First Information on Yakuza 5

So, you might know that I kinda sorta like the Yakuza series, so when any information comes out for games in the series, I generally, you know, just take them in stride and certainly don't jump on them with teeth gnashing as a rabid dog with a meal before him.  Certainly not.  Silliness aside, you know that I'm kidding and that as soon as I saw that there were tidbits of Yakuza 5 info out there, I knew what I was writing about tonight and there's no way to mince words about it.  This is, to be frank, my turf, so let's just get what's known covered so I can go on being relentlessly excited for it, yes?  In all reality, there's not a whole lot to talk about, but there's enough that I can extrapolate pretty well on it, being a long-time fan and enthusiast of the series that I am.  Also being totally long-winded.

So first off, which is probably the biggest thing about the game is that Five is definitely the theme of the game, much as Four was for Yakuza 4.  Yakuza 5 will be starring Five Main Characters, and the story will take place through five different areas: The regular Kamurocho of Tokyo, as well as Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Hokkaido.  I'm gonna be honest here and say that I'm not -exactly- sure which of those locations have been in previous Yakuza games, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that only Osaka is a place the series has strayed before (in Yakuza 2) meaning that three of the locations will be all new.  Suspiciously absent is Okinawa, where the Sunshine Orphanage that Kazuma runs is located, but given his new job, I'm sure that will get explained somehow.  At least, I kind of hope it will be, since that would be a rather big hole in things.

As I said above, there will be Five Main Characters in Yakuza 5, which will include returning favorites Shun Akiyama (Three games strong, woo!), Taiga Saejima and, obviously, Kazuma Kiryu.  Joining them will be yet another new face in Tatsuo Shinada, an ex-baseball pro and possible gambling addict who is getting chased down by debt collectors as well as...uhh...Haruka.  As in, "I was 9 or 10 years old in the first game" Haruka, all grown up (16 or 18 now, it's kind of hard to pin down just how old she was in previous games, mostly because it's -incredibly creepy- to try and find out) and in Osaka to be a Pop Star.  Because the last time she was in Osaka went just ever so well, of course.  Being a playable character is confirmed, but as to what role she will actually play in the game (as in, can she fight?) is unknown at this point.  I would hope that being with the Dragon of Kamurocho for seven years would lead to knowing how to protect herself, as she certainly has the will for it, but we'll just have to see.

Kazuma has, in the time between the end of Yakuza 4 and the start of Yakuza 5 (which I imagine will be just over two years, since Yakuza 4 came out in 2010 in Japan and 5 is slated for December of this year) become a Taxi Driver in Fukuoka in one of the most random job switches I've ever seen.  And this is the same guy who went from "Yakuza" to "Orphanage Owner".  With just a cursory googling, I have discovered that Fukuoka (as well as the rest of the locations used for 5) do have some pretty high-up mentions regarding Yakuza activity, so to expect Kazuma to stay out of the biz for a while is a fairly foolhardy endeavor.  Similarly, the other returning characters are more or less doing just what they do - Akiyama is heading to Osaka, likely on a whim or for business (though what a Loan Shark would do in a location other than his HQ is beyond me) and Saejima Taiga is back in prison for some reason.  (Likely for being head of a Yakuza family or, even more likely, being framed for something.)

If you can't tell, this will be the most ambitious Yakuza title to date, even more so than the giant Genre-Swap that was Dead Souls/Of The End, mostly because they've taken an extra year to work on development, rather than sticking to a yearly release.  (Which, to be fair, we all rag on other companies for doing yearly releases, so maybe we really shouldn't, since Yakuza is a series that shows quality can happen in a year)  On top of doing up five entirely different areas (well, four, Kamurocho is likely just going to be touched up), they've been handling a lot of tweaks here and there as well as overhauling (or outright replacing) the game engine to ensure that transitions between Battle and Adventure modes is seamless.  In previous games, there was always a little bit of loading as the enemies were introduced which felt fairly natural, but was obviously a loading screen of sorts.  I imagine by making it seamless, they also intend on making the battle mode more dynamic; perhaps by including people running through the crowd or, when the fight is on the streets, having cars, er, -not- stop and/or disappear from the road completely.

