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[I3rand0]

mopped up all non-Ex hard trophies, playing 2nd time on hard - i forgot how much i love Akiyama! god, he's awesome. so glad he's in Of The Dead.

just to be clear, now that i beat normal/got indomitable trophy, if i somehow fuck up, sissying out on ninja-dog easy mode for one fight wont stop Ex from opening, yeah?

also: debating going back to try 100% later, any particular challenges more enlightening for the plot? a number of sidequests were great for that.

ps besides war god talisman, any other must-have items to make ex hard more bearable? who should wear said talisman anyway?

I gave the Talisman to Kiryu since he has to run that huge gauntlet in part 4 of his chapter. I would also give that Tree Armor set to Tanimura since it helps you auto block any pot shots from his final boss.

 

[Mikhal]

ps besides war god talisman, any other must-have items to make ex hard more bearable? who should wear said talisman anyway?

All the special items you can technically equip for everyone. Just toss it out before the end of their chapter and reclaim it with the new character at Naomi's when they can in their story. There's also another item that does the same sort of effect (giving you unlimited Heat Moves) if you do all the Heat Moves in the game.

Any Yakuza fans out there interested in winning some swag?
Support Yakuza & Win Yakuza Swag!

Yakuza Week @ SEGAbits

We are going to be giving out prizes provided by SEGA all week!

Day 1 of 6
Prize 1: A Yakuza 4 Branded Bowl & Yakuza game signed by SEGA Producer YAZ
Prize 2: A Yakuza 4 Art Book & Yakuza 4 branded chopsticks

head to SEGAbits to find out how to win!

Awesome contest! Reposting for the new page.

 

[ShadiWulf]

Awesome contest! Reposting for the new page.

Thanks! We are up on the SEGA blog now too!

http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2011/04/29/its-yakuza-week-over-at-sega-bits/

Yakuza – one of SEGA’s crowning franchises in the last ten years. When the haters claim that SEGA doesn’t make good games anymore, this is one series we add right up there with Valkyria Chronicles and so many others to prove them wrong.

The latest entry in this franchise, Yakuza 4, is out now, and we’ve also just released a free DLC pack for the game – as soon as PSN is back up, we invite everyone with a copy to pick it up. This is on top of the free bonus content you’ll find within all US copies of Y4. Consider it our thanks for sticking with us and being a loyal member of the Yakuza fanbase.

Though the game may be out, our duty as fans to support these franchises and to help ensure their continuance here in the west remains as vital as ever. To start off our community campaign, we’ve teamed up with the fansite SEGA Bits, run by an awesome crew of hardcore SEGA fans, to give away all sorts of exclusive Yakuza merchandise!

Win free Yakuza Merch for a week at SEGABits!

We should also give SEGA Bits commendation for going an extra mile to support this series, too – they’ve completely re-skinned their site to feature Kazuma Kiryu and to help promote the game while their full week of giveaways continues.

So let’s do it, members of the Yakuza community: I challenge you all to find ways that you can lend your support to this series. Be it telling a friend, picking up a copy, or finding your own creative way to get it out there. And, in the meantime, get to SEGA Bits for free giveaways and merchandise, and a a new reason every day why Yakuza 4 is one SEGA game you absolutely need in your collection.

Special thanks once more to Sharky and the entire team over at SEGABits for doing their part to support this series!

 

[IrishNinja]

awesome - done and done! i love SegaBits, was all over this being Yakuza week anyway, but a chance to get the LE items we didn't is really cool, thanks for the heads-up!

*edit - Mikhal: no idea why i didnt think to just toss the items out & recoup them at Naomi's, thanks man!

 

[ShadiWulf]

Support Yakuza & Win, Day 2!

GIVE AWAY – Day 2 of 6
Today we have just 1 give-away but it’s a good one!
Today one lucky winner will nab 1 copy of Yakuza 4 signed by SEGA Producer YAZ and 1 copy of the Yakuza 4 art book.

hit up http://segabits.com for more details

 

[Vicetrailia]

This game is awesome!

