Julius Posted December 1, 2023 Posted December 1, 2023 Earlier this week I saw the end of Chapter 4 play out, and then cleared out everything at The Castle, the rest of the Akame Requests, and of course Amon. Spoiler Yeah, Shishido's turn was super telegraphed by him mentioning his past earlier on (combined with all those scars), but while I expected it to be graphic...damn, I think that might be one of the few times we've straight up had a murder shown in unrelenting fashion with no cuts away or framing to hide the body. There's a straight-up shot of Nishitani's lifeless body, with his face shown, still being stabbed from an angle where you can see all the blood and stuff. I'm not too squeamish about blood and stuff anyways but man, since the move to the Dragon Engine, RGG have definitely been pushing the boat out with how far they go in showing some of these horrors. Which, in a weird way, feels kind of essential? This, LAD and Judgment are very firm reminders that while we're playing a good guy, these are not good guys. Far from it. The Castle was interesting, there's definitely a lot of busy work and running around which was definitely a bit of a pain up until the fast travel around the place unlocked. Generally had an okay time as I was going through, though one or two team events had me grinding things out for certain characters to be of a higher level/bond, and the weird lack of strategy beyond this with characters feels a bit odd – would love future Coliseums to build on this with team outfits or something just so that you can assign/have shared resistances in a very simple way to add a bit more depth, but also to help lessen the currently necessary need to grind. And I say this as someone who likes grinding, it just didn't feel fulfilling because there's little depth added by levelling up The Justice fight seemed pretty dumb up until I changed to Chicken Head and shot him and the others up, very weird that that's the only one I found myself needing to change characters for, but didn't take long once I found the right character to play as Loved the Four Kings stuff story-wise and some of their 1v1 fights, Ugajin was definitely the highlight. I find the fights in these games definitely feel best when it's not just a Square + Triangle mash-fest, but instead goes back to the feel of PS2 bosses, with basic patterns to learn and funny AI to take advantage of. For Ugajin I remember it was to sprint away from his drones until they fell away, mash X to escape his lasso, dodge once to the side while he charges up his attack, then wail on him until his drones have turned back up, and rinse and repeat. It's good stuff and is one of the few times I've found the combat in this game has been really rewarding. As for that final Coliseum fight... Spoiler ...awesome. When I realised it was 6 fights atop the Millennium Tower I just knew it would be the 6 final bosses from the other Kiryu games, but the names had me at a loss until I got to Mine and realised they were going backwards the music returning?! Mine still being one of the more BS final fights because he's so fast in what was such a slow game in 3?! That golden Ryuji bot?!?! The Nishiki one?!?!?! Argh, loved it! Great fights. Missed out on S-rank just barely on my first try, though Eventually I ended up facing off against Amon, and that is by far the best Amon fight I've experienced in these games (other times I've faced off against an Amon have been in 6, Judgment, and LAD). Once you get what the deal is, again, it feels like an old PS2 boss, and that second phase turning out to be a war of attrition with his ability to gain health on successful hits is just Gave up on the rest of the Stroll 'n Patrol missions once I saw the stupid amount that unlocked later on, turns out I did enough in Chapter 2 to see me through the rest of the level gates the game had to throw my way anyways, thankfully I'll likely finish this up in my next session with the game, and I'm really excited to see how the rest plays out. I say this but knowing how 6 and LAD had me at times towards the end, I'm probably in for an emotional gut punch or two I'd imagine 2
Julius Posted December 4, 2023 Posted December 4, 2023 (edited) Finished this off earlier tonight. Alright, firstly, seems like now Nagoshi's left it's clear that someone else at RGG is responsible for the craziness that is the hostess clubs, because it was seriously dialled up to eleven here with some of those dates definitely felt a bit more awkward having IRL footage with ring lights reflecting on the hostesses eyes, especially the glances at the really awkwardly placed script (the bottom centre of the screen...really?!) and them all seemingly wanting to rest their hand in the same spot (just out of frame, again at the bottom centre of the screen...really?!?!). It's been an interesting year for horny AAA games (Zelda fan art, XVI, Armored Core VI fan art, Baldur's Gate III) , and this might just be the horniest and most depraved of the bunch very cultured lot