Yakuza

[hogso]

NA/EU Playstation 4 exclusive out on 24th Jan, getting pretty excellent reviews at the moment.

It's a prequel to the series which debuted on PS2 way back when. The main line games have an on going storyline which is decent, this being a prequel set in the 80's means there is no presumption that you know the characters before hand. Succesful back in JP, not so much in the West.

The best way to sum it up would be a mash up between a small scale GTA (without cars, usually) and Shenmue. The combat does include guns, but mostly you'll be fighting hand to hand, picking up what ever you can get your hands on to smash your foe over the head with. Think bins, cones, shop signs, etc...

One of the reasons the series may have some measure of infamy is it's attention to detail in the recreation of it's fictional verions of Tokyo and Osaka. This is where the Shemue comparison comes in. There are corner shops, bars, arcades (it's a Sega game, this one is set in the 80s, you can play them), bowling alleys, RC car racing, and as serious as the main story can be, the massive amount of side quests are varied massively, from the sublime to the ridiculous - in the best possible way. It also depicts 'Hostess Bars' in detail, with (I think) Yakuza 3 being heavily cut in the west to remove certain elements. Yakuza 0 is left untouched, though - in fact there isn't even an English dub, just subs.

On the down side this is a PS3 port (which was unavailable in the west) and they've never been the prettiest of games as it is - and it seems as though it shows here. Textures are shoddy, and some animations aren't very clever, but it appears to be far from unplayable.

Here is a shitty trailer from E3, if you're curious I would suggest looking at some gameplay vids or something

 

Edited January 20, 2017 by hogso

[villa4europe]

getting decent reviews, most of the series has i think, ive never played them, always expected it to be a bit like sleeping dogs which i quite liked but couldnt be bothered to invest the time in

[Designer1]

I played 4 iirc.

It was absolutely raving bonkers. 

Really enjoyed it.

[Chindie]

I've seen a fair bit of coverage of this over the last week or so.

It appears to be awesome. And jam packed with stuff.

[hogso]

I played through the first chapter tonight. Pretty straight forward, hasn't properly opened up yet, as I'd expected. 

There's some odd quirks - 'talking head' scenes where, I presume for budget reasons in regards to animation,  characters are on screen, with voice over, but their mouth doesn't move. Some textures are lifted straight from the PS2 games by the looks of it, and parts look dreadful as a result. Cut scenes can be really quite lengthy, with some being text only. 

The combat is good fun, and the boss at the end of chapter one is quite a leap in difficulty, so for anyone who does get it, when it says prepare before leaving the main hub area - prepare! 

It's also bloody hilarious, both intentionally and unintentionally in equal measure. The karaoke scene had me howling, and some encounters with support characters provide some good chucks. 

[hogso]

Did the 'Burusera' (the act of women selling their underwear to pervy men) quest. It's a fantastic example of why the game is so good. What becomes a completely ridiculous scenario, one at which fun is made of and a few chucks provided, but at the same time, the writing, characters, their motivations, and the investment you make in their situation in about 10 minutes is huge. Far more so than the main quest lines of some other games. The down side for some may be the lack of VA, it's all text based, but I don't see that as too much of a problem.

I'm chuggin away at it slowly. I'm forever getting distracted from the main story, as the best of these types of games tend to do. It's great fun and even though the combat is a bit clunky and can make some side quests/training awkward (**** you punch out artist), I can't help but enjoy it.

One negative as a fan of the series from it's first game is that the map of Kamurocho has barely changed since the first game, neither have a lot of the assets used in game, so I seem to be doing the exact same things I did, what, ten years ago?

[hogso]

Yakuza 6's Western review embargo was lifted a few days ago - about a month before the release, which is odd. 

The game finally has a new engine, which is reason enough for me to get this. It's also the end of Kiryu's story, with the next 'Yakuza' game to feature a new cast of characters. 

The negatives I've read about the new game thus far are that the mini games / jobs are a little watered down compared to previous games in the series (but still bettering most any other game you could mention), and that there is a distinct lack of cameos / nods to some recurring characters from the series. 

There's a demo (prologue) on PSN. This was up last week, but then pulled, as people discovered you could actually access the entire game from it. 

Sony have also confirmed Kiwami 2 for release later in the year. 

[Chindie]

I might finally start Zero once I'm done with Bloodborne.

[LakotaDakota]

Always liked the yakuza games, They are about as close to Shenmue as you can get but don't quite match the innocence of those

[hogso]

For 'innocence' can I read 'crapness' :D You're right though, it is modern day equivalent. When Shenmue 3 comes out there's absolutely no question that it will be utter shite compared to the latest Yakuza game. But Yakuza wouldn't be what it is without those games.

