Chapter 2: The Real Estate Broker in the Shadows - Yakuza ...
Yakuza 0 - Yakuza Wiki
yakuza 0 kiryu substories chapter 2
yakuza 0 kiryu substories chapter 2 - win
Yakuza 0 reminded me what craving for a chance to play a game feels like
You guys remember that feeling when we were kids and we couldn't wait to get back home from school to play that game on our SNES/Gameboy? How excited we used to be just to get home to play those games? Until recently, it felt like a lifetime has passed since I've had those same butterflies in my stomach to play a game. Now I'm a responsible adult with a fulltime job, a more than capable rig and unlimited money to buy whatever games I want (and yet I still choose to be a patientgamer- go figure!) So you'll understand when I say, I don't daydream about what I'd do in X game when I get to play today like I used to back when I was a kid. Yakuza 0 changed that. What is Yakuza 0 you ask? I'm glad you asked. Yakuza 0 is like the Japanese Grand Theft Auto (GTA has got nothing on Yakuza though as Yakuza is wayyy more story-rich and oozing with substance than GTA has ever managed to, and that's coming from someone who has played all of 3D GTAs but never a Yakuza game before). Yakuza 0 is ALSO a game that can throw you off real good if you go into it blind - yet the trick IS actually to go in blind, especially if you haven't played any of the other games in the series. The reason behind it is two-pronged. First up, that the "0" in the game's name is not there to make for a stylish title (that's merely a welcome side-effect I believe) but it's because this game is a prequel to the entire Yakuza series. Two, because it is claimed as one of THE best stories in the entire series, if not of all time among other non-Yakuza games as well. As someone who had never played a single Yakuza game before, I was advised by many to go in blind. And I'm glad I did. So the story starts off real slow and you get a really strong, silent type yet boring protagonist whose story you couldn't give two shits about. But then, around chapter 3, a secondary protagonist is introduced (!!) and it completely turns things around. I started having fun because this new guy was written extremely well and his life was much more interesting, his missions were much more interesting, his personality was much more interesting, his fighting style was much more interesting and even his side-stories were much more interesting. So we spent two missions together when something big happens and I'm back to using the first protagonist. That's not to say that the first protagonist stays boring forever; as his story progresses, he starts to grow on you too but he's essentially a very different personality than the other one. After a while of this back and forth, I started seeing the pattern. You get each protagonist for two missions in a row and you play the missions with them. They're completely unaware of each-other's existence, just like Grand Theft Auto 4 and it's DLCs, but they have their stories panning out parallel to each-other's in a shared world. And yet, once again, like GTA 4 and it's DLCs, the events surrounding them unfold in such a way that these protagonists are eventually set on an inevitable collision course which leaves the player guessing as to which chapter they're finally going to cross paths with each-other (and you get to discover awesome stuff when you deliberately try to make them meet by visting the places frequented by the other protagonist while controlling one, as in the game acknowledges it and rewards you with a little something instead of there being just nothing just because they don't want you breaking the game's rules). As for progression, look, I'll be honest- Yakuza 0's progression mechanics are plot devices. Which is to be expected from a game tagged with "Story-Rich" keywords. But, boy, do the developers use those plot devices beautifully and skillfully! After just a couple chapters in the game's story, you get sucked in for a wild ride. I found myself to be at the edge of my seat everytime the cutscenes played. And the way the dialogues kinda work in this game, it reminded me of Fallout New Vegas so much. FNV was also old and clunky with dialogue boxes while being a veteran at progressing the game with just stories despite that handicap. And I'm amazed at how similar Yakuza 0 is to FNV in that regard. Yes, both are hard to get into because of their clunkiness but once you do, you'd be enamoured, biting your nails for the next grand revelation in the overarching story while enjoying the thoughtfully written side stories simultaneously. As a result, the series has earned the title of "Japanese underworld soap opera" among fans. However, the game definitely isn't without it's drawbacks. And, boy, there are many. For a game made in 2015, the UI/UX feels garish and clunky that's on par with 2010's Fallout New Vegas. Its definitely better than New Vegas, but only marginally so in that department. All in all, even if I look past the UI, the UX is just... unacceptably bad. Then come the graphics which are a mixed bag because of how inconsistent they are throughout the game. For the first 6-7 hours, I was playing the game with all graphics settings cranked to high. Despite having a rig good enough to play 2019 titles on 1080p @ 60+ FPS, I was getting sub-optimal performance with everything looking blurry that was a blatant eyesore. It was only after a few google searches that I realized that I was supposed to turn off the "Render Scaling" option in the graphics settings to get rid of those blurry visuals. However, that didn't solve the low-FPS issue so after a few more google searches, I was forced to change the SSAA setting to 4x from 8x and that's when I gained 7-10 extra FPS to make the gameplay smoother and more enjoyable. That's not the end of it though because even the scripted cutscenes aren't consistent as to the graphics. For the main story, you have real-time cutscenes with voice and animation, pre-rendered high quality cutscenes with voice and animation and comic-strip style cutscenes with only voice. For substories, you have real-time cutscenes with just animation and text-boxes but no voice. This inconsistency can be quite unsettling at first, especially considering the fact that this is a modern AAA game we're talking about but after a while, you'll get used to it. Next up, tutorials for the numerous mechanics this game sports. It was, for me, quite unexpected of Sega to push this game out with an astounding lack of proper tutorials. There's a lot of stuff I never used in-game because there wasn't any explanation for whether they existed, what they existed for and/or why I should use them. While that is fine for non-essential mechanics, it's absolutely unacceptable for core mechanics. For instance, the game doesn't ever tell you how to save. Yes, that is true. I had to google how to save the game. Spoilers- you go to one of the many public telephones in the game and activate them to save the game. Another example- I never knew there was a sprint option in the game until I was 45 hours in because the game neither explains it, nor mentions it in the "Controls" menu where all key inputs for different mechanics must be listed. I got suspicious because there were some vague references to "normal run and sprint" in a non-essential mechanic (Completion Points Gift shop menu). I suspect there's still a lot more about this game I still don't understand. I certainly don't know where to restock ammo for Kiryu because the game gave me weapons to use as Kiryu but has never pointed me to a store where I can buy ammo as Kiryu. Another glaring issue with this game is that most of the time, you can't walk 10 feet in either direction without stumbling across a side-story cutscene or street punks looking to prove their mettle surrounding you to get you to kick their asses which just becomes really annoying after past a certain point. More often than not, I found myself in situations where I had to drop the game and go take care of some stuff so I tried to save the game via a telephone booth just around the corner but I took two steps in that direction and a lengthy side-story cutscene started playing, which, if I don't watch, I won't be able to rewatch like I can do with the main campaign cutscenes from the main menu afterwards. Once the cutscene ended, I walked maybe 3 feet before a large group of punks insisted on getting their asses handed to em by me. Great, that's another 10 minutes. By the time I finish with them and get to the telephone booth, I find a boss-level enemy camping there who is waiting for me to show up so he can rob me by challenging me to yet another fight and then defeat me. Obviously, I don't have that much time to waste so I turn around and start walking to another one of the phonebooths and the entire cycle starts again. It's infuriating how much inconvenience a simple save can cause you just because the devs tried to be creative instead of giving you the option to save from the "Escape" menu. To top it all off, there are absolutely no autosaves in this game either so if the game crashes or you have to leave the game while you're in the middle of a 90 minute cutscene, too bad because you gotta do it all over again. The world-building, well... I can't comment on it because everything was in Japanese (oh, and be ware that all of the audio for this game is in Japanese as well but you get English subtitles which is, honestly, more of a strength of Yakuza 0 than a weakness because the original Japanese cast has done a mindblowing job of conveying the emotions through their voice which I doubt could be replicated as well if it was dubbed). Neither Kamurocho nor Sotenbori feel like a lived-in city like Grand Theft Auto's fictional ones do. Maybe that has something to do with everything being in a foreign language, I can't say. 95% of all billboards are Japanese. The mini-map doesn't auto-rotate making navigation pain in the ass until you learn the towns' layouts like the back of your hand (I never managed to but that's probably because of how little I've played). And the most disappointing of all- the constant fights you're dragged into unwillingly. I mean, past a certain point, you wish the game had an adaptive dynamic AI state or a "level up" about you that makes most gangs cower away from you because of your reputation. But nothing like that happens as every Tom, Dick and Harry drunk off their ass want to start a fight with you and then magically become pro fighters with a lotta health. Not to mention that during said "ambient encounters", I've seen civilians disappearing into thin air as the game scrambles to convert a street side into a barricaded arena (which you can't leave until you're done) which further destroys the live-in feel of the towns. All in all, I HATED this game at first but as the story progressed, I found myself constantly craving to fire the game back up again because I was so addicted to it. A solid 8/10 from me because the story alone compensates for ALL of it's drawbacks, even the ones I have not listed in my review. This is my new favorite along with Fallout New Vegas and Mass Effect. Shooreh Pippi, friends.
"The turn-based combat is a welcome change however combined with some weird decisions and a somewhat bland story its not all sunshine and rainbows for this new kid on the street."
The transition from a top notch brawler to a JRPG feels totally seamless. The gameplay have all the good parts we expect from a JRPG translated to the language of the Yakuza series but it also has some of the bad parts like the need for grinding and some unfair boss fights. The story and new characters are presented in a way that make this new journey for the franchise very well worth taking.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the perfect update for a flagging series. Its clever storytelling, bizarre substories, and engrossing gameplay makes this one of the strongest entries in the franchise. Mixing deep societal messages with references to popular culture, the game is both hilarious and thought-provoking. It is very clear to see that with Ichiban Kasuga, the series is in safe hands
Yakuza: Lika A Dragon goes a different way but follows what made the series so great. The new protagonist, the story (besides some weak points), the crazy mini games, battle animations, summons and Ichiban Kasuga offer so much fun and action. Some boring dungeons in the middle of the game and balancing issues are the only downsides you should expect. Even if you are not a fan of turn based combat or haven't touched the series yet, you should give this a shot.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon has definitely made some drastic changes to the series but without losing its original charm. The fast pace turn base system has so much added depth while still feeling like a Yakuza game. The graphics are the best the series has seen to date, players will fall for the ridiculous Ichiban who is a well-worked new hero to the series. Other than the lag between different sections of the games and slightly clunky animations it's really hard to fault this reimagining of the legendary series.
Like a Dragon isn't my favorite Yakuza, and its fresh turn-based combat eventually grows stale, but I have a lot of love for it. If it's your first game, it'll quickly initiate you into this wild, one-of-a-kind series.
Who knows if this wild experiment will bear fruit and become its own series. Yakuza: Like a Dragon has everything it needs; an excellent crop of new characters, and even a new playground to base a series in, as we hadn't been to Yokohama previously. The future of the series would depend on how turn-based combat sells in comparison to action brawler combat, I would assume. Either way, though, Like a Dragon is a delight. It's a parody-homage to every turn-based JRPG trope you've ever known, set against brilliant character writing and the traditional urban playgrounds that have built this series into something beloved. I hope the development team is rewarded for the inherent risk that they took with this undertaking.
