Yakuza (series)
Encyclopedia
Yakuza is a Fighting game
video game franchise created by Amusement Vision and owned and published by Sega
.
The series has sold at least 3.2 million copies as of March 2009. Strong sales of the games in its original Japanese market has led to the franchise's expansion to other mediums, including film adaptations.
s, one of the most popular cinema genre in Japan
, and was written by crime drama novelist Hase Seishu
, it was ported on the screen by director Takashi Miike
.
The main story is presented in successive chapters much like as in Kinji Fukasaku
's classic yakuza movie Sympathy for the Underdog
and is completed with a hundred sub-scenarios per game which leads to a large amount of main, secondary and recurring minor characters.
During the 1970s three children, Kazuma Kiryu, Akira Nishikiyama (a.k.a. Nishiki) and his younger sister, Yuko Nishikiyama, are raised in Shintaro Kazama (a.k.a. Fuma)'s Sunflower Orphanage. In summer 1980, Yumi Sawamura, a young girl who had her parents incidentally shot during a gangs shootout
joins them. Following a yakuza
tradition, the honourable Kazama secretly raises orphans he has directly or indirectly killed the parents. In return, these children look at him as their father and he eventually introduces the teenagers to the Dojima Family, a Tojo Clan affiliate.
Years later the promising Kazuma Kiryu quickly rises the yakuza hierarchy and earns the nickname "the Dragon of the Dojima Family" for the Dragon irezumi
tattoo on his back (hence the original title "Like a Dragon
", ryu ga gotoku). His childhood friend Nishikiyama is torn between loyalty for his kyodai (yakuza "brother") and jealousy against the one who has always been Kazama's protégé. Another subject of rivalry between the two friends is their secret love for Yumi who looks at them as her older brothers. 1990, in order to remain close to both of them, she left the orphanage and moved to Tokyo
's red-light district
Kamurocho, where they found her a job as hostess at Reina's Serena bar.
October 1, 1995, Kazuma Kiryu announces his friends he is ready to create his own yakuza Family, only lacks the Chairman of the Dojima Family Sohei Dojima's go ahead. Later that night the latter kidnaps Yumi from Serena, Nishikiyama tries to interfere but Dojima's men hold him. When Nishikiyama eventually reaches Dojima's office, he finds his boss raping Yumi and shoots him dead. Kazuma who was at a meeting with Kazama had been called by Reina and comes shortly after only to find Dojima on the ground, Nishikiyama and Yumi in shock. Then Kazuma takes the responsibility in order to protect Yuko who needs her brother Nishikiyama as she is about to get a last chance operation. Kazuma orders the pair to leave before the police arrives.
The game follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu (桐生 一馬 Kiryū Kazuma), a former promising yakuza whose released after a ten-year prison sentence for a murder cover-up. The Tojo Clan he was once a member of has had ten billion yen (at $1=100yen, approx. USD$100 million) stolen from the Tojo vault, which the entire Japanese underworld is now searching for; forcing him back into their brutal, lawless world. A mysterious young girl will lead Kiryu to the answers if he can keep her alive. By entering the tempting world of Toyko nightlife in this adventure set in the city's notorious yakuza entertainment district, Yakuza (video game)
features a dozen detailed chapters created by prominent producer Toshihiro Nagosi and award-winning novelist Seishu Hase.
One year ago, Kazuma Kiryu left his post as the Chairmen of the Tojo Clan, Japan's most violent crime syndicate. When an all out war erupts, Kiryu must return and uphold the honor of his former clan with brutal clashes with rival gangs, the police, and the Korean mafia through the back alleys and neon-lit nightclubs of Tokyo
and Osaka
.
March 2009, Kazuma Kiryu left Kamurocho and now runs the Morning Glory Orphanage in Okinawa where he raises nine children including Haruka Sawamura. Follow Kiryu's story from the beaches of Okinawa to the darkest side of Tokyo
as he's pulled back to a post life he thought he had left behind.
March 1, 2010, an incident happens in Kamurocho involving Kazuma Kiryu one more time. First, a man takes a bullet on the turf of the powerful Tojo Clan. Then, a man investigating the murder is stabbed to death. The events spark a full-blown struggle for money, power, and above all, honor, in a story experienced through the eyes of four characters. In an authentic recreation of Toyko's "Sin City District", four men chose paths over beautiful women and a dead man.
