All things Yakuza/Like a Dragon! - new games announced

[DC]

2 hours ago, Calashnikov said:

Don’t forget that kid wanting a jazz mag in 0. Wonderfully observed.

This mission seemed impossible to me.

[Garwoofoo]

I'm absolutely loving Yakuza 4. I'd really expected it to be a bit of a stopgap between 3, which was a bit disappointing, and 5, which is the one everyone seems to talk about - but it's actually the point at which the series really came together, isn't it? The substories are much longer and more involved than before, the combat system's much snappier than 3 (and easier, hence more fun), I even found Bob Utsunomiya chilling out in Kamurocho. I've got so engrossed in all the substories and Akiyama's life as a loan shark that I've barely progressed the main story at all.

[Cheyenne]

I maintain it's the series highlight. First time branching away from the standard combat system to provide three new ones, and they nail the landing. Each of the new protagonists is a rounded character that are unique from each other and provide some fresh perspectives and angles to the storytelling; Akiyama is a great introductory character with his placement as an outsider to Yakuza dealings, Saejima an insight into the past of the Tojo, Tanimura as a wildcard police approach with connections to Little Asia before finally rounding back to Big Man Kaz. It's the game that properly introduced fleshed out side games too, to this day I have fond memories of Saejima and the dojo. Hell of a game.

[Mr. Gerbik]

@Garwoofoo maybe you've misremembered when I kept describing Yakuza 5 as a "best of Yakuza', as in a very fan service-y entry into the series with loads of callbacks to previous games. It's a fantastic game, but also the least standalone of all the Yakuza games and the worst starting point for newcomers. I've always seen 4 as better than 5, and 4 remained my favourite until Zero came along. I might be the one misremembering now, but the arguments over which Yakuza was the very best before Zero appeared and the series suddenly reached a wider audience on rllmuk, used to be between 2 and 4 for the most part. Some people considered 2 the best, others said 4. Then Zero united us all.

 

5 arrived relatively late, it had been out for ages in Japan at that point and PlayStation players everywhere had long since moved over to PS4 by then. It looked like there would never be another Yakuza coming our way again, and even if Sega would miraculously change its mind, 5 was stuck on previous gen hardware so was probably lost to us forever. That's why it got so much attention in this thread, but it's also a brilliant game in its own right. I remember excitedly hooking the dual shock 4 up to the dusty PS3 to play Y5 back then, only to find it didn't work properly with the DS4 analog triggers making the taxi missions impossible :lol:

 

Edit: fwiw, Zero, 2, and 4 are my personal favourites. But they're all great.

[Novelty Bobble]

I’m nearing the end of Judgment, finished and loved Yakuza Zero, and bounced hard off Yakuza Kiwami. I’m keen to jump back in with another Yakuza game as I am currently looking after a one week old baby and am finding the relatively relaxed style of gameplay absolutely perfect for late nights with a baby under one arm.
 

However I’m not sure which to go for - I’m thinking Kiwami 2 as I’ve heard that’s way better than Kiwami 1, but also wondering about 6, not least because it apparently has baby rugby.
 

Any tips?

 

 

[Cheyenne]

As much as I love it, definitely not 6. It takes place after all previous games and so much of its impact is built on you being along for that ride.

[Garwoofoo]

Yeah, Kiwami 2 is the obvious choice. It's really polished, full of stuff to do and a much more comprehensive remake than Kiwami. It's the same engine as Judgment so you should find the transition from one to the other very smooth.

 

Also it has Zero's cabaret club management and one of the chapters late in the game's story is so utterly batshit it has to be seen to be believed. So play that one.

 

(Although read up on Kiwami 1's plot if you didn't finish that game - the story's pretty fundamental to the whole of the rest of the series, especially this one).

[Mr. Gerbik]

Pro-tip: you can also watch what has happened before from the main menu in Kiwami 2 (or in any Yakuza game for that matter)

[Novelty Bobble]

Brilliant. Kiwami 2 it is. And great to know that you can do the ‘Previously on...’ thing in-game.

[JoeK]

The only thing I'll say about Kiwami 2 is that you do need to prepare yourself for a fairly severe adjustment to the way all the combat works. It took me quite a while to get to grips with the thing - there's a spike very early on in the game that caused me to weep uncontrollably for quite a while before I turned the corner.

 

Obviously, after that everything's brilliant mind  

[Garwoofoo]

2 hours ago, JoeK said:

The only thing I'll say about Kiwami 2 is that you do need to prepare yourself for a fairly severe adjustment to the way all the combat works.

 

I didn't struggle with the combat but it did take me a day or two to get used to the lower framerate (it's 30fps rather than the 60fps of most of the rest of the series). Then it just clicked and I didn't notice any more. Obviously coming straight from Judgment that's not going to be a problem.

 

The weirdest thing about Kiwami 2 is the way all the levelling up and character progression is tied directly to eating. Kiryu eats constantly in that game. It's like he's got worms or something.

[JoeK]

1 hour ago, Garwoofoo said:

 

I didn't struggle with the combat but it did take me a day or two to get used to the lower framerate (it's 30fps rather than the 60fps of most of the rest of the series). Then it just clicked and I didn't notice any more. Obviously coming straight from Judgment that's not going to be a problem.

 

The weirdest thing about Kiwami 2 is the way all the levelling up and character progression is tied directly to eating. Kiryu eats constantly in that game. It's like he's got worms or something.

 

I was playing it on a PC, so it was pretty lovely. I don't think it looks as nice as Yakuza 6 despite the smoothness though. If they ever do decide to release the rest on PC I'll be double dipping for sure! 

[JoeK]

And so I become the great Ono Michio.

 

That was one of the most hilarious things I’ve done for a very long time.

