Yakuza

Should read: hold down R1 while fighting to shift and using the dodge technique while shifting to quickly escape

did anyone play yakuza 2 through? seen it mentioned a few times on ILg I think

Sitting on my to-be-played shelf :(

some solid praise from good writer types. been meaning to pick up a copy, but that would necessitate buying a new PS2 memory card.

Yakuza 2 was probably my favorite game of last year. the story is stunningly non-retarded (I never played the first one so I had no idea what to expect), the action is frantic and awesome, and then there's this:

this game is great (regretting putting it on easy tho cos it's a pinch too easy); as james says the story is surprisingly nonretardo, the presentation (gfx+music) is great and the combat is rly satisfying

my only complaints are petty: no 480p even tho the box says so, the camera is a bit iffy, eh

we're never going to see yakuza 3, kenzan or yakuza 4 in the west are we?

fuck yeah!!!!
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18013966&postcount=424

if this actually goes down I am bullish as hell on the chances of it selling well enough to justify the other games being brought over since (1) there's an actual groundswell of support behind the release and (2) people still haven't figured out how to pirate PS3 games yet. (assuming we're talking about a disc release and not on PSN like foax had been a-sayin').

It's not going to win any awards - unless there's a category for "best golf game unexpectedly inserted into a violent RPG" included in end of the year round-ups - but it's slick stuff, and in the quirky wholeheartedness with which SEGA's underworld adventure throws itself into capturing the feel of Tiger Woods, you can see why people often refer to this series as the spiritual successor to Shenmue.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/yakuza-3-european-hands-on

only one flaw w/that argument YAKUZA rocks SHENMUE sux

anyone who doesn't buy this game should be reincarnated as Amy Winehouse's taint

i say no, no, no to that

i heard eliza dushku is in this, true?

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2010/02/shenmue-ryo-hazuki-forklift-figure.jpg

lol

poor old sega ;_;

true, but they put out at least 3 classics in the last 3 years (Yakuza 2, Valkyria Chronicles, Bayonetta)

do you have a take on this whole saga jc?

(I assume you've been following the saga of the removed hostess sections in the NA release of Y3; general internet bitching and whining as per)

it sucks that they're removing content, but I never got as much into the hostess stuff as other Yakuzatards so I'm not slitting my wrists over it or anything. as long as I can still win a fight with a tiger by sticking a cigarette in its eye, I'll be good.

new trailer up on PSN for yakuza 4 apparently; features a chainsaw

btw Sega has said that if Y3 sells well enough they'll consider bringing over Yakuza Kenzan (the one set in like 1885), so everyone buy like eight copies

omg cig flick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl11P__gN1Q

oh fuck yeah

want to play this so bad ;_; are there any ps2 emulators?

yeah, but you need a super beefy machine to get playable frame rates

btw Sega has said that if Y3 sells well enough they'll consider bringing over Yakuza Kenzan (the one set in like 1885), so everyone buy like eight copies

I hope "well enough" is like 10,000 copies, because that's the game I really want to play (and Yakuza 3 is sure not to sell much, come on, not at sixty dollars, not with this packed AAA March). Also based on missing tropies from the western release of Yakuza 3, it seems a lot more than just the hostess club stuff has been cut, but also the japanese games like mahjong and shogi (and more). Kind of a bummer in 2010...

Also based on missing tropies from the western release of Yakuza 3, it seems a lot more than just the hostess club stuff has been cut, but also the japanese games like mahjong and shogi (and more). Kind of a bummer in 2010...

okay, THAT is a bummer; the insanely-fleshed-out minigames added a lot of flavor to Y2 even if I never actually beat any of them. I still remember flipping through like 10+ pages of tiny-ass text explaining how to play mahjongg; it was more imposing than most of the fights.

still preordering it since beating people's asses in Y2 is impossibly fun, though.

while I don't agree w/sega's decision I can understand their rationale and I don't think this is the wrong-headed idiocy that the internet wd have you believe

tht being said the hostess club content is interwoven throughout the game, losing that loses you a significant proportion of the non-combat experience. how many small events that enriched yakuza have now been lost because the hostess club backbone has been removed?

