube, coincidentally).

Whether or not Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s intent with Yakuza Kiwami was to fully remake the original classic or just update it is irrelevant; the end result is that we’ve gotten a smoother, prettier version of the first Yakuza title that doesn’t take advantage ?o??f every update done to the series over the years.

It still ma??k?es for a kick-ass game, even if it’s not the definitive version of the legendary title.

Yakuza Kiwami (PS3 [Japan], PS4 [reviewed], PC)
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Released: January 21, 2016 (JP), August 29, 2017 (US, EU), February 19, 2019 (PC)
MSRP: $29.99

For those unaware, the Yakuza games are a long-running series of action-RPG inspired beat-'em-ups that can be summed up as a Japan simulator. The main setting of every Yakuza?? title, the city of Kamurocho, is based on the real-life red-light district of Tokyo with meticulous attention to detail. If yo?u were to hop on a plane and take a stroll down the streets of KabukichÅ, Tokyo, you’d be surprised at how not lost you are.

Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the first game in that series, which released 12 years ago in Japan. The game follows the story of Kiryu Kazuma and his return to society after a?? 10-year stint in jail. O??n a stormy night in 1995, Kiryu’s best friend, Akira Nishikiyama, ends up killing the patriarch of the Tojo Clan after the man kidnaps Kiryu and Nishiki’s best friend, a woman named Yumi.

Since Ni?shiki has been under hardships as of late (his sister is in terminal condition), Kiryu tells him to flee the scene with Yumi so that Nishiki doesn’t end up abandoning his family in their time of need. This one choice then changes Kiryu’s life forever, as he becomes banished from the Tojo Clan and has 10 years of his life stolen from him.

Unexpectedly, this only encompasses the prologue chapter of the game. Not a lot of time is wasted on exposition or even stage setting. A new subplot is added about Kiryu getting a ring for Yumi during the intro, but the game ushers you ??pretty quickly through these events before shifting into modern times and starting the next series of events.

While this is a little jarring, it’s also refreshing with how bloated the series has gotten in some of the later installments. Yakuza 4, for instance, is loaded with expository cutscenes that can play for upwards of 20 minutes at a time (the finale being feature length). The longest you’ll ever sit around in Kiwami is roughly 15, by comparison, and that is at the end of the t??ale.

Anyway, when Kiryu returns to Kamurocho all those years later, he comes to find that Nishikiyama has become corrup??ted with power and that the Tojo Clan has now lost 10 billion yen at the hands of Yumi and her estranged sister, Mizuki. To make matter?s worse, Kiryu runs into a young girl by the name of Haruka that is claiming Mizuki is her mother. What the hell has gone on in those 10 years?

What follows is a ta??le that shows how far ??Kiryu is willing to fight for his beliefs and the ones that he cares for. While Nishiki is basically a lost cause, Haruka represents the life Kiryu might have obtained had he not taken the fall for his best friend. The girl is also much like him, an orphan who just wants answers about what is going on with her life.

Without a doubt, this is the strongest story the series has ever told, even if some of the opening cutsc??enes are light on explanation. The bond between Kiryu and Haruka is heartwarming and the set-ups for action scenes are made all the more powerful by the mystery surrounding what is going on with the Tojo Clan. The surprise twist that happens in all of these titles isn’t too extreme and doesn’t happen in every other chapter, relegating it to the finale where it belongs. This is a narrative more grounded in reality that seeks to showcase how far Kiryu is willing to go and it pays off beautifully.

In the original release, Kiryu only had access to one fighting style that then progressively became more and more devastating in each sequel. For the prequel title, Yakuza 0, Kiryu took on three styles that each saw use in specific scenarios and allowed players to experience a different take on the violent action. Kiwami retains those three styles and gives Kiryu’s ultimate “Dragon of Dojima” style from the beginning, though with a small caveat. Jail time has ruined Kiryu’s strength,? so he now has to work to remember everything about his “Dragon” technique.

When I started Kiwami, I was wondering how the developers were going to stop players from being completely broken for the whole game and their answer pleased me. The series’ comic relief, Maj??ima Goro, encounters Kiryu and becomes infatuated with his strength. He then proclaims that he’ll be watching and waiting for the perfect time to battle Kiryu, just to keep him on his toes.

This brings about a new inclusion to Kiwami, the “Majima Everywhere” system. In an effort to give players the fanservice that Yakuza 0 rightly dodged, Majima now stalks Kiryu around Kamurocho to build up his strength from 10 years prior. As the title suggest, Majima can be everywhere in Kamurocho. You may be grabbing a bite to eat, playing a round o?f bowling or fighting random thugs and Majima will force his way into the scene.

