Yakuza To Bring Back The Best Minigame
Every Yakuza game has some sort of side business players can run while spending hours of their gaming time into what’s essentially a management sim that’s almost irrelevant to the main course of the game. The series’ developer, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, has now confirmed that the upcoming spin-off of Sega’s gaming series that has inspired a whacky title is going to feature a fan-favorite Cabaret minigame.According to Kotaku, cabaret management is coming back for the Yakuza spin-off, titled Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which is supposed to fill in some Yakuza stories.
Cabaret was a minigame in both Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami 2, which allowed players to take control of a club, outfit their hostesses, and oversee the entire business while monitoring conversations and swapping out personnel. Besides being a fun little distraction, these games also offered their own questlines with a narrative of their own.
The minigame was first introduced in Yakuza 0 but was later improved in Yakuza Kiwami 2, attracting numerous players with its management gameplay. However, it hasn’t been part of the franchise ever since, despite being considered one of the best minigames in the entire Yakuza/Dragon series. As previously stated, the cabaret was a management-slash-dating sim in which players would hire hostesses with desirable traits and match their skills with the customer’s preferences.
Both versions of the Yakuza minigames came with a story of their own, which mostly focused on the club competing against bigger clubs in the area. Interestingly, the minigame was accessible in Majima’s section in the former game, while YK2 saw Kiryu take charge of the club during the game. Given that the upcoming game focuses on Kiryu and features a cabaret, it would be interesting to see whether Majima makes an appearance in the whole game or just the cabaret section.
As for the Yakuza spin-off itself, the developer already announced that they’re making a relatively short game compared to not just other entries in the series but also some of the DLC. The expectations behind the new title are that it’ll bring anywhere between 10 and 20 hours of gaming, bridging the Kiryu storyline gaps present between Yakuza 6, Yakuza: Like a Dragon (which is basically Yakuza 7), and Like a Dragon 8.
And while the English-language announcement simply states that the cabaret is returning to the Yakuza series, Japanese fans received a broader explanation from the developer. Namely, many cabaret models in Yakuza games were modeled after real idols and Japanese adult video stars, and the developer plans on holding a public audition for the upcoming game.
The winners would win $8,000 in cash, which is nearly double the average monthly salary in Japan, and an appearance as a hostess in the game.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name spin-off is scheduled for release on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023, featuring well-known Yakuza cabaret minigames.
