Yakuza series

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:21 pm

I was about to say that Kiwami would be the place to start, since it's a remake of the first, but Harry makes a good point on starting with Zero. I'm about halfway through the story of Zero now, and it occurs to me that playing Kiwami after this is really going to make everything between Kazuma and Nishiki resonate a helluva lot more than it ever did in the original game, really make it "pop" in ways it never had the time to in the original PS2 version.
Only drawback is that, from what I hear, the sidequests and whatnot are pretty much all exactly the same in Kiwami as they were in the original Yakuza 1. That is to say... they aren't going to be quite as fun and charming as the ones in Zero.
But all the same, for main story purposes, Zero's definitely the best starting point.

And then, as luck would have it, Kiwami 2 releases in August.
Zero, then Kiwami, then Kiwami 2; it really is a pretty perfect time for people to jump on board with the series now. I've been following it since the beginning, so it's not the kind of thing I have to think about much, but just like what a lot of people are saying about Shenmue HD, I'm almost jealous of anyone getting to start the Yakuza series right now. The devs have the series down to a science by this point, and it's all pretty great (long as you don't burn yourself out, like I did a while back; only just recently got the spark back).

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby AnimeGamer183 » Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:30 pm

My only concern with new fans starting with 0 is that isnt there alot more new game play mechanics and systems in 0 that wont be in the Kiwami games? I just dont want new fans to play 0 the go into Kiwami and think its bare bones in comparison, but maybe there are more additions I am unaware of with the Kiwami games. By all means enlighten me if I am incorrect.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Sun Apr 29, 2018 12:09 am

Far as I'm aware, Kiwami updates the fighting system by giving Kazuma 3 or 4 different styles to switch between, just like Zero did, so at the very least that avenue shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise, there may be a disparity in the amount of content overall (as I've heard it, the side-quests are all the same as they ever were), but there are also other additions like the "Majima everywhere" thing, and apparently there's more content added to flesh out Nishiki's storyline. Not sure about minigames and all.
Really, it shouldn't be a big problem for newcomers; as they would find out soon enough, all of the games have big differences and distinctions between them. Even if Kiwami felt a bit lacking after Zero, players would still be aware that it's a remake regardless (not like it's a secret or anything), so I wouldn't doubt if they'd be a little more forgiving with that in mind. They'd likely be playing it mainly for the story, anyway.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Haruto » Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:08 am

Kiwami feels like an expansion to 0. It's added some new side stories and a few small things and I think even a few extra story bits to explain some things better. It did NOT feel like a letdown at all. The Majima everywhere is awesome.

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby AnimeGamer183 » Sun Apr 29, 2018 11:31 am

Nice. Sounds like we all could free fall into the Yakuza games all over again with 0 and Kiwami seemingly relaunching the series. For christs sake they need to do a Kiwami 3 at least in the west so we can actually get the entirety of that game finally. Too think I almost gave up on the series while playing 3, I still have no way to play 5 so as it stand I ahve only experienced 1-4. I wonder what the chances of getting Kiwami 3 4 and 5? Are 4 and 5 even necessary to remake? I will hop back in with 0 eventually...
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Haruto » Sun Apr 29, 2018 2:07 pm

Sega said if there is enough demand they will port 3-5 on PS4.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:09 pm

Personally I think it'd be kind of a moot effort to actually remake 3-5. Maybe port them to PS4, sure, but full-on Kiwami-style remakes seem pointless. I understand they started a new graphics engine with 5 (that's the one Kiwami and Zero run on, right?), but the visual differences are minuscule; the change was done mainly for performance purposes, not visual ones. More people in crowds, less slow-down, faster loading, etc.
Releasing "Yakuza 3 Remastered" or something might make sense (just a bump into 4K or whatever). "Yakuza 5 Remastered" would work even better, since it's already in the right engine, and we never got a physical release in the west.
But full-on "Kiwami"-style remakes for any of them?
Sounds like a bad business decision to me.
Not that I wouldn't buy it ('course I would) I just wouldn't bother making it if I were with Sega.

On the subject of 3, I still think the omissions made in the western release are small enough that they, by themselves, definitely don't justify a re-release. Without knowing beforehand that they made any omissions, absolutely nothing seems out of the ordinary when you play it anyway, and the stuff missing is absolutely minor at best.