I like that his retcons Majima’s original character beat, but it also shines a spotlight on how Kiwami is actually too faithful to the original game. Majima has an expanded presence, but his original role in the game isn’t revamped. Kiwami exhibits this wacky-ass Majima that is funny and a bit psychotic mixed with the original version of him that isn’t very fleshed out or even particularly sane. He always had an infatuation with Kiryu in the first game, but it felt more malicious originally instead of what he morphed into following Yakuza 3. This comes off like a butting of heads over g?iving fans what they want and trying to remain faithful to the original game.

That faithfulness also rears its head in the cutscenes, which come off looking stiff. Sure, all of the textures and character models are updated to the glory that we saw in Yakuza 0, but the key-framed animations from the original PS2 release are left untouched. Even lip-syncing isn’t redone, ?so you have inst?ances where Kiryu looks like he has lockjaw and walks very stiffly while the expanded bits look beautiful and smooth.

This also plays into the city of Kamurocho itself, which loses the additions done to the structure in Yakuza 4 and 5. You can’t go underground or on the rooftops and there isn’t another city to explore, like every other game in the series, so ?it feels like a step backward. I know this was done to retain the thematic elements of the original game, but even a little bit of new additions would have been nice to s??ee.

Well, I can sort of take that back as two new mini-games are included, though they are both recycled from Yakuza 0. We see the return of Pocket Circuit Racing and, for some god damned reason, the cat fighting mini-game is now repurposed as a sexy bug fighting mini-game. While Yakuza is known for reusing a lot of assets and even copying mini-games between entries, why two of the weaker additions were left in Kiwami baffles me. Also, Mesuking (the bug fighting ga??me?) can go to hell, since a rock/paper/scissors based fighter is just plain aggravating and totally unengaging.

The boss battles, though, are the worst culprit of this. Kiwami almost plays like a “best of” version of the entire series, so you’ll have boss fights that utilize enemy patterns from Yakuza 2 and 3 and have a complete disregard for the different styles? Kiryu has at his disposal, apart from some tacked-on heat actions that require you to change. While it’s neat that you are encouraged to try new things, having the bosses regenerate health while you change styles to perform a special finisher is pretty dumb.

The one part I do appreciate is the return of experience and the original heat gauge system. It was nice to experience something different in Yakuza 0, but fighting enemies to gain actual XP makes more sense to me. The heat system also doesn’t limit your abilities when you aren’t at full power, though the “Dragon” style will get better ??as you retain?? heat.

It all just adds up to a game that is at odds with itself. I don’t think anything is particularly bad, but if Ryu Ga Gotoku studio was given more creative freedom and more time to work on Kiwami, I feel they could have totally overhauled the game to make better use of the combat system that Yakuza 0 intro??duced. The slavish devotion to the original ends up hurting the overall expe??rience, but not enough to make this a bad game.

At least the technical aspects, apart from cutscene animations, are fantastic. There is still some odd screen tearing while walking around the city, but Kiwami outputs at a full 1080p and never drops from its 60 FPS framerate in combat. The speed at which battles unfold is mesmerizing and electrifying, something that 0 did as well.

The redone dialog is also a pure joy. While the English version of Yakuza had a dub job, Kiwami brings back the Japanese dialog that just feels plain at home with this decidedly Japanese series. Hearing anyone but Takaya Kuroda voice Kiryu is just plain wrong, so to see him bring all of his gained acting chops back into Kiwami is delightful. Really, this game has some excellent voice work and I’m sure even fans of English dubs could appreciate how well these actors sell this ??material.

To top this all off is the excellent price point Sega has settled on. I might have a bunch of issues with the quality of certain aspects of Kiwami, but getting an extensive journey with an excellent story for $30 is really a steal. Yeah, Yakuza 0 has more to do and even the other games in the series are more consistent in quality, but the budget pricing for Kiwami makes it a must??-own for series fans and basically the best entry p??oint for anyone on the fence.

Really, you can’t go wrong with Kiwami. I would have liked it if every aspect of the game had been fully redone, but we don’t see remakes like this come along often. I can deal with a few stumbling blocks when the core quality of what makes Yakuza so unique and engaging remains untouched. At least now more people can have a chance to experience this classic, which is the best thing about Kiwami’s existence.