[Chindie]

I started Yakuza 0 over the weekend. I'd heard the Shenmue comparisons over and over, but still it took me back how much this feels like a modern, slightly more 'gameified' Shenmue (or at least my memory of Shenmue, I'm sure the similarities aren't as obvious as my head remembers them being).

It's very good though. The story is very very well done so far (just starting chapter 3), there's very clear characters and some of the faces of characters are incredible. You can see where corners have been cut, the cutscenes with limited animation (like a motion comic), some dated graphics, but it kinda doesn't matter.

Looking forward to diving into it further.

[Rino8]

6 is brilliant, I don't think I like it quite as much as 0 (Two characters and a second city like Osaka was huge) but there are tons of little changes that add up. Side missions are now fully voice acted, cutscenes switch between in game rendering and movies, no load screens going into stores/restaurants etc etc.  The new engine is nice, although I feel like the combat changes are as many steps back as they are forward.

 

 

[Wainy316]

Started playing Yakuza Zero, my first foray into these games.  Loving it so far but bloody hell this game is gonna give me RSI.

[hogso]

Calling all Yakuza or potential Yakuza fans - the entire mainline games in the series will be available on Ps4 from next year. Here's the line up;

Yakuza 0 - a prequel to the original game released on Ps3 and Ps4

Yakuza Kiwami 1 - remake of the ps2 original 

Yakuza Kiwami 2 - remake of the ps2 sequel 

Yakuza 3 - remaster of the Ps3 game

Yakuza 4 - remaster of the Ps3 game (out Oct 19)

Yakuza 5 - remaster of the Ps3 game (out Feb 20)

Yakuza 6 - the final entry of the series starring Kiryu, released for Ps4

3, 4 and 5 will run at 1080p 60fps, have a new translation, and will feature all of the cut content which didn't appear on the original Western releases. You can buy the lot now on PSN for £50, get 3 immediately, and get 4 and 5 when they're available. 

I can't imagine how long it'd take you to get through that lot, and admittedly even as a long term fan, the thought doesn't fill me with a lot of joy - back to back the regurgitation of the original city will prove boring pretty quick, but the side quests and side businesses and events offer an experience unlike almost anything else out there. 

[hogso]

Yazuka: Like a Dragon is out on 10th November, on current gen and next gen - although not PS5 until March. 

Reviews have dropped, and in short, it's generally more of the same - wacky side stories, genuinely worth while mini games / activities, and a story that can serve up bizarre hilarity and emotional moments in equal measure.

What it doesn't do quite as well is the combat. The biggest departure in this game compared to the rest of the series is that this time there is no free roaming Virtual Fighter-esque fighting system. Instead, it's a turn based system straight out of a JRPG. It seems this isn't nearly as satisfying, and the 'class' system for the other characters you control in battle isn't really worth the time messing with - just keep characters at their default and upgrade their equipment as required to get the most out of them. 

On the plus side though is the reason in the game that we use a turn based system - the protagonist is obsessed with retro gaming, and there are many references to Dragon Quest. He views the world like an RPG, and in battle, when using magic or 'super' moves, he uses his imagination - whilst team mates stand around non the wiser and confused about what on earth he's going on about. In another game, that just wouldn't work, but in the world of Yakuza, I think it's a perfect fit. 

Not sure if I'll be playing it anytime soon, regrettably.

[Demitri_C]

Yakuza zero was great but bloody hell some of the shit on it was stupid like the karokee. My god talk about ridiculous 

[Ginko]

I'd love these games if:

a) They got rid of Quick Time Events – the worst thing to happen to gaming.

and;

b) Cutscenes didn't make up 90% of the damn game. I watched my girlfriend play Yakuza 6 a couple of months back and my GOD. I swear some of them went on for over twenty minutes.

I realise that would essentially make them completely different games, however, though it sounds like the shift to turn-based combat might be more my sort of thing.

Edited November 6, 2020 by Ginko

[hogso]

17 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

Yakuza zero was great but bloody hell some of the shit on it was stupid like the karokee. My god talk about ridiculous 

My favourite was Pocket Circuit (Scalextric). I spent so much in game money on those little cars, holy shit. Felt like a proper achievement when I beat the whole thing. 

Edited November 6, 2020 by hogso

[Wainy316]

On 05/11/2020 at 16:58, Demitri_C said:

Yakuza zero was great but bloody hell some of the shit on it was stupid like the karokee. My god talk about ridiculous 

Yeah but...Japan

[JoshVilla]

Currently playing Like A Dragon on PS5.

Anybody have any thoughts? This is actually my first Yakuza game and I'm really enjoying it. I love how detailed the world is, and the combat is surprisingly satisfying considering that I'm not the biggest fan of the turn based system.

Issue that I have is that I want to see everything and take my time with it, but I have the Nioh Remastered collection in the queue, which I'm really excited to play.