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Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 Japan Thread (Yakuza 2)
- Thread starter Srider
- Start date
lachesis
Member
Srider said:
Well I honestly hope they wouldn't localize this game to U.S. after all the back-lash of VA and game of the original.
No thank you. No matter what they do, we'll find a way to trash the game. Japanse VA? No matter, and nobody will buy the game... or maybe less than 20,000 copies will be sold. So stay in Japan. NA doesn't deserve having this game, nor needs it - as we are all GTA heads. On top if it, it's a Sega game who made Shenmue. It's not a freaking 8th wonder of the world that this won't sell in U.S. period.
Bitter? Yes.. definitely. :lol Just needed a little venting off.
lachesis said:Well I honestly hope they wouldn't localize this game to U.S. after all the back-lash of VA and game of the original.
No thank you. No matter what they do, we'll find a way to trash the game. Japanse VA? No matter, and nobody will buy the game... or maybe less than 20,000 copies will be sold. So stay in Japan. NA doesn't deserve having this game, nor needs it - as we are all GTA heads. On top if it, it's a Sega game who made Shenmue. It's not a freaking 8th wonder of the world that this won't sell in U.S. period.
Bitter? Yes.. definitely. :lol Just needed a little venting off.
Fine by me. If they release it here in Europe I'll be happy.
lachesis said:Well I honestly hope they wouldn't localize this game to U.S. after all the back-lash of VA and game of the original.
No thank you. No matter what they do, we'll find a way to trash the game. Japanse VA? No matter, and nobody will buy the game... or maybe less than 20,000 copies will be sold. So stay in Japan. NA doesn't deserve having this game, nor needs it - as we are all GTA heads. On top if it, it's a Sega game who made Shenmue. It's not a freaking 8th wonder of the world that this won't sell in U.S. period.
Bitter? Yes.. definitely. :lol Just needed a little venting off.
I think you are right, not to sound elitist or anything, but US is not really a market that has the qualities to enjoy a game like this except for a small minority. Evident in the lashing that the first one got, and the sub-par localization did not help it either.
*Sigh* Were there any detailed translations/walkthroughs of the first game when it was released in japan? I ask because, if this game doesn't hit the US, I would like a way to play through it regardless.
Man, why can't I have the money to make a game company that releases good niche stuff? Japanese VA, english subtitles, etc... =/ You know...like a profitable Working Designs (no offense intended to WD). Blah.
Man, why can't I have the money to make a game company that releases good niche stuff? Japanese VA, english subtitles, etc... =/ You know...like a profitable Working Designs (no offense intended to WD). Blah.
I don't remember any translations/walkthroughs when RGG1 was out - but then again maybe Gamefaqs had some?
Yakuza's (haha) failure stemmed from three things, the last the biggest:
Game flaws' magnified
Flaws that were passably acceptable in 2005 were nearly unacceptable 2006 especially when it gets to the loading times. 10 second loading for battles, several seconds between cutscenes and a 1-2 second break when moving from one scene to another turned off many as evidenced from the US thread. I didn't have much problem about it, but loading times really dial down the immersiveness that Yakuza's world has.
That said, the battle system has a bit of a difficulty curve and dials out a few people: Yakuza is more or less Spikeout with yakuza battle-wise and nobody picked up Spikeout when that came out...
Timing of New IP
In the last half where the next-gen consoles are coming out and the PS2 had lots of sequel games coming out, new IP on the PS2 had very little room to maneuver: Witness Okami (and God Hand) which are great games and maybe did better sales-wise but they're not breakout hits (and the studio closed shop), Bully although it's a brilliant Rockstar (GTA!!) game it didn't break out GTA style like it should have.
Titles that sold on the PS2 were sequels or franchises (Alright, VP2, Disgaea 2 didn't do too hot but the FF7: Dirge of Cerebus did muahaha... Tales of the Abyss is so-so but not terrible)
Sega of America's incompetence
Let's start with the localisation. Despite a) A big budget, b) hiring big names... what we get is SHOTEK FOCK UP and a poor to mixed translation which was littered with FOCK. Not that I mind that so much either but most of GAF jumped onto the SHOTEK FOCK UP bit and Yakuza never recovered.
Marketing wasn't much better despite being a fairly marquee title - SOA didn't do many favours by not blanketing marketing or at worst focus marketing on gangster movies or shows like another poster put here.
You will note that I didn't put subject matter, nor have I put in the 'too close to Shenmue so it must stink' part. Reason being that there's always room for a yakuza story for the former and for the latter Shenmue haters who haven't played RGG really missed out.
So all in all, I'll enjoy RGG2 (JP), frown on not getting Yakuza 2 since I'll like a translation nonetheless, but not expect SOA to give it another try because of the lack of sales.
Yakuza's (haha) failure stemmed from three things, the last the biggest:
Game flaws' magnified
Flaws that were passably acceptable in 2005 were nearly unacceptable 2006 especially when it gets to the loading times. 10 second loading for battles, several seconds between cutscenes and a 1-2 second break when moving from one scene to another turned off many as evidenced from the US thread. I didn't have much problem about it, but loading times really dial down the immersiveness that Yakuza's world has.
That said, the battle system has a bit of a difficulty curve and dials out a few people: Yakuza is more or less Spikeout with yakuza battle-wise and nobody picked up Spikeout when that came out...
Timing of New IP
In the last half where the next-gen consoles are coming out and the PS2 had lots of sequel games coming out, new IP on the PS2 had very little room to maneuver: Witness Okami (and God Hand) which are great games and maybe did better sales-wise but they're not breakout hits (and the studio closed shop), Bully although it's a brilliant Rockstar (GTA!!) game it didn't break out GTA style like it should have.
Titles that sold on the PS2 were sequels or franchises (Alright, VP2, Disgaea 2 didn't do too hot but the FF7: Dirge of Cerebus did muahaha... Tales of the Abyss is so-so but not terrible)
Sega of America's incompetence
Let's start with the localisation. Despite a) A big budget, b) hiring big names... what we get is SHOTEK FOCK UP and a poor to mixed translation which was littered with FOCK. Not that I mind that so much either but most of GAF jumped onto the SHOTEK FOCK UP bit and Yakuza never recovered.
Marketing wasn't much better despite being a fairly marquee title - SOA didn't do many favours by not blanketing marketing or at worst focus marketing on gangster movies or shows like another poster put here.
You will note that I didn't put subject matter, nor have I put in the 'too close to Shenmue so it must stink' part. Reason being that there's always room for a yakuza story for the former and for the latter Shenmue haters who haven't played RGG really missed out.
So all in all, I'll enjoy RGG2 (JP), frown on not getting Yakuza 2 since I'll like a translation nonetheless, but not expect SOA to give it another try because of the lack of sales.
