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[cordy]

Tbh I think Yakuza 0 is giving the series that needed boost that no other Yakuza game's gotten. It hasn't exploded the series off in the West but it's done great from what I'm hearing.

And I'd approve of Kiryu being in T7 as one of the 2 guest characters. Why not?

 

[Peroroncino]

And I'd approve of Kiryu being in T7 as one of the 2 guest characters. Why not?

Too OP.

 

[lucebuce12]

Too OP.

Well that depends. Is someone threatening Haruka or one of the kids from the orphanage?

 

[Murkas]

I've finished 3,4, and 0. I wanna play 5 in preparation for 6 but worried it may be a step back from 0, I'm just assuming that by sequel standards though so is that the case? I may take 5 on after a few months because I've poured like 50 hours into 0 so if I start 5 now, I'm sure I'll get burnt out.

Best thing about this series is that it knows how to hype up last boss fights.

 

[immortal-joe]

Motherfuckers better line up for Kiwami, and crash the web over 6.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

yakuza 5 is the easiest yakuza game imo.

2>4>1>5>3 for me

damn yoo. leaving out dead souls everytime

 

[D-Man]

Kiryu is a great character (though I prefer Akiyama) and Yakuza is easily one of my favorite series. I was going to continue Y5 but the NieR games distracted me so I think i'll put that on hold until Kiwami's release approaches.

The series deserves all the love it can get. Based Nagoshi blessed my life with these crazy games.

 

[Xion86]

Only got into the Yakuza series for the first time a couple of months ago, started at 4 (watched the cut scenes for the previous games) and was extremely impressed with the game. Way better than I was expecting. I got 4 and 5 via PS Plus, still got 5 to play next. Fantastic character driven story and very cinematic.

 

[Son Of Sparda]

damn yoo. leaving out dead souls everytime

You gotta move on from Dead Souls, David lol

 

[Waddle Dee]

Yakuza is just such an uplifting series. So many lovable characters mixed in with ball-to-the-walls combat. Just a pure joy to play!

 

[Shadowman16]

You are not the only one who feels this way, especially in here Asia.

Yakuza 6 seems like a huge disappointment though, Japanese/Asian fans are acting like it's Mass Effect 3's ending or something. Don't get your hopes up too high. I have heard rumours of a remake in the making already. It is THAT bad.

Link to those rumours? I've not heard anything of the sort. Though I do understand some of the disappointment from the story point of view, but really most of the story was fine to me, one thing that did annoy me (super spoilers):

Spoiler

is the end boss. Kiryu has gone toe to toe with some real badasses in his time, and to have his story end against some rich little wannabe prick was a bad choice all round. Super anti climatic story wise, especially when they had a brilliant antagonist as the penultimate boss...

Honestly I don't believe the game would not have gotten half the flack it got if it wasn't billed as the last Kiryu focused story.

 

[ar4757]

I'm not gonna get into how I got started with Yakuza coz that may just stir controversy

Yakuza looked like Japanese GTA which was what got you interested with the series - am I right?

 

[OniBaka]

You are not the only one who feels this way, especially in here Asia.

Yakuza 6 seems like a huge disappointment though, Japanese/Asian fans are acting like it's Mass Effect 3's ending or something. Don't get your hopes up too high. I have heard rumours of a remake in the making already. It is THAT bad.

Well I didn't mind ME3 ending so I should be good yeah? But damn that sucks.

 

[ar4757]

Love the series and I'm enjoying Zero. I'm happy that with this game many new people are jumping on the crazy bandwagon of fun that is the Yakuza series, but I have to say that it is probably the weakest entry after the first two games.
imo 3, 4 and 5 are better games, each with their flaws of course. This one is very polished but it's very on rail and they fucked up the karaoke (what's up with sega losing lipsync data of the old songs?).

It's your opinion and all, but I think it's a crazy opinion! Haha, a lot of people consider Zero and 2 to be the best of the bunch

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Im buying Y0 asap
probably this thursday

 

[chrominance]

I've finished 3,4, and 0. I wanna play 5 in preparation for 6 but worried it may be a step back from 0, I'm just assuming that by sequel standards though so is that the case? I may take 5 on after a few months because I've poured like 50 hours into 0 so if I start 5 now, I'm sure I'll get burnt out.

