WOW!
February 24, 2010 - Sega Japan is readying Yakuza 4 for a March 18 release. That's right -- Yakuza 4, not 3. Japan is still one Yakuza ahead of us.
If you've been through the launches of all five (including the Japan-only Kenzan) Yakuza game, you've become pretty familiar with the mix of product cross promotions, celebrity tie-ins, and bone-crunching media updates. The latest activities for Yakuza 4 include promotions with beef bowl chain Matsuya (a smaller rival to Yoshinoya in Japan) and bar/cafe Pronto. Both of these are in Yakuza 3 as well.
Since Yakuza 4 was announced back when the franchise's stateside fate was in the air, we're certain many weren't paying attention. So here's a quick recap.
Yakuza 4 is a direct successor to Yakuza 3, taking place in the same modern time frame (Kenzan, which was released before 3, was a side story set in the Edo era) and same "Kamiyacho" neon city. This time around, you take control of not just series hero Kiryu Kazuma, but of three other heroes as well. The game promises greater depth to its world, with back alleys and rooftops now traversable, and major updates to all other gameplay areas as well (including the host club system, which you might have heard has been removed from Yakuza 3's US version).
The basic Yakuza experience looks like it will remain in tact with part 4. That includes a large collection of side stories apart from the main quest. That's the focus of the latest screenshot batch that we've uploaded today. The sub stories let you see the four main characters from a different side not depicted in the main story.
Some of the sub stories will be of greater enjoyment to those who played through Yakuza 3, so we'd suggest that you get cracking when Sega releases the localized version here. Yakuza 4's localization will probably trail its March 18 Japanese release by quite a bit, but if you even want to see an English release, showing your support by picking up part 3 is probably a good idea.
If you've been through the launches of all five (including the Japan-only Kenzan) Yakuza game, you've become pretty familiar with the mix of product cross promotions, celebrity tie-ins, and bone-crunching media updates. The latest activities for Yakuza 4 include promotions with beef bowl chain Matsuya (a smaller rival to Yoshinoya in Japan) and bar/cafe Pronto. Both of these are in Yakuza 3 as well.
Since Yakuza 4 was announced back when the franchise's stateside fate was in the air, we're certain many weren't paying attention. So here's a quick recap.
Yakuza 4 is a direct successor to Yakuza 3, taking place in the same modern time frame (Kenzan, which was released before 3, was a side story set in the Edo era) and same "Kamiyacho" neon city. This time around, you take control of not just series hero Kiryu Kazuma, but of three other heroes as well. The game promises greater depth to its world, with back alleys and rooftops now traversable, and major updates to all other gameplay areas as well (including the host club system, which you might have heard has been removed from Yakuza 3's US version).
The basic Yakuza experience looks like it will remain in tact with part 4. That includes a large collection of side stories apart from the main quest. That's the focus of the latest screenshot batch that we've uploaded today. The sub stories let you see the four main characters from a different side not depicted in the main story.
Some of the sub stories will be of greater enjoyment to those who played through Yakuza 3, so we'd suggest that you get cracking when Sega releases the localized version here. Yakuza 4's localization will probably trail its March 18 Japanese release by quite a bit, but if you even want to see an English release, showing your support by picking up part 3 is probably a good idea.
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