Yakuza Remastered Collection

[Hero-of-Time]

2 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Don’t think they got Western releases did they?

They did not.

EDIT: Get them bought for your collection.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Hero-of-Time

[Happenstance]

5 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

They did not.

EDIT: Get them bought for your collection.

Yeah I’ve considered it. Depends how much they are though as I’d rather spend money on say my Megadrive or SNES collections if they’re expensive as the Yakuza ones I’d never be able to play myself.

[sumo73]

I bought both of them on the PSP a few years ago and they didn't cost much then. Just wondered if anyone else played them that's all. PSP is region free so no problems playing them but the language barrier might put a few people off.

[Mandalore]

Playing through Yakuza 3 at the moment. At first it felt really dated and clunky compared to previous PS4 Yakuzas I'd played. Now I've got acclimatised to it, it's still pretty good. I like how the first few chapters are fairly relaxed just doing stuff for the orphanage. 

[Mandalore]

Spoiler

They trashed my orphanage, bastards!

Can't think of another game where I've wanted to get even with the bad guys more. 

[Julius]

Started Yakuza 3 a few hours ago and just finished Chapter 4, where things are starting to pick up a bit. Definitely the slowest start of any of the games I think, but there's a lot of jumping around in the first few chapters, and honestly, I think it does a pretty good job as something of a prologue (especially considering how much the events of 2 are referred to), almost in spite of that.

Cosy vibes at the orphanage and in Okinawa, great seeing how the dynamics work there between Kiryu and the kids, and it's a great way to escape everything going on at the moment. Felt like a beach/holiday episode of an anime at times, which is to say it feels great, and certainly put a smile on my face a number of times. I'm not sure how well the game is going to pivot into the more serious narrative which seems to be kicking off after such a warm start, from a pacing or narrative perspective, but of course I can't wait to see how it plays out. 

I think a fair share of the nitpicks I have so far are likely related to this being a remastered PS3 game, but still, I can't help like some of them could have been tweaked for a slightly better experience. I don't think these nitpicks will go away as the game goes on, so I'll mention them now. And to be clear, I'm really enjoying the game, I just feel like these have been too noticeable to not mention: 

- no pausing in cutscenes. Feel like this is the biggest one I have to highlight considering that it seems the most reasonable thing to add in the game, considering that it was present in 0 and both Kiwami and Kiwami 2. 

- Also, there are times where the budget limitations show (when compared to the more recent games): having a short cinematic cutscene play out, then interrupted by an in-engine cutscene which plays out like normal gameplay with text and without voices, before jumping back into the cinematic cutscene to complete the scene. It just makes for some real odd pacing. Then there has been one in the in-engine type that I mentioned which wouldn't autoplay the text, and instead gave you the option to autoplay it? Considering how short the scene was, seemed like an odd decision. 

- enemies block way more in this game than they did in the other games that I've played in the series so far, and bosses even more so. It kind of narrows down your options to approach situations differently quite considerably when compared to the other games, and often boils down to waiting for the enemy to swing at you before you can sidestep behind them, unleash a single chain, before waiting for them to hit you again. Just seems to drag the battles out in a way which isn't that enjoyable. 

- that camera's horizontal axis controls are seriously sensitive, and there aren't any sensitivity options. Takes a good while to adjust to it. 

Anyway, this is certainly the game I need right now, and I'm gobbling it up. Can't wait to play some more tomorrow. 

[Julius]

Put a good chunk of time into 3 today, and have just seen the end of Chapter 10.

Got to say, it's a very different game compared to the others that I've played so far in terms of scale and there being two threads for Kiryu instead of one. I don't think it could possibly be to everyone's liking, seeing as one of the threads almost entirely does away with what you think the focus would be, but instead you get this cosy, slow-paced journey which just feels like picking up from where we last left off with (Kiwami) 2. It's not the best story so far, and it doesn't have the best villain/s, but it's still managing to hit all of the right notes for me. 

Characters are still endearing, revisiting the streets of Kamurocho feels like visiting back home, and Onikawa just feels so much more laid-back. Substories are tiny morsels of hilarity, charm, and the occasional emotional depth we've come to expect injected throughout the game, and still do a good job of keeping things fresh. Even if the game on the whole is clunkier and generally much slower than more recent entries, I'm still having a blast with it. 

