Of course, given the fact that Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have chosen to go back to that game, there’s plenty of fans that a similar remake for Yakuza: Kenzan – another similar historical Japanese spinoff – is part of the plans as well.

While RGG Studio is yet to say anything concrete about that one way or another, in a recent interview with One More Game, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio boss Masayoshi Yokoyama and Yakuza series producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto spoke about the same, explaining that if a remake for Kenzan were to ever be made, it would end up requiring a lot of time and money on the developer’s part.

“From all of the fan feedback we have received, many fans wanted an Ishin remake more than Kenzan,” the developers said when asked about one project was chosen for the remake over the other. “We also believed that Ishin was more popular, and if we wanted to bring in the Kenzan remake, we would want to change the storyline a little bit, and that would take a lot of time and would be budget-consuming. It really needs good timing for us to consider a remake of Kenzan.”

Like a Dragon: Ishin! launches on February 21, 2023 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It will be followed later in the year by Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name and in 2024 by Like a Dragon 8, both also launching for the aforementioned platforms.

When you think of Yakuza, you don’t really think of samurai, but it’s something that the series has tried its hand at- twice. Yakuza Kenzan and Yakuza Ishin were both spinoff entries in the series that completely tore up the rulebook and went for samurai-infused historical action, but neither game, unfortunately, has ever been released outside of Japan, in spite of praise for both from series fans.

However, if we are to believe Yakuza series producer Daisuke Sato, that could change some time in the future. Speaking in an interview with Game Blog, when asked about the two games, Sako said that thanks to Ghost of Tsushima’s massive successive from both critical and commercial viewpoints, western audiences seem much more open to samurai stories and games, which means there’s a chance that Yakuza Kenzan and Ishin end up releasing in the west sooner or later.

“Even long before Ghost of Tsushima, I did want to release samurai games like Kenzan and Ishin in the West,” Sato said. “Unfortunately, after Yakuza 0, we were very busy with remastering the numbering Yakuza titles for the PS4, so we missed the opportunity to work on some of these other games. However, if anything, Ghost of Tsushima has helped Western gamers become more interested in samurai, so I should think of it as now is a more opportune time to release these titles.”

The Yakuza series has enjoyed incredible success in the West in the last few years, especially once it broke out into the mainstream following the launch of Yakuza 0, so the hope is that the more offbeat titles like Kenzan and Ishin will eventually come westward as well. Fingers crossed.

Characters Modeled After Real Actors

Getting the likenesses right for a group of bad-asses like the Yakuza cast isn’t easy. However, it’s interesting to note how many of the characters are modeled after and voiced by well-known Japanese actors. Takeshi Kitano, for instance, serves as the template and voice for Toru in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Meanwhile, Riki Takeuchi lends his face and voice to Daiki Awano in Yakuza 0.

Yakuza Kiwami 2, the remake of Yakuza 2, is now out in the West, the fourth Yakuza game to launch within the last year and a half. And just like Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza 6, it’s absolutely excellent- perhaps even more so than all of them. More than anything, these recent releases have seen a boost in popularity for this franchise outside of Japan, and it seems Sega are becoming very aware of that fact.

In Japan, remastered editions of Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 are also releasing between this year and the next. Until now, we’ve had no information regarding whether these remasters would make it to the West, but a recent official Sega survey suggests that they’re definitely considering bringing over these games, maybe even along with some spin-offs, at some point to markets outside of Japan.

The official survey asks questions regarding how interested users would be in buying remasters of Yakuza games, new games in the series, and other games created by the team, such as Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, which, in fact, is bound to launch outside of Japan not long from now. The survey also asks a question about spin-off titles such as Yakuza: Ishin! and Yakuza: Kenzan! which were never released in the West. The very fact that Sega is asking these questions means there is a chance that we’ll be getting to see more Yakuza games (and more) releasing in the West in the future.

Sega’s definitely been working on expanding Yakuza’s audiences in the last few months. Outside of a string excellent releases, they’ve also released Yakuza 0 on PC. A PC release for Yakuza Kiwami is also in the pipeline, and recent reports suggest one for Yakuza 6: The Song of Life might be too. In the meantime, you can enjoy Yakuza Kiwami 2, as it’s now out for the PS4 across the world.