Hero-of-Time Posted November 21, 2020 Author Posted November 21, 2020 I've put about 10 hours into Yakuza 4 but I'm just not feeling it at the moment. I didn't realise the game is split between different characters and not playing as Kiryu is a bit of a downer. Akiyama is a very likeable guy but it just feels weird not playing as Kiryu. The story hasn't kicked in yet either, despite being 10 hours deep into the game. There's lots of clan names being thrown around but nothing significant has really happened yet. I was pleased to find that the combat is MUCH better in this than it was in the third game. Everything is far more fluid and the enemies aren't constantly blocking all of your attacks. I have had a laugh at some of the Revelation events that I have seen. The Batman/bra and panty stealer was hilarious, as was the robber who dropped the knife due to seeing up a woman's skirt. 1 3
Hero-of-Time Posted November 22, 2020 Author Posted November 22, 2020 I finished off Akiyama's story yesterday evening. It did start to pick up by the end of it and certain plot points all came together. I found the arrival of Minami to be quite funny. Dude is very tone deaf, as pointed out by Majima. The trophy you unlock for finishing this chapter is called The Plot Thickens. Very fitting. I started Saejima's story and his opening was very familiar. I could be wrong but were the events of the hit that he does also shown in Yakuza 0? I just feel like I've seen them before and figured that it must have been in Majima's story in Yakuza 0, especially with it also being set in the 80's. I was used to Akiyama's fast paced combat and now I guess I've gotta adjust to Saejima's slow paced battling. It's kinda like the switching of styles in the newer games. 2
Hero-of-Time Posted November 22, 2020 Author Posted November 22, 2020 Spoiler Nope. Nope. Nope. I REALLY didn't want to have to fight Kiryu. I was half expecting it to be one of those boss fights that you can't win. It just felt so wrong setting about him. Speaking of wrong, the scene with Saejima hovering over Haruka was...creepy. I guess it was supposed to be though. Kiryu mentioning that Saejima clearly hasn't seen a female in years and the way he looked at her was a telltale sign of that and yet he happily left her alone with him later. Crazy fool. 1
RedShell Posted November 22, 2020 Posted November 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said: I started Saejima's story and his opening was very familiar. I could be wrong but were the events of the hit that he does also shown in Yakuza 0? Can’t remember for sure now, but think they might have been. 2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said: I was used to Akiyama's fast paced combat and now I guess I've gotta adjust to Saejima's slow paced battling. It's kinda like the switching of styles in the newer games. Akiyama’s fighting style is awesome... those kicks! You do get to bash people over the head with motorcycles as Saejima though, which is incredibly entertaining and satisfying. 1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said: Saejima Chapter 2 (Hide contents) Speaking of wrong, the scene with Saejima hovering over Haruka was...creepy. I guess it was supposed to be though. Kiryu mentioning that Saejima clearly hasn't seen a female in years and the way he looked at her was a telltale sign of that and yet he happily left her alone with him later. Crazy fool. Oh shit, I’d forgotten about that scene. Yeah, disturbing stuff. 2
Hero-of-Time Posted November 22, 2020 Author Posted November 22, 2020 I've now finished Saejima's chapter. It got a little annoying towards the end, what with the crazy amount of police patrolling the area. It essentially became a stealth game at that point. Spoiler I did feel sorry for the big lug. The scene after the cage fight was really well done. Him breaking his heart and bearing his soul in front of the crowd was quite touching. I also felt sorry for him due to not knowing his place in the world. 25 years is a long time to be locked away and it's understandable that he doesn't recognize the world anymore. I did get a laugh out of this fact due to a comment he made about a woman dressed as a school girl. The Revelations still continue to assume me. The one where the assassin is sitting in his car but ends up crashing it into the wall had me howling. Next up is Tanimura. 1 1
martinist Posted November 22, 2020 Posted November 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said: Next up is Tanimura. Tanimura never appears again in the franchise. They changed his face from the PS3 game since the guy it was modeled after was accused of using drugs or something. The guy retired from acting after that I think and they never include the character ever again. He gets replaced in Yakuza 5 by an ex-baseball player or something. 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 22, 2020 Author Posted November 22, 2020 44 minutes ago, martinist said: Tanimura never appears again in the franchise. They changed his face from the PS3 game since the guy it was modeled after was accused of using drugs or something. The guy retired from acting after that I think and they never include the character ever again. He gets replaced in Yakuza 5 by an ex-baseball player or something. Having played the first chapter of his storyline I can't say I'm too fussed if he doesn't return. He definitely seems the least interesting out of the new guys. 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 23, 2020 Author Posted November 23, 2020 I finished Tanimura's storyline this evening. As I expected, his has been the weakest of the stories so far. It did pick up at the end but it felt like a whole lot of nothing for most of it. Spoiler I did enjoy the boat chase at the end, as well as the battle with Sugiuchi when handcuffed. I wasn't expecting there to be more dirty cops hidden in the force. The old cop holding the hostages at Homeland has me worried that the gunshots heard were at the kid and father. Time will tell... Tanimura's fighting style was a weird one. It's not quite Akiyama's style but not quite Saejima's either. I did like that his heat moves were integrated into a lot of his combos. It made taking down enemies pretty quick. It's finally time to play as Kiryu! The dragon awakens... 3
