Yakuza/Like A Dragon/Judgement Thread Of There's A New Game Couple Of Months

[nachobro]

Nice, hadn't had time to get to 6 but maybe now I'll just wait and play them in the proper order

[Purrp Skirrp]

Never played a Yakuza game, what's the consensus on Yakuza Ishin?

Is there a likelihood now it'll be released stateside or is it too weeb for the West?

How much does Ghosts of Tsushima have to sell for Sega to think it's worth localizing?

[kingv]

I would take dead souls too tbh. I’d play Yakuza anything

[Svejk]

Started Yakuza 0 last night... wtf is the deal with controls for Space Harrier?!?  Absolutely broken.  Is there a setting to change of sort?  Used the d pad and analog... analog was inverted but d-pad wasn't?
The constant defaulting to the center shit, and even at certain times.. the controller wouldn't even respond! 

Of course it was practically 4am, so who knows... gonna try it again tonight, but it felt like i was literally taking crazy pills.. 

Otherwise, so far so good.  The drama and story has been good so far and the combat is a ton of fun.

[daycru]

Nice, hadn't had time to get to 6 but maybe now I'll just wait and play them in the proper order

The Yakuza saga is a hell of a roller coaster, and has my strongest recommendation. 0 is the best game in the series so you're starting on top.

[kingv]

I feel like playing them all in order or release order is probably best if you can.

 I played 0,1, and now 6. I’m pretty much fine in 6, but there are definitely one or two characters that I don’t recognize but the game clearly thinks I should.

0 has references to later games too, that you won’t pick up on if you play it first. However, I also think that zero raises the stakes somewhat in Yakuza 1 because it fleshes out some of the main side characters and certain story arcs hit harder as a result.

I plan to finish 6 before playing the others, but sort of wish I had all of the remasters available now, instead.

[kingv]

It’s definitely better than god of war...

I didn’t really like the new engine at first, coming from the 60 FPS engine it felt like a slideshow. No that I’m at about chapter 7, I see the upside of the new engine more but I’m still not sure I prefer it. The combat still feels slightly simplified to me, especially because there’s just one style.

Maybe there is a move or two that open up that really changes things, but I haven’t found it yet. I sort of preferred the old heat actions to the new setup. There are elements of all the styles in Yakuza 6, but they are sort of mixed together. I like in Yakuza 0 or Kiwami, how it was like “oh you want to wreck shop with weapons, switch to beast instead of “enter heat mode and then sort of get the beast style”.

[bork]

Please be true!

https://twitter.com/AboveUp/status/1005985003489189888

[bork]

YES

[kingv]

Definitely my announcement of the show

[paprikastaude]

Now all that's left on current gen... Ishin 

[Sho Nuff]

YES YES YES YES YES

[kingv]

Now all that's left on current gen... Ishin 

How many other games are there NOT on American PS4 at this point? Other than Ishin, there’s dead souls and Kenzan, and that’s pretty much it,
Right?

[eleuin]

https://twitter.com/l_unaSy/status/1006712187224637440

[kingv]

So I just finished this up, and am watching the ending credits at the moment.

Overall, it’s a good, even excellent game, but I’m sort of disappointed all the same.

I enjoyed the enhancements of the new engine, but you can really tell that on some level there was a lot of content developed on the old engine that was never brought over to the new one. Like, there’s a lot more reuse of heat actions in 6 than 0 or Kiwami. A lot more environmental objects have unique animations in 0 then 6.

It also feels like there are less sub stories than in the older games. I’m guessing this is also because of the new engine.

I also feel like the combat is sort of dumbed down compared to zero and Kiwami. Even after almost completely maxing everything out. It’s still good... and in some ways it’s more straightforward. Occasionally, in Kiwami or zero you can run into an enemy where it’s not clear how you should approach them. Like I found high level dancing Majima freaking hard as shit in Kiwami. Nothing in 6 is really like that.

I feel like the next game on this engine will be a lot better.

[Sho Nuff]

So I just finished this up, and am watching the ending credits at the moment.

Overall, it’s a good, even excellent game, but I’m sort of disappointed all the same.