Also @Mandalore, the thing that happens in your Chapter 10 spoiler tag...doesn't happen in Chapter 10. I just finished it and checked your tag to see if I wanted to discuss it, and yeahhhhh, that hasn't happened yet  guessed it would be heading in that general direction anyway, so no big deal, but it might be worth updating for anyone else who plays and comes across it! 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Julius

[Mandalore]

Oops sorry, and there was me thinking I was being careful with the spoiler tags. 

I never quite finished the game. Did the typical 2 hour rush with no save points or breaks to the end boss then died and thought screw it, Sakura Wars just arrived in the post I'll play that instead.

I'll go back to it later and try levelling up a bit more and filling my inventory with health items.

[Julius]

Finished Yakuza 3 yesterday.

Is it the best Yakuza? Probably not.

Is it more Yakuza? Hell yes it is.

Great cast, fun world, plenty of awesome substories. It's held back by dated, slower, and somewhat clunky controls and mechanics when compared to newer entries in the series, but that's to be expected for a remaster of a game which is over a decade old. Still, looks great most of the time. Also has quite a few "huh, really doing that? okay" moments, so not the greatest of Yakuza stories.

Well worth investing some time into if you're already a fan of the franchise, with some great highs and character moments, and it's probably the shortest of the Yakuza games I've played so far (I clocked in 17 hours with nearly half of the substories completed). 

Going to save my further thoughts for my next Gaming Diary entry, but had a great time with it. Can't wait to pick up next time with Yakuza 4. 

[Happenstance]

Did you ever get around to moving onto 4 @Julius?

[Julius]

3 hours ago, Happenstance said:

Did you ever get around to moving onto 4 @Julius?

Not yet! Have you played it before?

Going to be totally honest, I hadn't picked up a game since The Last of Us Part II until I started up Arkham Asylum the other day, which I've been slowly chipping away at. A combination of that and my workload only getting heavier the last few weeks at work means I haven't been playing games as much lately, and have been quieter than usual on the forums. I still haven't caught up on my Gaming Diary... 

It's strange because I loved TLOU2, but it just took so much out of me that I've been left feeling burnt out on games since, so I've been diving into anime, books, and the occasional game of FIFA since. Hopefully I'll get through Arkham Asylum by Friday when Ghost of Tsushima releases, and I think depending on how I feel after that game, a trip back to Kamurocho might be just what I need. 

Yakuza is just the right mix of cosy, over-the-top, and intrigue for times like these. 

Edited July 11, 2020 by Julius

[Happenstance]

11 hours ago, Julius said:

Not yet! Have you played it before?

I played a few hours on PS3 years ago but never got properly into it so I’m looking forward to playing the remaster someday, I’m still slowly working my way through Kiwami 2 though so it’ll be a while.

[Julius]

Started Yakuza 4 last night, going to be continuing with Chapter 4 tonight. Seems a much slower burn in setting up the main story than the previous games after that initial hook early on, but I know there are multiple playable characters in this game, so I'm not too surprised. 

Super weird not starting the game playing as Kiryu for a change, BUT, Akiyama is awesome. A big fan of his backstory so far, being on the flip side of how Yakuza 0 started and being a "loan shark", learning so much more about a different side of Kamurocho, and just interacting with the place differently. Really great seeing how the place has changed since 3. 

Substories are still great, the one I will title "¥30 million scam" had me in stitches towards the end. Slight nitpick would be going back to the Sky Finance office to continue with (or even wrap up!) one substory, only to have another start, sometimes out of the blue. Also been a LOT of references to the past games already, such as with Akiyama's backstory of course, but also little things like recommending a place to that food critic in a substory and being like "Yeah, obviously the best place around here for ramen is Kyushu No. 1 Star, you should absolutely go for the pork bone broth!" based on knowledge gained from the past games. 

It also does such a great job at setting up the tone, very early on you know it's going to be a much darker affair than Yakuza 3 was (which I had a great time with, felt like a summer special! Smaller scale but still great), and focus very heavily on what's going on with the Yakuza. It's an interesting direction to go in after having such a Kiryu driven story in 3, and I can't wait to see more. A lot of different sides at play, reminds me a lot of 0 so far. 

