in 2022 yakuza It is a very big series in the West, As we saw yesterday Eight matches Arrived on PlayStation Plus. But that wasn’t always the case! between exit Yakuza 2 And 3 The things you were looking for Unbelievably Risky for English speakers, and there were real concerns about it Yakuza 3 It didn’t sell well, it will be the last game in the franchise that we see here.
I know this sounds silly given the number and importance yakuza Games these days, but it’s true! People were very concerned about it, in fact, That every little change Sega makes Yakuza 3 English It was checked to hell and back, with fans fearing that any small thing that could hurt sales would lead to the series’ ending in the West.
All this fear counts for nothing, of course…Yakuza 3 Everything went well and the rest is history— but all these concerns about low sales help pave the way for another cause, around the same time yakuza The game was released in Japan (later followed by a sequel) which we still can’t play in English yet. It is time to change that.
In 2008, Sega . was released Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! For PS3, which I think you can better describe as a file yakuza special holiday. Located in Kyoto in 1605, it was yakuza The game is set back in time, as players still control Kazuma Kiryu, now only named Kazumanosuke Kiryu, and instead of being a gangster, he is a retired swordsman who now works as a bodyguard.
Then in 2014, Sega . released Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! For the PS4, which did the same – only now at the end of the Shogunate in the mid-1800s – and introduced more cameos from the main series, with appearances from such favourites as Majima and Daigo.
Although set in different time periods and with a heavy swords historical focus, it has always been yakuza Games through and through. Check out the Japanese trailer for Were And you’ll see what I mean:
Were Even, if you’re a fan of the karaoke sequences in the main games, his own historical version:
This looks great! I really want to play them!
Sega and developers Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have always had multiple reasons to keep these games in Japan. The first was an understandable fear that if no one would buy the manager yakuza Games, why do they care about these repercussions? However, as this was slowly undone due to the series’ growing popularity in the West, there were concerns that much of the gaming atmosphere would be lost to Western audiences, who would not be aware of the nuances of this period. (This means here that another yakuza Heavy Weapon Repercussions dead SoulsAnd It was Looking at the English version, which says a lot about Sega’s perception of the Western market).
These technical issues have now been joined (or replaced), As we covered last year, when director Daisuke Sato said:
Personally, I would like these titles to be localized and appreciated by our Western fans. Our priority was to reclaim our land with the West Chain Yakuza 0So time has passed without you having a perfect time to launch these games.
In my opinion, the action is one of the best in the series so I’d like to locate them if we get the chance. However, the game is also almost 7 years old, so we may have to do some extra work to get it back instead of just a port, so the decision is a bit more complicated.
Despite the potential of these statements and the fact that the developers have stated They are working on games out of scope yakuza And Rule seriesWe haven’t heard about this possibility since then. But even if it requires work – and in the case of Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan!some seriously Business – To update games on modern devices according to modern expectations, there has never been a better time to squeeze in this cost.
The yakuza kioyami Games – remakes of the first two entries in the series – did wellAnd it was for two games that were already available in the West! These pop-ups will start from scratch, not to mention they will be attractive other than the existing yakuza A fan base for larger audiences who have discovered a framework, for example, Ghost of Tsushima.
Anyway, I’m not here need these games. We have all been able to survive the past 15 years without them, and we may be able to survive another 15 years, if the outside world allows. I’m just here to give Sega a thumbs up, to remind you, hey, we love yakuza Games, but maybe one day we can love it too Another Yakuza Games, with swords too.