I enjoyed the enhancements of the new engine, but you can really tell that on some level there was a lot of content developed on the old engine that was never brought over to the new one. Like, there’s a lot more reuse of heat actions in 6 than 0 or Kiwami. A lot more environmental objects have unique animations in 0 then 6.

It also feels like there are less sub stories than in the older games. I’m guessing this is also because of the new engine.

I also feel like the combat is sort of dumbed down compared to zero and Kiwami. Even after almost completely maxing everything out. It’s still good... and in some ways it’s more straightforward. Occasionally, in Kiwami or zero you can run into an enemy where it’s not clear how you should approach them. Like I found high level dancing Majima freaking hard as shit in Kiwami. Nothing in 6 is really like that.

I feel like the next game on this engine will be a lot better.

Full agreement on this. Always happens when you do the new engine thing, you've got the other team going balls out on the old engine which they've shipped a billion games with and you're struggling to get to parity on the new one. It sucks a lot.

[kingv]

So, I was rewatching the ending and it makes me curious

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I wonder how they are going to set up Yakuza 7. I feel like there will definitely be one, as it seems insane to make the dragon engine and only use it for one game, but not so sure who it will follow.

I really thought they were setting up Yuta to be the heir apparent to Kiryu, but at the end of the game I’m not so sure.

There is also the possibility that they just bring back kiryu again and his ”cover” gets blown halfway through the game.

[close]

[kingv]

I liked Nagumo too.

That guy kind of looks like Colin Karpernick.

No idea what they were saying in the video (probably kiryu says “Nani?!”) but he kind of looks like a Goro Majima type.

Interesting change because in a lot of ways Kiryu is sort of a blank slate of a character. He’s heroic in sort of an unbelievable way. He’s a criminal, but honorable and good and never really does the wrong thing, etc.

[TVC15]

I don’t like Yakuza 6. It just hasn’t grabbed me. It’s boring.

[kingv]

I can see that.

I feel like it has some pretty good parts, but overall it’s a pretty big step back from Yakuza 0 or even Kiwami I’m a lot of ways apart from the new engine physics.

I played some of the Hokuto No Ken game at a friends house, and it feels sort of ... low budget compared to Yakuza. Like the combat seemed really iffy. I’m not sure if it’s because I can’t read any Japanese so I just don’t really understand the nuances or if it just IS a lower budget game.

I’ll still get it though.

[HardcoreRetro]

Going for the platinum trophy in 6. Game don't seem to have the ammount of content as the other games.

Dreading the substory stuff with the hostess crap. That minigame has never been fun to me. Having Paul Lim for the darts thing is cool though. (Guy that threw the first 9-darter on tv)

[kingv]

I agree six seems lighter in content. It really felt like there are a lot less side stories.

Pretty sure it took less time to beat in general than 0 or Kiwami for
me.

[MMaRsu]

So Yakuza 0 comes out today for pc. Just like 5 hours till it unlocks.

Even though I thought the game was kinda boring on PS4 I've already purchased it for Steam so I can try again.

[paprikastaude]

 

[Himu]

Gross

[bork]

LOL, and LOL harder if it ends up being a port-up from PS3 instead of PS4.

Even though it's cheap, I think I'm gonna pass on this port unless it runs well on the GPD WIN 2.

[MMaRsu]

Just hook up a controller

[bork]

https://twitter.com/CheapyD/status/1024723628892540930

[thisismyusername]

Surprise, Surprise. A first-time Japanese IP is a shit port. What's new?

(Though really: Didn't Sega Europe which has a shit ton of PC companies port this? )

[BisMarckie]

Yakuza PC port sucks?
I was looking to get into the series and it is so cheap


Can't wait until people find out that the PC version of Shenmue is running nullDC or some other old ass Dreamcast emulator code 

[Rufus]

Eh, so long as they fix it...

[kingv]

I thought those prices were weirdly low on Yakuza 0.

Probably best to wait on Shenmue Pc ports too.

[paprikastaude]

tbf some people whining about lost saves just didn't know there's no auto save 

[Himu]

tbf some people whining about lost saves just didn't know there's no auto save 

 
Pc spoiled race

[bork]

Yakuza 6 will be out on PC by the end of the year.  Maybe that will be a better port.   

