Yakuza devs discuss Like a Dragon 8 characters and Kenzan at TGS 2022

pcgamesn.com:

Returning Like a Dragon 8 characters and the possibility of a Yakuza Kenzan remake are among the topics discussed by the series creators at Tokyo Game Show 2022. Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, the development team behind the RPG games formerly known as Yakuza – which is now fully adopting its original ‘Like a Dragon’ moniker in the west – talked about its future products and why the remake of Like a Dragon: Ishin is unlikely to be followed up by similar treatment for its Edo period predecessor.

The interviews, reported on and translated by series fan site Dojima’s Dragon Girl, cover the three most recently announced games in the Like a Dragon series (spoiler warning for Yakuza: Like a Dragon). Speaking about side story game Like a Dragon: Gaiden, studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama says that while writing the story for 8, there was a point where the team realised they were going to have to use returning protagonist Kiryu.

While the Dragon of Dojima appeared in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Yokoyama says that “we deliberately didn’t talk about how he got there, and we won’t in Like a Dragon 8 either.” He adds that Gaiden is, in part, aimed at the audience for whom Yakuza 7 was their introduction to the series, “to show them just how awesome Kiryu Kazuma actually is.”

As hinted at by previous leaks, Yokoyama confirms that Yakuza 7 party members Adachi, Nanba, and Saeko will all be returning for Like a Dragon 8, while other characters will “appear if the story needs them.” While it’s the first game in the series since Yakuza 4 to not bear a subtitle in Japan, Yokoyama teases that “there is a reason for not having a subtitle but… until you’ve seen the ending I can’t tell you.” He also says to expect a gap of around four years between numbered