RGG Studio Head Reveals Like A Dragon: Yakuza Series Differs "From The Original Story"

During a post-panel discussion at San Diego Comic-Con last week, Amazon and SEGA unveiled the first official teaser trailer for their forthcoming series. The latest video game adaptation, Like a Dragon: Yakuza, will premiere on Amazon Prime Video later this year and look to continue the recent successes of the Twisted Metal and Fallout series for the streamer.

Based on the Like a Dragon/Yakuza video game franchise created by SEGA, the series will bring the franchise's most iconic characters to the small screens. The Japanese publisher recently interviewed RGG Studio Head and the show's Executive Producer, Masayoshi Yokoyama, to discuss various topics, including how faithful this latest game to live-action adaptation will be.

Like a Dragon: Yakuza is the latest video game adapted series to hit television screens, following in the footsteps of recent releases like Netflix's Castlevania: Nocturne and Pokémon Concierge, Paramount+'s Knuckles and Halo, and HBO's The Last of Us. The series Executive Producer and RGG Studio Head Masayoshi Yokoyama sat down with SEGA in an interview to share "his thoughts about the new Prime Video series," premiering 24th October 2024.

The popular gaming franchise had already received a film adaptation in the past, something which Yokoyama had mentioned in his interview, but he admitted that he was "pretty scared" about adapting the games once again. "My biggest fear was that it would be just an imitation. Rather, I wanted people to experience 'Like a Dragon' as if it's their first encounter with it."

According to the official teaser trailer's description, Like a Dragon: Yakuza "depicts the lives of fierce yet passionate gangsters and people living in a huge entertainment district, Kamurochō, a fictional district modeled after the violent Shinjuku ward's Kabukichō, that acts as the backdrop of the gameplay." Furthermore, the series will take a few creative liberties including highlighting the modernized Japanese scenescapes "and the dramatic stories of these intense characters, such as the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, that games in the past have not been able to explore," which Yokoyama continues to elaborate.

"To tell you the truth, their portrayal of the characters are totally different from the original story. But that's what's great about it." The streaming service had already announced its series lead, Ryoma Takeuchi, as Kazuma Kiryu but officially confirmed the casting of Akira Nishikiyama to be portrayed by Kento Kaku at the panel's discussion at San Diego Comic-Con.

The Kazuma Kiryu we created twenty years ago was perfect, and there's nothing more to add to his character. When you see how they fight in this drama, it's obvious they were not recreating the characters from the game.

This project brought forth a new Kazuma Kiryu. At the same time, his rival Akira Nishikiyama was newly created by Kento Kaku. Their acting is a must-see for sure.