 

[ShadiWulf]

for anyone who hasn't bought this game yet, buy it!

Why you should own this game, Day 2 – Reason 2:
There is just SO MUCH content.

Have you ever wondered if the price you are paying for the game is worth the content you’re getting? I know I often do. A good game is a good game but I’d like to be kept satisfied for at least 10 hours.

If there is one game that doesn’t skimp on content it is Yakuza 4. There is just so much to do. Beside the main, crime thriller storyline you can do multiple mini games including golf, baseball batting cages, gambling, fishing and many more.

Not only can you waste your money dating the lovely ladies of the game, brining them gifts, buying them food and saying all the right things to see where you can take the relationship. You can even run the hostess clubs where guys pick them up! Design the bar and even dress the woman how you like em!

Not only that there is the battle cage, an underground ‘flight club’ style arena where you fight other hard nuts in brutal battles to see who’s the best. Again, you can even become a trainer and coach fighters; you help them become the best!

If that wasn’t enough there are the seemingly endless amounts of side missions you can take.

There is so much bang for your buck that most people I know that have played it say that they can be 20 to 40 hours into the game and only on chapter 3 or 4 and many find out that when they finish the story mode they’ve still only completely 30% of the games content.

http://www.segabits.com/?p=11942

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

I think you've plugged that site enough. 3 of the 8 posts on this page is excessive.

 

[ShadiWulf]

Sorry I'll lay off it for a while. hehe.

just trying to get Yakuza 4 to sell too. Need good SEGA games to sell.

If you guys have friends who haven't bought the game yet, tell them to buy it!

 

[firehawk12]

There's an interview with Jake Adelstein (author of Tokyo Vice and the guy who had a couple of Yakuza play the third game) that you may find interesting:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/anncast/2011-04-29

1:14 is when he talks about the verisimilitude of the games and whatnot, but he talks about the the organization of the Yakuza in general and their supposed control in various businesses, including the entertainment industry.

 

[Lindsay]

Done!

Difficulty: NORMAL
Difficulty changes: 0
Retries: 3
Substories: 55
Saves: 59
Encounters: 146
Completion total: 38.74%
Play time: 37:50

Compared to my Yakuza 3 end stats of these one for 4 were down aside from playtime which was up by 2 or so hours. Good stuffs all around. Even to the bitter end Saejima was the hardest for me to use, fortunately I wised up before the final battles and stocked my guys with plenty of healing items and protective gear!

Positive:
Having 4 different characters helped keep things fresh. Locker Key Radar. With all of the new additions and returning cut stuff Kamurocho felt big and full of to see and do! Hana! That they finally gave ya direction in-game ta finding substories was a much needed addition.

Negative:
Repeat Revelations. Boo! Rooftop chase battles. No more goading thugs into fights via first person view? Needs more Majima. Little Asia was cramped and hard to navigate!

This one lived up to the hype and then some!

 

[IrishNinja]

^congrats! its crazy to think of all you've done and then see that completion rate, i think mine was right around there too. on my 2nd/hard playthrough now, and im totally doing stuff like the IR7 or whatever and Seajima's master's quest that i didnt finish last time.

I think you've plugged that site enough. 3 of the 8 posts on this page is excessive.

i don't think this is entirely fair -while SegaBits is an excellent site (Barry the Nomad is awesome), the hype is for contests going right now to get cool shit like promo items we didn't get here in the US, and a signed copy of the game. Additionally, said site is running Yakuza week right now in an effort to get more people in on this awesome game & help it sell like it did in Japan, which i'd really love to see, too. if ShadiWulf was posting unrelated stuff, i'd see your point, but a) half of GAF seem like old-school Sega fans whining that the company doesn't make great games anymore (demonstrably untrue), and b) if efforts like this catch on, Sega will see working with the fans in efforts like this pay off. Personally, i think both notions are worth pushing here.

related - anybody see Yakuza of the End's new boxart and stickers? i think they're both pretty classy.