What -I- worry about here is not the game itself, but rather the burning question of:  Will I get to play the goddamn thing?  While other games have had a hurdle regarding a physical release when it comes to only having Japanese audio, the Yakuza series has never had that issue.  However, after Sega's restructuring, Read: Gutting, of Sega of America and Sega of Europe, I just have to wonder A) if there's enough people left to localize the damn thing and B) If there is, do I have any hope of getting the damn game on a disk?  Sega has, after all, mentioned a 'Digital Future' for all but their four or five main franchises, of which Yakuza is not listed as one.  On the other hand, I would almost suggest that any Yakuza game, especially 5, given the above list of reasons why it's a very expansive, ambitious project, would simply be too big, file-size-wise to actually be realistically considered as a DD-only title.  But on the other, other hand, this is Sega, who seems to thrive on finding new and exciting ways to shoot themselves in the foot.  It'll be a while before we hear word of it all, however, since it won't even be releasing in Japan until the end of this year, and I certainly expect the usual year-long localization, but here's hoping for positive word.

New Binary Domain Trailer and Release Date

The above is the latest trailer from Sega (SegaEurope specifically) for Binary Domain and is, in fact, the first time I've thought about the game in at least a month, I believe.  However, this is not a bad thing, as I've explained before that my desire is to go into Binary Domain with as little foreknowledge as possible, since it's more or less a Yakuza game in the fuuuuuutuuuuureeee with robots and third person shooting.  So that is to say that it's like Yakuza:  Dead Souls but in the fuuuuuutuuuuureeee and with robots instead of zombies.  I'm sure, given Yakuza Studios personal way of doing things, that the game is going to be very story-focused, and that it might just go over-the-top some times which is totally not evidenced in the above trailer at all, no siree.

The trailer is rather slick and further reinforces my theory that Sega's Marketing department was never stagnating from disuse, but rather simply waiting for the right moment to rise to prominence.  Between the trailers for Yakuza 4 that I keep bringing up and this, you can't deny that they have a very real, very good style to them, and it's just amazing to me that you don't actually see this stuff outside of the internet.  Amazing in a bad way, of course, since they'd be able to turn quite a few people on to their games with just these trailers alone.  Perhaps one day they'll see that, but it's hard telling in the meantime unfortunately.  Also in the meantime, I get to play micro-analyzer with the very few elements shown off in possibly subtle ways.

First off, I have to say that it seems like there might be a Snatcher/Blade Runner (Since Snatcher was based -on- Blade Runner) theme with the way these robots are being handled.  As evidenced by the guy at the start, I would suggest that it seems he didn't know he was one of these -things- and learning as much has driven him crazy.  Crazy enough to rip off his own face.  This, of course, speaks to the game itself, and I imagine it's going to breed a sort of 'paranoia' factor since just about anyone, including the main character, could be one of these things in theory.  I don't know if they'll actually run with it, but it's one idea at least.  An idea that could be very very interesting if they really go for it.

Another thing I really want to emphasis is the actual solid voice-work from the trailer itself.  You'll notice that everything's properly synched to the English voices and the exact reason for that is simpler than you might think:  the game is coming out in Non-Japan first.  Despite looking like it does and being made by the definitely Japan-centric Yakuza Studios, the game is written/dubbed around English which is honestly a bit surprising to me.  That means that it could end well, or it could go rather poorly, but I'm fairly optimistic on things as they are currently.  My only issue is that the game comes out February 24th - two days following the release of the Vita which means I will be broke as hell and won't be able to pick this up.  Even though I want to.  So badly.  And even though Liam O'Brien is in it.  Even then.  Damnit, Sega.

Yakuza: Dead Souls is a Thing. My Body is Ready.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Er, ahem.  With that out of the way....So, as the title says, Yakuza:  Dead Souls is a thing of the Official nature, announced just today for release in March 2012.  Funnily enough, when I first get online, I generally check my blog first thing, then Chance's blog, then my new outlets to start getting an idea of what to write of a night.  So, while reading through the latest game diary post about Odin Sphere, RAGE, and Dark Souls, I just happened across the last paragraph which was just...exactly what I needed tonight.

Ooh! Yakuza: Of The End is getting localized! Well, I'll leave that one to Mogs.