_{[This review is based on a re?tail build of the game provided by the publ??isher.]}

The post Review: Yakuza Kiwami appeared first on Destructoid.

Straight from the mad dog's mouth

Sega has revealed the release date for the PC version of Yakuza Kiwami in a very on-brand way.

After hopping onto the game's Steam store listing, you're greeted with the usual sights. There's a set of rotating screenshots in which protagonist Kiryu is living his best life, a vague "coming soon" heading, and – what's this? – a grinning Majima?? popping his head out of the sewer. What's that rascal up to now?

If you focus on the top of the Majima gif, you'll notice a curious flash. Upon further inspection, for a split second, there's text. It is, in fact, a release date. Yakuza Kiwami hits PC on February 19, 2019.

Yakuza Kiwami coming to Steam on Feb 19th, revealed on final frame of a GIF on Steam page //t.co/XTAgAxmV4v pic.twitter.com/bLAAinQVGl

— Wario64 (@Wario64) January 21, 2019

Sega could've just outright said the launch date, but tying the news into a nod to Kiwami's Majima Everywhere side activity is a touch more thoughtful. I also like the idea of random Steam users who have never played Yakuza coming across a strange man with an eyepatch hiding unde?r a manhole.

Technical issues aside, Yakuza on PC is a beautiful thing. It's truly never too late to discover this series for yourself, and while I think Yakuza 0 makes the best possible first impression and should be prioritized over Yakuza Kiwami for on-the-fence players, you can't rea?lly go wrong eith??er way.

When these games click, they're enthralling. All yours stresses melt away, and it feels like yo?u're home.

The post Yaku??za Kiwami PC reveals its February release date in a fun way appeared first on Destructoid.

Yakuzin for a bruisin!

That leak from earlier in the month was correct! Yakuza Kiwami and Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition will be headling November's PlayStation Plus free games. Both are well worth checking out, especially at the low price of free. I'd suggest not even bothering with the Duke Nukem content in Bulletstorm, but definitely pl??ay the main game and actually popul??ate the damn servers so people can properly co-op.

For last gen folks, you'll be able to nab the Arkedo Series bundle (which includes JUMP, SWAP, and PIXEL) and the Jackbox Party Pack 2. Vita owners will get two cross-buy enabled games in the form of Burly Men At Sea and Roundabout. Those may not be as high profile as the P??S4 offerings, but you can't ?complain about this list.

• Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition - PS4
• Yakuza Kiwami - PS4
• Arkedo Series - PS3
• Jackbox Party Pack 2 - PS3
• Burly Men At Sea - Vita (Cross-buy with PS4)
• Roundabout - Vita (Cross-buy with PS4)

PlayStation Plus: Free Games for November 2018 [PlayStation Blog]

The post PlayStation Plus lands a really solid month for N??ovember appeared first on Destructoid.

Wear the dragon

It's still kind of surreal to me that the Yakuza series is actually popular in the West. I've been playing them for roughly one-third of my life and I never expected the series to break beyond its niche. It has truly been a wild ride and I'm happy we can now all agree that Kiryu Kazuma is a badass. Sadly, there has been a dearth of merchandise for fans to show off their love. Apart from pop-up stores in Japan, where else can you get some official Yakuza branded t-shirts?

At the online Sega Shop, apparently. If you head over to Sega's official online store, you'll be able to grab some Yakuza Kiwami 2 themed shirts and hoodies as well as a blanket and phone case. They all sp??ort antagonist Goda Ryuji's golden dragon tattoo, which is totally awesome. The prices are a little bit high, but this is likely to be t?he only official merchandise we'll ever get.

Y2: Kiwami [Sega Shop]

The post There’s some rad Yakuza Kiwami 2 merchandise on the Sega website appeared first on Destructoid.

Baka mitai

For nearly as long as I’ve been playing Yakuza games, I’ve always read comments from fans saying, “These games are like Shenmue”. At first glance, that definitely sounds accurate. I even remember making such a claim after playing the demo for Yakuza 3, which  reminded me a lot of what I had heard about Sega’s Dreamcast cl??assic. It has taken me until now to see how wr??ong that statement is.

For those unaware, I’ve never personally owned a Dreamcast. My friend had one and I’ve played games on it, but the consumer distrust that Sega bred after the release of the Saturn got?? to me even in my youth. I absolutely loathed Sega’s 32-bit system and I didn’t want anything else to do with their consoles for the foreseeable future. Maybe i??t was just my nine-year-old self being hyperbolic, but I wrote off the Dreamcast long before it was even announced as coming west.