Best thing about this series is that it knows how to hype up last boss fights.

I played 5 pretty much right after 0 because I decided I couldn't get enough and it'd been sitting on my PS3 since launch. The only real issue is that 5 is 30fps, and occasionally drops below that (especially in Kineicho, near the end of the game). Besides that, it's basically the same combat from Yakuza 0, but more constrained because you have access to fewer styles (and only get one style per character, instead of three).

Maybe by the end of 5 I was starting to feel a bit of burnout, but Yakuza 5 gives you such a wide variety of things to do outside of the combat (many of them completely different from anything in Yakuza 0) that I think you'll be fine. It doesn't really feel like it's aged very much, in case you were worried about it being an older game.

 

[Ruruja]

Yea, played through 1,2,3,4 last/this year. Some really incredible games.

Same, but also 5.

It went straight to the top of my favourite game series too.

Kiryu is one of gaming's great characters for sure.

 

[DrunkShogun]

It's a great series for sure. Not sure it ranks as my top but it's my go to series if I want a crime drama game ranking above any of the GTA games for example.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I love the series but the story can get a bit too melodramatic at times.

 

[The Artisan]

Yakuza 0 was my first game in the series and I loved it... i'm not sure what the sales numbers looked like but the hype around this game/series certainly sold me on it.

good to know that you entered the series with 0 man! I wish there were many more like you out there. it really is a great game.

you can't just say that and not get into it

I will PM you and tell you if you really wanna know.

Oh yikes! I hope this doesn't derail Yakuza 6 release next year. Yakuza 5 IMO is an underrated masterpiece, one of the best games last gen. It ended on a cliff hanger and I need to get closure.

nah, we already have the next 2 games confirmed, they can't just cancel them now

UK
https://www.greenmangaming.com/newsroom/2017/01/30/top-10-uk-game-sales-chart-30012017/amp/

oh, well that is good. i wish we had actual sales numbers though. to see if sega got what they wanted or bled again instead

Yeah, nice try Mr Biased.

Spoiler

Agree, Yakuza is amazing and I need to get 0. Pls Sega release all on PS4 in English over the next 3~5 years.

we are getting kiwami and 6 within the next year =]

Yakuza has ended up as my favourite game series, right after Mega Man (but that series is dead, so Yakuza is now my favourite current game series).

Initially I wanted something to take the sting off of never getting Shenmue 3 and when the first game was announced for the PS2 I instantly fell in love with the game. Of course bar a couple of passing resemblances its really not all that much like Shenmue at all, but that doesn't matter. I loved the mix of exploring a Japanese city and hand to hand fighting, sure the game had some lock on issues (Komaki was a demon to beat in the original game) but I still loved it to pieces. What took me by surprise though was the story, I didn't expect to really care about the characters but the story was done well enough that I really did.

The sequel then amped everything up, improved heat moves and combat, introduced a real badass antagonist (still the best in the series) and just refined everything else.

The third game I'm a big fan of, mainly due to the slower start at the beginning. I personally liked the change of pace though I understand why many hated it. Loved some of the new characters in the game as well - Mine is a real badass, not quite Goda level but I still really loved his part in the story.
Its also the point where I really started getting into the side stuff in the games - I mainly stuck to the story in the first two games but I actually bothered doing all the side stuff in 3 (bar a few tricky mini games) and that started my love for trying to 100% the series. I loved Darts, Karaoke and the arcade the most.
One note on 3 though, the English version sucks content wise. I've still not forgiven Sega for chopping out 10+ hours of content (at least) with their flimsy reasoning that it wouldn't appeal to English audiences. Revisiting the game and playing the Japanese version instead was a huge eye opener for me just to see how much was cut out.

I ended up importing all the titles from Japan after that (and grabbing 3 and Kenzan while I was at it) since translations took so long, plus there were enough good guides out there to fill in the story gaps. And the series (content wise) just kept getting better - Mahjong is a huge thing for me now, the arcade has gone from strength to strength (it rocks in 6) and the combat has evolved nicely along the way. The two Samurai spinoff games are also terrific, especially with all the cameos and the sword based combat.

