series, which takes combat in a different direction to its predecessors.Its full Japanese title is Ryu ga Gotoku 7, which roughly translates to Yakuza 7: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness – though its name in the West will be Yakuza: Like a Dragon – is headlined by an all-new main character, Ichiban Kasuga, but the biggest shake up is its approach to how fighting plays out. The brawling action of past games is being swapped out for turn-based combat.
Gematsu has translated the Japanese press release which describes how the game uses a “”live command RPG battle” system that combines the series’ signature action with an RPG-style command system. It has evolved into a system in which anyone can easily enjoy exhilarating battles. In this completely new battle system, Ichiban Kasuga and his party will fight by selecting techniques with various effects such as attack, recovery, support, and more.”
Interestingly, Sega actually first teased this development in a since deleted April Fool’s video earlier this year. The video showed Kasuga engaging in turn-based combat as programmers tweaked the code.
Yakuza 7 will launch on PS4 in Japan on 16 January, 2020, with a release in the West slated for later in the year. It’ll be playable at Tokyo Game Show next month. In the meantime, Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 are coming to North America for the PlayStation 4 as part of the brand new Yakuza Remastered Collection.
Alysia Judge is a writer and presenter. Chat to her on Twitter @alysiajudge.
