New Stranger Than Heaven story trailer just dropped

Snoop Dogg giving a rap lesson in 1915 Japan probably wasn't on your bingo card, but it's how the new Stranger Than Heaven story trailer ends, though. Yesterday, Sega and RGG Studio released the Act 1 story trailer, and it blends a serious story about outsiders with the kind of curveball RGG fans have come to expect.

Two outsiders, one smuggler and a rap lesson

The trailer sets up the game's opening act in Kokura, Fukuoka. It follows two young men who sneak aboard a ship hoping to reach Japan, only to be found by the crew. They arrive with nothing, and their goal is simple: earn a place of their own. One of the two is Makoto Daito, the game's lead, who is of mixed American and Japanese heritage. In the trailer, the crew and the people they meet in Japan treat them as outsiders, and nothing is toned down.

The pair then got rescued by Orpheus, a smuggler played by Snoop Dogg. He keeps helping them as the story goes on, though the trailer only makes that clear for at least the first part of it. In the trailer, he tells them that respect is everything in this business, and he encourages them to build their own crew of exiles. The two just want a place that belongs to them. It's the rise-from-nothing setup RGG Studio is known for, with Orpheus as the first person to take them seriously.

Then comes the twist, Orpheus gives one of the young men a music lesson, telling him to turn what he's feeling into a song. The trailer closes on a rap about being unwelcome and crossing the water, and the lyrics include a small nod to Yakuza: Like a Dragon. If you're also wondering where the music side of the story leads, check out the 1943 Osaka gameplay footage, which shows how composing songs and staging shows works in the game.

To be frank, the rap lesson is unexpected, but it fits a studio that has long paired heavy drama with moments this strange. Putting a serious story about belonging next to a rap lesson could sound like a clash, but that mix is part of what RGG fans come for. 

A story trailer like this does something a gameplay trailer can't. It makes you care about two kids with nothing before it makes you laugh at a rap lesson. If the finished game keeps that balance, January 15 could be an easy date to circle. The release date is still a while off, but it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on the price. Visit our price comparator for the cheapest Stranger Than Heaven CD key.