Its also one of the only open worlds I can revisit over and over without getting bored. I know Kamuracho like the back of my hand and its always nice to revisit it a few times a year, 6 especially blew my mind when exploring the city at night - the lights, greater freedom, no load times etc.
I can't wait to see where the series goes next, hopefully the next true sequel builds on 6's engine and fixes the issues I had with the game, it'd be something truly amazing if it does.

great post. I actually don't think I've ever heard of Shenmue and only after E3 last year did I hear about how Yakuza was kinda born in its shadow and is always compared to it. but i'll check out Shemnue 3. it'd be nice to get some sort of retrospective on the series too just to see how simialr it is to yakuza. i too thought about importing the games.

Tbh I think Yakuza 0 is giving the series that needed boost that no other Yakuza game's gotten. It hasn't exploded the series off in the West but it's done great from what I'm hearing.

And I'd approve of Kiryu being in T7 as one of the 2 guest characters. Why not?

ahahah, you know after linking the thread, Kiryu's gotten like 3 or 4 extra votes.

Yakuza looked like Japanese GTA which was what got you interested with the series - am I right?

You are not the only one who feels this way, especially in here Asia.

Yakuza 6 seems like a huge disappointment though, Japanese/Asian fans are acting like it's Mass Effect 3's ending or something. Don't get your hopes up too high. I have heard rumours of a remake in the making already. It is THAT bad.

huh??? fucking WHAT????

 

[danmaku]

Yakuza looked like Japanese GTA which was what got you interested with the series - am I right?

To me, it still feels like a Japanese take on the GTA formula. Lots of differences but also lots of similarities.

 

[Murkas]

I played 5 pretty much right after 0 because I decided I couldn't get enough and it'd been sitting on my PS3 since launch. The only real issue is that 5 is 30fps, and occasionally drops below that (especially in Kineicho, near the end of the game). Besides that, it's basically the same combat from Yakuza 0, but more constrained because you have access to fewer styles (and only get one style per character, instead of three).

Maybe by the end of 5 I was starting to feel a bit of burnout, but Yakuza 5 gives you such a wide variety of things to do outside of the combat (many of them completely different from anything in Yakuza 0) that I think you'll be fine. It doesn't really feel like it's aged very much, in case you were worried about it being an older game.

I'll probably give it a go after I'm done with Persona 5 in that case, thanks!

 

[Easy_D]

Yakuza makes me wonder what kind of crazy shit they'd come up with if they got to make another F-Zero title. Think about it, you'd have the fantastic racing, a sweet upgrade of GX (is anything else even needed) and then you'd have Captain Falcon story mode with Yakuza inspired battles and shit.

 

[Aki-at]

One of my favourite protagonists and my favourite video game series.

I'm going to miss you Kiryu after Yakuza 6 ;_;

 

[Shadowman16]

great post. I actually don't think I've ever heard of Shenmue and only after E3 last year did I hear about how Yakuza was kinda born in its shadow and is always compared to it. but i'll check out Shemnue 3. it'd be nice to get some sort of retrospective on the series too just to see how simialr it is to yakuza. i too thought about importing the games.

huh??? fucking WHAT????

Shenmue is very much a different game from Yakuza in execution and character, and gameplay (in my opinion). Ryo is a very different character to Kiryu (though they do both still have a sense of honor), but Shenmue is a much slower paced game, with far less action (while Yakuza might have you fight at least one big battle per chapter, Shenmue's combat is more spaced out in the beginning) - however when bigger battles happen in Shenmue, they have a similar sense of epicness - but again the combat is different in Shenmue to Yakuza with Shenmue favouring a less arcadey feel and a more "realistic" feel. Yakuza feels closer to Streets of Rage while Shenmue is closer to Virtua Fighter if that makes sense?
My point basically is don't go into Shenmue expecting a Yakuza like experience, but something different that is still amazing in its own way (in my opinion). Also hopefully HD remasters of Shenmue 1&2 happen so that new fans can play through from the beginning. The story of Shenmue isn't like a Yakuza game which are all finished up by the end of each game, Shenmue's story carries through from one game to the next so not playing 1&2 (or at least watching a good recap) will leave you lost as to what is going on.

