Topic: Yakuza series

[Spiteface]

I'm enjoying the gameplay of this (Yakuza 0), but there is a hell of a lot of needless cut scenes.

I completely and utterly agree.

I ended up going to bed a hell of a lot later than I should have done last night because the final chapter and ending went on and on... and on... and on... And they don't even make the credits skippable either.

I do regret missing out on these games beyond the first on PS2 now. Starting 6 tonight, and plan on getting Kiwami 2 when it's out.

[Bhazor]

Yakuza 0 is suddenly running like absolute dog shit for me. Going from a nice steady 130 odd frames per second down to 15. With five second freezes every minute or so.

Not a fan of that. Not a fan of that at all.

[Bhazor]

Just finished Yakuza 0. What a damn good game. Might be my favourite of the series at least until I get to Kiwami 2 or Yakuza 5.

[Mister Six]

Yakuza Kiwami is on sale (as is Yakuza Kiwami 2) on the PS4 Store for about a fiver. That's the first game remastered, right? I've bought it, so I hope so..!

[Spiteface]

Yakuza Kiwami is on sale (as is Yakuza Kiwami 2) on the PS4 Store for about a fiver. That's the first game remastered, right? I've bought it, so I hope so..!

It's more than a remaster. It's a remake. It's also awesome.

I've been hesitant to get 7/Like A Dragon mainly because of the shift to a turn-based JRPG putting me off. Anyone here playing it?

[Bazooka]

Nah gonna wait for a fall in price.

[C_Larence]

On chapter 10 of Yakuza 0, with almost 100 hours played. The only thing that I can foresee keeping me from getting 100% and the platinum trophy is the Mahjong challenges. Just cannot get my head around it, even with guides I’ve found online.

[Timothy]

Yakuza Kiwami is on sale (as is Yakuza Kiwami 2) on the PS4 Store for about a fiver. That's the first game remastered, right? I've bought it, so I hope so..!

If you are new to the series I would recommend to start with Yakuza 0. Its a prequel to the first Yakuza and its absolutely amazing. And that way you can play them in order.

[Mister Six]

Oh FFS, that better be on sale too then. Otherwise I'll just play in publication order (sort of).

[Spiteface]

It's nice to start with 0 if you can, but not vital. People like doing it because you get to do the saga in chronological order.

I will say, play 0 before Kiwami 2, at least. Reason being that they put stuff in Kiwami 2 that follows up on bits of 0. Nothing vital to the main story but it's really cool when you notice it.

[Consignia]

The only reason I'd say start with 0 is, like I said earlier, it's combines the best elements of the series without the continuity baggage. It's pretty standalone, even if it has tons of references to the chronologically later entries which are really inconsequential. Kiwami is a fine starting point, of course. It's just not as good as 0.

[letsgobrian]

It's more than a remaster. It's a remake. It's also awesome.

I've been hesitant to get 7/Like A Dragon mainly because of the shift to a turn-based JRPG putting me off. Anyone here playing it?

While it is turn based you are still going to be pressing square and triangle a lot. Most of the job skills work like a rush combo or a tiger drop in their timing (though more forgiving than some of the Tiger Drops in the series).

If you're going from Yakuza 6 to 7 the culture shock is a lot less than I imagine it would be going from one of the Kiwamis. Yakuza 6 had so many sequences where it was Kiryu and a bunch of NPCs working together, that making them controllable was the next logical step.

Rather than the turn based combat, the bigger issue might be the fact you'll likely have to grind at some point. The other games always had plenty of grinding opportunity, but never felt like it was compulsory.

Here, around chapter 12, you might find it a struggle to progress without some sort of grind, be it for money or levels in various jobs.

That being said, I've enjoyed it greatly so far. Similar to when Yakuza 4 introduced the new protagonists, it feels like the right time to change things up in the series again.

[Spiteface]

The only reason I'd say start with 0 is, like I said earlier, it's combines the best elements of the series without the continuity baggage. It's pretty standalone, even if it has tons of references to the chronologically later entries which are really inconsequential. Kiwami is a fine starting point, of course. It's just not as good as 0.

I honestly think either is a perfectly valid entry. 0 has a bit more variety to it, which helps. Part of that is having 2 cities where it all takes place. I absolutely love that they have got so much mileage out of that Kamurocho map (there's a good Jim Sterling vid where he talks about how Yakuza has one of the best open worlds around), but I think I actually prefer Sotenbori of all the various locations in the series.

(Makes note to self to visit Osaka properly in the event of actually being able to travel next year)

[The Crumb]

(Makes note to self to visit Osaka properly in the event of actually being able to travel next year)

Osaka is fantastic. Ugly as sin in the day, but an absolute riot of colour, noise, food and booze at night. And lovely takoyaki at all times and places.

