A few days ago Famitsu posted a MASSIVE extended interview with Yokoyama Masayoshi Yakuza 6’s lead writer and producer. If you want to really get inside of the other man behind the Yakuza series this is an awesome read. He goes over everything from setting, to returning characters, and even the feeling they’re trying to get with Yakuza 6!

Thanks to super fan Chelsea we’re happy to post the entire interview fully translated!

A must-read before Tokyo Game Show 2016! Long interview with producer Masayoshi Yokoyama about Ryu ga Gotoku 6: The Song of Life.

• Asking about everything from the setting and story to the game’s content!

In the 4 August 2016 edition of Weekly Famitsu’s new corner, RyuSoku, we conducted an interview with Masayoshi Yokoyama (producer and head of script/stage direction on Ryu ga Gotoku 6: The Song of Life.) in a question and answer format. Today, we are bringing it back in full! With several additions that didn’t make it into the magazine, we have squeezed in everything Mr. Yokoyama was able to tell us right up until the start of Tokyo Game Show 2016, making it unmissable for Ryu ga Gotoku fans!

※This interview is an amended, complete version of the details that appeared in the 18 August/25 August 2016 joint issue of Weekly Famitsu (released on 4 August 2016).
※Henceforth, Ryu ga Gotoku 6: The Song of Life. will be denoted as RGG6.

Why is RGG6’s new setting Onomichi, Hiroshima?

Sega Games Ryu ga Gotoku series producer/head of script and stage direction
Masayoshi Yokoyama (referred to as “Yokoyama” in the article)

―What is the specific reason for you choosing Onomichi Jingaicho as one of the settings for RGG6?

Yokoyama (below, Yokoyama): The biggest reason is that it was the most fitting place for the missing Haruka. When I was coming up with RGG6’s story, I was extremely conscious of it being a continuation of Ryu ga Gotoku 5: Granters of Dreams (below, RGG5). As such, I think RGG6 puts the biggest emphasis on continuity out of anything in the history of the Ryu ga Gotoku series. As I was thinking up what would come next after RGG5’s ending, what happens to Kiryu and Haruka became a central part of that. What path did Haruka choose after that? The more I thought about it, the more I began to come up with the image of not a red light district like Tokyo or Osaka, but rather a rural town full of feeling. I’ve actually been going all around the country since RGG5 and collecting data on towns from all over, but I believed that Onomichi Jingaicho was indispensable in creating RGG6’s story.

―Had you really been coming up with ideas for RGG6 for such a long time?

Yokoyama: The idea itself came up right after we finished working on RGG5. To be honest, so far we’ve been trying not to drag out the details of past games for too long. We went through this over and over, and reached the ultimate peak in terms of the how long we could keep it up for in a game with RGG5. I knew, then, that we had to turn RGG6 into something that people who had been playing the series up until RGG5 would accept wholly. As I’m sure people who have played RGG5 will know it comes to a shocking climax, and depending how you take it this could be viewed as either a good ending or a bad ending. My first step in creating RGG6’s story was to carefully keep in mind the way it ends. That’s how we ending up calling RGG6 “the final chapter in the legend of Kazuma Kiryu”.

―Hiroshima’s Onomichi is famous for being the setting for yakuza movies – I’m sure there were many people who thought that this is why you chose it.

Yokoyama: With the existence of a masterpiece like Jingi Naki Tatakai, I’d anticipated hearing this from people once we made the “Hiroshima” keyword public. I think it’s been used for films in the past because of its charm as a shooting location. Here, though, it’s more accurate to say that it’s “set in Onomichi” rather than “set in Hiroshima”. RGG6’s story wouldn’t have worked had it not been set in Onomichi. Honestly, it just so happened to be in Hiroshima – if it’d been in Okayama, I think I still would have used it (laughs).

―I’ll try to figure out why it’s set in Onomichi while I’m enjoying RGG6’s story.

Yokoyama: Though it’s important in terms of being a setting for the story, its appeal is the polar opposite of Kamurocho’s, so I think you’ll enjoy it.

―Even still, the depth with which Kamurocho – which appears in every game in the series – has been created in the PlayStation 4-exclusive RGG6 is incredible.

Yokoyama: That’s right. As you’ll probably know if you’ve played around with RGG6’s demo (editor’s note: the advance demo for which a download code was included with Ryu ga Gotoku: Kiwami, released on 21 January 2016 for PS4/PS3), we wanted to even carefully create the parts of the town that had been hidden up until now. For example, you can even go up to the second floor of the hamburger place and look outside, and whatever you see may even trigger a battle. In RGG6, these aren’t restricted event scenes – they just happen normally. We’re digging deeper than ever before with our creation of the town, so I think you’ll have a really good time even with Kamurocho alone.

―Just hearing you talk about it makes me excited to go walking around town.