the qn is how many side missions dependent on the hostess club content have we lost? it has a domino effect.

if yakuza was just a fighting game I wouldn't be interested.

hopefully they leave it on the disc and then patch a translation in later.

it totally affects different threads throughout the game tho so presumably they'll have to remove those and insert other scenes; don't see tht happening myself jc

http://kotaku.com/5478862/sega-you-are-once-again-making-a-giant-mistake

I agree with his point but as with most Ashcraft articles, the only thing I end up taking away from it is that Brian Ashcraft should be dropped from a great height

it seems mr. ashcraft has missed the subtext of sega's 'you wouldn't get it, sugar' explanation: pretty sure they just couldn't afford to translate all the game (and have said as much in a subsequent statement iirc) - they had to cut something and decided this was the most non-essential portion of the game

The couldn't afford it explanation reeks of bullshit - honestly, how could it cost more to translate a few hundred lines (or whatever) of text compared to paying a programmer to take out those sections of code and reprogram the game to work w/o those sections?

that makes sense, I guess, iunno, sick of reading about this and discussing it by now tbf ;_;

can't stop reading the GAF thread on this, against my better judgement. must. stop.

2 lazy to google relevance but translation is iirc really expensive whereas deleting shit not so much. i mean idk anything abt how/what/how much has been cut but i can see that being both a) cheaper and b) quicker

i dont think is like snes ear nintendo i just think its sega rushing/doing the trans on the cheap *shrug* in the would i rather wait for the ~right~ version of the game vs getting the game at all/soon im usually predisposed to go with the latter

I agree with his point but as with most Ashcraft articles, the only thing I end up taking away from it is that Brian Ashcraft should be dropped from a great height

he is like the worst writer ever. i know i've mentioned it before, but also 85% of his articles for kotaku are creepy thnigs about japanese soft-porn actresses, he reminds me of that shiroi basket shoes guy with the creepy flickr page.

Finally started Yakuza 2 last night (and played for a little over an hour - is it always that long between save points? I think in the first one you could save at phone booths?) I know they did it to save money, but the decision to stick with the Japanese language track was the best thing to happen with this game - it really adds to the atmosphere. I was also surprised to actually be into the story (so far)... that just happens so rarely with games it's sort of shocking. On the negative side, the way the camera works in these games still kind of annoys me, especially in those awkward moments when you take a few steps and it has to load a new angle or whatever. And I still feel like the brawling in 3d is just a little more clunky then it should be - game would benefit from a Demon's Souls style lock-on maybe. Anyhow, definitely looking forward to playing some more over the weekend.

yeah, the story is surprisingly engaging and well written

that whole game is just such a treat. definitely going to place in my top 3 when we get around to the PS2 poll.

Here's a new, long trailer for Yakuza 4 (out in March in Japan, I think?), mostly focusing on the side games you can play in the game...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNd9HlQ_OwY

In Yakuza 2, I dig how there are so many different shops and places you can go in and do all kinds of crazy stuff, even though a lot of that stuff isn't very compelling, like all the different restaurants with 20-30 item menus or the super basic UFO catcher games in the arcade. It's just cool it's there, it's some of what was missing from GTA IV. I did get to a mahjong parlor, but got too intimidated looking through the massive instructions to even try to play the game (though I'd like to learn some day). Definitely not bothered if it got cut from 3 for the English re-release. Played a little blackjack though in the weird bummy hangout place, which was fun. Gotta figure out how to get back there. Still can't quite get used to the layout of the areas and navigating around is annoying (especially compared to recent GTA games, which are obviously much bigger). Also don't like the quick time events - they come up so fast they always catch me by surprise and I almost always fail. I've gotten used to the brawling though.

You dudes are really whetting my appetite for this game! Well, the first one.

didn't realise resonance of fate was sega too; life in the ol' dog yet

Hello, how can I help you sir?
I need to hire some hard ass motherfuckers, some guy called Kazuma has really pissed me off!
I think we can accomodate you sir.
Are their asses hard?
The hardest sir...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGkQTUQq3vQ

"...i just can't believe this is happening.... this is disgusting. I don't even think they're looking at the comments I'm posting! Fans are exploding! To me it's a kick in the balls!"

kohta-cue

I love that they give you Koi No Disco Queen to play everywhere

How do I get the radio show on the playlist, it’s the first side quest and I don’t have it

It's in Yokohama, near the homeless base, you rescue a reporter.