Well, from what I remember, the game had a very limited release, which promted me to pre order it as soon as it was listed on Gamestop's site. It ended up being one of my favorite Xbox games both offline and online. As for the battle system, is Ryu ga Gotoku 2 really comparable to Spikeout because I didn't think the first was anything like it.Pachael said:
On a slightly unrelated note, Enterbrain had the Nagoshi interview I uploaded on Youtube a while back, removed just now.
I've just started running my own hostess club and also started the quest to become the #1 host.
Famitsu is right... there are so much crap to do in this game it's crazy.
It's cool how there are subtle changes in the city from Ryu1 all over the place. For example, Sega arcades now feature VF5 machines, and also YF6... a game that you can actually play!!! It's a first person weapon based fighting game. Made by MA2 lol.
The sub stories in this game is comedy gold. I just ran into one about a gangster boss with a rather unconventional fetish... I won't ruin it for people that will be playing it, but it's nice to see so much humor spread out through the game.
After playing more of the game, the combat is somewhat more difficult than the first game. The AI is overall much more aggressive, making it difficult to finish strings without being interrupted by someone behind you. This encourages the player to vary things up, making the battles much more interesting. Heat attacks have much more variations depending on the way the enemy is facing and what state they are in, much more so than the first game.
There are alot more different ways to spend money now, and I won't spoil it. It's just really cool to find out all these new little things to do and places to go from the same familiar city from the first game. Coin lockers make a return as well, so you have two cities full of coin locker keys to find.
I'm getting so side tracked to the main story right now.... running your own hostess club is alot of fun.....
Famitsu is right... there are so much crap to do in this game it's crazy.
It's cool how there are subtle changes in the city from Ryu1 all over the place. For example, Sega arcades now feature VF5 machines, and also YF6... a game that you can actually play!!! It's a first person weapon based fighting game. Made by MA2 lol.
The sub stories in this game is comedy gold. I just ran into one about a gangster boss with a rather unconventional fetish... I won't ruin it for people that will be playing it, but it's nice to see so much humor spread out through the game.
After playing more of the game, the combat is somewhat more difficult than the first game. The AI is overall much more aggressive, making it difficult to finish strings without being interrupted by someone behind you. This encourages the player to vary things up, making the battles much more interesting. Heat attacks have much more variations depending on the way the enemy is facing and what state they are in, much more so than the first game.
There are alot more different ways to spend money now, and I won't spoil it. It's just really cool to find out all these new little things to do and places to go from the same familiar city from the first game. Coin lockers make a return as well, so you have two cities full of coin locker keys to find.
I'm getting so side tracked to the main story right now.... running your own hostess club is alot of fun.....
Magicpaint
Member
Nice impressions Srider. Glad to hear there might be even more stuff to do here than in the first. The first game always had me doing something, never a dull moment, so good stuff!
Hopefully they bring this one over too.
Hopefully they bring this one over too.
lachesis
Member
Here's my impression after 2-3 hours into.
Nice DVD printing - somewhat quasi-transparent feel to it. While it's on 2disc, it fits in one DVD case - but since it's got pretty thick instruction manual, I just feel like the case's not closing up that well for some reason.
Anyhow, here are my brief impressions w/ no spoiler... I'm on early ch.3
1. Nice introduction for the ones who didn't play the original. However, I think playing the original is pretty much a must. I can't even compare the quality of VA w/ American version... except early Korean saying - it's soooo wrong (even worse than what they speak in 007 movies or Lost). I LOLed pretty hard. I think the new upcoming Korean version will have everything JP (Japanese text) but just re-recorded Korean voices with well known Korean VAs.. Perhaps it's worth looking into, unless they censored out some stuff.
2. Graphics are pretty much the same. Kiryu looks a bit different in battle - but I can only see minor improvments. One of the best improvement is actually the faces of enemy, and when they make the painful expression... whoa.
3. Loading's shortened. No more black "now-loading" screen before most battles. Also you can skip a second or so of pre-battle taunts by pressing start.
4. basic punches and kicks are much faster and smoother too. I'm still getting used to the timing.
5. basic stomp is kinda hard to pull off... and doesn't seem to be as powerful as before.
6. most small fries can be beaten w/ one heat attack on the wall - which you do a follow-up knee-kick to the back of the opponent head. Brutal with capital B!
7. A lot of early enemies still have a good deal of HP - so it seems.
8. I don't like the camera layout of Osaka - which is harder to locate those locker keys.
9. New restaurant is complete w/ seatings and all. Osaka looks pretty good in my eyes too. However, the map looks considerably smaller than Kamuro Cho.
10. Somehow, the battle camera seems to be located higher-up in some cases. Easier to see what's around - and since you can back-attack from the beginning, it helps out - but I like the camera level (lower) of the previous one.
11. in arcade, you can play YF6, made by MA2 dept! LOL. It's a freaking light-saber fighting game w/ tron-like outfit in first person perspective. It controlls like normal fights.. just in 1st person perspective. If you are familiar with katana fight in original, you will do fine. There are lots of new mini-games. Golf seems to be.. kinda so-so - due to no re-try mode (as far as I know) and loading time.
12. Heat gauge lasts much longer than before - it's easy to pull off heat attacks.
13. Yuya from stardust's got a f**king face lift. 1 year has changed him much! LOL.
14. generally, there are plenty of long loadings. 10 sec or so - between fmv scenes - so take a deep breath. It's not that bad if you just take easy on the pace.
15. as per storywise - there are tons of new characters as well as old characters - but nothing seems to be connecting at this early stage. We'll see.
Nice DVD printing - somewhat quasi-transparent feel to it. While it's on 2disc, it fits in one DVD case - but since it's got pretty thick instruction manual, I just feel like the case's not closing up that well for some reason.
Anyhow, here are my brief impressions w/ no spoiler... I'm on early ch.3
1. Nice introduction for the ones who didn't play the original. However, I think playing the original is pretty much a must.
I can't even compare the quality of VA w/ American version... except early Korean saying - it's soooo wrong (even worse than what they speak in 007 movies or Lost). I LOLed pretty hard. I think the new upcoming Korean version will have everything JP (Japanese text) but just re-recorded Korean voices with well known Korean VAs.. Perhaps it's worth looking into, unless they censored out some stuff.2. Graphics are pretty much the same. Kiryu looks a bit different in battle - but I can only see minor improvments. One of the best improvement is actually the faces of enemy, and when they make the painful expression... whoa.
3. Loading's shortened. No more black "now-loading" screen before most battles. Also you can skip a second or so of pre-battle taunts by pressing start.
4. basic punches and kicks are much faster and smoother too. I'm still getting used to the timing.
5. basic stomp is kinda hard to pull off... and doesn't seem to be as powerful as before.
