RGG Studio’s 'Stranger Than Heaven' Looks Absolutely Insane - Unlocked Clips

0:00 a stranger than heaven mini showcase.

0:04 Uh, this game I mean I know Michael it had jumped out at you right from right

0:09 from the start like it it before it even

0:11 had a name an official title it was I forget

0:13 the code name but uh it we now have a really deep look at this thing and I think

0:19 we're going to spend a few minutes on this cuz

0:21 uh I think we were all pretty darn impressed.

0:23 Michael, I'll start with you.

0:25 Yeah, this is uh RGG Studios next game.

0:27 And if you know who they are, they are the creators of the Yakuza franchise,

0:31 which is now the Like and Dragon franchise.

0:33 They also did Judgment.

0:34 And this is very much in their house style,

0:36 but they are kind of expanding the scope of what they do.

0:40 Um, and u I guess I didn't know this going into it or there were hints of it,

0:44 but we got confirmation that this is tied to the Yakuza

0:47 universe and it takes place in the same universe, has a similar trajectory.

0:52 If you know who the Tojo clan is, um that's this is kind of the origin story

0:57 of the Tojo clan on top of a bunch of other things.

1:00 And Yokoyama, the director for this game, the head of RG Studio now,

1:05 basically said that this game ends in Kamaroo,

1:07 which is the city in which almost every Yakuzu game takes place in.

1:11 And he's like, "There's going to be a surprise at the end in Kamaroo." I'm like,

1:14 "Oh, I wonder what it is, man." Um I mean, I'm here for their crime drama.

1:20 They're so good at that.

1:21 But this showcase was kind of wild because it

1:25 was like a cinematically shot presentation where they had like

1:28 the actors that they cast for the game do the presentation

1:32 along with the main folks at RGG Studio Snoop Dog

1:36 on like populated sets like they put money into this.

1:39 Yeah.

1:39 Yeah.

1:40 And one of the one of the key actors in this it was Snoop Dogg.

1:44 He had a whole section where he was talking about

1:46 his role and the character that he plays in the story.

1:50 And it was kind of a surprise, but as the presentation went on, it actually felt

1:55 like a really good fit for what they're doing.

1:57 Um, it doesn't feel like stunt casting where cuz the story

2:00 is about it starts in 1915 and the main character

2:04 is a guy who is half Japanese and half American

2:08 and lives in America and once his uh parents pass away,

2:11 he's kind of like left to his own devices

2:13 and is kind of caught at a time in which,

2:16 you know, there's a lot of discrimination against uh people like him.

2:19 this game.

2:20 Listen, for me personally,

2:22 this is hidden because this is a this is a game starring a way about being way.

2:27 You know what I'm saying?

2:28 So, this is going to be uh this story is like right up my alley.

2:31 It's touching on a lot of the societal

2:34 shifts between the US and Japan during this time.

2:37 And there's a lot of lot to go into there, but you know,

2:40 having cuz the story is also about

2:42 the intersection between Japanese and American culture.

2:46 And I think Snoop Dogg playing this character who is also part of the industry

2:50 in which the main character works in initially

2:52 is kind of his bridge between the two.

2:55 And there's a lot of emphasis on music and jazz and dance

2:59 and sort of like the club culture of the time as well.

3:01 The kind of weaving that into the criminal

3:03 underworld that eventually grows out of this.

3:06 So, they're doing some really interesting things as they

3:10 um uh as they put culture into this game

3:12 and make it a focal point and also using

3:15 a lot of the things that we recognize from RGG

3:18 games and Yakuza games like the miniame management sims

3:21 that they've had like that is an extension here

3:24 and it feels like it's um it feels like

3:26 it's more in-depth and it's taking itself more seriously,

3:29 but it's also integral to the kind of story that they're trying to tell.

3:32 This is a this it's a period piece.

3:34 It's actually many period pieces.

3:36 you know, it initially they said starts in 1915, 1929,

3:40 uh, 1939, 1951, uh, 1943, and then ends in the '60s.

3:46 So, they're taking all of these pivotal moments

3:48 in Japanese history and American history as well,

3:51 and trying to tell multiple period pieces and also weaving it

3:54 into the origins of the criminal underworld that we know as the Yakuza.

3:59 So, there's there's so many interesting avenues

4:02 in which they are going with this.

4:03 you know, they have Snoop Dogg, but personally,

4:06 I love that they casted Otto, who is a J-pop idol.

4:11 Um, Miranda, you are familiar with also very familiar.

4:14 Incredible voice, incredible talent, one of my favorite singers, period.

4:20 Um, yeah, the modern J-pop has some of the best performers, best singers.

4:24 Otto is one of them, and she's playing a character in this game.

4:28 And yeah, the the the the casting that they did for this game is

4:32 kind of incredible because it is indicative

4:35 of what they're trying to do with it.

4:37 you know, having uh mixed race uh like Japanese

4:40 American people in the story about that and then

4:43 having American actors and then having Japanese actors

4:46 and just like melding all of this together,

4:48 which is something that Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth touched on because it

4:52 took place in Hawaii and Hawaii is such a good setting for that sort

4:56 of cultural fusion and but this is like an extension of that or a deeper

5:02 dive into that that idea and then taking that through a historical lens.

