Sega released newYakuza: Like a Dragonscreenshots, explaining its Friendship System. Each character has their own friendship gauge with our protagonist Ichiban, and you may raise it by hanging out together. Leveling up a character’s friendship level unlock new team attacks, new abilities, and lets the character unlock new skills and new jobs to change to.
You can check each character’s friendship level on their Status screen. Just like inPersona, raising a level will also require you to clear specific conditions.
You can invite your party members to various places like the movies or restaurants. The restaurant scenes include “Banquet Talk” where you’ll need to pick the right answers to further deepen your bond with the character.
Lastly, just like inPersona, as you level up each character’s friendship, you’ll unlock “Friendship Drama” events. In these events, the characters will open up to Ichiban about their troubles, their past, etc. If you properly help the characters out, their abilities will grow even more. Clearing these “Friendship Drama” is most notably how you unlock the team attacks, named “Friendship Attacks”. Each character’s “Friendship Attack” has different effects, but they’re basically the most powerful attacks inYakuza 7.
This is all highly similar to the Social Links in the currentPersonagames. Or to any other game with a Friendship system, as it’s not likePersonainvented it. In any case, it furthermore shows how much of a JRPGYakuza 7is.
You can read more detailsfrom Toshihiro Nagoshiand fromProducer Masayoshi Yokoyama. Toshihiro Nagoshi also saidthe series will go back to actionifYakuza: Like a Dragondoesn’t sell.We also translated the interviews with the cast.And here’ssome gameplay.
PS4 exclusiveYakuza: Like a Dragonis titledYakuza 7 Whereabouts of Light and Darknessin Japan and is launching there on January 16. The game is coming west later in 2020.Toshihiro Nagoshi explained why the game isn’t titled “Yakuza 7” in the west.