Also, regarding Yakuza 6 - basically there are two main points of contention:
The story, as some people did not like the way it wrapped up for many reasons and
The gameplay, which does cut out certain mini games, a couple of areas in Kamuracho and combat styles compared to Yakuza 5 or 0. I personally didn't have many issues with the gameplay changes/omissions from 6 since there is more than enough changed/new stuff to sink 100+ hours into.

 

[fierrotlepou]

I'm new to this series and Yakuza 0 is also my first Yakuza game. I must say, the story is very intriguing. I really feel like I'm watching an Asian crime movie during certain cutscenes. The gameplay is also like nothing I've ever played before. There's so much to do and the combat feels great. It's very polished in a way that makes me think of other Sega games. Is there a name for the snappy/arcady menus?

I'm only eight hours in so I have a lot to learn and see, but I really think that this will be one of my favorite gaming series as well.

 

[Parahan]

You are not the only one who feels this way, especially in here Asia.

Yakuza 6 seems like a huge disappointment though, Japanese/Asian fans are acting like it's Mass Effect 3's ending or something. Don't get your hopes up too high. I have heard rumours of a remake in the making already. It is THAT bad.

huh??? fucking WHAT????

Oh wow, this maybe true going by reviews in here.

Spoiler

It's got 289 1 stars vs 206 5 stars.

But who cares, still going to see Kiryu through to the end.

 

[explodet]

I love the series but the story can get a bit too melodramatic at times.

At times?

It's a telenovela with fistfights.

I love it.

 

[Soldiussnaku]

The way I got into the Yakuza series was when my friend lent me a ton of his old PS2 games. I also had a PS2 but being as young as I was back then, I had fairly limited tastes.

This collection had a lot of interesting games that I hadn't played before and one of them was Yakuza 1 and 2. Since I love games with melee combat, I chose to fire up Yakuza 1 after God of War 2.

I was initially not impressed. The game was quite bold, that much was obvious. But the bad dub, the combat which was decent but coming from other action games just felt way too stiff. I persevered through it however and found a game that I really enjoyed.

Then came Yakuza 2 and OH BOY, I was not prepared. I INSTANTLY fell in love with Kiryu's JPN voice and I can't even imagine going back to that garbage dub in the first one. The combat was smoother, the story was EVEN BETTER and all the characters were just so well-defined and loveable (or hateable). Kaoru in particular was a great companion in Kiryu's adventures.

After Yakuza 2, I was flat out hooked. Even though I hadn't owned a PS3 or a 360, I went out and bought a PS3 with the goal of playing through Y3,4 and 5.

The series is now one of my favourites in all of gaming, if not my favourite. There are a lot of elements in the series that have been discussed before. The fact that there aren't that many 3D beat-em-ups still coming out, the fact that the voice acting is always TOP NOTCH in these games. The fact that it feels like a Tourist guide to some of Japan's urban hotspots.

But the series has now stepped it up a notch, going for STRAIGHT UP ACTING from Yakuza 4. With motion capture, we have terrific actors giving it their all playing well-written characters with depth, emotions, motivations and beliefs that feel exclusive to them. No villain is just doing it cause he's the bad guy, or cause all he wants is more power. There's a reason behind everything. This is one of the reasons why Yakuza 2 and 3's antagonists were so damn good.

Yakuza 0 is no slouch either, being the best in the series since Yakuza 2. It delivered ON EVERY FRONT. Great gameplay, robust combat system, great graphics, fantastic acting, wonderful story, fun side activities, absolutely ludicrous sidequests, sidequests that make you cry for your mommy. It's got it all, and there's a lot of heart in this game.

There is one thing that I feel isn't mentioned when talking about the series, and it's that it's almost always the SAME cast of characters on the "good guys" side. Now some of you may think that this is not a selling point but to me it is.

Characters grow. Both literally and figuratively.

Spoiler

The kids that you raised in Yakuza 3 become teenagers in Yakuza 5. When we find out that the kids offered to quit school and get a job to finance Haruka's singing career,

I got unexpectedly weepy. Family and love is a key theme in this series and to face this positive and non-violent theme in today's gaming landscape was a very fresh change of pace. Seeing the kids from the orphanage ALL GROWN UP in Yakuza 6 is gonna be a real tear-jerker moment for me, I just know it. Characters get older, their priorities change. The city itself changes as well, with Kamorucho getting new developments and stores and locations as the series goes on.

