SEGA of America has moved to reassure gamers that only minimal cuts will be applied to the upcoming Western release of Yakuza 4, which hits PlayStation 3 next spring.
The firm’s comments come in response to the decidedly meaty edits made to the Western conversion of Yakuza 3, which omitted the hostess bars and numerous sub-quests and mini-games found in the original Japanese release.
Fortunately, SEGA community manager Aaron Webb let slip to Kotaku that any cuts made to Yakuza 4 would be “nothing like Yakuza 3,” adding that he wasn’t aware of any of the game’s side quests being left on the cutting room floor.
One element that won’t see the light of day overseas however is the interactive game show Answer X Answer, as attempting to convert the feature for the U.S. and European release would mean Yakuza 4 would miss its planned spring 2011 launch date.
Yakuza 4 sees the return of series hero Kiryu Kazuma and also features three fresh faces, each one sporting their own unique back-story.