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Haruto » Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:32 pm

Kiwami 1 and 0 run on the same engine as Y3. Just looks vastly better on PS4. Kiwami 2 uses the Y6 Dragon Engine. I agree however. Ports are all they need.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby FlagshipFighter » Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:43 am

So, Yakuza 6 has suffered a bit of a steep decline to the late 30's in the UK last week (after hitting the top 3 in sales on launch week)

A bit saddening though I suppose it's somewhat unsurprising by many (since it was the 6th game in) and competition has been fierce.

Kiwami 1 didn't fair so well in the US last year due to late August being quite a competitive month as well.

Hope it did well enough. Makes me more surprised/appreciate the fact that shenmue 1 and 2 is doing so well! (despite some differences to take into account, like pricing, platforms etc)

So far I am enjoying Yakuza 6 though especially the more I've gotten into it, on chapter 3 atm.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:21 pm

Just finished Yakuza Zero.
Got about halfway through the game doing side-activities as much as possible, then just fast-tracked it to the end once the story got too intriguing to put aside. And god damn.
I knew it was going to be good, and I fully expected a lot of badass posturing and a return to legit yakuza politics and whatnot (which was very, very welcome after the weird sidetracking done by Yakuza 5), but I definitely didn't expect it to be genuinely touching on top of it all. Some of the final scenes -- particularly stuff with Majima and Makoto -- actually managed to choke me up just a bit. Really, really good storytelling.
I was also thinking the whole game, as things ramped up and got more and more serious... how the fuck is any of this going to segue properly into the story of the original game/Kiwami? Seemed so much like bridges were being burned and original plot points were being overwritten. And yet... it all works out. Perfectly. In ways that prequels rarely ever seem to get right.
Not to mention that the final fight playing as Kazuma is easily one of, if not the absolute greatest one-on-one brawl in the series (and remember that I haven't finished 5 or played through 6, so I can't count those). And the final scene, when the intro music for the original Yakuza on PS2 starts playing? Goddamn, what a great feeling that was.

I'm often late to the party on playing certain games, and so often people will tell me "Once you play it, you'll be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner."
That never happens. I'm usually completely content in just waiting for the mood to strike me, and I never mind that I waited.
But this is probably the first time I actually am kicking myself.
I got burnt out on the Yakuza series by playing 50-something hours into Y5 and then getting such a bad taste in my mouth with the Haruka stuff that I just had to put it down and leave it for a while.
But man, if I'd actually just worked my way into Zero back when it was first released, it would have brought my taste for the series back almost immediately. Should have done it sooner, without a doubt.

I think now I will go back to Yakuza 5 and finish that. I remember just where I was (right around the point of starting Akiyama's story), so it'll be no problem jumping back in. Shouldn't be long before I finish that, and I'll figure out if I want Y6 immediately after, or if I should give Kiwami a go first.
But yeah, mood's back. So much that I might just go watch one of the Battles Without Honor and Humanity movies tonight.

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Haruto » Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:20 pm

I did not play the original Yakuza 2 but something in Kiwami 2 ties with Y0 in what I think is a side story.
I won't reveal how as that's part of the fun but she finally realized it was Majima.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Henry Spencer » Tue May 01, 2018 6:11 pm

Yakuza 0 is a masterpiece, in my opinion and the best game Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has ever put out. I remember you and certain others on here annoyed that Majima is getting so much limelight but I'm like Yakuza 0 actually put him up as a really deep character and showed another side to his character. Yakuza 2 used to be my favourite story in the series but Yakuza 0 just has the best cast of antagonists in the series for me. They're all intimidating presences and so distinct from each other. And they're all amazing boss battles and those boss battle music themes...think it's actually the series composer Hidenori Shoji's best work as a composer yet as well.

I absolutely loved the side quests in Yakuza 0 as well, so many highlights and the funniest ones in the series yet as well. The writing really shines in this game. Yakuza 0 is actually my favourite game this generation thus far. It didn't just rejuvenate my love for the series, it surpassed other greats from this gen for me like Gravity Rush and Bloodborne.

And yes Orange, it actually enhances Yakuza 1's storyline as well thanks to the events of Yakuza 0.