A few people have complained about not liking Haruka but Haruka is truly what grounds Kiryu as a protagonist. His desire to just live a normal life with his kids

Spoiler

(THEY ARE HIS KIDS GODDAMNIT)

are what makes him different from someone like Majima or Saejima. He has a family, and he doesn't WANT to be stuck in this life.

And as much as I've talked about awesome Kiryu, let's not ignore some of the amazing protagonists that they introduced with Yakuza 4. Namely Tanimura, Akiyama and Saejima. I feel like I've said quite a lot already lol so I'm just gonna say that Kiryu is by no means the only protagonists capable of carrying this series. Akiyama and Saejima both have what it takes to lead their own stories, as they've demonstrated before.

To cap it off, I'm just gonna leave 3 things here:

One of the best boss themes in recent history (for me personally)

A video of a baby peeing on Kiryu and him laughing it off.

A gif of Saejima

Spoiler

punching a bear

:

This is some damn good stuff.

The yakuza series is by far my most beloved series in gaming and NEEDS to be analysed by game devs in order to create open world esque games that can handle extremely interesting stories, with multiple protagonists, all with multiple motivations and with incredible gameplay variety.

The characterisation alone beats almost any game out there. The are multi faceted people brought to life with deliberate, well created personalities, determinations, desires and goals.

 

[The Artisan]

One of my favourite protagonists and my favourite video game series.

I'm going to miss you Kiryu after Yakuza 6 ;_;

I may not keep playing Yakuza if there is no more Kiryu.

Shenmue is very much a different game from Yakuza in execution and character, and gameplay (in my opinion). Ryo is a very different character to Kiryu (though they do both still have a sense of honor), but Shenmue is a much slower paced game, with far less action (while Yakuza might have you fight at least one big battle per chapter, Shenmue's combat is more spaced out in the beginning) - however when bigger battles happen in Shenmue, they have a similar sense of epicness - but again the combat is different in Shenmue to Yakuza with Shenmue favouring a less arcadey feel and a more "realistic" feel. Yakuza feels closer to Streets of Rage while Shenmue is closer to Virtua Fighter if that makes sense?
My point basically is don't go into Shenmue expecting a Yakuza like experience, but something different that is still amazing in its own way (in my opinion). Also hopefully HD remasters of Shenmue 1&2 happen so that new fans can play through from the beginning. The story of Shenmue isn't like a Yakuza game which are all finished up by the end of each game, Shenmue's story carries through from one game to the next so not playing 1&2 (or at least watching a good recap) will leave you lost as to what is going on.

I see, so Shenmue will be a distinctive experience on its own, but perhaps what I meant when I said I expected something like Yakuza was that instead of using guns for most of the combat, you'd be doing fighting from section to section. So it's also a beat 'em up like Yakuza instead of a shooter in this regard, yeah?

Also, regarding Yakuza 6 - basically there are two main points of contention:
The story, as some people did not like the way it wrapped up for many reasons and
The gameplay, which does cut out certain mini games, a couple of areas in Kamuracho and combat styles compared to Yakuza 5 or 0. I personally didn't have many issues with the gameplay changes/omissions from 6 since there is more than enough changed/new stuff to sink 100+ hours into.

I really don't like the sound of this...

I'm new to this series and Yakuza 0 is also my first Yakuza game. I must say, the story is very intriguing. I really feel like I'm watching an Asian crime movie during certain cutscenes. The gameplay is also like nothing I've ever played before. There's so much to do and the combat feels great. It's very polished in a way that makes me think of other Sega games. Is there a name for the snappy/arcady menus?

I'm only eight hours in so I have a lot to learn and see, but I really think that this will be one of my favorite gaming series as well.

It really is great to see more and more people coming in with Yakuza 0 being their first entry into the series.

Oh wow, this maybe true going by reviews in here.

Spoiler

It's got 289 1 stars vs 206 5 stars.

But who cares, still going to see Kiryu through to the end.

what the fuck is this shit man...I don't know how to feel about this

 

[Opa-Pa]

At times?

It's a telenovela with fistfights.

I love it.

Hell yeah, this is pretty much it.

 

[The Artisan]

At times?

It's a telenovela with fistfights.

I love it.

telenovela?