While that may or may not be a tragedy, it was how I felt at the time. That decision ended up causing me to miss out on some crazy and memorable games from Sega’s final console, most notably Shenmue. I’ve never had a frame of reference for properly comparing Yu Suzuki’s magnum opus to Yakuza, but after reviewing the two games this past week, I can finally make a declarative st?atem??ent.

Shenmue and Yakuza are really not that similar.

To an outsider, a cursory look might trick you into thinking both series are the same thing. Shenmue has you traveling around Japan and China in a semi open-world manner. You can talk to people, play mini-games, enter shops to buy items and even fight guys on the street. Yakuza is limited to Japan (with different cities), but everything else I mentioned above is accurate of Kiryu Kazuma’s journeys. The ex???ecution of these ideas is where the two series differ.

The main goal with Shenmue was to create an environment and atmosphere that could be mistaken as real. The famous concept behind Yu Suzuki’s epic is an acronym known as “FREE”. This stands for “Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment,” and it was a core philosophy that Suzuki and his team worked to embed in everything Shenmue had. If you wanted to talk to a random person, that should be possible at all times (and even fully voiced).?? If you wanted to chill out and play some arcade games, that should be poss??ible whenever you felt the urge.

There was a story with main characters in Shenmue, but the real desire was to expand the possibilities of gaming by presenting entirely new dynamics not feasible on older hardware. This can be seen in how progressing through the main campaign of the first Shenmue puts more of an emphasis on mundane activities over bare-knuckle brawling with thugs. For a martial arts game, Shenmue features very little fighting and a weird focus on living out Ry??o’s real life. It even culminates in him getting a job to pay for a ticket to China, which is the kind of stuff kung-fu films gloss over.

Shenmue even presents different scenarios based o??n when you appear to specific locations or on what in-game day you’re finishing a main? story sequence. There is a tremendous amount of missable cutscenes and content because real life has much the same thing. If you aren’t at a bar on Christmas Day, you might miss the chance to profess your undying love to your high school sweetheart.

For the Yakuza series, the main goal was to create a gaming experience geared more towards adults. At the time when Yakuza released in Japan, Sega was famously dealing with financial woes. The failure of the Dreamcast was still fresh (with Shenmue playing a huge role in that) and market trends were showing Sony and Nintendo making pushes towards teenagers. Microsoft had also jumped into the?? console market and it seemed like the medium was starting to “grow up”.

Instead of trying to create a game with mass appeal, Yakuza series producer Toshihiro Nagoshi wanted to make a game specifically for the Japanese market.? Sega wasn’t doing well in any regard and Nagoshi figured honing in on something only they could provide would resonate with a home audience. After some extensive research (a.k.a. drinking at dive bars in Tokyo) and hiring a famed Japanese crime novelist, Nagoshi’s team set out to properly replicate the Japanese underworld and show that gaming could move past being simply high scores or quarter munching.

With that, the very opening of the first Yakuza should show you how different both teams approached game design. Yakuza sets up a clear story, has intense cinematic direction and incredible voice acting and always guides the player through the journe??y to maintain pro??per pacing of its plotline. There are side distractions, sure, but you likely will never be without an idea of how to progress in Kiryu’s story.

The emphasis that Shenmue puts on fleshing out its setting of Yokosuka, Japan is not present in Yakuza’s fictionalized version of Tokyo. There is a layer of authenticity to how Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios’ created Kamurocho (Yakuza’s main setting), modeling it closely after Tokyo’s own Kabukicho district, but you never have the same level of interaction as present in Shenmue. Nagoshi’s team certainly wanted to create an environment yo??u felt connected to, but wisely stepped away from detailing too much of it and focused more on fleshing out other aspects of the game.

Even the side activities in Yakuza don’t take center stage. You could make that same argument for Shenmue, but Yu Suzuki’s vision includes waiting around for multiple in-game hours while time passes and new events can occur. This necessitates doing something to kill time, which is where the arcade cabinets (or gacha dispensers) come in. In Yakuza, the only thing stopping you from prog??ressing is walking to the next waypoint.

Beyond that, even the pedestrians present in Yakuza bear little resemblance to Shenmue’s obscene level of detail. Since there isn’t much story purpose in talking with random bums or little children in Yakuza, the game doesn’t allow you to do so. Some NPCs might give a single line of dialogue, but that is it and you’re on your way. In Shenmue, you’ll be talking to seemingly everyone since the game demands you piece clues toge???ther on your own.

