Yakuza (7): Like a Dragon - Gotta Dispatch 'Em All!

[Yobo Ahoy]

Finally got around to starting LAD this week, needed a little break after finishing Judgment a few months back.

 

General first impressions are excellent, it's as polished as you'd expect. I'm still not totally on board with the turn based combat, it feels natural for dealing with chumps on the street and in dungeons but was rather jarring in the first proper boss fight after doing all the macho growling and posturing. I'm sure it will feel second nature shortly though.

 

Yokohama is excellent so far. I'd genuinely forgotten the excitement of a new city in these games, even Onomichi in Y6 was really bare-bones. Glad to hear Lost Judgment shares the same location. 

 

The only thing that has come close to annoying me is that we're expected to believe Sega's flagship arcades in Tokyo had the same games over an 18 year period. Come on! 

 

 

 

[Yobo Ahoy]

Also the Fist Of The North Star chat on the last page - it's absolutely worth playing, it's not just a reskinned Yakuza - a completely new (if quite small) city and unique fighting systems make it interesting to any Yak fan. Plus the PS2 jankiness of the wasteland area needs to be seen to be believed. 

 

 I had previously seen the film but the game is a standalone story so prior knowledge is not required.

[CGB]

Have just started this after needing a bit of a break/change from Dragon Quest XI. There was some unexpected irony there (though the clue is in the title I suppose!), but I'm loving it so far and I'm so glad to be back in the Yakuza world. Excited for what the next few hours bring!

[Yobo Ahoy]

And finished*. Absolutely amazing, it has to be said. It's incredible how these games deliver grown-up, real world stories but chuck in an equal dose of absolute nonsense - nobody does it better.

 

I've never been a major fan of turn based combat but you have to say they absolutely nailed it here. If I'm being honest, I missed the 'proper' Yak beat-em-up style, especially for the boss fights, but it didn't become a chore too often.  Obviously I left an asterisk next to 'finished' because I certainly haven't completed it - I've never bothered with that Amon nonsense, life's too short and quite frankly the fighting alone isn't that enjoyable. I've done the sujidex and that's good enough for me! 

 

Ichi is a total wet blanket (especially compared to Kiryu) but he is a real breath of fresh air and I'm looking forward to where they go next with him. Great stuff.