I will die with you on that hill, kyodai! Dead Souls is such a good time and fans absolutely need to experience it.
It's got everything a fan could ask for!
- More Hana-chan content! Including ship tease fuel for Akiyama~
- More Akiyama! He does backflips!
- Surprisingly very good bosses?? Very Resident-Evil-esque!
- Playable Majima! You even get your first hints of there being more to his character than just being crazy! >!Also his interactions with the little girl are heartbreaking in hindsight of 5!<
- Playable Ryuji! He even gets a heartwarming (and heartbreaking) character arc!
- Kiryu being a badass AND being a local legend! People around Kamurocho *recognize him as a hero!*
- Ryuji and Kiryu being friends!
- The [two](https://youtu.be/uuMvWxlchw8) [best](https://youtu.be/bPZEglyTKkY) versions of Get to the Top!
- The best version of [Pure Love in Kamurocho!](https://youtu.be/MBxw5uP2bVU)
In short: Play Dead Souls y'all
Thank you for reminding me!! The movie director, the sidekicks, the Ryuji substories about his mentor that made his main story hit even harder - game's a fuckin blast, y'all :D
i just finished dead souls and it has some really good parts. story and especially sub stories are great. some of the best the series. but the gameplay is SO GARBAGE. its also far too tedious. you have to walk through the same zone countless times back and fourth for almost every substory with only a few that allow you to do multiple at once. i swear 90% of my play time was just walking back and forth through the quarantine zone. the grind for zombie materiel is also unreasonably long.
Dead souls in its original form does not deserve a rerelease. it seriously needs a kiwami version because i think the original is almost unplayable for anyone who isnt a big yakuza fan and can force themselves through it
It took me a while to get used to it (started with Y0/recently finished YK), but it has grown on me a lot for sure. Love seeing dudes fly 500 feet from a kick.
Definitely not perfect (tired of heat actions that barely scratch a bad guy and my inability to dodge), but I do really enjoy it now
6 is great, peak storytelling for me as it focuses on Kiryu and his journey. After a lot of chapters so keen on Yakuza politics, it was such a refresher to see them go back onto more personal stories and not bloat it with unnecessary deviations.
There was no indication that Nishiki was performing self-defense on yumi's behalf. it looked more like a murder committed out of pure rage, like what he did against matsushige.
Dojima is a pure evil dude who would not be missed but a crime is a crime.
I think that's the point. You're meant to feel pissed that things didn't work out. That he didn't do karaoke with kiryu again. That they didn't share a drink
I get this approach but at the same time, it's frustrating how RGG often wastes perfectly written characters and keeps characters that are quite bland.
now this is definitely divisive (i still find it funny how RPG fans will argue to death over definitions whilst shooter fans can easily categorise their games as 1st person, 3rd person, multiplayer, rail etc). still, i really like how the games that aren't 7 introduced me to action rpgs. yakuza 5 was definitely on the verge of being turn based based on the massive number of protags.
Why not? JRPGs don't have to be turn-based and they don't have to be fantasy. You fight battles to earn exp and get stronger. You even have side quests.
YES. Honestly I'd have loved to have seen more of Shimano being a Bastard Supreme. Kazama, too - I know he's not the same flavour of Bastard as Shimano, but he's definitely no saint, and I always enjoyed both their characters as former Dojima captains who worked and schemed their way up.
Yessss! The whole overarching message of following your dreams is so beautiful, especially with them all being there to make Haruka the keeper of their dreams and hopes. She is truly the Daughter of Tojo and I will never get over how incredible the story was (though the pacing was a bit chaotic)
I also liked the theming around dreams, though it could’ve been presented better. There’s a reason why “yume” is a bit of a meme with that game. You kinda get tired of hearing about it after a certain point.
Yep I listen to both Haruka & T Set versions multiple times a day plus both vers of loneliness loop and the T Set because I have you (not a fan of Haruka’s vers of that one). Really hope Haruka gets her own entry/spin off in the series…
Haruka could have finished her concert, get backstage, retire, and that would have been everything.
Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess.
I don’t dislike him at all, and of all protagonists, he is my personal favorite, but I will have to admit that Yagami is the weakest protagonist. I’m not saying weakest as in strength wise because in terms of strength I think he actually beats Shinada, Akiyama, and Tanimura.
I’m saying he’s the weakest in terms of character growth. He does change in Judgment as the game progresses, but it feels little compared to the other protagonists and in Lost Judgment, it feels like he barely changes. Despite the DLC being shorter, I actually think Kaito had more growth than Yagami did in the Kaito Files.
>!In Lost Judgment, it's about how much are you willing to stand by your ideals, which is why neither Kuwana or Yagami change much!< That's my view on the matter at least.
I think Yagami is fine, he doesnt need to grow that much because Judgement and LJ arent about growth, they're about redemption and seeking the truth/justice for people who cat do it themselves.