(a.k.a. Kazumanosuke Kiryu) from the 16th and 17th centuries; another follows a zombie invasion of Kamurocho, the primary setting for the series; on the PSP, another series is about a teenage street fighter from Kamurocho that ends up in a fight where he kills a Tojo Clan Yakuza.
On August 31, 2011, two new Yakuza games were announced: Ryū ga Gotoku 5 and a sequel to the PSP game, Kurohyō 2.
, Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!, which was released in Japan and Asia on March 6, 2008..
Formerly known under the working title "Project K", Yakuza: Black Panther is a spin-off on PlayStation Portable
that was released in Japan on September 22, 2010.
Of the End involves a zombie outbreak in Kamurocho. This spin-off entry is being localised in the West as Yakuza: Dead Souls, and is due for release in North America in March 2012.
worked on including, the Shenmue
series, the Virtua Fighter series, the Dynamite Deka
series (ダイナマイト刑事 a.k.a. Dynamite Cop
), the SpikeOut
series and the Jet Set Radio
series. Explicit tribute is paid to these games through product placement of Virtua Fighter 4
, Virtua Fighter 5
, SpikeOut
and Dynamite Deka EX arcade cabinets in Yakuza Club Sega game centers (the latters were first introduced in Shenmue) and cameo appearance
s (like Goji Rokkaku from Jet Grind Radio).
The Yakuza gameplay resembles the one introduced in Shenmue in many respects including Event Mode, Adventure Mode, Battle Mode, minigames and QTE.
and product placement
marketing policy. Such strategy allows to support the game's costly production and in the same gives a realistic aspect to the environments which are based on real locations in Tokyo
, Osaka
and Naha.
, singers, tarento
, film or TV series actors, radio or television celebrities
. Cabaret girls and alike characters have featured models, gravure idols and adult actresses as voice actresses and likenesses. Since the 2008 spin-off, the game series' main characters have their face modeled in 3D after their voice actors. As in the Virtua Fighter series, Western main and minor characters don't speak (and course) in Japanese but rather in English.
The PlayStation 3 installments' realistic character design
is based on Cyberware 3D scanner
, Softimage XSI 6.5
3D models and Sega's Magical V-Engine.
to fit the western market several changes occurred. These include changing the title of the game (Like a Dragon 龍が如く, ryū ga gotoku became Yakuza) and the names of several characters (Shintaro Kazama is Shintaro Fuma, Akira Nishikiyama is Akira Nishiki, Futoshi Shimano is Futo Shimano, Sai no Hanaya is Kage).
Yakuza 4 adjusted several of these localisation changes, following criticism of the previous games, and in particular the content excised from the Western release of Yakuza 3. Producer Noguchi noted that there was an attempt to "bring a more complete localization that was more faithful to the source material". This included reversing several name changes. In addition, some conventions were changed; in previous Western localisations, protagonist Kazuma Kiryu had been referred to primarily by his first name. In Yakuza 4, he is referred to primarily by his surname, Kiryu, which more closely reflects the original dialogue.
, Hideki Sakamoto
et alii and are published by Wave Master
. Additional soundtrack features songs from Japanese artists Crazy Ken Band
, Zeebra
, Ketsumeishi
and Eikichi Yazawa
.
console packs, Kubrick toys and action figures manufactured by Maitan.
. This character's physical aspect was inspired by its voice actor, Mihiro
, a Japanese adult video idol
acting in porno films. Since then, each new game release coincides with a new Kamutai Magazine issue featuring a voice actress as cover girl. Hence this December 2005 issue was followed by a December 2006 issue (cover girl is Japanese porn star Nana Natsume
), a March 2008 issue (cover girl is Taiwanese porn star Yinling of Joytoy) and a February 2009 issue (cover girls are Shizuka Mutou, Sayaka Araki & Rina Sakurai). The fifth issue was bundled with Ryu Ga Gotoku 4 and released in March 2010.
(龍が如く 〜序章〜, ryu ga gotoku -joshou-) serve as a prequel and set up the events which take place in the game.
