You can play 5, it's does not rely on what happened in Y4.
However, the pacing in Y5 is even worse. Honestly, I would recommend for you to play Y4, give some time, and then go to Y5.
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Yakuza 5 currently on sale $29.99 US PSN
- Thread starter Fisty
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You can play 5, it's does not rely on what happened in Y4.
However, the pacing in Y5 is even worse. Honestly, I would recommend for you to play Y4, give some time, and then go to Y5.
Yeah me too. Lol
noctis_pls
Banned
Ugh, I am dying to play this, played all 4 previous games, but unfortunately don't have my ps3 with me anymore, wish they would release it on PS NOW. I'd buy/rent it in a heartbeat.
Augemitbutter
Member
top tier game. give it a try. i loved it.
I burned out HARD when I got to Saejima and lost the plot. Haruka's side content got so old. But I finally beat it like last month. It took me 3 months to beat i bought it day 1 of it's US release. I tell myself i won't do the side stuff because a lot of it is annoying and bloated, but i always do it.
Not mistaken, Jpn only. Digital download for Eu and NA.
Shadowman16
Member
5 has 5 cities to explore vs the 1 in Yakuza 4.
5 has 5 characters to play as - 3 of which are returning characters from 4, 1 is brand new and the other is Haruka who has an entirely different gameplay mechanic to the other 4 characters (she has dance battles, the other 4 have fist fights).
Other than that, the main thing 5 does is flesh out side content by giving you even more involving special side missions with all characters bar Akiyama (who gets the short straw). Haruka has her Princess League content, Kiryu has his badass Taxi Driving racing game, Seijima has his strangely addictive hunting side missions (he's up against a gigantic human eating bear) and Shinada has a more involved baseball mini game (one I personally prefer to the normal batting cage stuff.
Other than that you have even more mini games, arcade games, side missions etc. in this game than you do in 4. Its the largest Yakuza game released yet (which is both a blessing and a curse at times).
Well I guess that's how I'll have to get it. I only played 4 but it was so good! Totally didn't expect to love it even though it's mentioned a lot on GAF.
Sony doesn't want me to play this game since I can't buy anything from the store for the last three days. Anyone else having this issue? It says my transaction cannot be completed at this time. I called support and he just told me to go buy a PSN card. I'm now worried about my account.
Shadowman16
Member
Sounds like a weird problem I had around Xmas. Its just Sony's shitty online service at work as per usual. I know its little consolation, but it will fix itself "eventually". If you search on the Internet there are stories of other people having the exact same problem.
I just use point cards now anyway, not storing any card info on my account to be on the same side.
Riposte
Member
I disagree with anyone who says 4 is better than 5.
5 has everything good about 4 with none or less of the bad. 4 refreshed the series by introducing three new characters, but was effectively worse than 3 in many ways. An example of that was how wimpy the bosses were. 5 fixes this quite a bit (and also provides the second best final boss in the series, if not the best in terms of pure spectacle). The general enemy AI was also improved by some extent (and they added reinforcements), but it unfortunately basically begs you to equip the Champion's Ring (and make sure you leave in storage before moving onto the next chapter/character), which makes enemies more aggressive/swarming. I can't say for certain, but I feel like AI has gone downhill in the series since maybe 3 (if not PS2 era?) and Champion's Ring is their band-aid for that. While you can still easily overpower the game with equipment, the floor has been raised due to enemies being being better and more interesting overall.
As far as pacing goes, the only real slump is Saejima's chapter. He's the least interesting character to play and his chapter is weirdly structured (may be worth skipping his quests if they begin to become boring). On the other hand, you can say 5 has five parts (including the finale), whereas 4 suddenly rushes the ending, leaving you with three and half parts plus a series of (disappointing) boss battles. Really, I can't get over how solid (and hype) 5's finale is, whereas 4 only as one really badass intro cutscene to show for itself.
What's particularly noteworthy is how goddamn big it is. It features five cities, with four extensive mini-game systems that switch up the genre completely (taxi/racing, idol sim, hunting, baseball batter). Despite its size, it's pound for pound as or more polished than any of the previous games. It has a new engine over 3/4 that looks much better. Plot wise, considering the kind of fuckery 2, 3, and 4 got down to at times, it's surprisingly more grounded and/or coherent than usual (which, granted, is still pretty crazy), despite its scale and complexity. The soundtrack is probably a little better than 4's, but not as good as 3's; the only issue is that it doesn't truly blossom until the finale (or the last chapter of Part 4), when you get a whole other set of a unique boss themes thrown at you.