Like a Dragon is the story of a carp that turns into a dragon, of a gang of scapegoats who decide to defy the established order and come to the head of a desperate situation. Ichiban Kasuga is an individual far from dojima's stoic and serious Dragon but has an equally kind soul and crackling personality, which makes him - along with his strange clique - the symbol of Yakuza's rebirth. A rebirth that passes through a fun and enjoyable but also improveable role-making formula. With this seventh chapter, in other words, the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has shown us the potential of what would seem to be his idea for the future of the series, which with the advent of next-gen consoles could give us great surprises.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon has made the leap into the RPG genre with flying colors. The story is kept exciting and you can't stop following Ichiban's vendetta. The abundance of side tasks can be a bit overwhelming for the player at the beginning. But once you have played the game for a few hours, you know the most important points in the city. Time passes very quickly when playing darts or karting. By no means you need to believe that these actions are a waste of time. You get personality points which finally strengthen the fighting actions. The fights bring a breath of fresh air to the row and put a smile on the players' faces. Through the different creative classes you attack the opponents with pigeons or wrestling moves instead of casting disdainful fireballs. Unfortunately, the invisible AoE range of abilities spoils the fun of the game. Also the unusually long races until a comrade reaches the enemy seem strange. A timeline showing the next actors would have been helpful too. If you like the Yakuza series and are open for new things, you definitely have to go for Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Yakuza fans were anxious about whether the series would survive without the glue of Kiryu Kazama to hold it together. However, Ichiban Kasuga is a worthy successor to the Dragon of Dojima, and Like a Dragon is a great new start for this fantastic series that will please long-time Yakuza fans and newcomers alike.
You should look at Yakuza: Like a Dragon through the lens of it's protaginist. This game is unapologetically brash, unmistakable bold, life-affirming and insanely charismatic. The legend of Ichiban Kasuga journey, like a bright flame, tells us one familliar, but sweet and romantic idea - each and every one of us can become a true Hero, even if you have to fight the fate itself, while making your way through hundrends upon hundreds of random encounters.
Ultimately, despite all the changes that have been made, Yakuza: Like a Dragon feels very much like a Yakuza game. The combat may now be turn-based, and the scenery might be different, but this is still a game full of drama, thrilling battles, and a huge amount of side content, all smothered with an ample amount of humour. And I never thought I’d say this, but I didn’t miss Kazuma Kiryu one jot while playing it; Ichiban Kasuga is simply a more likeable fellow with more depth. So, if you like the Yakuza series, consider Yakuza: Like a Dragon a must-have.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon reminded me why I loved video games to begin with. I cannot think of a game this year that has gripped me this tightly and didn't let go. Here comes a game brimming with joy and excitement that is earnest with its drama and comedy. It's the sort of game you can gush about for hours, and I will long after this review is published. Anyone who loves RPGs, open world games, comedies, crime dramas, and games PERIOD should have a lot of fun with the newest Yakuza.
As the Yakuza franchise is still trying to become a household franchise in the West, the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio decided to flip the switch and create a turn-based RPG. The result of that experiment, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is a resounding success. The "dynamic RPG" gameplay fits the Yakuza universe and tropes like a glove and its mechanics are surprisingly deep. And the fact that the game's new characters are lovable doesn't hurt. The turn-based gameplay will probably put off some gamers but Yakuza: Like a Dragon truly deserves a shot. The Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio made the JRPG genre proud.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon impressively pulls off the switch to an RPG in style, providing an excellent combat system supported by loveable characters, and a tantalising main storyline with meaningful side quests.
Yakuza is reborn in this brilliant and compelling new addition to series canon that recontextualizes series tropes and mechanics for an entirely new genre, delivering one of the best outings the series has ever seen.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has topped themselves once again with Yakuza: Like a Dragon! This new take on Yakuza brings a lot of fun, new ideas to the table while remaining its heartfelt self. Turn based combat is somehow a perfect fit for this new direction, the characters are all instantly loveable, and the story is endearingly melodramatic.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a phenomenal entry into the Yakuza franchise, with an interesting new protagonist, a compelling story, and a combat system that constantly mixes things up.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon largely succeeds at moving the series forward in a bold new direction. Kasuga and his band of unlikely heroes are incredibly interesting and make it so easy to care about their crazy antics. The new main locale is massive and plays host to so many compelling things to do. Getting wrapped up in everything Like a Dragon has to offer is worth it and you’ll easily pour 30+ hours into its captivating tale. The turn-based battle system works in parts, but its annoying character placement issues and faulty summons system keep it from being a total victory. Like a Dragon is still worth hopping into if you’re looking for an amazing parody of RPG tropes, however. It’s a Yakuza sequel that signals a bright future ahead for the beloved franchise.
No doubt about it, SEGA took some considerable risks when they decided to change their established formula so radically for Yakuza: Like A Dragon. But in the end, I think the gamble paid off. Ryū ga Gotoku Studio's latest offering may not pack the punchy, moment to moment gameplay of its predecessors. Still, it makes up for that with its more in-depth brawls, an engaging job system, and a story that focuses not just on a single protagonist, but on several compelling heroes with their own complex motivations. While beat-'em-up fanatics may find this change in direction blasphemous, I couldn't be happier. If you're a Yakuza fan who loves JRPGs, adding this underworld epic to your PS4 library is a no-brainer.
It keeps the great narrative and setting from the Yakuza series, using a new protagonist, a city that has more life than even Kamurocho and turn-based combats. It suffers from some of the classical troubles of the J-RPG, but it is a breath of fresh air and a great example of how to reinvent a franchise.
Yakuza Like a Dragon is a real and huge JRPG who knows how to maintain the essence of the saga. Fun fighting system and deep script with too many ups and downs to justify the new playable elements. I hope this new formula that works and gives new wings to the franchise will be repeated.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon makes for an excellent new entry in this long-running series. The developers took a chance on a new protagonist and battle system, which forces fans out of their comfort zone for a very different yet, familiar Yakuza experience. Although the opening exposition can be a bit overwhelming, this is a standout video game on its own with plenty of emotional story beats, insane sub-stories, and plenty of ways to spend your time around Ijincho.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a very good sequel to the popular Yakuza series which shows that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios still manages to create a great story and narrative. The game's turn-based battles are good in themselves, but due to the extreme use of enemies in the environment, they soon became repetition.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is an impressive and quality JRPG that successfully acts as a jumping in-point for new fans and also ties itself to the series' past in exciting and engaging ways. The turn-based combat has been infused with some mechanics that help retain the action and over-the-top hilarity the series is known for. Mini-games once again shine and there is a lot packed into Ijincho. Like A Dragon paves the way for a bright future for the franchise.
It was a gamble on Sega’s part to make such major changes to a tried and true formula, even more bewildering given its recent meteoric rise in Western markets. If Yakuza: Like A Dragon proves anything, it’s that fortune does indeed favour the bold.
Like a Dragon's story attempts to touch on certain social issues that are relevant in present-day Japan, such as classism, social status, sex work, and government corruption on a prefectural level. However, the writing often lacks the nuance or range to address the topics at hand, and doesn't give any of them adequate room to breathe. The second half of the game gains some measure of focus as plot threads tie together and result in genuinely surprising twists, but when Like a Dragon drops the ball, it drops it hard. Despite this, the Japanese cast's performances sell the story with evocative deliveries that breathe life into the characters. The finale is an emotional one that brought me to tears and moved me, just as most previous Yakuza games have.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon, when all of its pieces are taken together, is not only a fantastic new direction for the series, it's also one of its best titles.
Yakuza Like a Dragon is both a fresh start and a shot in the arm that caters to series veterans and newcomers like. It bears all the hallmarks of a great Yakuza game, while making a damned good case for its revamped battle system. After Yakuza 6 topped the rest of the franchise with a matured and succinct focus it feels even more exciting to see the whole thing blown wide open again and have Ryu ga Gotoku just run wild. Kudos is deserved at Sega of America for their commitment to the game's localization as well, which is incredibly considered and comprehensive. I think I've found a new favourite Yakuza game.
With a new battle system and new main character, Yakuza: Like A Dragon aims to be a new entry point to Yakuza newcomers even though it is anything but that.
So, the takeaway is this – Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a successful experiment. So successful that I think it should be the template for much of the series going forward.
A brilliant reinvention of the series that still manages to faithfully capture its essence, with an eclectic cast of characters, the star being Ichiban himself. A great entry that goes toe-to-toe with Yakuza 0.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a successful pivot from traditional Yakuza mainstays. The game goes heavy on style, while still packing in enough substance to keep players satisfied. The party system and new RPG elements give players more ways to play than ever before. The turn-based combat is solid, and never feels too foreign. Longtime fans of the franchise will appreciate what Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and SEGA have to offer in Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Much like Kasuga’s dragonfish tattoo feels like a quirky but faithful successor to Kiryu’s dragon, Yakuza: Like a Dragon rebuilds the franchise by leaving a lot of it in place. The new protagonist doesn’t feel like he has seven games of story in him, but his eagerness to join the fray could carry the next few entries.
After the culture shock of such a total change to the Yakuza recipe, I’m extremely glad the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio team took such a big leap when Kiryu’s tale came to an end. Like A Dragon is a revitalised game full of fresh ideas and proves that the series won’t be re-treading the same ground with Ichiban in the driver’s seat. If this is the first step into the new age of Yakuza, I can’t wait to see how bonkers the next game will be.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon refreshes the action with a turn-based JRPG that retains its charming identity, but it falls into some pitfalls that are emblematic of the genre.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is an interesting new entry into the criminal universe created by SEGA, and undoubtedly represents the most courageous and anarchic chapter so far. It's not entirely convincing, but what works bodes well for the future of the series.
Yakuza Like a Dragon is an enjoyable new twist on the series, although it's not hard to imagine that many long-time fans of the series will be put off by its slow pace. In a day and age where video game companies rarely take risks, Like a Dragon is a refreshing change of pace for a series that risked starting to feel stale.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a triumph, and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio should be commended for redefining such a seasoned franchise, despite the backlash it might have received. Leaving Kazuma Kiryu behind hasn't been easy, but Ichiban Kasuga and company have crafted a compelling path into the future that I cannot wait to see continue.
The mean streets of Yokohama offer the opportunity for a new cast, a new suit, and a new hero. Ichiban Kasuga might not be the role model in the same way that Kiryu-chan was, but this dragon's quest might be the most fun Yakuza title to date!
