Tag Archives: Yakuza

Yakuza Kiwami Korea Logo

New Commercial For Yakuza Kiwami Korean Version – The Story Continues…

Speaking of silly commercials

When we last saw Toshihiro Nagoshi, he had revealed something powerful to the Korean mafia – a Korean copy of Yakuza Kiwami.

After this plot twist, the story continues with a tense exchange over drinks, and a quick overview of some of the game’s action sequences.

All of it culminating with Nagoshi dropping a major bombshell: the release date of the Korean version of Yakuza Kiwami. His business partner on the other side of the table is absolutely shell-shocked.

May 26th, 2016. The date when the magic happens.

Check out the minute and a half trailer below (no English subtitles, Japanese subtitles for the spoken Korean parts.) Riveting stuff. You’ll be on the edge of your seat.

『龍が如く極』 韓国語版 Web CM 取引の終わり編(日本語字幕)

Golden Week on the US PlayStation Store Includes Various SEGA and Atlus games

Sony has started their annual Golden Week sale on the US PlayStation Store, and as you may expect it contains several Atlus and SEGA games. Aside from the regular discounts, PlayStation Plus subscribers get an additional discount on the games. The sales end on May 3. As usual, you can find the complete list of games below!

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Yakuza Kiwami Korea Logo

Yakuza Kiwami Korean Release Web Commercial

A new web commercial for Yakuza Kiwami has hit the internet. It features a tense encounter between the Yakuza (SEGA series, just to be clear) boss man Toshihiro Nagoshi and a Kkangpae, a Korean mafia man. Clocking in at around two minutes, it features Japanese subtitles for the Korean lines. Check it out below.

『龍が如く極』 韓国語版 Web CM 黒い取引編(日本語字幕)

It’s been a while since we’ve written about it, but a Korean version of Yakuza Kiwami was confirmed quite a long time ago. There is also this Korean version announcement trailer that you may have seen before, too:

PS4 Ryuga Gotoku Kiwami Korean Ver. trailer

Still, what makes the above-linked commercial unique is the fact that it’s a commercial dedicated to Yakuza Kiwami’s Korean release (coming towards the end of May.) We’ve seen advertisements not based in Japanese, but those were posters, billboards, and the like.

Nagoshi and SEGA have previously expressed confidence in releasing SEGA games in Asian territories outside of Japan, and they have some decent numbers to support their resolve. SEGA of Japan has been embracing the idea of releasing some of their “niche” packaged game titles with such examples as the Mandarin release of Phantasy Star NOVA and Shining Resonance.

In the West, localizations of Japanese titles have picked up since 2014, and the Yakuza franchise is no longer in the dark situation that it once languished in. But of course, there remains more to be localized and played!

Yakuza 0 Announcement

Yakuza 0 Western Release – Physical/Digital Confirmed for Early 2017 in North America and Europe!

Sega today confirmed several important release details for Yakuza 0 in the West.

First – the release window. Leading up to today, we’ve seen a couple of suggestions that the “Early 2017” release window that is now officially confirmed was likely to be realized, including an apparent interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi from a past issue of Weekly Famitsu, and an informational page on Sony’s US website. At the least, this probably comes as little surprise to many fans following news of Yakuza in the West.

Second – platforms and distribution type. Yakuza 0 released for Playstation 4 and Playstation 3 in Japan, but the Western release will see the distribution of the Playstation 4 version. This is a detail we’ve known since the North American version’s announcement, but is receiving reconfirmation. Starting with Yakuza 6, Yakuza releases in Japan seem to have finally settled on releasing on Playstation 4 rather than a cross-generational PS4-PS3 release. While there has also been some speculation about releasing Yakuza games (or other Japanese Sega titles) on PC, we don’t have confirmation on this at the moment. It’s possible that Yakuza 0 may be “Console Exclusive” to the PS4 and a PC release may happen in the future.

That aside, Yakuza 0 is also confirmed for a physical and digital release. If you don’t like having to deal with long downloading times and having precious hard drive space taken up, rejoice for a physical release! It’s coming to both North America and Europe.

