Company Sega confirmed GameMAG.ru, what role-playing game Yakuza: Like a Dragon tomorrow, February 24, 2023, will receive a patch with Russian localization… It will be possible to download it after 18:00 Moscow time.
We also spoke with the veteran of the series and the senior producer of the project. Masayoshi Yokoyama about the future of Yakuza, memes from “Baka Mitai”, the debut of the franchise on the Xbox and how the developers came to the decision to translate the last game into Russian. Thanks to Sega and SoftKlab for this opportunity.
What prompted you to decide to translate Yakuza: Like a Dragon into Russian?
We want our games to be available to the widest possible audience. It also seemed to me for a long time that people living in Russia have a certain “resilience” that can make them intimate with the heroes of the Yakuza series. This is how the translation was born – it was important for us that strong-willed Russian girls and guys could touch our gaming universe.
Should we now wait for the translation of future Yakuza issues into Russian?
Personally, I would really like that players from all over the world can get to know Yakuza in their native language. In the future, we will continue to look for opportunities to delight the Russian-speaking audience. Your support means a lot, so if you want to show your interest in our initiative, please play Yakuza: Like a Dragon!
Now that Yakuza: Like a Dragon is available not only in Japan but also in Western markets, how do you rate the user reaction to the game? Especially considering the major genre shift and the emergence of brand new characters.
It seems to me that since launch, the game has continued to consistently receive more and more positive reviews. This, of course, flatters us.
Two key points about Yakuza: Like a Dragon, especially in the case of the Japanese audience, can be summed up as follows – we changed the central protagonist and changed the genre component. In the homeland of Kasugu Ichiban, gamers met just fine. At the same time, it is curious that many fans were much more interested in exactly the rearrangements in the gameplay.
When it comes to long-running shows like Yakuza, fans tend to view any change with a healthy dose of skepticism or even downright rejection. They like the things they are used to. Therefore, I was very worried about how fans of the franchise would react to the new protagonist. But simultaneously with the change of the hero, we turned the genre arrow, resulting in a spectacular maneuver – everyone was very impressed.
Now the Japanese market is developing in such a way that players are more and more drawn to really bright releases, to which they can return again and again. Attempts to cash in on trends and artificially draw attention to your product fade into the background. But in the West, sales are doing very well. As developers, we are very pleased to know that quality games resonate with gamers from all over the world with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. But along with this comes great responsibility. I would like to believe that we will continue to be able to release funny and memorable games.
How difficult was it for you to turn your attention to Kasugi Ichibana after so many years with Kazuma Kiryu and his story?
In the Yakuza universe, characters are constants that set the mood and tone for everything else. Accordingly, the new protagonist must somehow change these principles at the most basic level. Kazuma Kiryu is a person with an impeccable faith in himself, he is ready to go to the enemy without fear. But if Ichibana is put in his place, then a very strong contrast is immediately noticeable.
Ichiban is a living charisma and the personification of heroism, but at the same time he is much more vulnerable compared to Kiryu. In the global hierarchy of the underworld, his place is at the very bottom, he is deprived of power or a loud reputation. Therefore, when Ichi confronts the challenges of fate, his faithful friends must be next to them.
Unlike Kiryu, Kasuga isn’t shy about chatting, laughing and fooling around. He is literally the opposite of Kiryu, and it is these qualities that unite other people around him. They may share a common goal with Ichiban, but at some point their relationship will surely grow into friendship, into a classic “union” for role-playing games, capable of repelling villains.
And in order to show how significant a shift the new protagonist brings with it, during the creation of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, we decided to make major adjustments to a wide variety of gameplay systems, from combat mechanics to various mini-games. In other words, the departure from Kiryu to Ichiban resulted in fundamental changes in almost every aspect.
Are you going to develop the turn-based combat system inherent in Yakuza: Like a Dragon in the next part of Yakuza?
We deeply believe that games should literally immerse players in their worlds and stories. Any changes to the gameplay, including those affecting the combat system, are just tools to help better translate the narrative we have created. It so happened that this time the most successful solution was the implementation of RPG mechanics. Simply put, when working on a new project, the features of its gameplay will primarily be dictated by the storyline we have chosen and the central protagonist.
Given how gigantic and detailed the city of Yokohama turned out to be in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is it reasonable to assume that this is where the main events of the next parts of the franchise will now unfold? Or will the Kamurocho district of Tokyo continue to play a significant role in the cross-cutting storyline?
The future is quite unpredictable (laughs).
Considering that before we even released historical offshoots like Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! and Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin !, it is somewhat problematic to say now what awaits the players next.
Towards the end of Yakuza: Like a Dragon Kasuga Ichiban is a rather mature character, the days of his youth are long gone. How difficult was it for you to create such a hero?
In fact, there were practically no difficulties. Ichiban and I are about the same age, so it seems to me that we managed to fairly reliably portray an ordinary Japanese man who is a little over 40. It’s great if players can see a real living Japanese in him.
In the future, would you like to develop the Yakuza universe by releasing more different offshoots like the detective action Judgment (Judge Eyes)?