Yakuza: Like a Dragon feels like everything I ever wanted in a game. Once the game stomps on the gas, it very rarely slows down. Its unique cast of characters and gameplay had me hooked and wanting more, and it almost feels like it never stops giving. Even after the story ends at the 45+ hour mark, I was ready to fight more, complete more side missions, and squeeze out every drop of gameplay that this game has to offer.
The Yakuza series continues to grow and expand in the gaming world. I love its quirky humor and deep narratives. This new entry begins a new saga and I cannot wait to see how the story of Ichi evolves over time. If it is even half as good as Kiryu’s the studio will have another series of great games on its hands. Everything about this title feels good and for those worried about having previous knowledge, don’t be concerned. Like a Dragon is a wonderful jumping in point for the series and also one of the best titles in it to date. Don’t sleep on this game, it is worth digging into.
There will also be FULL spoilers for Yakuza Kiwami in this character analysis, so beware if you haven't played that/1. During your playthrough with Majima in chapter 3, you'll be tasked with scouting out Odyssey, a rival cabaret club. Majima goes into it not expecting any surprises. You look around, and Majima comments on many things in the club. Surely this information will be integral in beating Odyssey in the Cabaret competition. Then, Majima looks to the left of the club, and sees the sight of his life. A man in nothing but his underwear, in the back of the club, for all to see. Not to mention preforming a dance, which is integral to Majima's character, we'll see how later. Majima is reasonably thrown off guard, but there's nothing else to the first encounter of this beautiful man. Most players will assume this is just Yakuza doing it's thing; Surely this character won't come back. But then, Yakuza 0 throws you for a loop. In chapter 4, Majima goes to a telephone club find more info about one Makoto Makimura. He's found someone who might share him info. Ready to go on the date, Majima is instead interrupted by, you guessed it, Mr. Libido. This "walking erection" has no shame, and assumes Majima to have come to the telephone club to slay his dragon. Majima naturally says that there's more to it then that. Mr. Libido (actual name Habu, who I'll be calling as such for the rest of the analysis.) doesn't really care, but thinks that he and Majima are in the same boat. He claims his libido is legendary, and he needs to take care of it multiple times per day. He asks if Majima has any recommendations for girls, and that they can trade info. Majima refuses, but Habu let's him know he'll be around if he changes his mind. For some, this was the last time they ever encountered Habu, and just chalked him up as a weird character. Maybe he's an easter egg or something. But rest assured, this is far from his last appearance. If you go out of your way to view good ol softcore porn, you'll not only gain a wholesome friendship with the worker there, but also run into Habu once more. He's glad he was right about Majima; Just as much of a horny man as he is. Majima again denies his accusations, but it's clear he had ulterior motives. Habu is certain Majima's five knuckle shuffle is still to come. And gets so excited, that he... Presumably nuts right then and there. But the man is already raring to go not 10 seconds later. He goes to pursue other girls, and leaves Majima to himself. It's important to state that you have to go out of your way to meet Habu. He ONLY shows up if you watch a variety of erotic videos. Ultimately 15 are required to view to finish the friendship arc. This is important because the more videos you watch, the more Majima let's loose, the more he let's go of the shackles holding him back. We'll continue through more of the questline before we talk more about the many hidden layers of this arc of Majima's. We see this during the many info exchanges between the two lustful lads. The more that gets shared, the more we see a bond forming between Habu and Majima. He even openly admits that after all that he's going through, this place is relaxing. No doubt part of it is because of Habu, who proves to be one of the greatest friends Majima ever had. It also contributes to Majima's transformation. If Nishitani represents the crazy side of Majima, then Habu represents the side that let's loose, that ultimately doesn't care about what others think of him. We even see this with Habu's dance. This is the first thing you see him doing in Odyssey, and Majima inherited it for himself, as players can see during the Disiple of the New Order sidequest, as well as during points of the Majima Everywhere encounters. For all intents and purposes, Habu is as much of Majima in the future as Nishitani is. But of course, not all substories can be sunshine and rainbows, as we see this friendship event take a dark turn. Majima encounters Habu, who reveals that he's been cutting back on clubs, and now he can't get "it" up. He insists that an energy drink he frequently has will solve everything. Though Majima worries that a drink of that magnitude could make things worse, and even kill him. But Habu has nothing left to lose. Majima gets him the drink, and of course, Habu is perfectly fine after that. He laments how he's seen just about every girl in Sotenbori , but Majima reminds him to just see his favourites. The quest ends on a lighter note, with Habu and Majima closer then ever. And that's it. All in all, Habu is a wonderful character of deep intricacies, who is a perfect representation of what Majima will beco- Oh, yeah. Kamurocho has a Mr. Libido too. So Kiryu's just walking around one day, no doubt contemplating if it was a good idea to buy a sophisticated lad porn magazines, when he comes across a strange bald man, asking for telephone cards. The man has a unique power where if he sees a mere photo of a woman, he gets to see absolutely everything. He reveals his name to be Akimoto (not to be confused with domestic accident waiting to happen Akimoto from various substories throughout the series), and tells Kiryu to see him if he has anything to show. Until then, he'll be "wrecking the weasel". It's never clear whether Akimoto and Habu are related, though it's assumed that they are, sharing the balding hair, and the near endless stamina and love for all things women. Perhaps it's genetic. Wonder what their fathers like. Anyway, we see how much more subdued Akimoto is compared to Habu. Not to say that he's polite and respectful, but he certainly goes to much less extents then his brother from possibly the same mother (I mean, at least Akimoto wears clothes) Much like Kiryu is a naturally subdued person. Again, the libidos symbolize what are protagonists are, or will become. In that regard, they're wonderful. Admittedly this substory is much more out of character for Kiryu. I don't really see our never killing friend picking up cards and showing them to Akimoto. Nevertheless, throughout the quest we see more of Akimoto's powers in action, which impresses Kiryu, and no doubt makes the player jealous. The next time we see him he reveals he even sees through the pixels that censor it. During his next encounter, he reveals he wants to stop looking at cards altogether, and let his mind do all the work. This however, does not have a happy ending. Like Habu, Akimoto lost the ability to finish the job. He can get it up just fine, but he theorizes that his imagined girls are so much better then reality, that he can't have that sweet release. And whenever he so much as blinks, he sees them. I'd wager it's a sadder tale then Habu's, and I'm not scared to admit this scene had me in tears. Kiryu takes the time out of his life to find the girl of Akimoto's dreams. He goes to the Okama bar (the one place Akimoto probably hasn't gone to), and gets Akimoto to visit the Mama there. Akimoto does so, and all is well in the world. Akimoto can finally be content with girls that aren't in his head. Like Habu, Akimoto develops a bond with the protagonist not unlike a bond of Kyodais. Akimoto is more then glad to have met Kiryu, and the two go their separate ways, though no doubt we'll see these two beautiful bastards in a sequel. All in all, the Mr Libido's are a masterclass of storytelling, and symbolize perfectly what these two characters become/already are. And that's everything. Sorry for the long post, and I hope you enjoyed me talking absolute nonsense for a long time.
There anyone else that doesn't care for Yakuza 2/Kiwami 2's story as much as everyone else?
(There's also gonna be Yakuza 1/Kiwami spoilers in this post, so be warned if for some reason you played 2 but skipped 1) Mainly making this post to see if my opinion's valid. I didn't care for Yakuza 1's story at first, but after giving it some time to settle in, the reason's I disliked it (how much characters died) is exactly what makes it a good story. Kiryu managed to come back from all this death and pain. He essentially had everyone he knew and loved die on the same night, but he came back from it, because he knew he had to. That's some powerful stuff right there. Not saying 1's a masterpiece, it's villains leave something to be desired (except for Nishiki, who's still probably my favourite in the series). Some portions of the story seemed like filler, and more suited for substories. But the pros outweigh the cons, and now I look at 1 extremely fondly, especially it's first and last act. And it's not like Kiwami 2 doesn't start well. Kiryu mourning the deaths of his loved ones and essentially being forced to help the Tojo are pretty good. Terada's "death" was shocking, considering I was confident that even if he died, it wouldn't be at the start of the game. But that of course leads to my first point for why I felt Kiwami 2 was underwhelming compared to others. Terada is Jingu 2. Show's up and reveals his true colours in the last chapter. Is the fake final boss. Then dies not long after he shows himself. However, Jingu's main problem was his sudden inclusion, but I thought he was genuinely entertaining. He's slimy, he's no Yakuza, and he gets others to do his dirty work. Not to mention the presence of a third party besides the Yakuza has been hinted at quite a bit. But Terada? Dude showed up, and died in chapter 1. The ONLY foreshadowing that there might be more to it is Majima mentioning that it's weird how the Omi killed Terada. Then he shows himself in the last chapter, and (while he has his own unique motivations) is more or less generic bad guy pulling the strings number 200. It's not just Terada either. Sengoku is generic bad guy that wants chaos and wealth number 400. Though to be fair, the game seems to realise this, as he's sorta treated like a joke in his last few scenes. Takashima is so forgettable I didn't realise who he was when he was on screen for quite a bit. He's Terada's Jingu, and there's even less to talk about there. Shindo was admittedly pretty cool, and he's got a bit to him, but he's really only in the story for 2 chapters. And yeah, Ryuji's awesome, but he's the good in the bad lot. This was a issue in Kiwami and to a lesser extent 0 as well. With some exceptions, the villains are just kinda underwhelming. The ending was kinda bad as well for me. We'll talk about the fakeout ending first. Kiryu and Kaoru getting blown up. I don't like it. I think it's out of character for Kiryu to just kiss Kaoru and abandon Haruka and everyone else, without even really trying to get out of there. You could make the argument that he knew that by Terada telling him to have faith, that the bomb wasn't gonna go off. But Kiryu said himself he didn't really know. And no disrespect to the band, SiM, but the song that plays in the background, "Sound of Breath", just makes the scene so much worse for me. IN fact, the song may be the actual problem. It was like this for the scene where Kiryu gets stabbed, too. The song itself is fine, but I just don't think it should be playing in scenes like these. And then it's revealed that the bomb was fake. It's going for the feeling of Yakuza 1's ending, and maybe it would've worked if not for the fakeout earlier, but I just don't think it does. I also both like and dislike how everyone was involved with the Jingweon incident. Like because we get to see more character's in action. Like, it's cool as fuck to see Shimano and Kazama in their element. But it almost gets comical at certain points. "Kawara? Kurahashi? Kaoru? Kiryu? Terada? Everyone's related to the incident, fellas!" With that being said, some characters went severely underused. Daigo is meant to be this saving grace the Tojo needs, but he doesn't really DO anything of note. Kashiwagi get's shafted from the main story for the 2nd (3rd if you play in chronological order) time. I'm glad the dudes alive after the bloodbath that was 1, but give him something to do. Yoyoi and Majima are introduced well, and have good scenes, but I wish they had a bit more to do. Those last 2 are probably just me, though. The game has good moments, even great moments. Watching how far the Tojo has fallen is interesting. The game isn't afraid to put humour in the main story, which is appreciated. Majima's bomb disposal is still a top tier scene in the series. I like the growing relationship Kiryu and Kaoru have. Act 1 is fantastic, honestly. The game is just hurt by it's frankly underwhelming last couple chapters. But hey, that's my opinion. If you like this story, great! I do too, it's not like it's bad. But after being told this story rivals 0's, I'm left thinking it's the worst one in the series so far (keep in mind I've only played 0, 1/Kiwami, and 2/Kiwami 2). Maybe it'll grow on me in time, I don't know. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. Thanks for listening to some guy ramble about funny Yakuza game.