Yokoyama: While the charm of the original Ryu ga Gotoku‘s Kamurocho was the way it reproduced the underground, impure feeling of a red light district, at its heart was the experience of getting to peek behind the curtain in a way you rarely can in the real world. The primary example of this would be the hostess clubs. Back then (editor’s note: the first Ryu ga Gotoku was released in December 2005) they weren’t as widespread as they are now, and I’m sure many people were hesitant to set foot inside. What I wanted was to say, “This is a virtual environment within a game, so you can go inside and have a good time; us this game to take the first step.” Kamurocho itself is an embodiment of this idea. I don’t think anyone hesitates to enter one in Kamurocho anymore, though. We’ve reconsidered this for RGG6 in trying to make it once more into the experience of opening a door you normally wouldn’t. Kamurocho is full of these kinds of things, of course, but we also have things like Onomichi Jingaicho’s seedy bar district.

―It’s true that snack bars seem like the kind of place that would be full of regulars from the area, which might be a bit hard for someone from out of town to go into.

Yokoyama: But really, it’s totally fine to go in. If you just have a little courage, you might have a good time. In real life there are plenty of cases where new customers are turned away, though (laughs).

―There are places like that as well, yes (laughs).

Yokoyama: In Onomichi, it’s not only the snack bars that are hard to get into, but also the town itself (laughs). It’s a famous tourist destination, but there’s a big gap between places that have been turned into easy-to-understand sightseeing areas and those that haven’t.

―Ah, I see.

Yokoyama: What we wanted to portray in RGG6 was the part of Onomichi that hasn’t been turned into a tourist hotspot. When you go there, you do end up feeling a lot like an outsider, which I hoped we could we could represent in a direct manner. I thought that would tie into the experience of a door you don’t really get to open (laughs).

―The idea of you recreating the feeling of being an outsider is an interesting one. It might be a really easy to understand “locked door”, though.

Yokoyama: Also – and this is true of the real world Onomichi, too – though there are vestiges of a past when Onomichi Jingaicho prospered, the development of neighbouring towns means that there aren’t many people left in the town these days. Not only this, but there have been no large-scale re-planning of the town’s land, meaning that additional construction to buildings over the years as turned the town almost into a maze. From the perspective of someone creating a story, the region is almost like a miracle.

―You can get a sense of this maze-like feeling from the screenshots that have already been revealed.

Yokoyama: It’s quite complicated, and there aren’t many straight lines. There are lots of hills, too, so one of its traits is how three-dimensional it is. In that sense, too, it draws an interesting contrast with how Kamurocho is. Depending on the place, there are even some places where neighbouring houses’ second and third floors are connected.

―It looks like just walking around would get quite confusing (laughs).

Yokoyama: Yeah… When I went there to collect data, there were several times when I thought, “Why is the town made this way?” (laughs). Also, the way we’ve got the cooperation of places around town is a bit different from how things were before. For example, we got permission to include the cable car that appears in Onomichi Jingaicho. This makes it an even more realistic town than any we’ve shown in the Ryu ga Gotoku series previously.

―I see. But the town’s name itself is Onomichi Jingaicho rather than Onomichi, right?

Yokoyama: That’s just a policy we’ve had while working on the series. As I’ve said in interviews and such in the past, rather than “reproducing” a town, Ryu ga Gotoku “represents” an exciting town that feels realistic. It might just sound like wordplay, but in order to make the game fun we will have violence in town, destroy buildings in it or have the walls and floor streaked with enemies’ blood. All of these things are to give it a sense of realism, but they must also be unrealistic, and it’s because it’s set in a fictional space that we can make it work. Some people might think it frivolous to make a town so realistically and say something like this, though (laughs).

―But when you think about how realistically the town is made, playing it and go to Onomichi to sight-see, or even going there before starting the game, sounds fun.

Yokoyama: I think either would actually be fun. We’re thinking of things we can set up so you can enjoy yourself when you go there to sight-see from that standpoint. I can’t say anything much right now, though.

―Oh! A new experiment.

Yokoyama: I think we’ll be able to announce it at some point in the future, so please look forward to it.

―By the way, what kind of balance is there between the proportion of Kamurocho versus Onomichi Jingaicho?

Yokoyama: During the story you come and go between the two towns, but it’s about a 50/50 split. The amount of time you spend in a specific place varies quite a bit depending on how much time you spend with each town’s play spots in the Ryu ga Gotoku series, too, so I can only speak generally.

―What kind of play spots do you plan to have in Onomichi Jingaicho?

Yokoyama: There aren’t many play spots that it shares with Kamurocho. I think there are things do you in Onomichi Jingaicho that you can imagine from the screenshots, though. It’s a town that’s full of material that’s perfect for using in a game.

―Spots that are befitting of its sea and mountains…?