6. most small fries can be beaten w/ one heat attack on the wall - which you do a follow-up knee-kick to the back of the opponent head. Brutal with capital B!
7. A lot of early enemies still have a good deal of HP - so it seems.
8. I don't like the camera layout of Osaka - which is harder to locate those locker keys.
9. New restaurant is complete w/ seatings and all. Osaka looks pretty good in my eyes too.
However, the map looks considerably smaller than Kamuro Cho.10. Somehow, the battle camera seems to be located higher-up in some cases. Easier to see what's around - and since you can back-attack from the beginning, it helps out - but I like the camera level (lower) of the previous one.
11. in arcade, you can play YF6, made by MA2 dept! LOL. It's a freaking light-saber fighting game w/ tron-like outfit in first person perspective. It controlls like normal fights.. just in 1st person perspective. If you are familiar with katana fight in original, you will do fine. There are lots of new mini-games. Golf seems to be.. kinda so-so - due to no re-try mode (as far as I know) and loading time.
12. Heat gauge lasts much longer than before - it's easy to pull off heat attacks.
13. Yuya from stardust's got a f**king face lift. 1 year has changed him much! LOL.
14. generally, there are plenty of long loadings. 10 sec or so - between fmv scenes - so take a deep breath. It's not that bad if you just take easy on the pace.
15. as per storywise - there are tons of new characters as well as old characters - but nothing seems to be connecting at this early stage.
We'll see.Red Blaster
Member
Awesome, thanks for the impressions dudes. Once you guys progress some more, could give us some detail on some of the new heat attacks?
Prime crotch
Banned
I'm playing the first one now and I've missed the mission that gave me acess to the casino should I restart the game?
lachesis
Member
Prime crotch said:
Nope... unless you are very early in the game.
just keep going. you will get a better casino later on.
However, if you have to complete everything in 1 shot... then you will have to start over, since there are certain key sub-quests that only happens there. If you are planning a 2nd run in adventure review mode (no story - but just sub-quest), you will get access to the casino. This mode is pretty fun to play through.
Prime crotch
Banned
Well I'm on Chapter six right now and I don't mind replaying it a second time to get most sub-quests like the host girls even with story, I can skip the cut-scenes right?lachesis said:
lachesis
Member
Prime crotch said:
Yes. You just turn on the event skipper in option, and you will be able to skip the events.
Adventure review (which opens after beating the game) doesn't have much FMVs, because it's entirely consisted with sub-quests. (some of the main sub-quests like my girlfriend...showgirl mission do have FMVs though, but there are only handful of them.)
If exploring is your main objective in 2nd playing, then I strongly advise Adventure Reivew mode. Definitely.
distantmantra
Member
Angst said:
Oh, he's around. I'm sure he's hyping it somewhere...
lachesis
Member
Currently on Chapter 5. I'm taking very slowly... and since my comprehension of the language is around 30-50% at times, so it's taking me a while to read all. At this rate, I'm not sure whether I can finish the game by this weekend - as I'm leaving for Spain for short vacation for a week. Hope it won't break my flow of the game too much.
1. I've been reading huge applaud from the ones who's finished the game. Apparently, storys bigger, longer, better than before, as well as the whole game too. Actually, it's a little bit overwhelming to take them all at once. Lotta places to visit. Lotta stuff to do.
2. Some of the side-missions are indeed very funny, and at the same time, disturbing. "Be My Baby" is another one of those disturbing yet funny ones too. The look on Kiryu's face is just "gold". Also, the song the other hosts sing for you when your customer asks for the most expensive liquor for your behavior - it's just hilarious. (Even my wife was laughing at it!)
3. As for the battles - they could get pretty tough in certain events. Most of the smaller fish aren't that much different individually - but they do behave more dangerously in groups. The big ones (with jumping attacks) are much more dangerous, and a lot of them block more often - so guard breaking, back-attacking to start a combo, is very important in group battles. I'm not so sure whether I like the new lock-on system - I'm still too used to the old lock-on system though. Also, auto-tracking, perhaps maybe is better for someone else, but since I"m used to the old system - it's a bit confusing that my character's turinging the direction all by himself w/o me telling him to do so. Anyhow, I still stand by the fact that the enemies do have more meat to beat them, as they generally last longer. Basic moves are toned down quite a bit... which makes the battle a bit tougher and longer. The long string, still effective at 1 on 1 against pawns, but not a good idea - because enemies tend to get behind you rather quickly.
4. Mini games. I wish it had a "retry" option w/o loading... Full game of Japanese chess and MahJong game's included. Too bad I don't know how to play either one of them... ! Gotta learn.
5. This Sunflower orphanage director's asking me some donation/support since Fuma(Kajama)'s not around to support them - I've been donating them as much money possible whenever, but since I've not exploited the casinos yet, and some of the main story events do require some heavy duty $$$ (not necessary though, which only I found out after I've spent the money)... and told the lady that "I don't have money right now... sorry". Which, made me feel really guilty. Now, I'm doing my errands at casino to make some serious money, so that I can give the lady good 100,000 yen every time I see her. (And when you do give the support that she needs - someone will send you the thank you note, which makes my heart all warm and fuzzy. )
6. Some of the places are a bit "buggy" and the collision detection is a bit more "iffy" in many cases - but it doesn't affect the gameplay too much. There are some report of serious bugs which freezes the progress of story events - but I've not seen them yet. I guess saving a couple of different save files might be a good idea.
7. This game's much more Japanese heavy, compared to the other one. Also, some of the stuff, you only really understand after playing the original too, and the game seems to be assuming that you've played the first game. In other words, it's not a fool's game to begin with, although it's pretty newbie friendly - it will get heated up pretty quick, and w/o knowledge of the previous ones, it might get pretty confusing.
And for me, it's a serious GOTY contender, again. So far, loving it.
1. I've been reading huge applaud from the ones who's finished the game. Apparently, storys bigger, longer, better than before, as well as the whole game too. Actually, it's a little bit overwhelming to take them all at once. Lotta places to visit. Lotta stuff to do.
2. Some of the side-missions are indeed very funny, and at the same time, disturbing. "Be My Baby" is another one of those disturbing yet funny ones too. The look on Kiryu's face is just "gold".
Also, the song the other hosts sing for you when your customer asks for the most expensive liquor for your behavior - it's just hilarious. (Even my wife was laughing at it!)3. As for the battles - they could get pretty tough in certain events. Most of the smaller fish aren't that much different individually - but they do behave more dangerously in groups. The big ones (with jumping attacks) are much more dangerous, and a lot of them block more often - so guard breaking, back-attacking to start a combo, is very important in group battles. I'm not so sure whether I like the new lock-on system - I'm still too used to the old lock-on system though. Also, auto-tracking, perhaps maybe is better for someone else, but since I"m used to the old system - it's a bit confusing that my character's turinging the direction all by himself w/o me telling him to do so.
