Sega's Project J Revealed
A new Shenmue-like PS2 game from the Super Monkey Ball team.
by Anoop Gantayat
August 23, 2005 - As reported here at IGN a few weeks back, legendary Sega producer Toshihiro Nagoshi (Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GC, Spikeout) is currently working on Project J, a new PS2 game so big that SEGA promised to hold a press conference in late August exclusively for its announcement. Well, it's late August, and Sega has at last held the press conference. The place: Club Heights in the red lights Kabukicho area of Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. The subject: the announcement of Project J, now formally known as "Ryu Ga Gotoku."
Ryu Ga Gotoku, a name that can be translated to English as "Like a Dragon," is an action-adventure title with a story and setting focusing on the darker side of Tokyo life. You play as Kazuma Kiyuu, who was once known as the "dragon" of his underworld organization. The story of Ryu Ga Gotoku begins when Kazuma gets out of prison, having served for a crime that he committed for the sake of his good friend and for the girl that he loves. Kazuma finds himself caught up in the disappearance of a mysterious girl called Haruka, who holds the key to ten billion yen (it's not actually a physical key that she holds -- Haruka is just closely connected to a massive amount of money).
The game takes place in Tokyo, in the fictional entertainment district of Kamurocho. Pictures of this area remind us of the real life Kabukicho, making the location for today's press conference fitting (if not a bit out of the ordinary -- we've never been invited to a strip club in three different languages while on our way to work before).
At the press conference, Nagoshi took the stage and commented that the game's world is made to resemble the world in which we live. "For a while now, I've wanted to create a powerful, gritty drama where you feel the sense of humanity," Nagoshi explained. "After a lot of thought, this is the product that we've arrived at."
Nagoshi's dramatic new game is being made for adults -- a surprise, considering the recent uproar over violence (the Grand Theft Auto uproar hit Japan too) and Nagoshi's previous work on Super Monkey Ball and Virtua Striker. Touching on this and other areas of Project J, Sega General Manager Hideki Okamura explained: "We hope to promote the game as entertainment for adults and as a marquee title for Sega." Okamura also revealed that the game has been in development for three years and will deliver a lengthy gameplay experience along with new forms of expression.
To realize the adult world and storyline of Ryu Ga Gotoku, Sega has drafted some top talent. The game's voice acting staff includes, as the voice of Kazuma's mentor, one of Japan's most famous actors, Tetsuya Watari. Watari appeared at the event and explained that he studied alongside Sega Sammy president Hajime Satomi. Serving as voice actress for the "club mama," the head of a club that serves as one of the game's central locations is actress Mihara Junko. Kazuma himself is voiced by Tayaka Kuroda, who's appeared in a number of cartoons and dramas.
Sega also enlisted Japanese author Hase Seishu as scenario director. It was Seishu's job to turn Nagoshi's storyline into its final form for the game. Seishu is known for his work on Sleepless City, a novel about violence in Kabukicho that was turned into a Japan/Hong Kong co-produced movie in 1998.
Under the direction of Seishu, Nagoshi's team has worked to turn the virtual world of Kamurocho into a realistic town. Players will be able to enter and eat at convenience stores, ramen and beef bowl restaurants and burger shops located around town (doing so will restore lost energy). The game will feature a batting center and pachinko parlors, which players can use for side-games. The city will even have a large monitor which displays commercials -- this is a common site at any number of locations throughout Tokyo, with one of the most famous such monitors appearing right outside Kabukicho.
And just like our experiences in the real Kabukicho, players who chose to walk through town will find themselves accosted by representatives soliciting "companion" shops.
This attention to detail may strike some as reminiscent of Sega's original Dreamcast killer app, Shenmue. Further reminiscent of Shenmue, Ryu Ga Gotoku has a battle system, details about which are scarce as of this writing. Nagoshi states that the goal of the battle system is not to create "beautiful" battles, but battles that make players feel the pain being inflicted on them and the pain that they inflict on their rivals. In fact, he suggested that, rather than using the word "battle," we use the word "fight." In addition to hand-to-hand combat, which will utilize a simple control scheme, you'll be able to make Kazuma use weapons that you find in your surroundings. Kazuma will rise in level as you play, growing stronger and earning new skills along the way.
Shenmue was given the genre of "FREE," in order to suggest the freedom that players would have while playing it. This sense of freedom seems to be present in Ryu Ga Gotoku as well. In addition to access to restaurants and amusement centers, you'll be able to collect items, sometimes by going into shops to make purchases. Conversation and information gathering is an important part of the game, leading to side stories and quests.
Sega has opened a website for Ryu Ga Gotoku. To access the site's content (all of which is in Japanese), you'll need to click the left link at the bottom of the opening page, indicating that you're at least 18 years of age. Remember, only click on the link if you actually are 18, or you will be committing a crime... in Japan.
Ryu Ga Gotoku is set for Japanese release this winter. Sega has yet to announce a US release for the game, but we presume a localized version would have a different name.