Saw on Reddit that Yakuza 0 runs at 30-35 FPS on the GPD WIN 2 at 540P with (mostly) low settings on.  That seems pretty playable.  If they get the port patched up I'll probably pick it up for this.

[kingv]

PC gamer review actually said the port was pretty good ...

Yakuza 6 would be pretty awesome at 60 FPS.

[bork]

Love how 'metal' the logo is! 

[kingv]

Definitely playing this even though I was not all that impressed with it when I played 30 mins or so of a friends Japanese copy. It felt really low rent compared to Yakuza. Like sort of Platinums TMNT level production values.

[Rufus]

[kingv]

Maybe it’s just my “I been playing games for a long time and they use to look like shit”... but I’m really struggling on telling the difference, even side by side in that video.

Like we have truly hit diminishing returns or something.

[Rufus]

Well, Youtube compression plays its part of course, but you're not wrong. It's what happens when you target 1080p 60Hz on old hardware like the standard PS4. You have to get the magnifying glass out to see the differences.

I also feel advances in lighting and shadows are not as apparent to people as increased polycounts and resolutions are/were.

[paprikastaude]

Love how 'metal' the logo is! 
(Image removed from quote.)

pretty bad compared to the OG - one can only hope it's still on the reversible.

[kingv]

Well, Youtube compression plays its part of course, but you're not wrong. It's what happens when you target 1080p 60Hz on old hardware like the standard PS4. You have to get the magnifying glass out to see the differences.

I also feel advances in lighting and shadows are not as apparent to people as increased polycounts and resolutions are/were.

I definitely can almost never tell the difference in shadow quality or ambient occlusion unless they go from “generally some kind of shape” to “completely gone” or “generic round blob”.

[bork]

Both are pretty meh tbh.

[Bebpo]

Got Yakuza 3 PS4 since that's where I left off on the mainline series and I've always wanted to go back and catch up on 3/4/5/6/0. Played the first few hours.

Having not played one of these in a few years (last was the PS4 Samurai one), it's really fun and gripping and hard to put down. Combat definitely feels a bit dated in 3 and while the game looks nice at 60fps and sharp 1080p the sharpness kinda lets you see the lower resolution textures in cutscenes for people's faces and the cities look a little low poly and lacking lighting. It's good enough and like I said the game is gripping so finally gonna play through this one (story seems interesting so far), but it also gets me excited for playing one of the newer ones with improved graphics down the line.

Like that Yakuza 0 video above looks way better than 3 PS4 and that's not even on the new 6/2remake engine.

[Bebpo]

The golf in Y3 is kusoge levels of bad 
Fishing doesn’t seem all that great either but haven’t gotten the hang of it yet.
Some dude just told me to run a cabaret club and gave me $1,000 to go hire women to work there.
Taking care of bullying problems at school as DAD.KIRYU

I know this is all like 1,000 years ago for people caught up with the series, but still fun!

[bork]

Picked up Yakuza 0 for PC from Fanatical on sale for $15. 

Been interesting in seeing how it runs on portables.  Found a video of it running on the GPD Win 2 at 960x544 and 30+ FPS. It's Yakuza 0 Vita edition!




Needs a Switch port.

[Bebpo]

Ok, darts in RGG3 is terrible
And the Cabaret mini-game thing is weird because who wants to spend the time putting on make up on women and accessories and shit. Way too much effort to make the place profitable. Also more than a bit creepy pimping out women 
But characters are teaching me Okinawa-ben (accent) which is pretty cool, so thumbs up.

[Bebpo]

I like the Hawaiian shirts everywhere. Definitely feels like a different part of Japan then you normally see.

But man, the beginning of this game is so slow. How many orphanage kid stories do I need to solve to get to the actual Yakuza plot? Opening with a big moment far in the future and jumping back to orphanage quests - the game is pretty evil. The life sim aspect is still great though even if most of the mini-games are terrible.

[Himu]

Okinawa part is the best part of the game. The rest is old, boring, tired yakuza. Seeing Kiryu interact with the kids and the Okinawa setting in general were a fresh breath of air for the series. Of course they had to rehash what had came before and made a non sensical story surrounding the orphanage. Game would have been better if it were just in Okinawa. My opinion.