Yakuza 3 is not that bad - though is not great either
I just finished Yakuza 3, wayyy faster than the previous games for its less chapters and, sorry, really lame minigames. However, I did like it. The story is very catching (even though it escalates from parenting shenanigans to punching the CIA) and the "new" characters are very likeable (except for fucking Kanda). I do have some things to point: - Rikiya's stupid fucking death; - Ridiculous chases that made me think woah maybe being dead wouldn't be that bad; - Mine: Fuck, Marry or Kill? - Shintaro Kazama identical younger sibling that no one knew about that works for the CIA?? For real, having the original Kazama-san revived would feel less absurd; - ONE song singable in karaoke, and it's not even good; - I love Daigo and wish he had more than 2 minutes in scene; - GIVE US MORE MAJIMA, COWARDS. The gameplay is kinda wacky? Yes. The game feels like a bootleg? Yes. Will I even bother playing substories/minigames in Premium? Probably not. But is not that bad! Kiryu has like 3 seconds of peace with his several children, he deserves it.
So far in the series, I had played through the following in this order from last April: Yakuza 0 Yakuza Kiwami Yakuza Kiwami 2 Yakuza 3 Remastered Yakuza Like a Dragon Yakuza 4 Remastered Spoilers below: I have to say -- this one was my least favorite, and it's not even close. I still had fun (I mean I put 55 hours into and pretty much beat every substory except 2 I think), but there was a lot in this one that wasn't executed well IMO. Yes, I even liked 3 much better. Things I didn't Like: The story was ok I guess but it was a bit convoluted honestly -- I think they bit of a bit too much to chew. Didn't enjoy navigating the rooftops or the underground, and specifically being forced into the stealth sections with Saejima. I mean you could hardly do anything in the city through multiple chapters. Saejima as a character -- while I like him as a character, I didn't like his fighting style it just never clicked with me....he's too slow. Lets talk the final boss fight. That final fight with about 10,000 super body guards and the chief, can go **** itself. It was the most frustrating part of any of the games so far -- and to make matters worse you have to do it with the most useless character from a fighting perspective. That was seriously negative fun. Also, from a story telling perspective...can we stop this entire "I just beat the hell out of this guy, I'm going to leave him there conscious with a weapon/gun and turn my back on him"? This literally happens every game, you'd think someone would learn. Are they all stupid? I could deal with fewer chase scenes, not that they were hard but after you've done two I think I was good. It really only let me play one game in the arcades...and it's not a good one. Hostess Maker sucks Things I did like: Having different characters was nice, but maybe we don't need 4. Lots of side missions...tons. Gambling was fun Akiyama was a great character and I hope we get to see him more. There was great humor with Hana is this. I had the most fun fighting as him, with Kiryu coming in just behind. So still good, but far from great.
Finally finished my first Yakuza game - Yakuza Kiwami
Hi all! I apologize, this might be a little wordy and meandering, but I have some thoughts and some questions I wanted to run past the community. I'm not averse to mild spoilers in responses, but preferably don't spoil major story elements of the other games in the series! Ok, so first of all, wow! I regret sleeping on this series for as long as I did. I long thought that Yakuza was basically "GTA in Japan" with some cartoonish over-the-top combat which was a little off-putting to me. When I learned that the games were heavily focused on the stories & characters and had a lot of side activities, it piqued my interest, so I finally decided to give it a shot. I was of course pleasantly surprised to learn that Yakuza Kiwami was basically nothing like GTA and instead more in the vein of a Shen Mue game (only, IMO, better!). I very quickly took a liking to Kiryu and Nishiki in the opening chapter (ohhhh boy was I in for it) but found Majima incredibly off-putting at first (ohhhh boy was I wrong on that count too!), and by the time I was through the opening and Kiryu was returning to Kamurocho after his ten-year stint, I was completely sold on the characters and narrative and couldn't wait to see where the story was going to take me. I absolutely adored nearly everything about this game. The characters, the plethora of substories, the impressively realized optional activities -- hell, I took the time to learn how to play Riichi Mahjong entirely because of this game (even if I still struggle to keep straight in my mind when I've got at least one proper Yaku; I also end up in Furiten too often still)! I couldn't grok Shogi though -- that one's complex enough that I'll have to learn and come back to it later. The only element of the game that never truly clicked with me was the combat. I tend to struggle with fighting games in general anyway so no surprise there, but in particular I never got a handle on blocks/dodges/counters other than mashing the punch button to counter sometimes in Brawler style. I pretty much went through the whole game using Beast style against crowds and Brawler style against 3 or less opponents. Struggled a bit with some of the boss fights and enemies with weapons (that last battle against Jingu and his two lackeyswas particularly rough). I got enough of a basic sense of simple combos and Heat actions (even if I don't have the reflexes to his the proper button when it shows up in the middle of certain moves) to get me by and found much of the combat entertaining throughout the mid-game. So my main question comes down to this: does the combat get more challenging as the series progresses (including Yakuza 0, which I am going to play next before moving on to 2)? If so, how much of it is dependent upon better reflexes for dodges/blocks/counters and/or those button prompts during certain moves? I'm a bit concerned that if the series ramps up much past that spoiler I noted in the prior paragraph, it might outstrip my aging twitch skills -- especially with how poor I have always been at fighting & brawler games. I just want to continue on and in particular enjoy everything else I loved about this game. I am wholly enamored with the Yakuza series now and want to experience the rest!
Finally finished Yakuza 3 Remastered! Here are some of my thoughts that literally nobody asked for!
So I finally finished Kiwami 2 and started my journey into the Remastered collection for the first time ever. Yakuza 3, obviously, was the first game to hop into. Gotta say, the change, albeit noticeable, wasn't quite as jarring as I thought it'd be, coming from a modern Dragon Engine game to an updated one from 2009. Movement was probably one of the most immediate things I noticed. Kiryu MOVES in this one. Feels like he has no weight at all, which I like, but it took getting used to. Graphically, obviously, well, it's an old game with a somewhat fresh coat of paint. It doesn't look bad at all! Not a whole lot to say here, although it's funny how the game runs at a better resolution than the cutscenes when it's usually the other way around. Gameplay itself is where it gets interesting. Combat is...well, it's not great, in my opinion. Apparently that's a pretty common opinion around these parts. Heat builds way too slow, enemies block way too much, it's just really frustrating. I was playing on normal, I can't imagine tackling it on hard. I will say, I really liked some of the unique Heat moves I hadn't noticed in 0, Kiwami or Kiwami 2. The Revelation thing was absolutely hilarious. I laughed every time it cut to Kiryu typing away dramatically. The upgrade system is...bad. I wasn't a fan whatsoever. Also, what's with Heat actions not doing anything to bosses? I get they wanna balance it a bit but considering how long it takes to build enough Heat to do one, only to get a paltry payout? Not fun at all. The story was fantastic. Definitely a really, REALLY slow burn at the start, but I was fine with it. It was nice to see Kiryu get a chance to relax and enjoy life a bit. The kids and their lil stories are all wonderful, and I found myself caring about them and enjoying the mundane missions involving them. The characters as a whole are fantastic. Mine might be one of my favorite characters in the series. Rikiya, at first, was extremely annoying and I didn't like him much, but by the end, I loved him. Absolutely my second favorite character in the game. His death, coupled with Kiryu's crying, actually got me crying a bit. Kiryu's VA deserves every award for that performance. The last 4 or so chapters are when the game really gets going. Daigo was hardly in it for obvious reasons, but his little bit of screen time, he really shined. Overall, absolutely loved the story. The substories are great as per usual. I didn't really get into the new cabaret management thing. Wasn't very intuitive, or maybe I'm just stupid lmao. Boss battles would have been a lot more enjoyable if not for the aforementioned blocking spam, as well as general gripes with the combat. The Mine fight would have been actually really good, but why the FUCK did they give him a move that heals? It wasn't like, hair pulling levels of frustration, but it was still really annoying. Overall, I really loved the game as a whole. Took a bit to click with me, what with getting used to the older style of everything as well as a very slow start, but once it got its claws in me, I was hooked til the credits rolled.
Okay, so if you do Taiga's substories, he talks about how he and his sister were orphans and became homeless. Taiga became a street punk until he ran into Sasai who was impressed with this kid. Later in Kiryu's chapter, Yasuno gives an extremely different account where you find out they're actually stepsiblings, she was dying of kidney disease, her father was actually an Omi Alliance leader, her brother trekked back and forth between Tokyo and Kansai, that her brother was in high school, that he wanted to be a teacher, and that Sasai basically bribed Saejima Taiga to join the Yakuza. We spend an entire chapter with Taiga who talks very often about his life and almost none of Yasuko's details are ever mentioned by him. Also, her story is completely superfluous and adds absolutely nothing to the story or her motivations that we didn't already have. It's just very odd.
Hey so im in chapter 14 in yakuza 2 for the ps2. Im binging a bunch of side missions i havent done and its going smoothly, but for some reason fake Kiryu wont show up in the champion district for me. Im pretty sure ive done all other substories in that area. The guide im following hasnt said anything about it being a missable story, so am i missing something?
So Im at chapter 4 of yakuza Kiwami and I've been trying out the substories and I'm not really digging them so far. Almost all of them involved someone conning or stealing money from Kiryu then having to teach them a lesson and getting into a fight and I can't say im a fan of these types of substories. Are most of the substories like that? Or was it just the luck of the draw and I just so happened to get a bunch of the same type of substories in a row even though there are many different kinds?
Finally got around to finishing Yakuza 0 (no spoilers)
And you know what? It’s probably one of my favorite games I played this year. I got it on Steam a few years back but only got as far as Chapter 5. I decided to give it another go and I fell in love with the game. I’m going to breakdown my experience as a whole so here’s what I thought: Positives
The Story
I love it when games have a captivating story. I would best summarize it as a murder mystery redemption crime drama thriller. Besides the first few chapters (I’ll go into more detail later on), the story’s pacing from the middle to the end was an absolute roller coaster. The character interactions and arcs some of the main cast goes through was engaging and I became invested in seeing how they would get through some of these events and how the story was going to end.