Anyhow, I still stand by the fact that the enemies do have more meat to beat them, as they generally last longer. Basic moves are toned down quite a bit... which makes the battle a bit tougher and longer. The long string, still effective at 1 on 1 against pawns, but not a good idea - because enemies tend to get behind you rather quickly.4. Mini games. I wish it had a "retry" option w/o loading...
Full game of Japanese chess and MahJong game's included. Too bad I don't know how to play either one of them... ! Gotta learn.5. This Sunflower orphanage director's asking me some donation/support since Fuma(Kajama)'s not around to support them - I've been donating them as much money possible whenever, but since I've not exploited the casinos yet, and some of the main story events do require some heavy duty $$$ (not necessary though, which only I found out after I've spent the money)... and told the lady that "I don't have money right now... sorry". Which, made me feel really guilty.
Now, I'm doing my errands at casino to make some serious money, so that I can give the lady good 100,000 yen every time I see her. (And when you do give the support that she needs - someone will send you the thank you note, which makes my heart all warm and fuzzy. )6. Some of the places are a bit "buggy" and the collision detection is a bit more "iffy" in many cases - but it doesn't affect the gameplay too much. There are some report of serious bugs which freezes the progress of story events - but I've not seen them yet. I guess saving a couple of different save files might be a good idea.
7. This game's much more Japanese heavy, compared to the other one. Also, some of the stuff, you only really understand after playing the original too, and the game seems to be assuming that you've played the first game. In other words, it's not a fool's game to begin with, although it's pretty newbie friendly - it will get heated up pretty quick, and w/o knowledge of the previous ones, it might get pretty confusing.
And for me, it's a serious GOTY contender, again. So far, loving it.
Prime crotch
Banned
Finished the game today and damnit Sega release the sequel please!
Watch Akagi for Mahjong crazy awsome anime.lachesis said:4. Mini games. I wish it had a "retry" option w/o loading...
I'm REALLY tempted by this game. I really am. It sounds like it gets around to fixing a majority of the things I held with disdain last time, and adds some more good stuff to it.
But between this, and the sequel to another game I loved dearly, Kenka Bancho 2, coming out next month, it is indeed going to be a touch choice...
But between this, and the sequel to another game I loved dearly, Kenka Bancho 2, coming out next month, it is indeed going to be a touch choice...
lachesis
Member
TreIII said:I'm REALLY tempted by this game. I really am. It sounds like it gets around to fixing a majority of the things I held with disdain last time, and adds some more good stuff to it.
But between this, and the sequel to another game I loved dearly, Kenka Bancho 2, coming out next month, it is indeed going to be a touch choice...
Kenka Bancho, looked awesome! But for some reason, Kenka Bancho 2, whatever I saw in the trailer, kinda lacked the humor part I've seen in the first one though... I'm really tempted to try out Kenka Bancho 1 though!
RedLightning
Member
Held off on playing because of exams, but just started today. Just started chapter 2, but man,
kurokawa is a ****ing riot XD
virtuafightermaster
Banned
How does this game compare to GTA games? I found GTA games are pretty shitty on the action part, but the exploring and other parts are still fun to play.
RedLightning
Member
God damn it, I was really hoping that there would be some neat heat attacks available against the
.
tigers
RedLightning
Member
sexist comment++
and dammit, am I all alone in this thread?
Yuriko: I want to stab that guy with a knife!!
Kiryuu: Stop that. The only business girls like you should have with knives is in the kitchen.
Kiryuu: Stop that. The only business girls like you should have with knives is in the kitchen.
and dammit, am I all alone in this thread?
Prime crotch
Banned
Kiryu is tha man lol but if the game gets translated we'll probably have a less hilarious statment.RedLightning said:sexist comment++
Yuriko: I want to stab that guy with a knife!!
Kiryuu: Stop that. The only business girls like you should have with knives is in the kitchen.
and dammit, am I all alone in this thread?
RedLightning
Member
Finished the game. I literally screamed おい、それはないわ！！！ with full-on Kansai intonation when the end credits came up - I thought for a second there that Nagoshi really WAS that evil and left us hanging like that.
Luckily they DO resolve it after the credits, so don't go around throwing things yet when you get there, people. I sort of guessed what would happen when Terada said "Trust me on this", but I wasn't entirely SURE... evil evil nagoshi-shi.
The story for this one is filled with even more twists and turns than the last one - same as last time, I was left guessing and guessing at the situation until the very end and I STILL didn't get all of it roght. I thought at first that the
, but I guess that would have been a little TOO obvious and not nearly dramatic enough. Also when Terada's past was revealed I thought for a second that it was a little TOO convoluted, but when they explained it a bit further along with considering how he had said in the first game that he owed a huge debt of gratitude to Kazama, I started to accept it. I wish they hadn't
, though.
This series along with the Mother series of games is further proof that we need more award-winning authors over in the industry scripting games.
Anyway! On to other points!
Beating the game unlocks, in addition to adventure review mode, "scenario review" (which was available all the time at your hideout in the first game, admittedly), and a much-needed New Game+ style "premium new game" mode. And premium new game actually LETS you select the difficulty level instead of forcing you to play at the same difficulty level of your last playthrough! Yay! *blows a raspberry at RE4's direction*
Also, Adventure Review mode now allows you to inherit all your items and stats from your completed game! Double yay! For this reason I personally recommend that people not to worry TOO much about the side-quests during their first playthrough, since honestly speaking the plot is a lot more enjoyable if you blast through it without stopping to complete fetch quests.
That's all I'm writing for now; I'm off to try all the side missions I missed on my first playthrough!
And those of you on the fence about buying this game - BUY THE ****ING GAME ALREADY!!! :lol :lol
Luckily they DO resolve it after the credits, so don't go around throwing things yet when you get there, people.
I sort of guessed what would happen when Terada said "Trust me on this", but I wasn't entirely SURE... evil evil nagoshi-shi.The story for this one is filled with even more twists and turns than the last one - same as last time, I was left guessing and guessing at the situation until the very end and I STILL didn't get all of it roght. I thought at first that the
mole at Hanaya's place was the kid in the intro
killed off Ryuuji
This series along with the Mother series of games is further proof that we need more award-winning authors over in the industry scripting games.
Anyway! On to other points!
Beating the game unlocks, in addition to adventure review mode, "scenario review" (which was available all the time at your hideout in the first game, admittedly), and a much-needed New Game+ style "premium new game" mode. And premium new game actually LETS you select the difficulty level instead of forcing you to play at the same difficulty level of your last playthrough! Yay! *blows a raspberry at RE4's direction*
Also, Adventure Review mode now allows you to inherit all your items and stats from your completed game! Double yay! For this reason I personally recommend that people not to worry TOO much about the side-quests during their first playthrough, since honestly speaking the plot is a lot more enjoyable if you blast through it without stopping to complete fetch quests.
