Yakuza Kiwami 3’s Recast Controversy Defined

Though it definitely has its followers, Yakuza 3 is commonly thought-about to be the black sheep of the Yakuza franchise. The sport was the primary mainline installment within the sequence to be launched on the PlayStation 3, and whereas it was reasonably bold for its time, it type of suffered from some rising pains. Yakuza 3 infamously gained the nickname of Blockuza 3 amongst followers as a result of a lot of the enemies within the recreation always saved blocking gamers’ assaults, thus making fight encounters really feel extra like a chore than a enjoyable exercise. Yakuza 3 was additionally criticized for its comparatively slow-paced story, with many being significantly important of RGG Studio’s resolution to make managing an orphanage a compulsory portion of the sport.

Many followers have begged RGG Studio to make a remake of Yakuza 3, within the hopes that the corporate would repair the issues within the authentic recreation, and now, they’re lastly getting their want. In the course of the RGG Summit occasion that passed off this week, RGG Studio announced Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, a from-the-ground-up remake of Yakuza 3, which incorporates an all-new facet recreation starring the sport’s antagonist, Yoshitaka Mine. Whereas the reception to Yakuza Kiwami 3‘s reveal has been largely constructive, some followers are upset with a number of of the modifications that RGG Studio has made to the sport’s characters.

A few of Yakuza 3’s Characters are Getting a Full Redesign for Kiwami 3, and Followers Aren’t Comfortable

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Press Image 1

Along with the sport’s announcement, RGG Studio revealed the Japanese voice cast for Yakuza Kiwami 3. The corporate confirmed that, though a lot of the authentic voice actors from Yakuza 3 would reprise their roles within the recreation, a few of them can be recast. Three of Yakuza 3‘s supporting characters, specifically, Shigeru Nakahara, Rikiya Shimabukuro, and Goh Hamazaki, might be voiced by utterly completely different actors within the remake. Usually, this would not be sufficient to upset followers, however along with getting new voices, the faces of the characters are being drastically modified, as effectively.

Like most up-to-date Yakuza video games, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Darkish Ties goes to have an English dub, which wasn’t current within the authentic Yakuza 3.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Press Image 9

Within the authentic Yakuza 3, the character designs for Nakahara, Rikiya, and Hamazaki have been all utterly authentic. In different phrases, they weren’t modeled after sure people, like a few of the Yakuza series’ characters have been. In Kiwami 3, nonetheless, all three characters will use the likenesses of their respective voice actors. Nakahara might be performed by Ryo Ishibashi, Rikiya might be performed by Tokyo Vice star Sho Kasamatsu, and Hamazaki might be performed by Teruyuki Kagawa.

Evaluating Yakuza 3’s Outdated VAs to Yakuza Kiwami 3’s New VAs

Character	Outdated VA	New VA
Rikiya Shimabukuro	Tatsuya Fujiwara	Sho Kasamatsu
Shigeru Nakahara	Shigeru Izumiya	Ryo Ishibashi
Goh Hamazaki	George Takahashi	Teruyuki Kagawa

Rikiya’s New Design Has Beared the Brunt of Criticism from Followers

Due to the modifications that RGG Studio has made to those characters, none of them actually look something like they did within the original Yakuza 3. This, because of this, has upset a number of followers, particularly in the case of Rikiya. Many followers consider that Rikiya’s new face and character design are a large downgrade in comparison with his preliminary incarnation. The unique Rikiya had a perm-punch haircut and a dumb however lovable face, which made him look reasonably distinctive in comparison with Yakuza 3‘s different characters. The brand new Rikiya, nonetheless, appears to be like like a run-of-the-mill Yakuza goon, in accordance with some followers, and Sho Kasamatsu’s efficiency because the character has obtained a little bit of criticism.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Press Image 3

Many Followers are Additionally Dissatisfied that Kiryu’s Purple Hawaiian Shirt is not Returning in Yakuza Kiwami 3

Along with these recasts, the modifications that RGG Studio made to Kazuma Kiryu’s outfit have been considerably controversial, as effectively. Kiryu famously wore a pink Hawaiian shirt in Yakuza 3, however in Yakuza Kiwami 3, he is sporting a inexperienced one as a substitute. Because the colour of Kiryu’s new outfit does not precisely match together with his conventional red-and-white apparel, some followers discover the change to be pointless, particularly contemplating that the pink shirt within the authentic recreation was meant to be a reference to the traditional 1993 yakuza movie Sonatine. Regardless of these complaints, although, most followers appear to be enthusiastic about Yakuza Kiwami 3.