Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has become so synonymous with Yakuza/Like A Dragon that when it announces a new project, we automatically assume it is going to fall into the series. We saw this happen at The Game Awards earlier this month not once, but twice. First, with the Virtua Fighter reboot that nobody expected, but considering the series has featured in several Yakuza titles now and the studio’s work on digital revivals of the series, it’s not too surprising.
Secondly was Project Century, a new venture by RGG set in 1915 which, at first glance, I thought was yet another Like A Dragon title. Its world appears similarly dense, many of the character models and environments behave in similar ways, and you’re free to explore it at your leisure. It even featured dragon tattoos. But then I kept watching, and it became clear this was unlike anything we had seen before.
Project Century Feels Like A Bold Evolution Of Yakuza
It begins at a stylish yet relaxing pace as we move through busy market stalls and citizens all going about their daily lives, while one shot focuses on a man sitting on a train with a hat that covers his face. Then, some of the Yakuza hallmarks begin to appear. A shirtless man with a tattoo eats noodle soup, and a few shots later we focus on the over-the-shoulder perspective of an all-new character.
Seconds after being introduced, he is hurling thugs to the ground and beating the living crap out of them. Combat appears more bloody and visceral than anything we’ve seen from Yakuza, which, outside of cutscenes, has always opted for more arcadey violence where heat attacks are over-the-top and slapstick. Here it’s different.
The jazz-infused soundtrack makes this reveal trailer that much cooler, setting a tone that I hope carries throughout the full game, whenever that ends up releasing.
Our hero is then seen escorting a woman home and engaging in conversation, before we cut to yet another brawl, this time taking place in the rain as the character wields a duo of deadly weapons. What fascinates me most about this sequence is how you seemingly use weapons not just to attack, but to parry, switch between different targets, and react dynamically to your environment.
Weapons can be pulled off merchant carts, and are unlike anything we’ve seen RGG explore before. I love Yakuza, but its weapons are often stilted and a poor substitute for using your fists to do the talking. I have to ask, could RGG be making a Soulslike? A lot of the gameplay tells and level design here gives me that impression.
While Retaining The Hallmarks That Make It So Special
While Project Century offers an evolved combat experience, everything else about it feels like a unique iteration of the Yakuza formula. Like A Dragon and Infinite Wealth embraced turn-based shenanigans, and with Kazuma Kiryu retired for good, there isn’t a game in the series right now dedicated to good old-fashioned brawling. So why not make something new and take that direction elsewhere? Project Century is doing just that, but what makes me most excited about it is the possibility of it taking the RGG experience to 1915, where the story, characters, and side activities will be unlike anything we have seen before.
A few years ago I wrote about how much I’d love to see Yakuza tackle another entry set in the past, particularly during the American occupation after World War 2. A volatile and controversial time of evolution for the country that would be so enthralling to explore from both a narrative and mechanical perspective. Project Century is the next best thing, and I hope it lives up to that potential and makes use of history, instead of using this setting for nothing more than admittedly impressive visuals and violence.
No matter what games it creates, RGG Studio will forever be linked to Yakuza. But I don’t think this association is a bad thing. If anything, watching Project Century evolve upon this identity with its own characters, mechanics, and ideas while still being a successor of sorts to what came before is just as, if not more, exciting to behold. Whatever this game ends up being, it can’t come soon enough.