Yokoyama: Yeah, that’s it. We have other things besides that so that you can enjoy Onomichi-style fun. Ryu ga Gotoku so far has been primarily set in red light districts, so even when they were set in places other than Kamurocho the play spots would often be similar. In this game, though, we decided to stop using components similar to those of Kamurocho and aim for new ways to enjoy yourself that would only work in Onomichi Jingaicho. If you go to the real life Onomichi, you might be able to imagine what that might be. Onomichi Jingaicho has its own charms that you won’t find in Kamurocho, so I wanted us to utilise that to the fullest. Naturally, we also plan to have large-scale new elements that would make up a game of their own outside of play spots.

―It sounds like you’ll be able to enjoy the towns in a completely new way. Incidentally, what is the volume and quality of the play spots this time around?

Yokoyama: We have plenty of them, of course. Rather than talking about the number of play spots, I’d say that it feels more like we have a lot of big, new stuff to play around with. For play spots, we have everything from the traditional ones to things that are trendy now… But the large things I mentioned earlier aren’t on the play spot kind of scale. For example, the kinds of new things we’re putting together are on the kind of scale that would take several pages to explain in a magazine such as Famitsu.

―For example, would it be accurate to compare it to the size of something like “Create a Hostess” in previous games?

Yokoyama: Yeah… Think about it like Ryu ga Gotoku: Ishin!‘s Battle Dungeon – something like, “Couldn’t this be a game all on its own?” (laughs).

―Ooh! I can’t wait!

What does “the final chapter in the legend of Kazuma Kiryu” mean, and what enthusiasm was put into it?

―Do you feel a kind of fear with regards to creating the “final chapter”?

Yokoyama: I don’t. Nagoshi (editor’s note: Toshihiro Nagoshi, general director of the Ryu ga Gotoku series) always says this, too: since creators are the ones who start something, it’s their responsibility to end it. I really don’t want that ending to come about because of the business situation, where a sequel doesn’t come out because it doesn’t sell. Because of this, each time we work on the Ryu ga Gotoku series I’ve always had the “end” in mind as we’ve made them. This game may tout itself as the “final chapter in the legend of Kazuma Kiryu”, but my preparedness to bring an end to the story remains unchanged from how it was with the others.

―I’m sure the fans of the series wish it could go on forever, though.

Yokoyama: That said, since we chose to have Kazuma Kiryu age and have his story play out in real time, it would be impossible for it to go on forever.

―Since it’s the “final chapter”, are the creators working on it with the enthusiasm of a sort of culmination?

Yokoyama: It being a culmination is one aspect of the concept for the story, but in terms of its content we have no intentions of meekly putting it all together; we’re taking on the story and gameplay aspects in quite a hands-on manner. With the script, for example, I’ve assumed a role quite similar to that of a story editor, with the main writer being Furuta (Tsuyoshi Furuta, Ryu ga Gotoku Studio script/production assistant). From there myself and Nagoshi are individually responsible for certain chapters or scenes, and are creating it in a way similar to a TV serial. Not doing it all myself means that there are some lines in there that I couldn’t have written, and I think that creates character. This isn’t just limited to the script; we also have very specially-selected staff working on the battle and motion teams, for example. Now that ten years have passed since the series began and the staff have a shared concept of what “RGG-ness” is, I want us to change the way we make and think about things and come out with something new. Despite it being the “final chapter”, I think you’ll find that it’s a game that exudes a different kind of charm from the one Ryu ga Gotoku has had up until now across the board.

―So rather than just saying “well, it’s the end”, you’re actually challenging yourselves quite a bit.

Yokoyama: I believe so.

―What has been impressionable for you in making the switch to a PlayStation 4 exclusive?

Yokoyama: We showed off the technical fundamentals in the RGG6 advance demo, but what made an impression on me was the increase in ways you can play given the seamless switching between indoor and outdoor areas, plus the strength of the throughput. My strongest feelings of all, though, are about how cool Kazuma Kiryu is now. The models are of course prettier-looking, but just having him walking towards the camera is cool. We’re now able to express his emotions, irritation and “soul” that can’t be put into words. This is because of a remarkable evolution in our tools to use the physical and facial movements of Kiryu performed by his actor, Masanori Mimoto, and the performance of his voice actor, Takaya Kuroda, which we weren’t technically equipped to use to their fullest before. As you might be able to sense from the PV we’ve released, I feel like we’ve achieved a form of expression that’s another level above in terms of a game.

―You wouldn’t have been able to do this in the past?

Yokoyama: It would’ve been impossible. Even if these things had been performed, we wouldn’t have been able to capture their subtlety. Actually, knowing that we can pick it up now meant that Mimoto performs things he’s never done before. Our facial team, who create the facial expressions, use these performances carefully. This combined effect makes everything feel more real than ever before. Even still, that doesn’t mean it’s like a live action. CG has its own benefits, and I think we managed to bring out Ryu ga Gotoku’s own atmosphere. This is precisely why Kiryu wouldn’t feel out of place even alongside characters we’ve modelled on real people in the past.

