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[matrix-cat]

As a character action fan from way back, there's absolutely nothing that gets me more tumescently hyped than a rival character who keeps coming back for more and more bossfights throughout the game. The Ryuji/Kiryu rivalry is part of what makes Yakuza 2 so amazing, so imagine my delight when...

Spoiler

That glorious bastard Kuze comes back for not two, not three, but MOTHERFUCKING FOUR BOSS FIGHTS! And he brings that fucking sick ass theme music every time, and that eight hit one-two *bob and weave* one-two *bob and weave* combo with him, coming at you with his fists ON FIRE. When I realised the fourth fight was going to be a two-on-one fight with him taking on Kiryu and Nishiki at once I almost died of pure hype right on the spot.

 

[Son Of Sparda]

I highly recommend newcomers not view any videos of Kiwami or ruin themselves on the story. It's really something worth experiencing as blind as possible.

If you have any gameplay related questions, I and others in the thread will try our best to answer but just know that if you enjoyed Zero then you will also like Kiwami.

I second this. Don't spoil Kiwami for yourselves, guys.

Only the classiest girls at Club Sunshine.

I'm disappointed that more people haven't shown off their Makeover Platinum girls (including myself)!

You are right. Let's change that.

 

[Alucrid]

when you say spoil kiwami, do you mean the yakuza 1 story line? or are there things unique to kiwami that, even if you played 1, you should stay away from?

 

[lucebuce12]

when you say spoil kiwami, do you mean the yakuza 1 story line? or are there things unique to kiwami that, even if you played 1, you should stay away from?

Both.

If you've already played 1 then it's not THAT big of a deal if you spoil some of the new stuff (wouldn't recommend it), but for newcomers, I'd say the twists and turns are part of the appeal.

 

[Alucrid]

oh okay, thanks. should be easy enough to fly under the radar until whenever it's out


as for the cabaret, this was my final team to take over the area. all had three double circles. tried to get all four single circles or two double two single, but that seemed impossible.

 

[eyeball_kid]

I was hoping to hear some hits of the Yokomichi Silvers. For a story about a greaser band, it was pretty dull.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Kuze's Boss Track is simply the best.

Let's listen to it again.

Totally agree. He owned that entire first chapter.

Hear hear. Really hype track.

 

[IrishNinja]

just so i'm clear: i can't fight the moon cabaret boss till i advance the plot, yeah? literally just finally took majjy back to the grand, the chinese doctor is getting drunk on his dime there. i was nearly 50k fans into moon before i realized it just wasn't happening yet

 

[lucebuce12]

just so i'm clear: i can't fight the moon cabaret boss till i advance the plot, yeah? literally just finally took majjy back to the grand, the chinese doctor is getting drunk on his dime there. i was nearly 50k fans into moon before i realized it just wasn't happening yet

Once there's no main story related thing happening at the grand, then you can do it. So yes, you gotta advance the plot.

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

Kuze's Boss Track is simply the best.

Let's listen to it again.

Totally agree. He owned that entire first chapter.

Hear hear. Really hype track.

Joining the Kuze music hype here, probably my favorite music in the whole franchise, can't really remember a lot of the other music!

Spoiler

But hey, i probably remember it the most because we fight Kuze like 5 times, that persistent motherfucker

 

[bwakh]

LMAO that Ara-Q3 quest hahaha

That was all feels bru.


Also Majima's introduction was one of the best scenes in a video game ever.

 

[IrishNinja]

Once there's no main story related thing happening at the grand, then you can do it. So yes, you gotta advance the plot.

cheers!

 

[hamsjams]

About one third of the time when I play Space Harrier I get input malfunctions and my character repeatedly drifts automatically. I'm aware that the character moves on its own after death and such, but this drifting happens during open play. At the end of the run, it's then nearly impossible to inout a name on the board because the letter selection constantly scrolls on its own and is totally unresponsive. I'm using the d-pad and haven't seen any such input errors anywhere else in this game or others, so I'm pretty sure it's not the controller.

