I don’t often get to talk about my love for Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Like a Dragon series. Occasionally I talk about the newer games – like Infinite Wealth – but I don’t get to indulge my love for the classic titles, my nostalgia for a time when the series was called Yakuza. I had the opportunity to do so recently when I met the stars of the new Like a Dragon: Yakuza series coming to Prime later this year: Ryoma Takeuchi, who plays Kazuma Kiryu, and Kento Kaku, who plays Akira “Nishiki” Nishikiyama. I also spoke with the show’s executive producer, Eric Barmack.
Speaking about the role of Kiryu, Takeuchi told me, “I think it’s really important to start from the ground up and focus on human emotions. How we feel things is the most important part to focus on – working that out and building on that is the process that everything starts with, regardless of whether it’s based on an intellectual property form… The most important thing is not to start from the shell or from the outside. The key is to start from the inside, and the source material helps you do that.”
When asked how well he knew the series before being cast in the role of Nishiki, Kaku said he tried to play the first game, but director Masahiru Take dissuaded him. “They wanted to follow the character in the script, explore it from scratch, and create a new version of Like a Dragon. So I decided not to play it.”
Barmack said Like a Dragon’s IP resonated with millions of people and Prime wanted to present it authentically to audiences. “For us, that was the decision that the game absolutely had to be in Japanese with the best Japanese actors and a fantastic director. Your goal is to authentically serve a gaming community, but then also carve out the parts that are about ‘Why is this game so popular? Why do people love these characters so much?’ How do you expand that audience by thinking about storytelling in general?”
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The discussion culminated in my confession that I’ve played all the games in the series (not completed them all, but that’s beside the point); Barmack did as well, saying, “What appealed to me was that the characters are finely drawn – you really feel like Kiryu, Nishiki and Yumi have souls. There was a wry humor that was unique, and the world was big enough to tell many stories. There are real estate stories, there’s the Tojo clan, there’s the Omi Alliance – there are so many overlapping worlds that I felt it was worth putting together a premium series around.”
Side note: Barmack and Takeuchi both acknowledged me as Kiryu’s partner because I spent so much time with the character (ten games and counting). This had no relevance to the interview – I just want everyone to know that my persistence paid off.
What’s playing this week
What’s new:
- Steamworld Heist II
- The Crush House
- Cat Quest III
- Creatures of Ava
- Cygni: With all weapons at the ready
- Deathbound
- Volgarr the Viking II
- Rat Empire
- Fate/Staycation Remastered
- That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime – Isekai Chronicles
New to subscription services:
- Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (Xbox Game Pass)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (PlayStation Plus Essential)
- Security breach in Five Nights at Freddy’s (PlayStation Plus Essential)
- Ender Lilies: Quietus the Knight (PlayStation Plus Essential)
- Gravity Circle (Prime Gaming)
- South of the Circle (Prime Gaming)
- Loop Hero (Prime Gaming)
- Hike to Yomi (Prime Gaming)
- Kraken Academy!! (Prime Gaming)
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (GeForce Now)
- Nine Sols (GeForce Now)