The radio show however is in Japanese with no subs so :/

I meant on the playlist app but I found it by scrolling down :) I did walk around the beach for a bit listening to local radio which was great.

I cleared the Barracudas (fighting on a catwalk was incredible btw) and that was maybe the longest boss slog since Majima or Kiryu at the end of 0 maybe? It just kept going and going.

I still haven’t found mahjong. However I have been playing Sujimon a bit.

I need to find a place that sells pineapples…like actually.

I can't stress enough how much "Spring Breeze" loops round in my brain every day

I am the Sujimon Master btw

Easy money: playing my party at mahjong

Pineapples don’t grow on trees!

Classic Yakuza trope that always messes with my anxiety:

Main Storyline - "We need to go rescue somebody, there's no time to waste"
Me - spends a week playing Mahjong and collecting coconuts

Oh I'm too much of a roleplayer for that. If the characters tell me shit is super urgent I just go and do it.

Oh I'm too much of a roleplayer for that. If the characters tell me shit is super urgent I just go and do it.

I try to do the same, but I'm also constantly making the NPC leading me somewhere wait as I lag behind to check for items/loot on our path.

But then you miss half the best stuff! Shit is almost always "urgent"

You're right tho, it's the role-player in me that struggles with it

A mate was watching me play Yakuza 4 (I think it was) and I got a phone call so I ran out of the indoor parking lot onto the street, for reception. "Wow does the game actually factor that in?" he asked. "I don't...think so...?" was my reply, I had just done this instinctively. He couldn't stop laughing.

I also gave up on Judgement the first time because I was getting text messages to save ppl from hooligans ALL THE TIME and had no time left for anything else. "Just ignore the messages", ppl said, but when I started doing that I would then get angry "wtf where were you??" messages too. It's hard to be a hero.

I must admit in Infinite Wealth I'm still compelled to rescue people getting hassled by gangs even when the XP and money returns are negligible

I do this every time!

The best mechanic this game introduced was “smack down” for weak enemies…I’ll take the $17.38 for a second “battle” and go buy some more iced coffee

I am too dedicated to the grind to use the smackdown

https://i.imgur.com/cctY1Nz.jpeg

the other karaoke banger that won't leave my head is "Hands"

Actually there is a an awful lot to be said for "If I Could Love the One I Love" but the game does its best to ruin it by putting a stupid talkover from Ichi or Kiryu on there

God I'm working while half 6 tonight just want to go home and spend the weekend hanging with the gang

Hanging out with “The bartender” at Survive 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Memory walks 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Taichi cameo 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Feel like this one is going to hurt

Amon’s theme is still a banger

I should do a subcategory of series tropes for the Ichiban games alone so I can include this series version of Secretly Chinese: Secretly Doesn’t Need That Wheelchair

Yeah, it's the most emotional I've ever gotten over a game and makes previous entries like 6 more poignant in retrospective.

You just don't get many upsetting medical diagnoses in Super Mario, for instance.

Also the incredibly sinister vlogger account that can’t be stopped, loved that

Also I always play with Japanese audio so I never realised there were so many famous voices for the game. Daniel Dae Kim as Ebina? Danny Trejo as Mendoza? David Hayter as …the bartender from Survive?!

i almost feel like they're going over the top with the emo storylines but then i remember this is what i signed up for

Finished and platinumed Majima pirate game and immediately started a replay of the greatest Majima game of them all (Yakuza 0)

it all only happened because Majima wanted to save his friend Kiryu! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

need to go back to yakuza kiwami (after clearing silksong act 3) - was enjoying the early game though the enemies did seem quite tanky

xp I haven’t shipped Kiryu/Majima in forever but this game fed me

xp Kiwami is mad clunky cos it’s a remake of a ps2 game, Kiwami 2 has the new engine and is so much shinier

Replaying 0 and some thoughts:

- combat is so fucking clumsy now
- the skip function for conversations isn’t that good
- Tachibana/Makoto scene still horrific
- fuck Oda forever
- Sagawa really does look like a chimp huh
- Shimano casually eating all that fugu like it’s nothing is still an amazing scene
- omg fuck the Let’s Dance proxy song that is easily the hardest to get three stars on!!!!

