Punch-up Yakuza demake Streets Of Kamurocho is out today
An old-school shakedown.
Between karaoke, crime drama and shareholder meetings, it's safe to say Yakuza is about so much more than just fighting. But you do punch a lotta blokes in those games. If you wanted to punch a whole lot more, Streets Of Kamurocho reimagines the Sega series as a side-scrolling brawler. Just be quick - the free demake is only available 'til Monday.
There's still some time before Yakuza: Like A Dragon punches an RPG-shaped hole in the series proper this November. Until then, though, there's a slightly more pixellated Yakuza game to tide you over, in the form of side-scrolling beat 'em up Streets Of Kamurocho.
Developed by Empty Clip Studios (who have form on this stuff, creating a similar demake for Dead Island) Kamurocho reimagines Yakuza as a Streets Of Rage 2 inspired punch up. The game's blurb doesn't explain why your pixellated boys Kiryu and Majima are punching up half of Japan, mind - but as a free little curiosity, it seems a fun little timewaster.
The demake is another part of Sega's big 60th birthday event over on Steam, and is only one of many demakes coming out from the publisher's various studios. Endless Legend devs Amplitude have released arcade shooter Endless Zone, while the RTS buffs at Relic have created top-down Company Of Heroes tank battler Armor Of Heroes. A jokey attempt to release an unfinished Golden Axe prototype didn't sit to well with the game's developers, mind, with Sega eventually removing some kinda mean-spirited language from the game's store page.
But hey - at least Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is free to keep forever.
You've only got a couple of days to snag the side-scrolling Yakuza demake, mind. Streets Of Kamurocho will only be available on Steam until 6pm UK time on Monday, at which point Sega close the curtains on their big birthday bash.