First Look At Yakuza Restoration Gameplay Shows How Guns Affect The Game

While Yakuza Restoration will feature a number of extra activities, including bits of dungeon crawling, most of the game’s combat will remain similar to older Yakuza games, with a feudal Japan twist. Producer Masayoshi Yokoyama and designer Shinnosuke Hirasawa show off some of the basics in a debut gameplay footage presentation.

At 2:32 we get a first look at Yakuza Restoration’s gameplay footage in action, starting with some swordplay, which will be your bread and butter for taking out street thugs in feudal Japan.

According to Hirasawa, who’s in charge of designing the combat system, the two-handed sword-style will be the closest thing Yakuza Restoration has that feels similar to the action in the rest of the series. This style will also be the one that produces the most power while using a katana.

Since most of your opponents will also be using katanas, you’ll be required to block their attacks, which can be followed up by counter hits. As seen at 4:05, there will also be plenty of special samurai movie-like actions you’ll get to do while taking out foes.

Next, we get a look at the pistol in action. One of the main focuses of using the pistol will revolve around using distance and evasion to your advantage. While Ryoma will have access to fancy spin-shooting moves, unlike the sword-style, you’ll be left vulnerable to attacks, so you’ll have to rely on dodging a lot more.

Compared to firearms in past Yakuza titles, there will be various new actions you’ll get to perform while shooting enemies down. Yokoyama says that the regular shots might look simple for now, but once you get to forge your own weapons, there will be much more to their capabilities, such as burning and paralyzing bullets. The producer adds that pistols will be easy to learn, but they will also have enough depth to be used strategically.

He also mentions that there will be some enemies who can be taken down easily with pistols, and the shooting action gets a more intense with the number of shots later in the game.

At 6:50, we get a look at the dual-wield sword and pistol-style. One of their focuses for Yakuza Restoration was to make it easier for players to switch between weapons, so in addition to the dual-wielding, they’ve added functions that will make for easier switching.

The dual-wield mode is best used when there are multiple enemies, according to Hirasawa. He also mentions that although it might look difficult to control, it is actually quite easy, and most of the commands can be done by pressing a single button or two. Producer Yokoyama adds that it can be used as quite the offensive style; however, there may be times where its lack of defensive actions might hurt you.

Finally, we get a look at the Unarmed-style at 9:10. As Hirasawa points out, this might be a style most fans of the Yakuza series might be familiar with; however, since the game takes place in the Bakumatsu period, just about all enemies have some sort of weapon, which would make it difficult for the traditional brawling action.

If you attack normally, the enemies will have an advantage with their weapons, so you’ll have to rely on counter-attacks. According to Yokoyama, this style could actually be the strongest one in Yakuza Restoration if used correctly, as it can nullify the attacks of just about every weapon, but it won’t be the easiest to master.

Yakuza Restoration will be coming out on February 22, 2014, for PlayStation 3 and 4.