Yakuza Restoration’s Ryoma Is So Strong, He’ll Carry An Entire Cannon Into Fights

The new video demonstration from Yakuza Restoration producer Masayoshi Yokoyama and designer Shinnosuke Hirasawa is live, and in it comes news on how leveling up and weapon forging work. It also features Ryoma wielding some exotic weaponry, including a… chikuwa (also called by some a fishcake).

One of the cool new things is an orb system for players to utilize while leveling. These orbs will be put into a specific fighting style, progressively unlocking various special moves and abilities including the heat gauge action specials. Yes, it did remind us of  It seems that you’ll be able to “try out” some skills by using a differently-colored white orb, which lets you use a skill as if you’ve unlocked it already.

The white orb can then be used in another tree if you so choose. Colored orbs however, must be used to replace a white orb if you want to move a white orb elsewhere and you’ve already leveled into the next skill.

At about the 4 minute mark, they also indicate that not everything will be unlocked primarily with levelling orbs. Some skills will have to be taught by masters while playing the game, with some quest rewards giving you special skills. Whether you’ll be able to unlock them all or have to stick with a single “school” of fight specials isn’t very clear, though we doubt they’d lock you in like that.

As mentioned before, you can upgrade your weapons through blacksmithing as well. This can be done by bringing your weapon alongside the necessary crafting components to the blacksmith, and you’ll acquire these components in various places throughout the game. This will generally turn a weapon into its next better form. Players can also choose to enhance the weapon itself, whereupon a spinning wheel will appear. You have to time it just right to try and hit the “Gold” or 金 kanji in order to get the biggest bonus, but even bronze will give a small benefit.

We’ve also known that when forging weapons, especially guns, you’ll be able to add special effects to them. The video shows off a segment where they’re adding easier aim to the Model 2 gun. Even though they get a bronze upgrade, it still carries through with the new effect. More importantly, weapons will have anywhere from none to several slots for adding such customizations in. Higher starred weapons obviously get more slots to add things like…

This flaming katana that looks suspiciously like Shishio’s from Rurouni Kenshin.

Even better is when Ryoma whips out and fires off multiple rounds from an actual cannon (Where the hell does he keep that on him?!?!) It’s gotta be seen to be believed. Also a needs to be seen to be believed—they’re changing the we-don’t-really-know-why-they’re-there-either background ladies in their next gameplay video as well. This is, apparently, a big enough thing that they needed to tell us in the video.

Yakuza Restoration will be out February 22nd 2014 for both PlayStation 3 and 4. Don’t forget there’s a kickass Vita app for it as well.