San Francisco 1915

0:04 Stranger Than Heaven opens in San Francisco in 1915, where a young Makoto Daito, born to an American father and a Japanese mother and persecuted for his Asian heritage, sneaks aboard a ship at night bound for his mother's homeland, Japan. In the October 2026 preview build he is wrongly accused of a crime and runs from the police to the last ship leaving the bay, and that chase teaches the combat. On board he meets the boy Yu Shinjo and the smuggler Orpheus, who carries them both to Kokura. It is a prologue, not one of the game's five cities. The clip is SEGA's Act I story trailer: police search the docks at night, and Makoto climbs aboard a ship.

Quick facts

Sources: Steam store page, as of Nov 3, 2026; Game Rant, Oct 21, 2026; Anime News Network, Sep 16, 2026.

How does Stranger Than Heaven begin?

0:48 With a boy alone. SEGA's store text says Makoto loses both parents and, "completely alone," decides to cross the Pacific: if the United States will not accept him, maybe Japan will. He boards with nothing but the shirt on his back and soon learns the voyage is anything but a "free ride" (Steam). The official cast page says simply that he was persecuted in America. The clip is Game Rant's Oct 21, 2026 hands-on preview of the pre-release build.

1:05 In the three-hour preview build played before the Oct 21, 2026 embargo, Makoto is accused of a crime he did not commit; Game Rant says murder. He flees the police through the streets to the docks, and IGN reported that this police chase is the combat tutorial, ending on the last ship out of the bay. The controls it teaches are on Combat. The clip is IGN's Oct 21, 2026 preview of the three-hour pre-release build.

Who does Makoto meet on the ship?

0:51 Two people who shape the rest of his life. Yu Shinjo is a boy of mixed heritage, half Japanese and half British, slightly older than Makoto, who wants to start a new life in Japan. Orpheus, played by Snoop Dogg, owns the ship, a "cutthroat and charismatic smuggler" in Xbox Wire's words. He finds the stowaways, nearly throws both overboard, then keeps Makoto as his sidekick because the boy speaks Japanese. The cast page adds that Orpheus teaches Makoto how to survive in Japan and sees his musical talent, the start of the Showbiz thread. In the clip, from SEGA's Act I story trailer, the crew find the two stowaways and Orpheus questions them.

The Tokyo Game Show opening broadcast

SEGA first showed the opening on Sep 16, 2026, in the "Special Opening Night" livestream before Tokyo Game Show 2026. Anime News Network reported about 10 minutes of the game's beginning, opening credits included, followed by looks at the eras, the Showbiz lounge and combat. SEGA's Act I: Kokura story trailer of Oct 21, 2026 also traces "the events that lead" Makoto onto Orpheus's ship.

What is not known

As of Nov 3, 2026: who Makoto's parents were, what the crime was and who committed it, how long the prologue lasts, and whether San Francisco returns later in the game. The rest of the story is on Story, and the first city on Kokura 1915.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Stranger Than Heaven start? Stranger Than Heaven starts in San Francisco in 1915, where Makoto Daito stows away on a ship to Japan. The first Japanese city is Kokura.

Why does Makoto leave America? In Stranger Than Heaven Makoto is orphaned and persecuted for his Asian heritage, and in the preview build he is also wrongly accused of a crime and chased by police. He heads for his mother's homeland hoping Japan will accept him.

Is there a tutorial in Stranger Than Heaven? Yes. In the October 2026 preview build of Stranger Than Heaven, the San Francisco police chase in the prologue teaches the combat.

Sources

• STRANGER THAN HEAVEN - Act 1: Kokura Story Trailer, SEGA, Oct 16, 2026 (video)
• Stranger Than Heaven: 50 Years of Japan in One Game - Hands-On Preview, GameRant, Oct 21, 2026 (video)
• Stranger Than Heaven Finally Won Me Over | Extended Hands-On Preview, IGN, Oct 21, 2026 (video)
• STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, Steam, as of Nov 3, 2026
• Cast, SEGA, as of Nov 3, 2026
• Stranger Than Heaven: The Final Preview, IGN, Oct 21, 2026
• Stranger Than Heaven Hands-On Preview, Game Rant, Oct 21, 2026
• Watch the Act I: Kokura Story Trailer & Discover Daito's Journey through 1915, SEGA, Oct 21, 2026
• Stranger Than Heaven Game's Video Previews Opening, Showbiz, Combat, Anime News Network, Sep 16, 2026
• Xbox Presents: A Special Look at Stranger Than Heaven, Everything We Learned, Xbox Wire, May 6, 2026