KUALA LUMPUR: Ever since Sega producer and game director Toshihiro Nagoshi left the company to go independent, his former Yakuza/Like A Dragon series has struggled to remain in a positive light.
While some fans continue to debate the overall quality of recent entries such as Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, both titles at least attempted something different by transitioning the franchise into turn-based role-playing games. More importantly, they were handled with care by a new development team.
The upcoming remake of Yakuza 3, subtitled Kiwami, however, is not faring as well, even before its release.
The demo has received mostly negative feedback, with criticisms aimed at its downgraded graphics quality, oversimplified combat, the reported removal of the Revelations system, and reworked story elements that could significantly alter key plot points in Yakuza 4, 5 and 6. These concerns are based on recent datamining findings.
This, coupled with backlash over Sega rehiring an actor previously accused of sexual harassment for the remake, suggests the publisher has considerable damage control ahead, before, during and after the game’s launch.
Even if the remake manages to exceed expectations — something we doubt, given that Yakuza 3 is often considered the weakest entry among the Kazuma Kiryu-led titles — the path to redemption will be difficult.
On the other hand, fans disillusioned by recent developments can look forward to Nagoshi’s upcoming project, Gang of Dragon. The title appears to be an open-world action-adventure game in the Yakuza mould, led by Korean actor Ma Dong-seok.
Short Beats
Blizzard will be revamping its hero shooter Overwatch for 2026 via a major update. It will drop the “2” from the title and launch a new season on Feb 10, featuring five new heroes, with one additional hero introduced each season.
Former Neon Doctrine founders Iain Garner and Vladislav Tsopljak have established a new “community-first” games solutions studio called Goldpact Goblins. The company has formed partnerships with indie developers such as OPNeon Games and Kaigan Games.
Publisher Cygames and developer Cygames Osaka have announced a new expansion for Granblue Fantasy Relink titled Endless Ragnarok. The expansion will introduce new content, new characters and crossplay across all platforms. It is scheduled for release on July 9.
Falcom has announced a new “dual-dimension action role-playing game” titled Kyoto Xanadu for PlayStation 5, PC, Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch. The game is slated for a worldwide release this summer.
PlayStation has said its action-adventure title Ghost of Yotei has outperformed Ghost of Tsushima in sales “over the same period”, according to its latest earnings report.
Op-Ed
We discuss the Dragon Quest VII remake in full on our latest video podcast.
We also released a short comparison video examining an iconic scene from Fallout: New Vegas recreated in the Fallout television series on Prime Video.
Games Out This Week
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is Square Enix’s latest remake of the 2000 PlayStation title, once criticised for its length and dated design. The reimagined version streamlines gameplay and introduces new accessibility features for both new and returning players.
My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is the newest 3D arena battler from Bandai Namco, using the popular anime licence. The title adopts a three-versus-three format, allowing players to choose heroes and villains from the series.
Nioh 3 is the next instalment in Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo’s action RPG series. Players can switch between Samurai and Ninja combat styles while exploring an open-world feudal Japan filled with demons, secrets and loot.
Recommended Viewing
YouTube creator Foxcade has released a video essay criticising last year’s Devil May Cry adaptation and its controversial producer Adi Shankar.