The Substories
I normally don’t care for side quests in games but the substories in Yakuza 0 were probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game for me. The substories felt enjoyable to play through and I feel as if it really gives depth to Kiryu and Majima who despite being embroiled in a whirlwind of events will take their time to help out those in need or even become friends with. I also found the substories to have some of the funniest dialogue in the game simply because of the outlandish situations and interactions the protagonists find themselves in. Completing substories will also net you rewards and recruiting characters within the real estate and cabaret club mini-games, which is a nice bonus.
Side Activities
Too many to count honestly. You can partake in mini-games if you want to take a break from the main story and enjoy yourself. The mini-games have a surprising amount of depth and also tie into some substories, earning you rewards if you decide to dig deeper. My personal favorites being Pocket Circuit Racing, bowling, and getting dates at telephone clubs.
Open World
While they aren’t the biggest open worlds I’ve explored, Kamurocho and Sotenbori feel like the most “alive” worlds I’ve been in. Buildings and locations feel distinguishable from one another and don’t feel generic. The amount of NPCs and random encounters whether it’s a substory or combat encounter give the cities a feeling that there’s always events going on. All of these events and design choices give these places personality and a sense of feeling alive. It’s one of the few open worlds where I feel completely immersed in. Mixed
The Combat
The best way I can summarize the combat is that it’s good but not great. What I did enjoy were the cinematic heat moves, variety of fighting styles, the combat encounters in the story, and the boss battles. The combat encounters towards the last few chapters were a rush of adrenaline as it goes hand in hand with the urgency and stakes of the story. What prevents it from being great is the lock-on and the repetition. It feels clunky to use and since enemies can dodge out of your lock-on it becomes an inconvenience to realign yourself in the heat of combat and I only found myself ever using it in one-on-one fights. I also found the combat repetitive towards the end of the game, especially in random encounters and substories. By the endgame more enemies are present and become health sponges. Overall, Yakuza 0’s combat is functional and fun but not the best I’ve played.
Real Estate
Kiryu’s main side activity is his job as a real estate agent. I found this to be uninteresting especially when compared to Majima’s main side activity of running a cabaret club. Investing in real estate is a great way to earn lots of money but the lack of depth and tedium of going back and forth between buying property and collecting your funds at the office makes this feel shallow when compared to everything else in the game.
Character models of NPC side characters
Unless you have plot relevance in the main story, a lot of the character models for the side characters and NPCs look simplistic especially in contrast to the main characters. Simple textures, lack of detail, and questionable designs on some of the side characters make the difference in quality really stand out. I wouldn’t say they look terrible, but it’s really noticeable. Negatives
The pacing in the beginning
For me, this is easily Yakuza 0’s biggest flaw.The story didn’t really pick up for me till chapter 7 and it isn’t because nothing uninteresting happens within the early part of the game. There’s a lot of dialogue, cutscenes, tutorials, and down time between the story and action which all contribute to the slow pace early on. Chapter 1 was a great start but then everything until chapter 7 becomes a slog to get through. Barring a few side activities and combat training, getting through the first 6 chapters took roughly 12-13 hours. All of the events in the beginning pay off as you progress and I’m glad I was patient enough to get to that point but this was the main reason I stopped playing the first time around. I really dislike games in which the beginning is just too slow to get everyone invested.
Enemies w/ guns
Most annoying enemies I had to fight in the game, only compensated by the fact that they have low health bars but still annoying nonetheless. Guns are unblockable in this game and while you can dodge bullets or take cover, you’ll usually be fighting them within groups of enemies. When you’re shot you’re automatically stunned and lose a good chunk of your health. My usual strategy was to take them out first but still I wish at the very least I didn’t spend so much time stunned after getting shot or having them take so much of my health.
Save System
I found this to be an inconvenience throughout my time in the game. There’s no auto saving in this game, instead you can only save games on pay phones marked on the map. At times I had to leave the game in the middle of combat, a cutscene, or side activity and had to start over again. Especially towards the end of the game where it becomes one long level of back to back cutscenes and combat. Overall, I really enjoyed Yakuza 0 and would definitely recommend it to anyone. I’m now invested in this series and I’m looking forward to playing the rest in the future.
Finished Yakuza Kiwami today. Here's my overall review/critique, for those who consider playing it. Mild gameplay spoilers ahead, so avoid if you don't want to see them.
Just wanna state a few things upfront. There will be mild gameplay spoilers for Yakuza Kiwami, as well as Yakuza 0. Nothing beyond Chapter 6. No story spoilers here, so don't worry about that. And that I'll be prioritizing gameplay for this. I might do this for the story too, if I feel like doing it. And that I'm going to talk about Yakuza 0 a lot in this, considering I was going into Kiwami with 0 as a comparison of sorts. This is gonna be a long post. If you don't want a detailed summery, here's the short of it. TL;DR: The game more then succeeds as a remake of Yakuza 1, but I personally think it fails as a sequel to Yakuza 0. With that being said, the core gameplay improves on 0's, though with some issues and annoyances that seems to only serve to give the player busywork. I highly recommend it if you enjoyed 0, but don't expect a game of higher quality then it. With that being said, let's begin. There's 3 ways to review this game. Number 1: A standalone experience. Number 2: A remake of Yakuza 1. Number 3: A sequel to Yakuza 0 (how I think most people experienced this game). We'll get to the negatives of the game first. I'll say right now that if you're expecting number 3, you'll most likely be disappointed. I know I was, anyway. Kamurocho in general has less stuff to do in Kiwami then in 0. Not by much, but enough to be noticeable. there's 78 substories, compared to 0's 100. Not to say that 78 is a small number, it's really not. But, you need to remember that this is a remake of Yakuza 1. Side quests included. These substories get extremely similar. There are some genuine greats here, don't get me wrong. But facts are facts. Nearly a quarter of these are some variation of Kiryu walking into some sort of scam. possibly the biggest complaint I have with Kiwami is that there's ultimately NO new content. Majima Everywhere is a fantastic mechanic, and a wonderful alternative to Mr. Shakedown... But it's still an alternative to Mr. Shakedown. While the baseball and cabaret dating game have been tweaked, it's still just that, a tweak. Mesuking is just a reskin of catfighting. You get the point. There is the photo booth in the arcade, but that's genuinely it. The content itself is great, but the fact that there's essentially nothing new about Kiwami may cause some problems for players. Not to mention that certain minigames (like disco and arcade games) have been removed. It makes sense thematically, sure. But at least add an alternative, add a new game. Combat also has some issues. Most of these being carryovers from 0, but they're still valid. The main issue for me is that hitboxes are still off for some attacks. We've all had these moments playing these games. You plainly hit a guy, but the game doesn't register it. Or an enemy clearly misses you, but he still hits you for what's seemingly meters away. This doesn't happen often in the main story, but the coliseum is especially sinful of these moments. Speaking of the coliseum, I found it to be poorly designed. This is mostly due to the tournaments that require weapons, which legitimately are miles worse then your base moveset. Even without considering those tournaments, it always felt like I had to rely on luck to not get certain fighters (looking at you, Charon M). The most boring addition to combat is probably the Kiwami heat action. Fantastic concept on paper. Stop the boss from healing by doing a super heat move. But there's a couple problems. There's only one animation for each Kiwami heat move style. Nitpicky? Probably, but it get's boring looking at the same one. More importantly, is how much you'll be using it. Most bosses heal twice, maybe even 3 times per fight. So the amount of times you'll be using these heat moves is actually kinda hilarious. Majima Everywhere? nah, mate. Kiwami Everywhere. Certainly feels like it, anyway. Another issue I have with combat is unlocking the Dragon Style moves takes such a long time, that by the time it's genuinely viable to use, you'll only have about a quarter of the game left. Once you get the right moves, it's a blast to use, but it's little more then a waste of a style until then. I won't go into the story much in this, but I feel like I should state some things about it while we're still in the "bad" section. Don't go into this thinking it's a sequel to 0. It's more a standalone story, with characters from 0 taking the center stage. Does that make sense? Probably not, but that's how I saw it. The general opinion is that 0 has the superior story between the two games, and I'll agree here. Even the developers probably think so, as they added new scenes, which significantly fleshes out the main antagonist more. And hey, props to them. This isn't inherently a jab against Kiwami, more a testament to how good 0's story was. I've also heard that some small things about backgrounds and scenery in the story and world was cut from Kiwami. I don't know why the developers decided to cut it, but I'm quick to forgive that. The scenes they added to the main story make losing the small details worth it. Speaking of, we're about done with the bad section of this review. Now for the portion I'm more excited about, the good of Yakuza Kiwami. We'll be here awhile. As a remake of Yakuza 1, Kiwami is genuinely fantastic. Looks amazing, and recaptures every cutscene from the original perfectly as far as I'm concerned. Combat is naturally improved, aside from complaints I've already listed. And new side quests are added, which were all treats. With very few exceptions, I'd go so far as to consider this one of the best remakes of the last decade. While I did critique the substories of Kiwami, and I still stand by the fact that many of them kinda suck, something happened that genuinely caught me off guard with them. Some are genuinely fantastic. I won't go too in depth with them so that you can be surprised seeing them for yourself, but I'll just say this. For all the rightful credit people give 0's substories, they're pretty low budget. Reusing animations, little to no voice lines, etc. Kiwami genuinely surprised me by having fully voiced substories, substories with pre-rendered cutscenes, and all of these substories are genuinely improved because of this added touch. On one hand, I find it strange that only a select few substories have this treatment. But on the other, what's here is great, and in some cases surpasses the substories of 0. And this goes for Kamurocho, too. Nothings inherently changed about the city, but lighting and new areas make it a genuine joy to explore again. And though there's practically no new content, the content here is still great. And now, combat. Not much to talk about here, it's an enhanced version of 0's combat, and they did a good job with that. Rush in general has been buffed, and is actually really fun to use now. I almost never used this in 0, as I found that it wasn't fast enough to compensate for it's low damage. Not to mention that I prefer playing the "tank" role in games anyway. Kiwami fixes my main complaint of Rush. It's easily twice as fast as Brawler, and evading is so fun using this style. Conversely, I feel like Beast got nerfed. It's still fantastic, but I found it to be less valuable then it was in 0. Might be just me, though. The experience points system is LEAGUES better then the money system. You don't need to grind in order to get half of the upgrades, which is always welcome in any game. For as much as I love 0, getting those last upgrades is essentially just farming the business side mode for a long period, which isn't all that fun. The last thing I'll say about the combat; Majima Everywhere is a top contender when considering the best features in a videogame from a entertainment perspective. That's all I'll say about it, for the same reason as the substories. Experience it yourself. And again, while I won't go in depth on the story, I will restate that Kiwami's added scenes are so effective at making the main villain more human, and turns what was otherwise a forgettable arc in the original game, into a wonderful tragedy regarding how the villain came to be, especially with context in mind. And the story itself is fantastic. Worse then 0? probably, yes. But still fantastic. That's a great way to describe this game in general, honestly. If you (for some reason) did not like Yakuza 0, the chances of you enjoying Kiwami are astronomically low. If you loved 0 (like me), you'll have a fantastic time with most of Kiwami. I highly recommend Kiwami. It's funny, is more then competent as a beat-em-up, and has a story that'll most likely grab you by the first hour. I know it did for me. While it certainly has it's flaws, I think the pros all in all outweigh them. the asking price for the game is also incredibly cheap for what you get in return. Hope you enjoyed reading, and hey, if this helped someone with their decision with the game, that's all the better.