[Spiteface]

I got to go to Japan back in march, right before everything properly went to shit. Escorted tour.

Sadly we only got an afternoon in Osaka, then one last meal in the evening as I was flying home in the morning. I stopped by Dotonbori and it felt like I was in a Yakuza game. There's even that giant crab.

I definitely intend to go again hopefully next year, would have booked something already were it not for the obvious. There were places I wanted more time in, or go off and do by myself but there was so much stuff laid on already as it was. Osaka is definitely high on my list.

To get back on topic, think I might take the plunge and get the new one. There's games I'm just not touching now, so might get a couple of quid for them.

[Thursday]

The problem with starting with 0 is a huge part of it is a kind of "Majima's origin story" So you're seeing what drove him to be the character you've known in 1-5, so it won't quite be the same. It's still effective though, I started with 0, but I did already have quite a lot of context for the series going in.

It does make it a bit awkward that the best way to play it though now in terms of story progression is Kiwami>Kiwami 2>3>4>5>0>The Majima Chapter in Kiwami 2>6>7.

And also to stress, it's not like you won't be able to follow the plot if you play things in a different order, it's just your own emotional investment in the characters will vary depending on how you've seen them progress over time.

[letsgobrian]

It does make it a bit awkward that the best way to play it though now in terms of story progression is Kiwami>Kiwami 2>3>4>5>0>The Majima Chapter in Kiwami 2>6>7.

This is how I've played them this year, and it just about works. Though they definitely wrote 0 assuming you had played 1-5, but then rewrote 1 & 2 as the Kiwamis assuming you had played 0.

And the culture shock of going from Kiwami 2's super loose combat mechanics to the Yakuza 3 remaster's constantly blocking enemies is harsh.

Have now finished Yakuza 7 and while it's definitely an effective new starting point for the franchise, I'm not sure it's any better of a jumping on point than 0 or Kiwami as it turns out the events of the game all hinge of the machinations of Daigo Dojima and Yakuza 5's Masaru Watase. Also Majima and Saejima are there. Plus Kiryu comes out of hiding to help out.

It ends up feeling like they wanted to wrap up everyone else's story after only really dealing with Kiryu, Haruka and Akiyama in Yakuza 6. But even then there are new characters, who presumably will be back next time, whose backgrounds are intertwined with the Jingweon Mafia and the events of Yakuza 2 & 6..

[Waking Life]

I played 0 and enjoyed it, but still haven't finished it. It's the time sink element that I find difficult - these are monsters and to play through 8 of them must be such a big time investment.

[Consignia]

Yeah, but if play one every couple of years or so as they were released, it's not that much of an investment. Binging the entire series would be mental bananas, though.

[letsgobrian]

I found 6 was the quickest to finish. They stripped away a lot of the time sinks from the game and it took me about 15 hours to get to the end of the story.

5 was the one that ate the most of my time, but that was due to completing each character's job quests and the constructing every weapon in the game. Really not necessary and resulted in making the final battles too easy.

[Thursday]

Finished Yakuza LAD then.

That penultimate fight is a shit, because it seems like the way to deal with it is either... be insanely levelled up or... just have the good fortune that he doesn't target Ichiban with that attack.

The difficulty spiking in the game is very bizarre, because other than that and that battle in Chapter 12, it's not much of a challenge. So it means You basically need to complete the battle arena it introduces just before you go there. The underground tunnel area doesn't give you anywhere near enough XP so that seems like a waste of time. I'd also finished the real estate stuff, which gives Ichiban a move that trivialises everything, and doing everyone's bond mission also helps.


Other than those issues, loved it. Although, I'm really not quite sure how I feel about them bringing back the past characters. I loved the idea of it being a fresh start, and it seems a bit of shame that it spoils that. Cant' pretend it wasn't a thrill to see them brought back in that way though and the story might have been missing something without them.

Still what a lovable cast of new characters, loved Ichiban.

[Bazooka]

Gonna grab it next time it's on PS Store sale.

[letsgobrian]

Finished Yakuza LAD then.

That penultimate fight is a shit, because it seems like the way to deal with it is either... be insanely levelled up or... just have the good fortune that he doesn't target Ichiban with that attack.

The difficulty spiking in the game is very bizarre, because other than that and that battle in Chapter 12, it's not much of a challenge. So it means You basically need to complete the battle arena it introduces just before you go there. The underground tunnel area doesn't give you anywhere near enough XP so that seems like a waste of time.

I'm told the difficulty spike is also a Dragon Quest homage.

On the sewer grinds, once you've got the monsters in the Sujidex, just run from every encounter apart from ones with Invested Vagabonds (who you will need to use gun attacks on to avoid having them run away). Those will give a lot of XP, especially in the second sewer.

