Yakuza series

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Henry Spencer » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:01 am


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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Riku Rose » Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:21 am

The price seems to be going up for Nier I need to get that soon.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby south carmain » Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:26 am


thanks, considering nier and alpha protocol are extremely cheap at my local store I can afford all 3 for 20£
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Dorian » Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:46 pm

I'm almost done with Y3. I miss only one trophy and I didn't get it yet only because I lost my system data and had to start all over again, lol.

I had a blast with it, but it wasn't the blast of my life, sadly. The Yakuza/RGG series is way beyond Shenmue as far as storytelling and characterization are concerned. Seriously, it makes Shenmue look like a totally amateurish stuff when it comes to those aspects. Unfortunately, even on PS3, the Yakuza games play far less excitingly than Shenmue. The mechanics found in Shenmue are rock-solid to this day, whereas the Yakuza games' mechanics are sloppy as hell, unpolished, uninspired and - to quote that stupid DmC reboot - generally nauseating. I already invested a lot of my time in Y4 and I know that it improves on the Y3 gameplay formula by a great deal, but it's still not up to the challenge of surpassing Shenmue. Not even close. It's also a fact that Shenmue's OST is a true masterpiece while the Yakuza OSTs vary from average to good.

In a nutshell, I have these strange feels towards the Yakuza series... In one way, it's way better than Shenmue ever was, but in many other ways it's far worse, kinda like its poor cousin.

One way or another, it's amazing to have Kazzy and the funky bunch.

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby ShOzO MiZuKi » Sat Sep 01, 2012 5:02 pm

Dorian wrote:I'm almost done with Y3. I miss only one trophy and I didn't get it yet only because I lost my system data and had to start all over again, lol.

I had a blast with it, but it wasn't the blast of my life, sadly. The Yakuza/RGG series is way beyond Shenmue as far as storytelling and characterization are concerned. Seriously, it makes Shenmue look like a totally amateurish stuff when it comes to those aspects. Unfortunately, even on PS3, the Yakuza games play far less excitingly than Shenmue. The mechanics found in Shenmue are rock-solid to this day, whereas the Yakuza games' mechanics are sloppy as hell, unpolished, uninspired and - to quote that stupid DmC reboot - generally nauseating. I already invested a lot of my time in Y4 and I know that it improves on the Y3 gameplay formula in a great deal, but it's still not up to the challenge of surpassing Shenmue. Not even close. It's also a fact that Shenmue's OST is a true masterpiece while the Yakuza OSTs vary from average to good.

In a nutshell, I have these strange feels towards the Yakuza series... In one way, it's way better than Shenmue ever was, but in many other ways it's far worse, kinda like its poor cousin.

One way or another, it's amazing to have Kazzy and the funky bunch.


First off, good to see you again Dorian.

now, its funny you mention Y3 I have been playing it all morning. Almost ready for
Tokyo
. The game is fun, but in comparison to Shenmue it is much less detailed. Lacks a little bit of the magic and soul of Shenmue, yet delivers a great experience. A game that deals with saving an orphanage is pretty unique to me. I however could not imagine playing the game all day non-stop as it gets boring after a few hours, so I generally take a break for a few days.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Dorian » Sat Sep 01, 2012 5:20 pm

ShOzO MiZuKi wrote:First off, good to see you again Dorian.

now, its funny you mention Y3 I have been playing it all morning. Almost ready for
Tokyo
. The game is fun, but in comparison to Shenmue it is much less detailed. Lacks a little bit of the magic and soul of Shenmue, yet delivers a great experience. A game that deals with saving an orphanage is pretty unique to me. I however could not imagine playing the game all day non-stop as it gets boring after a few hours, so I generally take a break for a few days.

You're the second person I know to speak of these 'details'. Not saying that I don't agree, but I wouldn't put it that way. I think it's more about the lack of polish. Something about the Yakuza games being slovenly outside of the fully voiced story cut-scenes. It's really annoying if you're a Shenmue fan, but at the same time it's annoying to go back to Shenmue's amateurish writing and direction after playing through the Yakuza series.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby ShOzO MiZuKi » Sat Sep 01, 2012 5:37 pm

Dorian wrote:
ShOzO MiZuKi wrote:First off, good to see you again Dorian.

now, its funny you mention Y3 I have been playing it all morning. Almost ready for
Tokyo
. The game is fun, but in comparison to Shenmue it is much less detailed. Lacks a little bit of the magic and soul of Shenmue, yet delivers a great experience. A game that deals with saving an orphanage is pretty unique to me. I however could not imagine playing the game all day non-stop as it gets boring after a few hours, so I generally take a break for a few days.

You're the second person I know to speak of these 'details'. Not saying that I don't agree, but I wouldn't put it that way. I think it's more about the lack of polish. Something about the Yakuza games being slovenly outside of the fully voiced story cut-scenes. It's really annoying if you're a Shenmue fan, but at the same time it's annoying to go back to Shenmue's amateurish writing and direction after playing through the Yakuza series.


