Yakuza 7 has been announced

Yakuza series has been running for more than ten years and they have become quite popular. The story of Kazuma Kiryu has given SEGA enough material to create a few games, some of them even based on secondary characters. We have also seen remakes like Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2, and even a prequel, Yakuza 0.

SEGA has surprised us with the announcement of Yakuza 7, a new title in the series that will follow the story of Ichiban Kasuga, another former Yakuza that has taken the blame for a crime he did not commit. The action will move to a new scenario too, and this time we will be able to explore the streets of Yokohama in an open-world adventure with RPG elements that will have a map three times bigger than the one in the previous game.

But what is really surprising is that Yakuza 7 will feature turn-based combat. Yes, you have heard it right. The next installment will have a completely different combat system. SEGA seems to be wanting to risk a lot with Yakuza 7 and might have turned the game into a sort of Final Fantasy.
You can take a look at how it works in a video posted on GAME Watch Twitter account.

【龍が如く7 記者発表会】
バトルの映像を少しお届け！
周囲の環境や物を使ったおなじみの要素は、リアルタイムの物理演算によって取り入れている。
周囲の環境も汲みながらコマンド選択をしていくことが楽しいバトルに！#龍が如く #龍が如く7 pic.twitter.com/UWAM1TEa6u

— GAME Watch (@game_watch) 29 de agosto de 2019

Guessing the reaction of the fans of the Yakuza series to this huge change in the game's mechanics is not an easy thing. We should wait a bit longer to know more about the game before deciding if such a drastic change is worth it or not. Maybe the developers are trying to get the attention of a different type of players.

We will probably learn more about Yakuza 7 during the Tokyo Game Show next month. The release of the game is scheduled for January 16, 2020, on PlayStation 4 in Japan. It should come to the West a few months after that.