Sega has released the reveal trailer for Yakuza 7, and it’s already clear that this upcoming sequel will represent a significant departure for the series.
Let’s get right to it: according to an interview translated by Gematsu, Yakuza 7 will feature a turn-based combat system. Given that Yakuza‘s real-time brawling combat is one its trademarks (and highlights), this move to turn-based combat is a stunning change in direction. Interestingly, Eurogamer points out that Sega actually did tease Yakuza 7‘s turn-based combat but framed it as an April Fool’s joke.
That April Fool’s joke video may actually be our best look at how Yakuza‘s turn-based combat works. Otherwise, we only have a single screenshot from the Yakuza interview to work off of when trying to guess how this new combat system will work. Assuming that video is accurate, though, then it looks like Yakuza 7‘s turn-based combat system is going to be a bit more stylish than your typical JRPG experience. We see a lot of animations, elaborate attacks, and a kind of storytelling system worked into the flow of the battles.
It’s also possible that this turn-based combat system will only make up a smaller part of the game, but the information released so far suggests that it will make up at least the vast majority of the combat sequences in Yakuza 7. It’s a bold change in direction, but it does look promising.
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Yakuza 7‘s plot will follow a new protagonist named Ichiban Kasuga as he wanders through Yokohama after being released from an 18-year prison sentence. It seems that quite a bit has changed since Kasuga went away, and there may be no room for him in this new world.
While the Yakuza team note that they’re willing to return to the series’ classic gameplay if this change in direction doesn’t work out, we’re interested to see if Yakuza can make this gameplay leap and perhaps even justify a spin-off that follows this turn-based formula. We’ll know for sure when Yakuza 7 releases on PS4 in Japan, China, and Korea in January and later in 2020 for the rest of the world.
Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.
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