Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (Yakuza, Judgment, Binary Domain + more!) Discussion Thread

[Nirvash]

New casting for the tv show

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kento_Kaku

Nishi?

 

[kyosuke]

I want to start experiencing the Life and Suffering of Kiryu Kazuma and friends as a total newbie to the series,, should I start playing from Y0 or Y1/YK?
I tried to search through the interwebs and there's many who recommend Y0 and many for YK so I'm sorta confused.

 

[quixotic]

I want to start experiencing the Life and Suffering of Kiryu Kazuma and friends as a total newbie to the series,, should I start playing from Y0 or Y1/YK?
I tried to search through the interwebs and there's many who recommend Y0 and many for YK so I'm sorta confused.

I started with 0 and moved on to Kiwami 1 and K2 but after playing most of the series I have to say that the original Yakuza 1 and 2 are just better in general, especially 2. Kiwami 2’s an awful remake. Make sure to get an undubbed rom of 1 unless you want to hear some REALLY campy and mostly shitty voice acting.

 

[Abu Antar]

I want to start experiencing the Life and Suffering of Kiryu Kazuma and friends as a total newbie to the series,, should I start playing from Y0 or Y1/YK?
I tried to search through the interwebs and there's many who recommend Y0 and many for YK so I'm sorta confused.

Play OG Yakuza 1, 2, 3, then 4, 5, 6. Then play 0. If after that, you want to continue with Ichiban's story, do that.

But the order would have to be:

Yakuza: Like A Dragon (Yakuza 7) Ichiban as main character - Turn-based
Like A Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name (Kiryu intermission game. What does he do between Yakuza 7 and Yakuza 8)
Yakuza: Infinite Wealth (Yakuza 8) - Ichiban as mani character - Turn-based

Alternatively, check some compilation videos for the games you don't want to play. Yakuza 1, 2, 3, 6, and TMWEHN are all beateable within a reasonable amount of time. 4 and 5 are massive games if you do most things. 7 and 8 are also big ass games.

 

[Maxie]

I want to start experiencing the Life and Suffering of Kiryu Kazuma and friends as a total newbie to the series,, should I start playing from Y0 or Y1/YK?
I tried to search through the interwebs and there's many who recommend Y0 and many for YK so I'm sorta confused.

you sound gay, you may wanna man the fuck up before tackling Yakuza

 

[cruel]

Do you think people creating games actually play them at some point? Chapter 13 of Infinite Slog, at some point you need to run away from some bad guys. While running, you encounter an enemy group - similar level to yours, easy fight, crappy rewards, zero challenge. Then the next group, after that another, another, and another - I counted more than 20 before I stopped counting. Why? What's the point? Why the game throws 20+ same enemy groups in short intervals, giving you zero challenge, poor rewards and very little experience? What's the logic here? Another trend in modern gaming I hate, stretching the game by wasting players time.

 

[Modron]

Why the game throws 20+ same enemy groups in short intervals, giving you zero challenge, poor rewards and very little experience? What's the logic here?

This is what you get for not speaking up about Sawyerism 2 decades ago.

 

[n0wh3r3]

I have watched the "Like a Dragon" movie by Takashi Miike. I thought it was going to be horrible but it wasn't bad at all. I would watch it if I were you.

 

[Alphons]

Ishin finished, hopefully I'll be able to finish Gaiden before I get billed for another month of Gamepass.

I liked the main story, though certain twist was pretty easy to guess due to character's likeness.
By the way, has anyone played both OG Ishin and LAD and can comment on the cast changes, whether they're better/ worse?

Kyo was a joy to explore, though surprisingly a lot of substories were pretty dull- I'm talking about majority of friendships (there were standouts like the guy that thinks Ryoma's wife makes meals for him).
0 also had friendships, but something happened as you progressed them, while most of Ishin ones just end when you fill the bar.

Wild Dancer was a blast once properly levelled up, Katana was fun for dueling bosses, didn't use Gun much until I got automatic pistol and at that point it was just hold LMB to win and Unarmed felt like a massive joke.
I liked the levelling scheme with training orbs that you later replace with skill orbs, but it got super grindy near the final levels even with EXP items from shrines.

Third Division stuff just kinda existed- for half a game my cards barely did anything and once I unlocked the highest tier recruits I was so powerful that even the best ones didn't do much difference for me.
The final dungeons were extremely annoying with the dodging ninjas and majority of fights consisted of me blasting with Gun from the doorstep.
I didn't need crafting through the entire game on Legend aside from making the automatic gun. I didn't use the special weapons like spears aside from getting completion for their Heat Actions.

I liked Another Life, though I got bored of it near the end and just planted ginseng for cash.

Arena was a bit lame when compared to previous games. Cannonball baseball/ shooting were alright and I loved the scarecrow house.

Udon shop wasn't any different from 5, chicken races were worse than in 5, Buyo was really hard at first, but got really fun once I got the hang of the rhytm.
Really enjoyed the new karaoke songs, shame that from what I've seen only Ichizu Samurai returns in other games.
Fuck the hardest level of massage.