―Absolutely. It also seems like having them alongside someone of such high quality as Kiryu would make the characters of the real cast members seem even more realistic.

Yokoyama: That, too. Additionally, there are performances we can do because it’s in CG. Take for example Toru Hirose, played by Beat Takeshi. He gives a performance and does actions that are different from the roles Beat Takeshi usually plays. It’s refreshing.

―And this is something you can only do because it’s Ryu ga Gotoku.

About the ultimate cast

―By the way, do you have any more famous cast members up your sleeve that you haven’t revealed yet (editor’s note: this interview was conducted at the end of July 2016)?

Yokoyama: In terms of the main cast of “famous people”, the ones we’ve announced right now are all of them. We have further plans to have other famous people appear in a different way, though.

―I see. That’s another thing to look forward to, then. Well… even looking at the list of people who have been announced so far, it’s pretty amazing (laughs).

Yokoyama: Right? It’s the kind of line-up we’d never be able to put together again. Or rather, it might be kind of tricky to assemble a cast to surpass RGG6’s in the future. What should we do? We might have to talk about getting someone like Leonardo DiCaprio on board (laughs).

―(laughs). But it might end up coming to that (laughs).

Yokoyama: By the way, what made me personally really happy was casting Masane Tsukayama, who plays Hyozo Iwami. I’m a huge fan of his, and it was my deepest wish to have him appear in the Ryu ga Gotoku series. I was such a big fan that whenever he was doing recording, I’d have another member of staff handle the voice direction in my place (laughs).

―Huh!?

Yokoyama: He was the one who did Chow Yun-fat’s voice in A Better Tomorrow, a film that had a huge influence on my life. To me, he’s almost like a god. I was worried about whether I’d be able to keep my composure when directing him, so I attended the recording in a sort of producer role.

―I see. So that’s how it happened.

Yokoyama: His actual performance and technique during the recording was godlike. We ended up doing post-recording with him, and even though it would sound like he was talking slowly, it would perfectly match up with the facial animations that were moving at a fast pace. Even the engineers were like, “How!?” (laughs). Aside from Mr. Tsukayama, all of the supporting cast – like Junpei Morita, who plays Big Rou, and Ryusei Nakao, who plays Katsumi Sugai – are incredibly talented. The cast for this game is amazing.

―That is very true. Speaking of the cast, Tatsuya Fujiwara, who plays Yuta Usami, and Hiroyuki Miyasako, who plays Tsuyoshi Nagumo, are the first celebrity cast members to appear twice.

Yokoyama: Yes, although they appear as completely different characters this time. They probably won’t feel very new to fans of the series, though (laughs).

―No, no; they’re both very skilled.

Yokoyama: That’s it. They both just give really great performances. They have their own unique worldviews. I wrote the script for Yuta Usami with Tatsuya Fujiwara’s image in my head, so when it came to asking someone to do the role I could only come up with him. In terms of character, only Hiroyuki Miyasako would do for Tsuyoshi Nagumo as well. Their characters both play very important roles within the story, too, so I wanted them to be played by actors who would give them the ultimate quality rather than trying to cast someone fresh.

―I’ll keep an eye out for the story and characters, and how the cast matches up with that.

What movements are taking place in RGG6’s Kamurocho?

―Could you give us a sense of what kind of happenings are taking place in RGG6’s underworld?

Yokoyama: There’s a scene in the teaser PV where you can see the town burning – Little Asia burns down in this fire. When the old Little Asia is reborn, the Chinese mafia start streaming in. The effects of this cause a new order to spring up in Kamurocho. However, it’s fundamentally the Tojo Clan who control Kamurocho, and believe that they control the town, too, so they come into conflict with the Chinese mafia. This is where the survivors of the Jingweon – part of the Korean mafia – get involved. This is the structure of RGG6’s underworld at the beginning.

―I’m interested in the “Tojo Clan believe that they are in control of Kamurocho” part.

Yokoyama: The Tojo Clan of RGG6 has lost its bite. Crackdowns on anti-yakuza laws have intensified, and the Tojo Clan can’t do much of anything, practically yakuza in name alone. Kamurocho’s Chinese and Korean mafias aren’t penned in like yakuza organisations, however, so they can move around freely without hesitation. Pitted against each other, the Tojo Clan begins to come apart at the seams.

―I see.

Yokoyama: The only one who remains assertive under these circumstances is a man called Takumi Someya, played by Shun Oguri. He stands alone in the Tojo Clan, fighting back against Kamurocho’s Chinese and Korean mafia. In a way, the Tojo Clan is basically being held up by him. It’s then that Kiryu is released from prison. This is the situation of the underworld during RGG6’s intro.

―Kiryu was in prison for two-and-a-half years, so not very long at all – and even that is long enough for Kamurocho’s situation to change quite a bit.