5:07 I hope that they can pull it off.

5:09 Um, I have faith that they can.

5:11 The RGG has done it really, really well in the past.

5:13 If you played Yakuza 7, I think they really did a good job about um casting

5:18 a lens on how Koreans and Chinese folks are treated in Japan,

5:22 especially um in the um on the streets and in like in general

5:27 society and how tumultuous that can be even in the modern day.

5:31 So, I think they had some really smart messages in Yakuza 7,

5:35 and I don't think that they've really done that well since then.

5:38 Uh, I think they really they really screwed

5:40 up with their casting in in Kiwami 3.

5:44 They touched on some interesting topics in Infinite Wealth,

5:46 but didn't really go in all the way.

5:48 So hope that they can like come back to what they did with Yakuza

5:51 7 and having social commentary that makes sense and that is um that is um

5:56 you know a little bit more uh in-depth or at least gives it the time

6:00 of day that it needs because they are playing with a very sensitive time period.

6:05 you know, with World War II, Imperial Japan,

6:07 and then um after World War II, the atomic bombs drop,

6:11 and then there's like this wave of American culture that just takes over Japan,

6:15 and like that is a very like um sensitive

6:18 topic that is very interesting that is worth digging into.

6:22 You just kind of got to know what you're working with.

6:24 So, I have faith that RG can do it, and I want to see this game.

6:29 Miranda, what did you think?

6:30 Uh I am so stoked.

6:32 I I posted this on Blue Sky,

6:33 but basically every time they show this game, it just looks cooler.

6:36 It just keeps getting cooler.

6:38 Um, and to your point, Michael,

6:40 so whenever I think about Yakuza or like a dragon,

6:43 I think about the mini games and how silly they get.

6:46 So, for context, I actually haven't played one

6:47 of these games cuz I've been really intimidated.

6:49 It's just like there's a lot.

6:52 There's a lot.

6:52 And I'm like, "Oh, I got to play this." And it always keeps falling off.

6:55 But this one, I am so locked in.

6:57 I I'm seated.

6:58 I am ready.

6:58 I have my whiskey ready.

7:00 you know, like I got my glass picked out, like that kind of thing.

7:02 It's that kind of vibe.

7:03 But also, one thing I appreciate, as you were saying,

7:06 like this this wants to dig into the history of Japan and how people are

7:09 treated and how people make their way

7:11 in the world from a very different perspective,

7:13 too, than what we usually see.

7:14 Um, some of it kind of reminded me a little bit,

7:17 it it's very different story, but timelinewise,

7:20 of a book called Pachinko that I really love.

7:23 It's quite a popular book,

7:24 but it does follow um specifically um folks of Korean heritage in Japan

7:29 and just sort of the how they were treated there and how people

7:33 of mixed race are treated and how people come up and and just

7:36 like the time period and the cultural shifts that happen that are massive.

7:39 So, I think by having them put this over a longer period

7:42 of time where things are changing so rapidly is going to be really cool.

7:47 Oh, cool.

7:48 Oh, yeah.

7:49 Such a good show.

7:50 Yeah, the show.

7:50 I actually haven't seen the show yet.

7:52 I've only read the book, so I really want to reread the book.

7:55 It's it's fantastic.

7:57 Um, but it it's cool seeing like that

8:00 a a person's life through something that's so wild

8:03 and of course through their perspective in, you know,

8:06 like the the crime, the underworld part, right?

8:08 Like things change there too rapidly.

8:10 Um, but as you said with the casting,

8:12 like at first I saw Snoop Dog and I was like, what?

8:14 And then I kind of got into him like this totally works.

8:18 Like like his acting in the game for the little I was like that's good.

8:22 This is good.

8:24 Like that's sick.

8:27 Um so I think they're obviously like they're cooking with fire here.

8:31 And I think the thing that also gets me

8:33 really excited is the the underlying theme of music.

8:37 I love games that like feature music,

8:39 not as in like the rhythm game necessarily,

8:42 but as in it's a foundational part of its gameplay.

8:47 And the way that they go about presenting it in here is just fantastic.

8:50 And again, as Michael said, we have Otto.

8:53 Like, let's go.

8:55 So, some very quick context on her.

8:57 Nobody knows what she looks like.

8:58 She keeps herself like specifically like out of the spot.

9:01 Like, she's also quite young, so I think that's maybe part of it,

9:04 but also she just wants her privacy.

9:06 Um, but it's so cool that she's willing to do something like this, too.

9:11 Like that.

9:11 Just I don't know.

9:13 If you guys are only listening to music English, you're missing out so hard.

9:16 Like so much.

9:17 Listen to like any language.

9:18 It's fantastic.

9:19 You don't have to know what they say.

9:20 Just, you know, feel it.

9:21 Feel it.

9:21 Uh, and this this has that vibe that it's like we're going

9:24 to we're going to feel a lot of things in this game.

9:26 So, I don't know if I can add on to really anything else other than I think

9:30 this is going to be a fantastic point of entry for anybody like me who are like,

9:35 I really want to play one of these games.

