Yakuza: Like a Dragon represented a significant shift in direction for Sega’s acclaimed series. Nearly every game beforehand featured real-time, beat-’em-up-style combat, but Like a Dragon abandoned that approach in favor of an old-school, turn-based RPG battle system. This sudden change in genre risked alienating longtime fans of the Yakuza series, but developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s gamble paid off. The critical and commercial success of Like a Dragon has no doubt left fans wondering how the developers will build upon this new direction in a future installment. Although Sega didn’t provide the answer to that question directly, the company nonetheless allowed footage of the upcoming Yakuza 8 to surface online.
This new footage came courtesy of Mikuru Asakura, a well-known mixed martial artist who recently paid a visit to Sega’s development headquarters. The video of his visit lasts around 17 minutes and mostly consists of him interacting with a few of Sega’s employees. Later on, though, the video starts showing brief snippets of Yakuza 8 footage displayed on a computer monitor, which will undoubtedly stand out to those watching.
Returning faces
The footage in question includes Ichiban Kasuga, the new main protagonist introduced in Like a Dragon, alongside fellow party members Koichi Adachi and Yu Nanba. Although the footage does not reveal much aside from a cutscene, it seems safe to assume that Yakuza 8 will retain the turn-based combat style of its predecessor. The only other bit of information we have on Yakuza 8 comes from Famitsu, which stated that the game will feature Asakura’s likeness as well as a new town to explore.
Hopefully, Sega will unveil additional footage showing more concrete details about the game soon. Even though Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi no longer works at Sega, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio will likely still put out a polished product given the developer’s consistency.
