Sega pulled back the curtain on the next step forward for the Yakuza franchise yesterday, revealing where the series would be going after finishing Kazuma Kiryu’s saga. And it was… well, surprising. Shedding the action brawler mechanics of previous game, Yakuza 7 will instead be a turn based JRPG now, which shocked a lot of people a great deal.
There are many who feel the change in direction for the series is a bad idea, and that it might end up becoming a boring game that ruins the series’ identity. However, Yakuza series producer Daisuke Sato has taken to Twitter to assure fans that that’s not going to be the case. Sato started by thanking fans for their feedback, then proceeding to give assurances that even though he was prepared for such a reaction from series fans, he has confidence that it’ll turn out fine. He then went on to say that the developers are making every effort to make sure that fans are not disappointed in the series’ new direction.
“Thank you for your valuable feedback,” Sato wrote. “I also feel your concern from all the comments. Thank you very much. Many harsh opinions have been received for this announcement, but I am grateful that everyone loved the old Yakuza series.”
“This system change to a ‘new dragon’ is a huge challenge,” he continued. “I was prepared to have some fans who didn’t want the change. However, I do not intend to make a boring game, and I think that we should do our best to make this work a work loved by everyone.
“If you’re not interested in it, or if you feel it is boring, it’s not enough for us.I’m not saying you should support me, but I hope you can follow the upcoming news about the game. The entire team will make every effort to create a work that everyone can enjoy.”
It’s certainly a pretty radical new direction for Yakuza to take, and very different from what we’ve seen from the series in the past- but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the best, longest running franchises have only been able to endure because of their willingness to change things up, and if this works for Yakuza, it could lead to a period of some great new games for the series. Here’s hoping, anyway.