I have no interest in the directors cut but this ruled:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5E-R6NjMgk

so nice to see the lads again

Having fun with piratey adventures

I watched a youtube of some ppl I follow hanging out at the Mall of America and every frame made me think "Anaconda shopping center!". Dunno if the two are very alike or if I just haven't seen much footage of US malls from the last twenty years or so?

People have really turned on this franchise as of late.

Decent summation here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os4D6cHFP9s

Personally I enjoyed Pirate Yakuza a lot, I knew going in that it would mostly be reused assets and not a "real" entry. Also disagree that it offers no good Majima character moments, tho tbf the best one is at the very end of the game.

The Yakuza 0 Switch2 thing seemed kinda weird but I don't own a Switch2 so didn't have to think about it much.

Kiwami 3 though...

It's still pretty playable, and the minigames are as fun as usual, but yeah it feels disrespectful towards the original in weird ways, the Okinawa flavour feels gone even though I can't fully explain it. Rikiya, previously rough and tumbble, salt of the earth type character, has been extensively yassified - I don't know enough about Okinawan/Japanese relations to provide a considered critique of this but I will say he now looks a hell of a lot paler than the Okinawans I met when I went there. He acts exactly the same and it just feels wrong.

Speaking of casting, obviously the biggest problem here is RGG hiring a known sex offender to get another celebrity voice. Particularly blatant to contrast it with them editing Pierre Taki out of Judgement just because he did coke. Yes yes I know drug offenses are viewed differently there but it's not like attitudes towards sexual harassment haven't been changing in Japan too.

Spoilers for the end of Kiwami 3 (which is diff than the original) : I didn't actually mind changing the ending because I feel like Kiryu getting killed-not-killed is such a trope. But Mine's long speech about how Kiryu is actually a killer, he just doesn't want to be and pretends to be a good dad guy knowing full well he'd be happier causing violence...it's just such absolute rubbish, that is not what Kiryu is, he loves his kids and he loves the peaceful life in Okinawa. Feels like it's been added to keep him as an underground superspy forever (they'll cure his cancer soon enough).

Then there's the Dark Ties part...pretty low effort but I did have fun with the conceit that you're basically going around doing good to make people believe Kanda's a good dude. Then at the end Mine becomes another Man Who Erased His Name and GODAMNIT RRG I do NOT care about your shitty espionage agency, stop making everything about that.

I'm not watching that but they're wrong whatever it says

I dunno man, I don't think they're wrong that hiring a sex offender is bad, or that on a less serious level of scumminess removing the remastered Yakuza 3 from the market so that the Kiwami can be the only option - despite the two games having major differences in story - is a dick move.

You know this is my all-time favourite franchise so I understand the defensiveness but.

Nah when I read your post back you're right, I just get defensive because sometimes a fanbase annoyingly nitpicks something I love. Persona fans are my other bugbear

definitely has the feeling like the people who are in charge at RGG now after nagoshi's departure want to retcon the series into their own image rather than moving on

yeesh. I've only finished 0 and dabbled in Like A Dragon. i think I'll just emulate the original game instead of starting the Kiwamis. This project sounds interesting: https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/1d9m8id/yakuza_2_restored_for_ps2_is_out/

there's the same type of thing for 1 but i think I'll just play the original ... dubbed with Mark Hamill?

I recently started 0 and I have nothing really to add to this other than that it's a fun game!

The first two Kiwamis are divisive but nothing like the outrage around 3, I played and enjoyed them.

yeah they also have a functional reason to exist whereas 3 was already ported to modern platforms

Pleasantly surprised playing the original game - 5 or 6 chapters in. I was expecting a bigger step down from 0 in looks, combat, etc. Been a while since I finished 0 but I'm impressed how fully fleshed out 1 feels.