Hello there fellas, Back in Yakuza in PS2 I remember there's some Chapter where he is walking around with Haruka and at that chapter Kiryu can actually bring Haruka to some eateries or game center to increase her affection towards Kiryu. Like I remember she likes it when I bring her to the burger eateries or Cafe Alps. But dislike or less like it when I bring her to other place. But now that I've reached the Final Chapter of Kiwami, I have yet encounter such interaction with Haruka aside from Substories. Did my memory fail me or is that Yakuza 2? https://preview.redd.it/k3mjsgyywtl51.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=78758ca44ae02f57d5645598bb5094938d770001
Finally finished Yakuza 0. My ramblings below, and [spoilers] of course.
I finally finished Yakuza 0 after probably anywhere from one to two months of playing. I made sure to do almost every substory (except the disco shit that's really hard for me), and I tend to go days without gaming, so that's why it took me maybe longer than usual. The Good Stuff I loved the story. Honestly, it's one of the better stories in any game I've played. For a game, it was pretty sophisticated. I still remember seeing the bat tattoo on Tachibana after hearing Makoto talk about her kidnapping by someone with a bat tattoo and thinking "oh, shit." Then, the twist with Oda being the traitor. And the bad guys... you really hate the bad guys in this game. When they shot poor blind Makoto, I couldn't wait to get through the final chapters to absolutely fuck their shit up. I feel like the length and difficulty were just right. If a game is too long, sometimes I lose interest and just... drop it. If a game is too hard, same. I could've breezed through this game easily, but I took my time doing substories. I'm horrible at driving in games, so I appreciated not having to do that here. I loved the contrast of light and dark. One minute, you're trying to avenge a brutal murder, and the next, you're telling a 30-year-old virgin that he's not a loser, then racing him with toys. Hell, I'd love to play minigames or apps based on some of the games here, like Real Estate Tycoon, or the Hostess game. I'd love a drama based on Yakuza, where every other episode is some weird side-story, like Majima beating off all these hostess girls, or Kiryu going on sex hotline dates. The graphics and acting were amazing. Really, well done Sega. The Weird I didn't dig too deep into catfighting, but from what I understand it sucks because it's basically pure luck. And disco... whew. Maybe it's because I have the rhythm of Stephen Hawking, but I beat Kiryu's first challenger, then no one else. I seemed to get worse at it, likely because I got into my own head about it. You don't need it to beat the game, although it sucks that I might not ever platinum this unless someone comes over and does it for me. I might be able to do it, but I don't think it's worth me spending hours practicing. Some of the story elements made me kinda go "huh?" It was hard to keep track of the families, clans, motives for the different old guys. Then again, this was my first time meeting these characters and organized crime stories always have big casts of characters. There was Jimmy Smits guy, Mr. Clean, the guy that looked like Cee-Lo with a curly wig. And in the end, when these guys basically tried to kill the heroes, and innocent people and freaking Makoto, they're convinced not to kill them because it wouldn't be worth it. Huh? On a practical level, why wouldn't Shibusawa go for revenge? Anyway, overall I loved this game. I can't wait to get into the other games in the series. I hear some are rougher than others, some are more polished than others. I've tried to avoid spoilers for future games, I think I want to play them in order, and Judgment, too. Now that I'm done, I think there's a New Game+ (although some said there's no NG+ online), a "Legend" difficulty, and a casual mode where you can do all the side stuff without having to progress through the story again. I only got 57% trophy completion and I'm tempted to do whatever it is to get a better completion (I missed some of the "bad" telephone dates, the disco competitions, and stuff like catching all the fish) but I also feel like I could take a break since I've been playing it off and on for a couple of months.
All references to the other games I noticed in Yakuza 0
This should go without saying but MAJOR SPOILERS to the other Yakuza games, avoid this post if you haven't played Yakuza 1 - 5. After playing all the other localized games I decided to replay Yakuza 0 and noted down all the references I noticed to the other games. There may be others that I've missed so feel free to mention any in the replies. Here's what I found: Yakuza 1
Shinji makes his first chronological appearance in Substory 20 - A Shining example.
Nishiki mentions that there's nothing he wouldn't do for his little sister, foreshadowing his eventual downfall.
In Substory #1 - The Visionary Fortune Teller, the fortune teller states that Kiryu will be 'shouldering blame for another's sin."
She also mentions that the girl's (Haruka) real father will have to atone for what Kiryu has done.
In the end of Chapter 6, Kiryu says to Nishiki they are no longer sworn brothers. Years later, Nishiki repeats the same words back at him.
Yakuza 2
Daigo (major character from Yakuza 2 onwards) makes his first chronological appearance in Substory #19 - Heir To The Family.
Ryuji makes his first chronological appearance in Majima's Substory #51 - Rise of the Dragon.
Ryuji then appears again in Kiryu's Substory #1 - The Visionary Fortune Teller. In this Substory the fortune tellers says to Kiryu "Today a young man will meet you, your and his fate will be entangled", moments later Ryuji bumps into Kiryu.
Majima and Komaki have the following conversation during the last training session
"To trade unarmed blows with a tiger with a wild tiger would be a fool's errand indeed" "Only a dumbass would would take on a tiger barehanded" which Kiryu LITERALLY does in Yakuza 2. Yakuza 3
The fortune teller mentions that Kiryu will be fighting a viper in Okinawa, this is referring to his fight against Rikiya in Yakuza 3, who has a viper tattoo.
The fortune teller mentions that Kiryu will raise 8 kids in Okinawa.
When we hear about Kashiwagi in Yakuza 0, Kiryu & Nishiki talk about his love for cold noodles, and when we first meet him, he is slurping cold noodles. This is first mentioned in Yakuza 3. When doing one of the substories with Rikiya after Kashiwagi's death, you have the option to either talk about the kind of man he was, or how much he loved cold noodles.
Yakuza 4
The flashback we see with Majima and Saejima is taken straight out of Yakuza 4 (with an added black and white filter).
The Ueno Seiwa hit is mentioned multiple times in Majima's story.
Yakuza Dead Souls
Kiryu mentions when ending Substory #12 - Miracle On Tenkaichi Street that he hopes he'll never has to fight zombies again, which he literally does in Dead Souls.
Majima say's "It's SHOWTIME!" when we first see him in Yakuza 0. He first says this in Dead Souls, in one of the substories before entering the quarantine zone. This reference may be a bit loose but I've chosen to include it since the way he says it in Yakuza 0 is VERY reminiscent of the way he said in Dead Souls.
Yakuza 5
Ogita makes his first chronological appearance in Substory #30 - Maharaja Showdown.
Ogita states how he wishes to be a coach, which he is by the time of Y5.
"If you ever have kids, send 'em my way. I'll teach 'em how to dance" which Kiryu indirectly does in Y5.
The fortune teller tells Kiryu that he will be a cab driver in Fukuoka.
The fortune teller mentions that she sees a vision of a kid running out of a concert. (Y5 after credits scene)
General / Misc
One of the background songs used in Club Sunshine is the same one used in the hostess club Shine in the other games.
Komaki makes his first chronological appearance as Majima's training master for the Thug style.
Jo Amon makes his first chronological appearance as Majima's secret boss fight in Substory #100 - Sotenbori in Peril before becoming Kiryu's rival exclusively in all the proceeding games.
The title of 'Dragon of Dojima' is first mentioned at the end of Yakuza 0, in the Kiryu vs Shibusawa boss fight. Kiryu wins the fight, cementing his legend as the Dragon of Dojima for the rest of the series.