Obviously I've seen the cover of the Collection, the icon on the PS4 menu, and the opening montage at the beginning. There's a face which seems familiar to me, so I just want to throw who I think it is in a spoiler tag as a guess more than anything, just to come back to it later. 

Spoiler

...is that guy with the big coat and the shoulder length hair Majima's partner who we saw in a flashback in 0?! 

Because HOLY SMOKES if that is the case, delving more into what happened that day has me very excited, I guess that snippet in the montage I think of him storming a place and also the serial killer Akiyama mentioned could be him? 

Can't even remember the guy's name to be totally honest, not even sure if we learned it in 0 (we probably did, but there are a lot of names!) but I am so onboard to learn more. 

I'm loving this. This series man. Cosy and brutal and not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve, what's not to love? 

[Julius]

Made some more progress today, got to the end of Chapter 7. Chapter 4 ended up being pretty long, though I guess that's partly my own fault for giving so many substories a go  I'm really loving the main story, so becoming increasingly selective about the substories I follow up now. 

Speaking of the main story: HOLY YES. 

Spoiler

Duuuuuude Taiga Saejima! They did it! They did the thing! Seeing that scene teased in 0 finally play out had my jaw drop, holy smokes, probably one of the best choreographed action cutscenes in the series from what I've played so far. 

Pretty hard sell on him being 20 when he committed the act, though. Dude looked 40 back then! Guess the Yakuza didn't take skincare all that seriously back then, maybe Kiryu in his short time as fourth chairman sent everyone routines?

Was cool seeing familiar faces again, like Hamizaki and now The Florist. Learning more about Saejima's backstory of course, and taking on Kiryu! I LOVE when games have you take on previous player characters/allies, so I loved this. Kiryu unsurprisingly still an awesome guy, role model material in that little cameo alone. 

Two scenes to add to the funniest scenes in the franchise: the first is this wonderful scene when you first take a pic for Mac which had me rolling...

And the next I can't find an image of (and forgot to screenshot!), but Saejima walking in on that guy in the toilets while trying to find the entrance Purgatory. The way his jaw looks unhinged and doesn't seem to stop opening in pure shock was absolutely hilarious. 

Also really appreciate Saejima's speech in the Coliseum about killing, and how those who champion it often have never had their backs to the wall - they have no idea what it's like. It's going to be interesting to have this legendary figure in the Tojo for taking out the elite members of another family and being awarded the death penalty for it, going down in Tojo folklore and built up to be this efficient killer, truly struggling with murders he committed 25 years ago, and not being able to wash the blood from his hands.

Chills. Laughs. Fist pumps. 

Yakuza 

[Julius]

So, I actually finished Yakuza 4 super early yesterday morning, but was too tired to offer any cohesive, and got really busy after work. 

I absolutely loved it, but I do think it has some minor flaws. 

Spoiler

Firstly, picking up from where I got to in my previous post, finishing Saejima's part in Chapter 8 and hooking up with Majima again was awesome. Bringing Kamurocho to a standstill just to give him a warm welcome and go for a stroll? Heck yeah, that's a fist pump moment. Saejima is awesome. 

And then we move onto Tanimura, who had some really unique gameplay with him being a detective, and I liked his unique fighting style being focused more on countering. Each of the four playable characters feel so unique in both their personalities and their fighting styles, which is a really hard balance to strike. I think Tanimura also has a super interesting arc, what happened to Sugiuchi and Hisai in the end sucked though. Returning Little Asia was awesome, so happy we got to see it again! Also, love the direct parallel between Arai and Sugiuchi at the very end of the game. 

Lastly, Kiryu's part. It wrapped things up nicely and was super intriguing throughout, so many call backs to Yakuza 3 which I loved, but it refrained from beating you over the head with them. There was just enough to keep you nostalgic about the Okinawa we saw in the last game, which is impressive considering just how little there is. Also, the return of the kids and Taichi in particular. That little fella is definitely my favourite of the bunch! And always great seeing him reunite with Yuya and Kazuki at Stardust, even if only for a substory this time around. 

Honestly, the game did a really good job throughout of having these characters cross paths, but it all being brought to a head at the top of Kamurocho Hills was of course awesome. The story being that so much of the earlier games tied in so intimately here, and that the references to previous games were so frequent throughout, it genuinely felt like a finale and culmination of sorts, even if it didn't feature Kiryu so heavily. These three new playable characters just grow so much throughout, and they're all great.