Hero-of-Time Posted November 24, 2020 Author Posted November 24, 2020 Kiryu's chapters are complete. Wow! Spoiler I can't believe they brought the missing 10 million storyline back and made it relevant in this one. Brilliant move and callback. I love how everything has come together in this chapter. All of the characters stories have finally come to a head and paid off. I absolutely loved the handicap fight with Kiryu vs Tanimura and Akiyama. Naturally, I was happy to unleash hell with Kiryu and put them both in their place. I do feel the final gauntlet with Kiryu was a little too long. Some of the enemies in that area were really annoying as well. The guy with the baton and the other with the shotgun were a nightmare to fight. Even more so when you had to fight them all at once. I knew Kido would turn on Katsuragi. I then burst out laughing because you could tell Arai was then gonna turn on him. Gotta love the yakuza. The finale awaits. Go team! 2
RedShell Posted November 24, 2020 Posted November 24, 2020 Nice one, H-o-T! Man, you’re getting through these like someone who eats Yakuza games for breakfast, and right now is very hungry! 1 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 25, 2020 Author Posted November 25, 2020 My journey through Yakuza 4 is over. Spoiler The start of the chapter was very epic. All 4 of them on the roof, rocking suits and paying respects to Saejima's sister. The music was very touching. It then kicks in and you see them marching through the streets and looking at Millennium Tower. Love it. When all 4 of the antagonists were on the roof and the helicopter arrives I knew I was in for something special. The guys getting off the chopper and then Akiyama saying this... ....was such a "Hell yeah!" moment and I had a MASSIVE grin on my face. The boss battles that followed were great. The fights for both Kiryu and Tanimura took some doing though. I always forget about armour in these games and it nearly cost me here. Getting through all the body guards as Tanimura drained me of all health items and I only just beat the boss. The stories is these games, man. They really do a fantastic job of keeping you hooked and throwing curveballs at you at a blistering pace. The amount of story threads that needed to be managed in this entry was nuts and the fact that they were able to bring it all together at the end just shows how talanted the people are who make and write these games. What started off as a weaker entry in the series ended up being one of the best, with Akiyama being a brilliant addition to the franchise. Outside of Zero being the top, I doubt I could put them in an order. They are all soooo good. This series, man. This series. 3
RedShell Posted November 26, 2020 Posted November 26, 2020 23 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said: What started off as a weaker entry in the series ended up being one of the best, with Akiyama being a brilliant addition to the franchise. Outside of Zero being the top, I doubt I could put them in an order. They are all soooo good. This series, man. This series. Great to see you enjoying it. You’re not making a start on 5 already, are you? That’s the biggest game in the series, well... it was, until Like a Dragon. 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 26, 2020 Author Posted November 26, 2020 8 minutes ago, RedShell said: Great to see you enjoying it. You’re not making a start on 5 already, are you? That’s the biggest game in the series, well... it was, until Like a Dragon. Just fired it up this evening. I quite like the new changes/features to the battle system. The enemies running off and calling for backup was a surprise, as was the leveling up of weapons after using them. I'm intrigued to see what else has been changed. I'm only a couple of hours in so far so the story hasn't really kicked in yet. Spoiler ...when Kiryu went out with his boss to a hostess club and the chief said this to one of the girls. Shame to see Kiryu living the civilian life again. It's weird because at the end of the fourth game it gives the impression that he would return to the yakuza. 1
RedShell Posted November 26, 2020 Posted November 26, 2020 25 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Just fired it up this evening. Dude. I reckon you might be eligible for Guinness World Record at this rate! Can’t imagine many people have played so many Yakuza games back-to-back. 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 26, 2020 Author Posted November 26, 2020 For those that are still after it, the game is currently £20 over on Shopto. Bargain.
martinist Posted November 27, 2020 Posted November 27, 2020 Prepare for eurobeat highway racing and a surprisingly substantial hunting minigame. I also enjoyed the little taxi driving sim.
