Yakuza series

[south carmain]

How long dhas it taken you to get to the end of Kiryu's section? It took me nearly 10 hours and I didn't even do all the tourist photos, revelations and eatery missions that I decided to leave for the final part.

[Riku Rose]

I beat Kiryu's section yesterday and think it also took me about 10 hours. I only found one revelation, took about 3-4 photos, did none of the driving mini games and did about 10 sidequests. I'm not a trophy hunter either so there isn't much reason for me to go to the restaurants outside of regaining health.

[OL]

I'm not really one to do every teeny tiny thing, but I did every side quest, every driving mission, all the training with Shotaro Komaki, found every restaurant for the tv chef, etc etc... Only gotten one revelation so far though, and I'm missing a couple other things I think. I'm close to 20 hours, I think, but part of that is because I paused the game once or twice to go eat dinner or whatever, and I think the game still keeps ticking even while paused.
So technically I guess you could say it's about 15-18 hours to do almost everything in Kazuma's section? Something like that. Not even counting playing darts, making udon, singing karaoke, or anything like that.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Indeed, snowy areas and hunting to be had.

And more snow/related hilarity once he hits Susikino.

[Monkei]

With my main-story-only approach it took me about 12 hours to reach chapter 4 of part 2 (Saejima). Feels like (more than?) half of those 12 hours were cutscenes and dialogue. I guess you're getting more film than game if you play it like that.

[OL]

I think the game is really built with the side-stories in mind, to be honest. You're supposed to be dipping into them as you go along. Keeping up with them, the 10- to 15-minute cutscenes that pop up in the main story end up feeling like rewards. So far I've been more than happy to sit through and enjoy them every time they come along.

[Monkei]

Keeping up with them, the 10- to 15-minute cutscenes that pop up in the main story end up feeling like rewards. So far I've been more than happy to sit through and enjoy them every time they come along.

Yeah, that's how I imagine it to feel like, and that's most likely how it's meant to be played. Totally agreed. I'm probably missing out on a lot of cool stuff it has to offer, but I still can't be arsed :p Too much of the gameplay just feels kinda old and rusty. Getting stuck in the crowd on sidewalks, that semi-open world, repetitive npc animations, these slow menues that refuse to run fluidly. I don't wanna talk it down, it's still awesome. It just doesn't feel fresh enough for me to dive deeper into it. But I've gotta say I feel more tempted to do at least some of the extra stuff than when I played Yakuza 3 and 4. Maybe I'll finally choose a different approach for the next entry.

[Let's Get Sweaty]

Some of the things you uncover/unlock in the side missions will also help you on your journey through the main story.

One example in the first town:

If you assist the TV chef he will teach you how to gain special perks/boosters in upcoming battles by eating different foods at restaurants.

[south carmain]

Holy fucking shit why didn't the put up a warning before saejima sings along "rouge of love" my sides were seriously unprepared.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Holy fucking shit why didn't the put up a warning before saejima sings along "rouge of love" my sides were seriously unprepared.

:D Best karaoke in the game EVER, with Majima's in 0 coming in at a close second.

Not just the singing though, the punching of the arms? Pure gold.

[south carmain]

Nearly 60 hours in and I haven't even finished part 3. This game really is filled to the brim with content.

[OL]

Yeah, I only just finished the hunting section with Saejima. I guess it was mainly optional, but I felt the need to at least see the basic Yama-Oroshi story through to its end. Just got to the city, and I'm somewhere around 35-ish hours.
I really want to finally play as the baseball player, but I just looked at the map, saw all the side-quests available to me, and suddenly the rest of the game feels so very far away...

[Riku Rose]

I just beat chapter 2.

A couple of days ago I decided I was going to blow through the story and then go back for the side stuff, I was 20 hours in and felt like I had barely touched the main game. I was already forgetting stuff that had happened in the story as I had been doing so much side missions. Well I only got 30 minutes into my plan of doing nothing but the main game and before I knew it I was helping a guy deliver noodles on an icy road and helping a Santa deal with a street gang.

I love Yakuza.

[GYO6161]

I just ordered Yakuza 3 and 4 on amazon, joining the hype, if i like them ill pick up 5.

[streetwaves]

I played through the main storyline of Yakuza 0 last week and enjoyed it a lot, despite only understanding about 15% of what was going on. Can't wait until it comes out in English so I can give it another go-through and fully appreciate it and do more of the side quests.