The first look at Yakuza 8, a direct sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon, has been revealed. While the new images don't show off too much detail, they do confirm that protagonist Ichiban Kasuga will return, alongside former nurse Yu Nanba and retired police officer Koichi Adachi. Sadly, Ichiban's glorious perm is nowhere to be seen.

　　新作『龍が如く8』の未公開映像が格闘家・朝倉未来のYouTubeでチラ見せ。朝倉未来もゲーム内に出演決定！

　　『龍が如く8』の詳細発表前に異例の形で映像公開。映像にはナンバや足立さんらしき姿も。春日一番はアフロではなく、後ろで髪を縛った姿に!?

　　https://t.co/IZ6sEZI2dR pic.twitter.com/wREvVsRS2v

　　— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) July 19, 2022

　　In a tour of developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio that he uploaded to his channel, MMA fighter and YouTuber Mirai Asakura discovered that Yakuza 8 will feature a new town for Ichiban and his crew to explore. Asakura was also offered a chance to be in the game by Sega president Haruki Satomi and RGG president Masayoshi Yokoyama, which he accepted on the spot.

　　Satomi and Yokoyama also mentioned that RGG is working on another title as well that's not related to Yakuza 8, although there was no mention of Judgment. That franchise appears to be in limbo, as actor the talent agency for Takuya Kimura--who portrays Judgment protagonist Takayuki Yagami--apparently has a big problem with computers.

　　Yakuza: Like a Dragon was a major shift for the long-running series when it first arrived in 2020, as it switched from the beat-em-up style of previous games to turn-based RPG action instead.

　　Yakuza 8 will be the first game in the franchise that creator Toshihiro Nagoshi isn't involved in, as he left Sega earlier this year to set up Nagoshi Studio at NetEase Games. Nagoshi still plans to create games that are heavy on cinematic and dramatic flair, and he has no plans to develop for smartphones at his new studio.

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