Stranger Than Heaven Second-Take Preview: Combat Seems Harder Than Hell, and that's a Good Sign

[00:04] I've been a fan of the Yakuza or like a

[00:06] dragon series since the very beginning.

[00:08] As a magazine writer, I was lucky enough

[00:10] to visit Sega's headquarters in Tokyo

[00:12] during the development of the original

[00:14] PlayStation 2 title way back in 2005.

[00:17] And in my years at IGN, I've reviewed a

[00:19] number of the remakes, sequels, and

[00:20] spin-offs of RGG Studios longunning

[00:23] crime series. At this point, I've

[00:25] invested hundreds of hours into beating

[00:27] the absolute snot out of Japanese

[00:29] mobsters, either via the button mashing

[00:31] combo based style of the original

[00:33] adventures or the turn-based RPG form

[00:35] that's become core to the most recent

[00:37] mainline entries. Thus, I feel pretty

[00:39] well equipped to handle anything that

[00:40] RGG Studio can throw my way at this

[00:43] point, which is why I was so shocked

[00:44] that the new combat system in upcoming

[00:46] series prequel Stranger Than Heaven so

[00:48] completely kicked my ass.

[00:53] At a recent Billy Billy game first look

[00:55] event in Shanghai, I got some brief

[00:57] hands-on time with a brawling based demo

[00:59] for Stranger Than Heaven. My first

[01:01] attempts at its allnew street fighting

[01:03] style felt harder than hell. But after

[01:05] slowly getting to grips with it over the

[01:07] course of my 30-inute demo, I began to

[01:09] feel confident that this is exactly the

[01:10] sort of substantial shift that the Like

[01:12] a Dragon fighting formula has needed for

[01:14] quite a while now.

[01:22] To be clear, I'm not suggesting that RGG

[01:24] Studio needs to scrap the turn-based

[01:26] combat system that it introduced in

[01:27] Yakaza: Like a Dragon and later evolved

[01:29] in Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth. The

[01:32] novelty of that JRPG style system is yet

[01:34] to wear off for me, largely because it

[01:37] allows for so many hilarious special

[01:38] moves and a more strategic team-based

[01:40] dynamic in each scrap. I'm talking about

[01:42] the more traditional beat him up system

[01:44] that has effectively been offloaded onto

[01:46] the series spin-offs in recent years.

[01:48] RGG Studio may have introduced a

[01:50] briefcase load of James Bond gadgets in

[01:52] like a Dragon Giden or cutlesses and

[01:55] flint locks in Pirate Yakuza, but the

[01:57] actual fighting mechanics of those combo

[01:59] based systems has remained unaltered for

[02:01] the most part. Even though I still enjoy

[02:03] them, I can't pretend that they don't

[02:04] feel a bit too familiar at this point.

[02:09] Stranger Than Heaven's heavily

[02:11] overhauled scrapping then feels like the

[02:12] kick in the pants followed by a violent

[02:14] uppercut to the jaw that like a dragon's

[02:16] aging fisticuffs has been crying out

[02:18] for. Forget about chugging in-game

[02:20] energy drinks to pump up your heat gauge

[02:22] and then button mashing hordes of street

[02:24] thugs into oblivion like in previous

[02:26] Kazamakiruddled adventures because

[02:28] stranger than heavens gangs are liable

[02:30] to quickly kick you to the curb if you

[02:31] don't have your wits about you. The new

[02:33] setup that uses the controller's four

[02:35] shoulder buttons to effectively

[02:36] puppeteer the left and right fists of

[02:38] protagonist Makoto Daito sure takes some

[02:41] getting used to. Both in terms of

[02:43] smoothly alternating his punches and

[02:44] also anticipating the direction of

[02:46] incoming attacks and parrying them

[02:47] effectively. But after finally falling

[02:49] into a rhythm with it after my first few

[02:51] failed attempts, it felt incredibly

[02:53] satisfying to pull off.

[02:58] I felt I had to lock in for absolutely

[02:59] every exchange in every combat

[03:01] encounter, which meant that my eventual

[03:03] victories felt far more earned than the

[03:04] lazy bicycle swinging beatdowns of

[03:06] previous Yakuza and Like a Dragon

[03:08] installments.

[03:14] Though its learning curve is initially

[03:16] steep, it ultimately feels like the most

[03:17] grounded form of street fighting that

[03:19] RGG Studio has ever designed. In fact,

[03:22] its more rough and tumble realism

[03:24] reminded me of the melee system in 007

[03:26] First Light. Only it felt like I had far

[03:28] more direct control over the moves I was

[03:30] pulling off thanks to the dedicated

[03:31] right and left attack setup. For

[03:33] example, as I wielded a large crowbar in

[03:35] my right hand while tackling a gang of

[03:37] six or so asalants, one of the goons

[03:39] grabbed hold of the end of my weapon and

[03:40] attempted to wrench it out of my grasp.

[03:42] To my surprise, while I was locked in a

[03:44] temporary tugof-war, I still had full

[03:46] control of Makoto's left hand, which

[03:48] allowed me to throw a few jabs at a

[03:50] second attacker attempting to blindside

[03:52] me. I then grabbed him by the scruff of

[03:54] the neck and knocked his skull into the

[03:55] first thug, taking them both out and

[03:57] allowing me to resume my crowbar based

[03:59] bullying.