So recently I got interested in the Yakuza games. After loving Y0 I bought K1 and K2 I would buy the rest but I only own a pc. I had really high expectations for K1 since the epilogue of Y0 made me really curious as to see what will happen next. Well I just beat the game and I am so disappointed. First of all apart from the story and Majima doing wacky stuff there really isn't any reason to play this game. I have completed 59 of the 78 substories available and almost all of them have been boring fetch quests or just a brawl, they can't even be compared to the ones from Y0 who had a lot of charm and humor. As for the gameplay it's like playing Y0 but with less content, I know this is a remake but does that mean they have to recycle everything from Y0? If so why cut content? There is a freaking club so why didn't they recycle the dance game? What really disappointed me was the karaoke, 3 songs are recycled leaving only 3 new ones 2 of which aren't even animated, just a slide show from past cutscenes, at least iji sakura is really good. But i've gotta say playing minigames with Majima and the stuff he does to fight Kiryu are hilarious, he's the one that made this game so much more fun, It's a shame he barely appears in the story. I would be able to look past every negative that I have stated until now if the story was as good as Y0, but it isn't. \*SPOILERS FOR YAKUZA KIWAMI\* The story is the main reason for my disappointment, every time I think about about it I dislike the game even more. Before I give my reasons I would like to ask if K2 is similar to K1 as in does it also recycle 90% of the city and minigames from Y0 because if it does I don't know if I wanna play it. Please tell me is K2 better than K1 if so then by how much? because if it isn't I'd rather make a new game plus in Y0. So at the start of the story the first thing that bugged me was the 10 year time skip because that's a lot, people age and change in 10 years but apparently not in this game except Nishki he has a new haircut but everyone else are completely the same they haven't changed a bit, at the beginning my immersion was already shattered but I was willing to be optimistic. The first 4 chapters are great. Kiryu slowly sees how the city has changed in his absence, It's revealed that Nishki is a changed man and Yumi is missing with 10 billion yen. Great setup, a lot of mysteries to uncover and characters to explore. Kazama gets shot Date saves Kiryu all of that was so exciting. Then we meet Haruka in a bar full of corpses and weapon in hand, unfortunately both Kiryu and Haruka completely forget about the circumstances in which they met seconds after leaving the bar. Who were those people? Why was Haruka there with a weapon? What does Haruka think of it? How does she react to it? These questions were never answered. And that's my main problem with Haruka, there is so much violence and death around her at one point she gets told that her mother, meeting her is Haruka's motivation throughout the entire plot, is dead but she fails to react. None of the things happening around her affect her in any meaningful way, you would think a 9 year old kid would be more traumatized by her mother dying or that she would at least break down crying but nope. Then we meet the florist who gives us some info, he's cool I liked the bad-boy substory, but after that the story suddenly stops and we get 2 chapters of filler that have absolutely nothing to do with the main plot. Go help the Florist's son elope for some reason, go help Date reconnect with his daughter. The first one was a bit more understandable because in return Kiryu wanted a favor from the florist but chapter 6 was awful. Date is sleeping then his phone rings Kiryu answers and its Date's daughter saying she's mad because he stood her up, and for some reason Kiryu decides to meet her because I guess he's extremely bored. It's just written in such a lazy way, why aren't these side quests? like the one with Yuuya and his girlfriend or the boy in the hospital those had cutscenes and were perfectly fine, they fleshed out the world and some characters without intruding in the story. So why weren't these chapters sidequests if they had absolutely nothing to add to the story? I hate how sometimes characters just have plot induced stupidity for example in chapter 6 Date asks where the office of some loan shark is to beat them up and Kiryu just doesn't go with him then waits in the host club and suddenly realizes that if Date goes alone he will probably get hurt, yeah a bit too late Kiryu but I guess we need a heroic scene of Kiryu saving someone because we don't have enough of those already. Later Kiryu and Haruka get captured by the police but since Date is a police officer he just lets them out even though the police knew that they were accomplices and warned him previously not to do anything stupid they still didn't expect that he would break them out. They didn't even chase him. Another thing the cutscene where Shinji and Reina are killed, which was an incredibly heartbreaking scene, in the next there is a joke about Haruka not knowing what a brothel is. And I was just so confused because seconds earlier was an incredibly emotional scene and Kiryu should be devastated but I guess not. In chapter 12 everything is laid bare, the identity of the person who wants Haruka has control over the police and he's actually Haruka's father. Its...Its....Nish....JINGU, JINGU something, a cartoonish bad guy who appears at the very end showing everyone how evil he is. They even try to give him depth and it's so pathetic, why should I care about a guy who shows up at the very end and laughs evily saying he wants to change the country? This is the big bad guy? Someone I have never seen nor heard about up until the very end, why should I care? But worst of all they did Nishki dirty, I thought this game was about him. He gets so many flash backs that flesh out his character so well, showing how he changed because of his inferiority complex and the increasing pressure on his shoulders. Those flashbacks are the best part of the story, and I was so hyped to see how he would interact with Kiryu and what his plan was and so on, I was ready for an emotional climax that would leave me in tears just like the ones from Y0. But he didn't do shit, he shows up once and gets punched in the face then comes back at the very end and it is revealed that he was getting played by Jingu whats-his-face, until the very end he was still getting manipulated how sad. The fight against him was really epic but I couldn't shake the feeling that there should have been more, more prior interaction between them, more emotion. After the fight they don't even have a conversation, seriously after their fight it feels like the game does its best to ignore him. Jingu shows up because Kiryu got plot retardation again and didn't tie him up earlier nor remove his weapon, then he kills Yumi and Nishki sacrifices himself to kill that piece of cardboard. After which Kiryu nor the story mention him or bemoan him, no they care more about Yumi who is another character that I really didn't care about. Sure she is important in the plot but she doesn't really have alot of screen time I feel like Nishki being Kiryu's oath brother and an important character in Y0 should have gotten him more respect and attention from the plot. They don't even mention his sacrifice afterwards, its such an insult to his character. So yeah this game didn't live up to my expectations. I know i'm getting redundant bringing up Y0 all the time but since it was the first one I played I held K1 to the same standard, I thought I would have the fun of exploring new stores and minigames, I didn't expect to get the same game with less features and barely anything new and a shitty story to boot. That's why I am reluctant to play K2 I don't want another kick in the balls. I play games for the story and seeing how a character like Nishki who I really liked just got shat on doesn't really make me want to keep playing. Was it my fault for thinking that the story of every game in the series would be as good as Y0? Or is it just that K1 is especially bad because its technically the first of the series? P.S: Keep in mind I just finished the story so if there is like a secret or unlockable scene bemoaning Nishki then I haven't seen it. I hope they made one but I doubt it.
Yakuza 3's combat is awful (on hard and legend difficulties) and makes the game worse as a whole.
I want to enjoy Yakuza 3, everything about the game is great. The main story is damn good and an enjoyable journey throughout, the substories are perfectly fine with some great ones sprinkled in (Murder in Cafe Alps and Rikiya's substory saga come to mind). The minigames range from good to fine to annoying. It's a damn good game with a few issues that don't break my enjoyment. The combat however drags everything down with it, the attacks, combos and heat moves are great and they are not the issue. The issue is the Blocking, usually enemies blocking attacks isn't in issue in other Yakuza games cause you can break through it easily enough with a combo. However, in Yakuza 3 (especially on hard and legend difficulties) the blocking gets annoying real quick, every enemy blocks every attack. It is ridiculous that every enemy from the start of the game all the way to the end blocks all attacks. The recommended strategy to conbat this is to wait for the enemy to whiff their attack and then you attack form behind. While this works for half of the game, once I hit chapter 8 the brick wall of progression hit hard, from this point onwards most enemies change direction during combos and do it faster than Kiryu. Meaning you wait for them to miss an attack, start attacking their back, but before you can the enemy turns around and immediately blocks any incoming attacks and the game's combat becomes a tedious slog and battles take double the time to complete. These issues with the combat make me not want to get the legend difficulty completion trophy and I would argue this combat is more annoying and difficult than the entirety of Chapter 9 in Kiwami. Of course all of this is just my opinion and I want to know what you all think about Yakuza 3's combat, hell some of you might find it to be really easy and quite fun.
I just finished Yakuza 3 , it's not good but it's climax and final boss fight are completely worth it
I've played yakuza 0-2 on Hard with no difficulty changes, ps4 ,I started my Yakuza adventure straight from 0 and I'll be real its been a slow descent downhill , not interms of being bad but to me Yakuza 0 is a 10/10 and one of my top 5 favorite games of all time. I plan to play every yakuza game on hard Yakuza 1 and 2 are 8/10 and I would give Yakuza 3 on ps3 an overall 6/10 , it simply doesn't feel as good. It doesn't feel as interesting plot wise until the very end and there isn't much to hook you compared to every other game.
4 chapters of kid nonsense that lasts wayy to long
the chase segments are horrendous
enemies block forever and there's no guard break move except you spam the one combo that does a full knockdown
the bosses can stun lock you and you can't get out of their combos.
I barely found any substories naturally unlike every other game where I would have gotten over 3/4 from just exploring the world, and I had to look up the most important one, so important that I doubt I would have beaten the game on hard if I didn't get most of the komaki techniques. Yet, with all that being said, the moment kiryu goes to meet the defense minister to talk about wtf is happening , the game pops off with the crazy hype yakuza stuff I came to love, kiryu being surrounded by a moving mob was great, the "cia agent" boss fight was amazing but It wasn't new to because I already encountered a guy like him in yakuza kiwami. The final boss of Yakuza 3 so far is the best boss in any yakuza game so far mechanically, all the shit he can do is not only impressive, its the first fight in the series where I was genuinely amazed by the moves he was doing ,it was like fighting vergil as dante in dmc3 for the first time. I'll be heading to Yakuza 4 on ps3 sometime later. P.S Kiryu is a fucking dumbass and he deserved his stabbing for being so fucking naive and stupid. Yet it totally doesn't matter after the credits.
Context: Finished 0, Kiwami 1,2, and 3 already, but just wanted to take some time to think about 2. I've also read a lot of opinions on this subreddit about people's thoughts on Kiwami 2, just to compare my thoughts. This is mostly story stuff, spoilers obviously. Wow, what a game. This story was MESSY as HELL, but at the end I still loved it, and I do give it a lot of slack for being a remake of an old game. I think looking at the story as a whole, everything is a hot mess but I still loved it because every scene was so well made that I kind of forgave it. I do think the beginning was pretty boring at first and took some time to ramp up. But towards the middle/end (probably starting with the Kazuki twin stuff), I really loved how batshit insane the twists became, unironically. Slowly putting the pieces together about the events of the Jingweon massacre was a crazy ride, and I think that it was a great idea. Even though I was disappointed that Ryuji wasn't really a part of the story until the ending, I really appreciated his battles and his honorable character. The Majima saga was really well-made for the short amount of chapters. No surprise, I loved every single scene with him, and the Zero Makoto wrap-up was imo done perfectly, literally couldn't improve it any more. Some of my favorite scenes were: The Rain scene. Wow, I actually did not see that coming; I personally loved the song choice and the drama of it all. And the flashback with young Kiryu was a heartbreaking insight to both Kiryu's and Kazama's characters. The entire INSANE Osaka Castle section. Also, I really did like Kaoru and Kiryu's date together, it was pretty cute tbh. I'm not totally sold on their relationship like a lot of people because it was only a week technically, but the small moments with the teddy bear and being able to fight with her were pretty sweet. I was afraid in the beginning that she would be an annoying cop lady, but she grew on me. That ending was insanity, so many absurd twists that totally didn't make sense but I didn't care because it was still super entertaining. Like, it makes absolutely NO sense for Terada to have a bomb in the first place, because Takashima didn't even know about the bomb. Was the bomb fake because Terada wanted to respect Kazama's wishes by letting Kiryu live? Then why even have a bomb in the first place? If someone has an explanation then please let me know, but I don't really expect there to be bc it's ~*yakuza*~, haha. Even though the explanation makes no sense though, I still loved those twists just because it was genuinely so unexpected and interesting. And that ending with Kiryu and Kaoru ready to die making out under a bomb was honestly badass, sad, and corny as hell. And I was totally here for it. I also laughed at Kiryu just kind of abandoning Haruka to Date and saying, "Eh I think she'll understand." And this is probably not a popular opinion, but I actually loved the Sim music that they used for the ending/other parts. I personally feel that mid-2000s punk rock captured the over-the-top drama pretty well. Ok, look there are boatloads of flaws in the story. The Go-Ryu and the Jingweon's "raid" on Kamurocho being three tiny fights. The 31 bombs being disarmed off-screen by the Dojima family somehow? The reveal of Kaoru's dad being pretty underwhelming. Lack of character development for Ryuji, Daigo, Kaoru, and lots of other people (did anyone else expect something bigger out of the Kazuki twin stuff?). Seems like the main problem was just not enough development in general. These are huge, massive gaps in the the writing. BUT, every scene that we DID get, I loved every minute of. It was so convoluted, but entertaining. Other than the story, I think the substories in this game were amazing and are pretty up there with Zero if not better. The combat imo was not as good as Kiwami 1 not because it was bad, but because I miss the 4 fighting styles, the heat moves were not as satisfying overall, and the ragdoll effect made punches feel kind of weak. I love cabaret being back, I love helping these damn girls. Not so hot on clan creator though, it's pretty whatever. Anyways, I'm already done with 3, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on 2 before I move on to 4. Thank you so much for reading this, and let me know what you think! If you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you! TLDR; I liked the story, not because it made sense, but because I was just so entertained and still enjoyed my time with it.