Is this a known issue? Has anyone else experienced this? Apologies if this has already been asked.

 

[bigol]

About one third of the time when I play Space Harrier I get input malfunctions and my character repeatedly drifts automatically. I'm aware that the character moves on its own after death and such, but this drifting happens during open play. At the end of the run, it's then nearly impossible to inout a name on the board because the letter selection constantly scrolls on its own and is totally unresponsive. I'm using the d-pad and haven't seen any such input errors anywhere else in this game or others, so I'm pretty sure it's not the controller.

Is this a known issue? Has anyone else experienced this? Apologies if this has already been asked.

I guess it's an issue with the emulated games. Try using the left stick instead of dpad to play and input name, it works better.

 

[level1]

So, just went to a pawn shop with a diamond plate for the first time..

 

[darkwing-buck]

Joining the Kuze music hype here, probably my favorite music in the whole franchise, can't really remember a lot of the other music!

Spoiler

But hey, i probably remember it the most because we fight Kuze like 5 times, that persistent motherfucker

This game has a ton of music. Like I was genuinely surprised how much new music I would hear in this game.

Another great track here.
Debt Cleanup

 

[lucebuce12]

This game has a ton of music. Like I was genuinely surprised how much new music I would hear in this game.

Another great track here.
Debt Cleanup

Also:

La di Da (Bacchus training)

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

This game has a ton of music. Like I was genuinely surprised how much new music I would hear in this game.

Another great track here.
Debt Cleanup

yeah i can't complain, most music fits really well to the cutscene and fights! But i dunno, i can't remember most of them (I did 4-5-0)

i really need to listen to them all outside the game

I love the

Spoiler

4th style of majima

theme Receive You The Subtype

 

[JJShadow]

I'm so invested with Nioh at the moment that I haven't touched Yakuza since last Tuesday, I feel dirty now Will play a bit this afternoon, too much Japanese greatness!

About one third of the time when I play Space Harrier I get input malfunctions and my character repeatedly drifts automatically. I'm aware that the character moves on its own after death and such, but this drifting happens during open play. At the end of the run, it's then nearly impossible to inout a name on the board because the letter selection constantly scrolls on its own and is totally unresponsive. I'm using the d-pad and haven't seen any such input errors anywhere else in this game or others, so I'm pretty sure it's not the controller.

Is this a known issue? Has anyone else experienced this? Apologies if this has already been asked.

I think it's a common issue, I also have experienced unresponsive controls every time I'm about to introduce my score name, both in OutRun and Space Harrier

 

[Frimaire]

You guys are all forgetting the best song.

 

[eyeball_kid]

This game has a ton of music. Like I was genuinely surprised how much new music I would hear in this game.

Another great track here.
Debt Cleanup

There's a lot of good music. Sadly the one that annoys me the most is the one they use all the time -- the blues-rock riff they use on the sidestories. It sounds like the generic kind of rock song I always hear on product demo videos for guitars, almost like they just bought it from some music library.


Speaking of annoying, I tried forever tonight to get the last telephone club girl. Every time I think I found her, it's either a red herring or a woman I already went out with.

Did they really have these kinds of clubs in the 80's in Japan? Where you just call up women, meet them briefly, and go straight to a love hotel for an hour?

 

[lucebuce12]

You guys are all forgetting the best song.

Ew no, I only like manly music.

Spoiler

*Said the guy who sometimes listens to the pop idol songs from Yakuza 5*

The entire series is kinda like this though, a LOT of terrific music. But Yakuza 0's has a LOT of standout tracks as compared to others.

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

There's a lot of good music. Sadly the one that annoys me the most is the one they use all the time -- the blues-rock riff they use on the sidestories. It sounds like the generic kind of rock song I always hear on product demo videos for guitars, almost like they just bought it from some music library.


