Here’s an English translation of the first part of the Ryu ga Gotoku Online prologue/trailer, that they showed at the press event. The first five minutes or so of this video.
No word yet if this will come out in English, or be available in its mobile form in the west (I think they said it will be on PS4 too?) Anyway, enjoy.
“Ichiban” from the slums
1977. Kamurocho. A New Year’s Eve muffled in deep snow. As the sound of the new year temple bell fades, in a rundown soapland a baby’s cry fills the air. A boy’s first cry on a mattress still smelling of lube …
His name is “Ichiban”. Kasuga Ichiban.
For a child born in the worst slum of the city, it was a very ironic name. [Kasuga means spring day and Ichiban means first or best]
His mother, a worker in the sex industry, gave her child the name Ichiban then disappeared without a trace. There was no way of knowing who his father was. Ichiban, effectively an orphan from the moment of his birth, was supported and brought up by the people of Kamurocho.
A snack mama with a bad liver. A tout for a ripoff bar. A homeless man with countless criminal records … These people were called the dregs of society, but to Ichiban they were his foster parents, and good friends.
The meeting with the one he came to worship
Ichiban didn’t go to school much, so after graduating middle school with no prospects of a real job, he continued to live a hand-to-mouth life.
Drink and women and gambling. Living such an indulgent life while still so young was nothing to boast about. When the money ran out, he picked fights with guys showing off in town, taking their money every day.
But one day, Ichiban’s carelessness resulted in him crossing a forbidden line. The fight went the same as always, his opponent ended up in hospital, but this time he’d picked on the underling of an infamous yakuza.
A group of yakuza took action in retaliation, set a trap and captured Ichiban.
As he endured unimaginable torture, his consciousness began to fade. If this goes on, I’ll be killed … Terrified for his life, Ichiban blurted out the name of “that man”.
“If you lay another hand on me … that ‘Arakawa’ will have something to say about it.”
Arakawa Masumi. The patriarch of Tojo Kai’s Arakawa Family. A fierce warrior yakuza known as “Killer Arakawa”. By invoking the name of the “legendary man” who even professionals feared, he thought he might somehow be able to escape that place … But that naive plan was only an invitation to further misfortune.
“What? You’re one of Arakawa’s? All the more reason to hang on to you, then.”
Those yakuza, they were from an organisation in dispute with Arakawa Gumi over territory.
The yakuza, believing Ichiban was one of Arakawa Gumi, sent word to the Arakawa office.
Ichiban, tied from head to foot with rope, with a dagger at his neck, cursed his own stupidity. He’d never met Arakawa, and he didn’t know what kind of man he was, but he probably wasn’t the sort to come to the aid of a stranger … And then, a lone man entered the office.
“Sorry for the wait. Though you really are shit yakuza if you fight with kids.”
A long black coat and a black hat. Dressed like something out of a mafia movie.
“Anyway, thanks, I guess. Where’s our kid?”
It was really him: the Arakawa Gumi patriarch, Arakawa Masumi. Arakawa gave the trapped Ichiban a sidelong glance. Then he gave a scornful laugh and turned from bewildered Ichiban to glare at the yakuza.
“So, what do you want?”
“Arakawa-san, this kid of yours, he half-killed one of our guys … we want compensation.”
I’m done for. That’s what Ichiban was thinking.
Will I be killed by these yakuza? Or else will Arakawa kill me himself, out of anger at me having the nerve to use his name like that? But then Arakawa said something unbelievable.
“I see. Then, one finger. In return for our boy. That’ll satisfy you, right?”
He took out a knife and bam! He cut off his own finger. Ignoring the yakuza, who seemed to be frozen to the spot, he approached Ichiban and cut his bonds with the same knife.
“Let’s go home, shithead.”
Dojima's Dragon Girl 
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