I'm more referring to the ability to physically pick up items and look at them, going into nearly every shop or room. Again it may be the realism that Shenmue has. In terms of fighting, the flames and ability to just tap square of triangle while only having mostly generic moves in the Yakuza battles puts the detail to realism a bit lower than Shenmue to me.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Dorian » Sat Sep 01, 2012 5:46 pm

ShOzO MiZuKi wrote:I'm more referring to the ability to physically pick up items and look at them, going into nearly every shop or room. Again it may be the realism that Shenmue has. In terms of fighting, the flames and ability to just tap square of triangle while only having mostly generic moves in the Yakuza battles puts the detail to realism a bit lower than Shenmue to me.

That ability is vastly overrated. Ryo picks up most things in the exactly same way and just rotates them in the exactly same way. It's pretty bland and pointless in most cases. Plus, there's not that much of those items outside of his house and hideouts (not counting gashapon). I wouldn't insist on that aspect, although I do like it in Shenmue and miss it Yakuza. It's just that the real problem with Yakuza lies in the general sloppiness of the devs. Yakuza feels extremely rushed and uninspired gameplay-wise. We'll see how's the deal with Y5, which had twice the development time. Y1-4 are not up to the Shenmue standards gameplay-wise, but they sure are overshadowing it with their storylines, direction and characterization.

Oh, and the battle system in Yakuza is an utter mess. If it wasn't for the fun-to-watch HEAT action animations, it would be unplayable.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:52 am

I think "unplayable" is a pretty harsh exaggeration. If any Yakuza game is nigh-unplayable, then so are Final Fight and Streets of Rage. Punch, kick, throw. The Heat actions certainly bring it to greater life, of course, but without them I'd just call it "nothing amazing" myself. It'd play just fine, it just wouldn't be as fun or interesting as stomping their faces or shoving a rolled magazine up their asses.

Agreed on the ability to pick things up though. It's a fun little gimmick, but it doesn't define how detailed something is. I don't want to say one has the advantage over the other necessarily, but the two series are at least on par with eachother in the detail department.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Dorian » Sun Sep 02, 2012 5:31 am

OL wrote: I think "unplayable" is a pretty harsh exaggeration. If any Yakuza game is nigh-unplayable, then so are Final Fight and Streets of Rage. Punch, kick, throw. The Heat actions certainly bring it to greater life, of course, but without them I'd just call it "nothing amazing" myself. It'd play just fine, it just wouldn't be as fun or interesting as stomping their faces or shoving a rolled magazine up their asses.

Y1-4 battles feature one of the worst enemy AI in the video game history, those enemies are extremely generic and low-poly, the hit detection is atrocious, the clipping is repulsive, the controls are unnerving, the camera is horrendous and the overall simplicity throws one off after a short time. Final Fight and Streets of Rage are classic arcade beat 'em ups done with such style that you get pulled into them despite just a few moves. There's more to them than punch, kick, throw, and they obviously weren't designed to be played as long gaming journeys. Yakuza immerses you with its story, but not with its gameplay. It lacks the appeal, the charm, the magic - you name it. One way or another, it really sucks gameplay-wise and I can't blame people in the West for not giving it a chance. Most people just can't handle something that plays so badly just to see some Yakuza movie in 3D.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Crimson Ryan » Sun Sep 02, 2012 7:00 am

Dorian!!!

Anyway.. Sega's TGS lineup for next month:

The lineup currently includes just Yakuza 5 (PS3), Yakuza 1&2 HD Edition (PS3) and Phantasy Star Online 2 (PSV, iOS, Android, PC). For partner companies, Sega will be showing FIFA 13 (PS3, X360, PSV, PSP), Medal of Honor War Fighter (PS3, X360, PC) and Need for Speed Most Wanted (PS3, X360, PSV, PC).


Does Sega have a new distribution deal with EA for Japan? That's good for them.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Riku Rose » Sun Sep 02, 2012 6:50 pm

OL wrote: I think "unplayable" is a pretty harsh exaggeration. If any Yakuza game is nigh-unplayable, then so are Final Fight and Streets of Rage. Punch, kick, throw. The Heat actions certainly bring it to greater life, of course, but without them I'd just call it "nothing amazing" myself. It'd play just fine, it just wouldn't be as fun or interesting as stomping their faces or shoving a rolled magazine up their asses.

Agreed on the ability to pick things up though. It's a fun little gimmick, but it doesn't define how detailed something is. I don't want to say one has the advantage over the other necessarily, but the two series are at least on par with eachother in the detail department.


Come on you know better after all these years then to try and debate with the guy. It's like trying to explain how to file your taxes to a cat.

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Crimson Ryan » Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:29 pm

Sega announced a collaboration with five ramen shops. Starting tomorrow in Japan, they will sell Yakuza-themed ramen. In exchange, they will have their signs included in the game. 4Gamer have more details and shots of Toshihiro Nagoshi at the taster event..

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More crazy Yakuza themed goodies for TGS!
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Dorian » Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:34 pm

^In other words, everything is going according to the plan.

When I look at those screens, I don't see an entirely new engine, sadly. It's noticeably prettier than Y3-4, though.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby south carmain » Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:38 pm

it would be cool if the limited edition came with ramen lol did any collectors editions of the previous games make it to the west? it would probably be the first one I actually buy

Dorian wrote:^In other words, everything is going according to the plan.

When I look at those screens, I don't see an entirely new engine, sadly. It's noticeably prettier than Y3-4, though.

how not? the amount of improvements from previous games is incredible
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