In Part 1 we followed the trajectory of “Ryu ga Gotoku” from the first number in the series to the fifth, “Ryu ga Gotoku 5: Yume Kanaeshi Mono,” which was released as the “total culmination” of the series.

In Part 2, we conducted an interview about the new initiatives of “Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio”, including the development of the new engine for “Ryu ga Gotoku 6: Inochi no Uta” (“Ryu ga Gotoku 6”), the background behind the change in the protagonist and genre for “Ryu ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue” (“Ryu ga Gotoku 7”, “Yakuza: Like a Dragon” in western countries), the latest installment released in February 2020, “Ryu ga Gotoku 8,” (“Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth” in western countries) and the future direction of the “Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio”.

If you have not yet read Part 1, please start with Part 1.

Click here to view “Examining the trajectory of “Ryu ga Gotoku,” an entertainment for adults that has grown to be one of SEGA’s flagship IPs, and its further evolution! [Part 1].”

  In “Ryu ga Gotoku 6,” which uses the new Dragon Engine, we were able to achieve a seamless transition between event scenes and battle scenes and so on that make a clear distinction from previous titles. In addition, while up until then the characters had always appeared large in comparison to buildings and street signs, we used more realistic dimensions and were thorough about all the smallest details. As a result, I think we were able to turn the game into a title in which the players of “Ryu ga Gotoku 6” can immerse themselves as the lead character in the fictitious towns of Kamurocho and Onomichi Jingaichou that are its settings.

Yokoyama:

  Furthermore, thanks to the Dragon Engine we were able to achieve real time physical control. For example, up until “Ryu ga Gotoku 5,” during battle scenes attacks on the opponent judgements were processed by a separate element, but now it is possible to properly tell whether attacks have hit their target, thus producing the concept of failure or successes in attacks and enabling action experiences with a sense of more tension. It was because of the Dragon Engine that we were able to make such improvements to the play experience from this point of view.

Yokoyama:

  We were told in no uncertain terms by the then president: “This has no innovation at all, and no visible prospects of future of success so I cannot approve it.” Our plan was simply kicked out. Once “Ryu ga Gotoku” had become established as a series, none of the proposals for new titles had failed to pass the internal screening. It was a work that would pass internal screening merely by us saying we were making a sequel.

  The plan at the time was for an action adventure like the hitherto “Ryu ga Gotoku” and I did feel a slight sense of unease about whether it was all right to carry on like this, whether just changing the protagonist and the story would prove to be successful or not, so in a way the president’s words were convincing. From the point of view of the president it was essential that he invested in it and made it a success. Looked at from that perspective, I thought it was sober decision that we would end in failure if we had simply carried on as is. As I went back to the studio I suggested to Sakamoto making “Ryu ga Gotoku 7” a role-playing game (RPG). I had thought for some time that “Ryu ga Gotoku” had a great affinity with a story-driven RPG format and thought that if we were going to change then it was now or never.

  “Changing” not only the protagonist but also the game genre of a series that has already achieved success – it’s quite difficult to pluck up the courage to take the first step but it was an essential innovation for the sake of the future of the “Ryu ga Gotoku” series. If the opportunity gained by the rejection of the original plan had not arisen it’s possible that today’s “Ryu ga Gotoku” might not exist.

Yokoyama:

  To give an example, it’s somewhat like a chain of beef on rice restaurants saying “As of tomorrow we’re going to stop serving beef and become a chicken on rice restaurant chain.” If the loyal customers who go to the restaurant wanting to eat beef find only chicken, they’ll stop going. Fans move on elsewhere as a matter of course. In fact, when we announced that “Ryu ga Gotoku 7” would be an RPG we had a very negative response from fans in Japan and overseas who said “Why on Earth have you changed it to an RPG?” and we were blasted by a fierce and massively unfavorable wind. However, the thing that we were most concerned about was a negative reaction against changing the protagonist.

  An overwhelming amount of “Ryu ga Gotoku” fans were attracted by the story and the character of Kazuma Kiryu, so if the new protagonist was disliked then that would have been the end of everything. Would the new “Ryu ga Gotoku” continue to be “Ryu ga Gotoku” even if we changed the protagonist and the genre? It was a sink or swim gamble. This is sometimes a case of luck, but having boldly unveiled the RPG, despite there being a great deal of protest about it being an RPG there was hardly any opposition to the change of the protagonist. Maybe people don’t often reject two things at the same time. That’s what saved the character of Kasuga. And within the development team there was a feeling of certainty with regard to “Ryu ga Gotoku 7” that even if the protagonist changed and the game became an RPG, it would without doubt continue to be “Ryu ga Gotoku,” and a confidence that it would sell.

  As a result, since the conflict over the change to an RPG raged among users and the media, we were able to arrive at the release date with a very bright spotlight on us. When there is no wind at all it cannot be whipped up however hard you try, but even if you’re facing a headwind, it’s possible to change that into a tailwind. The huge opposition to the RPG turned into a tailwind pushing us along when the game was released. “Ryu ga Gotoku 7” was released on January 16, 2020, and soon its favorable reputation as “interesting” was spread by word of mouth, making it adaptable to multi platforms further assisted and it became a huge hit both in Japan and overseas. I don’t think it would have become such a topic of conversation with the original plan, and in the end deciding to make it an RPG was not a mistake.