[JoeK]

Well, Y6 lived up to all expectations.

 

I don't think I've been cheering and fist-punching the air at anything more than the final battles in this game. It got me going through all possible emotions, and quite honestly I feel worn out by it all.

 

Best game I've played in a long old time  

[Cheyenne]

The finale of Yakuza 6 had me grinning like a madman when 

 

Spoiler

Kazuma gets cracked across the face with the pipe, and the look of absolute fury on his face when he turns to face his assailant. Ohhhhhh you gon get fucked up now!

 

[JoeK]

10 minutes ago, Cheyenne said:

The finale of Yakuza 6 had me grinning like a madman when 

 

  Hide contents

Kazuma gets cracked across the face with the pipe, and the look of absolute fury on his face when he turns to face his assailant. Ohhhhhh you gon get fucked up now!

 

 

Yup, it was possibly the greatest 'movie-moment I've ever seen but not in a movie' moment ever. 

 

Edit: I do have to applaud the architects of the Millennium tower though. That thing's been hit by more missiles, bombs, guns etc than anything ever, and it remains rock solid. Quality workmanship there.

 

 

[Cheyenne]

For all the slower pace and small town drama of 6 too, I'm glad they found a way to go completely OTT with late-game plot developments. Mad shit. Glorious mad shit.

[JoeK]

Definitely. After the previous six games I was expecting something fairly insane, but I didn’t bank on any of that really.

 

I did think the quieter moments were some of the best writing in any of them though. God knows how they manage to make any of this work I have not idea, but once it clicks then everything makes perfect sense.
 

And by any stretch of logic, none of it should work at all. 

[Cheyenne]

Honestly, I put a lot of it down to continuity. How many games get as many entries as Yakuza and have them retain a consistent thread all the way through? Then there's what I would consider happy accidents, like how the asset reuse weirdly makes it feel like revisiting an old home as the years go by. An example from within 6 is Kazuma returning to Sunshine Orphanage; it's only been a proper environment in Yakuza 3, with very small appearances in 4 & 5. Couple that with the new engine and returning there was an emotional moment for me as well as Kazuma.  Similarly then, and I think this is where the packed release schedule from 0 onwards has diluted it somewhat, but going years between instalments really helped build the memories of Kamurocho, it's a gaming environment that is etched into my memory like no other, a place I've been visiting for almost 15 years now. I know it better than some actual places I've lived!

 

By the time you get to the end of the long, weary road that is Kazuma's story, I feel like I've been there for it all. Not just the milestone moments, but all the goofy little ones along the way. There are few games that have told a single characters continuously developing story for such a prolonged time, and to me it felt like all that history was relevant in every scene.

[JoeK]

Agree wholeheartedly. 

[Garwoofoo]

Struggling a bit with Saejima in the second section of Y4. Not really enjoying his combat style - ironically it's obviously a prototype for what eventually became Beast style in Y0 but without the automatic picking up of items, it's just slow and lumbering and a bit frustrating. The fight against you-know-who was painful, although now I'm unlocking some new abilities it's at least becoming more varied.

 

Quick question: do I get to go back and play as Akiyama again later in the game? I was happily working through his substories when I accidentally triggered the chapter end and now of course I can't go back.

[Calashnikov]

Eventually you can switch between any character in order to mop up their substories, level up fighting styles etc. 

[Mr. Gerbik]

If I recall correctly, I loved playing as Saejima once I discovered that focussing on grabbing one of the random idiots attacking me and using him as a bludgeon on the rest was the most effective and overpowered attack in the entire series up until that point. And it looked hilarious!

 

Edit: this may have been in Yakuza 5 The one where Saejima is in Hokkaido, is completely broken and overpowered Saejima. Loved playing as him in both however, he's been my PSN avatar since 4. 

[Garwoofoo]

I’ve now discovered Saejima’s Fighter Maker and I take it all back. This is amazing. 

[SqueakyG]

I'd heard negative things about Saejima's fighting style in 4, but I'm not having any problems - in fact his moves are pretty interesting. What's frustrating me a bit right now - at the part I'm at - is that he can't just walk the streets of Kamurocho because of all the police, and must use the underground sections. But I'm so confused and forgetful about how all the little bits of sewer and underground connect to each other. It's quite a challenge to work out how to get to certain streets, when usually I could just jog there in 10 seconds.

 

Tried the Fighter Maker for a few minutes... but nope, not a minigame I'll invest time in. It looks like hours of menu selection guesswork. It's going to get ignored just like Hostess Maker.

[SuperCapes]

I have 0 and Kiwami on Steam, tempted to just buy the whole series on PS4 as its in the sale. Is it worth putting the 200+ hours into it all or just select titles? 

 

May be a daft question! 

 

Bang into my obscure titles at the minute!

[Harsin]

Play 0 first then decide.

 

Yakuza games are always in the sales, so unlikely you'll miss out too much.

[JoeK]

2 minutes ago, Harsin said:

Play 0 first then decide.

 

Yakuza games are always in the sales, so unlikely you'll miss out too much.

 

Yeah - It took me a good year after initial purchase until Zero got its hooks in me, but when it did I was thoroughly converted. But I'd certainly not buy them all in one hit without giving it a go first!

[Popo]

Is the collection on sale anywhere? I’m not mad big on the series but do have the urge to catch ‘em all. 

[JoeK]

7 minutes ago, Popo said:

Is the collection on sale anywhere? I’m not mad big on the series but do have the urge to catch ‘em all. 

 

You might have to check on both the UK and US stores to get the best discounts at various places. They seem to be difficult and reduce different ones at different times, but rarely all the same. I picked up Yakuza 6 a few weeks ago on the US site for around $10, whilst it was still around £25 in the UK.