As I write this, my copy of Ryu ga Gotoku 3 (aka Yakuza 3) is on its way to my mail box. I knew they probably working on the US version now but the $30 price cut at Play-Asia for the Japanese version proved to be too attractive to me (the deal has since ended, but you can pre-order the budget re-release for the same price). If you’re still reading, you probably already knew that the fourth game in the main series, Ryu ga Gotoku 4: Densetsu o Tsugumono (Yakuza 4: The Inheritor of The Legend), was officially unveiled just before Tokyo Game Show 2009. Here’s a little translation from Weekly Famitsu’s recent mega report of the game, where Series Producer Toshihiro Nagoshi, Producer Masayoshi Kikuchi and Scenario Writer Masayoshi Yokoyama were also interviewed.

On the title of the game, which unusually come with a subtitle now, Nagoshi says there wasn’t much hesitant when it came to naming the game. Giving it a “4″ is because they are confident of the game itself, he hope it will surpass players’ expectation and do even better in sales. The subtitle is something that was decided when they are wrapping up development works of “3″, it will help to convey the feeling of “unveiling”, in which new characters who come after series’ main character Kazuma Kiryu, will surpass him. Kikuchi hopes that it will become a message for players to widen their imagination of the title and also to attract new players to the series.

Story

Ryu ga Gotoku 4’s story begins March 1st, 2010 (a good hint for the release date), when two unusual incidents happen at the same time in Kamurocho, the main hub of the series so far. A gun fight incident kills Hiroaki Arai, the boss of Kanemura Kougyou, which are connected to Tojo, the biggest clan in the Tokyo underworld. What looks like a small incident turn out to be a big conspiracy that reveals man’s “lust for money, power, status and reputation”. Tojo’s past and the grand plan by those in powers will become clear from this small incident. A “beautiful but sad” woman appears to make four men with strong believe and who never meet each other gather in one place. They will work together to begin a whole new legend.

The game is chapter-based with players controlling different characters in each chapters and find out more about the story as these characters cross path with each other. There are four main characters this time, an idea that has always been in his idea book according to Nagoshi. Yokoyama says in order to keep the pacing of the game intact, the story is broken into chapters with players controlling only one character per chapter. The story will converge to become one story near the end with the four characters all moving forward with the same goals. Nagoshi says this will probably make the ending a little too complicated but he think it will give players plenty of satisfaction. Besides the main story, players can enjoy sub stories that promise to reveal more about the “unseen faces of Kamurocho” with different characters. Something Nagoshi says not possible with Kiryu as the only main character. With the new system, players can also get a taste of how it feels being a policeman and the boss of money lender.

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Didn’t get to write anything about The Last Guardian’s recent unveils but needless to say it’s a truly jaw dropping trailer for me. To think that I will be able to interact with this giant eagle (as the official Japanese title “Hitokui no Oowashi Trico” infers, I thought it’s a cat) and explore the dream-like setting soon feel a little unreal for me. Although we get to see many actions from both the boy and the animal, plus plenty of gameplay mechanics being shown, the trailer is still so full of mystery for me. Luckily, Weekly Famitsu gets to interview Fumito Ueda, the game designer and director for the title, and he shared some of the thinking that went behind the animal and the game as a whole.

Note: This interview has been professionally translated at 1Up and IGN, I simply re-translate with more details. Famitsu has also published the interview online here.

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