Yokoyama:

  “Ryu ga Gotoku” was the story of a new protagonist called Ichiban Kasuga, and just as the story of Kazuma Kiryu was told up until “Ryu ga Gotoku 6” the life and story of Kasuga continued so we intended to portray that. We took an approach of telling through Ichiban Kasuga the sequel to the story of “Ryu ga Gotoku 7,” but in the story development process one of the other stories we had to portray was what had happened to Kazuma Kiryu after “Ryu ga Gotoku 7.” With this structure, rather than making Kiryu one of Kasuga’s party members we wanted to develop of the stories of the two simultaneously, and that is why we chose a double protagonist setting.

Yokoyama:

  Because we couldn’t do any research in Hawaii, which is the setting for the story, we pursued the method of asking the local coordinator and film production company to walk around filming and used a web conference system to show us what they had filmed. About 70% of the research were conducted remotely　like this. After that, in time with the lifting of flight restrictions we ourselves went on site to check all the fine details. The development of the title relied more on the cooperation of many people than anything we had done before.

Sakamoto:

  With regards to multi-platform support, it was “Ryu ga Gotoku 0” that was the catalyst for this development. When we released “Ryu ga Gotoku 0” as the first “Ryu ga Gotoku” aimed at a PC platform called “Steam” our sales figures overseas greatly expanded, and we realized there were so many players that we had not yet reached was. Subsequently, we started to also devote our energies to become compatible with multiple platforms in order to boost overseas sales, and with “Ryu ga Gotoku 7”, we simultaneously launched  it for PlayStation4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows and the overseas market accounted for a 70% share of our total sales.

Yokoyama:

  From the speed perspective, all you have to do is get the translations done early (laughs). In the past we used to start the translations once we had the scenario ready, buy we have switched to a process of concurrently starting translating chapter by chapter, and the voiceover recordings are done in the same manner. With this method, although we cut down on wasted waiting time, there are of course inefficient aspects as we have to keep asking the voice actors to come to the studio, and we are currently searching for the optimal solution to balance delivery and efficiency.

  Changing the development standards this way, we were just about able to achieve the simultaneous worldwide release of the 2021 “Lost Judgement” (a separate series title produced by the “Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio”). Subsequently, we have made worldwide simultaneous release a standard and expanded the number of languages catered for. “Ryu ga Gotoku 8” provides support for eleven languages,* the most we have ever dealt with, and the Chinese language version was released simultaneously worldwide after including a Chinese voiceover. I think that this is one of the factors that led to us being able to achieve sales of over one million copies in the first week since worldwide release.

　Currently, there is an increasing amount of foreign human resources working at the “Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio” who were originally fans of the series. Recently there are people who have learned Japanese by watching “Ryu ga Gotoku,” come to study in Japan and later joined our head office and become staff involved in development. Through the use of personnel such as these, we will maintain a system for steadily reaching out to more users globally.

*Voice: Japanese/English/Chinese (Mandarin); Subtitles: Japanese/English/Simplified Chinese/Traditional Chinese/Korean/French/Italian/German/Spanish/Portuguese/ Russian

Sakamoto:

  That’s difficult to put into words, but I suppose that at the end of the day it is its quintessential essence, that “Ryu ga Gotokuness.” When you think about what sort of experience you have had after playing the game, the same sense of satisfaction and recollection of the experience remain all the way through the “Ryu ga Gotoku” titles we have thus far released.

Yokoyama:

  To be honest, I think that “Ryu ga Gotoku” has become something close to a single game genre in its own right. I think it’s something like feeling playing the game of “Ryu ga Gotoku” genre, in the same way as you play game of RPG genre.  Because even if we change not only the protagonist but the genre too, it still be “Ryu ga Gotoku”.

Sakamoto:

  I think that perhaps it’s the “Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio” that is supporting this. In the early days we really made the game with a team of about 100 people, but there is now a wide variety of around 300 members, including veterans who still remember the first “Ryu ga Gotoku” game as well as young members, working at the studio. While the younger staff learn from the veterans and the veterans enjoy the support of the younger staff, I feel that the quintessential roots of “Ryu ga Gotokuness” are naturally being passed down while one generation succeeds another.

Yokoyama:

  What we really want to do is provide users with an exciting experience that is totally unimaginable and unknown to them. To achieve that, I believe we have to make games that “we will think are interesting in three years’ time.” Game development is perhaps a little like predicting the future. For example, VTubers appear in “Ryu ga Gotoku 8,” and from the scenario stage we proceeded with the scenario writing while trying to imagine what sort of influence on the world these people will have in the year 2024. There are difficulties in guessing what will be in vogue in the future, but we intend to continue to take on daring challenges in order to create new games that nobody would dream of.

Sakamoto:

  In order that all our fans across the world never become bored I think we have to continue to make a “Ryu ga Gotoku” that nobody can even imagine in the future as well. While thoroughly keep up with the technologies that are evolving by the day, in order to create games that will surprise people in three years’ time I want to make meticulous plans and strive perseveringly and steadily.

Yokoyama:

  Also, I think we have the twin aspects of both innovation and stability. While we constantly take on the challenge of making new games that nobody else could dream up, with regard to past titles that have not yet been properly delivered to people across the world and so on we are taking our time to slowly but surely develop them. I think that entertainment only becomes valuable once it sells, so bearing that in mind and maintaining a balance between growth and stability, we will deliver new titles. I hope that everyone will continue to look forward to the future “Ryu ga Gotoku”

*They are the excerpts of major titles

*Release timing are the initial release of each title in Japan

*Titles with * are the one released in Japan or Japan and other Asian territories only