PS4 exclusive upcoming Yakuza 7 or Yakuza: Like a Dragon will have a shift in its genre bringing something fresh for the players. For the first time, developers are moving Yakuza to new gameplay mechanics and rebooting the series with a new touch.
Dengeki Playstation (Japanese gaming magazine) published an interview in its Issue 683 talking to key developers of the next Yakuza series. They are Chief producer Yokoyama Masayoshi, producer Sakamoto Hiroyuki, and director Horii Ryousuke.
One of the big aspects of Yakuza 7 was its shift in the gameplay where Sega already revealed they want to try a different style and if it failed then they will return back to the real-time combat for future games. So risks are involved and Sega is prepared to accept the challenge. In Yakuza 7 the developers are adding up JRPG Battle System that will allow players to use multiple characters, as revealed by Yokoyama.
In the interview, Yokoyama also shared that they are not afraid about changing the genre can hurt the game identity, the genre change is a kind of deciding point whether users are ready to try the new approach. Along with the Kasuga, players can recruit other characters in their party of 4 players team, which include Namba, Koichi Adachi, and Saeko Mukouda (1st Female Fighting Character in Yakuza series). Players will have a co-op mechanic this time offering them additional support and a different type of combat style based on their character’s attribute.
Yokoyama also shared that the first Yakuza came out 15 years ago and in the span of time fans have changed, married, had kids, at some point in their lives they had to stop laying games. He hopes 7 will be able to get returning players, and such fans might be at a point in their lives where they can have some free time to play games. This is the inspiration behind the development of the protagonist that would make such fan interested in coming back.
Yakuza 7 or Yakuza: Like a Dragon is going to release in on January 16, 2020 in Japan, the worldwide release date is not yet announced.
Source: Interview: Yakuza 7 Developers Discuss the Genre Shift and New Protagonist – Frontline Jp. Net