9:37 I just don't know where to go.

9:38 And this one seems like it's going to be a bit more

9:41 heavy in its themes, which is appealing to me specifically.

9:46 So, and I think I think that's something that RG has struggled

9:48 with with a lot of their games recently is is this a good entry point?

9:52 Of course, they have to say yes, but they're going to say yes.

9:55 As much as I like Infinite Wealth, like I'm never going to recommend

9:58 that as someone's first game in the Yakuza franchise.

10:01 Like that's that's an awful place to start, man.

10:05 Um, but yeah, like you said, the the theme of music.

10:09 It's not just music.

10:10 It's that music is the thing that can

10:12 break cultural boundaries or like break down walls.

10:14 And like Snoop Dogg's character says that in the trailer or in the showcase

10:18 that they when Snoop Dogg takes the main character back to Japan,

10:22 he's like and you see Japanese people like embracing

10:25 American music and putting their own spin on it.

10:27 And Snoop Dogg's character is like, "Yeah, music.

10:30 This is how you break down language barriers.

10:33 Everybody speaks music regardless of whatever language uh that you

10:37 actually speak." So that is having that as maybe

10:39 a central theme through the game is going to be

10:41 a really it seems like a really cool idea.

10:43 and just like the period atmosphere that just like this game

10:46 is just drenched in that atmosphere of each time period.

10:50 Man, this is this is if anything,

10:52 this is one of the most interesting games that I've seen in a long while,

10:55 especially from RGG.

10:57 Yeah.

10:57 And for me, I'm I'm kind of in a similar

11:00 boat to Miranda where I haven't played much of the franchise,

11:04 even though I know I'd like it.

11:05 like the I I really my entry point was uh I believe it was Like a Dragon

11:10 was the one that that launched as a day

11:12 one title on the Series X, right, Michael?

11:14 Yeah.

11:15 Okay.

11:15 So, I played a decent bit of that and really enjoyed it.

11:18 Didn't finish it, but um I I just loved the what I loved

11:23 about that game of what I played was that it felt very unique.

11:27 It just it felt it didn't feel like any every other RPG.

11:30 Just there was something from the tone to the setting.

11:34 I I really like that about it.

11:35 And this what I what's winning me over with Stranger from Heaven,

11:39 Stranger Than Heaven, pardon me,

11:40 is the ambitiousness of the storytelling of doing this sort

11:46 of two friendmy story between two guys over 50 years.

11:51 I that's awesome.

11:52 Like I I that's not something I see games do in any genre,

11:56 whether RPGs, action adventures, really anything.

12:01 So, I I love how ambitious the storytelling is and if they can pay it off,

12:05 if they can make this work,

12:07 uh then I think it's going to just be hugely successful,

12:11 at least at least for me.

12:13 So, um yeah, I I was really won over by this.

12:16 I was intrigued by the initial trailers,

12:19 but this presentation completely sold me on it.

12:23 And it's looks like we're not going to have to wait too long.

12:27 They said it's out in the winter.

12:29 So that notoriously, you know, it's a little ambiguous.

12:34 Means as early as December, probably not December because a not many

12:40 games ship in December at all traditionally,

12:43 but especially this year if GTA is coming out in mid November.

12:46 You don't you don't want to ship in December.

12:48 I was going to say we have seen more and more big games go in December.

12:53 And I know this vividly because that means my team has

12:55 to work more when we're trying to wind down and I'm like,

12:58 "Dang it." But then it's kind of fun, too.

13:00 Um, and usually it's Ubisoft, so they're not with Ubisoft,

13:04 so I think we might be okay.

13:06 The the Avatar Frontiers of Pandora was a December game.

13:10 you go all the way back like I believe Far Cry 3 was was

13:14 a December game because I remember Mitch

13:16 Dyer uh having to like frantically he actually

13:19 gave the team a presentation to to be like we got to we got

13:22 to get this in for game of the year consideration guys here's why I love it.

13:26 So, you're right, Miranda.

13:28 For some reason, Ubisoft seems to be December

13:30 above all other publishers favor favoring December,

13:33 but I would certainly put my money on January

13:36 or February for for the release of this game.

13:41 February.

13:41 Yeah, I think uh I think I said this in Slack

13:43 that when Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth said it was coming in winter,

13:46 that game eventually came out February the following year.

13:49 So, I feel like that's a good time to and we've we've talked

13:52 about in the past about what time is good for games to come out.

13:55 And I think feel like we've had a lot of bangers in February that have like

13:59 Oh, yeah.

14:00 have have stayed the conversation.

14:01 Like Elden Ring came out in February of its year.

14:04 Um, and yeah, like I said, Rebirth came out uh in February of its year.

14:09 So, it's not a bad time to drop a game when everyone else is kind of, you know,

14:13 looking at the fall season as the time to drop.

14:17 So, I would uh I would accept that.

14:20 Well, speaking of bangers, uh one hit game pass this week.

14:23 It is next in my queue.

14:24 actually just downloaded it before we uh before we got started.

14:27 Thanks for checking out this clip from Unlocked, IGN's weekly Xbox show.

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