 

[ShadiWulf]

C'mon guys, its YAKUZA WEEK

let's spread the word of Yakuza 4 around

got friends who haven't played it? Tell them to pick it up! It's the perfect game to play while they wait for PSN to come back up. and tell them to tell their friends to pick it up, and so on and so on!

Let's show SEGA that Yakuza can sell in the west!

 

[Vicetrailia]

Just beat the game too and this is my first time that I really sat down a played a Yakuza game all the way.

The story was amazing and I was so surprised at how they did it given that we had 4 playable characters. I haven't really experienced anything like this in games before, I was pretty much hooked. I also didn't mind doing many types of sidequests and side tasks for a change (like the hostess and fighter makers).

Are there other games like this?

I'm trying to think of a game that has a better or equal story than Yakuza 4 this gen.

 

[firehawk12]

Yakuza 3? :lol

But, nope, at least not in the "professional" space. It's all tits and blood usually.

 

[Mooreberg]

Can anybody who has done all of the side missions in Y3 and Y4 say which they liked better? I have both main campaigns complete and a decent amount of side missions done in each, but plenty more to do in both for trophies. I like the combat variety of switching characters in Premium adventure in Yakuza 4 but Yakuza 3 got two cities to mess around in.

 

[firehawk12]

Can anybody who has done all of the side missions in Y3 and Y4 say which they liked better? I have both main campaigns complete and a decent amount of side missions done in each, but plenty more to do in both for trophies. I like the combat variety of switching characters in Premium adventure in Yakuza 4 but Yakuza 3 got two cities to mess around in.

I think Y4's side missions are more tied into the characters, while Y3 has a mix of "wacky" side missions and character development side missions.

Never did get into the minigames in either though... other than catching that god damned tuna in Y3 for one of the side missions.

 

[Mooreberg]

I think Y4's side missions are more tied into the characters, while Y3 has a mix of "wacky" side missions and character development side missions.

Never did get into the minigames in either though... other than catching that god damned tuna in Y3 for one of the side missions.

Yeah I did all the Akiyama side missions that presented themselves before finishing the main game. Ended up guessing correctly on some of the hostess reporting stuff haha. I'll probably just bounce between both of them over the coming months.

 

[VGChampion]

Hey all, quick question. Been meaning to get into the series for awhile now, well, ever since I saw the 1up show do a segment on Yakuza 2 I believe but I don't know if I should start from the beginning.

I probably care more about story than gameplay as long as a game is still fairly playable. I know some games just aren't as fun anymore do to clunky controls so should I get Yakuza 1 first or start elsewhere?

 

[firehawk12]

If you want the "full" story, then start at 1. But these days, I think it's easy to get 3 and 4 now... and I do think, even if it's a "last gen" engine, 3 and 4 look better.

I do think that the recaps are enough to cover the basics though.

 

[IrishNinja]

VGChampion - if that's your perspective, it might be worth starting from part 1 - the controls aren't drastically different, and both 1 & 2 can be comfortably completed in like 15-20 hours, i wanna say? plus, recent buy 1, get one free sales at gamestop make it easier to find (likewise with buy part 4, get part 3, if that deal is still about).

again, you can absolutely catchup via the optional reminisce videos, but obviously the impact won't be there. 1 is good for what it is (setup, interesting dubbing etc) but 2 is absolutely not to be missed. 3 is like an excellent sidestory that sets up some of the emotional moments that go down in part 4 rather well, and there's tons of content in each if you don't mind taking your time & exploring/learning more about the characters & the city.

 

[AnkiRendan]

I'm slightly embarrassed to ask this, but who is that guy with the machine gun arm? I've only played Yakuza 3 and 4, and I've never seen him before. Is he a new character?

Also, should I give up any hope of Sega bringing over Kenzan? Should I just import it? I'm dying to play a good samurai game...

