Famitsu is offering more details on the newly and officially announced Yakuza Zero. Keeping in line with the numbered titling, Zero will be a prequel to the first Yakuza game, starring a 20-year old Kazuma Kiryu and a 24-year old Goro Majima as playable characters. The game takes place in the late 80’s and will further expand the origins of these two characters, whose friendship/rivalry has endured throughout the franchise. Players will travel through the iconic Yakuza city of Kamurocho in Tokyo (pictured above) and Osaka’s Soutenbori, a city that reflects the Kansai region of Japan and is home to the Omi Alliance, a powerful yakuza group.
Hit the jump to check out character bios for Kiryu and Majima, and their new looks! I’ve also included a personal musing about why localizing this game would be particularly excellent for the franchise in the West, please read it!
Kazuma Kiryu – 20-years-old. East Japan’s greatest yakuza organization, the Tojo Clan. Kiryu is a gangster belonging to the Dojima Family, which is under the direct command of the main Tojo Clan itself. He lost his parents at an early age, and was brought up at the Sunflower Orphanage founded by Dojima Family lieutenant Shintaro Kazama. After growing up, he followed in Kazama’s footsteps and joined the Dojima Family himself. Already widely known for being among the strongest fighters within the Tojo Clan, he operates predominantly within Kamurocho as his headquarters. However, on one fateful day in December 1988, Kiryu finds himself accused of extracting money from a back alley murder victim, putting his organization in a state of crisis. What’s worse, Kazama, the man Kiryu owes his life, too, gets caught in the crossfire. In order to protect him, Kiryu has decided to leave the Dojima Family, but…
Majima Goro – 24-years-old. Manager of the cabaret club “Grand” in Soutenbori, Osaka. You wouldn’t think he is sincere, but contrary to his appearance, he is bold, yet polite. The “King of the Night,” he managed to turn Grand into the most popular club in Soutenbori in the blink of an eye amidst cutthroat competition. However, his true identity is that of an ousted former yakuza. Several years ago, he was working in Tokyo under the Tojo Clan, but during a certain raid, went against the will of the organization, facing imprisonment as a result. Afterwards, he was sent to Osaka under the supervision of Kansai’s greatest yakuza organization, the Omi Alliance, allowed to stay alive as a normal citizen. But for his close friend and sworn brother, Majima dreams of returning to the family. One day, as the condition for his return, he is ordered to kill a person, but…
It appears the game is about 65 percent complete. In any case, we should expect to hear about this game during this year’s Tokyo Game Show.
It’s worth noting that seeing as the momentum of the series in the West has stalled, localizing a prequel is an excellent opportunity to rebuild the franchise’s presence. Chronology is important in the mainline Yakuza titles, and localizing a game like this avoids going for the reboot option and maintains the mythology built thus far, avoiding the mess of dueling continuities and fans. It is another chance for Sega to totally rebrand the series and make it more of an attractive purchase. Should this game be successful in the West, it also opens up the options of releasing the previous games as compilations or remasters for Western gamers as an easy way to catch new fans up to speed.
Credit to Gematsu for the translations.
Love to see part5 n this in the USA