MOVIE NEWS – The cast of Prime Video’s Like a Dragon: Yakuza were not allowed to play video games, and there’s an explanation for that, says Kazuma Kiryu actor Ryoma Takeuchi.

Many gamers eagerly await the live-action series adaptation of Ryu Ga Gotoku studio’s hit game Like a Dragon: Yakuza, which will premiere on Prime Video on October 25th. We have already reported on the project. Moreover, it was revealed a few days ago that the boss of the saga needed a break after watching the first episode. He also said that the characters are slightly different from the video games.

If that’s the case, it’s partly because Like a Dragon’s main characters didn’t get to play the video games. This move may come as a surprise to all players, but there is a reason for it, which Ryoma Takeuchi, the actor who plays the main character Kazuma Kiryu, explained to GamesRadar. “I know these games – everybody in the world knows these games. But I haven’t played them. I’d like to try them but they had to stop me because they wanted to – for the character in the script – explore from scratch. That’s why I decided not to play,” he explains.

Takeuchi goes on to explain why he didn’t play the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games.

“I definitely knew the property very well but I didn’t realize the franchise was this globally big. We decided we would make sure we would do our own version, relive the characters, take their spiritual elements, and embody them on our own. There was a clear line we wanted to draw, but everything on the bottom was respected,” he says.

More details about the Like a Dragon: Yakuza series

Like a Dragon: Yakuza will premiere in multiple episodes on October 25th on Prime Video, followed by additional episodes on November 1st. It has also been confirmed that Amazon has committed to subtitling and dubbing the series in up to 30 languages. So, there is a lot of localization work involved in production. This alone shows that Amazon is very serious about the live-action adaptation of the game.

Regarding the plot’s further details, the series takes place in two different periods: 1995 and 2005. The Like a Dragon franchise will present never-before-seen elements so we can see the protagonist, characters, and locations from a new perspective.

Source: GamesRadar