(龍が如く 劇場版, ryu ga gotoku: gekijoban). It was based on the first installment of the game and is directed by Takashi Miike
. The movie was premiered in the USA on June 23, at IFC theater.
American distributor Tokyo Shock, a Media Blasters
affiliate, has released a licensed DVD on February 23, 2010. The original release date was actually March 2010 in order to coincide with the North American localization of Yakuza 3
.
(Kazuma Kiryu) and Hidenari Ugaki
(Goro Majima), are running a radio drama
which is known as Ryu Ga Gotoku Presents Kamuro-cho Radio Station (龍が如くPresents神室町RADIOSTATION). The second season Shin Kamuro-cho Radio Station (新・神室町RADIOSTATION), which covers 2009~2010, is currently ongoing with back number episodes available for download as podcast
s. Past episodes from the 2008~2009 season, Kamuro-cho Radio Station (神室町RADIOSTATION), are also available as archived podcasts.
dedicated to the series's cabaret
girls. Main contents are audition
and girls profile but it can also be related to other aspect of the game series; for example volume 15 focuses on its soundtrack artists. All shows, called "volumes", are archived within the web TV's official website.
sold 500,000 copies in the Asian markets as of 2010, also winning SCEJ's PlayStation Gold Award. However, after Yakuza 4
, Sega said that sales were slow in North America
and Europe
due to "the adverse market condition," noting "sluggish personal consumption" in those regions.
The original game was heavily acclaimed in Japan
for combining innovative game play with cinema like story telling and character development on the back of Japan's criminal underground
. Weekly Famitsu gave high scores to the series, Yakuza scored 37/40 (92.5/100), Yakuza 2 scored 38/40 (95/100), Yakuza Kenzan! scored 37/40 (92,5/100), Yakuza 3 scored 38/40 (95/100) and Yakuza 4 scored 38/40 (95/100).
Each installment earned an excellence award at the Japan Game Awards
and had a PlayStation the Best re-release in both Japanese, Asian and Korean markets.
The western localized versions were released between one and two years after the originals and received generally favorable reviews.
On December 8, 2009 Sega of America and Sega Europe issued a joint press release stating "Sega's decision to bring the game to its western territories was heavily influenced by the recognition of Yakuza's enthusiastic fan base throughout the U.S. and Europe. Yakuza 3 will be available exclusively on the PlayStation3 computer entertainment system in the spring of 2010".
The Japanese entertainment industry gave Yakuza 3
the "Award for excellence" in the 2009 Japan Game Awards
"Games of the Year Division" for its "dramatic story development, freedom of the story and the graphics elaborated up to the details of the work. In addition, amusement found in every portion of the game including the vast number of sub-stories and mini games. This work was awarded the prize for the high quality of entertainment." It was also well received in the west, with the UK's Official Playstation Magazine awarding it 9/10; however, it was criticized for the removal of content during localization.
In 2010, the Japan Game Awards
once again gave a Yakuza series' game the "Award for Excellence". Yakuza 4
won due to "a rich story with a high degree of freedom that is developed from the different perspectives of the 4 characters. There are also many play spots that boast several sub-stories and mini games. The astounding quality and volume provide a high level of entertainment and was the reason for granting this award".
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
video game franchise created by Amusement Vision and owned and published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
.
The series has sold at least 3.2 million copies as of March 2009. Strong sales of the games in its original Japanese market has led to the franchise's expansion to other mediums, including film adaptations.
Story
The Yakuza series storytelling is inspired by yakuza filmYakuza film
is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of yakuza, also referred to as the Japanese Mafia.-Ninkyo eiga:...
s, one of the most popular cinema genre in Japan
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
, and was written by crime drama novelist Hase Seishu
Hase Seishu
is a well-known Japanese novelist. He is known for writing Yakuza crime novels.A few of his novels were turned into movies.Seishu also wrote the story for Sega's 2006 video game, Yakuza, and its sequel, Yakuza 2....
, it was ported on the screen by director Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike
is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...
.
The main story is presented in successive chapters much like as in Kinji Fukasaku
Kinji Fukasaku
was a Japanese film actor, screenwriter, and best known as a celebrated and innovative filmmaker. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer...