…wait. Europe?

Indeed! While at first there were no confirmed plans for a European release of Yakuza 0, Sega today confirmed that European fans will be able to purchase Yakuza 0 along with North American fans. Everything for them is the same – early 2017, physical or digital, Playstation 4. Complete parity so far as we know!

A new promotional English trailer has been produced in conjunction with the release of the new Western Yakuza 0 announcement details. We’ve attached the European trailer below. Looks like Yakuza 0 earned itself a PEGI 18 rating.

Yakuza 0 | Legends Trailer [UK]

A press statement accompanies the YouTube page for these English trailers. We’ve reproduced the statement below.

The 1980s in Japan were defined by unprecedented amounts of decadent overindulgence – and nothing was out of greed’s reach, especially in Kamurocho.

A chilly but electric Tokyo in December 1988 is the backdrop for Kazuma Kiryu’s ascension into the ranks of the Yakuza – the name given to members of notorious crime organizations.

And with Yakuza 0, newcomers to SEGA’s Yakuza series will be able to get in on the ground floor, with the game’s standalone, story-driven action that focuses on navigating the seedy underworld of Japan with series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, and for the first time in a numbered title, players will be able to play as long-time NPC, Goro Majima – the Mad Dog of Shimano. Available on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the game will be localised and released as physical and digital versions early 2017.

Yakuza 0 Features:

– The Dragon’s Origins: What lies in a man’s past defines his future, and in this case, we learn a lot about what inspires Kiryu down the paths he takes in the rest of the Yakuza series. Plus, you don’t get to be called “Dragon” without being able to knock a few heads. Combat styles can be hot-swapped during fights for some of the most intense battles in the Yakuza series to date.

– Embrace the Mad Dog: For the first time in a numbered game, long-time NPC Goro Majima is now playable. With his own fighting style, abilities, and his penchant for turning sleaze into profit, stepping into the role of Yakuza’s most eccentric character will provide some eye-opening insight.

– The Decadence of the 1980s in Japan: Cash rules everything in the world of Yakuza 0, and in the game, there are a million ways to spend, make, or take money. From cash spilling out of the pockets of gang members you fight to Telephone Clubs, Disco Halls, or even Pocket Circuit car races, there are tons of ways to be a well-to-do gangster.

Kiryu Majima DLC Kiwami

Yakuza Kiwami and its…Special Majima DLC?

Sega has announced an interesting piece of free DLC for Yakuza Kiwami on the official Yakuza website. It was made available starting yesterday in Japan. The DLC contains various items, some of which allow you to customize Kazuma Kiryu in the image of…Goro Majima. The tables have finally turned.

Besides items for visual purposes (including Majima’s trademark snake skin jacket, unbuttoned by default of course,) some of the items include parts for weapon crafting, for the purposes of perhaps better paying tribute to Kiryu’s best friend ever.

Between projects like this and the Valentine’s Day promotion from February, It’s nice that Sega is continuing to support Kiwami in unique ways after the game has been released. Yakuza Zero has been announced for localization in the Americas (no known localization news for Europe since the initial announcement) but there’s no word on Yakuza Kiwami at the moment. Yakuza games are substantial translation projects. In any case, we’ll keep you posted.

Yakuza Kiwami Valentine

Yakuza Kiwami Valentine’s Day Promotion Brings Love to the Street

Sega and Sony recently ran an interesting surprise Valentine’s Day promotional activity for Yakuza Kiwami. Here’s the setup: actors dressed as yakuza thugs menacingly approach an unsuspecting traveler going about on some business at Shinjuku Station and direct them to a carpet walkway. Or maybe they are real yakuza…? Anyway, the bewildered citizen then traverses the carpet, congratulated with shouts of “thanks for your work!” and a reverential bow, as he or she ultimately makes it forward to a woman at the top who hands them a mysterious gift.