The post-game Final Dungeon doesn't do as much for levelling as those Invested Vagabonds, but you will get millions of yen faster than the Company Management once you get the hang of it.

I started a new game plus at Hard and it definitely helps with levelling jobs, but I might have to restart a normal game to do the Final Final Dungeon, as I really don't want to do that dungeon against enemies with boosted damage and HP. Currently I'm back in the final chapter and that second sewer at Hard has some monsters who can one shot 90th level / 50th job level characters.

[Mister Six]

Started playing Kiwami 1 on Friday night and have been properly sucked into it, to the mild annoyance of Mrs Six. Now on chapter 4, having just done the irritating fetch quest for the sick dog[1] and tooled around doing random side missions for people.[2]

Absolutely loving it. I like how the protagonist, while being a bit of a frowny miserable bastard, isn't a horrible cunt like so many Rockstar protags (who often do awful things to advance the plot, even if they are all right elsewhere in the game), and how the side missions mostly involve being a genuinely decent bloke, helping people out, rather than robbing banks or whatever. He's also kind of vulnerable in a really fun way sometimes, like when you go to the porno store and ask for titles, and he stutters his way through the request.

The combat is good fun (not looking forward to more basic and punishing combat when I get to the remaster of Yakuza 3) although the longer fights can be a bit of a chore, like the one against the horrible bald bloke at the funeral.

I also like the bonkers tonal shifts - the way it's all super-serious gang politics shit until you step off the main story, and then you're being attacked by that pirate cunt who's disguised himself as a giant traffic cone, or swapping softcore porn Pokémon cards with children.

Also enjoying the detail on the map. Doesn't bother me that it's so petite, since there's so much to see and do. Would much prefer games with this level of detail than GTA V-style vast spaces with not that much going on. I even like the ridiculous product placement.

Anyway, this is great. God knows when I'll actually catch up with the series though. Probably by the time the first PS5 game arrives.

1.	So would that be a reverse fetch quest?
2.	Are they available for the whole game, or will they disappear if I progress the plot too much?

[Osmium]

^I'm pretty sure in Kiwami you don't have to worry about missing the side missions. The game will warn you when you are about to go beyond the point of no return and let you finish up whatever you want to do in Kamurocho. Plus there is a mode unlocked when you complete the games in the series that lets you kick about in the city and do side missions, mini games etc. without the story missions, letting you chose to carry over your save data or not.

Back on the PS2, the side missions were entirely missable. There were no map markers indicating them so it was a case of using a guide or scouring the city at every break in the story to discover them. It's something they streamlined as the series went on. You won't fail or leave them incomplete in the games now if you don't find or finish them by a specific chapter of the game.

[Mister Six]

Cheers! What does it mean when my controller vibrates a single time as I wander about? Sometimes I also hear a gong-type noise, just once. I'm not using any items like the locker-key finder...

[Osmium]

I'm not certain but the vibration might mean you are near a key.  I can't remember if they are all on the ground or if there are some you have to enter first person view to find. The key finder adds a pulsating sound that indicates how close you are. The gong sound happens when your destination marker becomes visible on the mini map or something like that. I remember being puzzled about why it kept happening as I ran about.

[bgmnts]

Okay I've just hit the point where I've realised video games are WAY too fucking big and crammed full of shit and it burns me out.*

Is Yakuza actually worth it, in terms of unique story and side missions? I put a lot of faith in Japan to give me good telly and video games so will Yakuza reward me with batshit insanity and enough varied 'content' to keep me stimulated instead of zoning out and it feeling like a chore? I have 0 and the Kiwamis here so let me know.

* except for Divinity Original Sin 2.

[Thursday]

Kind of sounds like you'll find it too long, but I do find the games entertaining even though I'm bored of Western open world games.

[Timothy]

Cheers! What does it mean when my controller vibrates a single time as I wander about? Sometimes I also hear a gong-type noise, just once. I'm not using any items like the locker-key finder...

That means you are near one of the keys!

And don't worry about the substories in Kiwami. Non of them are missable until the point of no return. The game tells you when this happens.

Okay I've just hit the point where I've realised video games are WAY too fucking big and crammed full of shit and it burns me out.*

Is Yakuza actually worth it, in terms of unique story and side missions? I put a lot of faith in Japan to give me good telly and video games so will Yakuza reward me with batshit insanity and enough varied 'content' to keep me stimulated instead of zoning out and it feeling like a chore? I have 0 and the Kiwamis here so let me know.

* except for Divinity Original Sin 2.

If you just follow the main story you can finish the game in around 15 hours. But the substories are absolutely worth it and the best part of the game is just walking around, helping people out and playing minigames.