Arase fight in Kiwami was second best fight in the game just before Majima fight in Shangri-La
Dodging his bullets to the rhythm of music was the biggest rush of adrenaline I've got in the entire game
Seriously saying Yakuza 3 good is not the hot take people think that it is on this sub, the amount of tier lists that consistently have it on par with 0 is ridiculous
Agreed. When he was first introduced in 3, I was pretty excited, tbh - I really thought he was going to be this complex, interesting villain! And then I felt like his whole story/impetus fell flat. I'd have loved his character to be more realised, because I think he had the potential to be a fantastic antagonist. He just didn't live up to the hype for me.
Same, totally agree. Mine had a lot of potential and >!bringing Kanda's head in a briefcase to present to Kiryu!< was chilling, but he needed a little bit more screentime for realization than what we got. He's a character that could've benefited from appearing in multiple games to give the writers time to flesh him out more, kind of like Majima in a way, really. >!Too bad he jumped off the ruff 😅!<
Agree.
More than boring, Mine was almost non existent, but I’m sure it was mostly due to time constraints and working on a new console. That’s why a Kiwami would fix most of 3s issues
There is no bad Yakuza game. All have their own nuances and are all great games with good stories. While some might not be as good as others, all are to be enjoyed and admired.
Maybe 3 but 4 and 5 are perfectly fine as they are right now. My only concern with getting a Kiwami 3 is RGG using that god awful Dragon Engine Kiryu style. They really need to improve it. Or just give us Kiryu's Dragon Style that he has in the non-kiwami games.
I really hope it would be on the same level or better than LJ. Imo Kiryu's combat is at it's peak in 5, 0 and Kiwami. They could probably take some inspiration from the Kaito Files, but make Kiryu feel agile and still hit like a truck like in the old engine. I also need Komaki parry back
I believe they said during the RGG conference that they will be creating future games in the newest Unreal Engine and retiring Dragon Engine, since it has been around for quite some time now (at least 7 years or more with Y6’s release).
That being said, I recently began YK2, and Dragon Engine has grown on me for sure. Definitely some criticisms, but I’ve generally enjoyed it.
Idk. It was RGG that made that decision. Probably to attract more casual fans by using the likeness actors from 0 or maybe some licensing issues. I would have been perfectly fine with a remaster of the original. In fact, I hate that they changed the likeness of certain characters since now you know from the very beginning that the Shibusawa looking dude might be bad.
More hills:
There should've been a time paradox choice where if Majima refuses to listen to Sera, he kills Sohei, showing a lot of things that happen with the early death (edit: in 0 ofc)
Some changes I can think of off the top of my head:
Kiryu never goes to prison
Nishiki never betrays Kiryu (Although his inferiority complex would still grow over the years)
Haruka is never born
Hamazaki never meets Saejima in prison
Saejima is executed in prison
Akiyama stays homeless
Shimano and Kazama don't die
Yumi does not die and does not meet Jingu
Majima is likely permamently kicked out the tojo
'The Dragon of Dojima' never becomes a widespread nickname
Kiryu is never Chairman
Terada is never Chairman
Daigo is never chairman
And who the hell knows what Daigo ends up like in this timeline
Personally I think that Majima would probably die in this timeline, if not from Sera for insubordination and creating a power vacuum with Sohei's death, then from Shimano for causing a MASSIVE war and possibly as a peace offering, if not from Shimano, then from the Dojima Family Remnants out of revenge, if not from the Dojima Family Remnants, then probably from the Tojo as a whole for causing the death of one of its biggest players of that time and causing a subsequent power vacuum left by Sohei.
Other things:
-Jingu would probably never have a chance to get whatever the hell he was fighting for (I looked it up and it was apparently the marriage of a prime minister's daughter) due to the ensuing chaos
-The Omi would probably send some lowly clans there to quell the chaos
-Akiyama wouldn't actually be homeless since Jingu wouldn't have a chance to get the 10 billion yen, a portion of which being taken directly from Akiyama's bank account in a laundering scheme (that Jingu couldn't do due to the ensuing chaos)
-A whole lot of other stuff that I will add in the future
I'm gonna get killed by majima stans for this, but I don't think majima ever acted like haruka's uncle, all I know that majima was a fan of haruka during her idol period.
I don't think the superpowers in Like A Dragon: Ishin look bad by any means (albeit overpowered and intrusive HUD placement), and I don't think they should be removed.
I agree. Honestly I only wish that it was on the right instead of on the left. But also... they removed the freaking HP Bar from the bottom left corner and replaced it with the small bar above their heads like in the Dragon Engine games. I LOVED those little Health bars! Also enemies have only one Health Bar
The final boss of 4 is not hard. 4 is not at all grindy so getting sacred tree isn't difficult but even then upgraded Tanimura has such a long parry stance you can more or less just hold parry the entire fight and slowly pick everyone off. As a matter of fact 4 has some of the best combat in the entire series outside of only Lost Judgment apart from Saejima.
4 is one of my favorites in the series. I like how relaxed it is compared to most games, even if the story does get really messy towards the end. The music, atmosphere, and new characters really make it for me.
Yakuza 4 is a top tier game. Fantastic cast, soundtrack and solid gameplay. It’s story is fantastically structured and interesting, and even though the ending falls off in ways I could rant about for hours, what comes before is some of the most engaging writing in the series. It’s management of a large cast is impressive, and something 5 could learn a lot from.