's classic yakuza movie Sympathy for the Underdog
Sympathy for the Underdog
is a 1971 Japanese yakuza film, directed by Kinji Fukasaku and starring Koji Tsuruta and Noboru Ando.This film was director Kinji Fukasaku's last film featuring Koji Tsuruta as the main character...
and is completed with a hundred sub-scenarios per game which leads to a large amount of main, secondary and recurring minor characters.
During the 1970s three children, Kazuma Kiryu, Akira Nishikiyama (a.k.a. Nishiki) and his younger sister, Yuko Nishikiyama, are raised in Shintaro Kazama (a.k.a. Fuma)'s Sunflower Orphanage. In summer 1980, Yumi Sawamura, a young girl who had her parents incidentally shot during a gangs shootout
Shootout
A shootout is a gun battle between armed groups. A shootout often, but not necessarily, pits law enforcement against criminal elements; it could also involve two groups outside of law enforcement, such as rival gangs. A shootout in a military context A shootout is a gun battle between armed groups....
joins them. Following a yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
tradition, the honourable Kazama secretly raises orphans he has directly or indirectly killed the parents. In return, these children look at him as their father and he eventually introduces the teenagers to the Dojima Family, a Tojo Clan affiliate.
Years later the promising Kazuma Kiryu quickly rises the yakuza hierarchy and earns the nickname "the Dragon of the Dojima Family" for the Dragon irezumi
Irezumi
Irezumi is a Japanese word that refers to the insertion of ink under the skin to leave a permanent, usually decorative mark; a form of tattooing....
tattoo on his back (hence the original title "Like a Dragon
Like a Dragon
Like a Dragon or Yakuza: Like a Dragon known in Japan as is a 2007 Japanese crime drama-comedy film directed by Takashi Miike. It is based upon Toshihiro Nagoshi's 2005 video game Yakuza released on PlayStation 2...
", ryu ga gotoku). His childhood friend Nishikiyama is torn between loyalty for his kyodai (yakuza "brother") and jealousy against the one who has always been Kazama's protégé. Another subject of rivalry between the two friends is their secret love for Yumi who looks at them as her older brothers. 1990, in order to remain close to both of them, she left the orphanage and moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
's red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
Kamurocho, where they found her a job as hostess at Reina's Serena bar.
October 1, 1995, Kazuma Kiryu announces his friends he is ready to create his own yakuza Family, only lacks the Chairman of the Dojima Family Sohei Dojima's go ahead. Later that night the latter kidnaps Yumi from Serena, Nishikiyama tries to interfere but Dojima's men hold him. When Nishikiyama eventually reaches Dojima's office, he finds his boss raping Yumi and shoots him dead. Kazuma who was at a meeting with Kazama had been called by Reina and comes shortly after only to find Dojima on the ground, Nishikiyama and Yumi in shock. Then Kazuma takes the responsibility in order to protect Yuko who needs her brother Nishikiyama as she is about to get a last chance operation. Kazuma orders the pair to leave before the police arrives.
The game follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu (桐生 一馬 Kiryū Kazuma), a former promising yakuza whose released after a ten-year prison sentence for a murder cover-up. The Tojo Clan he was once a member of has had ten billion yen (at $1=100yen, approx. USD$100 million) stolen from the Tojo vault, which the entire Japanese underworld is now searching for; forcing him back into their brutal, lawless world. A mysterious young girl will lead Kiryu to the answers if he can keep her alive. By entering the tempting world of Toyko nightlife in this adventure set in the city's notorious yakuza entertainment district, Yakuza (video game)
Yakuza (video game)
Yakuza, originally released in Japan as is an action-adventure fighter video game developed and published by Sega in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2...
features a dozen detailed chapters created by prominent producer Toshihiro Nagosi and award-winning novelist Seishu Hase.
One year ago, Kazuma Kiryu left his post as the Chairmen of the Tojo Clan, Japan's most violent crime syndicate. When an all out war erupts, Kiryu must return and uphold the honor of his former clan with brutal clashes with rival gangs, the police, and the Korean mafia through the back alleys and neon-lit nightclubs of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
.