Hero-of-Time Posted November 28, 2020 Author Posted November 28, 2020 7 hours ago, martinist said: Prepare for eurobeat highway racing and a surprisingly substantial hunting minigame. I also enjoyed the little taxi driving sim. I don't usually bother with the mini games that much. The taxi driving is a weird one. With these games being as wacky as they are I was expecting something along the lines of Crazy Taxi but instead they are quite slow and series driving segments. I'm happy to see I can now pause cutscenes. About time!
RedShell Posted November 28, 2020 Posted November 28, 2020 9 hours ago, martinist said: Prepare for eurobeat highway racing and a surprisingly substantial hunting minigame. I also enjoyed the little taxi driving sim. I listened to those tunes on a run once, almost ended up in hospital! That level of hype should be illegal. 1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said: I don't usually bother with the mini games that much. The taxi driving is a weird one. With these games being as wacky as they are I was expecting something along the lines of Crazy Taxi but instead they are quite slow and series driving segments. I'm happy to see I can now pause cutscenes. About time! I loved the taxi stuff: I see the vid no longer appears on that post, so here it is again: Just don’t listen to it while running! 1 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 28, 2020 Author Posted November 28, 2020 Just finished Kiryu's story. Once again I wasn't aware I'd be playing as multiple protagonists. Does this carry on in Yakuza 6? Spoiler Absolutely amazing. Him showing up before the battle and saying this was a stroke of genius. It was hilarious when he explained to the Tojo members that he wasn't actually there to help them but to sort them all out. The fight that followed...wow. It was essentially Yakuza: Dynasty Warriors edition. The part where the Tojo reinforcements arrive and fire rockets at Kiryu, only for him to side step them, was glorious. Gotta say, I liking what I've seen the Omi captain, Watase. Dude is straight up old school and I'm intrigued to see if I'm going to have to come to blows with him somewhere down the line. Seeing Kiryu's reaction to news of Majima's supposed death, along with him looking at the picture of Morning Glory, was heartbreaking. Poor guy just wants a peaceful life but can't catch a break. Oh, I got a good laugh out of this fight. I just love how blunt the description is. Time for Saejima to step into the spotlight. 1
martinist Posted November 28, 2020 Posted November 28, 2020 Yakuza 6 drops the multiple protagonists and just focuses everything on Kiryu. 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 29, 2020 Author Posted November 29, 2020 (edited) Spoiler I really enjoyed the prison segments of his chapter and was happy to see another epic brawl was on the cards. The imagination sections were a bit weird though. I suppose it was a good way to show tutorials for some of the mini games and allow for a change of scenery, despite being stuck in the prision. Saejima with his hair cut off reminds me so much of Batista. Even his body build is the same. I can't believe one of the chapters ended in a bear fight. I was howling when you had to pull off a Feel The Heat move and slammed Saejima's fist straight into the face of the bear. Outstanding stuff. Sadly, that's where Istopped enjoying his chapters. I didn't care for the hunting stuff at all. It dragged on way too long and it completely halted the storyline. His next chapter just felt really tacked on, with only the last half hour having any real significance. I get the feeling that they didn't feel like they had enough content for Saejima and stuffed it with filler to stretch it out. They could have easily made his section shorter and I think it would have been better for it. Next up, Akiyama. EDIT: Maybe not... Spoiler You get to play as Haruka! Amazing. Edited November 29, 2020 by Hero-of-Time 1 1
Hero-of-Time Posted November 29, 2020 Author Posted November 29, 2020 Akiyama and company story has been completed. Spoiler I absolutely loved Haruka's story/gameplay. Yeah, I usually don't care for the mini games but this was so well implemented that I could help but enjoy it. I love me some J-Pop. They should have just created a spinoff game named Yakuza: Idol and fleshed it all out a bit more. I hated her rivals. Both of them were proper bitches and it was hard watching the scene where they got her to beg after crushing her newly bought brooch. Like I said, bitches. It was great playing as Akiyama again. Dude has such a free flowing fighting style that you can't help but enjoy fighting with him. Kinda reminds me of Eddie from the Tekken series. You could just bash the buttons and away he went. I came across a neat exploit whilst using him. A lot of the bosses block most of your attacks and I found I could do a single kick, back off and repeat. For some reason they never block the first hit. I did find it weird that Akiyama didn't contact Kiryu about Haruka, especially when she got kidnapped. I did get a laugh out of him when he went to rescue her and ended up knackered... Majima you sly old dog. Fancy him being married to Park! Time to see what this baseball player that martinist mentioned is all about. 3
