Who is Ichiban Kasuga? Meet the Actor Behind Yakuza’s Newest Hero
Reading Time: 3minutes
Last week on the Xbox Podcast, we welcomed Sega of America’s Senior Localization Producer Scott Strichart, who brought a lengthy snippet of gameplay from Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the soon-to-be newest entry in the acclaimed Yakuza saga.
We learned that the game is full of firsts: As opposed to a brawler, YLaD is now a full-on RPG. It’s also the first mainline Yakuza game focusing on someone that isn’t Kazuma Kiryu. Interestingly, it’s also receiving a full English language dub, unlike the other Yakuza games on Xbox.
So join us this week as we welcome Kaiji Tang, the English voice actor for new main character, Ichiban Kasuga, and Strichart returns to talk about this new lead character, how he compares to Kiryu-chan, and why even core Yakuza fans should give the English dub a shot.
RISE LIKE A DRAGON Ichiban Kasuga, a low-ranking grunt of a low-ranking yakuza family in Tokyo, faces an 18-year prison sentence after taking the fall for a crime he didn’t commit. Never losing faith, he loyally serves his time and returns to society to discover that no one was waiting for him on the outside, and his clan has been destroyed by the man he respected most. Confused and alone, he embarks on a mission to discover the truth behind his family’s betrayal and take his life back, becoming an unlikely hero for the city’s outcasts on his journey. LEVEL UP FROM UNDERDOG TO DRAGON IN DYNAMIC RPG COMBAT Experience dynamic RPG combat like none other. Switch between 19 unique Jobs ranging from Bodyguard to Musician, and use the battlefield as your weapon. Take up bats, umbrellas, bikes, street signs, and everything else at your disposal to crack some skulls! ENTER THE UNDERWORLD PLAYGROUND When you’re not busy bashing heads, relax by hitting up the local arcade for some classic SEGA games, compete with locals in a no holds barred go-kart race around Yokohama, complete 50 unique substories, or just take in the scenery of a modern-day Japanese city. There’s always something new around the corner.
