Yakuza 8 is heading to the USA, in the nude

A new Yakuza 8 trailer reveals its full official name, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, as well as a surprising new location. Seems our boy Ichiban is off to the USA, without his pants. Even he didn't expect that. Watch the trailer below for careful object placement to hide his shame.

"Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a direct sequel to Yakuza: Like A Dragon where an unexpected chain of events sets two legendary ex-yakuza, Kasuga Ichiban and Kazuma Kiryu, on a larger-than-life adventure as dual playable protagonists," Sega say. And yes, they confirm, "Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the previously announced eighth iteration in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's flagship series."

While the trailer might seem lewd, please do remember that Ichiban Kasuga, just like Kazuma Kiryu (and Dominic Toretto), has no idea what sex is. He's heard of it, of course, and has picked up a vague vibe that it's embarrassing, but doesn't know what it is and certainly doesn't understand the connection between sex and genitals. He seems as surprised as anyone by the presence of his own genitals. (Kiryu and Dom, in contrast, don't know what sex is either but based on hearsay they do believe it's meant to be cool, and so will do what they assume is expected of them anytime someone says the word: nod sagely and emit a slight grunt of enthusiasm. When filling out personal info forms, both Kiryu and Dom write "Yes please" next to 'Sex' without the slightest awareness or humour.)

Yakuza games usually bounce between several cities, so it's not clear how much will be set in the USA. I hope both Ichiban and Kiryu pay a visit because I very much want to see them as fish out of water in the US of A. Both seem surprised and delighted by everything, everywhere, always. Hell, Kiryu remained a fish out of water in the same square mile of city he walked across several decades and seven whole games. Truly, god's most innocent child.

Kiryu had seemingly ended his adventures by the end of Yakuza 6 but alas, no such luck for the world's greatest father figure. A new spin-off, Yakuza Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, will explain what got up to between 6 and 8. Turns out, he became some sort of secret agent? Watching the new trailer for that one on Friday, I did wish Sega had let Kiryu retire. He'd grown, he'd done what he needed to, and he was ready to move on. A shame.

Yakuza 8: Infinite Wealth is due to launch in early 2024.

I do know Sega claim that the series is no longer named Yakuza, that it's now following the Japanese name of Like A Dragon, but that can't be true. No matter what name they put on trailers and Steam pages, they're all clearly still named Yakuza. When was the last time you heard someone call the series Like A Dragon? Never. This feels like a prank but no one was ever fooled so I don't get the joke. Give up and call it Yakuza 8 already, Sega.

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