Ryu Ga Gotoku revealed Venture Century at The Recreation Awards 2024 final night time, and Yakuza / Like a Dragon followers are already deep into the theorizing stage to determine what the hell it really is.
The minute-and-a-half-long debut trailer for Venture Century, which is seemingly only a code title and never the ultimate title, confirmed what seems to be Tokyo in 1915. However the place in Tokyo? Let the theorizing start.
Venture Century – Reveal Trailer
A Ryu Ga Gotoku recreation#Game prizes pic.twitter.com/a6uAVfiexr
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The place is Venture Century set?
Some followers consider that Venture Century is immediately associated to RGG Studio’s different video games by being set in Kamurocho, the fictional model of Tokyo’s purple mild district on the coronary heart of the Yakuza / Like a Dragon collection. Whereas its streets are positively a far cry from the trendy metropolis that’s Tokyo as we speak, a sure constructing seen within the trailer appears to be like much like a outstanding location in Kamurocho.
“I noticed a constructing that seemed like Shangri-la in the beginning of the trailer,” stated Reddit consumer Jenkitten165, referring to the one on the far left of the road within the picture on the left, under. Shangri-La, a brothel that has appeared in varied international locations in a number of Yakuza / Like a Dragon video games, is on the correct.
There are variations, after all, however the form of the constructing, its place on the road, the big entrance door and the balcony immediately above it match. The Shangri-La can also be a considerably older constructing than most in Kamurocho.
Whether it is in truth Shangri-La, that will make the primary road seen within the Venture Century East Taihei Boulevard trailer, proper throughout the road from the place the Millennium Tower and residential of Kobuki Medication at the moment are.
Particulars are nonetheless scarce on Venture Century, but it surely appears to be like comparable in fashion to the Yakuza / Like a Dragon video games, with plenty of road fights and, nicely, precise yakuza strolling round. Consequently, staying on subject would make Tokyo’s purple mild district, as soon as once more, an ideal setting for Venture Century.
Is Venture Century a Yakuza / Like a Dragon recreation?
This raises the query of canon, as whereas Venture Century is about in 1915 and subsequently 90 years earlier than Yakuza 1, it might nonetheless be set in the identical universe and timeline. The Yakuza / Like a Dragon collection time jumps so much already, with the prequel Yakuza 0 going again to 1988 and a few quick cutscenes going again many years.
Yakuza gangs had been lively throughout this time interval as nicely, so regardless of its a lot earlier presence, it might simply be in regards to the Japanese underworld. The principle household within the Yakuza / Like a Dragon collection, the Tojo Clan, has not even had its origins explored, maybe presenting a chance to take action right here.
Nonetheless, Venture Century might be positioned inside the Yakuza / Like a Dragon canon with out technically being a Yakuza / Like a Dragon recreation. RGG Studio has achieved this earlier than with Judgment and Misplaced Judgement, a collection set inside the identical world however that includes (principally) totally different characters and a special story.
Some followers even suppose it’s immediately associated to Judgment. “Actually suppose it may very well be Judgment: Isshin,” stated crazyred88 on Reddit. Like a Dragon: Isshin is a considerably complicated non-canonical Yakuza / Like a Dragon recreation that’s basically a chunk of historic fiction that includes characters from fashionable recreation settings.
“That is what I am pondering too,” Shattered_Sans stated. “The protagonist appears to be like comparable sufficient. It is perhaps to guage what Isshin is to love a dragon.” This principle is supported by RGG Studio beforehand declaring Yakuza / Like a Dragon its turn-based RPG franchise and Judgment its motion recreation franchise, and Venture Century could be very clearly the latter.
Who’s the primary character of Venture Century?
However is the protagonist of Venture Century, apparently the person we see beating up the unhealthy guys within the trailer, an alternate historical past model of Takayuki Yagami from the Judgment collection? The trailer solely reveals a single shot of his face, so it is nonetheless onerous to inform, however some followers definitely suppose so.
