Yakuza Games Catch All

I'm replaying 0 after getting to chapter 11 or so last year, then playing through Kiwami, Kiwami 2, and 6.

Going through it with a decent idea about how the fighting mechanics work has made everything a lot easier this time around, especially with knowing the high damage heat actions and how to trigger them.

I had last week off of work so I got started on the copy of Zero from the Humble Monthly a couple of months ago. I'm on chapter 7ish- Kiryu has just gotten into real estate. I've probably spent too much time fiddling around with substories and activities that I can come back to later, but that's a big part of the fun. I'm normally not a fan of brawler-type games but on Easy I'm OK with this one.

I'm vaguely amused by the all-in adherence to genre conventions- your PC can snap a neck or tee off on three guys heads with a baseball bat in one scene then be shocked by the idea of killing someone in the next. It's like an attack in a paper RPG system where non-lethal is always non-lethal because it is dammit. Doesn't bother me, just sticks out a little.

Oh just wait, it gets better. Spoiler for a future chapter in the double-digits, though I cannot recall which one:

Spoiler:

It felt so weird to be shooting people in the face as Kiryu on the highway. Like "whelp, I didn't start out as a murderer, but I sure as frell am one now".

ccesarano wrote:

Oh just wait, it gets better. Spoiler for a future chapter in the double-digits, though I cannot recall which one:

Spoiler:

It felt so weird to be shooting people in the face as Kiryu on the highway. Like "whelp, I didn't start out as a murderer, but I sure as frell am one now".

I had the exact same reaction.

qaraq wrote:

I'm vaguely amused by the all-in adherence to genre conventions- your PC can snap a neck or tee off on three guys heads with a baseball bat in one scene then be shocked by the idea of killing someone in the next. It's like an attack in a paper RPG system where non-lethal is always non-lethal because it is dammit. Doesn't bother me, just sticks out a little.

They're all breathing afterwards, though. It's fine.

Even though they got shot 5 times, stabbed, hit in the head repeatedly by a bat, and suplex'd into a lightpole... in the last 2 minutes.....

There's also the training session where you break a dude's arm 5 times, over and over.

Is this gonna be our Yakuza Series Catch-All? I feel like it's basically the Yakuza Series Catch-All, at the very least since I'm uncertain if a separate thread for Judgment would do well.

USGamer has put out its preview, acknowledging that Judgment is in the Yakuza universe but is the first game to follow a separate storyline (I think?). There are some details given that note how similar it is (it takes place in Kamurocho, combat works similar, etc.), but you'll also be able to interrogate suspects and other people. The game is linear, so largely what you choose impacts your experience gained for boosting abilities and leveling up. I find this okay, because if the questions are in any way designed like the Cabaret Club questions (which will be absent in Judgment), then it'll be really easy to look at all three options and think "There's no such thing as a correct choice".

But for me, there's one big highlight.

Both the English dub and subtitled version with Japanese audio have different scripts; the sub localized to fit the Japanese script, the English script localized more to fit its English voice acting.

In other words, the English subtitles match whatever language is currently playing. My biggest gripe in a lot of games and anime is that the subtitles are often written for the dub, which has to change dialogue in order to better match lip-syncing and other limitations. In fact, I'm experiencing this right now with World of Final Fantasy, where they translated a character saying "Thank you" as "I love you!" so the tsundere they're addressing doesn't seem so random when they freak out. That kind of stuff is always jarring to me and has me wondering what else has been so dramatically changed.

That Judgment is going the extra mile is enough for me to just want to buy it day one.

Also: for those uninterested in the article, here's a trailer of the different subtitle options.

Yup, they're giving Judgment the A+ localization treatment that I hope becomes a regular thing in the industry.

I feel they're setting a high bar for themselves by naming the next Yakuza-adjacent game Judgment:

qaraq wrote:

I'm vaguely amused by the all-in adherence to genre conventions- your PC can snap a neck or tee off on three guys heads with a baseball bat in one scene then be shocked by the idea of killing someone in the next. It's like an attack in a paper RPG system where non-lethal is always non-lethal because it is dammit. Doesn't bother me, just sticks out a little.