 

[Mikhal]

The guy with the machinegun arm is from Yakuza 2 so no need to feel embarrassed. I doubt Kenzan will be coming here even though I really want to play it myself. KHH Fansubs translated the CG cutscenes and put it on Youtube and there's also ThePatrick's guide on GameFAQs if you want to dive into Kenzan in Japanese I guess.

 

[edotherocket]

I'm currently playing through Saejima's story and I had to laugh during a big climactic sequence when

Spoiler

he breaks out of prison with Hamazaki. Hamazaki then spends way too long delivering a monologue about how they could work together in a life of crime, become unstoppable and take over Japan.

Unfortunately for Hamazki, he's so busy talking about how amazing they would be that he doesn't notice a prison guard who catches up with them and shoots Hamazaki dead.

If only the poor guy didn't waffle so much, he might have made it.

 

[MidnightScott]

I just started playing this game for the first time. I watched all the summaries of the first three games.

Finished Shun Akiyama's first chapter. Wow I am really liking this game. I thought I recognized his voice actor, turns out it was Koichi Yamadera. I really like his character though, funny guy with a laid back attitude.

I am glad I finally joined this series. ^^

 

[robotzombie]

Anyone know what all the Rage set items are and how to get them? Ive gotten the armor so far

 

[Mikhal]

There's only 3. Get all friends for Akiyama for the Rage Talisman and all of Kiryu's Gang Encounters for the Rage Bracelet to complete your set.

 

[robotzombie]

Anyone have Tanimura IRF7 tips? Because he just seems like a horrible horrible fighter without his heat moves

 

[IrishNinja]

yeah, his was tricky (kiryu vs kiryu was my worst though). be mindful of weapons about, use his L1 parry liberally, and do what you can to just keep building heat/using special moves - who's giving you the most trouble with him? i just tied up all the IRF7 fights today on hard, so i know they're doable. if you can get his sidestep thing down, i think that'd be good too.

1/2 through Seajima's quest on Ex Hard....you know, Akiyama's so damn compelling, i kinda hated skipping through his cutscenes.

Spoiler

also, even though it was my 2nd time seeing the ending, the bit where Seajima gets his own family is touching. its like, finally, the Tojo clan has a real lineup again with Daigo at the head of him, Majima and part-time Kazzy. cant wait for 5.

 

[Brazil]

Just picked this game up, but I'm keeping it sealed for now. I'm already having way too much fun with Yakuza 3.

Can't believe I never finished Yakuza 1 and skipped Yakuza 2. I'm so hooked.

 

[Mikhal]

Anyone have Tanimura IRF7 tips? Because he just seems like a horrible horrible fighter without his heat moves

Back yourself against a wall. Then just parry the enemy's attack and hit them with a few Triangle attacks after they bounce. Rinse and repeat.

 

[IrishNinja]

Just picked this game up, but I'm keeping it sealed for now. I'm already having way too much fun with Yakuza 3.

Can't believe I never finished Yakuza 1 and skipped Yakuza 2. I'm so hooked.

i cant really fault you for 1, but if you can, you should really go back and do 2 before 4, it'll have more impact. not as many tie-ins as part 1, but it's really one of the series' best. good on you for taking your time through part 3, just bear in mind theres even more quality to be found in the surrounding chapters!

also, Mikhal's strategy is much better than what i said for Tanimura, i forgot how much i did that (and how much he did that to me as well).

 

[Replicant]

One thing that I wish the writers would stop doing is

Spoiler

dragging the supporting character's reputation through the mud on subsequent sequel. I mean come on, if you need new villain just come up with a new one. Don't make the previous supporting characters turn out to be the villain again and again.

 

[IrishNinja]

well...can you give an example here?

Spoiler

i mean, Hazamaki (sp) did a 180 and went out like a hero, his words actually echoing in the ending and all. Daigo was at least understandable; he was not only left with the entire Tojo on his shoulders, it was in fucking shambles after Kaz wrecked their biggest moneymakers, replacing the biggest moneymakers he wrecked in 1/2, etc (the old guy with the scar getting helicopter'd last game didnt help either).
so here you see him very reluctantly abiding the police brass and compromising everything to keep shit afloat...the ending made it look like even Majima understood being sold out, no? i get what you're saying, i just thought it went better than usual this time.

 

[Replicant]

well...can you give an example here?

Spoiler

Daigo was at least understandable; he was not only left with the entire Tojo on his shoulders, it was in fucking shambles after Kaz wrecked their biggest moneymakers, replacing the biggest moneymakers he wrecked in 1/2, etc (the old guy with the scar getting helicopter'd last game didnt help either).

Yeah, him in this game was the thing that disturbed me the most because I grew to like him in the previous games. But also because I saw all of the 'Previously on Yakuza', I noticed how much this plot device is often used in the series. I find it disturbing because I'd get attached to a character only to see them being dragged through the mud on subsequent sequel because the writers need a 'twist'. I hope they won't do it to Date or any other new supporting characters.

 

[IrishNinja]

oh, if Date or any of the 3 new main characters go evil in 5, i'm out. no doubt about it though, you can count on some "misunderstanding" or other reason you're gonna have to fight them all, mind you. personally, having grown up with 90s comics where Spider-Man had to have a go at Batman over some accident or another (before the inevitable team-up against joker/carnage), i'm all about seeing this troupe in the series.

(spoiler if you didnt get to Kiryu's part yet)

Spoiler

i mean, how badass was fighting Akiyama + Tani as Kaz? i love shit like that.

 

[Replicant]

spoiler if you didnt get to Kiryu's part yet)

Spoiler

i mean, how badass was fighting Akiyama + Tani as Kaz? i love shit like that.

Oh that kind of thing was fine. I was all "Sorry guys, but I'm going to wipe floor with your ass"....and then I got my ass handed to me the first time around. I blame it all on my hesitation to really fight dirty against them. I wiped the floor with their asses the 2nd time around though.

 

[IrishNinja]

ahaha, glad to know i wasnt the only one who held back.
i finished Aki with that awful slam to the wall + curbstomp HEAT combo and was like "aw, my bad man!".
Tani just got chumped cause he couldn't even do his akido break to Kazzy's left arm WHILE AKI WAS IN THE OTHER WAITING TO BE LET GO OF LIKE A BAD PUPPY. jesus, what a beast.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Just finished Act 3. I didn't like the character at all, but I did like his story.

I must admit I'm somewhat getting bored of the melodramatic dialogue every bad character needs to have to "redeem" themselves, saying how they were forced into this world or they wish they didn't do the things they did, etc. It happens nearly all the time and part of me wishes this series would just say "Fuck it, these dudes are scum, kill em."

I feel the same way about talking to somebody as they're dying too. So few people just die, they need... to.... have a ... dramatic way out with a .... cryptic message.

It will be interesting to play as Kazuma again now after so long. The break has been refreshing.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Well that last act really came together. Pretty fucking awesome.

It's amazing how Yakuza 3 was one of the worst sequels I've ever played and this was a complete turnaround in quality. Maybe the best in the series yet, if I could bring myself to say it's better than 2.

The focus on new characters really made it feel special to play as Kazuma again for a few hours. I hope this structure continues for the next few games and they're not afraid to introduce more new characters. I really don't care about a new setting if they can keep telling new, interesting stories in this one. I mean, they made a new city for 3 and it was shit, so I'm not exactly in a hurry to leave Kamurocho.

 

[Masamuna]

Anyone know where I can find a large picture of Kazuma's tattoo? I wanna use it for my arcade stick.

 

[Backflip]

Finally finished my first playtrough last night. The story is awesome but I'm kinda pissed because I played on hard and didn't get the "Indomitable" trophy. Now I have to go through the story two more times.

 

[IrishNinja]

^its shitty, but its the way they get you to play it thrice. makes no sense though, i know.

a few hours more, and that plat is mine!

 

[Kazzy]

Anyone know where I can find a large picture of Kazuma's tattoo? I wanna use it for my arcade stick.