There’s love for everybody – young men weren’t the only recipients of the gift, but women (and an older woman) and a young boy, too. That particular poor young yakuza-in-training might’ve had a rough go of it, it seems. I’m just happy to see the bewildered expressions of the people who were approached, but it’s equally fun to see the approached people who really got into the whole stunt too.

These antics were also covered by 4Gamer and Famitsu.

Check out the videos that were uploaded to PlayStation Japan’s YouTube account below. Doesn’t this make your heart flutter? And want to play Yakuza games?

『龍が如く 極』「コワモテの花道」バレンタインイベントレポート

 

「コワモテの花道」

Yakuza Kiwami is already out in Japan; the current major Yakuza project for Asia in development is Yakuza 6.

Take a Look at the SEGA Figures Shown at Wonfes 2016

Wonder Festival 2016 Winter has come and gone, revealing plenty of new anime and video game related figures. Those of course also include figures based on SEGA and Atlus games. SEGA and the companies behind the figures have been posting their figures shown at Wonfes on their social media, and we compiled as many as possible in this article, and included links to our official source for the images. For this article, we’ll be focusing on the figures and announcements related to SEGA franchises (we’ll be making a separate article for the ones from Atlus). Fair warning: some of the figures and illustrations are rather risqué.

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Yakuza Cafe Nagoshi Yokoyama Pasta

Toshihiro Nagoshi and Masayoshi Yokoyama Sample the Yakuza Cafe! Ends March 16!

To promote the release of Yakuza Kiwami and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Yakuza in Japan, Toshihiro Nagoshi and Masayoshi Yokoyama visited the Yakuza cafe for its opening day (January 28.) It is a limited-time operation and will close on March 16! The Yakuza cafe is a collaboration project between Sega and Pasta Paradiso Okachimachi Yoshiike, an Italian restaurant in Ueno, Tokyo. The Yakuza cafe itself is located at the Sweets Paradise Shinsaibashi in Osaka.

This Dengeki Online article chronicles the culinary adventures of our two heroes from Sega, who tried out the dishes at Pasta Paradiso. And here’s an image of the different items offered at the cafe, courtesy of Sega of Japan:

Yakuza Cafe MenuThe prices above are for à la carte orders. For ¥1580 you can order a package that includes one of the two food items (first row) or one of the two dessert items (second row,) and one of the drinks (last row.)

The bottom segment is for drinks – the items with an orange circle marker are non-alcoholic, and the ones with a purple circle marker are alcoholic. Better keep Haruka away from those.

Kiryu’s dish is a pasta Arrabbiata dish, and Nishiki’s dish is a baked chicken dish, both of which are apparently quite spicy. I don’t mind spicy things, as long as it’s not too spicy – I can’t stand the hotter peppers, Sriracha sauce, and anything that’s generally “very hot.” The desserts are a strawberry parfait for Haruka and a soufflé cheesecake for Majima.

Those who dine in will also receive limited-edition Yakuza character-themed coasters and stickers as they are available.

Credit for the featured image goes to the above-linked Dengeki Online article.

First Impressions From the Project X Zone 2 Demo

The demo to the latest multi-company crossover strategy game on 3DS, Project X Zone 2, is available on eShop in North America and Europe. The demo can only be played 30 times. When you complete the demo, its save data will net you bonus items when you start the full game. You can replay the demo for different bonus items up to ten times. The catch is that, each time you play, the enemies will become more powerful.

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Full Yakuza 6 Demo Segment in HD from Recent Sega Livestream

Sega recently posted the full Yakuza 6 demo segment from their recent niconico stream to their Ryu ga Gotoku YouTube channel. There are a handful of battle segments and dialogue scenes, and this HD capture allows the viewer to really take in what a Yakuza experience with opponents plus lifebars and the new camera adjustments might be like for this new entry. Of course, we have to stress that Nagoshi has stated that this doesn’t represent the finished product, but clearly Sega wants to try new things with Yakuza 6.

So, with a crisper look at the footage – tell us what you think!

『龍が如く』情報局(2016年1月放送回)