Fuck Kamurocho past Yakuza 2 and fuck it hard. Let’s take the same location and put it in 7 games with the same places and the same stores and the same same same same. Kamudogshit.

[kingv]

Platinum tmnt?

It’s the one platinum game I think out and out is a bad game.

I could see that it might be fun if you have 4 people co-op going... but other
Than that I thought it was pretty bad.


I even like Korra  better.

[Bebpo]

About to head to Kamurocho in RGG3, story finally caught up to the intro.
I'm enjoying the story a lot and I like the new Okinawan bro Rikiya. It's good to be back in a mainline Yakuza/RGG story with the whole continuity and all that. Barely remember 1/2 though at this point.

Bosses seem to have way more health and be more bullshit than I remember but I haven't played a traditional Yakuza/RGG in like 10 years. Now I remember to stock up with lots of items.

The fishing is like the hardest fishing mini-game I've played in any rpg. I've tried a bunch of times and never been able to catch a fish. Fuck this minigame 
Game definitely feels dated in a lot of ways. Compared to the last one I played, the PS4 Samurai one which was post RGG5, there's a lot that feels a step back in combat, upgrades, city, UI, etc...it's still really playable but feels kinda like playing SoTC remake where it's definitely an older game. Guessing the full remake of RGG1 & RGG2 play a lot better.

Okinawa part is the best part of the game. The rest is old, boring, tired yakuza. Seeing Kiryu interact with the kids and the Okinawa setting in general were a fresh breath of air for the series. Of course they had to rehash what had came before and made a non sensical story surrounding the orphanage. Game would have been better if it were just in Okinawa. My opinion.

Fuck Kamurocho past Yakuza 2 and fuck it hard. Let’s take the same location and put it in 7 games with the same places and the same stores and the same same same same. Kamudogshit.

I like Okinawa but the city seems pretty tiny compared to my memory of Osaka and Kamurocho. Is there more than just the 1 map?

The kid stuff is fine when it's voiced cutscenes moving the story, when it's not it feels like forced sidequests for the kids to move the plot along and get back to the story. Kinda has pacing issues.

[bork]

[Himu]

Yeah bebpo, Okinawa is tiny and it’s a damn travesty.

Tbh I think 0 is a much better Yak game to get back into the series with than 3. 0 might be the best overall game that isnt 2. The only thing that puts 2 over 0 though is its story and Ryuji. Which are still engrossing and fantastic. 0 is also a game that for the first time since 2 manages to make Kamurocho refreshing since it’s in the 80’s.

[Bebpo]

Man, the pacing in Y3 is super fucking bad. I'm about to leave to Kamurocho and Kiryu is like "I'm going to leave first thing in the morning to sneak away before anyone notices"

Then in the morning it's like oh hey a dog, dog ran away, let's go search for the dog running around Okinawa map again, oh no dog is hungry, go buy dog food, oh no dog wants to play, go buy a toy, ok back to orphanage, oh hey another kid story thing going on, let's go investigate...

w.t.f.

I'm near dropping the game at this point. I don't mind the kid stories but they are killing the pacing hard and it's like every time there is plot movement you have to play through a bunch of kid filler quests to advance. It's really getting tedious.

Plus I hate the boss fights how they block fucking everything and then counter with a combo messing you up so you have to basically hang back and wait for them to attack, dodge around and then get a few hits in and repeat.

[Himu]

Yak 3 was when the series got long in the tooth. Sell it and bask in the gloriousness that is 0.

Skip 3 and play 0 or wait for Yak 4 port.  Or relive the the of Yak 2 and get Kiwami 2.

[Bebpo]

Yeah, those are all good options.

[Himu]

Imo go for something new.

Get 0.

It’s incredible and RGG 1/2 quality.

[paprikastaude]

3 takes way too long to get the point across in the beginning, but then it was still worth it for the overall story which I felt was one of the best. 4 gets much quicker into the action and has the biggest Kamurocho to explore, but the story was just shit. 0 was basically goty17, everything from gameplay and story and sidecontent comes together perfectly.

[Bebpo]

Yeah, one reason I don’t want to drop 3 is the story with the resort & army base seems pretty interesting. Once you get to Kamurocho does it pick up? I’m like 6 hours in.

I’ll probably play 0 next then 4/5/6