April Fools' Day Is Bad Because It Made Yakuza Turn-Based
In 2019, Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio posted a video revealing a new JRPG-inspired turn-based combat system, framing it as a joke. "Many people assumed we were already making an RPG at that point," says former series producer Toshihiro Nagoshi. "But it was something we made for April Fools' day. [Yakuza: Like a Dragon] was still an action game at the time." However, after the video was positively received by fans, the studio decided, in the final year of development, to shift to this combat system for real.
"We suddenly fully changed direction," Nagoshi says, laughing, in a video interview with Archipel. "We started making an RPG. Hurrying to make things is sort of a characteristic of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. It's always like this. Usually you have milestones set up, a long term plan, but we don't have that." If this is really how it all played out, and Nagoshi isn't just exaggerating for effect, this is a hell of a story. The JRPG gimmick is so ingrained into every aspect of the game, it's hard to imagine it was implemented at such a late stage.
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There's a lot I love about Like a Dragon. Ichi is one of the series' best heroes, and a worthy replacement for Kiryu. The writing is heartfelt, funny, and thoughtful. Yokohama is a fantastic, atmospheric setting. But the repetitive turn-based combat left me cold, and I was disappointed to learn that the mainline Yakuza series will be using it going forward. A lot of people loved Like a Dragon, and it reportedly sold 3 million copies, but I know plenty of longtime Yakuza fans (myself included) who are doubtful about this new path.
In previous Yakuza games, street battles happened
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