Summary
According to a recentinternal interview from Segawith Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio producer and director Masayoshi Yokoyama,Yakuza: Like A Dragonwas originally intended to be a continuation of the series' action-adventure roots until an unnamed Sega president rejected the idea for lacking innovation.
These quotes are translated using Google and may not be fully accurate as a result. “The president said, ‘This is no good because there is no innovation and I can’t see a future of success’. The intention was always to have a new protagonist in Ichiban, but the decision to make Like a Dragon turn-based with more RPG elements came post-rejection.
Like a Dragon Was An Innovation
“On the way home [from the rejection] I had already told [Hiroyuki] Sakamoto ‘Let’s make Yakuza 7 an RPG. I had always thought Yakuza had a good affinity with story-focused RPGs, so I thought that now was the time to change it,” Yokoyama said.
“That evening, I revised my proposal and proposed an RPG version of Yakuza 7 with the aim of attracting new users, asking the president ‘Do you think this is worth investing in?’ He replies, ‘It’s a challenge and it’s innovative’, and my proposal passed the review.”
Though executive interference in the creative process is often scorned, and for good reason, this particular Sega president may have been correct to push RGG Studio to innovate as both Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth are beloved entries in the series.
“It is quite difficult to have the courage to take the first step of changing the main character and game genre of a successful work, but it was a necessary innovation for the future of the [Like a Dragon] series. Without this opportunity, the series may not exist today,” Yokoyama added.
RGG Studio is holding a summit on September 20 where we may hear more about the future of the series.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon
WHERE TO PLAY
Yakuza: Like a Dragon, known internationally as Yakuza 7, introduces a new cast of characters and an entirely new battle system. It also marked the first time a Yakuza game was available with both the original Japanese cast, and a localized English version.