March 2009, Kazuma Kiryu left Kamurocho and now runs the Morning Glory Orphanage in Okinawa where he raises nine children including Haruka Sawamura. Follow Kiryu's story from the beaches of Okinawa to the darkest side of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
as he's pulled back to a post life he thought he had left behind.
March 1, 2010, an incident happens in Kamurocho involving Kazuma Kiryu one more time. First, a man takes a bullet on the turf of the powerful Tojo Clan. Then, a man investigating the murder is stabbed to death. The events spark a full-blown struggle for money, power, and above all, honor, in a story experienced through the eyes of four characters. In an authentic recreation of Toyko's "Sin City District", four men chose paths over beautiful women and a dead man.
Games
, the Yakuza series includes four main games; the games were released in chronological order, with each new instalment following the events of the previous title. There are also several spin-off titles. One relates Kazuma Kiryu's supposed ancestor, historic figure Miyamoto MusashiMiyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
(a.k.a. Kazumanosuke Kiryu) from the 16th and 17th centuries; another follows a zombie invasion of Kamurocho, the primary setting for the series; on the PSP, another series is about a teenage street fighter from Kamurocho that ends up in a fight where he kills a Tojo Clan Yakuza.
On August 31, 2011, two new Yakuza games were announced: Ryū ga Gotoku 5 and a sequel to the PSP game, Kurohyō 2.
Spin-offs
The success of the main Yakuza series has spurred the creation of a spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!, which was released in Japan and Asia on March 6, 2008..
Formerly known under the working title "Project K", Yakuza: Black Panther is a spin-off on PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
that was released in Japan on September 22, 2010.
Of the End involves a zombie outbreak in Kamurocho. This spin-off entry is being localised in the West as Yakuza: Dead Souls, and is due for release in North America in March 2012.
Legacy
The franchise's mixed gameplay is inherited from past Sega games that series producer Toshihiro NagoshiToshihiro Nagoshi
is a Japanese video game producer and designer for Sega. Nagoshi headed Sega AM4/Amusement Vision. He is best known as the producer and director of the Super Monkey Ball series, excluding Super Monkey Ball Adventure. His credits also include Virtua Striker, Daytona USA, and Spikeout...
worked on including, the Shenmue
Shenmue
is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
series, the Virtua Fighter series, the Dynamite Deka
Die Hard Arcade
Die Hard Arcade is the licensed North American, European and Australian version of the Japanese videogame . The game is a beat 'em up with loose ties to the Die Hard movie series of the same name....
series (ダイナマイト刑事 a.k.a. Dynamite Cop
Dynamite Cop
Dynamite Cop is a video game published by Sega and initially released in arcades on Sega Model 2 hardware. The game was then ported to the Sega Dreamcast console and released in Japan, North America and Europe...
), the SpikeOut
SpikeOut
Spikeout is a 3D beat 'em up developed by Sega-AM4 and published by Sega in 1998....
series and the Jet Set Radio
Jet Set Radio
is a video game for the Dreamcast, developed by Smilebit and published by Sega on June 29, 2000. A 2D version of the game was later released for Game Boy Advance; this version was developed by Vicarious Visions and published by THQ. Its sequel, Jet Set Radio Future was released 2 years later for...
series. Explicit tribute is paid to these games through product placement of Virtua Fighter 4
Virtua Fighter 4
is a fighting game by Sega. It is the fourth game in the Virtua Fighter series.The game was first released in arcades on the NAOMI 2 board in 2001...
, Virtua Fighter 5
Virtua Fighter 5
is the latest game in Sega's Virtua Fighter series and direct sequel to Virtua Fighter 4: Final Tuned. The original version was released on July 12, 2006 into Japanese arcades and in February 2007 in European arcades...
, SpikeOut
SpikeOut
Spikeout is a 3D beat 'em up developed by Sega-AM4 and published by Sega in 1998....
and Dynamite Deka EX arcade cabinets in Yakuza Club Sega game centers (the latters were first introduced in Shenmue) and cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s (like Goji Rokkaku from Jet Grind Radio).
The Yakuza gameplay resembles the one introduced in Shenmue in many respects including Event Mode, Adventure Mode, Battle Mode, minigames and QTE.