 

[D-Man]

telenovela?

Latino soap operas, basically.

 

[klabautermann]

Bought all of the Yakuza games in 2015 and powered through 1-4 with my girlfriend. 1 was rocky, but enjoyable. When we got to two, we were both in love with the series. Both of us definitely put Kiryu up there with out favorite characters and it's one of our favorite series now. Kiryu and these are games are just so damn likable and they make up for all of their shortcomings with so much heart. Currently shoving these games down my best friends throat and he is on Yakuza 3 now. He also says Kiryu might be one of his favorite characters ever as well.

The point about story strikes a chord with me, because after I finished the Metal Gear series per my previously mentioned friend request, I felt kinda empty and that there wouldn't be another goofy cinematic Japanese game to fill the void, but Yakuza fit that billing pretty damn perfectly.

Spoiler

Akiyama is my favorite character in the series though. Rikiya is 2nd.

 

[Brunire]

I see, so Shenmue will be a distinctive experience on its own, but perhaps what I meant when I said I expected something like Yakuza was that instead of using guns for most of the combat, you'd be doing fighting from section to section. So it's also a beat 'em up like Yakuza instead of a shooter in this regard, yeah?

Yes, I honestly don't remember any guns in Shenmue but it has been quite a few years. The fighting is much more sparse in the fact that there are no random opponents chasing you down while you are out and about. There are some epic fights, though. Especially in Shenmue II.

I think the reason they get compared so often, disregarding the obvious Sega connection, is that both have such great narratives and top flight story-telling for the medium.

 

[Shadowman16]

Yes, I honestly don't remember any guns in Shenmue but it has been quite a few years. The fighting is much more sparse in the fact that there are no random opponents chasing you down while you are out and about. There are some epic fights, though. Especially in Shenmue II.

I think the reason they get compared so often, disregarding the obvious Sega connection, is that both have such great narratives and top flight story-telling for the medium.

The only guns that turn up in Shenmue are the boxed guns that can be found in the apartment buildings in Shenmue 2 (in Kowloon) which is fairly random! Its weird that Lan Di's men don't seem to carry guns, you'd have thought the Chinese Mafia would carry guns, but then again Yakuza uses guns sparingly as well so maybe its just a design decision? Not that I mind, hand to hand combat is way more fun than shooters in my opinion.

Also, totally agree about epic fights in Shenmue 2 - especially on the third disk (of the Dreamcast version) where you reach Kowloon. The action comes thick and fast in that chapter, quite possibly my favourite part of any game ever (though some of the later chapters in many Yakuza games come very close).

 

[Aselith]

So good

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5fraxs_this-is-yakuza_videogames

 

[ruddiger7]

Finished 0 a few weeks ago. i have just rebought a ps3 with yakuza 3, 4, 5 and dead souls. Starting 3 tonight and i will wait for kiwami.

 

[The Artisan]

Latino soap operas, basically.

haha, i don't really watch those so what's the connection there?

Yes, I honestly don't remember any guns in Shenmue but it has been quite a few years. The fighting is much more sparse in the fact that there are no random opponents chasing you down while you are out and about. There are some epic fights, though. Especially in Shenmue II.

I think the reason they get compared so often, disregarding the obvious Sega connection, is that both have such great narratives and top flight story-telling for the medium.

random opponents chasing you down sounds like it is just an RPG thing. all things considered though, shenmue does sound like another game i would enjoy a lot. if they remaster the old games maybe i'll check em out if not i'll get shenmue 3 for sure.

So good

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5fraxs_this-is-yakuza_videogames

https://youtu.be/a1cFBtr-ryU?t=56s

 

[Opa-Pa]

Finished Yakuza 2 last night. I thought it was great fun all the way through, but couldn't figure out why people said it was the best... Then the last batch of chapters happened and god damn, what a story. These games are amazing.

I'm itching to start three... Will try my luck finding a used copy this Saturday.

haha, i don't really watch those so what's the connection there?

They're extremely melodramatic and sometimes overacted almost on purpose, they're really something.

 

[The Artisan]

They're extremely melodramatic and sometimes overacted almost on purpose, they're really something.

ahah, oh man. well I supposed if you're dealing in a crime drama with a bunch of gangsters you're bound to into some melodramatic shit