Of the four final bosses, only Munakata really annoyed me (Jingu 2.0?), which is a shame because he is technically THE final boss of the game, and the three earlier boss fights were scores better, in my opinion. 

Also got to briefly mention my favourite substories, some great stories this time around: Shiobara's rise and fall in the business world with Akiyama; learning about Iguchi's failed dream of starting up his own place because of the homeless, and his anger at them, with Saejima; and of course little Tadashi's quest to return to his sister's side after so long, only to learn she was taken in by a gentle old Yakuza soul, again with Saejima!

That being said, like I hinted at before, definitely have some issues with the game, most of all just how contrived some of the events and reveals in the second half are. Rubber bullets took one of my favourite moments - Saejima's lone hit on the Ueno Seiwa - and soured me on it quite a bit (though I still love it!). It was a huge moment of growth for him, and the idea of this legendary Yakuza effectively bringing the Tojo to the brink of war singlehandedly with his actions but regretting his murders for 25 long years was great, so why take that from him? Feel like they should have left it as it was - I feel like just having Katsuragi be the puppeteer in all of this was enough to make us hate him, so him going "haha, well actually I killed them!" felt like such put a poor writing decision, because it only takes away from one of Saejima's biggest regrets. Further, I feel like the second half of the game wasn't as well-paced as the first, and that ending just felt like a mish-mash of the previous endings we'd seen. 

And lastly: police batons. The most stupidly difficult weapon to go against when handled by someone remotely competent with them, pretty sure my run-ins with those folks lasted longer than some of my boss fights! 

All-in-all, I think Yakuza 4 is a worthy continuation of the series and 3, doing so much more I feel than previous games, especially amazing when considering they ended up splitting a similar total length for the main story (about 20-22 hours?) across four different playable characters. Akiyama and Saejima stole the show for me, and it has probably my favourite first half of any Yakuza game I've played so far because of them. The plot is much more focused than in previous games, doing so much to further Majima's backstory too, and is a pretty astounding feat all around. Solid soundtrack as always, and a great evolution in combat from 3 - it honestly handles just like 0 and Kiwami, astounding considering that 3 was so sluggish by comparison. 

Now that I'm five games into the series (!), I think it's time I share my personal ranking of my experiences so far. Still not fully settled on 4, so that's tentative, but pretty sure about the rest (and to be clear, I loved them all!):

1. Yakuza 0

2. = Yakuza Kiwami 2

2. = Yakuza 4

4. Yakuza 3

5. Yakuza Kiwami

So, another visit to Kamurocho done and dusted, in what has very quickly become one of my favourite video game series. I've read that 5 is quite long (something like double the length of 4?), so I won't be diving in immediately, but I am certainly looking to return to the domain of the Dragon of Dojima sooner rather than later! 

[drahkon]

After I've only played Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, I'm still waiting for Yakuza Kiwami 2 to arrive on PS+ I'd be up for another dive into the crazy world of the Yakuza games.

 

[RedShell]

7 hours ago, Julius said:

So, another visit to Kamurocho done and dusted, in what has very quickly become one of my favourite video game series. I've read that 5 is quite long (something like double the length of 4?), so I won't be diving in immediately, but I am certainly looking to return to the domain of the Dragon of Dojima sooner rather than later! 

Yakuza 4 was actually my introduction to the series (back when I had PS+) and yeah, it very quickly became one of my faves too. Akiyama is such a great character and Hana is absolutely adorable!  Anyway it’s great to see you’ve been enjoying the games, Julius.

Probably a wise move not to jump right into Yakuza 5 though, as it is indeed a very big game (double the length of 4 is about right) so taking a break beforehand should make it all the more enjoyable. 

[Hero-of-Time]

The bantz yesterday evening over in the Yakuza 7 thread gave me the nudge to start my next Yakuza game. That being the case, this evening I finally started Yakuza 3.

I've played through the first 3 chapters and some of the fourth and I have to say, I'm really enjoying the slow paced start of the game. Helping the kids at the orphanage, chilling out on the beach and sorting out the kids problems makes for a refreshing change. The start of the fourth chapter does seem to hint of the story getting a little heavier but the early chapters have been a joy to play through.

