Ryu ga Gotoku(Yakuza) Goes Portable(PSP) in Kurohyô("Black Panther")

[BRP]

The game centers around a new protagonist. Kazuma hasn't been mentioned at all as of yet. The story seems to have more focus around the "arenas" which we can find in previous games, but the so-called "Adventure" aspects that the series is famous for are still in play. (So are the mini-games like cabaret girls.)

Here is a long trailer that shows off PSP-MGS-like cutscenes and bit of in-game graphics towards the end. It explains the basic premise of the story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro41uM__vqc

Japanese Official Site:
http://kurohyo.jp/

Will be released in Japan on September 22. (No word on NA release... maybe a year after it comes out in JP... lol)

[Correction]

Kazuma's not been mentioned but I'll be damned if that's not his VA doing the narration for the trailer.

The fighting system looks super smooth though, nice and meaty.

[BRP]

Every RGG game gets it a theme song from a band, and this one is no exception.

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/201...sp_theme_song/

Yakuza PSP Theme Song is "Muppet" From Rize

I was thinking that I could embed a youtube with this song, but I can't fucking find it!

[BRP]

http://i45.tinypic.com/dq3n1f.jpg

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/201...yakuza_update/

Added Official Site and some details to OP.

[BRP]

Multiplayer...?!

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/201...ayer_detailed/

Famitsu shared a few vague details a couple of weeks back on the multiplayer component for Black Panther: Yakuza New Chapter. The magazine has returned this week with a clearer look.

The PSP Yakuza title will offer ad-hoc support for four player fights.

You begin your multiplayer experience by first creating a custom character. You can create just one per save file. The character's body, skin type, size, height and more can all be customized. You can also equip the character with fashion goods and fighting styles that you gather as you advance through the main story mode.

In addition to this custom character, you'll need to build up a team of fighters. This team is created from the thugs you encounter on the streets of Kamurocho.

Your team members lead their own lives, making them inaccessible for some fights. A screenshot of the team edit menu shows one character listed as "He's missing, having gone on a journey to find himself." Other characters might be out on dates or at school.

Combat modes include the following:

Tag Match
Two on two team battles. The key here is in cooperating with your teammate to determine when you should focus your attacks on one opponent and when you should help your teammate out of a pinch. If you don't have four players available, you can make the CPU fill in the holes.

Dogeza Battle
A battle royal for 2 to 4 players. The first player to be defeated has to kneel down before the winning player, apparently suffering much embarrassment.

Team Battle
Two players create a team consisting of five thugs. The first team to accumulate three wins wins the match.

EDIT: Oh yeah. Saw who the main character of RGG5 is... and all I have to say is: YES.

[Correction]

Is the Majima game really going to be called 5? Such a shift in tone for a canonical sequel. Not that I don't welcome the game, it's just a little jarring.

[BRP]

New trailer with subs. Same format as the previous ones, but new content - shows off the multiplayer.

[Correction]

Multiplayer would be the perfect opportunity to spread out some of the items that tended to uselessly accumulate in one character's inventory from RgG1-4. I'm excited.

[BRP]

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/201...8/yakuza_demo/

The demo was set in the game's third chapter. Players were able to play about 15 minutes, trying out battles around town, working through sub events for learning skills and styles, and trying out mini games like bowling.

As you move about town, you'll run into the usual thugs who have various issues with you. When you come into contact with these thugs, the game shows their info. You can switch your fighting style at this point to match the upcoming battle.

Promotional materials at the event listed such styles as street fighting, boxing, karate, pro wrestling, Chinese Kenpo and Kobudo (Japanese martial arts). The demo version had street fighting, boxing and Muay Thai playable.

Impress says that the street fighting and Muay Thai styles give the feeling of being user friendly, with good balance for hand and leg skills. Boxing focuses on punching and speed, and its reach is low so it could end up taking some getting used to.

The fighting styles have individual levels. As you increase a style's level, your abilities with the style will increase.

Here's how the game's combat controls work on PSP:

* L button: Guard
* R button: Switch targets when faced with multiple opponents
* D-Pad/Analogue: Move your character
* Square: Punch
* Triangle: Kick
* Circle: Grab
* X: Dash/Step
* Down + Square or Triangle: attack a downed opponent
* L + circle: pick up items that are sitting about the stages

The game has the series' "heat action" system, where your character perform flashy finishing moves. However, it does away with the gauges for both heat action and life. Your life gauge only shows when you're close to death. Instead of the heat action gauge, you can tell when your character is ready for a finishing move based off the color of the aura that surrounds him.

The battle screen isn't totally clean, though. One corner displays an image of your body. As you incur damage in four areas (head, arm, etc.) the color of the area will change. This is useful because your character incurs positional damage, and you'll be able to tell when you're about to have your guard broken in particular areas.

Once you've cleared battle, you have the choice of making your fallen foe into an ally. You can head to your very own room in Kamurocho to manage your ally list. You can also manage your item list and read various bits of info here.

Outside of the combat details, the site was able to confirm that the game is compatible with data install.

As with those past demo sessions, certain areas of Kamurocho were locked off for this demo. This makes it sound like Sega put some effort into creating the demo, so perhaps we can expect a PSN download.

We haven't heard all there is to hear about Black Panther yet. In a closing message, Nagoshi promised new details and announcements leading up to the Tokyo Game Show. The game sees release the following week, on September 22.

[Cantih]

This popped up on boing boing today, and it's an interesting read. Yakuza 3 reviewed by Yakuza.
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/10...-3-review.html

[BRP]

This popped up on boing boing today, and it's an interesting read. Yakuza 3 reviewed by Yakuza.
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/10...-3-review.html

holy shit, that was awesome lol

S: I don't know any ex-yakuza running orphanages.
K: There was one a few years ago. A good guy.
M: You sure it wasn't just a tax shelter?
K: Sure it was a tax shelter but he ran it like a legitimate thing. You know.

Pure gold

Also that website layout is fucking awesome. Stealing that for whenever I make a website.

[Cantih]

Everybody is masturbating over that article's layout, I just don't get it. =\

[Correction]

What's with all the fucking gaijin (foreigners) in the area anyway? It used to be just Japanese, Koreans and Chinese.
M: Don't say gaijin. Say Gaikokujin. It's more polite. Jake's a gaijin.
S: Yeah, I forget sometimes. What's with all the fucking gaikokujin in Kabukicho anyway?

Too good.