Yakuza series

[Mister Six]

Holy shit this game is so different to the first. Jarring.

You mean K1 vs 0? Or K2 vs K1?

[bgmnts]

K1 vs K2.


0 and K1 felt similar but 2 is a different beast. The layout, the UI, the graphics, the physics etc

[Mister Six]

Yeah, it's disorienting at first but I found myself adapting pretty quickly. And then being disoriented again in the other direction - but even more so - when I moved on to Yakuza 3.

[Thursday]

It's a little unfortunate really Yakuza 1 and 2 were PS2 games, so it made sense to remake them both. 3 is a transitional PS3 game it's still mid-evolution from PS2 style. By 4 it's nearly there, and 5 is pretty much on par with 5/Kiwami 1, but it leaves 3 in this comfortable middle-ground where it feels rough, but not rough enough to justify a remake. And it's made extra jarring by Kiwami 2 being in the shiny new dragon engine.

[Pink Gregory]

best thing about the dragon engine is bowling down a group of bastards with just the standard throw.

If you're near the Soten river you can dunk them in without it being a heat move as well, ace

[bgmnts]

Oh so they remade this game in the new engine? I think I like it just takes getting used to. The lack of different styles is odd but ho hum.

[bgmnts]

Ha is that cute little Daigo Dojima with the bowtie and suspenders from 0 all grown  up? Amazing!

[Mister Six]

best thing about the dragon engine is bowling down a group of bastards with just the standard throw.

If you're near the Soten river you can dunk them in without it being a heat move as well, ace

Oh, and also you should definitely do the "throw someone off the bridge" heat move on the eastern side of the eastern bridge. It's great.

Oh so they remade this game in the new engine? I think I like it just takes getting used to. The lack of different styles is odd but ho hum.

Kiwami 1 and 2 were both remakes in new engines. IIRC, the engine progression goes something like this:

PS2 engine
Yakuza 1, 2005
Yakuza 2, 2006

PS3 engine
Yakuza Kenzan (first samurai game), 2008
Yakuza 3, 2009
Yakuza 4, 2011
Yakuza: Dead Souls (zombie game), 2011

Upgraded PS3 engine
Yakuza 5, 2012
Yakuza Ishin (second samurai game), 2014
Yakuza 0, 2015
Yakuza Kiwami 1, 2016
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, 2018

Dragon Engine
Yakuza 6, 2016
Yakuza Kiwami 2, 2018
Judgment, 2019
Yakuza 7 (aka Like A Dragon), 2020
Lost Judgment, 2021
Yakuza 8, eventually

Plus the two Yakuza: Black Panther games that were made in a PSP-only engine that used static, Resident Evil-style backgrounds. They came out in 2010 and 2012.

The Judgment games bring back the style switching.

[The Crumb]

best thing about the dragon engine is bowling down a group of bastards with just the standard throw.

If you're near the Soten river you can dunk them in without it being a heat move as well, ace

For me it's lobbing people through the window of a Poppo mart.

[Pink Gregory]

For me it's lobbing people through the window of a Poppo mart.

and microwaving their heads

wow, I'd forgotten about walking in and out of shops with no loading

[bgmnts]

Yeah won't lie popped a boney when i walked into an eatery. Just opened the door bold as brass and went inside.

Gorgeous game.

[Mister Six]

I did kind of miss the cartooniness of the 0/Kiwami 1 engine, though. And 0/5 Kiryu is peak Kiryu. Dragon Engine Kiryu's eyes are too small and squinty. He looks like a guy doing Kiryu cosplay.

[Pink Gregory]

he almost looks too young, that face hasn't done a ten stretch. I do remember him looking much more Kiryu-like in K2, maybe he's better in motion

[bgmnts]

How old is Kiryu when he's doing porridge? He's not that far into his 30s in 2 is he?

[Pink Gregory]

How old is Kiryu when he's doing porridge? He's not that far into his 30s in 2 is he?

He's 20 in Y0, Y1 starts in 1995 I think? I think he's into his late 30s by the time he gets out, and then Y2 is only one year later.

[bgmnts]

Ah well yeah he is way too gorgeous then to be fair. Not a wrinkle on him. Maybe he has an incredible skincare routine, that would be a great characteristic.

[Pink Gregory]

Just eats lots of oily fish, doesn't drink to excess (in cutscenes), exercises, takes all his blows to the back of the head.

Plus his birth parents may have also been gorgeous man/woman mountains.

[Mister Six]

Probably keeps his telomeres from collapsing by sheer force of will.

TBF the only people who actually age in the Yakuza universe are Haruka and Pocket Circuit Fighter.

Oh, and Ryuji and Daigo, with their little appearances in 0.