Marketing
The series is known for its expanding video game tie-inTie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
and product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
marketing policy. Such strategy allows to support the game's costly production and in the same gives a realistic aspect to the environments which are based on real locations in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
and Naha.
Cast
The game's original voice actors are Japanese celebrities which can be seiyūSeiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
, singers, tarento
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...
, film or TV series actors, radio or television celebrities
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
. Cabaret girls and alike characters have featured models, gravure idols and adult actresses as voice actresses and likenesses. Since the 2008 spin-off, the game series' main characters have their face modeled in 3D after their voice actors. As in the Virtua Fighter series, Western main and minor characters don't speak (and course) in Japanese but rather in English.
The PlayStation 3 installments' realistic character design
Character design
Character design may refer to:* Characterisation, the process of conveying information about characters* Character creation, the process of defining a game character...
is based on Cyberware 3D scanner
3D scanner
A 3D scanner is a device that analyzes a real-world object or environment to collect data on its shape and possibly its appearance . The collected data can then be used to construct digital, three dimensional models....
, Softimage XSI 6.5
Softimage XSI
Autodesk Softimage, or simply Softimage is a 3D computer graphics application, owned by Autodesk, for producing 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling, and computer animation...
3D models and Sega's Magical V-Engine.
Western localization changes
When the series was internationalized and localizedInternationalization and localization
In computing, internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages, regional differences and technical requirements of a target market...
to fit the western market several changes occurred. These include changing the title of the game (Like a Dragon 龍が如く, ryū ga gotoku became Yakuza) and the names of several characters (Shintaro Kazama is Shintaro Fuma, Akira Nishikiyama is Akira Nishiki, Futoshi Shimano is Futo Shimano, Sai no Hanaya is Kage).
Yakuza 4 adjusted several of these localisation changes, following criticism of the previous games, and in particular the content excised from the Western release of Yakuza 3. Producer Noguchi noted that there was an attempt to "bring a more complete localization that was more faithful to the source material". This included reversing several name changes. In addition, some conventions were changed; in previous Western localisations, protagonist Kazuma Kiryu had been referred to primarily by his first name. In Yakuza 4, he is referred to primarily by his surname, Kiryu, which more closely reflects the original dialogue.
Music
The three Yakuza original soundtrack albums are composed by Hidenori ShojiHidenori Shoji
is a video game music composer who has contributed to such Sega titles as Fighting Vipers 2 , Yakuza 2 , and Yakuza Kenzan. He is a member of H., a band composed of Sega sound designers.-Live performances:...
, Hideki Sakamoto
Hideki Sakamoto
is a video game music composer who has contributed songs to the soundtracks of Echochrome, Yakuza 2, and Yakuza: Kenzan!. He serves as the representative director of Noisycroak, a Tokyo-based sound design company focused on game soundtracks....
et alii and are published by Wave Master
Wave Master
Wave Master Inc. is a research and development team for Sega, focusing on the soundtracks for various games...
. Additional soundtrack features songs from Japanese artists Crazy Ken Band
Crazy Ken Band
, also referred to as CKB, is a Japanese musical group formed in 1997 by its lead vocalist, writer and composer Ken Yokoyama. The band first came together in 1991 under the name "CK's", with a four-member lineup: Ken Yokoyama, Keiichi Hiroishi, Masao Onose and Shinya Horaguchi. This incarnation of...
, Zeebra
Zeebra
, real name , is a Japanese hip hop artist, who made his first appearance in 1995. Zeebra is a former member of the hip-hop group King Giddra, which also included DJ Oasis and K Dub Shine, and the older brother of fellow hip-hop artist SPHERE of INFLUENCE...
, Ketsumeishi
Ketsumeishi
is a four-member Japanese pop and hip hop group that incorporates singing and rapping into their music. They have had several major hits in Japan, including "Sakura", which reached number two on the Oricon yearly chart for 2005 and was featured in the Japanese game Taiko no Tatsujin...
and Eikichi Yazawa
Eikichi Yazawa
is an influential Japanese singer-songwriter, and important figure in Japanese popular music.Yoko Yazawa of The Generous is his daughter.-Biography:...
