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Yakuza: Like A Dragon reveals its English voice cast

The Ichiban's out of the box

The next mainline Yakuza game is treading a lot of new territory. Yakuza: Like A Dragon is ditching series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu in favor of new hero Ichiban Kasgua. They're shuffling up the usual punch 'em up combat in favor of a turn-based system. Oh, and there's going to be English voice acting. No, no, don't go! It actually sounds pretty decent. You can hear the cast in a new English language trailer below.

Sega have announced the English cast for several of the main characters, including none other than George Takei as patriarch Masumi Arakawa. Your party of protagonists are being portrayed by Kaiji Tang as Ichiban, Andrew Morgado as ex-cop Adachi, Greg Chun as former nurse Nanba, and Elizabeth Maxwell as Saeko the hostess club manager.

I'm not here to litigate the subs versus dubs debate. I've watched my share of anime with English voice acting and played plenty of JRPGs that way too, but I have gotten quite used to Yakuza's original Japanese performances. Maybe it won't feel so wrong since we're following a handful of new characters. In addition to English voice acting, Like A Dragon will also have subtitles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish, the new video reveals.

Thanks to Alice0 I've also been cursed with the knowledge that the original Yakuza game did in fact have English voice acting. It's sure something. No hate for Mark Hamill, but I never ever want to hear him say "Kazuma-chan" again. (To be clear, below is Yakuza Kiwami footage with the English voice acting from the original Yakuza.)

Sega have also announced the three different versions available for Like A Dragon, you know, paying more to get the special costumes and all. You can find out what's included in each version over on Sega's website.

Sega say that Yakuza: Like A Dragon will launch in November, though they don't mention a specific date. You can find it on Steam and the Microsoft Store for £55/€60/$60.

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