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All Articles: Yakuza 5
Yakuza 5, Earth Defense Force 4.1, Earth Defense Force 2, more added to PS Store
Yakuza 5 was originally released in Japan in 2012, and three years later it has finally made its way to North America courtesy of the PlayStation Store. Faster than you can say, “just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in,” Kazuma Kiryu has been pulled away from his quiet life as a taxi driver and back into the Japanese underworld in the PS3 game.
Also available to download this week is a pair of bug-hunting games in the Earth Defense Force franchise. Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair brings the series to the PS4 for the first time in an enhanced and expanded remake of Earth Defense Force 2025. Meanwhile, Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space for the Vita brings the second game in the series to North America for the first time. EDF! EDF! EDF!
You won’t find any giant bugs in Among the Sleep for the PS4, but the psychological horror game does feature frightening images from a two year old child’s vivid imagination. And finally this week, there’s nothing imaginary about the zombie outbreak occurring in Guns, Gore, & Cannoli, a cartoony side-scroller set in the gangster’s paradise of the 1930s.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Yakuza 5 will be released on December 8; Yakuza Zero NA/EU release officially confirmed
After promising that it would be released in 2015, Sega snuck in just under the wire by announcing that Yakuza 5 will be available to download from the PlayStation Store on December 8 during today’s 2015 PlayStation Experience keynote. More than a simple crime story, Sega’s John Hardin tried to explain the appeal of the Yakuza series to those who’ve never played it (and his aunts) at the PlayStation Blog:
Taking place across five different cities in Japan, Yakuza 5 follows five protagonists who have been involved with various yakuza syndicates in the past. Through a series of events, the protagonists are forcibly dragged back into the seedy underworld of Japan and will need to rely on their fighting, driving, shooting, and dancing skills to survive. Moreover, we like to call the game “The Japan Simulator” because the game’s numerous side-missions and mini-games genuinely make the game feel like being in Japan.
Hardin also revealed that a 1980s-set prequel, Yakuza Zero, will also finally make its way to North America (and Europe too). In development exclusively for the PS4, players will “witness the rise” of Kazuma Kiryu in Yakuza Zero:
Not yet the Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu tries to regain his honor after a botched debt collection that ended in murder. Additionally, for the first time in a numbered game, gamers will be able to play as Goro Majima, the Mad Dog of Shimano, as he tries to rejoin his clan. You don’t get nicknames like “Dragon of Dojima” or “Mad Dog of Shimano” for being soft, so expect each character to have his own unique fighting style and abilities that can be unleashed on poor rival gangsters. The game is set in Tokyo, December 1988, and players will experience the cold weather and cold hard cash that is flooding the city. Cash is king and everyone, especially the yakuza, needs to have more of it. Thankfully, Kiryu and Majima are the “entrepreneurial” type and will have plenty of ways to make, spend, and take money. From telephone clubs to disco halls, there will be ample opportunities for Kiryu and Majima to flex their colorful suits, gold watches, and fat stacks.
We don’t know when Yakuza Zero will be released, but unlike Yakuza 5 and its digital-only launch on the PlayStation Store, Yakuza Zero will be available as a downloadable title and on a Blu-ray disc.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4
Tagged PlayStation Experience 2015, Yakuza 5, Yakuza Zero
Insert Quarter: Remembering the Wacky Games Released in a Console’s Twilight
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
Now that the PS4 and Xbox One have completed their first full year on the market, it’s clear that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are slowly sliding into their golden years. The two consoles have lived exceptionally long lives, but now it’s time to say goodbye. However, that also means it’s time to say hello to some of the weird and wacky games that always appear during a console’s last days.
In light of the pending release of Yakuza 5, The A.V. Club’s Anthony John Agnello took a look back at some of these titles and reminisced about such strange offerings as Mega Man & Bass for the Super NES, Under Defeat for the Dreamcast, and Persona 4 for the PS2. Because even though those shiny new consoles look like fun, the party you’re currently at can get very interesting at the end:
Fashionably late: The same rules for when to arrive and leave a party hold true for video game consoles as well. Never show up too early. Is it exciting to get there before everyone else, maybe wait in line for a midnight release, sharing some weird, high-end booze you brought? Sure, but you’ll just end up buzzed before everyone else and playing lame games like Knack. It’s far more important to leave late, though. You never want to leave before things get weird. Parties and game consoles don’t necessarily peak when the guests do.
The full article is available for your perusal at The A.V. Club.
Posted in Insert Quarter, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Yakuza 5
Sega will release Yakuza 5 for the PS3 in US/Europe in 2015
Sega and Sony have teamed up to release Yakuza 5 digitally on the PlayStation 3 in the US and Europe. They made the announcement this afternoon at PlayStation Experience, but this news has been a long time coming for fans of the franchise. Starting today, Yakuza 4 and Yakuza: Dead Souls will also be available to download through the PlayStation Network, according to the Sega Blog.
Toshihiro Nagoshi, the game’s Executive Director and General Producer, said: “After receiving so many requests from fans of the series, we have decided to bring Yakuza 5 to the US and Europe. This title was enjoyed by over one million gamers in Japan. I’m looking forward to seeing how Yakuza 5 will be received by the gamers in the U.S. and Europe.”
Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama added: “Yakuza 5 is the largest and most definitive version of the Yakuza series. The game is filled with depictions of the Japanese way of life, culture, trends, social issues and dreams. You will play as 5 different main characters with a range of different ages, genders and professions and experience their challenges through a variety of character focused, in-depth stories. I hope you can immerse yourself in our rendition of modern time Japan.”
Yakuza 5 will be available digitally for the PlayStation 3 in 2015.
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged PlayStation Experience 2014, Yakuza 5