 

[cruel]

Done with Infinite Wealth after 95h. Not sure how I lasted.

Good thing:
+ gameplay is pretty good
+ very good combat system, improved from the first LaD
+ fun job system with skill inheritance and some improvements
+ no bugs, the game works well

Bad things:
- embarrassing difficulty
- story is shit
- side quests are very boring, outside of 3-4 exceptions
- horrible writing, walls of boring text that never stops
- collectible hell: you WILL stop every 3s and collect trash / herbs / crafting supplies, because it makes you play the game longer and devs are happy when you do it
- dual protagonist setup seems forced and doesn't work well at all
- new characters are very mediocre and feel like a missed opportunity; not sure who created Tomizawa and what was expected here
- very little fun or memorable moments, forced humor
- ending is shit

Overall, this game feels like the studio had no idea what to do with their time and had to deliver 'something' - so they delivered this. They somehow had time to create optional stuff Sujimon league or Dondoko island, but didn't have the time to hire a competent writer for the main story and side quests, which are core of the game experience. 6/10 and I'm being generous here.

 

[Nirvash]

 

[Caim]

If there isn't a three episode Mahjong tournament arc then I'm not watching.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I too finished Ishin, at least on hard. Still plan on at least beating Amon before I shelf it to NG+ later.

I tried playing Judgement before this, but somehow I don't have as much fun with Judgement as I did with Ishin. Despite Ishin being as grindy as a damned cement mixer.

 

[Abu Antar]

SEGA have trademarked Yakuza Wars in Japan.

My guess about a strategy/tactical game in the series might not be off the mark.

 

[Modron]

Watch that be a phone game.

 

[Elttharion]

Sakura wars spin off, mecha Kiryu

 

[ERYFKRAD]

mecha Kiryu

Absolutely impossible. Guy's mech would get shot up before he figures how to turn and shoot at once.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I too finished Ishin, at least on hard. Still plan on at least beating Amon before I shelf it to NG+ later.

I tried playing Judgement before this, but somehow I don't have as much fun with Judgement as I did with Ishin. Despite Ishin being as grindy as a damned cement mixer.

Gotta say though, brawler is much more viable than other impressions conveyed. And wild dance is a real fluid and fun style. Shame I used it only after I beat the game.

 

[Alphons]

brawler is much more viable than other impressions conveyed

Personally the Brawler's damage just didn't scale beyond the beginning chapters.
You can only increase it with a couple of skills or 1 type of armor seal.
Meanwhile the gun and sword get all that extra damage from weapon, weapon abilities and weapon seals. You can 10x your brawler damage with an upgraded sword as early as Chapter 6.


Finished Gaiden. Got a bit of Yakuza fatigue by going through both it and Ishin so I'll wait before jumping into Judgments or Ichiban games.

Played through Gamepass like Ishin- if I bought it normally I don't think I'd be happy with the price (30% higher than Judgment 1?).

I'd happily play any similar bite-sized Yakuzas if they priced it more reasonably (something like 50% lower).

The story was really engaging from the beginning and pulled off a satisfying ending. That damn tablet video got me.

Loved the new cast, sucks that I was spoiled that they either don't appear at all in Infinite Wealth or their development from Gaiden is reversed.

Arena was a blast, I think I've spent something like 10 hours just experimenting with different teams and playing as different characters (Akimoto my beloved).

Akame Network and the Cases were alright. Ryuji, ChatGPT and orphan conman were memorable, but the gangs on the other hand were pretty meh. Akame herself really grew on me with Drink Links and her involvement in main story.

Sayonara Silent Night definitely gets into my Top 10 karaoke songs.

I'm 50/50 on Agent style. It has a lot of really fun moves, but gadgets are a mixed bag. The wire is great, but not OP until you get the max upgrade. Drones were fun to distract some enemies, but they get useful only with almost max upgrades. Cigs were pretty useless for me.
Meanwhile shoes are straight up busted and I had to avoid using them most of time because they trivialized any fight. Abused them though during Amon fight due to his healing ability and in arena boss fights with their tight time limits.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Personally the Brawler's damage just didn't scale beyond the beginning chapters.
You can only increase it with a couple of skills or 1 type of armor seal.
Meanwhile the gun and sword get all that extra damage from weapon, weapon abilities and weapon seals. You can 10x your brawler damage with an upgraded sword as early as Chapter 6.

Viable nonetheless, I think, I used it against takechi with good effect.

 

[Abu Antar]

You're supposed to swap stles, anyway.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

You're supposed to swap stles, anyway.

Yeah ask the barbarian to gun people, what could go wrong.

 

[Abu Antar]

Wonder if the "Yakuza Wars" game will be announced. Please, do not be a mobile/mmo/gacha game.

 

[Rean]

Sounds mobile just by name alone.
Not that it matters at this point, they're clearly hellbent on destroying this franchise.

 

[Abu Antar]

If the leak is real, Yakuza Wars is indeed a mobile game.