The golf mini game was a nightmare. I kept trying to playing it like Mario Golf/Everybodys Golf and my ball would hardly move. It wasn't until the second hole that I figured out I was playing it completely wrong!

The game's age does come through, especially during the combat sections. It's just not as fast and fluid as the previous games and I agree with what @Julius said in that the enemies seem to constantly block. The early boss fights have been a bit of a pain because you are essentially sat waiting until the enemy opens themselves up for an attack. I'm hoping things change once I unlock some more moves otherwise the battles in the remaining chapters may become a little tedious.

Spoiler

Man, poor Saki had it rough. Father hung himself in front of her and then the bitch of a mother says all that nasty stuff about her. I was hoping Kiryu was going to give her a hard slap but this wasn't the case. Thankfully she got one off the boss.  

I'm looking forward to seeing how the story pans out....

Oh, I've had this pic for ages now and don't think I ever posted it. For the life of me I can't remember where I saved it from.

For those who remember him, they will know how fitting this picture is.  

[RedShell]

14 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Oh, I've had this pic for ages now and don't think I ever posted it. For the life of me I can't remember where I saved it from.

For those who remember him, they will know how fitting this picture is.  

That is genius!  

[Hero-of-Time]

Chapter 4 was a bit of a slow burner, what with helping the kids with their problems, but the next chapter really kicked things up a notch.

Spoiler

Kashiwagi has been killed!  Absoltely gutted. The guy was such a close friend to Kiryu. I demand revenge on the SOBs that done this!!

This entry really gives me vibes of the PS2 era GTA games. I think it's because the game is a little janky and the pedestrian AI and movement is very basic, just like those GTA games. I'm still very much enjoying the game though.

[Hero-of-Time]

I reached chapter 9 this evening.

Spoiler

The whole chapter where you go to confront Kanda was hilarious. From Kiryu having to act as if he was a couple with Rikiya, to chasing Kanda through the hotel with him just sporting a towel around his waste. It just brought back memories of the hotel scene in the first Borat movie.  

I watched the opening of the 9th chapter and I was hoping Mine wouldn't be a bad guy as he seemed pretty cool. Looks like my hopes could be in vain...

Yeah, the combat still sucks, despite me unlocking more moves. The amount of blocking that bosses do is ridiculous, with the one at the end of chapter 8 being particularly annoying. They really should have had some kind of guard break if defending for too long. I'm hoping that this doesn't carry over to the rest of the games. It's easily been the weakest combat system out of the ones I've played so far. I'm not sure what they were thinking with it. 

[Hero-of-Time]

Chapter 11...

Spoiler

The sons a bitches have bulldozed the orphanage! 

I'm not a happy chappy. 

 

[Hero-of-Time]

More Chapter 11...

Spoiler

Rikiya.......

Absolutely devastated. He was a great character. Kiryu breaking down and the music that was playing throughout the scene was nearly enough to force the man tears.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Yakuza 3 is complete.

I swear I'll platinum one of these games before I'm finished with them all.  

The series just continues to deliver. Yes, the combat was a little rough to get to grips with after coming from the newer games but the story and characters, which is why I play and love these games, were top notch. There were some fantastic story beats and real emotional moments.

I already have Yakuza 4 installed and ready to be played. I may go straight into it.

Outside of the combat, the only thing I wasn't keen on was...

Spoiler

The plot point of Kazama's brother showing up and looking just like him. It felt a bit cheap and reminded me of the second Jurassic Park movie. "Oh, by the way, there's ANOTHER island full of dinosaurs."  

I had a bit of a nightmare with the final chapter. I fought my way through the onslaught of enemies and got to the final boss. I figured I'd make some food before taking him on but you can't pause the cutscenes and one was playing at the time. For some stupid reason, instead of putting the game into suspend mode by opening an app, I went and put the console into rest mode. I lost over an hour of gameplay time.  

[RedShell]

49 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I swear I'll platinum one of these games before I'm finished with them all.  

I’m betting on it being Yakuza 6, mainly because that’s the only one I ever got the platinum on*, and if I can do it, well you sure as hell can!  

*got very close on 4 as well actually, think I only needed 1 more trophy there but never managed to get it while I was still subscribed to PS+.

Anyway, nicely done H-o-T. Looking forward to hearing about your future Yakuza adventures.  

Be careful not to get burned out though, if you really are planning to jump straight into the next one!