Sony have released the second part in their Yakuza 5 developer interview, where Gio Corsi from PlayStation interviews the Yakuza series Director Toshihiro Nagoshi and Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama. In this part of the interview, they first discuss the international fanbase. Nagoshi thinks it makes sense that there’s a fanbase for the game outside of Japan given how unique the game is, even though he didn’t necessarily expect there to be one. When asked how much the game actually reflects the Japanese culture, Yokoyama mentions they put a lot of work in replicating real locations in Japan.
They also talk about the hostess clubs, which Nagoshi really wanted to include because he hadn’t seen them featured in any other game. He also mentions the various stories in the game are all based on things they themselves experienced or heard about in real life. Even though they were altered, for example for comedic purposes, none of the stories are entirely imaginary. Yokoyama gave a specific example, saying the people who work on the hostess club scripts for the game all visit actual hostess clubs in order to gain inspiration for the game’s stories.
When asked about how the game’s characters are designed, Nagoshi says the initial designs of the characters are inspired by the script. That design is then refined, for example by making the face better fit the character’s speaking style. Since Kiryu isn’t a very talkative type, his expressions and body language are an important aspect of his character, so special care was taken to make sure his characters design supports that. Lastly, Nagoshi talks about the game’s combat, saying that they’ve improved the gameplay based on feedback from the fans. For more information, you can watch the full interview below. Yakuza 5 is scheduled to be released this fall as a digital download on PlayStation 3.