That's all I'm writing for now; I'm off to try all the side missions I missed on my first playthrough!
And those of you on the fence about buying this game - BUY THE ****ING GAME ALREADY!!! :lol :lol
Not reading most of this thread to avoid spoilers. I've put about 7 hours into the game so far and I'm on chapter 8. Ryu ga Gotoku 2 is excellent and everything I would expect from a sequel to the original. Sega really pulled this one off. The story is once again great and engaging and they managed to add even MORE optional stuff to do. <3 <3
lachesis
Member
Event system in this game is ironed out - not as buggy/twitchy as before - but honestly, it lacks some fresh-perspective in its variety. They've added escorting (ugh.. I hate escorting! ), and couple more of a different aespect in sub-missions - but almost all of them are quite brain-dead, I was a bit let down by them - although a couple of them are quite cool.
One thing this game has a ton is the collecting things. It checks what you've eaten so far and checks the %. So if you are looking for 100% in everything.. it will take even more effort and time to do so.
Storywise... it's still very good - but I'm having a bit of hard time getting attached to new characters. (I don't like them, to be honest) - and if there could be the winner of biggest smokers in a game, this game's got to be it... a lot of talking, talking, talking, theorizing, theorizing, etc etc... I hope things will pick up soon. I mean, there were some good moments here and there - but nothing to set the world on fire just yet - and I fully expect the game will be literally burning with adrenaline in the end, like the first game did.
While I admit it's quality, my biggest gripe is that I don't feel like such a bad ass like I did in original, just yet... Kiryu speaks a bit too softly in this version, and all. But battles are brutal - that more fleshed out QTE style of attacks are just awe-inspiring.
), and couple more of a different aespect in sub-missions - but almost all of them are quite brain-dead, I was a bit let down by them - although a couple of them are quite cool.One thing this game has a ton is the collecting things. It checks what you've eaten so far and checks the %. So if you are looking for 100% in everything.. it will take even more effort and time to do so.
Storywise... it's still very good - but I'm having a bit of hard time getting attached to new characters. (I don't like them, to be honest) - and if there could be the winner of biggest smokers in a game, this game's got to be it... a lot of talking, talking, talking, theorizing, theorizing, etc etc... I hope things will pick up soon. I mean, there were some good moments here and there - but nothing to set the world on fire just yet - and I fully expect the game will be literally burning with adrenaline in the end, like the first game did.
While I admit it's quality, my biggest gripe is that I don't feel like such a bad ass like I did in original, just yet... Kiryu speaks a bit too softly in this version, and all. But battles are brutal - that more fleshed out QTE style of attacks are just awe-inspiring.
Okay I beat the game. My thoughts are kinda jumbled at the moment so I'll put the bulk of it in spoiler text. The only non-spoiler thing i want to say is: WHERE THE **** IS BATTLE REVIEW, THEY BETTER NOT HAVE REMOVED IT WTF?!?!?!
So yeah, great game, but not nearly as great as the original. Yay. ^^;
Okay, so overall this is a solid sequel to a great game. Pretty much every part of the game holds up as a sequel, but I do feel that it never quite surpasses the first game.
My biggest gripe with the story is the fact that it's too manupilative. The twists are good and the actual writing is solid, but unlike the first game where the player's feelings throughout the game are natural, in the sequel they use pretty much every dirty trick in the scenario to manupilate the player's emotions.
The ending was probably the most manupilative cheap shot I've seen in a long time. It's REALLY effective, but I have to wonder if it's really needed. On one hand the fake bomb is really kinda a cop out, on the other hand no one playing the game really wants the bomb to be real, so it just feels cheap in the end. Terada's surprise return from the dead was pretty contrived, but since the first game's villain wasn't much better it's pretty acceptable. At least they explain things well.
Overall the gameplay is improved quite a bit over the original, with nice tweaks to the battle system and the sidequests, and a nice amount of new minigames added. Again the reason this doesn't quite surpass the original is that unlike the original I never really felt totally compelled to do anything in the game outside of the actual story.
In the original moments like Haruka's kidnap that leads up to the Lau Ka Long confrontation was just so packed with tension and emotion that you really felt the drive to beat every bastard out there to get her back, and when you went exploring the city with her and meeting her every request because she's just so damn adorable - it's really natural to fall in love with the game systems because it makes you want to pursue them.
In the sequel there's nothing really like that at all, and you just feel like you're going through the motions between the plot scenes. This can partly be attributed to the fact that the new characters are less likable, and more hostile. Sayama is a great love interest for Kiryuu imo, but they totally blew the "date" moment by making it a long cutscene instead of actually letting you "play" it. :-(
As much as I really enjoyed this sequel, I can't say it surpasses the original at all, but merely compliments it well. The pacing is kinda wonky as well, but I would say the highlights of the game would be the final chapter of disc1, and the chapters you spend with Sayama in Kansai while finding out about her past. The worst chapter for me is easily Osaka Castle - too over the top and really silly. The ending cutscene was awesome but it just proved that the entire chapter was pretty much a waste of time in the first place.
My biggest gripe with the story is the fact that it's too manupilative. The twists are good and the actual writing is solid, but unlike the first game where the player's feelings throughout the game are natural, in the sequel they use pretty much every dirty trick in the scenario to manupilate the player's emotions.
The ending was probably the most manupilative cheap shot I've seen in a long time. It's REALLY effective, but I have to wonder if it's really needed. On one hand the fake bomb is really kinda a cop out, on the other hand no one playing the game really wants the bomb to be real, so it just feels cheap in the end. Terada's surprise return from the dead was pretty contrived, but since the first game's villain wasn't much better it's pretty acceptable. At least they explain things well.
Overall the gameplay is improved quite a bit over the original, with nice tweaks to the battle system and the sidequests, and a nice amount of new minigames added. Again the reason this doesn't quite surpass the original is that unlike the original I never really felt totally compelled to do anything in the game outside of the actual story.
In the original moments like Haruka's kidnap that leads up to the Lau Ka Long confrontation was just so packed with tension and emotion that you really felt the drive to beat every bastard out there to get her back, and when you went exploring the city with her and meeting her every request because she's just so damn adorable - it's really natural to fall in love with the game systems because it makes you want to pursue them.
In the sequel there's nothing really like that at all, and you just feel like you're going through the motions between the plot scenes. This can partly be attributed to the fact that the new characters are less likable, and more hostile. Sayama is a great love interest for Kiryuu imo, but they totally blew the "date" moment by making it a long cutscene instead of actually letting you "play" it. :-(
As much as I really enjoyed this sequel, I can't say it surpasses the original at all, but merely compliments it well. The pacing is kinda wonky as well, but I would say the highlights of the game would be the final chapter of disc1, and the chapters you spend with Sayama in Kansai while finding out about her past. The worst chapter for me is easily Osaka Castle - too over the top and really silly. The ending cutscene was awesome but it just proved that the entire chapter was pretty much a waste of time in the first place.
