The Yakuza series is taking a huge turn in the RPG direction with the seventh mainline title in the franchise, Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The game will play significantly different than previous entries and has plenty of more in-depth RPG trappings, such as class system. Now another system has been detailed today, “Bonds.”
The Bonds system Sega revealed today is very reminiscent of the Social Link systems from the Persona series. You can spend time with your various party members throughout the day, doing various activities such as eating or going out for drink. The better your bond with a character the more skills they can learn, change jobs, have follow up attacks and you’ll also gradually know more about their backstory (thanks to Gematsu for translations).
Yakuza: Like a Dragon will release sometime next year for PlayStation 4. For a look at the game’s other RPG mechanics, you can take look through here.