Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō
As the title implies, Kurohyou (a.k.a. Black Panther) is the new chapter in
the Ryū ga Gotoku series which are on the western globe known as Yakuza
series. Similar to other spin-offs from the canon series, Kurohyou games are
also exclusive to Japanese market and PSP platform. The story follows Tatsuya
Ukyou ( 右京龍也), a high-school dropout who’s been framed for an assault which
leads him to a world of violence and intrigues, as the new protagonist.
The game takes place in the known setting of Kamurocho from Yakuza series
and player is free to explore the open world sandbox in a similar manner, from
fighting the hoodlums on the streets to visiting various stores and buying
food and items, playing various mini-games like UFO catcher or cards, taking
on a few sports like bowling or baseball batting, going to a karaoke bar or
trying your luck at wooing ladies. Aside from the main story there are dozens
of sub-stories and quests that can be taken on at any time while exploring the
town. The game relies on 2D hand-drawn cut-scenes to tell the main story.
Tatsuya believes the power is all, and on his adventure he’ll strive to show
he can be better than anyone he comes across, and he’ll let his fists do the
talking rather than using words. As such, the game features many different
fighting styles Tatsuya can develop and upgrade through the course of the
game. Different attack will automatically be performed based on whether the
player is using karate, pro-wrestling, boxing, or simply resorting to street
fighting style. The game also features multiplayer fighting with up to 4
players using ad-hoc mode with three different battle modes. For multiplayer
battles players can edit their team and characters prior to entering the
fighting arena.
Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō