• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Yakuza Community Thread - FEEL THE HEAT!

T

TheShampion

Member
I finished Y4 and playing Y5 now. The beginning of Y5 reminds me of the beginning of Mass Effect in which I know things are going to get bigger in scope, but I really enjoy the smaller scope. I would be content with a whole game with Kiryu the text driver and dealing with life there. I am excited to play as the rest of the gang though.

I am also playing Yakuza Dead Souls. The shooting mechanics are wacky, but I am intrigued. The UI and comparison to Y5 does it no favors, but I appreciate how dumb the whole premise is.
 
S

Solid Sora

Member
People here don't like Saejima? I think he's pretty great.
I was hyped to see what his deal is since Zero, and he delivered.

Was super disappointed when he said the singing isn't his thing tho :(.
 
L

lucebuce12

Member
The thing I really really really don't like about Saejima, and I admit this is stupid, is that they try to
pass him off as having a power level comparable to Kiryu if not equal.
 
L

lucebuce12

Member
I was just so shocked at
that fight.

I kept trying to rationalize it. "It's one of those boss fights that you have to LOSE" I thought. Nope.

"Kiryu's just gotten really rusty since he hasn't fought in a long time." I thought. Nope.

I was legitimately starting to think that they had
nerfed Kiryu's power level in Y4
. By the end, I had realized that
Kiryu hadn't been nerfed
, Saejima was basically the
Necalli
of the Yakuza series.
A whole lot of power just cus'.
 
S

Shadowman16

Member
I've been saying for ages that Seijima is a beast. Disagree about him being like Necalli though, Sejima is actually well written most of the time (really, I've played through all those related SFV stories and still really have no idea why Necalli is a thing!)

I mean, he's also one of the only guys that can best Majima in a battle, and while he lacks the overall skill Kiryu has in his fighting style he makes up for it in his sheer brute strength!

And if you want to hear Seijima sing, don't worry as he does in Yakuza 5. Or just look him up in Ishin, he gets one of my favourite songs in the game (well, maybe next to Majima's). Speaking of Ishin, one thing I loved so much about that game story by the end was how they
basically made Kiryu, Majima, Seijima and Mine into their own badass super team. Made the finale all the more awesome because of it
.
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
Solid Sora said:
People here don't like Saejima? I think he's pretty great.
I was hyped to see what his deal is since Zero, and he delivered.

Was super disappointed when he said the singing isn't his thing tho :(.
Click to expand...

I don't really dislike him myself, just find him the least interesting protagonist so far.

And don't worry, he's just saying things. He really shines with his singing in 5, haha.
 
M

matrixman92

Member
In yakuza 5, how do you complete a hostess? I am working on the first one you get to with Kiryu. I have her S ranked and did her event. But in the completetion section it shows 0/5
 
S

Solid Sora

Member
Opa-Pa said:
I don't really dislike him myself, just find him the least interesting protagonist so far.

And don't worry, he's just saying things. He really shines with his singing in 5, haha.
Click to expand...

I feel like Tanimura is easily the least interesting. The whole "kinda" corrupt cop thing was but they romanticized it in a robinhood-y way and then ditched it completely later. He's just a
generic revenge story
really.

Also I'm not sure I like what happened by the end of Part 3..

The scene where Shiguichi just leaves the warehouse was fucking stupid I felt.
Why didn't they just arrest him? :/

The whole rubber bullet plan didn't make much since either. Even if we assumed it's a super secret kind that's guaranteed to knock off the person, it's hard to believe Saejima won't notice that something is off with no blood and all. And even if we assumed that he's that stupid, all it would've taken is one head shot for him to realize that he fucked up.

The whole thing requires dozens of suspension of disbelief. Shame since I was really super into the story. More that any Yakuza that ain't zero so far.
 
S

Scotia

Banned
Solid Sora said:
I feel like Tanimura is easily the least interesting.
Click to expand...

This is interesting because, and I'll get to this when I post my impressions when I finish the game, Tanimura is easily my favourite new guy in this game. Out of the three Akiyama is probably my least favourite.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
damn, this chinese ebay seller i won my Majima figure off of hasn't responded in a week now...starting to think i'm just getting my $ back =/
 
L

lucebuce12

Member
Solid Sora said:
I feel like Tanimura is easily the least interesting.
Click to expand...
tenor.gif


Scotia said:
This is interesting because, and I'll get to this when I post my impressions when I finish the game, Tanimura is easily my favourite new guy in this game. Out of the three Akiyama is probably my least favourite.
Click to expand...
Tanahashi+slaps+Naito.gif
 
S

Scotia

Banned
Bear in mind that when I say least favourite he still fucking kicks ass, cause even at it's worst Yakuza is head-and-shoulders above everything else.
 
K

Kimaka

Member
Rikiya is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. He better not die or turn evil.

Also, fuck the chasing minigame.
 
Shanaynay

Shanaynay

Member
Akiyama's one of my favorite, always loved his fighting style i wish i had a gif of his ultimate move from 5, so many hits, so stylish.
 
M

matrixman92

Member
everything was going so smoothly in yakuza 5 till i got to this damn fishing. Some of these fuckin fish do not exist, unless the guide im looking at is wrong.

So many (I didnt get a bite), over half of my attempts are that
 
S

Solid Sora

Member
Done with Yakuza 4. That was... mostly great? I don't know.

The build up and the mystery in the first half was amazing, I was super intrigued. The second half, while not anywhere near bad, was a bit disappointing by comparison. Things got too convoluted for its own good, and they kept relying on a plot device that doesn't make any sense -
with rubber bullets. I still can't understand what were they thinking.
-, but it was satisfying overall, and the final chapter was super hype.

Some notes:

  • Akiyama is great. Easily my favorite character in the game. I love how chill he is, and his way of handling money is always fun to watch. This whole "loan shark" thing is some kind of a taboo in my culture, so maybe that's why he was extra intriguing for me.
  • Saejima is great, too. I was hyped to know what his deal is since Zero and he delivered.
    Not sure about how it turned out that he didn't really kill the 18 men,
    but if that's what it takes to keep him in the future titles
    .
  • Tanimura is my least favorite because of how played out his "type" happens to be.
    The young cop who's trying to figure out how his father was murdered 25 years ago
    is just too boring of a promise for me to get invested. The "kinda corrupted cop" aspect was more interesting but it was completely ditched after the first 30 minutes or so. The guy is cool though, has an attitude, and his final fight was super hype. I don't hate him, but he's just kinda weak compared to how amazing Akiyama and Saejima are.
  • I'm seriously starting to get sick of this whole
    "If a good guy got his hands dirty he needs to get killed off". The moment it was revealed Yasuko killed those men I knew she was a goner but it still pissed me off when it happened.
  • The
    Hana
    scene in the end was bad.
  • The after credits scene is interesting.
    Is Kiryu back in the Tojo clan?
    this an interesting turn of events if true.

Overall, I feel like 4 is objectively a better game than 3. It's denser, more consistent, and got less bullshit story wise. But 3 got a lot more "moments", and it also got Rikiya.

Zero > 4 >= 3 > Kiwami

I was tempted to start 5... but after some thinking, this will be my next step:

DJlCvdoXcAEW6Hn.jpg
Click to expand...

Can't wait to tackle this mess later tonight!
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
Good to see you had a good time with 4! I liked it a lot myself but still felt a bit underwhelmed at the end, I think the experimental multi protagonist structure hurt the writing a lot, and almost everything regarding
Yasuko
was embarrassingly bad, so I was kinda meh.

Still, I enjoyed all characters and had good fun. Akiyama especially is clearly a winner. Also, IMO, Yakuza 5 is far more exciting, although you should be warned, the story is an absolute mess and probably the most unnecessarily convulted I've seen in a game... And yet it's so good!

Enjoy Dead Souls, I think it's genuinely good, just too quirky with its controls. Try to stick to the main story and it'll probably never get boring before the game ends (but maybe someone will recommend the opposite).
 
S

Scotia

Banned
I'm so fucking confused (Y4 spoilers):

I'm on Chapter 4 Part 2 and at the end of Part 3
Hisai was holding the two Chinese people hostage and then you heard a gunshot, and now I'm starting C4 P2 and Hisai fucking killed himself? When did this happen? Did I miss it?
 
8

888eddyx

Member
Alright, so I'm new to the Yakuza series. I played 0 and absolutely loved it. Now I am currently playing Kiwami and also loving it. But what should I do about 6? I do want to play all of the games, but I was wondering if I can skip to 6 and play the others later. I don't want to try to play 2, 3, 4, and 5 before March because I don't want to get sick of Yakuza. However, I wanna be able to play 6 right when it releases. Will I have to catch up on the story in order to play 6? If so, I can find recaps for 2 and 3, but does anyone know where I can find good recaps of 4 and 5?
 
S

Solid Sora

Member
Opa-Pa said:
Good to see you had a good time with 4! I liked it a lot myself but still felt a bit underwhelmed at the end, I think the experimental multi protagonist structure hurt the writing a lot, and almost everything regarding
Yasuko
was embarrassingly bad, so I was kinda meh.

Still, I enjoyed all characters and had good fun. Akiyama especially is clearly a winner. Also, IMO, Yakuza 5 is far more exciting, although you should be warned, the story is an absolute mess and probably the most unnecessarily convulted I've seen in a game... And yet it's so good!

Enjoy Dead Souls, I think it's genuinely good, just too quirky with its controls. Try to stick to the main story and it'll probably never get boring before the game ends (but maybe someone will recommend the opposite).
Click to expand...

I didn't mind Yasuko tbh, I was just mad that
they ended her story in the laziest way possible. Wasted potential, really
.

Playing Dead Souls right now and it feels like a weird pre-RE4 PS2 game. It's charming that's for sure, even if the camera gets really annoying in closed areas.

Scotia said:
I'm so fucking confused (Y4 spoilers):

I'm on Chapter 4 Part 2 and at the end of Part 3
Hisai was holding the two Chinese people hostage and then you heard a gunshot, and now I'm starting C4 P2 and Hisai fucking killed himself? When did this happen? Did I miss it?
Click to expand...

That was the gunshot we heard. He killed himself instead because he couldn't bring himself to kill the hostages.
 
S

Son Of Sparda

Member
888eddyx said:
Alright, so I'm new to the Yakuza series. I played 0 and absolutely loved it. Now I am currently playing Kiwami and also loving it. But what should I do about 6? I do want to play all of the games, but I was wondering if I can skip to 6 and play the others later. I don't want to try to play 2, 3, 4, and 5 before March because I don't want to get sick of Yakuza. However, I wanna be able to play 6 right when it releases. Will I have to catch up on the story in order to play 6? If so, I can find recaps for 2 and 3, but does anyone know where I can find good recaps of 4 and 5?
Click to expand...
These games are mostly stand-alone in the sense that you can totally understand the story of each game, even if you haven't played the previous one. So in that sense, you can jump into Yakuza 6. But SEGA themselves have come up with a solution for people who are in your position:

http://yakuza.sega.com/experience/agegate

Yakuza Experience will give you the information that you need to fully understand Yakuza 6, without spoiling too much about other games, so you can go back to them and appreciate their stories at a later date. Even though Yakuza Experience isn't completely finished yet, SEGA will complete the website as we get closer and closer to Yakuza 6's release. So you should definitely keep an eye on it.
 
S

Scotia

Banned
Solid Sora said:
That was the gunshot we heard. He killed himself instead because he couldn't bring himself to kill the hostages.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know the gunshot was him killing himself and I know why he did it, I'm just confused as to how poorly they explained it. I mean, when you go back to Tanimura he's already in the shop bowing to the guy's badge and you just get a sentence that says he killed himself and that's it. I might have missed something that explained it better, but I literally couldn't believe he killed himself off camera and then that was it. I was that confused I went on YouTube and looked at the scene again just to see if I'd missed anything and I'm pretty sure I didn't.
 