Guess you haven't gotten around to singing karaoke with your Yakuza badass or RC car racing. You know, the important things in life while trying to find a kidnapped child.

Personally, I've spent way too much time playing crane games. Def my favorite part of Kiwami.

Kiryu just slapped a seven-year-old.

Kiryu just took a seven-year-old to an underground gambling establishment.

I really need to get back to this and Persona 5. Wrapping up Nier: Automata at the moment, so it looks like a Japanese game Spring.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DihC6PyU0AIP6lo?format=jpg&name=large)

kazooka wrote:

Kiryu just slapped a seven-year-old.

kazooka wrote:

Kiryu just took a seven-year-old to an underground gambling establishment.

He's a first time parent, cut him some slack.

Stayed up way too late two nights ago giving a Yakuza game a try for the first time. Got through chapter 1 in a single long sitting.

Now I'm sad that I waited so long. This game is fantastic!

Bonus_Eruptus wrote:

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DihC6PyU0AIP6lo?format=jpg&name=large)

One of the numerous highlights of chapter 1

Kiryu just took a small child to a brothel. The sex workers were all horrified. This isn't even the worst of what all's happened to this kid. Is there a therapy mini-game in the sequels?

So I began playing this today. My first Yakuza game ever, and wow, it’s kind of insane and I love it. The fighting is nifty, and the side stuff to do is insane.

It was also my first Yakuza game and I adored it. You’re in for a wild ride.

Reinstalled this because Judgement just came out. I have no idea what missions I have going and the game's not giving me any markers to follow. I was getting jumped non-stop by the men in black. These weren't difficult encounters but I eventually lost quite a bit of health. When I rounded the next corner I ran into the money extortionist guy who's robbing people to fund his combat training. He doesn't have a tricky pattern of attack to figure out but he's got so much HP. In my wounded state all he needed was a single hit and I was done.

Then I realized all the money I just lost. This is super f*cking frustrating and reminded me a little of why I bounced off of this two years ago. At least I didn't progress very far and quit without saving.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...

Yakuza 3,4,5 getting remasters on ps4. Three is out today. Guess it's going to be a year of Yakuza for me.

I've been wondering if we should just make this the Yakuza Series catch-all, in part because I want to talk about Judgment every so often.

Which continues to be good, but, uh... after playing the third Yakuza-dev-team game in less than 9 months, it does start to wear on ya. Plus: other games like Fire Emblem snagging attention.

I think it already is. I mean, we're three deep at this point.

kazooka wrote:

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...

Yakuza 3,4,5 getting remasters on ps4. Three is out today. Guess it's going to be a year of Yakuza for me.

What no P.C release?

Rock paper shotgun seems to think there will be:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/201...

Man, Yakuza 3 is pretty rough so far. It looks like it might have been at the worst intersection of difficulty to remaster and just good enough graphics that it may be the nadir of the series. Like, whereas all the other releases you can tell are remasters, but still feel modern, this definitely feels like a PS3 game. An early PS3 game.

The Kiwami games weren't just remasters, they were straight up remakes. So that's probably part of it as well.

Yakuza 7 is apparently going to be a turn-based combat game and I don't know how I feel

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...

I feel fine. They can try some new stuff.

Game will be called Yakuza: Like a Dragon outside of Japan. There's an English language site with a video: http://likeadragon.sega.com/

Site isn't working, but Gematsu has the video embedded at their article: https://gematsu.com/2019/08/yakuza-7...

Not sure why the vid isn't up on YouTube yet.

I like the idea of turn-based, but I like turn-based in general.

I hate the dude's haircut, and I was really wondering why they'd go right back to the first game being about a guy that goes to prison for someone else's crime, but everything else looked good.

Can't really comment on the combat system switch. It's a bit of an odd choice, but if you've been working on the same kind of game for almost 20 years you'd probably just stop one day and say "SCREW IT! WE'RE SWAPPIN' GENRES!"

Man I'm never gonna get caught up on these games, am I. I'm amazed how quickly they're pumping them out while seemingly keeping the quality high.