Yakuza: Like a Dragon Gets Some Wild New Trailers

SEGA's new Yakuza game which was previously referred to as "Yakuza 7" among other titles and translations now has an official name thanks to a new trailer. The new Yakuza game will be called Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and it's releasing in the West some time in 2020. It'll send players to a new location to explore with a different protagonist, and according to the game's creators, it's a "complete reimagining" of the franchise.

The trailer shown above was released by Sony and SEGA on Thursday as part of the Tokyo Game Show reveals. It introduces Yakuza fans to their new hero, Ichiban Kasuga, and the story that comes before the events of the game to set him up for where he is now. Betrayed by his family, the new protagonist must team up with a group of companions and utilize a turn-based, RPG combat system to survive Yokohama.

While the PlayStation trailer shown above gives us a look at Kasuga's story, another trailer revealed during the event showed what this new combat system will look like. Kasuga and his companions arm themselves with different abilities and weapons to fight opponents by taking turns with their attacks, each of their stats differing and measured by levels and resources like health and what appears to be an energy meter. This is where things look a bit more Yakuza-like with interesting side tasks and fights against construction equipment. There are also jobs and minigames Kasuga can take part in such as golfing, cleaning up the streets, and trying to stay awake during a movie. Both trailers are pretty dramatic in their own ways.

"Yakuza: Like a Dragon is much more than just a new chapter in the Yakuza series," a description of Sony's new Tokyo Game Show trailers reads. "Much like the new English title itself, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a complete reimagining of the franchise, a landmark to coincide with the series' 15th anniversary. With the bulk of the game taking place in the large-scale, painstakingly-realized setting of Ijincho in Yokohama, players will explore an entirely new side of Japan never-before-seen in the series. Not only that, but Yakuza: Like a Dragon's combat system has undergone a major overhaul, combining Yakuza's established brawling action with a turn-based RPG battle system."

While an official release date for Western countries has not yet been announced, we'll see the game release in Japan on January 16, 2020, so expect to see impressions on it around that time. A site is live for the game where you can expect to see more information on Yakuza: Like a Dragon as its release date approaches.