D

Desmond

Member
Son Of Sparda said:
These games are mostly stand-alone in the sense that you can totally understand the story of each game, even if you haven't played the previous one. So in that sense, you can jump into Yakuza 6. But SEGA themselves have come up with a solution for people who are in your position:

http://yakuza.sega.com/experience/agegate

Yakuza Experience will give you the information that you need to fully understand Yakuza 6, without spoiling too much about other games, so you can go back to them and appreciate their stories at a later date. Even though Yakuza Experience isn't completely finished yet, SEGA will complete the website as we get closer and closer to Yakuza 6's release. So you should definitely keep an eye on it.
Click to expand...
Notice a few errors in that timeline already. lol
 
S

Scotia

Banned
Finished Yakuza 4. Overall I'm....mixed. I enjoyed it but there's a lot of problems that didn't sit right with me. I'll post detailed thoughts tomorrow.
 
S

Solid Sora

Member
Scotia said:
Finished Yakuza 4. Overall I'm....mixed. I enjoyed it but there's a lot of problems that didn't sit right with me. I'll post detailed thoughts tomorrow.
Click to expand...

The plot pretty much shits the bed in the last third. It's really similar to Y3 except that the highs aren't as high and the lows aren't as low. It's more consistent for the better or worse.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
see, i dunno....

3 had okinawa, some great character stuff with the orphanage, and Rikiya felt like a highlight. there's a lot to do, but Mine & CIA again felt like one of the series' weakest villains.

4 brings 3 new characters (all of which were fun to play & really helped switch things up combat wise, which was overdue) and the plot absolutely shits the bed SPOILERS
honestly the overly convoluted pump-fake of saejima's not-so-murdery murder scene was where it started for me
and god knows the 4 way finale was some goofy comic book shit to pair up whoever to fight whoever, but overall i thought it a much stronger game: you get great noir stuff like kamurocho in the rain, you get time with the new guys just to have kazzy handle them all like DADDY'S HOME and shit, it was just a joy of series fanservice in different spots
 
C

CannonFodder52

Member
IrishNinja said:
see, i dunno....

3 had okinawa, some great character stuff with the orphanage, and Rikiya felt like a highlight. there's a lot to do, but Mine & CIA again felt like one of the series' weakest villains.

4 brings 3 new characters (all of which were fun to play & really helped switch things up combat wise, which was overdue) and the plot absolutely shits the bed SPOILERS
honestly the overly convoluted pump-fake of saejima's not-so-murdery murder scene was where it started for me
and god knows the 4 way finale was some goofy comic book shit to pair up whoever to fight whoever, but overall i thought it a much stronger game: you get great noir stuff like kamurocho in the rain, you get time with the new guys just to have kazzy handle them all like DADDY'S HOME and shit, it was just a joy of series fanservice in different spots
Click to expand...

The rainy noir vibe was introduced in Y2 btw.

I loved Y3 after first playing it. I thought Y4 was a low point after just finishing it, but it ended up aging very well over time, especially after playing Y5. The fight at the end of Y4 is one of my favorite Yakuza moments. I really need to replay it and do the substories I missed one day.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
god, i legit rushed through 2 years back & dug it but was eager to get to the PS3 stuff, and now im super excited to take my time with it when kiwami 2 drops. god, i forgot so much of it.
 
8

888eddyx

Member
Son Of Sparda said:
These games are mostly stand-alone in the sense that you can totally understand the story of each game, even if you haven't played the previous one. So in that sense, you can jump into Yakuza 6. But SEGA themselves have come up with a solution for people who are in your position:

http://yakuza.sega.com/experience/agegate

Yakuza Experience will give you the information that you need to fully understand Yakuza 6, without spoiling too much about other games, so you can go back to them and appreciate their stories at a later date. Even though Yakuza Experience isn't completely finished yet, SEGA will complete the website as we get closer and closer to Yakuza 6's release. So you should definitely keep an eye on it.
Click to expand...

Oh my god this us exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Like A Dragon: Yakuza | Oct 24 | Official Trailer
21
845
EverydayBeast replied
My view on the current state of Yakuza
33
2K
Labadal replied
Amazon Yakuza/Like a Dragon - First trailer
34
2K
Durien replied
Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Reveal Trailer (Goro Majima as the protagonist; release date February 28, 2025)
News Trailer 2 3 4
153
7K
SyberWolf replied
‘Like a Dragon: Yakuza’ Live Action Series Adaptation of Hit Sega Game Heading to Prime Video (EXCLUSIVE)
2
53
3K
Alexios replied
Top Bottom