Yokoyama: Yeah, in only two-and-a-half years. But it’s during this time that things here and there begin to change little by little, and that leads to a huge sense of something not being right.

―And during those two-and-a-half years, Haruka goes missing, too.

Yokoyama: That’s right.

Asking even more – everything we can right now!

―I have several questions after watching the teaser PV that was released on 26 July, and I’d like to ask them in succession. First of all, has Kamurocho’s scale changed slightly?

Yokoyama: For this game, we’ve changed everything around town, from the characters to the buildings and more, to be life-sized. This might make it feel a little bit bigger. We’ve previously had characters who were too tall or wide in comparison to the town, so we’ve thoroughly made everything life-sized, from chairs and signs to the size of doors, and this further heightens the sense of realism.

―There’s a scene in the video that shows Sunshine, an orphanage in Okinawa run by Kiryu. This doesn’t mean that he runs around doing things in Okinawa in the game, does it?

Yokoyama: Though primarily during cutscenes, Ryu ga Gotoku 3‘s Sunshine and the children who live there do appear in the game. The character team did complain, though – “We’re really going to make them!?” It was really hard work (laughs). You can see them all grown up, so I think that this is one of the things to look forward to for people who’ve played Ryu ga Gotoku 3.

―I can sense the character team’s suffering (laughs).

Yokoyama: It’s something we don’t have a choice but to show, though (laughs). There’s actually a story about whether or not Mitsuo goes on to high school to pursue baseball – it’s involved in the story about him living in Okinawa with former idol Haruka, which you can see a bit of in the teaser PV, so it’s really important to show what the kids look now and what their circumstances are like.

―So that’s how things are with Mitsuo now.

Yokoyama: There’s a scene in Ryu ga Gotoku 3 where all of the Sunshine kids play baseball on the beach. One of the things the staff have enjoyed talking about amongst ourselves since back then is what kind of adults they’d be when they grew up. Like, “This one has sticky fingers, so would probably end up involved with the police,” or, “She’s really fast, so she’d get the award for being fastest in her category at the high school Ekiden” – things like that (laughs). That’s where the story involving Mitsuo came from, too.

―(laughs). How are the series’ main characters like Shun Akiyama and Goro Majima, who have been revealed to appear, involved in the game’s story?

Yokoyama: Just like the changes to Kamurocho and the Tojo Clan, they, too, have changed little by little. What they’re all like now when Kiryu is released from prison is one of the mysteries. Since Kiryu is the only playable character in the game, I was the players to share that blank period while Kiryu was in jail. Since this is what we’re going for, I’m not going to talk about them at the current stage.

―Okay (laughs). I look forward to seeing what’s happening with them.

Yokoyama: The one thing I can say is that something has definitely been happening with each of them. It’s Kiryu who ties them together; it’s not like they’re friends or anything. The fact that they once worked as a team means nothing in the face of what’s going on. Something just happens, and without Kiryu they would never have been brought together.

―By the way, does the Florist appear?

Yokoyama: Unfortunately no, he’s not in RGG6 (laughs).

―Then will there be some kind of link with the PlayStation Vita like there was for Ryu ga Gotoku: Ishin!?

Yokoyama: We have no plans for this, either. We have the “big games” I mentioned earlier, though, so I’d like people to look forward to those.

―I will! Finally, please give us a general comment for everyone looking forward to RGG6.

Yokoyama: This is the first game in which Kazuma Kiryu is the sole protagonist for quite some time, and I think it’s the ultimate human drama. In terms of seeing the drama through Kiryu’s eyes, I think this might be the best in the series. Deciding not to have any other playable characters was something we did to arrive at that. We’ll keep releasing a stream of information at Tokyo Game Shoe 2016 and through Weekly Famitsu, so keep an eye out for future announcements. There’s a little while left until the game’s release, but please look forward to all of the final chapter in the legend of Kazuma Kiryu!

Holding the key to the story is Haruka’s son!? Famitsu wednesday is back and this week is wild!
We learn about Haruka’s son, born in secret, Haruto.

Thanks as always to super fan Chelsea for doing these because this is crazy!

Directly from famitsu:

Having become involved in all kinds of incidents with the protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, Haruka has spent more than 10 years with him. The child Kiryu holds, Haruto, is a child she bore in secret. How did Haruto come to be born, and who is the child’s father? There are many things of interest, and we will explain on the next page what we can tell at this stage.

Asking general director Toshihiro Nagoshi!

About RGG6’s story

The amazing information that this is the final chapter in the legend of Kazuma Kiryu has already been revealed, but Haruto’s appearance and Tokyo Game Show 2016’s new information have become a talking point for RGG6. The core parts of the story begin to show themselves, which will surely lead people to have even more questions. In this RyuSoku, we bring you an interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi of Sega Games, creator of the Ryu ga Gotoku series and general director of this game (denoted as Nagoshi in the text). We dig even deeper than the interview conducted ater the conference in July.