The action sequences, as well, play out with entirely different design methodologies. Shenmue uses an engine repurposed from Virtua Fighter (of which the game originated as a prequel to the fighting series) whereas Yakuza could be more closely linked to Streets of Rage. Shenmue wants you to practice your martial arts, focus on skills that you find useful and execute them like a true master of kung fu. Yakuza just lets you smack dudes in a visceral manner with simplified inputs and combo strings. You even get RPG-lite systems that see Kiryu level-up, where Shenmue is mostly about your own journey with conquering its control scheme (though moves will get stron??ger as you use them).

What you prefer is entirely subjective, but each game feels nothing alike. I guess removing layers and layers of nuance will reveal the central idea of “Martial-arts action,” but the execution is key. Both games couldn’t feel less alike if Sega tried. Even the quick-time events play out differently, with Shenmue relegating entire sequences to them while Yakuza uses them to? punctu??ate devastating finishers in combat.

Could one even say any aspect of the two series' is similar? For sure: there is definitely some crossover between the two series. In action, though, y??ou really don’t get the same thing playing one over the other. Both are targeted at a different audience and mindset and that is completely okay.

What drew me to falling in love with Yakuza was split between the writing of its characters and its mixture of old-school, arcade gameplay design with new technology. What I enjoyed from my time with Shenmue was how it made you feel organically connected to its game world and the respect it paid to martial arts philosophy. Any influence that is present is likely because Nagoshi worked as a supervisor to Suzuki while Shenmue was being made.

Really, though, just stop comparing the two series. Each does something totally different and it is really diminutive to try and say they are the same. If Yakuza is Shenmue, then Deadly Premonition is Shenmue. Resident Evil 4 is Shenmue. Heavy Rain is Shenmue. T??he impact of Sega’s legendary game can be felt in so many titles that you can see it in even the most far removed of genres. That doesn’t suddenly mean that these games are similar to Yu Suzuki’s.

The post Shenmue and Yakuza are really not that similar appeared first on Destructoid.

IKUZO!

For years now, I’ve been a huge fan of the Yakuza series. The first title I played was Yakuza 3 back in 2011 and it took me by complete surprise. It was basically everything I had ever wanted out of a video game, right down to kooky characters and gut-wrenching ac??tion moments. It also had an extreme atte??ntion to detail in recreating a small slice of Tokyo, a city I’ve always fantasized about visiting.

When the chance arose to speak with the localization team behind the series, I couldn’t pass that up. I had always wondered about how one gets started doing localization or what the process might be for selecting which features get cut. With Yakuza 6 releasing soon, it felt like the best opportunity to have a chat with Scott Strichart and Sam Mullen (producers over at A??tlus that handle Sega’s Japanese content). While I wasn’t able to directly talk to them, I did put together a couple of questions that hopefully answers how the localization process isn’t as straightforward as you might think.

_{[Art gallery image courtesy of Sarah Wellock]}

To start off, I asked Sam and Scott how the two of them even ended up working on localization for the Yakuza series. The cliff notes version is that they happened into it, but the longer story is a bit more detailed. For Sam, he started his career working on deployment and project management on Japanese cell phone games in a pre-smartphone era. This soon led to him becoming a project manager on deploying Japanese games into Western markets, which he describ?es as being, “effectively localization.”

For Scott, his story is more of an underdog tale. After receiving his English teaching degree, Scott found himself broke, unemployed, and disillusioned with his life. He took a long shot and applied as an editor and tester at a local company to keep himself afloat. That company turned out to be Atlus and after a single project in QA, Scott was brought on as an editor for the Nintendo DS game Drone Tactics. As he states, “I still? have that game, sealed, on my desk. Never forget your roots…But don’t play them, either.”

Both men have worked on a tremendous amount of titles. When asking about their personal favorites, both agreed that it was too difficult to pick one game. “Games are like children,” Sam says. “There are no favorites. Each is special in its own way.” Still, some of the more notable titles each has worked on include the SEGA Vintage Collection, Persona 4, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Project DIVA, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, and Class of Heroes (the first game the two worked on together).

With such a broad range of genres and styles, I obviously wanted to know how long a typical game would take to localize. I stuck more to the Yakuza series when asking this, but Sam’s answer can apply to almost any text-heavy Japanese game. In his words, “[The length] depends on a lot of factors, including the number of Japanese characters in a game…and the number of people we can allocate to the project. The Yakuza series has become easier to localize over time and with the move to the Japanese version needing to support both Traditional Chinese and Korean at launch…there’s been a lot of improvement in our ability to engage earlier and more eff??ectively on the series.”

