After sixteen years as a franchise, the Sega mainstay ‘Yakuza’ of the early 2000s has decided to drop its name in favour of returning to its original Japanese title of Ryu ga Gotoku or ‘Like a Dragon’.

For many, this may seem an arbitrary or bizarre change in an industry where brand recognition and loyalty are essential for continued sales. However, the reasons behind this change are much more nuanced and interesting than a simple decision to change a title. It bears mentioning from the outset that in Japan, Yakuza was always known as, and is still known as, the ‘Like a Dragon’ series ever since the first game in 2005. And although it centred around the Yakuza, that name was not tagged onto the franchise until the American release the following year. In the decade and a half that has passed since then, the series has evolved beyond its Japanese organised crime setting. Over in Japan, we were treated to historical drama games that have never seen the light of day in the west until now with the reveal of Like a Dragon: Isshin. 

Yakuza as a franchise has only majorly risen to prominence in the last few years through the influence of YouTube and meme culture finding the mix of over-the-top combat and at times hysterical side quests endearing. It set the stage for a positive reception when the seventh game in the series dropped back in 2020, with a full English dub cast not seen since the original. Even acting legends like George Takei of Star Trek fame lent his voice talent to the game showing that the series was coming out of the shadows of a niche cult classic to being seen as a well-loved franchise here in the west.

And it is with this love pairing with the ever-broadening appreciation in the west for Japanese and anime culture that the choice to make the name change back to ‘Like a Dragon’ lies for the latest game in the series.

The Yakuza name was a relic of the early 2000s western gaming industries’ belief that Japanese games had to be tweaked and localised to be appealing to a western audience. But now in 2022, the franchise recognition is based around the characters and style of the game regardless of if it involves the Yakuza or not. Both of the Judgment games take place in the world of Yakuza yet forgo the franchise title for western release to go on to critical acclaim. And now with the announcement of Like a Dragon: Isshin, games that the west was never able to officially play are finally making their way across the pacific for their audience to enjoy.

What does this mean for the future?

For many years, the Japanese gaming industry has been strangely closed off to the west for a lot of its more niche titles, based upon the idea that they won’t sell well in the west so it is better to keep them exclusive to Japan where they are guaranteed a profit. That has changed, no longer is Japanese games culture seen as a strange cult following that everyone would rather shirk in favour of playing the newest Call of Duty. It is an accepted part of western entertainment now, and Japanese companies like Sega are willing to take the chance in broadening the games they view as sellable to the west. Reverting to ‘Like a Dragon’ for western release is a sign that some parts of the Japanese games industry no longer seek to cloister their games behind the notion of ‘is this too Japanese for the west?’

Hopefully, more companies will take Sega’s example in bringing official releases to long-desired games moving forwards.

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The post Yakuza/Like a Dragon 8: What dropping the Yakuza means? first appeared on Get2Gaming.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: A Neon coloured miracle.

When you bring up the word Cyberpunk or Edgerunners in conversation in today’s day and age, you’re bound to conjure several images in people’s minds. Most would think of pictures of chromed-up bikers with monoband sunglasses and neon flooded streets. Those old enough to remember the original role-playing game will probably smile at fond memories of a rich world and characters. But say Cyberpunk to a gamer, and they would probably scowl, remembering the hype train around Cyberpunk 2077 derailing into a bug-filled crash on launch.

That is, until now. September saw the release of the anime “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” on Netflix to critical acclaim from the anime community; Studio Trigger’s short ten-episode foray into the streets of Night City has served as a metaphorical adrenaline shot for what many saw as a slowly fading fandom. Without going into spoiler territory, the anime follows the path of David Martinez, a young Night City resident with a particular talent for enduring augmentation at a far higher threshold than most are capable of before being sent on an adventure within the setting.

That setting is perhaps the single most universally agreed upon masterstroke of CD Projekt Red’s 2020 RPG, a strong base that required time to correct that most would not give it. But correct and develop, they did, slowly but surely bringing 2077 up to the standard that lived up to the hype garnered during its fraught development cycle, even if by that point, most players had left the game for greener pastures. However, Edgerunners has changed that, using a combination of Studio Trigger’s expert writing and animation within the established world of 2077 to catch the attention of an audience on Netflix and, after showing them just how rich of a world Night City presents, sets them loose to play the game again.

With the addition of the Edgerunners update (patch 1.6), all augmentations, weapons and playstyles shown off by the characters in the anime can be emulated to perfection in-game, meaning that new and returning players alike can burn the city like their new favourite cyberpunks. And not only is it possible to rule the night as David or Rebecca, but it’s also optimal.

The Statistics

When you pair that with a deeply emotional and fast-paced show with high-quality acting from the likes of Giancarlo Esposito, it shows the audience what is possible within the setting and game, inspiring a colossal upswing in player count.

As shown in the above image, in August of 2022, the average player count for Cyberpunk 2077 was approximately 10,000 with a peak of 18,700, but with the release of Edgerunners, the average player count has more than doubled with the peak playerbase at a staggering 86,000 on Steam alone (Source: Steam Charts). As the show grows bigger, quickly becoming a classic, the word of mouth of Cyberpunk disseminated amongst well-known gaming personalities, bowling over those like the auteur Hideo Kojima by the show’s quality which bleeds over into the game itself:

1/2
I just watched "Cyberpunk Edgerunners" in one sitting! Awesome! Great! Under the recent domestic anime situation, there was a feeling that famous Japanese studios were consumed by the overseas market, but not this one! This is a miracle of squeezing the trigger to the world! pic.twitter.com/Q2fzRJDAVw

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) September 20, 2022

What does this mean for Cyberpunk 2077 and its future? The playerbase is quickly returning or discovering the world is much better than when they left it and having much more fun with the game than was possible. With more updates like the Edgerunner update on the horizon, there is the incentive and proof that not only is 2077 worth sinking time into and will keep expanding in the coming months and years. It’s safe to say that Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a beacon of showing just how much story and setting content and quality the game can provide, dragging 2077 back from the edge of obscurity and into the neon-drenched light of a cult classic.

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The post How Edgerunners brought 2077 back from the Edge first appeared on Get2Gaming.