Hero-of-Time Posted November 30, 2020 Author Posted November 30, 2020 (edited) Shinada's story is complete. Spoiler This was easily the worst of the storylines. He was likable enough but the supporting characters weren't great and the story surrounding the baseball match fixing just wasn't interesting. It felt as though the yakuza influence was really shoehorned in. Shinada's fighting style was really boring as well. Using his fists felt sluggish but not powerful but once I switched to using his pipe weapon things became a little better. Yeah, it's fast but it does very little damage. The fight in the warehouse area really dragged on. I don't think there was any need for the amount of enemies and corridors placed in the area. Still, I did get a kick out of being chased by a forklift truck. Shenmue, anyone? The whole thing of the Nagoya family actually being normal members of the town totally reminded me of Hot Fuzz. Even the way they were killing off people was very similar. I can't believe a retired baseball player, who barely has enough money to eat, managed to floor Daigo. No wonder the Tojo clan is always going to hell under his leadership! I didn't see that coming though. I thought it was Kiryu under the mask. I did enjoy the final battle on the baseball field, along with the pitch being thrown to him. It somehow felt very anime and I did appreciate it. The final chapter awaits... Edited November 30, 2020 by Hero-of-Time 2
Hero-of-Time Posted December 1, 2020 Author Posted December 1, 2020 Another day, another Yakuza game completed. Spoiler Things really kicked off in the final chapter, didn't they? With playing the fourth game before this I figured I would once again have to fight a boss with each of the characters and so I stocked them all full of healing items before setting on my way. I loved the battle outside of Millenium Tower. What made this even more epic was the fact that when you return to the fight later in the chapter it has moved to a different part of town. You can just imagine Kiryu and Akiyama completely cleaning house whilst you were battling Majima on the roof. Speaking of which, he seems to have gone through another character change in this game. He's not the cool, collected guy from Zero but he isn't the nut job from the other games either. To be honest his character was very weak in this installment. I loved it when Diago arrived on the roof. I honestly thought he was done and dusted when he got shot. Seriously, the amount of times people get shot in these games purely because they turn their backs on people or take their eye off the ball is ridiculous. Another fantastic moment was after finishing Akiyama's boss fight. When all the clans come marching through the streets....awesome. Kanai's face when he sees that they weren't his men marching through Kamurocho was hilarious and then Watase saying this was pure magic. This then got even better when they all bowed to Akiyama. What a guy! I was disappointed with the final boss reveal. It kinda felt like it was pulled out of left field and it really felt unearned. It was Final Fantasy IX all over again. The battle itself was a right slog. The amount of health bars he had was insane, not to mention the amount of blocking he kept doing. Haruka's speech on the big stage and then Kiryu crawling through the snowy streets. I enjoyed the game but it has been the weakest in the series for me. They tried to replicate what they had with the 4th game and 4 protagonists but it didn't quite work this time around. There are some great story beats but because the chapters are so long and you switch between different characters, certain things get lost along the way. Yakuza 4 got the balance just right but I felt in this one there was too much going on and too many characters and plot lines to keep the intrigue going. It didn't help that I wasn't a fan of Shinada's storyline either. As I said, it's still enjoyable and a great game but it didn't meet the standards set by the other games in series. 2
RedShell Posted December 2, 2020 Posted December 2, 2020 Nicely done @Hero-of-Time! And yeah, there is so much stuff crammed into Yakuza 5, they went a bit OTT with the amount of content really. I’m almost afraid to ask this... but are you starting Yakuza 6 soon?
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