Scott then followed that up by stating, “To give you some context, Yakuza 0…the largest Yakuza game my team has actually worked on, started pre-production in December 2015 and didn’t go gold until November 2016. By comparison, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, which despite being a more focused game with a larger team, still look 10-11 months from pre-pro??????????????????????????duction…to QA and final submission.”

That seems like an awful lot of time just for translation, doesn’t it? But localization doesn’t just mean taking text and dumping it into Google translate.? There are a ?lot more factors that a team must account for when trying to convey a message that the game director wanted.

“We do a lot more than translation,” Sam pointed out. “There is a common misconception that a localization team just translates, but that is just a small sliver of what our job entails.” He then mentioned how a direct 1:1 translation of text would lose ?the cultural nuance of the text, so the teams often adapt the relevance of sentences for the Western audience. The game also needs to be readied for localization, meaning a team cannot work on a project without the go-ahead fr??om Atlus or Sega.

As for which Yakuza title took them the longest, both Sam and Scott agree that Yakuza 5 was a massive project. As Sam stated, “Yakuza 5 wasn’t ?built to be easily localized in the first place.” This can be seen in the many cultural standards that aren’t brought up in Western games (such as playable character Shinada being a reviewer of sexy massage parlors).

So with localization demanding a careful eye on cultural relevance, does the localization team have any say on what content gets retained during the games? I mainly questioned about the side stories that are prevalent in the Yakuza series, since a lot of them use Western lingo to co??nvey comedy or drama depending on the s??ituation.

“We just need to make sure the emotional beats in the substories that we do get land like they’re supposed,” states Scott. “If the story is meant to tug on you??r heart strings, we make it do that. If it’s meant to make you laugh, we ?make sure it’s funny.” Sam then followed up with, “We don’t censor anything if we can help it.”

As diehard fans may already know, Yakuza 3 was a victim of content being cut in order to ensure its release. This resulted in the removal of content that was deemed “heavily rooted” in Japanese culture. Sega did eventually relent with Yakuza 4, but the damage was done and people were a bit ??an?gry. While I mistakenly inferred the translation was broken, Sam did say that the game was, “a product of its time.”

Scott elaborated: “I’d love the chance to [restore cut content]…It’s less about ‘fixing’ and more about bringing your own strengths to the table on restoring older games.” He then continued by explaining how he takes more notice of the Kansai accent and how his personal styling of Kiryu’s dialog in Yakuza 0 and 6, which demanded the character be more impassioned than other games, is something he has brought into the Kiwami remakes. He did end by saying, “Having done four games now, getting the opportunity to bring that consistency back to Yakuza 3 would be really cool.”

As with any Yakuza interview, I had to ask what the chances of Sega localizing Kenzan and Ishin might be. Both games have remained Japanese exclusives and for good reason; they feature periods of Japan’s history that Western audiences know next to nothing about. While the answer wasn’t a definite “no,” as Sam puts it, “We’re releasing four Yakuza games within the span of two years and are doing all we can to meet the demand of the fans. Just keep buying our games if you like them.” Scott followed up with, “Short of dedicating this entire office to Yakuza localizations, we’re going as fast as ?we can!”

Something else that wasn’t a definite “no” was the chance of the West eventually seeing the PS3/Wii U Yakuza HD Collection. The fi??nal answer: greater than zero percent and less than 100 percent! That may not be the confirmation everyone was looking for, but it does at least keep the dream ??alive.

The best way to wrap up was to ask both men how much they enjoyed having t??he chance to localize games. Both had some very inspirational things to say about ??????????????????????????their work.

Sam: “Since we work with parties around the world, there’s never any downtime. There’s always something that needs attention…But at the end of the day, you get a game that people can enjoy and the fans are so wonderful and encouraging. It rea??lly does get you up out of bed and out the door; becau?se you know you can get out there and make something amazing.”

Scott: “Sometimes, when our games are erupting into dumpster fires because of this and that…we’ll [Scott and Sam] look at each other say ‘LIVIN’ THE DREAM, RIGHT?’ because it’s true. As much as things challenge us, as hard as they can be, we’re getting paid to make video games happen. Standing in that room when we announced Yakuza Kiwami 2…hearing the entire room literally erupt because they saw a subtitle over Kiryu&rsqu??o;s face; I live for it.”