So yeah, great game, but not nearly as great as the original. Yay. ^^;
lachesis
Member
I finally beat this game over last weekend. Spent about 60 hours, and finished bulk of (around 100 side quests), and a lot of stuff at 100%.
This was a good ride - but I have to agree with duckroll that it's not as "fresh" as the first one. While I liked the story bit - but too much exaggeration in some stuff (such as certain certain castle - for a moment, that bit was just way too cheesy, and death of certain character in that place, etc).
And for some reason, it did feel like doing all those of side quests were chore, and not as rewarding nor fun... and the game focuses a bit too much for collecta-thon. Perhaps if I did wait for 1 whole year for this game, then I wouldn't have felt too bad about it or even enjoyed it - but since coming from nearly back-to-back release of the NA version and JP sequel, I was getting pretty much "gotoku-ed up" by the end... and just pushed myself finishing the game.
There are some bad-ass moments, but not as drastic - or original as the first one. After all, I feel like I got what it was just for. More polished, and milked out version of the original with new story and more stuff to do. As for a sequel, I am not sure - since the game play mechanic isn't upgraded that much - so it's more like a Ryuga Gotoku 1.25 + a whole new story and bunch of fetch-quests.
Still, it stands out as a decent game as its own merit - but as for a full fledged sequel, I find it rather disappointing - because it's just not that "fresh" anymore.
and do not mess w/ Korean Cho-Pocks LOL! They are freaking Delta Force with Kamikaze attitude! :lol And the korean they spoke... just gold. a pure comedy gold! :lol
This was a good ride - but I have to agree with duckroll that it's not as "fresh" as the first one. While I liked the story bit - but too much exaggeration in some stuff (such as certain certain castle - for a moment, that bit was just way too cheesy, and death of certain character in that place, etc).
And for some reason, it did feel like doing all those of side quests were chore, and not as rewarding nor fun... and the game focuses a bit too much for collecta-thon. Perhaps if I did wait for 1 whole year for this game, then I wouldn't have felt too bad about it or even enjoyed it - but since coming from nearly back-to-back release of the NA version and JP sequel, I was getting pretty much "gotoku-ed up" by the end... and just pushed myself finishing the game.
There are some bad-ass moments, but not as drastic - or original as the first one. After all, I feel like I got what it was just for. More polished, and milked out version of the original with new story and more stuff to do. As for a sequel, I am not sure - since the game play mechanic isn't upgraded that much - so it's more like a Ryuga Gotoku 1.25 + a whole new story and bunch of fetch-quests.
Still, it stands out as a decent game as its own merit - but as for a full fledged sequel, I find it rather disappointing - because it's just not that "fresh" anymore.
and do not mess w/ Korean Cho-Pocks LOL! They are freaking Delta Force with Kamikaze attitude! :lol And the korean they spoke... just gold. a pure comedy gold! :lol
lachesis said:
I think the main disappointment I had in this aspect was really the fact that
you never got to interact with Haruka and Sayama the same way you did in Ryu 1. Going around the city with Sayama on a long date would have really upped my personal investment in her character, instead it was just another well directed cutscene.
When Kiryuu asked Haruka if this was her first time in Kansai, and that he would show her around I was REALLY excited. But the fact that it was nothing but an event trigger really pissed me off. What, suddenly after a year she's not interested in me feeding her takopachis and funky Kansai food? She doesn't want to watch me play minigolf or YF5? Seriously, what the hell.
When Kiryuu asked Haruka if this was her first time in Kansai, and that he would show her around I was REALLY excited. But the fact that it was nothing but an event trigger really pissed me off. What, suddenly after a year she's not interested in me feeding her takopachis and funky Kansai food? She doesn't want to watch me play minigolf or YF5? Seriously, what the hell.
lachesis
Member
exactly. it's got all the usual challenges, but not much reward at all. I'm just surprised that I even did almost 100 of them, and when I also realized that having Haruka or Kayama around doesn't really do anything at all while exploring (besides some nicely done mandatory events), it was a HUGE let down.
I guess I'm a dating sim nut or what not...
I guess I'm a dating sim nut or what not...
Just beat the game.
As someone who thought RGG was the GoTY last year, I think RGG2 is a piece of shit. It's not even just disappointing, it's a horrible ****ing game. Probably a 6/10 or less in my book.
Basically, RGG2 shows that either Nagoshi and/or his team just got lucky with RGG by having a good script, because without a good script this time around the game falls to pieces. Also RGG2 shows that Nagoshi and/or his team don't even understand what made RGG1 fun, as instead of focusing on the strengths and fixing the weakness of the first game they've gone ahead and taken the bad parts from RGG1 and made them worse and more frequent and overall just made the game...not fun.
Let's see, from a gameplay-perspective:
-Sooo much padding. Holy shit, just HOW many times did they throw me into the streets with no indication of what I'm supposed to be doing so I can just wander around for 10+ mins until I accidently run into something that triggers to the next scene. How many times did they game just STOP and say "I'll call you later, do something until then" and you are forced to just run around until you can finally continue the game. How many pointless filler quests were there in the main story? Sure RGG1 had some of these problems, but they were NOWHERE near as frequent as in RGG2. In RGG2 it was like "Go to point A -> watch scene -> wander on your own for 10 mins to kill time -> event -> wander on your own for 10 mins to kill time -> event". Story-wise RGG2 is a much simpler/shorter story than RGG1 IMO yet RGG2 took me almost 19 hours while RGG1 was under 15. The pacing was so bad, I abandoned the game several times and almost gave up on it for good, finally having to push myself to get through the torture of finishing it.
-The battle system is even more broken and is now irratating and not fun at all. Enemies can magically do 180 spins in the air to hit you with their lock-on hammer attack? Bosses all interrupt your attacks, block, dodge, and move faster than the camera can keep up with. Oh and they can't be grabbed. So then, what the hell is the point of working hard and dodging + attacking to build your heat meter if you can't even DO A HEAT ATTACK ON BOSSES!?! Oh except for the "special time" that the game tells you, you can do it @_@ Normal enemies were a joke just like before and they're all the same as before. There's the big guys, the small guys, etc...the only one new enemy type I saw were from the substory with the old lady where they all did the flips. So normal battles play out the same as before zzz and boss battles are all terrible and not fun.
