Watching the latest Yakuza 7 trailer it is very easy to understand why a lot of fans are unhappy. Despite my personal excitement mixed with a curiosity its design is more akin to a spin off than an official mainline entry. Yakuza has done spinoffs before, so it is rather odd that this radical departure is being called a mainline entry.
Make no mistake underneath the gameplay changes it appears to be a Yakuza game thematically.
The story appears to be a mixture of gritty and mature with a nice helping of comedic with a nicer and heavier helping via its new protagonist. Environments meet Yakuza standards and are filled with activities to complete just like any other game in the series.
What has changed is the core gameplay resembles a JRPG with mechanics akin to those seen in Tales of Series if I’m getting a good read on the new mechanics as I sadly do not speak much Japanese. Mechanically your attacks are very flashy and over the top. Even when players are not utilizing one of the special moves available to each character the screen will be filled with bright flashes, damage tallies, and over the top animations. Some of which are actually entertaining, but nearly all burry the action underneath the special effects. Eliminating the series brutal feel and appearance to combat and replacing it with a more whimsical JRPG motif.
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In fact as the trailer went on I began to find it difficult to take its more serious moments seriously. This could merely be an effect of the trailer highlighting the combat while mashing together assurances that underneath the new combat system the game is still at heart a Yakuza game. Yet I can’t help but wonder how well the actual game will transition between the two effects.
How can I take gunshots seriously in cinematics when you’re dropping full Rambo moments in the game? Yes previous games had guns, but they were treated with a level of respect. They would never have the same weight or impact they did in the story, but at the same time it didn’t detract from the story’s seriousness either.
Though the changes are radical the combat isn’t without a certain charm. Albeit in a rather “that’s stupid” manner it does achieve a level of JRPG coolness that would be entirely forgivable if not for its namesake.
Shown off is how the job change system will affect your combat options. Becoming a chef has the added perk of allowing you to burn mofos alive. Your companion can become a dominatrix and all of this is causing me to wonder how stupid cool police training must be in such a world. Do you get bonus damage for talking and striking poses as if you are in Jojo?
This time around players will have access to three areas over the course of the game: Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokohama. Each recreated as it is in the present for players to enjoy a wide variety of side activities in on their rise to power.
Each of the side activities looks to offer additional combat benefits upon their completion. Albeit benefits that will cause questions to be asked that you don’t want to answer…ever. Like fools may need to be silenced, parents, friends, family will walk in on that exact moment ever.
Beyond the absurdity there is garbage collection, gambling, night club operating, karaoke, and even real-estate management appears to be making a comeback. Were it not for the absolute absurd nature contrasting so fiercely with the prior games style this would probably be welcomed as a hilarious and much beloved side entry in the series.
That’s the harsh reality for this game. It cannot escape being compared to previous entries into the series. A comparison that very well might hurt what could turn out to be one of the best Yakuza games in series history.
We’ll find out if the game succeeds in surpassing people’s doubts or fails spectacularly when in launches in Japan later this month on January 16th and sometime later this year in the west.