Speaking of annoying, I tried forever tonight to get the last telephone club girl. Every time I think I found her, it's either a red herring or a woman I already went out with.

Did they really have these kinds of clubs in the 80's in Japan? Where you just call up women, meet them briefly, and go straight to a love hotel for an hour?

which one do you miss? here's a guide that will help you :

http://www.khhsubs.com/rggzero/chatline.html

you should try to get every girl (even the bad ones) since they all count as a substories, except all the "sakura" types that count as one

 

[Vorheez]

I have now crossed the 50 hour mark, and I'm feeling more confident in declaring this my favorite game of all time. I haven't had this much fun with a game since I was kid.

 

[Nightengale]

Listening to Kuze's track again really drives home imo how good the 3 Lieutenants were as both villains and characters.

Conniving, cruel, smart, ruthless yet all possess a very strong sense of individuality, felt believable and even when they face setbacks or get defeated, don't feel wasted of their characters.

If I take back one thing from Y0, it's how good the three of them were.

 

[matrix-cat]

Goddeeeeyamn, Chapter 15 boss:

Spoiler

Kashiwagi is a BEAST! Waaay harder than any other boss so far. I knew that guy was a badass.

 

[darkwing-buck]

Listening to Kuze's track again really drives home imo how good the 3 Lieutenants were as both villains and characters.

Conniving, cruel, smart, ruthless yet all possess a very strong sense of individuality, felt believable and even when they face setbacks or get defeated, don't feel wasted of their characters.

If I take back one thing from Y0, it's how good the three of them were.

Yeah, I felt shit was earned

Spoiler

when you actually faced them

 

[Oreiller]

This game has a ton of music. Like I was genuinely surprised how much new music I would hear in this game.

Another great track here.
Debt Cleanup

My favorite is probably Interplanetary Spark but it only plays a couple times...

 

[Nightz]

You guys are all forgetting the best song.

I am a man and will admit that I love this song. It's so Engrish it's great.

 

[Paz]

Pretty sure this will be my favorite game of the year.

Clear time clocked in at over 60 hours, and I loved it all. Simply brilliant.

 

[Fersis]

Man, this game is crazy chock-full of content @_@

BTW, i really like how the writers made "fetch" quests interesting and funny. (ie: The stolen video game side quest)

The thing about Yakuza that's great is the dichotomy between the intense story and the silly, absurd side content. I've noticed this in other Japanese games, and maybe that's just something inherent to the culture, but it really stands out here. It's almost as if the developers felt they had to maintain some sort of yin-yang balance, so the more serious they made the story, the more ridiculous they had to make the other content to keep things in balance.

The Metal Gear series does this masterfully.

 

[Jeffrey]

Finished. Fun time. Did a large chunk of the side stuff and finished the cabaret club.

Couldn't really get into real estate though. Wish it was as engaging and easy to manage as cabaret club.

I'm curious if kawami will be worth picking up. Are there any notable changes gameplay wise from zero?

Yakuza games are fun but kinda samey. Don't know if I can play more than one a year.

 

[lucebuce12]

Finished. Fun time. Did a large chunk of the side stuff and finished the cabaret club.

Couldn't really get into real estate though. Wish it was as engaging and easy to manage as cabaret club.

I'm curious if kawami will be worth picking up. Are there any notable changes gameplay wise from zero?

Yakuza games are fun but kinda samey. Don't know if I can play more than one a year.

The combat system is almost literally the same. A lot of people consider it a re-skin of 0 which does make sense since there was very little budget/manpower dedicated to it as compared to other Yakuza games.

 

[matrix-cat]

Thank goodness Mr Shakedown doesn't go aggro straight away. I'm on the final chapter of the game and I thought I'd take a shortcut through the little alleyways around the Empty Lot to get to the next objective, when suddenly I turn a blind corner and run smack bang into the guy. I'm carrying 22 billion yen with half health, and I am not prepared to fight that dude in an alleyway that's barely wider than he is

 

[Jeffrey]

The combat system is almost literally the same. A lot of people consider it a re-skin of 0 which does make sense since there was very little budget/manpower dedicated to it as compared to other Yakuza games.