And yeah 0's ending with Majima was actually the only one in the series to actually make me choke up too. I wanted to give Majima a hug, haha. Poor guy. Such a melancholic, and yet beautiful ending.

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Tue May 01, 2018 11:57 pm

Yeah, great boss battles. I think the Rush fighting style makes all the difference in one-on-one fights. I'm back to playing Y5 now, and the fighting just feels so... loose. Granted, I'm playing as Akiyama, but still. In Yakuza Zero, the fighting feels so tight and precise, and the Rush style in particular makes those boss battles feel so much more on-point.
Have to say though, by the third Kuze fight, I was just kind of laughing at him. :lol:
I don't think he was supposed to come off as a laughing stock, but the frequency of Kazuma handing his ass to him just made it so.

I will say, my one genuine complaint is the sort of... disparity, I guess, between gameplay and thematic story content.
What I mean by that is, the gameplay itself can get so incredibly brutal, with Majima kicking daggers into people's abdomens, snapping necks and so on, and Kazuma literally shooting people in the head during the car chase sequence... and yet so much of the story revolves around their unwillingness to kill.
I mean... what?
I guess this has always been a little bit of an issue, since some level of fatal-ish violence has always been there throughout the series' gameplay, but it's much more present here, since there's just so much more impact to the action. Likewise, it almost feels like a weird retcon that both Kazuma and Majima refuse to kill so steadfastly, since it always felt pretty implicit from the original game on that these were some genuinely hardboiled criminal characters. Majima in particular certainly seemed like the murder-willing type from his very first appearance back in 2005.
I get why the disparity is there (you want the action to hit hard, and yet idealized Japanese characters typically don't kill... so what's a developer to do?), it just feels more present than ever in this particular game.

But yeah, having played this, I don't mind the mass of Majima appearances anymore. Before Zero, I thought of him one way (entertaining as hell, but a little one-note), but then Zero changes all that. Can't wait to see more in Kiwami and Kiwami 2 (and 6, if he's in that at all).
So yeah, I'd agree the game is a masterpiece. If I'd played it back in 2015, I'd definitely call it my own personal GOTY.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby south carmain » Wed May 02, 2018 12:11 am

OL wrote: Yeah, great boss battles. I think the Rush fighting style makes all the difference in one-on-one fights. I'm back to playing Y5 now, and the fighting just feels so... loose. Granted, I'm playing as Akiyama, but still. In Yakuza Zero, the fighting feels so tight and precise, and the Rush style in particular makes those boss battles feel so much more on-point.
Have to say though, by the third Kuze fight, I was just kind of laughing at him. :lol:
I don't think he was supposed to come off as a laughing stock, but the frequency of Kazuma handing his ass to him just made it so.

I will say, my one genuine complaint is the sort of... disparity, I guess, between gameplay and thematic story content.
What I mean by that is, the gameplay itself can get so incredibly brutal, with Majima kicking daggers into people's abdomens, snapping necks and so on, and Kazuma literally shooting people in the head during the car chase sequence... and yet so much of the story revolves around their unwillingness to kill.
I mean... what?
I guess this has always been a little bit of an issue, since some level of fatal-ish violence has always been there throughout the series' gameplay, but it's much more present here, since there's just so much more impact to the action. Likewise, it almost feels like a weird retcon that both Kazuma and Majima refuse to kill so steadfastly, since it always felt pretty implicit from the original game on that these were some genuinely hardboiled criminal characters. Majima in particular certainly seemed like the murder-willing type from his very first appearance back in 2005.
I get why the disparity is there (you want the action to hit hard, and yet idealized Japanese characters typically don't kill... so what's a developer to do?), it just feels more present than ever in this particular game.

But yeah, having played this, I don't mind the mass of Majima appearances anymore. Before Zero, I thought of him one way (entertaining as hell, but a little one-note), but then Zero changes all that. Can't wait to see more in Kiwami and Kiwami 2 (and 6, if he's in that at all).
So yeah, I'd agree the game is a masterpiece. If I'd played it back in 2015, I'd definitely call it my own personal GOTY.

Reminds me of this part in yakuza 1 lol
phpBB [video]

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby MJMW » Wed May 02, 2018 11:54 am

Nonsense.
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