Virtua Fighter and Project Century are two sides of the same coin

Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio had a strong 2024 and it just keeps getting better. Even the discount on acclaimed titles from other Sega studios like Atlus' Metaphor: ReFantazioRGG Studio released Like a Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth, Super Monkey Ball Banana RumbleAnd Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown2.0 console update. Then the year 2025 begins with the Steam launch Virtua Fighter 5 REVO And Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. After all this, the Game Awards 2024 is introducing a new IP Project Century and a Virtual fighter The restart feels like a victory lap.

Little is known about these two latest additions to the RGG Studio series, but with so many of the developer's other games, that's not a problem. Although Project Century is not confirmed as part of the Yakuzaor Like a dragonUniverse that RGG Studio is known for, it would be a welcome new environment if it were, and a rare move from the developer if it wasn't. A new one now Virtual fighter marks the end of over a decade Virtua Fighter 5 Stasis and is a dream come true for fans. These two games represent exciting new avenues for RGG Studio, and that's not their only similarity.

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Virtua Fighter 6's reboot status is at a fork in the road

The long-awaited revival of the series was announced with Virtua Fighter 6, and the years since its predecessor make a crucial decision.

How RGG Studio's history influences its modern games

While RGG Studio and its predecessors AM11, R&D4, Amusement Vision and New Entertainment R&D Dept. Having worked on many different games and genres, RGG is primarily associated with the series that gave it its name. Ryu Ga Gotoku. Known in English as YakuzaThe series typically produced action RPGs that combined intense brawler action with surprisingly elaborate storytelling and lots of mini-games. At least one Yakuza Game, or something that shares its gameplay, has been released every year during the existence of RGG Studio and New Entertainment R&D and has remained remarkably consistent during this time.

The turning point for RGG Studio and Like a Dragon

That is, until Yakuza: Like a dragon was released in 2020. The protagonist of the previous series, Kazuma Kiryu, resigned in favor of Ichiban Kasuga, and not only that YakuzaThe English name also makes room for the more precise one Like a dragon nickname, its gameplay was also replaced. Gone were the real-time hack-and-slash battles of games past Like a dragon 7The battles become turn-based RPG encounters. Side games such as Like a Dragon Garden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaiiand the Verdict Keep series Boyis the old brawler gameplay, but RGG's signature franchise has otherwise completely reinvented itself.

Virtua Fighter and Project Century embody an RGG Studio tradition

One could see the two latest RGG Studio projects as the developer continuing to break new ground, but there's another way to interpret them. Both Virtual fighter And Project Century Maintain a form of classic brawler combat that RGG Studio was known for before the 2020s Yakuza: Like a dragon. Neither implemented real-time combat in exactly the same way as a Like a dragon Play would, with Virtual fighter stand out as a PvP based 3D fighting game, but are much closer to the old norm than LaD 7 And 8 was.

Project Century looks particularly similar Like a dragonis the old gameplay style, even if it ramps up the blood and gun violence more than the old crime franchise has dared to before. Virtual fighter could also end with one Like a dragon Story and exploration elements thanks to RGG's involvement, resulting in a Boy-Adjacent story mode that resembles a 3D flavor Street Fighter 6 World tour. Regardless, it's nice to see RGG Studio's action game expertise flourishing in the meantime Like a dragon goes his own way, with Virtual fighter And Project Century Make yourself at home in the studio's action-packed library.