The new names are hard to get used to

[Kingsleaze]

Even after well over a thousand hours on the 10(?) Yakuza games I've played, I still have a bit of a hard time remembering the dozens of main characters names with my english speaking brain. Why did they give all of the characters new names in this game?

Except Haruka. She still gets to be Haruka. WTF?

[ThDubya]

Probably the new given first names are "old-timey" names, like if you made a game set in the US in the same period, they would be named Mordecai/Abigail and not Seth/Jessica or whatnot.

But the family names should probably be OK to use, so it is a little weird, I agree.

I also agree that it is very difficult to remember them, espesially when "Kiryu" himself (and some others) often use cover names in addition to they actual name!

[Seamus]

Originally posted by ThDubya:

Probably the new given first names are "old-timey" names, like if you made a game set in the US in the same period, they would be named Mordecai/Abigail and not Seth/Jessica or whatnot.

But the family names should probably be OK to use, so it is a little weird, I agree.

I also agree that it is very difficult to remember them, espesially when "Kiryu" himself (and some others) often use cover names in addition to they actual name!

None of this is accurate.

The names changed because a lot of the characters are based on actual historical figures. Just in a fictional setting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakamoto_Ry%C5%8Dma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sait%C5%8D_Hajime
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshida_T%C5%8Dy%C5%8D

[Khanjima]

This is why Ishin was never released to the west, nobody realizes this is based on an actual story

[Seamus]

With.. a lot of liberties taken, but yeah. It's a historical piece.

[Kingsleaze]

I had a feeling the names were taken from Japanese history, otherwise why would you give well known characters random new names?

[Sentient_Toaster]

You'll recognize *lots* of names if, say, you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kond%C5%8D_Isami .

Haruka is... just Haruka. :D. She follows the protagonist through time and space, helping to ensure that he never buries his humanity beneath the broken bodies of... probably thousands of people he's beat up.

[Valk]

Originally posted by Kingsleaze:

Even after well over a thousand hours on the 10(?) Yakuza games I've played, I still have a bit of a hard time remembering the dozens of main characters names with my english speaking brain. Why did they give all of the characters new names in this game?

Except Haruka. She still gets to be Haruka. WTF?

Haruka is Haruka because Another Life is effectively the substory canon. It is worth noting mind you, she is just Haruka, and not "Haruka Sawamura". Many of the other substory canon level characters that appear (such as in the trooper cards) also possess one identical name, as they are just references to the rest of the series that aren't tied to the plot.

[acewing]

Originally posted by Sentient_Toaster:

You'll recognize *lots* of names if, say, you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kond%C5%8D_Isami .

Haruka is... just Haruka. :D. She follows the protagonist through time and space, helping to ensure that he never buries his humanity beneath the broken bodies of... probably thousands of people he's beat up.

In this game, though, (actual story/ending spoilers here) Ryoma has Ryo for that. In fact, he leaves Kyo and wanders around with her at the end, presumably leaving Haruka behind. I never even got to pay off all her debt in my playthrough

[askoth]

I had some hard time with the new names too. I don’t want to go to wikipedia to know more about the real story because I’m afraid it might contain spoilers.

In the menu in game there is a nice tree with the relationships of most characters and the protagonist. You can also get a small description of them. I don’t know if this will help you but it did help me.

I don’t know when it unlocked but I found it while I was playing chapter 7. I was going for the glossary because I wanted to remember who was one of the names they were mentioning.

[Kingsleaze]

Thankfully, as I get older my nerdy obsession to know everything about everything has been replaced by the need to just enjoy what I do and not sweat the small stuff. I'm fine with just enjoying this as a Yakuza game and not worrying about the historical significance, which seems so loosely adapted as to not even be that important to the overall enjoyment of the game.

[Evangela]

If you do some research about these characters, and also learn the meanings of their names, they make sense.

Like Ryouma's name means "dragon horse". It also help you remember.

[Metal Izanagi]

Originally posted by Kingsleaze:

Even after well over a thousand hours on the 10(?) Yakuza games I've played, I still have a bit of a hard time remembering the dozens of main characters names with my english speaking brain. Why did they give all of the characters new names in this game?

Except Haruka. She still gets to be Haruka. WTF?

Because this game is set around 200 years before the Yakuza series, in 19th century Japan just prior to the Meiji Restoration. That guy who looks and acts just like Majima? Naw that's Okita Souji. Kuze? That's Ito. Nishiki? No, Izo!

Look this is a series where Baka Mitai is apparently at least 200 years old and still gets played in karaoke bars by the late 1980's, and where Ebisu Pawn and Don Quijote existed in Kyoto in pretty much the exact same role they have 200 years later. Don't think about it. Please.