[04:04] >> Having said that, Stranger Than Heaven's

[04:06] combat is not without its issues, at

[04:08] least in its current state. I found that

[04:11] the soft lock on that aligns Makoto with

[04:13] each opponent would occasionally slip,

[04:15] sending me swinging wildly in the wrong

[04:17] direction and leaving me vulnerable to

[04:18] attacks from the rear.

[04:22] >> Also, while I enjoyed the generally

[04:23] weighty feel to each and every blow I

[04:25] landed, some of the charged up attacks

[04:27] with heavier weapons seemed a touch too

[04:29] sluggish for my tastes.

[04:33] Of course, with Stranger Than Heaven not

[04:34] due for release until early next year,

[04:36] there's still time for RGG Studio to

[04:38] tighten things up. Still, my overall

[04:40] impression of Stranger Than Heaven's

[04:42] more challenging brawling system is a

[04:44] positive one, and its dramatic shakeup

[04:46] leaves me feeling optimistic that combat

[04:48] won't be the only area of the adventure

[04:50] where the developers are taking a big

[04:51] swing. I'm hopeful that this will

[04:54] present the perfect opportunity for RGG

[04:56] Studio to hit the reset buttons on all

[04:58] aspects of it longestablished like a

[05:00] dragon template, from mission design to

[05:02] the interactive nature of its world and

[05:04] the methods we use to explore it. For

[05:06] example, the audio recording feature

[05:08] that allows Makoto to record sound

[05:10] samples from the world around him and

[05:11] then convert them into musical

[05:13] compositions certainly sounds cool on

[05:15] paper and already seems like it could be

[05:17] far more involved than the simple

[05:18] rhythm-based buttontapping of the

[05:20] karaoke miniame that's been recycled in

[05:22] every Yakuza and Like a Dragon release

[05:24] since Yakuza 3.

[05:29] I also wonder what other new diversions

[05:31] there could be, especially given that

[05:33] the story's 1915 to 1965 setting

[05:36] presumably prohibits the use of the

[05:38] usual modern side activities like Club

[05:40] Seagas and Master System cartridges

[05:42] found in other Like a Dragon stories. We

[05:45] already know that there'll be arm

[05:46] wrestling mini games, but could there be

[05:47] old school pachinko parlor as well? And

[05:50] given that the events of Stranger Than

[05:51] Heaven span the course of five decades,

[05:54] will those side activities evolve with

[05:56] each leap forward in time? Not to

[05:58] mention the change in each of the five

[05:59] city settings. You'd think that by the

[06:01] time the story arrives in 1965

[06:03] Shinjjuku, we should be able to try out

[06:06] virtual versions of the

[06:07] electromechanical amusements that Sega

[06:09] famously pioneered during that decade.

[06:11] I'm desperately keen to learn more

[06:13] because so far I've been pretty excited

[06:15] by everything that RGG Studio has

[06:17] revealed. Well, I mean, except for the

[06:19] Tupac thing, of course. Why on earth is

[06:22] Tupac in Stranger Than than Heaven?

[06:24] Well, much like the gang of burly thugs

[06:26] I encountered in my hands on, it beats

[06:28] the hell out of me.

[06:32] >> Sure, it makes sense that Snoop Dogg is

[06:33] in the game because Snoop Dogg is in

[06:35] basically everything at this point from

[06:37] televised singing contests to carrying

[06:39] the torch at the last Olympic Games.

[06:41] Surprise, mother. You watching my brand

[06:44] new show? Surprise, mother. was Snoop

[06:46] Dogg and mother, you've been surprised.

[06:49] But having the late great Tupac

[06:50] resurrected in a 2027 video game for no

[06:53] clear reason just feels a bit off to me.

[06:56] Then again, I'm generally opposed to

[06:58] digital zombies in any modern media, no

[07:00] matter who signs off on it. I can't

[07:02] watch the CGIed Peter Cushing reprise

[07:04] his role as Moff Tarkin in Star Wars

[07:06] Rogue One without sensing a great

[07:08] disturbance in the Force, for example.

[07:11] >> You have made time an ally of the

[07:13] Rebellion.

[07:15] However, that doesn't prevent me from

[07:16] re-watching Rogue One from time to time,

[07:18] and nor will the somewhat baffling

[07:20] inclusion of Tupac deter me from lunging

[07:22] fists first into Stranger Than Heaven

[07:24] when it arrives in January 2027. Despite

[07:27] the fact its story takes place in the

[07:29] same fictional Japan as the Like a

[07:30] Dragon Saga, Stranger Than Heaven feels

[07:32] as though it's determined to establish

[07:34] its own identity. At least if its fresh

[07:36] feeling and fiercely challenging

[07:38] fighting system is any indication.

[07:40] Here's hoping that in all facets,

[07:42] Stranger Than Heaven finds the team at

[07:44] RGG Studio performing stronger than

[07:46] ever.

[07:57] >> For more IGN looks at upcoming games,

[07:59] check out our previews of Tomb Raider:

[08:00] Legacy of Atlantis and Alien Isolation

[08:03] 2. And for everything else, stick with

[08:05] IGN.

[08:08] Hey.