There are always enough ideas, but I will not voice them now.
At the same time, I will note an interesting fact, somewhat departing from the question. Recently, fake “leaks” from foreign gamers have come across my eyes more and more actively. This has never happened before. In a sense, this is an indicator that Ryu ga Gotoku Studio’s projects have been able to reach a new wide audience. Therefore, now I need to very carefully control myself in conversations with the foreign press (laughs).
The release times for Yakuza games in Japan and the West have shrunk. Do you think the day will come one day when the next Yakuza will be released simultaneously all over the world?
I can’t promise anything. But lately, the boundaries between Japan and the rest of the world in terms of release dates and supported languages have really begun to blur. We are making every effort to continue working in this direction and achieve one day world premieres.
The central narrative in the Yakuza franchise usually has a fairly linear structure – events take place in a clear chronological sequence. But Yakuza 0 set the story back on track, featuring familiar characters in previously unfamiliar images of the past. Does Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio enjoy working on prequels?
The serial format has its strengths. We can clearly show the development of characters from release to release, we can use our favorite characters in order to set a new vector of development for the plot, we can change the central focus from one character to another. But there are also disadvantages. For example, if you kill a certain character, in the future it becomes infinitely difficult to bring him back into the narrative.
Prequels exist in the past, they are not subject to such restrictions. But, as for me, such a technique can only work effectively once. By constantly stepping back and forth in chronology, we in some sense devalue our own previous work. This is a very interesting topic from the author’s point of view, and should be treated with all due attention.
When localizers are taken to adapt a Japanese script, do they always try to match Yakuza’s Japanese-centric nature as much as possible? Or do translators confidently allow themselves to adapt various elements, making them more accessible and understandable for a foreign audience?
In addition to key plot details, it is very important that players fully understand the emotional resonance of the worlds and characters we create. It often happens that a literal translation is not able to fully convey such subtle matters. Different languages convey thoughts and feelings in different ways. Therefore, our team of localizers puts all their strength and talents in order to find the perfect balance. They try to stay true to the original text, while adapting emotions in other languages as best they can. We hope to be able to speak to Yakuza fans in a wide variety of languages in the future.
The Yakuza franchise recently debuted on the Xbox family of consoles. How was the game received by the fans of these platforms? Do you plan to support the Xbox brand in the future?
Now the series has the widest audience in its entire history.
Together with the Xbox, we stepped into uncharted territory. Together we entered new regions, began to translate games into new languages. All this contributed to the fact that Yakuza is now played by gamers from all over the world. This is a very nice return and I can only thank the Xbox team for giving us the opportunity.
The console market is a space that is highly technology-sensitive. Iron is changing, and with it we are looking for new ways to realize our creative vision. We constantly reflect on what exactly our audience is like, what it expects. These thoughts fill our hearts with real zeal, which we are later inspired in work and creativity. The evolution of hardware and production cycles go hand in hand with the evolution of game artists and authors. In the future, I would like to continue moving in this direction, overcoming new obstacles.
Thanks to the power of the Internet, the karaoke song “Baka Mitai” has become a real world hit and one of the loudest memes of the past year. How does your team feel about such fame? Are you a fan of fan art, various Yakuza themed jokes and memes?
From the standpoint of a fan – I really like that. It is incredibly interesting to see how the audience finds common ground with our games.
But it is important to remember that Internet memes, despite their sincere fervor, in essence remain fleeting and completely intangible. This is transient information. A minute-long video can make you laugh, but you forget about it just as quickly. We are working to create things that can really resonate with people, will stay with them for a very long time. But, I confess, “Baka Mitai” is a separate case altogether.
I’m not sure if the analogy is good, but I’ll try to draw it anyway. There is a noticeable difference between when you make fun of something and when you make fun of something that was specifically designed to bring joy. Our team works according to the second scenario. We want to continue to create things that can make you smile. A smile that will stay with you for a long time.
There are many fans of the Yakuza franchise in Russia. Could you leave a message for them?
From the entire Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio team to Russian players – thank you so much! And please enjoy Yakuza: Like a Dragon! We will be very pleased if you like the game and start sharing your impressions more actively. We hope to see many new YouTube videos and Twitch streams!
Yakuza is a single-player game. But you don’t have to enjoy it in splendid isolation. You can spend time with it in the company of friends, as many do when watching a movie or having fun playing board games.
Now is a truly unique time, and it is not always possible to spend it in the usual way. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look for more reasons to be happy. I sincerely believe and hope that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will give you the most vivid impressions!
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is officially available in Europe and Russia on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S and PC… The patch with Russian language will be released on February 24 after 18:00 Moscow time…
Yakuza: Like a Dragon international premiere on PlayStation 5 on March 2, 2023…
Read our great Yakuza: Like a Dragon review here…
Also Read: Style Bouncer: Our First Impressions of Knockout City…
Add to our Telegram channel using this link or search for it manually in the search by name gmradost… There we publish, including what does not get into the news feed. Also subscribe to us in Yandex.Dzen, Twitter and VK. And don’t forget that we now have a dark theme and ribbon instead of tiles.