-Your movelist in RGG2 sucks. It's bad enough that the majority of your attacks are just the same ones from RGG1, but it's made worse by the fact that if you only play the main story you'll only get like 50% of the attacks. Sure it's nice to hide a super secret move at the end of some subquest, but not HALF OF THEM. In RGG1, the battle system was pretty average or even bad until you got a good amount of moves and then it got really fun. So in RGG2 if you're not doing substories you're missing most of the moves and the battles just suck for the entire game...great. Good design there. @_@
-Everything is just re-used/re-hashed from the first game. You go through the same "levels", you fight the same enemy types, 98% of the objects you pick up on the ground to smash people with are the SAME EXACT OBJECTS as RGG1, the majority of your attacks are the same ones from RGG1, and the majority of the game is just in the same areas as RGG1. Osaka is small and a total letdown. There's very little "exploring" like navigating the city in RGG1 and there isn't even a single "level" inside the main osaka city area.
-Chapter 16 was probably the worst game design in a while without even a level, or adventure segments, but just "lets throw enemies over and over and then throw in bosses megaman style and then boss-o-rama with most of them all being bullshit fights.
-The QTEs sucked hard this time around. They were often unexpected, they happened far too frequently, and you tended to be severly punished if you missed them (cough*cough*REDO ENTIRE BOSS FIGHT). Not fun at all.
Story-wise the plot was ridiculously stupid, and took something that was a good serious crime drama and turned it into a VIDEOGAME. The plot twists were stupid, the exaggeration of reality at parts was incredibly dumb (hi Osakajo), and worst off all they wussified Kiryu. Instead of being a believable Gokudo guy with a good heart like he was in RGG1, now even if he hears rumors of someone not liking their job he'll run across town and fight evil to help them better their position. I mean he's even more of a super hero have-to-save-them-all guy than Superman at this point and that's really takes away from him being this cool badass character. Also there was no emotion in anything, and events just seemed to happen and you were like "uh, ok"
.
On a plus note a few of the new characters worked and were developed pretty well. Ryuuji is a great character, Sayama is alright, and Daigo was pretty good though he was kinda thrown aside on the writing board in the end. Majima was great in the game, but the old crew of Date, Haruka, Kazuki/Yuya just felt thrown in and really didn't have any point in the story.
Overall I've gone from loving the franchise, to really hoping these guys don't make RGG3 and RGG3 is given to another team at Sega. I have no faith in the franchise anymore as it seems like the ruined a lot of what made RGG1 great.
I think there is a great game (at least great story) in RGG2 somewhere...but I think there's so much extra crap that it's obscured and hard to find. I think if Nagoshi had taken the current RGG2 and sat down on the cutting room and tightly edited it into the best movie he could make regardless of CLOCK TIME, I think we'd have a RGG2 about half the length and about ten times as good.
I won't be buying RGG3 if it's on PS2 or Wii and is the amount of upgrade that RGG1->RGG2 was. The series needs a complete RESTART game-engine-wise and if it doesn't get that I'm skipping the next game. I not only feel that RGG2 was a waste of my 6800yen, but even more was a huge waste of time to play.
Biggest disappointment of the PS2.
As someone who thought RGG was the GoTY last year, I think RGG2 is a piece of shit. It's not even just disappointing, it's a horrible ****ing game. Probably a 6/10 or less in my book.
Basically, RGG2 shows that either Nagoshi and/or his team just got lucky with RGG by having a good script, because without a good script this time around the game falls to pieces. Also RGG2 shows that Nagoshi and/or his team don't even understand what made RGG1 fun, as instead of focusing on the strengths and fixing the weakness of the first game they've gone ahead and taken the bad parts from RGG1 and made them worse and more frequent and overall just made the game...not fun.
Let's see, from a gameplay-perspective:
-Sooo much padding. Holy shit, just HOW many times did they throw me into the streets with no indication of what I'm supposed to be doing so I can just wander around for 10+ mins until I accidently run into something that triggers to the next scene. How many times did they game just STOP and say "I'll call you later, do something until then" and you are forced to just run around until you can finally continue the game. How many pointless filler quests were there in the main story? Sure RGG1 had some of these problems, but they were NOWHERE near as frequent as in RGG2. In RGG2 it was like "Go to point A -> watch scene -> wander on your own for 10 mins to kill time -> event -> wander on your own for 10 mins to kill time -> event". Story-wise RGG2 is a much simpler/shorter story than RGG1 IMO yet RGG2 took me almost 19 hours while RGG1 was under 15. The pacing was so bad, I abandoned the game several times and almost gave up on it for good, finally having to push myself to get through the torture of finishing it.
-The battle system is even more broken and is now irratating and not fun at all. Enemies can magically do 180 spins in the air to hit you with their lock-on hammer attack? Bosses all interrupt your attacks, block, dodge, and move faster than the camera can keep up with. Oh and they can't be grabbed. So then, what the hell is the point of working hard and dodging + attacking to build your heat meter if you can't even DO A HEAT ATTACK ON BOSSES!?! Oh except for the "special time" that the game tells you, you can do it @_@ Normal enemies were a joke just like before and they're all the same as before. There's the big guys, the small guys, etc...the only one new enemy type I saw were from the substory with the old lady where they all did the flips. So normal battles play out the same as before zzz and boss battles are all terrible and not fun.
-Your movelist in RGG2 sucks. It's bad enough that the majority of your attacks are just the same ones from RGG1, but it's made worse by the fact that if you only play the main story you'll only get like 50% of the attacks. Sure it's nice to hide a super secret move at the end of some subquest, but not HALF OF THEM. In RGG1, the battle system was pretty average or even bad until you got a good amount of moves and then it got really fun. So in RGG2 if you're not doing substories you're missing most of the moves and the battles just suck for the entire game...great. Good design there. @_@
-Everything is just re-used/re-hashed from the first game. You go through the same "levels", you fight the same enemy types, 98% of the objects you pick up on the ground to smash people with are the SAME EXACT OBJECTS as RGG1, the majority of your attacks are the same ones from RGG1, and the majority of the game is just in the same areas as RGG1. Osaka is small and a total letdown. There's very little "exploring" like navigating the city in RGG1 and there isn't even a single "level" inside the main osaka city area.
-Chapter 16 was probably the worst game design in a while without even a level, or adventure segments, but just "lets throw enemies over and over and then throw in bosses megaman style and then boss-o-rama with most of them all being bullshit fights.
-The QTEs sucked hard this time around. They were often unexpected, they happened far too frequently, and you tended to be severly punished if you missed them (cough*cough*REDO ENTIRE BOSS FIGHT). Not fun at all.
Story-wise the plot was ridiculously stupid, and took something that was a good serious crime drama and turned it into a VIDEOGAME. The plot twists were stupid, the exaggeration of reality at parts was incredibly dumb (hi Osakajo), and worst off all they wussified Kiryu. Instead of being a believable Gokudo guy with a good heart like he was in RGG1, now even if he hears rumors of someone not liking their job he'll run across town and fight evil to help them better their position. I mean he's even more of a super hero have-to-save-them-all guy than Superman at this point and that's really takes away from him being this cool badass character. Also there was no emotion in anything, and events just seemed to happen and you were like "uh, ok"
See Kiryu kiss see that REALLY didn't work.