over there at RGG, that's for sure Anyways, as for the actual story events of the final chapter... Spoiler I was right there with you, Kiryu The recap of LAD events was a bit strange in the overall narrative when it comes to pacing, but didn't bother me much because damn was that music epic, felt like heading into the final arc of an anime! This game went rubber bullets lite with the toy knife spurting blood but alright, Shishido seemed destined to turn and yeah, when the body had vanished, Nishitani was obviously still about. Him getting his world rocked by that limo had me dying, though they really don't want to cut away in this game, huh? The boys reuniting was great, fml Kiryu and Watase sticking to the "JORYU HIS NAME IS JORYU WHAT IS A KIRYU" script was grating but also pretty hilarious. Obviously the overlapping events with LAD were awesome to see different POVs of for before, during, and after the dissolution speech, and as always that last hour is just nonstop twists and melodrama, and I ate all that up, thank you very much I definitely predict that a future antagonist for the franchise is going to be shown to have had his origins in that room during the dissolution. Also, first time ever in my life where I've been sat around going "oh they're going to do it! c'mon, guys, rips those shirts and jackets off already!!" in the build-up to the back tattoo reveals Yes, Kiryu seeing the kids got me to cry. Good lord, man, let him be with them already! The reasoning for going to Hawaii in IW was a bit contrived it felt like, and I'm sure someone somewhere is poking holes in the whole thing, but hey, what is Yakuza if not the most fascinating case study of turning the contrived on its head to get you to laugh and cry and laugh again in the space of a few minutes? Last fight was super easy, I was definitely overpowered, but then it just didn't seem to have much depth to it when I tried to go about waiting Shishido out to see what was up his sleeves, which was a bit of a letdown after some of the later Castle and Amon stuff finally seemed to deliver some meaning to the combat being the way it was in this game. Guy also just didn't seem to have a decent level of blocking like he had in the rest of the game? It's probably on the weaker side of final battles for me (not least because it wasn't atop Millennium Tower overlooking Kamurocho!). Spent a good chunk of my final session at the arcade, by the way, and damn - as ever in these virtual arcades - was that some good fun loved Virtua Fighter (again, as I always do), using Charlie and kick juggling in Viper Fighters 2 kicking people through the side of the arena was coooooooool, Sonic the Fighters was neat and so was SEGA RACING CLASSIC 2, but Motor Raid might be the highlight for me this time around! An entire racing game which basically has the motorcycle FF VII chase mechanics is perfect Something I noticed throughout the game but thought I'd wait to comment on until I'd finished up is the narrative QTEs in this game: there are surprisingly few, it feels like, compared to other games in the series...but it also seems like there were a whole bunch of them cut? Throughout the game there are certainly moments of slowdown, for example someone jumping you from behind a door, which in other games is 100% a QTE, but wasn't here. I know this was developed in six months, so maybe they had some outlined and just forgot to cut the slowdown when they got to it? Seemed very strange, whatever the reason For those who have finished the game, let's get to speculating about something... Spoiler ...so, who do y'all think Hanawa might be? He definitely seems to imply that he knew Kiryu as Taichi Suzuki, his name in 5 while out living his other life aspiration of being a taxi driver. Originally I thought it might be a case that he would just be some random guy Kiryu came across as a taxi driver, perhaps someone who he helped out or a passenger, but I decided to look up some theories and one of my favourites (and seemingly one of the frontrunners) is that he could be a post-plastic surgery Morinaga from 5 – Aizawa's oath brother and bodyguard to Daigo. He lies about having killed Aizawa before turning up dead, but the motive for his lie here isn't at all clear – I mean, considering what the Daidoji were planning for Shishido and Nishitani after the events of this game, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that Daidoji had some motive for playing their cards however they did, then needing to stage Morinaga's death. It'd be a bit convoluted - I mean, why not change Kiryu's appearance if that was an option all along? - but I think it's really interesting... ...especially considering that Morinaga and Hanawa ACTUALLY SHARE THEIR VOICE ACTOR. Overall, while a bit rough around the edges at times, Gaiden is yet another fantastic entry into the Yakuza/Like A Dragon tapestry. It's shorter, much shorter (I think it's the first time I've spent less than 40 hours with an RGG game since...4?), and so much of the