Toshiro came to the states as an eager young man in the late sixties and started work as a runner for a family betting shop. He experienced the lingering post-war antipathy toward Japanese immigrants that increased as Japanese manufacturing techniques caused massed unemployment in America. He soon realized that America was not its people, but its opportunities and so began his Yakuza empire.
With the counterfeiting operation he will have gained the reputation and respect in Japan to allow him to return to an honourable and wealthy retirement. He has a fatherly pride in Kenji's progress within his Yakuza family and has every confidence in leaving the concern in his control.
Toshiro is a cut character who was scheduled to appear in Grand Theft Auto III.
History[]
Background[]
In the game design document, Toshiro is described as the 62-year old oyabun of the Yakuza in Liberty City, and mentor of Kenji Kasen.
In the original script, Kenji started a counterfeit operation in the city to gain respect from Toshiro and the Yakuza in order to become a suitable choice for the oyabun position after Toshiro's retirement.
According to Rockstar North's GTA III: The Game Design Document[1][2], Toshiro was the original boss of the missions A Drop in the Ocean, Getting into the Airport, Grand Theft Aero and One of the Gang, in the last of which he would be murdered by a sniper.
This character was cut prior to the creation of Donald Love and Love Media conglomerate, both of whom did not exist in the game until late in development.
Original Script[]
Introduction[]
Toshiro's mission strand is first foreshadowed in the introduction through the Old Oriental Gentleman (originally referred to as the "Old Japanese Gentleman"). In the original script, this character is tied to the Yakuza's money counterfeiting plans.
He shares his prison truck with 8-Ball (an explosives expert), an old Japanese gentleman and a prison guard. 8-Ball's hands are bandaged up. As the small convoy crosses the bridge that leads into Liberty City's industrial sector, they are ambushed by the Yakuza. Their aim is to free the Japanese gentleman (a plate engraver crucial to their counterfeiting plans) and they're keen for there to be no survivors.
Save the Old Japanese Gentleman[]
Occurs during Kenji Kasen's mission strand in Staunton Island. After the mission Shima, Kenji would give the mission "Save the Old Japanese Gentleman", in which Claude was tasked to save the Old Oriental Gentleman (referred to as the "Old Japanese Gentleman") from the Colombian Cartel Compound.
In the final version, the Old Oriental Gentleman's nationality is left ambiguous with no links to counterfeiting. The mission is given by Donald Love (non-existent at this point in development) as "Liberator".
Toshiro's Missions[]
A Drop in the Ocean[]
The first mission given by Toshiro is "A Drop in the Ocean".
The mission is played in the same way as the final version of the mission given by Donald Love. However, it is revealed in the document that the packages dropped by the Dodo are actually forging plates used to create counterfeit money.
As with the final version, the packages are also a decoy for the real packages.
Getting into the Airport[]
The second mission given by Toshiro is "Getting into the Airport".
Similarly to Bomb Da Base: Act I, this mission is a paywall to unlock Shoreside Vale. Claude is told to get an unspecified amount of money to bribe the airport security in order to get access to the plane containing the real packages.
In the final version, Shoreside Vale is immediately unlocked after "A Drop in the Ocean", with no paywall required for the subsequent airport-related mission.
Grand Theft Aero[]
The third mission given by Toshiro is "Grand Theft Aero".
The mission progresses in the same way as the final version of the mission given by Donald Love. According to the flowchart of this early version of the mission, once the player arrives at the airport, two Palantic (not Panlantic) vans are seen leaving the hangar. The Dodo containing the forging plates are guarded by the Colombian Cartel. After killing the Cartel members in the hangar, Claude discovers that the forging plates were delivered to the Palantic construction site in Staunton Island. Arriving at the construction site, Claude fights his way through the Cartel members and finds Catalina and Miguel with the forging plates.
In the final version, the plot about Toshiro's forging plates are replaced with Donald Love's mysterious package. Additionally, this is the first time in the entire design document where Catalina is mentioned, replacing the original antagonists – The Masks – in late development.
One of the gang[]
Toshiro's final mission is "One of the gang". The plot behind the mission is unique, not kept or adapted into any other mission in the final version.
After retrieving the stolen forging plates from Catalina and saving the Old Japanese Gentleman, Toshiro organizes a party at Kenji's Casino to celebrate the start of his counterfeit operation.
According to the flowchart, Claude is tasked to pick up Toshiro, who is betting at an illegal fight underground car park. The player originally had an opportunity to bet on a fighter, a feature that is not present in the final version.
After the fight, Claude drives Toshiro to the casino. When they arrive at the casino garden, the party is attacked from a nearby building rooftop. Toshiro is assassinated by a sniper, and Claude picks up a Sniper Rifle and eliminates the attackers. After Toshiro's death, Kenji replaces him as the new head of the Yakuza in Liberty City.
In the final version, no such mission exists in the storyline, and Kenji is the head of the Yakuza since the beginning of the storyline.
Leftovers[]
Toshiro's Skyscraper[]
In the "Liberty City" section of the design document, a location named "Toshiro's Skyscraper" is listed as a mission contact point in Staunton Island. The location of the skyscraper can still be identified as being Love Media Building through its model file name. This explains Donald's connection with the Old Oriental Gentleman in the final version, as well as the Japanese garden and props found on the rooftop.
tcsky_skycrp6" (Toshiro Commercial Skyscraper)
tshrorckgrdn" (Toshiro Rock Garden)
tshrorckgrdn_alfas" (Toshiro Rock Garden Alfas)References[]
- ↑ GTA III: The Game Design Document. (Link to video)
- ↑ GTA III: The Design Document itemized from GTASeriesVideos' video on GTA Forums