Ryu ga Gotoku: Kenzan!

March 11, 2008 | 9 Comments

Ryu ga Gotoku aka Yakuza was an action/adventure game released by Sega for the PS2. This sequel, Ryu ga Gotoku: Kenzan! is not a continuation of the first and second game but rather, a story set in the Edo period with Miyamoto Musashi as its main character. There are several things that make this iteration looks impressive. The first is the amount of talents who lend their voice to the characters. These include: Tsukamoto Takeshi (Battle Royale), Takenaka Naoto (Nodame Cantabile), Katou Masaya (Mirai Yosouzu), Terajima Susumu (Casshern), Matsuda Shouta (Hana Yori Dango), and two famous anime VA, Hisakawa Aya (Fruits Basket) and Kuroda Takaya (Bleach). In an attempt to emphasize these talents, the facial structure of the characters have also been tailored to mimic the VA's face. The only exception to this is the face of Kiryuu Kazumanosuke/Miyamoto Musashi, which doesn't seem to have been molded from the face of his VA. While this is not a faithful re-telling of Miyamoto Musashi's history, I can't help but being interested in the game. I just think the game's atmosphere looks fantastic and faithful to the Edo period.

OP Theme: ZEEBRA -「ＢＵＳＨＩＤＯ」 (YouTube video)
ED Theme: ケツメイシ -「ライフイズビューティフル」 (YouTube video)

The story takes place in the Gion region, where Kiryuu Kazumanosuke works as a Yojimbo (bodyguard) and debt collector for a small shop. The truth is Kiryuu Kazumanosuke is the famous Miyamoto Musashi, who chooses to live in the city after the battle of Sekigahara. The story starts taking an interesting turn when a little girl called Haruka asks Kiryuu to kill Miyamoto Musashi to avenge her parents. I think the basic storyline is interesting enough. What is awesome, however, is the detail of each character's face. I can't recognize any similarity between Musashi to any popular Japanese actor out there but the in-game characters that Tsukamoto Takeshi and Takenoto Naoto play sure look like their VAs. The gameplay itself is a mixture of fight, interactions, mini-games (Mahjong, turtle racing). In some ways, it reminds me of Shenmue albeit one in Edo period. The game also comes with two great soundtracks, Bushido and Life is Beautiful.

Trailers and gameplay videos

To view this flash video and other dynamic media on this site please upgrade your Flash Player or turn Javascript on.

Posted by Garten

Comments

March 11, 2008 | Marques wrote:

I'm really looking forward to see this. The Video really lusts me.

March 11, 2008 | Wormhole wrote:

Sony should bring Yakuza 2 to the US first. But yeah, this looks nifty

March 11, 2008 | Takumi2k4 wrote:

Sweet, finally the full version of the OP!

Anyway, I played the demo a while back when it came out in the JP PSN Store, but I didn't play much of the story mode since I can't understand Japanese at all, but from what I could tell, it kinda felt like Shenmue in a more ancient setting. The battle system on the other hand is pretty decent, it's not like DMC4 or anything like that, but it perfectly works for this game.

March 12, 2008 | Anna_W wrote:

It's Soujirou from HYD!! I never thought I'll see his face in this kind of period story.

March 12, 2008 | Weils wrote:

I've never played the Ryu ga Gotoku series before, but I must say it looks impressive. This seems like a much successful franchise than Shenmue was (even though they used the same game engine).

Not to say Shenmue wasn't popular with gamers, I myself am a fan of the series, and still see gamers requesting for a continuation (not that it's likely, but we still hope!). Ryu ga Gotoku (RGG) feels more like a spiritual successor to Shenmue, however
RGG leans more towards Japanese theme while Shenmue more to Chinese.

March 13, 2008 | Nein wrote:

This looks hot. I wish I can understand Japanese so I can import it without any worries. But since I don't, I can only hope that Sega will release this for the English-speaking countries.

March 14, 2008 | patapon wrote:

Posts like this is the reason i visit your Blog so often. I'm happy you liked this. I ordered the game from Japan. Next game in line is Shirokishi. Bring it on Sony!

March 14, 2008 | Shijie wrote:

I'm playing this game right now, and all I can say is: AWESOME.

September 28, 2008 | Dexter wrote:

So I've just finished Yakuza 2.It was totaly awsome.The best game ever.I want this in Europe at laaast