Nagoshi: We announced that we were bringing Kazuma Kiryu’s story to an end for the time being, but we also said at the same time that this had no bearing on what happens to the Ryu ga Gotoku IP from here onwards. It was an easy to misunderstand message, but right now it seems like the fans understand what it really meant, which I’m grateful for. All that’s left now is this article, and to bring everyone lots of new information at Tokyo Game Show 2016.

–I was shocked at the appearance of Haruto, to be honest.

Nagoshi: I’ve actually always wanted to do a drama in which a baby appears. People might say it doesn’t fit the image of something like Ryu ga Gotoku that deals with conflict in underground society, though. This fear stopped me from doing it. We’ve kept on with our own challenges as the series has progressed, however, and expanded the Ryu ga Gotoku drama little by little, which made me think it might be about time that it would be okay to do it. Because of this culmination in the past, we ended up bring in the baby Haruto. As a lead-up to the end of the drama portraying Kiryu and Haruka’s life, I thought it was fitting for a baby to make its appearance. Thinking about it now that development has entered its final stages, nothing about it feels at all out of place as a Ryu ga Gotoku story. Add to this a cast headed up by Beat Takeshi, and it gets even more interesting. As always, there are many scenes with manly punches in them, but I think we also managed to portray the other side of the coin.

–The depth of the story has increased, too?

Nagoshi: I think that’s exactly it. Of course, the fans will have many different opinions, I’m sure. First of all, though, I’d like them to play the game and feel it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks about the story. In addition, RGG6 is a game that serves as a turning point for Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, including the Ryu ga Gotoku series, so I’m also looking forward to seeing how people view the story.

–The game’s subtitle is “Song of Life.” – I feel like the meaning of it has shifted a little with the inclusion of Haruto. At first I thought it was referring to Kiryu…

Nagoshi: What we’re focused on this time is totally “the final chapter in the legend of Kazuma Kiryu”. But all people have “life”, whether friend or foe, so in terms of this being a drama that interweaves those lives, it’s not a case of one or the other (laughs). It’s true that the story has a lot to do with the ties between parents and children. I think life also has connotations of “succession”. “Life” is a word with such a broad meaning. If you simply enjoy the drama rather than getting hung up on the word choice, I’m sure you will be satisfied with what lies within.

Nagoshi: Haruka became an idol in RGG5, but when looking back on the story since RGG1, there surprisingly haven’t been many big changes. In RGG1 she’s someone with such a presence that you constantly have to think about her at the centre of things, but not so much in the games that come later. In that sense, she’s someone you’ll be worrying about a lot for the first time in a while, ever since RGG1. That includes Haruto too, of course. When I thought about the composition of a story centred around them, I thought it would be best to have Kiryu as the sole protagonist. Being bold and narrowing it down like that definitely made the drama and battle feel deeper, and I think it was a good decision.

–Thinking about it again, RGG6’s set-up is quite similar to that of the first Ryu ga Gotoku.

Nagoshi: That’s right. Oddly enough, they even have the same release date (laughs). I hope that people who played the first Ryu ga Gotoku feel the emotion of the last 10 years and think, “Ahh, so this is how Ryu ga Gotoku has turned out as a series.”

–Much of the details revealed here are included in the video to play at the theatre during Tokyo Game Show 2016. What do you think the quality of it is like?

Nagoshi: Even if I say so myself, I think it’s made in a satisfying way (laughs). Myself and the staff always get together to think up and create a video or trailer from the initial composition, but the more the game grows in size I can’t help but have desires. IT’d be easier if we made it like a normal movie trailer, but with Ryu ga Gotoku we not only have to stir people’s interest but also explain what kind of story it is. It’s so difficult to choose which scenes to cut. The video we have for the theatre this time is a long one, but even then we made it with clean cuts, and I can say with certainty that it’s something amazing. I really think it’s befitting of a game we worked so hard to make.

–What are the highlights, by the way?

Nagoshi: I’d like people to imagine it for themselves, but it has to be what the relationship is between Haruka and Haruto, and who his father is. Also, what is Onomichi’s mystery? By the way, in RGG6 Kiryu ends up solving many things by himself, which is rare for him after having been caught up in so many incidents. In the latter half of the story in particular. I hope people all check it out and see this. We also have a playable demo at Toyko Game Show 2016, so I hope people actually play it for themselves.

–What parts of RGG6 can you experience in the demo?

Nagoshi: At the start, you can choose between Onomichi Jingaicho and Kamurocho. In Onomichi Jingaicho, you can experience a battle with Nagumo, played by Hiroyuki Miyasako. If you select Kamurcho, you can play something called “premium adventure mode” in which you can freely play a variety of different play spots, including things introduced in this article.

–Battles using the PlayStation 4’s capabilities are something I’m very interested in.

