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Yakuza: Like a Dragon Game Moves Up Western Launch to November 10
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Sega of America announced on Monday that the Western release of the Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Ryū ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue) game has moved up to November 10 to align with release of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles on the same day. The game will launch for Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows 10 and PC via Steam, followed by PlayStation 5 on March 2, 2021. People who purchase the PS4 version will be able to receive the PS5 version at no additional cost.
The game was previously slated to launch outside Japan on November 13 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC via Steam and Windows 10.
The game was also previously revealed as a launch title for Xbox Series X | S. The game will support Xbox Series X Smart Delivery at launch, so players can buy the game once and play the game on either Xbox One or Xbox Series X when the game launches. The game will also support cross-save functionality between the Xbox One and Xbox Series X versions.
The game is getting a Day Ichi ("one" in Japanese) Edition, which includes a set of eight costumes of characters from the Yakuza series. There will also be a Day Ichi SteelBook Edition physical release. The game is also getting a Hero Edition, which includes the costume set, two new playable Devil Rocker and Matriarch jobs, and additional employees for the Management Mode minigame. The Legendary Hero Edition includes all Hero Edition content and the following in-game sets: Crafting Set, Karaoke Set, Ultimate Costume Set, and Stat Boost Set.
Sega released the game for PlayStation 4 in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue (Yakuza 7: The Direction of Light and Dark) on January 16. Sega will release the game in the West as Yakuza: Like a Dragon ("Like a Dragon" is the translation of the series' Japanese title Ryū ga Gotoku) this year.
The game takes place in Isezaki Ijincho in Yokohama. The story follows the new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, who belongs to the Arakawa Family, the third generation family of the Tojo Clan. Kasuga's boss Masumi Arakawa asked him to take the fall for the crimes of the family's right-hand man Jō Sawashiro. For his family's love and his boss' respect, Kasuga served 18 years in a strict prison and was released in 2019. However, no one was there to greet him upon his release.
The game features a "live command RPG battle" system that combines action and RPG battle commands. Toshihiro Nagoshi is the general director.
The English dub cast includes:
- Kaiji Tang as Ichiban Kasuga
- George Takei as Masumi Arakawa
- Andrew Morgado as Koichi Adachi
- Greg Chun as Yu Nanba
- Elizabeth Maxwell as Saeko Mukoda
Sega had previously revealed the game in March 2019 with Kazuhiro Nakaya voicing Ichiban Kasuga. Ichiban was also the protagonist of the Yakuza Online (Ryū ga Gotoku Online) game, which launched for iOS and Android devices and on PC in November 2018.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, the previous game in the series, launched on the PS4 in Japan in December 2016 and launched in North America in April 2018. Sega released the PS4 version of its Yakuza 5 game in Japan in June 2019.
Sega released its Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami games on February 26 and April 22, respectively, on Xbox One. The games are available with Xbox Game Pass. The company launched its Yakuza Kiwami 2 game on Xbox One on July 30.
Sega is collaborating with 1212 Entertainment and Wild Sheep Content to produce a live-action film adaptation of the game franchise.
Source: Press release