I'm taking it, and running with it, don't you worry.  While it's not as much of a "Holy Shit, Surprise!" as Yakuza 3, it's a little more unexpected than Yakuza 4 (since we knew fairly after Yakuza 3's release that Sega fully intended to bring 4 over, highly contrary to their normal "we have no comment at this time") but just as welcome, of course.  Any and all Yakuza is good and welcome Yakuza.  While I still know fairly little about the game itself (mostly on purpose), Siliconera does tell us that the DLC will be coming, as I hoped, but whether it'll be on disk or not is up in the air.  I believe Yakuza 3 and 4 mostly had the Japanese DLC on-disk already, or was a pre-order bonus, so I'm not exactly worrying about it.

Of course, if it comes down to it, I will absolutely shell out money for Majima's Pirate Costume.  I don't even fucking care.  Morals and standards and stuff be damned, I want to shoot zombies with a shotgun as Dapper Pirate Goro Majima.  Still, a little more information than "Yeah, the control change is happening", "March 2012" and "Yes DLC somehow" would be nice, though I'm guessing that's to come yet.  There was quite a media blitz for Yakuza 4 (by Sega Standards) with Character Trailers, Combat Trailers and such, so a little more information should likely be coming out closer to the release.  Here's to hoping they get the guy from the Yakuza 4 trailers to do stuff like that again.  Speaking of a trailer, Yakuza:  Dead Souls has an Announcement trailer.

It's barebones, but it does well enough of showing off the characters you'll play as (I'm assuming somewhat like Yakuza 4, in that you'll go through each story in a row, then a final bit where you can switch and/or team up with others) and giving a general idea of the, well, the theme.  There are zombies, you shoot them and are badass whilst doing so.  Again, I'm looking for something more substantial when it gets further along in the localization process, and will obviously update here when such a time arises.

I also love how the Yakuza games come out/are set in March.  It's almost like Sega is trying to do all this just for me.  I understand they're not, clearly, but it's one of those happy coincidences and I can't help but revel in it.  Openly.  And if the DLC is on disk, I will go through with my promise and take back everything bad I said about Sega.  (and then immediately re-state it where it concerns Valkyria Chronicles, Kenzan and Black Panther, but they don't need to read this part.) 

Yakuza News! It's Only Been Three Days!

I'm sure you all can tolerate my extreme devotion to the Yakuza franchise and I hate that I've devoted five or so other posts to the series this month alone as you guys might be getting a little tired of it, but in the end, this is about me, about what I like and about what I get excited for.  And I get excited for anything that is Yakuza, we know this.  And this is most definitely news of the Yakuza variety if the logo wasn't a dead give-away.  As I know you can read, the logo, Yakuza:  Dead Souls, is clearly different than any other Yakuza game we've seen in the States or PAL-Land, so you might simply surmise that this is a new game announced for Japan, right?

Nope.  This is from a European trademark.  European.  As in, Not Japan.  So it's very clearly not a new Yakuza game at all, but an alternate title for one that's already out there.  One that's been mentioned before already, although with a very different name.  Essentially, what seems to be the popular (and, well, pretty much only) suggestion is that Yakuza:  Dead Souls will be the Western name for Yakuza:  Of the End which, while it makes more sense, it.....well, for some reason, I just don't like it.  Something a little more elegant could've been picked, or a little more ambiguous but neat sounding, really.  Yakuza:  Kamurocho Dusk or something, but, then again, that's more inclusive to people who are already familiar with the Yakuza series and this game is clearly an attempt to snatch new players.

Regardless, this is, clearly, great news.  Not only will we get one of the non-standard games of the Yakuza franchise (which means a very, very, very slight glimmer of hope for the others) but we got the one that was very clearly made with Western Audiences in mind.  This is why I always figured we would get it, but it being Yakuza and a Sega product, well, I could never know for sure.  However, the other good bit of it is the fact that this might also be a sneak peek towards Binary Domain as Daisuke Saito, director of said game, stated that were Yakuza:  Of the End to hit the West, it wouldn't do so in its current state, but with different, more 'western-oriented' controls which very well might mean 'better' controls.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to figure out just where "Shooting zombies with a shotgun as Majima Goro" falls on the list of things I wanted to do before I die.  Spoiler alert:  It's pretty high up there.

Binary Domain and Why I'm Suddenly Interested In It

The screenshot above is what the tipping point for me to really want to look into Binary Domain.  I saw it over at Joystiq from their TGS screenshots line-up and, well, the fact that it's a bloody android isn't really what drew me to it, but the fact that it was a bloody android bearing a striking resemblance to a Stalker from the game of the same name that did it.  I, like many others, have been looking for a follow-up to Kojima's attempt at a Blade Runner game (okay not really but) for quite some time and the only news we've gotten is a radio drama, with help from Suda 51, named Sdatcher which is...well, it sure is a Kojima move.