Nagoshi: We’ve made it calculate where the receiver is when Kiryu uses a move and this controls his movements, so the battles are really realistic. You can also go straight into a heat action when an attack connects, so there’s no mistaking any of the moves. Now that it’s seamless, this also means that there are absolutely no loading times, so you can see the drama, do battles, then enter and leave buildings and sometimes leap from high places. These movements are all tied together now. In battles in the past, Kiryu’s position and other things were cut or reset in terms of convenience. Here, though, the next scene or battle has to start right afterwards. This processing alone made it huge. It was worth it, though, and it feels completely different to play.

–You can tell this by playing the demo.

Nagoshi: If you actually play it for yourself, the feeling of hitting and being hit come across better than ever before. If you get too strict about it, though, the playability suffers. We carefully preserved the Ryu ga Gotoku style of being able to feel exhilaration even just by mashing the buttons. I hope people experience this in the demo.

Mini Games

The “Clan Creator” revealed here is one of the play spots. Played out in the two locales of Kamurocho and Onomichi Jingaicho, it includes the series’ first team vs team battles. Within this play spot, Kiryu finally ends up establishing his own family, the Kiryu Clan! In Clan Creator, you can use network mode to challenge and defend against other players, as well as attempt unique missions.

What kind of game is Clan Creator?

You will assemble a variety of comrades in Kamurocho and Onomichi Jingaicho, raising the Kiryu Clan and partaking in team battles including many participants. During battles you will give the appropriate commands to your comrades (family members and boss), with your primary objective being to wipe out your enemies. A tactical mindset is also important as you pay attention to your own team’s health as you bring down the huge number of your opponent’s family members!

The “Clan Creator” revealed here is one of the play spots. Played out in the two locales of Kamurocho and Onomichi Jingaicho, it includes the series’ first team vs team battles. Within this play spot, Kiryu finally ends up establishing his own family, the Kiryu Clan! In Clan Creator, you can use network mode to challenge and defend against other players, as well as attempt unique missions.

What kind of game is Clan Creator?

You will assemble a variety of comrades in Kamurocho and Onomichi Jingaicho, raising the Kiryu Clan and partaking in team battles including many participants. During battles you will give the appropriate commands to your comrades (family members and boss), with your primary objective being to wipe out your enemies. A tactical mindset is also important as you pay attention to your own team’s health as you bring down the huge number of your opponent’s family members!

Wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling have been cast as the evil organisation Justis!

The ultimate goal of Clan Creator is to defeat Justis, the biggest gang team in Kamurocho. Appearing as the Justis execs, the fearsome so-called “Six Madmen”, are wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling! The members, as shown below, each boast overwhelming strength in the game, too. Modelling the Six Madmen on real-life wrestlers will bring a realistic individuality to the entire game, and is a point to take note of.

Naturally, as you progress through the in-game missions, direct confrontations with them surely await. For those pro wrestling fans who just can’t wait, you may be able to progress through Clan Creator before the main RGG6 game…!?

Gain new comrades through battles and strengthen your organisation!

As you progress through Clan Creator, the most important thing is the composition of your organisation. If you don’t create the Kiryu Clan taking into account your comrades’ cost and skills, abilities and personalities (soldier types), it will be difficult to defeat groups that contain many strong enemies. Appoint a boss who possesses a variety of family members and grow your family (unit). There is also a level component, so it’s important to strengthen your comrades through battle, too!

Hiroshi Tanahashi
The ace of New Japan Pro Wrestling. He mesmerises fans with the moves he performs using his tight, overwhelming body. Look out for his position within Justis!

Kazuchika Okada
An ace known by the pseudonym of “Rainmaker”. He accrues popularity within New Japan Pro Wrestling with his prodigious physical abilities and handsome looks. What kind of personality will this orthodox wrestler bring to an evil organisation?

Hiroyoshi Tenzan
A wrestler who made his name in the world of professional wrestling as a leading heel (villain). Perhaps he is by far the most fitting of all of the wrestlers to appear in Clan Creator!?

Tetsuya Naito
After an excursion to train in Mexico, his abilities awoke in an explosive manner. He possesses a fierce rebellious streak, but his strength is indisputable. Does his personality make him the best match for Kiryu’s rival!?

Satoshi Kojima
A sworn friend of Hiroyoshi Tenzan’s, the two have tagged together on many occasions, and he is a wrestler who puts up a fierce fight in singles matches. His wide variety of moves is his characteristic. His relationship with Tenzan within Justis will be interesting.

Toru Yano
A heel wrestler who is notable for his fiercely tough fights, but he also often displays a more comical side, making him beloved by fans. What side will he show in Clan Creator?

Kiryu Has A Smart Phone?!