[Pink Gregory]

Daigo grows a craig david beard, does that count?

[Consignia]

Plus the two Yakuza: Black Panther games that were made in a PSP-only engine that used static, Resident Evil-style backgrounds. They came out in 2010 and 2012.

I didn't think the PSP games were static backgrounds, but just watched a game play video and there it was. I was just mis-remembering with the fights, which did have fully 3d gameplay but low detail because PSP.

Wished I'd have given them ago back in the day. Don't think I'd have the patience these days.

[Mister Six]

Apparently they suffered from appalling (and in #2 only partial) translation. A fan re-translation of 2 is out now, and they're working on 1. I might give it a crack on an emulator once that's out.

[Consignia]

Don't think they were ever officially translated. But the bigger the factor for me would how slow the loading times are. Just watching some of the videos on youtube; I can see how long the transitions are. I don't think I could even go back to the PS2 ones these days; I remember triggering loading screens just going into the Champion's District for a drink. Painful.

[Mister Six]

Having way too much fun being a teenage pop idol. Not sure if they're emphasising the toxic aspects of the industry enough, but I've mostly been doing the side missions rather than the main storyline, so we'll see where that goes.

Haruka is way too naive/positive, though, given what she's seen/been through. Put that down to the powerful influence of the Dad of Dojima, I guess.

[Pink Gregory]

So I've been doing a little thought experiment - cast a Yakuza fighting game.  8 chaps, bosses, archetypes etc.

Kazuma Kiryu : basically a Ryu, strong all round, throws, bicycle smash, Dragon King Essence, etc

Goro Majima : Fast and hard, bat and dagger stances, has that knife kicking thing he can do in 0.

Shigeru Nakahara (Yakuza 3) : Big, slow, hard to move, bull throwing rage.

Shun Akiyama (Yakuza 4/5) - Rushdown, all kicks and leaps, generates armour by stuffing his pockets with cash

Taiga Saejima (Yakuza 4/5) - Grappler, rebound heat moves, smashes rocks I guess.

Kaoru Sayama (Yakuza 2) - my way of getting Sayama, Date and Tanimura into one; essence of arresting, counters, gun attacks, kicks in the head.

Akira Nishikiyama (Yakuza/Yakuza 0) : Ken to Kiryu's Ryu, couldn't think of much else.

Bosses

Futoshi Shimano (Yakuza) - Big heavy bastard, hard to stun, breaks through stuff with sheer size and force.

Ryuji Goda (Yakuza 2) - Sword, basically.

Shintaro/Joji Kazama (Yakuza/Yakuza 3) - Guns, basically.

Daisuke Kuze (Yakuza 0) - Boxer, ducking and weaving, comebacks.

Fight Sotaro Komaki in training mode.

[Pink Gregory]

Haven't included Ichiban or anyone from 5, 6 or Like a Dragon, that's for the future

[Consignia]

You'd certainly need a few Judgement characters in there. Also Haruka as an alternative model for Kiryu. I like to think some of his moves rubbed off on her.

[Pink Gregory]

You'd certainly need a few Judgement characters in there. Also Haruka as an alternative model for Kiryu. I like to think some of his moves rubbed off on her.

That terrifying head swap of Kiryu and Haruka is the alt costume

or she rallies all the kids from Morning Glory like the Wonderful 101

[Mister Six]

I'm shit at fighting games, so these descriptions might sound like bollocks, but let's get a a few more women in there:

Hana (Yazkua 4/5): tank, with charging attacks that turn into powerful throws. Slow to pick up steam, but once she gets momentum, she's unstoppable. Can get temporary buffs by scoffing bento boxes.

Ms Tatsu (Yakuza 0): hardy grappler with brutal slams and violent attacks.

Nair (Yakuza 4): swift, evasive fighter who uses counters and dodges to take down even the hardiest opponents.

And one more bloke:

Lao Gui (Yakuza 0): fast aerial/ranged fighter, like Vega from SFII but with those nasty little spikes he likes to throw around. Available in original Frankenstein lad skin and cool Chinese edition skin.

[Consignia]

Surely for a super secret boss as well, we need the Amon clan.

[Mister Six]

Oh, and per one of the series' creators, Kiryu doesn't hit women (Haruka in Yakuza 1 apparently an exception) so as a framing device, you can have Minamida simulating all of this in his virtual fighter games. And include him as an oddball ranged fighter with weird technological tricks like a bomb that acts as a mini black hole or something.

Also on the weird side of things:

Yama-oroshi (Yakuza 5): he's a giant bear. What's to say? Absurdly powerful with grab attacks and swipes, but very slow.

Tendo (Yakzua 5): is he possessed by mountain gods? Whatever the explanation, he can fly and toss fireballs around like there's no tomorrow.