There are different theories as nicely, after all, with the most typical comparability being made between the protagonist and the actor who performed protagonist Kiryu Kazuma within the 2007 Yakuza / Like a Dragon live-action adaptation, Kazuki Kitamura.
“He appears to be like like Kazuki Kitamura, who performed Kiryu within the first film,” stated SomeChunkyMilk on Reddit. “That is my guess. The nostril and hair look very comparable.” FarEast_Frez additionally chimed in: “He is additionally fairly tall, which might most likely assist with the mocap because the character seemed fairly tall.”
Meaning he wasn’t Yagami, after all, who’s performed by Takuya Kimura. Like a dragon: Isshin beforehand introduced all of the characters one after the other, with the identical fashions and voice actors and so forth, so this could dispel Isshin’s judgment principle.
Others, once more, level to a wholly contemporary character: the founding member of the Tojo Clan. “I ponder if it is the primary patriarch Tojo, the one who takes Kamurocho beneath his management and creates the household, then later the Tojo Clan,” Maintain-My-Sake stated on Reddit. “Dude if that is legit the ancestor of the Tojo Clan I am really going to eat a shoe,” added Terrible_Guidance599.
Is Venture Century a Dragon Engine recreation?
Whoever he’s, the protagonist of Venture Century is much extra violent than the likes of Kiryu or Yagami. Regardless of beating up 1000’s of individuals and taking pictures down helicopters with rocket launchers and so forth, Kiryu has by no means formally killed anybody. The identical cannot be stated after 90 seconds of this new protagonist hitting unhealthy guys with crowbars and ripping their underwear.
That is additionally notable for different causes; The present Dragon engine has up to now been used to create Yakuza 6: The Tune of Life, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Fist of the North Star: Misplaced Paradise, Judgement, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Misplaced Judgement, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Title, as a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and the Future as a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, for a complete of 11 video games over eight years.
Subsequently, it is getting previous, one thing RGG Studio has already acknowledged, and its technical director Yutaka Ito stated simply final month that he is lastly desperate to make a brand new engine to be used on present consoles. All the aforementioned Yakuza / Like a Dragon video games, together with the 2025 launch of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, can be found on the PlayStation 4 technology.
Followers are debating whether or not or not Venture Century is a Dragon Engine recreation. “It is like they push the Dragon engine to its restrict, even by RGG customary that is loopy,” stated Reddit consumer honoyom, however was dismissed by AnyImpression6 who thought it was Unreal Engine 5.
Others identified that Venture Century is already reusing animations from different RGG Studio video games, one thing that’s fairly frequent follow. “Like 4 of the fight animations are immediately from different video games as nicely,” stated AppealToReason16. “I knew it was an RGG recreation earlier than the title was revealed on that first transfer.”
RGG Studio makes it clear that the trailer footage is pre-alpha, nonetheless, which implies it’s extremely early in growth. RGG Studio has in any other case made it clear that it favors the Dragon Engine for its potential to provide a sensible environment for cities at night time. So it’d make sense that, for Venture Century, which does not function the intense lights of recent Tokyo, RGG Studio could be extra comfy ditching the Dragon Engine in favor of one thing extra technologically superior.
Followers must wait patiently for solutions to all these questions. Venture Century might be nonetheless a way off, because it does not have a title but, and RGG Studio is at present growing Virtua Fighter 6 and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii alongside Venture Century.
Nonetheless, it’s recognized for its extremely quick growth time. Within the final 5 years, for instance, Yakuza 4 Remastered, Yakuza 5 Remastered, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Judgment Remastered, Misplaced Judgment, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Title, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, together with three Tremendous Monkey Ball video games and an enhanced remaster of Virtua Fighter 5. That is 12 video games in whole.
In our 9/10 evaluate of RGG Studio’s newest launch, IGN stated, “Spanning, charming, and crammed with dynamic fight, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t solely the perfect turn-based recreation like a Dragon, it is the most effective video games in your complete collection.”
Ryan Dinsdale is a contract reporter for IGN. He’ll be speaking about The Witcher all day.
