»

[Infernal Mass]

Yakuza NTSC box art

Yakuza is an action-adventure title with a story and setting focusing on the darker side of Tokyo life. In a society where respect and honor holds great importance, there is an even higher regard for these traits within the one organization that is most feared by all: the Yakuza. Kiryu Kazuma – a former rising star in the Yakuza who is rebuilding his life after serving a 10-year prison term for murder – suddenly finds himself caught in a spiraling underworld plot involving a mysterious girl known as Haruka and a missing $100 million. Kazuma must use his fists and his wits to stay alive as he unravels the complex web of truth and lies that surrounds the notorious Yakuza. The game is produced by Sega’s Toshihiro Nagoshi, collaborating with Japanese author Seishu Hase as scenario director.

Yakuza, scripted by noted Japanese novelist Hase Seishu, features an intricate storyline driven by loyalty, honor, and revenge. The seasoned Hollywood cast will bring the widely varied characters to life with both subtle and impassioned performances. Adding his signature voice to the cast, Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Sin City) plays Shimano, a physically imposing Yakuza boss who relies on brutality to achieve his selfish goals; Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) voices Nishiki, a ruthless Yakuza member who has turned against his childhood friend, Kazuma, out of bitter jealousy; Eliza Dushku, (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bring It On) voices Yumi, who grew up with Nishiki and Kazuma in an orphanage, and is at the center of the mystery; Rachel Leigh Cook (She’s All That) plays Reina, owner of the Serena hostess bar, whose secret love leads her down a road of betrayal; and Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Batman: New Times) voices the insane Majima, a violent Yakuza boss with a twisted sense of honor.

Sega understands the importance of the dialouge in this game. They are bringing in the voice director from FFXII. Still, i do hope Sega releases a special edition with the original Japanese voices and English subtitles.

[DSgamer]

alsfhadsf LMFAO!!!!! @ starwars song

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Infernal Mass

Still, i do hope Sega releases a special edition with the original Japanese voices and English subtitles.

YES! Me too. Playing a yakuza-based game with Hollywood "talented" voice actors will be really wrong, IMO. I especially would love to hear the Japanese dialogue in this game to hear real yakuza-speak, with all the slang, the cursing, the extended vowels and rolls...that'd be so cool.

I'm excited about this game...I read about it in a magazine some time ago and I was jumping with joy. Hopefully it won't turn out crappy.

[Beretta55]

Eh, I'm usually not one to be picky on voice actors but given the games content and the voice actors chosen I'm pretty suspect on this whole thing. The only person who I could see perhaps fitting with anything is Mark Hamill since he has a career in voice acting, he could probably do something with his voice to fit with the character. Since after all you'd never expect Mark to be the voice of Joker in the Batman animated series when you hear him, so he COULD pull it off. Everybody else though I'm not buying, I like Michael Madsen and could have a career in videogame voice acting since his voice itself is gruff, but I'm not buying him as a Yakuza boss. Everyone else doesn’t impress me either so I'm iffy on the voice acting here. But hopefully it doesn't turn out too bad since like I said I'm generally not picky on voice acting I just hope everyone chosen here can at least decently do his or her role. Getting veteran video game voice actors would of been the better way to go with the acting though IMO.

But other then that I think the game looks awesome, I can't wait to try it out.

[DSgamer]

oh man i posted on the wrong one! i meant to post the star wars thing on the tomb raider thread!!! eeek

[Infernal Mass]

Originally Posted by merylsilverburg

I especially would love to hear the Japanese dialogue in this game to hear real yakuza-speak, with all the slang, the cursing, the extended vowels and rolls...that'd be so cool.

exactly, Sega is showing alot of effort, but nothing will be better than the authentic original voices.

[Berserker]

Is Takeshi Kitano doing any of the japanese voice-acting??

[merylsilverburg]

I decided to dig up some info on the game and here are some things I found out:

1) The game is originally called "Ryu ga Gotoku" (Way of the Dragon) and was released around December of 2005. So yes, anyone can play the game right now if they understand an ounce of Japanese.

2) The game has sold a lot of copies in Japan and has won a Gold award for some kind of category (I think for innovation).