.
Adaptations
The Yakuza franchise includes various types of merchandise and adaptations outside of the video games. Currently, this includes a direct-to-video movie, a feature film, original soundtracks, official guides, Kamutai Magazines (pre-order campaign limited book) and other licensed products such as Cropped Heads long tee shirts and parkas based on main characters tattoos, limited edition PlayStation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console packs, Kubrick toys and action figures manufactured by Maitan.
Books
With the original game in 2005, Sega created a pre-order campaign limited item called Kamutai Magazine (カムタイマガジン). This color book was a monography dedicated to the game with Mai, a sub-scenario female character, as the cover girlCover girl
A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a magazine....
. This character's physical aspect was inspired by its voice actor, Mihiro
Mihiro
, also known as , is a Japanese model, singer, TV personality and award-winning adult video actress.-Life and career:Mihiro was born in Niigata prefecture on May 19, 1982. She began a career as a softcore nude model as early as May 2001 when her video Dream was released followed by the...
, a Japanese adult video idol
AV Idol
An AV idol is a Japanese idol who works in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performances have a wide range, from just the idol strolling around their house doing chores in bikinis to hardcore porn...
acting in porno films. Since then, each new game release coincides with a new Kamutai Magazine issue featuring a voice actress as cover girl. Hence this December 2005 issue was followed by a December 2006 issue (cover girl is Japanese porn star Nana Natsume
Nana Natsume
is an award-winning former AV idol and a well-known celebrity in Japan.-Life and career:Natsume was born on January 23, 1980 in Sakai, Osaka, Japan...
), a March 2008 issue (cover girl is Taiwanese porn star Yinling of Joytoy) and a February 2009 issue (cover girls are Shizuka Mutou, Sayaka Araki & Rina Sakurai). The fifth issue was bundled with Ryu Ga Gotoku 4 and released in March 2010.
Original video
Takeshi Miyasaka directed an Original Video during the promotion period for the western release of the game which depicted Kazuma, Nishiki and Yumi growing up at the Sunflower Orphanage and then leaving for Tokyo. This short film called Like a Dragon: PrologueLike a Dragon: Prologue
Like a Dragon: Prologue, known in Japanese as , is a 2006 Japanese crime drama Original Video directed by Takeshi Miyasaka with Takashi Miike as executive director...
(龍が如く 〜序章〜, ryu ga gotoku -joshou-) serve as a prequel and set up the events which take place in the game.
Feature film
A film adaptation was released in Japanese theaters on March 2, 2007, called Like a Dragon: movie versionLike a Dragon
Like a Dragon or Yakuza: Like a Dragon known in Japan as is a 2007 Japanese crime drama-comedy film directed by Takashi Miike. It is based upon Toshihiro Nagoshi's 2005 video game Yakuza released on PlayStation 2...
(龍が如く 劇場版, ryu ga gotoku: gekijoban). It was based on the first installment of the game and is directed by Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike
is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...
. The movie was premiered in the USA on June 23, at IFC theater.
American distributor Tokyo Shock, a Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
affiliate, has released a licensed DVD on February 23, 2010. The original release date was actually March 2010 in order to coincide with the North American localization of Yakuza 3
Yakuza 3
Yakuza 3 is a PlayStation 3 video game, originally released in Japan as , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series. It is developed by Sega Japan's CS1 Team and published by Sega...
.
Radio dramas
Since September 2008, Japanese voice actors from the Yakuza series, including Takaya KurodaTakaya Kuroda
is a Japanese voice actor, narrator, and actor. He is affiliated with the Bungaku Company, formerly with Mausu Promotion and Aoni Production. He is currently a member of 81 Produce....
(Kazuma Kiryu) and Hidenari Ugaki
Hidenari Ugaki
is a Japanese seiyū from Tokyo. He is currently attached to 81 Produce. He is best known for his roles in Mobile Fighter G Gundam , the TV Tokyo edition of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the 2005 Doraemon series .-Television animation:*Class of 3000 *Digimon Adventure...
