Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! (龍が如く 見参!, lit. "Like a Dragon Arrives!") is a spin-off from the Yakuza series released for PlayStation 3 in Japan on March 6, 2008. This game is set in historical Kyoto, Japan during the Edo period in 1605. The story follows the parts of Miyamoto Musashi's life. It is the first Yakuza-series spin-off game, as well as the series's first PlayStation 3 title.
Release[]
Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! was released in Japan on March 6, 2008 for the PlayStation 3. Although nothing has officially been announced as of late 2020, Yakuza series producer Daisuke Sato hinted at the possibility of a Kiwami-style remake of Kenzan! being created and released worldwide during an event in Taipei, Taiwan in June.[1] In an interview at Gamecom in Cologne, Germany in August 2019 however, Sato backtracked slightly on the idea of a western release, questioning whether Western gamers would know enough about Samurai history to enjoy Kenzan! and its sequel Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!.[2]
Plot Summary[]
Throughout this summary, the names Miyamoto Musashi and Kiryu Kazumanosuke will be used interchangeably to refer to the same character, as he goes by both. When referring to the imposter character pretending to be Miyamoto, the summary will refer to him in quotation marks as "Miyamoto Musashi".
Prologue[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Prologue
Chapter 1: Miyamoto Musashi[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 1
Chapter 2: The Trap at Sekigahara[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 2
Chapter 3: The Promise[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 3
Chapter 4: A New Life[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 4
Chapter 5: The One Ryo Request[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 5
Chapter 6: Yoshioka Dojo[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 6
Chapter 7: The Inferno[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 7
Chapter 8: Hozoin[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 8
Chapter 9: The Duel[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 9
Chapter 10: The Old Fox's Task[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 10
Chapter 11: The Truth[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Chapter 11
Final Chapter: Ganryu Island[]
- Main article: Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!/Final Chapter
Development[]
Due to the PlayStation 3's greater capabilities and new filesystem, SEGA decided to have, technology-wise, a completely clean break from the first two Yakuza games for Ryū Ga Gotoku Kenzan!. A new game engine was developed for Kenzan! and future games, and all of Kenzan!'s assets were created from the ground up, with nothing except certain heat action animations being taken from its PS2-based predecessors.
Another series first for Kenzan! was SEGA's use of 3D-scanning technology for characters' faces, being based on scans of their respective voice actors' faces.[3] This drastically changed the appearance of some main characters, whose likenesses in Kenzan! were then applied to their modern-day equivalents in Yakuza 3 and subsequent titles.
For example Kenzan! protagonist Miyamoto Musashi's face was based on a 3D scan of his voice actor Takaya KurodaWP's face. The raw scan was then cleaned up and modified to appear more like how the developers saw Kiryu, rather than simply a direct copy of Kuroda's face. This facial appearance then formed the basis for modern-day counterpart Kazuma Kiryu's face in every subsequent game that he has appeared in.
Trivia[]
- During Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, one of Kiryu's memories references Kenzan!, with Kiryu saying he vividly remembers it as a dream or perhaps a memory from a past life. The memory is triggered by looking at a building with the name Sasaki, in reference to the Sasaki Kojiro fought in Kenzan!.
Gallery[]
Official Art[]
Screenshots[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.siliconera.com/2019/06/24/yakuza-producer-says-that-yakuza-kenzan-could-get-a-kiwami-version/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC-j2whWVyA
- ↑ Reported by 福田柵太郎 Photo by 佐伯司 (December 4th, 2007). "セガ、PS3「龍が如く 見参!」完成披露会を開催発売日が2008年3月6日に決定" (in Japanese). Game Watch. Retrieved September 29th, 2019