On a plus note a few of the new characters worked and were developed pretty well. Ryuuji is a great character, Sayama is alright, and Daigo was pretty good though he was kinda thrown aside on the writing board in the end. Majima was great in the game, but the old crew of Date, Haruka, Kazuki/Yuya just felt thrown in and really didn't have any point in the story.
Overall I've gone from loving the franchise, to really hoping these guys don't make RGG3 and RGG3 is given to another team at Sega. I have no faith in the franchise anymore as it seems like the ruined a lot of what made RGG1 great.
I think there is a great game (at least great story) in RGG2 somewhere...but I think there's so much extra crap that it's obscured and hard to find. I think if Nagoshi had taken the current RGG2 and sat down on the cutting room and tightly edited it into the best movie he could make regardless of CLOCK TIME, I think we'd have a RGG2 about half the length and about ten times as good.
I won't be buying RGG3 if it's on PS2 or Wii and is the amount of upgrade that RGG1->RGG2 was. The series needs a complete RESTART game-engine-wise and if it doesn't get that I'm skipping the next game. I not only feel that RGG2 was a waste of my 6800yen, but even more was a huge waste of time to play.
Biggest disappointment of the PS2.
After talking with duckroll, I guess I was a little harsh on the game when I wrote all that. I had just forced myself to slug through the last 4-5 chapters straight because I just wanted to finish it so I could know what happens in-case of RGG3. So yeah, since I was just doing it out of 'work' instead of 'fun' all the flaws really stuck out and pissed me off.
I think the first disc is pretty fun and more akin to duckroll and lachesis's thoughts. It's RGG but with a new story, and a few new areas. In disc 1, the plot is pretty straightfoward and grounded in reality and the boss fights are easy and sorta fun like the first game. It's only in disc 2 where the plot gets @_@, and the fights make you mad because of gameplay flaws(I don't think I died once in the original RGG, but I died 2-3 times on every boss fight in the last chapter), that it goes from enjoyable to not enjoyable.
On the positive side I thought the character designs for a lot of the new characters were EXCELLENT and RGG2 features some of the coolest looking characters I have seen in a game like Daigo. The characters look very realistic but still have that small touch of videogame/comic/anime to them, which makes them look more hardcore than any real person could.
The graphics in the new areas are pretty good. Osaka, though small, is highly detailed, and one of the areas in it is really neat looking. The last chapter is also very impressive from an art/graphical standpoint.
While the story is all over the place, there are some good moments that are fun and a every scene Majima is in is a great scene. The game really should've been 2p co-op with Kiryu + Majima.
Ryuji is a good antagonist. His voice actor is excellent and his lines tend to be good. Sayama is ok...though, in retrospect she is basically the main character of RGG2 with Kiryu playing more of a secondary position IMO and she isn't a good enough character to really carry the show.
I wish I could say the new moves were great/useful, but besides a hammer punch that was only useful because it builds heat fast, most of the new ones I had were pretty worthless. I did a long ass quest to get this move that takes 5 seconds of holding a button to charge and then punches straight forward. Unfortunately if the enemy, you know, 'moves' during those five seconds you just punch the air or get hit out of it while charging. RGG2 seems to have a lot moves like this where you have to ask the developers, "when would this actually be useful?" because from what I could tell most weren't.
For RGG3 I think the game has to go one of two extreme ways to change away from this engine, which will not hold up for another game.
-They could go with complete free-roaming freedom where fights are not in seperate battle screens but happen in real-time as you're exploring the city. Imagine you're running around a packed area and an enemy spots you and starts pushing his way through the crowds of people to get to you and you can work to avoid him or start a fight while the crowd reacts and backs away into a circle cheering you guys on.
-They could drop the roaming and just make it like Spikeout or Dynamite Deka. Break it down into stages with 10-30 min cutscenes between each 20-40 min level and let you power up your skills in-between stages. Have checkpoints before bosses/mini-bosses, save points/power-up point mid-level like Viewtiful Joe, and hidden exp items scattered throughout the levels.
I think the first disc is pretty fun and more akin to duckroll and lachesis's thoughts. It's RGG but with a new story, and a few new areas. In disc 1, the plot is pretty straightfoward and grounded in reality and the boss fights are easy and sorta fun like the first game. It's only in disc 2 where the plot gets @_@, and the fights make you mad because of gameplay flaws(I don't think I died once in the original RGG, but I died 2-3 times on every boss fight in the last chapter), that it goes from enjoyable to not enjoyable.
On the positive side I thought the character designs for a lot of the new characters were EXCELLENT and RGG2 features some of the coolest looking characters I have seen in a game like Daigo. The characters look very realistic but still have that small touch of videogame/comic/anime to them, which makes them look more hardcore than any real person could.
The graphics in the new areas are pretty good. Osaka, though small, is highly detailed, and one of the areas in it is really neat looking. The last chapter is also very impressive from an art/graphical standpoint.
While the story is all over the place, there are some good moments that are fun and a every scene Majima is in is a great scene. The game really should've been 2p co-op with Kiryu + Majima.
Ryuji is a good antagonist. His voice actor is excellent and his lines tend to be good. Sayama is ok...though, in retrospect she is basically the main character of RGG2 with Kiryu playing more of a secondary position IMO and she isn't a good enough character to really carry the show.
I wish I could say the new moves were great/useful, but besides a hammer punch that was only useful because it builds heat fast, most of the new ones I had were pretty worthless. I did a long ass quest to get this move that takes 5 seconds of holding a button to charge and then punches straight forward. Unfortunately if the enemy, you know, 'moves' during those five seconds you just punch the air or get hit out of it while charging. RGG2 seems to have a lot moves like this where you have to ask the developers, "when would this actually be useful?" because from what I could tell most weren't.
For RGG3 I think the game has to go one of two extreme ways to change away from this engine, which will not hold up for another game.
-They could go with complete free-roaming freedom where fights are not in seperate battle screens but happen in real-time as you're exploring the city. Imagine you're running around a packed area and an enemy spots you and starts pushing his way through the crowds of people to get to you and you can work to avoid him or start a fight while the crowd reacts and backs away into a circle cheering you guys on.
-They could drop the roaming and just make it like Spikeout or Dynamite Deka. Break it down into stages with 10-30 min cutscenes between each 20-40 min level and let you power up your skills in-between stages. Have checkpoints before bosses/mini-bosses, save points/power-up point mid-level like Viewtiful Joe, and hidden exp items scattered throughout the levels.