Yakuza: Like A Dragon was released last year and cemented itself as one of the best games in the series. In addition, SEGA had praised the sales of the western release of Yakuza: Like A Dragon, further proving that this new direction is a perfect fit for the Yakuza series.
Ichiban Kasuga had big shoes to fill when he replaced Kazuma Kiryu as the new protagonist for the Yakuza series. His charming personality made him instantly popular among fans, and many were impressed by how easily the franchise had transitioned from Kiryu to Ichiban, despite there being a massive difference in their characteristics. SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have shared some great news for fans of Ichiban and Like A Dragon.
This news comes from a post on the official website of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Masayoshi Yokoyama, the new director of the studio, has confirmed that a sequel to Yakuza: Like A Dragon is currently in development. It will continue the story of Ichiban Kasuga and will be developed by producer Sakamoto and directors Horii, Ito, and Mitake. Yokoyama, along with Takeuchi and Furuta, are working on the story for this sequel. Yokoyama hopes to reveal more from the game in the near future and states this title will be a bit different, yet similar to all other games made by the studio.
It was previously announced that new entrees in the Yakuza series will remain turn-based, while the Judgment series will continue to use the brawler combat from earlier games. Fans can hope that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio makes improvements to the battle system and flow of combat, in order to avoid some of the difficulty spikes that were present in Yakuza: Like A Dragon.
It is surprising to see how quickly Ichiban has gained popularity, but RGG Studio has always had a knack of writing relatable characters in the Yakuza series. Also, it would be fair to expect this sequel to take place in a brand-new city in addition Kamurocho and Yokohama, both of which were already used in Like A Dragon and the recently released Lost Judgment.
As Lost Judgment had a simultaneous worldwide release, fans can expect this sequel to Yakuza: Like A Dragon to also release at the same time in all regions. Tales of Arise was another high-profile Japanese game that released worldwide on the same day, and one can hope that more Japanese publishers start adapting this process.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.