Ah so besides a few more cutscenes, it's pretty in line with the original?

I don't remember it having many goofy side quests and mini games as the later entries.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Thank goodness Mr Shakedown doesn't go aggro straight away. I'm on the final chapter of the game and I thought I'd take a shortcut through the little alleyways around the Empty Lot to get to the next objective, when suddenly I turn a blind corner and run smack bang into the guy. I'm carrying 22 billion yen with half health, and I am not prepared to fight that dude in an alleyway that's barely wider than he is

I've started to appreciate fighting him in tight spaces because his two ram/running attacks will run into a wall and I can hit him without chasing him.

 

[The Artisan]

is there any way to find out how the domestic sales are for this game?

 

[Mupod]

I've been listening to the OST a lot lately. I honestly think the normal Cabaret theme is my favorite, along with Kuze's.

Also funny thing is as much as I'm into Nioh, I keep feeling that urge to load Yakuza back up and clean up the last 20 or 30 sidequests I missed.

Thank goodness Mr Shakedown doesn't go aggro straight away. I'm on the final chapter of the game and I thought I'd take a shortcut through the little alleyways around the Empty Lot to get to the next objective, when suddenly I turn a blind corner and run smack bang into the guy. I'm carrying 22 billion yen with half health, and I am not prepared to fight that dude in an alleyway that's barely wider than he is

There's a reason I never take off the radar accessory. Although it became even more useful when I started actively hunting them instead of avoiding.

 

[MrDaravon]

Man, there's no way to dress up or otherwise pad stats on Bronze hostesses is there? I have brought Chizu with me every single night I'm open and there has literally never been a single guest that she has a smiley face status with, and I've only seen the straight line face ONCE with her. I'm not even joking, every single guest that comes in the door I go straight to her first and fucking nothing. Every other Bronze hostess I have this isn't the slightest bit of a problem. Is she the Dan of this game or am I totally missing something? She's fucking level 2 and everyone else is 10-20+, it's maddening.

 

[Shift Breaker]

Man, there's no way to dress up or otherwise pad stats on Bronze hostesses is there? I have brought Chizu with me every single night I'm open and there has literally never been a single guest that she has a smiley face status with, and I've only seen the straight line face ONCE with her. I'm not even joking, every single guest that comes in the door I go straight to her first and fucking nothing. Every other Bronze hostess I have this isn't the slightest bit of a problem. Is she the Dan of this game or am I totally missing something? She's fucking level 2 and everyone else is 10-20+, it's maddening.

It seems like they're pretty much useless compared to the others. I did an all bronze run for Mars fans and barely scraped by. What's the max level for hostesses in the game? Considering levelling them up myself, just in case.

 

[MrDaravon]

It seems like they're pretty much useless compared to the others. I did an all bronze run for Mars fans and barely scraped by. What's the max level for hostesses in the game? Considering levelling them up myself, just in case.

Not positive but I believe it's level 40 for Gold/Platinum and 30 for Bronze/Silver.

The Chizu thing is just weird because I don't have this problem with any of my other Bronze hostesses, only her. I just completed another night where literally every single guest that came in she was red angry face with. It's bizarre.

 

[Ultimadrago]

It seems like they're pretty much useless compared to the others. I did an all bronze run for Mars fans and barely scraped by. What's the max level for hostesses in the game? Considering levelling them up myself, just in case.

Level 40 for Platinum
Level 30 for Non-Platinum, I think?

 

[Hobbun]

Thank goodness Mr Shakedown doesn't go aggro straight away. I'm on the final chapter of the game and I thought I'd take a shortcut through the little alleyways around the Empty Lot to get to the next objective, when suddenly I turn a blind corner and run smack bang into the guy. I'm carrying 22 billion yen with half health, and I am not prepared to fight that dude in an alleyway that's barely wider than he is

Is there any bank, or any place to store your money in the game? I know save spots have ‘Item boxes’, which sounds like you can store items, but what about money?