The post Ta?lking localization with Yakuza localization producers Scott Strichart and Sam Mullen appeared first on Destructoid.

Haruka, no!!!!

During the inaugural PlayStation experience in 2014, viewers were graced the amazing gift of the announcement that Yakuza 5 would be localized for the west. The following year, Sony confirmed that Yakuza 0 would grace western consoles and in 2016, we were given confirmation that Kiwami and 6 would be coming. Whether intentional or not, the PlayStation Experience has become synonymous with Yakuza.

So imagine my pain when I found out that 2017's PSX won't feature anything Yakuza related. Announced during an official livestream of Yakuza 0, Sam Mullen and Scott Strichart (Sega of America localization producers) confirmed the terrible news for all Yakuza fans. Whil??e I'm saddened, I can defi?nitely understand why.

The two most recent Ryu Ga Gotoku studio games are Kiwami 2 and Fist of the North Star, both of which have not released in Japan yet. While Kiwami 2 isn't far off (it releases December 7), Sega wouldn't really be in a position to show anyth??ing from a localization. They could announce a plan to translate these games, but we'd still be waiting at least 12 months before being able to play anything. It makes more sense to save that for next year.

Mullen and Strichart did at least reassure fans that 2018 will be a "great year" for Yakuza, so I'm sure we'll be getting some kind of surprise after Yakuza 6 launches. I can't imagine Sega would just stop after bringing 6 to the west, so I'm still hopeful for Kiwami 2.

No Yakuza ann??ounceme??nt at PSX 2017, 2018 will be a "great year" for Yakuza [Reset Era]

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Mad Dragon of Dojima

Similar to Yakuza 0 earlier this year, Yakuza Kiwami will be receiving a bunch of free DLC following i??ts release at the end of this month. There will be four packs, in total, that each bring about costumes for Kiryu to change into as well as some items to help you along in the story. While I'm not sure why Sega doesn't ?just include all of this on release (since all of the costumes are finished and released in Japan), at least they aren't charging for any of this stuff.

The different packs will come in the form of patches to the game and will be released weekly. You'll need to find Bob Utsunomiya, the series' iconic clown character, in Kamurocho to redeem these items. Starting on September 5, we'll receive the Kiwami Fun Pack 1 and 2 along with the Kiwami Street Pack 1 and 2. These will include the following:

Kiwami Fun Pack - September 5

• Dragon Tattoo – Kiryu’s shirtless outfit
• Toughness Emperor – Stamina/healthy recovery item
• Tauriner ++ – Stamina/healthy recovery item
• Staminan Royale – Stamina/healthy recovery item
• Modified Model Gun – Handgun weapon
• Gold Plate – Sell for cash item

Kiwami Street Pack - September 12

• Prison Escapee – Kiryu’s prison outfit
• Extra Balance Motor – Pocket Circuit part
• Extra Slim Tires – Pocket Circuit part
• Boost Gears – Pocket Circuit part
• Speed Frame Plus – Pocket Circuit part
• Stone of Enduring – Item that protects against a critical attack once

Kiwami Fun Pack 2 - September 19

• Black Suit – Kiryu’s black suit outfit
• Toughness Infinity – Stamina/health recovery item
• Tauriner Maximum – Stamina/health recovery item
• Staminan Spark – Stamina/health recovery item
• Marlin Cannon – Hand-held cannon
• Platinum Plate – Sell for cash item

Kiwami Street Pack 2 - September 26

• Snake Skin Jacket – Majima’s Outfit
• Killer Bee – Pocket Circuit car
• Godspeed Motor – Pocket Circuit part
• Super Slim Tires – Pocket Circuit part
• Godspeed Gears Plus – Pocket Circuit part
• New Bumper Plate – Pocket Circuit part
• Sacrifice Stone – Item that protects against death once

The best suit has to be Majima's outfit, which is the iconic snake skin jacket he has donned in every entry. I would love the ability to play as Majima, but I can understand leaving that out of a remake. This isn't a total reinvention of the series, just a touch-up that the classic deserves. Also, Yakuza 0 is still a game and that features Majima, so it??'s not like you can't play as him.

Yakuza Kiwami Free DLC Outlined [Yakuza Fan]

The post Yakuza Kiwami’s free DLC gets outlined, lets you rock Majima’s jacket appeared first on Destructoid.

