Yakuza 5 to feature dance offs and major combat enhancements
Bust a move, skulls.
Yakuza 5 is rejigging its combat system to include dance battles and brawls that blend more seamlessly with the rest of the game.
These details emerged from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu (via Andriasang). When playing as teenage wannabe pop sensation Haruka, players will engage in dance offs against rivals in a rhythm action game set to five genres: hip hop, house, idol, jazz and rock. Successful moves will build up a gauge that when full can be used to unleash special Heat moves.
Upon the end of each dance battle she'll be judged by spectators. If she wins, her "expression power" rises, helping her level up.
As for the more familiar bone-crunching brawls, you'll have to battle right on the spot with an encountered foe, as opposed to the staid mechanics of yesteryear that slowly transitioned into a closed off arena for battles. Purportedly enemy AI and animations have been spruced up, too.
Yakuza 5 is slated for release on PS3 this December in Japan, though no Western release has yet been announced.