content here is propped up in side content, but it maintained all the same stupid, fun, hilarious and tearjerking melodrama that this series has come to be known and loved for. It's amazing what they achieved in such a short period with this game, and they've added a great roster of new characters we could potentially see return in the future. I would love to see more Gaiden games if it props the series up between entries at a time when game dev seems to be getting longer and more taxing across the board, but the question is, who do we get a side story of next? Majima? Saejima? Akiyama? Heck, do we fill out the stories of some major players from earlier games, like Dojima, Ryuji Goda...or heck, throw it way back and experience a completely different era of Kamurocho through the lens of a rising Kazama? That would be really interesting! Last but not least, I have to get this off my chest: I think it's a shame that this game released when it did in the year, and in a series as long as this one where so many people won't get to Gaiden while they procrastinate on playing the rest of the games, because I feel Takaya Kurada should have been recognised here for his work as Kiryu's VA. He knocks it out of the park in every game - has done for a long time - but he crushed this opportunity to show off greater range and subtle differences here, which really meant no punches were pulled when it came to some of the heavier moments in the game. Kudos to him and to RGG, and roll on Infinite Wealth! Edited December 4, 2023 by Julius 2
Hero-of-Time Posted December 4, 2023 Author Posted December 4, 2023 5 hours ago, Julius said: For those who have finished the game, let's get to speculating about something... Ending spoilers (Reveal hidden contents) ...so, who do y'all think Hanawa might be? He definitely seems to imply that he knew Kiryu as Taichi Suzuki, his name in 5 while out living his other life aspiration of being a taxi driver. Originally I thought it might be a case that he would just be some random guy Kiryu came across as a taxi driver, perhaps someone who he helped out or a passenger, but I decided to look up some theories and one of my favourites (and seemingly one of the frontrunners) is that he could be a post-plastic surgery Morinaga from 5 – Aizawa's oath brother and bodyguard to Daigo. He lies about having killed Aizawa before turning up dead, but the motive for his lie here isn't at all clear – I mean, considering what the Daidoji were planning for Shishido and Nishitani after the events of this game, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that Daidoji had some motive for playing their cards however they did, then needing to stage Morinaga's death. It'd be a bit convoluted - I mean, why not change Kiryu's appearance if that was an option all along? - but I think it's really interesting... ...especially considering that Morinaga and Hanawa ACTUALLY SHARE THEIR VOICE ACTOR. Yeah, this seems to be the general feeling from other people online as well. The voice acting seems to be a major clue and I would be surprised if this wasn't the case. 5 hours ago, Julius said: I feel Takaya Kurada should have been recognised here for his work as Kiryu's VA. He knocks it out of the park in every game - has done for a long time - but he crushed this opportunity to show off greater range and subtle differences here, which really meant no punches were pulled when it came to some of the heavier moments in the game. I think a lot of the VA work from the Japanese side of things often gets overlooked, especially in these games. It shows just how powerful their performances can be when you've had a bunch of us on here you get so drawn into the narratives that we end up shedding tears, despite not being able to understand what they are saying. 1
Dcubed Posted December 12, 2023 Posted December 12, 2023 (edited) Bloody hell, Daytona USA 2 SEGA Racing Classic 2 is a corker isn’t it! I still prefer Daytona 1 over its sequel, but man! It’s so surreal to finally have a home version of Daytona 2! Awesome stuff! Speaking of awesome stuff… Motor Raid is really a very pleasant surprise. Never played it before, but it’s a really fun Road Rash alike! Have been finding myself coming back to it quite a bit. The versions of Fighting Vipers 2, Sonic The Fighters and Virtua Fighter 2 are also excellent. Really, SEGA could’ve (and probably should’ve) just released these all standalone, but what’s here is phenomenal. I’m gonna have to pick up a physical copy of this game at some point just to have these games on a disc (and I’m gonna have to pick it up on Steam too so I can play it on the Steam Deck). Thankfully it doesn’t take that long to unlock the arcade games (about an hour while skipping every cutscene and button mashing myself through the beat ‘em ‘up combat sequences), so I strongly recommend picking up the game or playing it on Game Pass for that sweet, sweet arcade goodness Edited December 12, 2023 by Dcubed
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