In the early 2000s, Sega developer Toshihiro Nagoshi had an idea for a game. He had been working on arcade hits and cult favorites for the company for years, including a stint as director for the Super Monkey Ball series. He had to fight for it, even sneaking in a reel during a meeting with a then CEO, but eventually got to get a team he was leading to bring an idea he had to life. That idea was Ryu ga Gotoku, or Like A Dragon, localized as Yakuza initially for the west. It was to be something aimed specifically at adult Japanese men, taking inspiration from crime dramas, and most likely some Shenmue DNA from Nagoshi’s time on the first game in its final six months of development. An RPG and beat-em-up hybrid, with a world to explore, but one very familiar to the target audience.
March 24th 2024 - I haven’t posted in a while but I’ve got a few weeks off university so I decided to get Scarlet Nexus on sale to scratch that Astral Chain itch and it is really cool!
I think it’ll take more time for it to grow on me because I have to sit through a lot of dialogue and story before getting to the fun action gameplay but the game is really pretty
fromsoft: please. i know it's scary to do the right thing and face the suffering of the world, togetherness and freedom can be scary but it will save you and the ones you care about
fromsoft fans: freedom in nukes? oblivion you said? a poignant statement, From you masters
Dragon’s Dogma II ‘Character Creator & Storage’ tool now available
From Gematsu
Capcom has released Dragon’s Dogma II “Character Creator & Storage” tool for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam, which allows users to create their Dragon’s Dogma II character ahead of the game’s release for transfer to the full game when it launches.
Get the details below.
Dragon’s Dogma II director Hideaki Itsuno and producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi joined Capcom Highlights to provide an overview of what players can expect when setting out on their own immersive fantasy adventures. In addition to your party with up to three AI companions known as Pawns, players are encouraged to indulge their curiosity and stretch their creativity when exploring the world of Dragon’s Dogma II.
From how they resolve quests to the way they interact with characters around them, the decisions players make will not only impact their Arisen’s relationships with other characters, but they will also in turn change the interactions between characters as well. There are often creative solutions to avoid physical altercations, such as passing off an exquisite counterfeit item as the genuine article. Each decision the player makes will impact the complex web of relationships throughout a world filled with over 1000 characters, each with their own objectives and motives.
Itsuno and Hirabayashi also unveiled the “Character Creator & Storage” tool, which can be downloaded for free on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. This allows players to create five designs for their Arisen and Main Pawn starting today! Those designs will be instantly transferred to the full game when Dragon’s Dogma II releases, so players immediately embark upon their journey at launch.
Finally, the duo unveiled plans to release official Capcom support Pawns created by renowned content creators that will be available for other players through the network to join their own adventure, with initial announcements during Capcom Highlights and other participating creators to be revealed in the near future.
Dragon’s Dogma II is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam on March 22.
Before making a proper sequel, the RGG devs decided to make a spinoff to get used to the tech on the PS3. The end result was Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan, taking place in ancient Japan, with little to do with the main series apart from featuring many of the same mechanics and characters – or rather feudal approximations of them. What makes it especially interesting is that this side-story is also a reworking of the classical novel Musashi, by Eiji Yoshikawa, which was in turn based on one of Japan’s most revered and skilled swordsmen. If you want a cheap analogy, imagine if all the actors from the first two Godfather films came together afterwards and reprised loosely equivalent roles for a radical reimagining of the Robin Hood fable. It’s that degree of strange and awesome.