That okay?

 

[Masamuna]

http://www.cosplayisland.co.uk/files/costumes/85/22365/929568_20060512_790screen021-1.jpg

That okay?

Found the same source image last nite. Broke down and enlarged it at 10% increments till it was big enough. Thankfully its gonna be etched on plexi/black acrylic so the loss of detail wont hurt too bad. Thank you XD

Cant wait for PSN to get back on so I can use my save files on my replacement system. I got to the end of Saejima's arc before my 60gig died. Going through kamurocho withdrawals!

 

[IrishNinja]

that's a great image for a stick. im thinking of using the silver dragons on a black background from the 4 LE box myself.

one month later (104 hours! and just over 50% of the content!) platinum, baby! feels good, man. i was tempted to go back and do 3, but fuck that masochism; i think id rather just play Kensan! next with the gamfaqs guide/youtube channel i linked in the OP.

Cant wait for Of The End after the demo. ♥ Akiyama.

ps didnt win a thing off of SegaBits' awesome contest this week (they still have Yakuza week going though, show your support!), gonna try the Sega blog giveaway later today!

 

[Tizoc]

Yeah sorry but once again, fuck your weeaboo Hostess Club barbie sidequest.
Also Amon...just...motherfucking Amon

Spoiler

SATELLITE FUCKING LASER

Gonna replay the game on Normal to get a trophy, all the while getting Tanimura to Level 20.
After that I might go for the Extra Hard trophy. Not in the mood to getting the Hostess trophies and a few others tho.
Other than tha game was pretty fun.
Machine Gun Kiss is an awesome karaoke song BTW.

 

[IrishNinja]

yeah, hostess club one was kinda meh, went easier when i learned that scolding brought up 2 stats at once...odd lesson being learned there.

i cant suggest enough you read the guide i put in the OP (trophy section) to prep for amon...i really did luck out on dodging those lasers, though.

if youre thinking of platting: do not bother going back to grind Tani to 20, i almost did this but considering that you have at least 2 more full playthroughts with him & a buncha forced fights/bosses, there's no point. lemme know if any other trophies stump you! i eventually lucked out on the mahjong one.

 

[Backflip]

At first I did not like the fact you played as four different characters. But in the end, it was one of the things I liked the most about Yakuza 4. I hope we will see Saejima and Tanimura again someday (I am not worried about Akiyama seeing that he will be one of the main characters in OF THE END). I can not wait for OF THE END and the next "real" Yakuza game. In the meantime, I am going for the Platinum Trophy (I'm only missing the Extra Hard and Indomitable trophies).

 

[Tizoc]

yeah, hostess club one was kinda meh, went easier when i learned that scolding brought up 2 stats at once...odd lesson being learned there.

i cant suggest enough you read the guide i put in the OP (trophy section) to prep for amon...i really did luck out on dodging those lasers, though.

lol I had beaten Amon prior to writing my post

Spoiler

First battle was annoying but once I figured how to beat him, I managed to KO him while taking minimal damage on my 2nd try. My 2nd battle with Saejima was just plain....cheating, I mean it's one thing to have the exploding sign, but seeing how when YOU use it it's a one time attack then you gotta repair the weapon. I luckly managed to beat the sucker while in critical health X3.
Tanimura's fight wasn't a cake walk either, this guy barely used physical attacks against me making Tanimura's parry useless. I think I beat him on my first try too.
...but man final Amon? This guy I decided to turn down the difficulty just to get it over with, his mode change was such a pain in the ass =_=.
Oh and I beat these bosses while some of my characters had 1 or NO healing items =3

if youre thinking of platting: do not bother going back to grind Tani to 20, i almost did this but considering that you have at least 2 more full playthroughts with him & a buncha forced fights/bosses, there's no point. lemme know if any other trophies stump you! i eventually lucked out on the mahjong one.

Yeah Tanimura's still on Lvl. 19, and I'm getting him leveled up in my current Normal playthrough.