Email conversations with a variety of characters

As well as of course conversing with hostesses, you will be sent important hints via email during the progression of the game. This function, which also appeared in previous entries in the Ryu ga Gotoku series, can of course be used in this game as well. However, whereas in the past Kiryu would mostly only read emails, in this game he is a little different. You can reply to messages that you receive, meaning that you can communicate with people who email you!

Take photos and selfies using the camera function!

Except during battle or events, you can photograph a variety of scenes. Using the share function you can upload them to Twitter or Facebook, sharing your photos with other players.

Use social networking to gather information!

By accessing social networks on your smartphone, you can gather a variety of information. For example, if something occurs – as in the photo – somebody will post about it on a social network. If Kiryu sees this post and heads to the place where the incident occurred, an event is triggered… and more. In most cases, information on trouble that happens around town will be spread via social network, so check it now and then.

Work out to become the strongest

Appearing as one of the new play spots is the sports gym. Here you can take part in the Rizap challenge, and by passing it you can strengthen Kiryu’s muscles. Pay attention here to “Rizap”. Yes – this is a sports gym which involves the full cooperation of Rizap, known from their TV adverts. Will the player themselves controlling Kiryu’s training result in them making the commitment, too!?

Just like creating real muscles, in RGG6 you can choose from a menu of six training options to strengthen different areas. Another thing of note is that the mini game is different for each of the training menu items. The results of your training depend on your grade in the mini games, so it might be a good idea to train for the ability you want using the mini game you’re best at?

Just like creating real muscles, in RGG6 you can choose from a menu of six training options to strengthen different areas. Another thing of note is that the mini game is different for each of the training menu items. The results of your training depend on your grade in the mini games, so it might be a good idea to train for the ability you want using the mini game you’re best at?

Pay attention to the emails your receive from your trainer!

After eating, a message will arrive on Kiryu’s smartphone from his trainer. If you are summoned to the sports gym, make sure to go. If you don’t check your results at the gym, Kiryu’s muscles won’t get stronger.

The results of the Rizap challenge come along with “that” familiar song!

If you perform the relevant training and eat, then go to the gym, your trainer will finally announce your results. Of course, the song that plays at this time is the one you all know. What kind of results can Kiryu commit to? The thrilling moment approaches!

Open world environments, battle gameplay, and hostesses. What more do you need?!

Coming right from Toshihiro Nagoshi himself in an interview with IGN Japan he reveals that his team once thought of setting a Yakuza game somewhere other than Japan:

“We have considered it, because there was a feeling that we’d like the Yakuza series to be better known overseas,” he said, explaining that taking the story out of Japan might help players in other cultures connect with it better.

Nagoshi continued: “But the idea disappeared right away. The series was originally intended to target Japanese players, and so setting it overseas would conflict with that original concept, and the popularity of the series within Japan might decline as a result. Also, in terms of marketing, there was concern about the global appeal of a Japanese main character anyway. So it seemed to be tricky.”

Looks like they know where their bread is buttered. But what of the growing audience of Yakuza Fans in the west?!

“We get more and more comments from players overseas, and we do listen to them. In the West we have about 100,000 players, which compared to the players we have in Japan is a very small number, but we consider them to be very important fans, and we want to make games that they will enjoy.”

With Yakuza 6 just being announced and Yakuza 0 still a few months away from getting in to the hands of eager fans SEGA have set their sights on the Asian market with a chinese version of Ryu ga gotoku 6 launching soon after the Japanese version.

“The growth of the game market in Asia never stops; that’s the reason we’re realizing Yakuza 6 in China at the same time as in Japan,” said Nagoshi. “10 years ago, sales of Yakuza games in Asia amounted to about 2 or 3% of the sales in Japan, but now it’s around 20%. I think it’s because the games are set in Japan, which looks familiar to our Asian neighbors. The Asian market has become too big to ignore, and it’s a very important place for us now.”

When asked why he thought traditionally Japanese games have a hard time selling in the west he gave an answer that’s sure to upset everyone. [especially us on staff]

“This is just my impression, but games are an interactive medium, and I think that Western gamers place great importance on the feel of that interaction itself — does it feel good to play,” he said. “Japanese gamers place higher importance on the drama and the setting. Well-executed controls are important, but not enough to sell a game.

 

“For example, FPS games in the West make great use of systems that let you communicate with your friends as you play, but that is not as appealing to Japanese gamers. Also, Western audiences like games that have realistic simulation, but in Japan we prefer something more stylized.

 

“And then there is ease of use. You can see the difference in styles of UI design. UI in the West is designed as simply as possible, so as to avoid distracting the player. Japanese players find that kind of design hard to understand, and they prefer things to be explained more clearly. Sometimes it might seem like mollycoddling, but Japanese people like things to be easily understandable. When making a game for a global audience it’s extremely difficult to choose between these two approaches.”

Hopefully one day Nagoshi will understand the western audience. It’s disheartening but it’s always good to hear his perspective. Even if we disagree.