Kiryu's stomping grounds sure look pretty

Yakuza Kiwami, the complete remake of the original classic, will be releasing next month (August 29, to be exact). To get us hyped for our return to Kamurocho (or first time, for some), Sega has given us a short trailer that shows all of the crazy things you can ??do. There is a quick look at the four different fighting styles Kiryu will have at his disposal as well as some of the mini-games you can partake in.

None of this is new (or even unexpected), but any chance I get to share more Yakuza info is an opportunity I will take. More people should play this series, even if you skip 0 for whatever reason and go straight here. You should really play 0, though; it's pretty damn great!

Yakuza Kiwami Trailer Takes Us Through The Streets Of?? Kamurocho [Siliconera]

The post Get ready to revisit the streets of Kam??urocho in Yakuza Kiwami appeared first on Destructoid.

Like a Dragon

I can't say I've ever associated the Yakuza series with the "bro" community. No offense to anyone, but Yakuza is more about honor and bombast than about the bond between friends. Then again, Kiwami is a remake of the first game? and that storyline focuses on the falling out of series protagonist (and almost literal god) Kiryu Kazuma and his sworn brother Nishikiyama Akira, so maybe that is where this marketing pitch is coming from.

If you happen to make a digital pre-order for Yakuza Kiwami (and miss out on that rad steelbook?!), you'll receive a PS4 theme that is all a??bout the "bros." From the looks of the images Sega has sent over, it follows the typical grayscale theming that the series has enjoyed since its inception. It also is sorely lacking in Majima representation, so I'??m not sure how I feel about that.

Dressing up your PS4 front end with some sweet Yakuza images is never a bad thi??ng, though you can just apply your own wallpapers in the newest system update. Hell, you can even take the h??eader from this post! At least that has Majima!

The post Digital pre-orders for Yakuza Kiwami will include a ‘brotastic’ theme appeared first on Destructoid.

YATTA!

Sega has made a lot of strides with porting over Japanese made games to PC. Just this year we've seen ports of Bayonetta and Vanquish, so it looks like the sky is the li??mit when it comes to series. In an interview with PC Gamer, John Clark (Sega's senior VP of commercial publi??shing) said, "If I asked you to write me a list of ten games you want Sega to bring out on PC, it probably isn't any different from the list [we have]."

In regards to Yakuza, Clark started, "It's on that list. Of course something we're talking about it… that would just be incredible to bring that to the PC audience." As for Persona? "Of course, of course...We don't feel that anyt??hing is off the table in term?s of these conversations."

So will we see these games by the end of the year? Only time will tell, but its looking more likely that Sega's niche titles will be arriving to PC at some point. If Bandai Namco can make a success out of Dark Souls on?? PC, then I'm sure any off-kilter game has a fighting chance.

Yakuza and Persona are 'on that list'?? of games Sega wants to bring to PC [PC Gamer]

The post Sega seems up for Yakuza and Persona on PC appeared first on Destructoid.

Worth the wait

It was a long wait, but the care Sega put into this is not only worth the wait but worthy of commendation. Yakuza Kiwami will be in? available on August 29, 2017 for PlayStation 4. It will be $29.99, £29.99, €34.??99  in both physical and digital format. First print copies will ship with stunning tattoo-decorated SteelBooks.

If you weren't already aware, Yakuza Kiwami is a full remake of the original Yakuza game that originally released on PlayStation 2 back in 2006. On top of all-new graphics built from the ground up, new distractions, additional side quests, and 30 minutes of new cutscenes the remake will feature recorded audio for ?the whole game by the original Japanese voice cast (the original localization featured only bad English voice-overs). And oh yeah, it will run at 1080p/60 frames per second.

If you're intimidated by all the entries, characters, and plot information, Sega has created an interactive website called the Yakuza Experience to help newcomers out. An interactive timeline, character map, and animated comic strip cover events and characters up to 1995 in the in-game universe, where Yakuza Kiwami begins. That includes events in Yakuza 0, so be wary of spoilers if you haven't played?? that one yet.

Whew, let me catch my breath. Take note developers; this is how you honor your games and fans, with remakes crafted from the heart. When we're harsh?? on companies for low effort work, it's because stuff like this is being done. I couldn't be more excited to play this game.

The post Yakuza Kiwami finally gets an August release date appeared first on Destructoid.

No tattoos included

Both Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami, the latter being a full "rebuilt-from-scratch" remake of the original Yakuza game, are coming west. Yakuza Kiwami will release in summer 2017 and 6 drops "early 2018." 

Kiwami originally released on January 21, 2016 in Japan. Yakuza 6 releases December 8, 2016 in Japan.

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