Yakuza: Like a Dragon Weekly Famitsu developer interview tidbits

Various new details on the seventh numbered Yakuza title.

The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu has an interview with the development staff of Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness), which shares various new information about the title.

Get the tidbits below.

Unlike Kazuma Kiryu, Ichiban Kasuga is not a man of immense strength who can march into enemy territory by himself. He fights alongside his friends, and the game system that best expresses this fact is an RPG.
The April Fool’s video was well received. Since we never said that’s how its going to be, the legitimacy of the praise is another question entirely.
We want to prove that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio can properly create something other than an action adventure game.
While it may have been a decision that deviates from assured income on the business side, upper management recognized our courage to take a leap of faith and go down a new path.
This is a numbered Yakuza title because the studio considers it a true successor of the Yakuza series.
By developing and leveling up your characters, you will be able to compete against stronger enemies. The concept of Yakuza 7 is to be able to experience a “rise up from the bottom.”
Character abilities, preparations made before battle, combination of party members, and strategies will influence the outcome of battles.
There are no elements where traditional forms of action step in.
It feels as if you are playing an action game.
Rather than play out a set “scene” like your typical command RPG, the surroundings are calculated and controlled in real-time. If there is a trash can or bicycle nearby, you will automatically kick it to attack. If a car passes by, it can run you over. Judging your surroundings is another form of strategy.
Each attack has an attack range, and you can also deal area-of-effect damage.
The flow of the story is the same as the episodes depicted in Yakuza Online, but everything from character relationships to events is different.
Overall gameplay time is longer than previous titles. The main story alone is more than twice as long.
By playing sub-stories and play spots, both Kasuga and his party will become stronger. You can also earn money, experience points, and skills.
You can set jobs for characters.
You can also play it like a pure RPG where you earn experience points and level up through battle alone.
Depending on the party member, there are both jobs that are easy to become, as well as jobs difficult to become.
The game uses a symbol encounter system. There are also enemies that appear out of nowhere and turn into battles.
The feeling of walking the streets is the same as previous titles.
The map size has significantly increased, and some areas have strong enemies that cannot be defeated unless you develop your characters to a certain level.
There is a fast travel system.
There will not be any areas blocked off due the story. Instead, strong enemies will act as barriers.
Like an RPG, you can equip a weapon and accessories, as well as head, body, and leg equipment.
There are also elemental weapons.
Yokohama is not ruled by either the Tojo Clan or the Omi Alliance. You will find out why when you play the game.
The in-game Ijincho is quite different from the Chojamachi of the real world. It incorporates the essence that it used to be an entertainment district back in the day.
Ijincho is made into the point that people who live around the real Yokohama might get mad at us and say, “Our city isn’t like this!”
Not including dungeons and such, the pure size of the area is three to four times bigger than Kamurocho.
Each area has different grade equipment you can buy.
You will also go to Kamurocho at a certain point in the game.
Dragon Quest appears as a normal world that exists in the game.
The name Dragon Quest itself is used quite often. Puff-Puff also appears, but with different wording.
When you enter battle, both your own and the enemy’s appearance transform. Enemies will wear trash cans on their heads, be half-naked, or have different names. Even party members will suddenly pull out swords.
Battles are depicted as RPG-like landscapes because that is how Kasuga imagines them. From an outsider’s perspective, it’s just seen as a regular fight.
The only form of enjoyment Kasuga ever had as a child was playing Dragon Quest. He pictures himself as the hero who will one day go on an adventure. His belief in fighting fair and square was influenced by Dragon Quest. Battles are constantly influenced by the world of Dragon Quest.
Being betrayed by his boss and cast away in a strange land is Kasuga in the midst of his adventure. Making allies strengthens that feeling, and that is what we’re expressing with battles this time.
When it is a game set in modern times, it’s hard to tell how strong a character is just by their looks or features. The theme of Kasuga’s battles is to make that distinguishable by implementing RPG elements.
For instance, if the enemy is using an excavator, punching an excavator doesn’t look realistic at all in real life. Although if the looks are altered, it’ll make sense.
Playing it still feels like a Yakuza game, nothing has been lost there.
We’re not tackling simple ideas and habits. We chose the name Yakuza 7 with readiness, determination, and pride.
Recently some people tell me, “I’m a fan! I’ve watched all the past titles on Let’s Plays!” But are they truly fans? I’d say they absolutely are. I consider a kind of reply to this situation is Yakuza 7.
The real life value of a game creator is to make something that you will actually want to play with a controller. I want to make something that won’t satisfy with Let’s Plays alone. We’re actually making this with a pretty serious theme of “reinventing where video games stand as a media.”