It's a bit on the late side, but I finally finished the game. I originally planned to finish it ASAP on its release. I downloaded it the minute it came out, and even set away a few days of free time to 100% it. But then, a couple hours into the game, I got frustrated and couldn't bring myself to get back to it. Well, you can already see where this review is going, I'm not happy :( My favorite games are Y0 and Judgement, so I had high hopes for Y7. So I want to take the time to rant a bit and share my experiences. Some of the things I say below will be pretty harsh. Please keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion and experience. There seem to be a lot people who had an amazing time with the game. You should always try it for yourself.
Battle
Let's start with the big thing everyone is talking about. For reference, I actually love turn-based RPGs - I'm a huge fan of the Persona and Final Fantasy series. P5 is one of my favorite games of all time. So, the turn-based battle didn't immediately turn me off, but I was a bit skeptical whether or not it would fit the genre. As a turn-based battle fan, I found the battle in Y7 as bad as it could be. If you've ever played an RPG where you try really hard to avoid all random encounters, that is what I felt like. I found myself making huge detours in the city just to avoid random street battles. This never happened to me in previous games. I usually welcomed fights, even in other RPGs like P5. In Judgement, I actually went out of my way to find battles because they were fun and quick. With or without auto-mode, Y7 battles take unnecessarily long with their turn-switching and skill animations. The random battles break the immersion because they go into "battle mode" with enemy transformations. The battles are also clunkier than the action battles were - characters get stuck on walls and random objects and can't attack until they get teleported to the enemy, etc. All this makes the battles even longer. It's just poorly implemented compared to something like P5. After the first couple of chapters it got so annoying that I started auto-ing the random battles and doing other things on my phone while the battles was running. I almost finished another full mobile game by playing it during Y7 battle breaks. The boss battles are more challenging and, unlike the random encounters, can't be won them by spamming the attack button. Still, they were nowhere near as fun the battles in previous games. I never found myself hyped for any battle in Y7.
Characters
I like Ichiban. Kiryu has had more than half a dozen games that developed his personality and background, so comparing the two would be unfair. Ichiban is still fresh. He's more easy-going and gets emotional pretty quickly. I wouldn't mind more Ichiban games - Kiryu has had his time. However, I didn't feel any connection to the other characters, I think there were poorly developed.
Main Story
I speak Japanese, and while there were a few scenes I didn't fully understand (Yakuza speech is not easy!), I probably got ~99.9% of the main story. And I think the writing is absolutely terrible. I got spoiled by amazing stories like Judgement and Y0, and was hoping for something similar. I was so wrong. The actions of the characters in this game makes no sense. Your enemies, or other random people, will tell you all their secrets and let you leave without even trying to stop you. Then they become allies without any good reason. And this doesn't happen once, it happens all the time. I know it's a game, but in titles like Judgement these issues were largely absent - people acted in a way that would make sense in real life. The devs did a great job to understand what drives people. No such thing in Y7. The game still feels like a movie, but a really bad one. On top of that, so many scenes have cliche things like "I'm doing this to protect my nakama", but the person is talking about some random people he met a few days ago, not someone he has a long history with or grew up with. Stuff like that ruins the story for me. The characters in this game don't feel like real people. They feel like actors following a really bad script. The actual storyline in this game isn't even that bad, but all the plot holes and the bad script made me cringe, get upset, and lose interest so many times. Please bring back the Judgement and Y0 writers.
Silliness
If Y0 and Judgement are crime dramas for adults, then Y7 feels like a bad superhero movie for children. The fighting in Yakuza games has always been over-to-top, but the game itself was consistent. It's not unreasonable to think that someone like Kiryu, Yagami, a police officer, or other Yakuza are strong. Of course, they can't beat up half a dozen people with those crazy moves in reality, but that kind of over-the-top is fine. And usually it's limited to the fighting. It's a game. It's still reasonable to think that such people are slightly stronger than the average person because of their background. In Y7, all of this is thrown out of the window. Suddenly an ex-nurse and a girl running a hostess club with zero fighting experience can beat up huge Yakuza with their umbrella and handbag. Then, in the next scene, after beating a dozen of big Yakuza, the same person doesn't have enough strength to carry a few boxes of equipment. This is no over-the-top - it's just silly and breaks the game immersion. Then, add to that the silly transformations, magic moves and overall silly villain designs. With those changes the game would IMO fit much better into anime-style engine than its current realistic one. Some people may like this, but it just wasn't for me. I wanted a serious adult crime drama, not a superhero comic movie. Substories. What made them so funny in previous games were not just the stories themselves, but how a stoic Kiryu gets caught up in silly situations and tries resolve them with his seriousness, all while being involved in a life-or-death main story. The substories in Y7 are pretty good, but they don't have quite the same effect because Ichiban is already easy-going, and the rest of the game is already silly and unrealistic. There is no contrast anymore. The stories are just, uh, a bit more silliness on top of it.
Yokohama
Yokohama is the new location. Some parts of it look beautiful, but it feels empty compared to Kamurocho or Sotenbori. Yokohama is at least twice as big, but most of that space is filled with nothing - just a highway with cars and a bunch of business and government buildings with no people. Running from one end to the other means running through boring deserted areas (except for the random battles!) for 5 minutes. There are a few shopping streets in Yokohama packed with people, but most of the city is empty. Personally I prefer the bustling nature of Kamurocho/Sotenbori. I admit that I'm a bit tired of Kamurocho, but after walking around in deserted Yokohama I couldn't wait to get back there.
Minigames
There are the usual ones, and a bunch of new games and mechanics unique to Y7. I don't want to spoil them here, but they are all quite good. Hostess club management, pocket racing, and drone racing were my favorite minigames from other titles and I think nothing from Y7 really comes close. I felt like the company management is the "main" minigame of Y7. It's quite similar to the hostess club in that you need to recruit people and can't really "lose" - you will steady progress no matter what you do, but if you make suboptimal decisions it will take you longer to complete. If you do everything perfectly you can probably complete the whole storyline in ~3 hours. If you make a lot of mistakes it may take you 5-6 hours. Personally it took me around 4 hours. I made some mistakes in the beginning because I didn't know what I was doing. But once I got the hang of it, it was quite easy, similar to the hostess club. I had fun with it though, I'd almost say it was the best part of Y7 for me. I just wish it were longer.
Difficulty
Bosses can be quite difficult if you are not prepared. You either need good equipment, a ton of healing items, or grind to level up your characters. Personally I felt like I cheated a bit because I completed the company management game as soon as it unlocked. That gave me almost infinite money and I bought the best weapons and maximum amount of healing items at every store I came across. The rest of the game was pretty easy with that. I never had to grind for leveling up my characters. However, if you don't invest some time into grinding either money or levels, you'll have a hard time with some bosses.
Conclusion
Probably the worst Yakuza game I've played. What ruined it for me were the battle and the really bad writing. I think I could've forgiven one or the other. An amazing main story could've made up for the annoying battles. An amazing fun battle system could've made up for a lackluster main story. But the double whammy of awfulness with both was just too much. Personally I think Yakuza either needs another full reboot, or it should just stop at this point. I don't want to see one of my favorite series ruined. Personally I think they should shift their effort into Judgement and focus on that as a new mainstream titles. It has so much potential.
The world of Yakuza 0 contains a myriad of Substories for both Kiryu and Majima. These Substories can be found in many different streets and alleys. These Yakuza 0 features a unique side quest system in the form of Substories. This Yakuza 0 Substories Guide - Kazuma Kiryu focuses on the main characters Substories and side quests and provides information pertaining to the location and any other valuable intel. Substories Chapter 2 Substories. All of these substories will only become available after Kiryu returns to his apartment for the night as part of the story. They open up the next morning, as he's looking for info on Tachibana Real Estate. #2 - Arakure Quest. Outside the Don Quijote is a conspicuous line of people. Linked: Yakuza 0 Trophy Guide The year is 1988 and Japan's in the midst of an economic bubble. Getting rich is easy, but everyone wants in on the action. Discover the origins of Kiryu and Majima before they became legends. Do you have what it takes to become Yakuza? Guide Rating: 291,658 Views The following is a list of substories for the game Yakuza 0. There are 100 substories for this game. Hello, this is Dashi with another long guide! After Yakuza 0 finally arrived on PC, ... (Kiryu) In Chapter 2, you unlock all three of the main fight styles. ... Kiryu has to complete 59/60 substories and Majima 39/40 to activate it. Yakuza 0 was originally released in Japan on March 12, 2015. It was released in North America on January 24, 2017. It is a prequel of the Yakuza (series). 1 Plot 2 Story 2.1 Chapters 2.2 Substories 3 Completion List 4 Screenshots 5 Videos 6 See also In December, 1988, two unlikely figures from the Yakuza world, Kazuma Kiryu of the Kantō region and Goro Majima of the Kansai Region, have ... Once you complete all of Kiryu's substories but one, your pager will make some odd noises and tell you to come to the bullfighting arena. Take a taxi to the arena and you'll face Kiryu's bonus boss: So Amon. Prepare for this fight. Fill up your inventory with Incomparable Habu Drinks and get the best Mail armor you've made from Dragon & Tiger. Welcome to IGN's Walkthrough for Yakuza 0, continuing with Chapter 2: The Real Estate Broker in the Shadows. In this chapter, you play as Kazuma Kiryu. You'll see a guy hiding behind a pole. This guide … 13 comments . For information regarding the other trophies in the game, refer to the main trophy guide linked below. As it tu
walkthroughs, glitches, and gameplay for Yakuza 0. While walking down the streets of Kamurocho, Kiryu overhears two women talking about a fortune teller. Kiryu dismisses it as something that is ridiculous, bu... Kiryu arranges a meeting with a girl from the telephone club at the theater square. But when he arrives there, there's no girl that matches the description h... And now she violates Kiryu, god damn it. Don't miss out on the recent Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 HD release, you can import it through Play-Asia through this link: http... Kiryu meets a telephone club clerk who seems to be troubled. He asks Kiryu to talk to this strange girl that keeps calling in the club and to tell her not to... Kiryu encounters a woman asking him for help saying her friend is getting harassed by a drunk man. He follows her only to be ambushed by a young man, and thi... Yakuza 0 is set in Japan's bubble era, a period of extremely high property prices in Japan during the second half of the 1980s. The game's two principal loca... Majima encounters a peculiar looking statue, which is in fact a street performer posing as a statue. He requests Majima's help to distract spectators as he a... Patreon https://www.patreon.com/VideoGamesSourceTwitter https://twitter.com/xOMGITSJASONxYakuza 0 - Chapter 2: Penthouse: Tachibana to Kazuma Kiryu "I Want T... Kiryu's first postcard submission to Dolce Kamiya's radio show!
