Forces both within the game and within the dev team have made sure to keep it exactly the same since the first game. Generally agreed upon by anyone that matters, the Champion’s district is the heart of Kamurocho and it is the part that cannot change. Things that change are easily noticeable yet what is most interesting is the things that do not change. With each new game these vapors of nuance tell the tale of a city in perpetual change. These details may not be familiar to you, but you feel that they are deeply familiar with someone else. I feel that this is where the devs are truly honest, as you notice all the granular details the world is populated with. It’s a story of the city itself told through the ambient sights and sounds. There is a subtle underlying story being told here, mostly separate from the melodramatic crime soap opera that is featured front and center. With each iteration, Kamurocho continues to change. The creeping tendrils of capitalism is apparent as new investments keep pouring in. Kamurocho has taken on a new-age feel by blunting some of its edges to attract a wider demographic. Moving further pn still, Yakuza 6 is set in 2016 after the proliferation of the internet and smartphones. The Tokyo citizens still want to have fun but they don’t want to imitate their parents.
A certain modesty has taken over to mask the debauchery that still thrives under the surface. Moving forward, in Yakuza 1, during the turn of the millennium this same place takes on a whole new feel. The blaring neon signs drench the streets with crimson golden glows. You see the gaudy suit-wearing nuevo riches splurging cash as soon as they can make it. Kamurocho set in the Japanese economic bubble of the 80s is a sight to behold. Like many newcomers to the series, I started with Yakuza 0.
A lot of it has to do with the care and attention the Ryu Ga Gotoku studio puts in to make every visit slightly different and period appropriate.
TINGE DEFINITION SERIES
It’s easy to imagine the outrage any other open-world series would face if the developers announced they would re-use the map, but the Yakuza fanbase welcomes this very same decision. With new console generations and new engines, this fictional red-light district in the heart of Tokyo has received many face-lifts, but to those familiar with the series coming back always feels the same.
TINGE DEFINITION PS2
The Kamurocho map in Yakuza has been a staple since the PS2 entries. There really is only one game series that is able to fully capture that feeling. You may feel a tinge of sadness at the places that are no longer there and, with it, a sense of the passage of time. There is a mix of nostalgia and surprise as you walk around the old places you used to know and the new places that have cropped up since. It is different from going to a new place for the first time and it’s different from walking around a place you live in now. There is a distinct feeling to walking around in a city you used to live in.