Tag: Yakuza

The most unexpected crossover in the world between 'Yakuza'… and 'Animal Crossing'

Yes, exactly: basically playing Animal Crossing for people who don’t want to buy the Switch.

Ah, yes, ‘Animal Crossing,’ the game we always dive into full throttle for about three months, then remember our house and neighbors only occasionally, and finally forget about them until the next game in the series. With no news on when Nintendo will bring us a new adulting and mortgage-paying simulator (we assume it will be on the Switch 2), we have a good substitute in the most unexpected place: ‘Yakuza’.

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Time to pick berries, yes, yes!

Well, ‘Yakuza,’ or as the series is now called, ‘Like a Dragon,’ a wild fantasy that in its ninth game for January 2024 promises us, in addition to the usual fights, battles against Danny Trejo (well, a character played by him) or hitting a giant shark… having an island to relax on, creating furniture from raw materials we find around, fishing, and customizing our house. Yes, exactly: basically playing ‘Animal Crossing‘ for people who don’t want to buy a Switch.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth,” which will be available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC, will allow the player to relax on Happy Resort DonDoko Island, and the references to the Nintendo series are not coincidental: the animations are direct replicas of the original, only using realistic models instead of cute characters and animals.

It won’t be the only game parody; it will also allow you to participate in something like ‘Crazy Taxi’ and battles in the style of ‘Pokémon.’ For variety, it even has a Tinder-like feature to go on dates here and there. Getting into fights with other gangs starts to become less important when one is immersed in the madness and fantasy. By the way, if you think ‘Like a Dragon’ is a very modern series and you can catch up quickly, keep in mind that the first ‘Yakuza’ was released in 2005, and since then, there has been practically no year without a main game or spin-off.

Now, here’s an idea: What if the next games in the franchise all take place on an island where we can talk to animals who are our neighbors, and it’s designed in a more cartoonish style without any fighting? Alright, yes, Nintendo, I want a new ‘Animal Crossing.’ Why beat around the bush.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp DOWNLOAD

The best samurai game of recent years has just arrived on Game Pass

The wonderful Like A Dragon: Ishin! arrives on Game Pass, the remake of the popular samurai game part of the Yakuza saga that you should be playing

In the west, samurai stories fascinate us. We won’t lie: in Japan, they are equally captivated. There’s something incredibly alluring about the samurai figure. It’s not just the honor, the swords, or the tales of revenge and loss. It’s the aura that surrounds them. All that exotic and fascinating ambiance, different yet oddly familiar. Something that still surprises the Japanese when we, in the West, appreciate it. Even though, if anything, it would be odd if we didn’t.

Like A Dragon: Ishin DOWNLOAD

Fortunately, that hasn’t prevented one of the most interesting games of the year from reaching us. Because Like A Dragon: Ishin!, the remake of the Yakuza series set in the samurai era, arrived on Xbox Game Pass on October 17th.

Originally released exclusively in Japan in 2014 under the name Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin, it takes characters from the Yakuza franchise to tell a fascinating samurai story with a highly engaging drama and combat that might not match the latest installments but is still satisfying. Being able to fight unarmed, with our katana, dual-wielding katanas, or firearms, the game carries the spirit of a Yakuza game. This means that while the main story will captivate us with unexpected twists, the abundance of hilarious side missions will keep us hooked for as many hours as we want.

That’s why Like A Dragon: Ishin! is perfect as an entry point to the Yakuza series, but also for those already familiar with it. Especially because of all the nods to the franchise and its characters, entangled in a situation that lays the foundation for Japan’s current state. Something you can enjoy right now on Game Pass, whether in the cloud, on consoles, or PC.

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Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth has release date, trailer and opening

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the next numbered title in the Yakuza franchise, already has a release date and new trailer

The Tokyo Games Show is just around the corner, and we expect that many Japanese games will be announced or provide updates on their development status at the event. However, some have chosen to make their announcements ahead of time to stand out and capture the spotlight for themselves. At least, that seems to be what Ryu Ga Gotoku, the studio behind the Yakuza games, wanted to do. Today, they’ve given us a new trailer and the release date for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

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As part of the popular Yakuza franchise, now renamed Yakuza: Like a Dragon, this is the eighth numbered installment in the series—or the ninth if we count Yakuza 0. In this game, as we’ve known since its announcement at the previous E3, it will be the first time in the franchise that we travel outside of Japan, as at least part of the game will take place in Hawaii. The game’s protagonists will be Ichiban Kasuga, the protagonist of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist of the classic Yakuza titles.

Along with a story trailer for the game filled with spoilers, they’ve added a list of the entire game’s cast. While most of the names will only be familiar to fans of the franchise, and to those not familiar, mostly just to the Japanese audience, there are two names on the list that will catch the attention of Western audiences as well. One is Dwight, portrayed by Danny Trejo, and the other is Masataka Ebina, played by Daniel Dae Kim. These are two very famous actors with long careers and highly recognizable roles, making it quite intriguing that they appear in the game’s cast.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be released on January 26, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Digital pre-orders for the game are already open in various stores.

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Crime Epic on a Budget: Dive into the Yakuza Universe on PC for Less Than 35 Euros!

Yakuza arrives on the GOG digital platform offering a ridiculous price for the first seven installments of the franchise for a limited time

Although we live in a global world, not everything around us is equally global. Many things that surround us have an obvious local flavor and therefore have a hard time leaving a certain environment or fail to take hold outside of a certain context. Sometimes they simply need time. Letting them grow little by little, slowly permeating people’s cultural imagination, until they become part of their daily lives. Exactly as has happened with the Yakuza franchise.

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While it is true that the Yakuza franchise has arrived more or less regularly in the West, it is no less true that it has always been very niche. Only since Yakuza 0 and later Yakuza 6: The Song of Life began to make more noise, settling as a great franchise to be reckoned with his jump to the J-RPG in the excellent Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Seventh installment of the blood that changed the name to the Japanese, Like A Dragon, to capitalize on the growing success of the saga taking advantage of its jump to a new genre with a new protagonist.

So it’s great news that virtually the entire Yakuza franchise has arrived on the GOG digital store. Available from Yakuza 0 to Yakuza 6, these seven games would normally cost 112 euros, but being newly released, Yakuza Complete Series can be purchased for the ridiculous price of 33.99 euros. A truly laughable price when we take into account that between the seven games we have more than 200 hours of gameplay telling only their main stories. Probably more than 1,000 if we are completists.

In addition, it is worth remembering that the Yakuza saga is far from ending soon. Its more action-focused spinoff Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is out on November 9 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PC, while Yakuza 8, better known as Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which will continue its J-RPG style, is out in early 2024 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PC. So if there’s a time to jump into the pool and buy almost every Yakuza at an absolutely ridiculous price, this is it. May nothing make you regret not making your 2023 the summer of Yakuza.

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