(Goro Majima), are running a radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
which is known as Ryu Ga Gotoku Presents Kamuro-cho Radio Station (龍が如くPresents神室町RADIOSTATION). The second season Shin Kamuro-cho Radio Station (新・神室町RADIOSTATION), which covers 2009~2010, is currently ongoing with back number episodes available for download as podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
s. Past episodes from the 2008~2009 season, Kamuro-cho Radio Station (神室町RADIOSTATION), are also available as archived podcasts.
Web TV
The Kamurocho Caba Jou TV (神室町キャバ嬢 T V) is a Japanese web televisionWeb television
Web television, also commonly referred to as web TV, not to be confused with WebTV, Internet television or catch up TV, is an emerging genre of digital entertainment that is distinct from traditional broadcast television...
dedicated to the series's cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
girls. Main contents are audition
Audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
and girls profile but it can also be related to other aspect of the game series; for example volume 15 focuses on its soundtrack artists. All shows, called "volumes", are archived within the web TV's official website.
Reception and critical response
The series sold 3.2 million games worldwide as of 2009; the best sellers being the first two games which sold between 500,000 - 1 million worldwide, each winning the PlayStation Gold Award. Yakuza 3Yakuza 3
Yakuza 3 is a PlayStation 3 video game, originally released in Japan as , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series. It is developed by Sega Japan's CS1 Team and published by Sega...
sold 500,000 copies in the Asian markets as of 2010, also winning SCEJ's PlayStation Gold Award. However, after Yakuza 4
Yakuza 4
, is a video game developed and published by Sega exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game was announced on July 24, 2009. A promotion video was presented at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show and a preview presenting the main story was released on January 13, 2010....
, Sega said that sales were slow in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
due to "the adverse market condition," noting "sluggish personal consumption" in those regions.
The original game was heavily acclaimed in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for combining innovative game play with cinema like story telling and character development on the back of Japan's criminal underground
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. Weekly Famitsu gave high scores to the series, Yakuza scored 37/40 (92.5/100), Yakuza 2 scored 38/40 (95/100), Yakuza Kenzan! scored 37/40 (92,5/100), Yakuza 3 scored 38/40 (95/100) and Yakuza 4 scored 38/40 (95/100).
Each installment earned an excellence award at the Japan Game Awards
Japan Game Awards
Japan Game Awards is the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony for the Japanese video game industry created in 1996 as CESA Awards ....
and had a PlayStation the Best re-release in both Japanese, Asian and Korean markets.
The western localized versions were released between one and two years after the originals and received generally favorable reviews.
On December 8, 2009 Sega of America and Sega Europe issued a joint press release stating "Sega's decision to bring the game to its western territories was heavily influenced by the recognition of Yakuza's enthusiastic fan base throughout the U.S. and Europe. Yakuza 3 will be available exclusively on the PlayStation3 computer entertainment system in the spring of 2010".
The Japanese entertainment industry gave Yakuza 3
Yakuza 3
Yakuza 3 is a PlayStation 3 video game, originally released in Japan as , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series. It is developed by Sega Japan's CS1 Team and published by Sega...
the "Award for excellence" in the 2009 Japan Game Awards
Japan Game Awards
Japan Game Awards is the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony for the Japanese video game industry created in 1996 as CESA Awards ....
"Games of the Year Division" for its "dramatic story development, freedom of the story and the graphics elaborated up to the details of the work. In addition, amusement found in every portion of the game including the vast number of sub-stories and mini games. This work was awarded the prize for the high quality of entertainment." It was also well received in the west, with the UK's Official Playstation Magazine awarding it 9/10; however, it was criticized for the removal of content during localization.
In 2010, the Japan Game Awards
Japan Game Awards
Japan Game Awards is the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony for the Japanese video game industry created in 1996 as CESA Awards ....
once again gave a Yakuza series' game the "Award for Excellence". Yakuza 4
Yakuza 4
, is a video game developed and published by Sega exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game was announced on July 24, 2009. A promotion video was presented at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show and a preview presenting the main story was released on January 13, 2010....
won due to "a rich story with a high degree of freedom that is developed from the different perspectives of the 4 characters. There are also many play spots that boast several sub-stories and mini games. The astounding quality and volume provide a high level of entertainment and was the reason for granting this award".