Ryu Ga Gotoku revealed Project Century at The Game Awards 2024 last night and Yakuza / Like a Dragon fans are already deep in the theorizing phase to figure out what the heck it actually is.
The minute-and-a-half long debut trailer for Project Century, which is presumably just a codename and not the final title, showed what appears to be Tokyo in 1915. But where in Tokyo? Let the theorizing begin.
Project Century - Reveal Trailer
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Where is Project Century set?
Some fans believe Project Century is directly connected to RGG Studio's other games by being set in Kamurocho, the fictional version of Tokyo's red light district at the center of the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series. While its streets are obviously a far cry from the modern metropolis that is Tokyo today, a certain building seen in the trailer looks similar to a prominent location in Kamurocho.
"I saw a building that looked like Shangri-la at the start of the trailer," Reddit user Jenkitten165 said, referencing the one at the bottom-left of the street in the image on the left, below. Shangri-La, a brothel which has appeared in various states across several Yakuza / Like a Dragon games, is on the right.
There are differences, of course, but the shape of the building, its position on the street, the large front door, and the balcony directly above it all match. Shangri-La is also a distinctively older looking building than most in Kamurocho.
If it is in fact Shangri-La, this would make the main street seen in the Project Century trailer East Taihei Boulevard, just along the road from where the Millenium Tower now stands and the home of Kobuki Drugs.
Details are still slim on Project Century but it seems similar in style to the Yakuza / Like a Dragon games, with lots of street fights and, well, actual yakuza walking around. Sticking to this theme would therefore make Tokyo's red light district, once again, a perfect setting for Project Century.
Is Project Century a Yakuza / Like a Dragon game?
This raises the question of canon, as while Project Century is set in 1915 and therefore 90 years before Yakuza 1, it could still be set in the same universe and timeline. The Yakuza / Like a Dragon series time hops plenty already, with prequel Yakuza 0 going back to 1988 and some cutscenes going back decades earlier.
Yakuza gangs were active during this time period too, so despite its much earlier presence it could easily be about the Japanese underworld. The main family in the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series, the Tojo Clan, has never had its origins explored either, perhaps presenting an opportunity to do so here.
Project Century could still be set within the Yakuza / Like a Dragon canon without technically being a Yakuza / Like a Dragon game, however. RGG Studio has done this before with Judgement and Lost Judgement, a series set within the same world but featuring (mostly) different characters and a different story.
Some fans even think it's linked to Judgement directly. "Genuinely think it may be Judgement: Isshin," said crazyred88 on Reddit. Like a Dragon: Isshin is the somewhat confusingly non-canon Yakuza / Like a Dragon game that is essentially a piece of historical fiction featuring characters from the modern setting games.
"That's what I'm thinking too," said Shattered_Sans. "The protagonist looks similar enough. It could be to Judgement what Isshin is to Like a Dragon." This theory is backed up by RGG Studio previously declaring Yakuza / Like a Dragon its turn-based role-playing game franchise and Judgement its action game franchise, and Project Century is very clearly the latter.
Who is the main character of Project Century?
But is the protagonist of Project Century, presumably the man we see beating up baddies in the trailer, an alternate history version of Takayuki Yagami from the Judgement series? The trailer only shows a single shot of his face, so it's still hard to say, but some fans certainly think so.
Other theories exist too, of course, with the most common comparison being made between the protagonist and the actor who played protagonist Kiryu Kazuma in the 2007 live action adaptation of Yakuza / Like a Dragon, Kazuki Kitamura.
"He looks like Kazuki Kitamura, who played Kiryu in the first movie," said SomeChunkyMilk on Reddit. "He's my guess. The nose and the hair look pretty damn similar." FarEast_Frez chimed in too: "He's quite tall as well, which would probably help with the mocap since the character looked quite tall."
This would mean he wasn't Yagami, of course, who's played by Takuya Kimura. Like a Dragon: Isshin previously brought over all the characters one for one, with the same models and voice actors and so on, so this would dissuade the Judgement Isshin theory.
Others, again, point to a completely fresh character though: the founding member of the Tojo Clan. " I wonder if it’s the first Tojo patriarch, the one who takes Kamurocho under his control and establishes the family, then later the Tojo Clan," said Hold-My-Sake on Reddit. "Dude if this is legit the progenitor of the Tojo Clan I will actually eat a shoe," added Terrible_Guidance599.
Is Project Century a Dragon Engine game?
Whoever he is, the protagonist of Project Century is much more violent than the likes of Kiryu or Yagami. Despite having beaten up thousands of people and taken down helicopters with rocket launchers and so on, Kiryu has officially never killed someone. The same can't be said after 90 seconds of this new protagonist, who's stabbing baddies with crowbars and ripping out their innards.
This is notable for other reasons though; the current Dragon Engine has so far been used to create Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, Judgement, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Lost Judgement, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and the upcoming Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, for a total of 11 games over eight years.
It's therefore getting a touch outdated, something RGG Studio has admitted already, and its technical director Yutaka Ito said just last month he's finally eager to make a new engine for use on current consoles. All of the aforementioned Yakuza / Like a Dragon games, including the 2025 release of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, are available on the PlayStation 4 generation.
Fans are debating whether Project Century is, or is not, a Dragon Engine game. "It's like they pushing the Dragon engine to its limit, even for RGG standard this is insane," Reddit user honoyom said, but was refuted by AnyImpression6 who thought it was Unreal Engine 5.
Others pointed out that Project Century is already reusing animations from other RGG Studio games though, something that's fairly common practice. "Like four of the combat animations are straight from the other games too," said AppealToReason16. "I knew it was an RGG game before the name reveal at that first movement."
RGG Studio does make clear the trailer footage is pre-alpha, however, meaning very early in development. RGG Studio has otherwise made clear it favors the Dragon Engine for its ability to produce a realistic atmosphere for cities at night time. It could therefore make sense that, for Project Century, which doesn't feature the bright lights of modern day Tokyo, RGG Studio would be more comfortable stepping away from the Dragon Engine in favor of something more technologically advanced.
Fans will just have to wait patiently for answers to all of these questions. Project Century is probably still a while away given it doesn't have a title yet, and RGG Studio is currently developing Virtua Fighter 6 and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii alongside Project Century.
It is known for its unbelievably speedy development times, however. In the last five years, for example, its released Yakuza 4 Remastered, Yakuza 5 Remastered, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Judgment Remastered, Lost Judgment, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, alongside three Super Monkey Ball Games and an enhanced remaster of Virtua Fighter 5. That's 12 games in total.
In our 9/10 review of the last RGG Studio release, IGN said: "Sprawling, enthralling, and packed with dynamic brawling, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth isn’t just the best turn-based Like a Dragon game, it’s one of the greatest games in the entire series."
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
