Sega began streaming a story trailer for Ryu ga Gotoku Studio's Stranger Than Heaven game (previously codenamed "Project Century") on Friday. The video outlines the game's second act "Kure," and highlights the protagonist Makoto Daito's life in 1929 in Kure.
A previous trailer outlined the game's first act.
Image via Stranger Than Heaven website ©SEGA
The game will launch on January 15 for Xbox Series X|S,5, and PC via. The game will also be available via Game Pass.
The game will explore different times and places in Japan's modern history, including Kokura, Fukuoka in 1915; Kure, Hiroshima in 1929; Minami, Osaka in 1943; Atami, Shizuoka in 1951; and the fictional neighborhood of Kamurocho (based on the Kabukicho neighborhood, and a constant setting of RGG Studio's Yakuza/Like a Dragon games) in Shinjuku, Tokyo in 1965.
Sega describes the game's story:
A 50-year saga of those with nowhere to go and their desperate struggle to find a home. In 1915 San Francisco, a young boy, Makoto Daito, sneaks aboard a suspicious ship in the harbor under the cover of night. Born to an American father and a Japanese mother, Makoto faces harsh persecution due to his Asian heritage. After losing both of his parents, Makoto decides to travel to his mother's homeland, Japan, where a fateful encounter awaits. With nothing but the shirt on his back, Makoto soon learns, however, that his voyage across the Pacific is anything but a "free ride," and that this one choice will forever change the course of his life.
Yū Shirota as Makoto Daito
as Makoto Daito Snoop Dogg as Orpheus
as Orpheus Moeka Hoshi as Tae Matsumoto
Tori Kelly as Suzy Day
Akio Ōtsuka as Heigo Yashima
as Heigo Yashima Tokuma Nishioka as Kiyoshi Otsuru
as Kiyoshi Otsuru Satoshi Fujihara as Takashi
as Takashi Cordell Broadus as The Veiled Stranger
Bunta Sugawara (model basis) and Takashi Ukaji (voice) as Genzo Iwaki
(model basis) and (voice) as Genzo Iwaki Late American rapper Tupac
Takaya Kuroda (who plays Kazuma Kiryu in Ryu ga Gotoku's related Yakuza / Like a Dragon series)
(who plays Kazuma Kiryu in Ryu ga Gotoku's related / series) Kouhei Tsuji
Yasukaze Motomiya (who plays Kosei Shishido in the Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name game and Kazuma Kiryu in Nihon Tohitsu's live-action Like a Dragon Powered By Nihon Touitsu series)
Sega provided the following comment regarding the character Genzo Iwaki and the model for the character being based on the late actor Bunta Sugawara :
In STRANGER THAN HEAVEN , the late and legendary actor Bunta Sugawara appears. SEGA received formal consent from his family, and, with materials provided by Toei Company Ltd. —which produced many of Mr. Sugawara's films, including the Battles Without Honor and Humanity— RGG Studio crafted his CG character design based on archival footage and photographs from the time.
Snoop Dogg , Satoshi Fujihara , Ado, and Tori Kelly perform the game's theme song "Stranger Than Heaven." The song will get a release this year.
The game is inspiring a live-action film on Netflix .
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties , Ryu ga Gotoku Studio's remake of the Yakuza 3 game along with the new standalone Dark Ties title, launched as a single release for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam worldwide on February 12.
Source: Email correspondence