If not, then sounds like I will be saving often. I’m not about to lose billions of yen just because I ‘die’ from Mr. Shakedown.

 

[lucebuce12]

Ah so besides a few more cutscenes, it's pretty in line with the original?

I don't remember it having many goofy side quests and mini games as the later entries.

There are 2 main additions. One of them is gameplay related and doesn't affect the story DON'T READ THE SPOILER IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN GETTING THE GAME

Spoiler

(The Majima Anywhere system)

, and the second one is purely story related and adds a lot more depth to the story and fills in some blanks that were in the original though yes, it's in the form of cutscenes.

The original certainly didn't have as much stuff, they've added a lot for this remake. In regards to substories, they've picked and choosed which ones to keep and replaced some with brand new ones. They also have the classic "money for buying items and doing stuff while exp for upgrading skills" system.

If you liked 0 then you'll like this one too.

 

[shnurgleton]

Just jumping in to give my two cents on this game.

Wow.

This is my first Yakuza game. I was convinced to preorder while slightly drunk and reading the review thread, and I'd be lying if I said I could remember a better game pre-purchase. Perhaps one of the past souls games, but in those cases I knew exactly what I was getting into.

Yakuza is a brilliant and insanely different experience than I've had playing games in a very long time. Already I've put in over double, maybe triple, the time I spent playing FFXV, and I can't stop. The story, the characters, the amazing voice acting, the oddball humor, the insane density of the world; it's really something I've never seen in a game before. And I'm still not done, since I am by compulsion required to finish the cabaret club and real estate minigames.

If I had one criticism, it'd be that I would really like some decent female characters..

Regardless - once Kiwami goes up for presale in NA, I will be there. Day freakin 0.

Edit:

You guys are all forgetting the best song.

 

[lucebuce12]

If I had one criticism, it'd be that I would really like some decent female characters..

I agree with this, my one criticism I for this series has always been that it's lacking in terms of genuinely well written female characters.

There is only one character that most agree is legit badass and is very well written and she only shows up in Yakuza 2 (well technically,

Spoiler

she also shows up in Yakuza 3 but whatever

)

 

[Alastor3]

I was talking to a friend about this, Yakuza is the Metal Gear of GTA/Shenmue, right?

 

[Shadowman16]

I was talking to a friend about this, Yakuza is the Metal Gear of GTA/Shenmue, right?

Not really sure I follow any of that logic. But...

MGS - well Yakuza has long cut scenes. Otherwise absolutely nothing alike.
GTA - Nothing alike what so ever...
Shenmue - Again, really not a great comparison but at least that one makes half sense. Both involve you exploring a Japanese city and get into fist fighting, but the simularities really end there. Even in terms of combat both games are very different - with Yakuza choosing a more arcadey/flashy combat system with environmental and weapon attacks with OTT heat moves while Shenmue is far more realistic in its approach to combat.

 

[lucebuce12]

I was talking to a friend about this, Yakuza is the Metal Gear of GTA/Shenmue, right?

GTA shouldn't even come into the equation, the only thing in common between the two is that they're open-world games. That's pretty much it.

The Metal Gear comparison makes sense to some extent. Long cutscenes with a lot of the same characters returning in games, and a lot of humour that's completely detached from the main story. But no other comparison in terms of gameplay or in terms of story quality.

The Shenmue comparison as Shadowman pointed out, makes the most sense but it's still not accurate at all.

Honestly, Yakuza is so damn difficult to describe at times. Think of it as a classic Beat em up in 3D set in a dense open world featuring a compelling plot.

 

[OniBarubary]

Man, I'm really good at and lucky at the phone game. Got all three girls in a row. It was amusing to play this while my friend was sitting in my bed sewing a shirt; she just looked up at video game titties and went back to sewing.