Today's release: "Ryu ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name" Play Review What is the new way of life of the legendary gangster Kazuma Kiryu? Another "Ryu ga Gotoku 7" will be revealed!

In this issue, we present our play impressions after playing the first part of the game. We will begin with the story of Kazuma Kiryu, his battles using the two battle styles of "Oryu" and "Agent," and the play spots scattered throughout the city where the game takes place.

Faking his death, Kazuma Kiryu becomes a resident of the underworld as an agent of the Daidoji faction.

In this work, "Yakuza6: Poem of Life. to "Yakuza7". Once a legendary ex-gokudo, Kiryu faked his own death to protect his loved ones after the incident in "Yakuza 6," and was given the name "Joryu" as an agent of an organization called the Daidoji faction, which undertakes dirty work unbeknownst to the public.

Kiryu has often been portrayed as an important figure in the Tojokai, Kanto's largest organized crime syndicate, but now that he is dead, even if only as a disguise, his previous background is irrelevant, and he is starting from scratch. His black suit and sunglasses are more like a front to escape public scrutiny than something cool, and his former appearance as the "Dragon of Dojima" makes him seem even more forlorn.

The story moves at a dizzying pace from the beginning. Kiryu is supposed to be working as an agent of the Daidoji faction and living quietly in the shadows, but he is attacked by the enemy at a wharf where he is headed to guard a gold smuggling operation. The assailant is a member of the Omi Rengo, Kansai's largest organized crime syndicate, and his goal is not to smuggle in gold, but to fake his death in order to lure Kiryu out of Daidoji's place, where he is believed to be. Eventually, a man named Tsuruno of the Omi Coalition offers him a deal, and Kiryu is forced to make a big decision.

Before being an agent of the Daidoji faction, Kiryu was a former member of the Tojokai and once the fourth president. Kiryu, who should have cleared his name as the title suggests, is dragged back into the underworld by the hands of those around him. In such a developing dialogue in the story, I was also impressed by the many words that Kiryu used to show the important things he has obtained in his life, such as the children at the "Asagao" children's home in Okinawa, his attitude of maintaining his honor even after he has stepped away from the gang, and his gratitude to a man who can put his life on the line for the sake of someone else! .

It is true that he is still bound by the ties of the past, but he is who he is today thanks to those experiences. Perhaps Kiryu's position in this work can be expressed only because he has accumulated his way of life from the first "Yakuza" to "Yakuza6".

The "Oryu," a fight-killing technique cultivated through long battles, and the smart "agent" who fights with gadgets.

The battles in "Yakuza 7" were turn-based, but in this game, in which Kiryu is the main character, the action is familiar from the "Yakuza" series. Most of the elements are the same as in past titles, including the exhilaration of kicking out goons and other members, the flexible attacks using objects around you, and the "Heat Action," which is performed by building up a "Heat Gauge. On the other hand, Kiryu can freely switch between two battle styles, "Oryu" and "Agent.

Oryu is a fighting style Kiryu developed during his life as a legendary former Gokudo fighter. It concentrates a wide variety of attack methods, including throwing techniques and counters, as well as fighting techniques using arms and legs. In combo attacks, pressing and holding the △ button enables charging, which greatly increases the power of the attack that follows. However, compared to the agents described below, the attack range is narrower, so Oryu is more suited for one-on-one combat. Although it is a bit uneasy to use in group battles, it can be said that it shows unparalleled strength when fighting bosses and strong enemies with a lot of HP.

The agent is another fighting style that Kiryu learned while working as a member of the Daidoji faction. Unlike Oryu, who uses his physical body to the fullest, this one makes full use of gadgets. There are four variations in total: the "spider," which can bind opponents with wires and throw them away; the "bee," which summons drones to cover itself; the "firefly," which blasts opponents with cigarette-shaped bombs; and the "snake," which can move at high speed using jet jets. The normal attacks have a wide range, and combined with the flashy techniques using gadgets, this style is more suited to group battles than to single combat.

The use of gadgets in conjunction with normal attacks may seem appropriately complex, but in fact it is quite simple: four gadgets are assigned to the ○, ×, □, and △ buttons, and the corresponding buttons need only be pressed and held during combat. In short, the mechanism is the same as that of the Oryu technique, and since it does not require lengthy command input, you will quickly become accustomed to it once you pick it up.

The author personally found the spider useful. The spider can use wires to restrain opponents and throw them in any direction, so it can be used to force unwanted opponents to move, or to roll them into other enemies. Since the opponent cannot move while being restrained, it can reduce the possibility of a surprise attack from our side. The fact that the spider is the only gadget that can be used at the beginning of the game is also significant, but even taking this into account, it was a great help to us throughout our play this time.

The Oryu and the agent can be switched at any time during battle. You can switch to the agent while attacking with the Oryu, and vice versa, of course. If you can flexibly change your style, for example, choosing an agent first against a dense group of enemies, and then switching to the Oryu when the number is reduced to bring the fight to a single combat, you should be able to fight both small fry and boss battles in a stable manner.

Earn money to acquire skills while completing "red-eye" requests.

Along with battle styles, one of the new elements in this title is the interaction with a woman named Akame. In the beginning of the story, the player helps her in Soutenbori for various reasons, and she asks for help from people in the town.

There are two types of requests: a rather lengthy story-based type, and a quick and easy type that can be completed in real time by the people in town. Both types of requests can be completed to earn money or "red-eye points. The money is used to use the play spots, to shop at stores, or to learn the skills of the Oryu or agents. Akame points are needed to purchase items at the "Akame Shop" and for "investment," which provides various benefits related to akame.

The more skills you can use in battle, the better, so money disappears from the side you enter when you want to enhance your skills. For this reason, the requests that could be received through Akame were appreciated to help defray the costs. Especially the ones received in real time from people in town are more tempo. The requests, such as a request for alcohol or a request to remove a soccer ball stuck in a tree, are abundant, but each request takes anywhere from a few dozen seconds to two minutes to complete.

There are plenty of clients in Sotenbori, so if you take on every one of them, the time will fly by. The "Yakuza" series is known for its attractive play spots, but in addition to that, the red-eye requests in this title seem to be a very challenging element.

Snacks, gambling halls, billiards, and other ample play spots

The Kamurocho and Sotenbori neighborhoods, where this series takes place, are packed with places to play. In addition to snack bars where you can play karaoke, there are billiards, chess, hanafuda (Japanese playing cards), game centers, and many other variations.

All of them are mini-games, but since most of them are based on real-life games, they are not just mini-games, but are also very deep. Shogi and Hanafuda, for example, are just such games, and if you want to play them, you will be able to play them forever without thinking about the story.

In particular, the Game Center includes games such as Sonic and Virtua Fighter as they are. I felt that the strengths of Sega, the developer of "Yakuza" and a long-established arcade game company, were fully utilized. Although this title is only a "Gaiden," the volume of play spots is as large as in the main series.

Not only does it depict the unspoken blank time of Kazuma Kiryu, but it is also packed with exhilarating battles and a town full of various play spots and requests, making it comparable in volume to the main "Yakuza" series. In preparation for the release of "Yakuza 8" on January 26, 2024, this work is a must-play.

Yakuza7 Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

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Title Information

Yakuza7 Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

Compatibility: Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, PS5, PS4, PC (Steam)

Xbox Game Pass /Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Windows / PC (Steam) versions are only available in digital format.

Release date ： November 9, 2023 (Thursday)

Price ： 5,940 yen (tax included) for package and digital version

Genre ： Action-adventure

Player : 1 player

Publisher/Distributor ： SEGA Corporation

CERO : D (for ages 17 and up)

(C)SEGA Corporation