I don't think it is a stretch to say it's the best game in the series. (This whole post is in reference to the western released games only, although I didn't play Dead Souls, for what that matters.)
So yeah, it's worth a buy, especially if you don't plan on playing any of the previous games first.
5 has everything good about 4 with none or less of the bad. 4 refreshed the series by introducing three new characters, but was effectively worse than 3 in many ways. An example of that was how wimpy the bosses were. 5 fixes this quite a bit (and also provides the second best final boss in the series, if not the best in terms of pure spectacle). The general enemy AI was also improved by some extent (and they added reinforcements), but it unfortunately basically begs you to equip the Champion's Ring (and make sure you leave in storage before moving onto the next chapter/character), which makes enemies more aggressive/swarming. I can't say for certain, but I feel like AI has gone downhill in the series since maybe 3 (if not PS2 era?) and Champion's Ring is their band-aid for that. While you can still easily overpower the game with equipment, the floor has been raised due to enemies being being better and more interesting overall.
As far as pacing goes, the only real slump is Saejima's chapter. He's the least interesting character to play and his chapter is weirdly structured (may be worth skipping his quests if they begin to become boring). On the other hand, you can say 5 has five parts (including the finale), whereas 4 suddenly rushes the ending, leaving you with three and half parts plus a series of (disappointing) boss battles. Really, I can't get over how solid (and hype) 5's finale is, whereas 4 only as one really badass intro cutscene to show for itself.
What's particularly noteworthy is how goddamn big it is. It features five cities, with four extensive mini-game systems that switch up the genre completely (taxi/racing, idol sim, hunting, baseball batter). Despite its size, it's pound for pound as or more polished than any of the previous games. It has a new engine over 3/4 that looks much better. Plot wise, considering the kind of fuckery 2, 3, and 4 got down to at times, it's surprisingly more grounded and/or coherent than usual (which, granted, is still pretty crazy), despite its scale and complexity. The soundtrack is probably a little better than 4's, but not as good as 3's; the only issue is that it doesn't truly blossom until the finale (or the last chapter of Part 4), when you get a whole other set of a unique boss themes thrown at you.
I don't think it is a stretch to say it's the best game in the series. (This whole post is in reference to the western released games only, although I didn't play Dead Souls, for what that matters.)
So yeah, it's worth a buy, especially if you don't plan on playing any of the previous games first.
Kagoshima_Luke
Gold Member
Not quite at my threshold for a double dip yet. If this was released as physical, I would have bought full price at release. As digital only, it's gonna have to hit sub $10 for me to bite, considering the amount already paid for the import.
Shadowman16
Member
Yeah, the AI for the enemies went down hill from 4 onwards. I didn't find out about the Champions Ring until Shinada's chapter which immediately made fights more fun. I'll be sure to use it more often in the future to get the most out of the games.
Red Blaster
Member
100% disagree on these parts
y5's pacing is utter basura for at least the entire first half of the game. kaz's chapter stars okay but eventually it's wall-to-wall text boxes (with voice acting now so its even slower to mash x to skip them) and cutscenes with kaz having a dumbfounded look on his face as overly convoluted yakuza politics are dumped on him. then saejima's chapter starts in yet another
prison
and while there are 5 cities, some are extremely undercooked--tsukimino is tiny and ugly. the technical detail on the graphics has improved but there are framedrops in a lot of places and plenty of horrible textures (a lot of the signs in fukuoaka and the snow in tsukimino).
i'm glad people like the game and absolutely recommend it to anyone interested in the series.
however, in my opinion, it's far from the best yakuza. i'd put it handedly behind 2 and 4, possibly behind 1 which i really liked. it's easily a better game than 3.
really, if you can, play 4 first. it's a better introduction to yakuza and just a better game too. additionally 5 will make a lot more sense if you play 4 first.
however, in my opinion, it's far from the best yakuza. i'd put it handedly behind 2 and 4, possibly behind 1 which i really liked. it's easily a better game than 3.
really, if you can, play 4 first. it's a better introduction to yakuza and just a better game too. additionally 5 will make a lot more sense if you play 4 first.
Holy shit you have the PS2 Yakuzas. I got on the train with 3 and only had the recaps. Color me jelly.
MillionStabs
Banned
Bought 4 and 5
Don't even have a PS3
Noragrets.
Don't even have a PS3
Noragrets.