3) Because of its popularity, a prologue live-action mini-movie was created and released in March. The director, I think, is Takashi, Miike whose films include "Dead or Alive", "Ichi the Killer", "The Happiness of the Katakuris", "MPD Psycho TV series", and more. Here is the JP site about the movie.

So, here is the very awesome official JP site (Note: Click on the LEFT button to show you are over the age of 18. If you click right, it'll take you to Sega's JP homepage). I like the navigation, which points you around yakuza tatoos. You can view movies, character profiles, voice actor profiles (they range from doing anime VO like "Bleach" and "Wolf's Rain" to movies to TV shows), downloads, and more.

To view the movies/trailers, navigate to the bottom-right until you see the Turtle/Tortoise, then click on the Japanese characters (Movie). If the scrolling navigation sickens you, just click on the square button at the top screen (zentaizuu) next to the "11" to get a flat layout.

I saw the trailer and it looks pretty great and the voices are terrific. It just feels more "real" to me. I love the lighting, the details (such as the schoolgirl sitting with her cellphone), the music, and the accuracy of the real districts in Japan (don't know which one they modeled it after, unfortunately ). Too bad the trailer revealed a little spoiler in the story

Spoiler: show

the little girl named Haruka, Kazuma reveals to her that her mom is dead...she probably was searching for her mother and perhaps the mom got killed by the yakuza...I don't know

. I feel the story is a typical, standard one, but it could be done well.

[Infernal Mass]

That prolouge sounds interesting. Takashi Miike, had a cameo in that movie Hostle. The director of that film (Eli Roth, i think it was) was inspired by Miike. Thanks for the link to the official site as well as the navigation instructions.

I hope sega releases that special edition, or make it a limited collectors edition.

[Infernal Mass]

Originally Posted by Beretta55

I like Michael Madsen and could have a career in videogame voice acting since his voice itself is gruff, but I'm not buying him as a Yakuza boss.

yea, it's going to be a stretch. The first trailer with the new voices should be out soon hopefully.

[Infernal Mass]

some good news from Toshihiro Nagoshi. I think he may have hinted about special edition version of Yakuza.

Kikizo: There was a one-hour movie made for the game in Japan. Are there any plans to release this in the west as well?

Nagoshi: We're certainly interested in releasing that in the Western market, however, at this point we don't have any particular plans on how to release it.

Kikizo: Perhaps it could release online, or be included with the game?

Nagoshi: Exactly - we haven't decided how we're going to roll that out. But we have already localized it, so we will definitely roll it out, one way or another.

Head on over and check out the interview for more info...

]Toshihiro Nagoshi: We're releasing a playable demo on the September issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine in the US, which will release in August.

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Infernal Mass

Head on over and check out the interview for more info...

Which interview is this? Can we find it online or is it hardcopy?

I'm excited about the demo for the Aug. issue of OPM. I guess there is a good reason to subscribe. I wonder if it'll include the US voices or the original JP? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Infernal Mass]

oh I forgot the link..that was very retarded of me. there is a video too, it's highlights from the interview though. he talks about Yu Suzuki, Monkey Ball..and of course Yakuza.

Interview Link

[Infernal Mass]

dubbed trailer

[merylsilverburg]

Thanks for the interview link...it was interesting to read Nagoshi's thoughts on the game. As for the trailer, I can't seem to see it. I went to the main page and typed in "Yakuza" and the only media available was a trailer with the JP voices. Did they remove it maybe? (Maybe because it was just too much of a disgrace )

[Infernal Mass]

wow, they removed the trailer.

I wonder what happened,

edit: it was a placeholder according to Sega, but it's very suspicious because i clearly heard micheal madsen in it. It was pretty bad, I honestly hope it was a place holder.

[Infernal Mass]

the demo has shipped out and is currently being recieved by subscribers of OPM. Details: It's a timed demo, and it's subbed (why must sega tease me! *shakes fist at sky*)


That english dubbed trailer hasn't resurfaced either..but it was awful.

[Infernal Mass]

Yakuza dubbed trailer Sega said this isn't final..we shall see!!