RGG Studio really looked at the Like a Dragon formula and said: what if we add Snoop Dogg, Ado, and a whole historical Japan crime saga into one game? Honestly, very on-brand.
The studio’s upcoming title Stranger Than Heaven has revealed a pretty stacked theme song lineup. The track, also called “Stranger Than Heaven,” is performed by Ado, Sosuke Fujihara from Official Hige Dandism, American singer Tori Kelly, and yes, Snoop Dogg himself.
But this is not just a “famous names on the soundtrack” situation. All four artists are also appearing as characters inside the game, which makes the whole thing feel more like a proper RGG-style crossover than a random marketing stunt.
Snoop Dogg plays Orpheus, a ship captain and smuggler who becomes involved in the story. Based on the latest trailer, he is not just there for a quick cameo either. His character is tied to the early journey of the game’s protagonist, Makoto Daito, an American-Japanese man who leaves the United States and heads to Japan while looking for a better life.
Daito stows away on a ship together with Yu Shinjo, before both are discovered by Orpheus. From there, the captain takes Daito under his wing, pulling him into shady work and, knowing RGG Studio, probably a whole buffet of drama, betrayal, fistfights, and absurd side activities.
For longtime fans, the biggest hook is that Stranger Than Heaven is a prequel to the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series. That matters because this series has spent years building one of gaming’s most beloved urban crime worlds, especially through Kamurocho. Now, RGG Studio is going way further back in time.
The game spans multiple historical periods and locations, including Kokura, Fukuoka in 1915, Kure, Hiroshima in 1929, Minami, Osaka in 1943, Atami, Shizuoka in 1951, and Kamurocho, Tokyo in 1965. That last one is the big one for series fans, since Kamurocho is basically the beating heart of Like a Dragon.
Instead of only showing modern neon nightlife, Stranger Than Heaven looks like it wants to explore how this world was shaped across decades. For SEA fans who love Japanese crime dramas, historical settings, and that very specific RGG mix of serious storytelling plus nonsense minigames, this could be a big one.
The game will feature a deep story, a new combat system, and plenty of minigames. RGG fans already know what that means: one minute you are fighting for your life, next minute you are probably doing karaoke, gambling, helping some random uncle, or getting emotionally destroyed by a side quest about friendship.
The Ado connection is also a smart pull for anime and J-pop fans in Malaysia. Ado has massive recognition among younger Japanese pop culture fans here, especially after her work connected to One Piece Film: Red. Pairing her voice with RGG’s cinematic crime-drama energy already sounds gila stylish.
For Malaysian and SEA players, the main thing to watch now is platform availability and regional pricing closer to launch. Stranger Than Heaven is planned for Winter 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC via Steam and Xbox on PC. No local pricing has been announced yet, so PC players especially will want to keep an eye on Steam regional pricing when pre-orders go live.
Like a Dragon may still be more cult favourite than mainstream blockbuster in some markets, but in SEA, this kind of Japanese drama-meets-chaos formula has always had a loyal crowd. Add Ado and Snoop Dogg into the same game? Bro, at minimum, everyone is going to watch that trailer twice.
Source: Automaton Media