RGG boss says he wanted to make a Yakuza game called Like a Dragon: Tuna where Kiryu is a fisherman, and now I'm genuinely bummed "it never came to fruition"
Oct. 8, 2024Give me Like a Dragon: Tuna or give me death
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There is probably only one hypothetical game that could get me to play anything that isn’t horror or horror adjacent in the month of October, and that is a Yakuza fishing game. And as it turns out, Ryu Ga Gotoku studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama actually wanted to make one for a long time, but ultimately canned it in favor ofLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which admittedly also sounds absolutely amazing.
In a newPlayStation Bloginterview, Yokoyama said he wanted to make a game called Like a Dragon: Tuna (read that again) for “quite some time”. That game would’ve starred longtime Yakuza protagonist Kazuma Kiryu “as a tuna fisherman” who “sets off to sea to fight against fishing boats.”
Why would a fisherman go to sea specifically to fight other fishermen? Because Yakuza. However, unfortunately Yokoyama said the project “never came to fruition,” and ultimately “keywords like ‘ship,’ ‘sea,’ and ‘fighting,’ which had since then been engraved in my head, evolved into the concept of pirates.”
I suppose I can take some solace in the fact that the remains of my dream Yakuza game that never was will be immortalized in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which stars fan-favorite antihero Goro Majima. The game takes place days after the Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and seems to have some thematic parallels at least judging from the trailer, which shows Majima waking up on a beach near Hawaii half-dressed and completely stripped of his memories.
His hazardous trek through pirate-infested waters is in pursuit of those memories, and of course, he’ll be joined by a cast of memorable characters including a little boy named Noah who owns a tiger cub. NBD.
Anyway, forget all that, Like a Dragon: Tuna for life.
I just know it would’ve been one of thebest JRPGsever.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar’s west coast Staff Writer, I’m responsible for managing the site’s western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I’m too afraid to finish.
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