Of course, it's not really enough, and while I can guarantee you that Binary Domain will be nothing -nearing- Snatcher (As it's more Third-Person Shooter to Snatcher's Near-Adventure Game set-up), it's something even if it's but a fleeting resemblance.  To be honest, the best style for a Snatcher game in this day and age (oh geez, what am I, 50?  Then again, Snatcher was released in 1988 originally.  I was One.) would be, ideally, in the style of Heavy Rain with some Third or First person elements, as fighting shooting Snatchers will likely have to take place at some point.  Heavy Rain's, er, modern take on the Adventure Game style of yore is really the best fit for a game like Snatcher in my opinion and Kojima's interest in Heavy Rain has given me cause to hope for a long, long time now.

Regardless, the knowledge that Binary Domain has been done by the Yakuza Studios team (That feels so good to type) assures that when it comes out in English, I'll be buying it from brand loyalty alone.  It helps, of course, that third person shooters are my favorite types of shooters and I have a fondness for Sega/Yakuza Studios particular brand of absurdity, so it won't be me buying a game I have no interest in purely because of who made it (which, believe me, I've done before), though I don't know quite what to expect.  Er, well, I know to expect shooting robots in third-person perspective, but that's about it.

The lack of fore-knowledge is comforting, however, as I like to go into all the Yakuza games knowing as little as possible (for obvious story reasons), so keeping that alive for another of their games only seems appropriate.  Though, with any luck, the trailers for Binary Domain will be in the same style as Yakuza 4's, because honestly, that voice.  Probably won't, but a man can dream, as I've done quite a lot of in this post, clearly.

Yakuza: Of The End Mention? Hrm...

Daisuke Sato, who is part of the "Yakuza Studios" team and, relevant to this discussion, director of Yakuza Studios' first game Binary Domain was recently asked about Yakuza:  Of the End and possibilities on it still managing to leave the land of glorious Nippon.  And, unlike the basic answer we got so many times with Yakuza 3 of "We have no plans at this time", Sato was a little more candid and stated that, if -if- Yakuza: Of the End was to get released state-side, it would get some controls tweaking to make it, er, 'More appealing' to the western gaming persuasion.  IE, be closer to the Western style.  Whatever that means, I'm inclined to frown a little bit when reading and/or typing it out of impulse.

Then again, from what I've seen, heard, it seems that Yakuza:  Of the End sort of controls more like Resident Evil (I'm assuming 4 and/or 5), rather than the much, much better Third Person shooters that have come out since the former and the latter both, so if they would be able to make it control, er, better than those that would be much appreciated.  I don't really mind either way, I'm sure you guys know this already.  I want to take Majima out on a Shotgunning expedition to wreck some Zombie brains and figure out what in the hell is going on in Kamurocho.

Playing Yakuza 4 as I have been, this offers a neat little bit of perspective, so to speak, as I'm kinda stuck on thinking about what Zombie Apocalypse Kamurocho looks like.  Like I've said earlier, I -know- what Kamurocho looks like.  I know the lay of the land, if you tell me to go to Theater Square from Pink Street, well, I know just how to get there without consulting the map.  Etc. etc.  Just to imagine that some spots might just...not work like they do now, roads might be destroyed or buildings toppled or stuff like that....it's a little more real than it would be in just about any other video game, honestly, if just because this city, Kamurocho has actually grown with the people playing the series from 1 to 4, like me, and is honestly 'familiar' now in a way that is more than just knowing where Kyushu No.1 Star is without looking at the map.

The stressed part of the news here is that Saito said, specifically "If" Yakuza:  Of the End is localized that it -would- have changed controls.  The two different stresses and the whole of the hypothetical versus the stock answer of "Not answering at this time" is certainly uplifting and instills hope, but as I have I will remain cautiously optimistic on localization news.  Even though I'm still not too 'want' on getting your TPS in my Brawler, the story is likely still top priority for the game and it's one of the many many things I enjoy about a Yakuza game, so even though the gameplay is different, I'll still be getting the same quality of story, assuredly.

Of course, if the game gets localized, I'm going to want the DLC too.  Let's....let's work this out, Sega.