Yakuza: Like a Dragon to Launch January 16th, 2020 in Japan and Later Next Year in Western Countries

Alessio Palumbo
Yakuza: Like a Dragon Combat

The next chapter of the Yakuza franchise has been dated for release. SEGA announced the game will be out January 16th, 2020 in Japan for PlayStation 4, with a 2020 release in Western countries as well.

This will be a radically different departure from previous franchise entries, which were all based on action combat, whereas this time turn-based combat will be used instead.

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Actors Shinichi Tsutsumi, Ken Yasuda, and Kiichi Nakai will be lending their appearances and voices to the game's main cast members, with Kazuhiro Nakaya voicing the game's main protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon introduces a new main protagonist for the first time since the series' inception over a decade ago - Ichiban Kasuga, a low-level yakuza member looking to prove his self-worth, and follows him and his motley crew of unlikely allies as they attempt to rise from rags to riches in this modern human drama.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is much more than just a new chapter in the Yakuza series. Much like the new English title itself, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a complete reimagining of the franchise, a landmark to coincide with the series' 15th anniversary. With the bulk of the game taking place in the large-scale, painstakingly-realized setting of Ijincho in Yokohama, players will explore an entirely new side of Japan never-before-seen in the series. Not only that, but Yakuza: Like a Dragon's combat system has undergone a major overhaul, combining Yakuza's established brawling action with a turn-based RPG battle system.

Check out the Tokyo Game Show 2019 trailer below. More info should be eventually available on the game's official website.

Alessio Palumbo Photo

About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.

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