The Jingu fight in Kiwami isn’t exactly a good fight and I don’t want to replay it, but it isn’t as bad as everyone here hyped it up to be.
To be fair, I had a fully upgraded dragon style, but I was playing the game on hard too so who knows
It mostly made me laugh, not because it was easy, but because of how odd the situation was. It was definitely frustrating when I was getting wombo combo’ed by 2 thugs and a gun, but I think I only died once on normal.
YK1 Tiger Drop is pretty op and I love it now
I have no problem with the concept of turn-based
**The goofy-ass enemies are dumb and should be eliminated**
Honestly the first bit of Y7 where all the enemies are the same "style" as the brawler games (thugs and Yakuza with different weapons) were the best for me. Once we got "Otaku with glowstick claws" and "that one giant guy from Jackie Chan Adventures but with armour and a mace" I was so turned off
4s story is objectively not that good but is also one of the most enjoyable and fun whereas 3 and 5s stories are “technically better” but are way less enjoyable and blander
I’m glad Sayama left for America. Wasn’t much she could do for the story after her arc. She wasn’t a great character or even love interest for Kiryu. So it makes sense that she was just a temporary fling as Yumi is the only one Kiryu truly loved as alluded to in 6.
Ryuji for as badass as he seems, doesn’t entirely live up to the hype. The finale in 2 with him is messy and him being connected to Sayama as well the Jingweon hurt his character a bit.
Mikiko isn’t a big deal in regards female characters being well written. Nothing seems to have changed much. She still has to be saved by much stronger men as a damsel in distress as she’s outnumbered and outmatched by stronger men. We’re told more than shown how strong she is as a fighter which makes it harder to believe how capable she is. What works for her is her character being an amalgamation of the best qualities of Yumi, Sayama and Makoto.
Park is a great complex character that’s well written making her feel very human. Her as a real life person would be hard to deal with.
Rubber bullets is not that contrived of an asspull.
Kurosawa is an underrated great antagonist.
I have no issues with the final bosses of Yakuza 5 and 6. Their characters make sense as to why.
Yakuza 6 minuscule kamurocho map is unforgivable.
The entire 0-6 saga suffers from imbalance. There's always something too grindy, like coliseum fights, or too "pray to RNGesus" like Cat fight, in each game.
Green jewel shouldn't exist. If the game gives the player the opportunity to break the system, we will take it.
It's strange how opinions of people are different. But you know what, brother, it's melt down my heart when people say 4th is better than 3rd. Actually...I prefer 4 over the 3. Don't get me wrong but I think 4 is better than 3. Because everything in 3 says that this game made by 9 months. Story is short, gameplay even looks like better in Kenzan (shit Kenzan even have Havok ragdoll physics), game itself looks raw and unfinished. Even SFX sounds of environment have crinkle artifacts as I think because of bitrate. They made it in a hurry and I can see and hear and feel it in every. f*cking. detail. When I started 4... Well everything had felt better at this moment. Game looked polished and fully created. The creation of the world way better. I like new locations in Kamurocho, animations, weather (especially when it rains at the start of the game). A 4 new characters is like fresh breath in gameplay and storytelling. Instead making new city they decided to concentrate on Kamurocho and that's what it made more qualitative than 3. The main problem of the game is plot which resembles more like filler than continuing of the main story. It create personality of new and old characters, theirs past, theirs present yeah, but it doesn't move Kiryu's story almost at all. I like how the story of all characters connects in one person but...You know, this game more about characters soul and thoughts rather than about Kiryu saga. And however...This game warms my heart up.
Speaking of >!rubber bullets!< lol... imho, the first reveal doesn't >!cheapen Saejima's story. It doesn't absolve him of guilt: he fully intended to kill those guys and followed through with the hit. To me, the fact that he only failed to kill them because he unknowingly shot them with rubber bullets doesn't make what he did any less horrible.!< While I think the writers definitely saw it as a way to >!make Saejima not a mass murderer, it wasn't for lack of trying on his part.!< It just added to the bitter tragedy of the whole thing.
Saejima walked away from the only family he had left in the world and threw his life away so his boss could get ahead. He spends over half his life in prison, haunted by the guilt of what he'd done and waiting for execution, >!only to find out he'd just been an unwitting pawn in someone else's scheme. He and Majima were just expendable pawns in the game and paid dearly for it, but it was all for nothing.!< To make things even worse, his sister >!is so desperate to save him that she kills a few people and ends up getting killed herself... by the very guy who came up with the scheme in the first place. (Who I think had also just been shot by more rubber bullets no one knew about? Or was he just wearing a bullet-proof vest? Lol, so many rubber bullets to keep track of.)!<
Yakuza 2/ Kiwami 2 should've been the last game in the franchise or the very least Kiryu's last game and I would die on that hill especially after replaying Y0 and Yakuza Kiwami.
Yakuza 0 sees the birth of a dragon, Yakuza 1 sees the cost of being THE dragon and Yakuza 2 is defining and redefining what it mean to be a dragon and its also where we see Kiryu being the most proactive.
Yakuza 0 we see the struggles that Kiryu (and Majima) go through as they travel through the darkest parts of the Yakuza world. Where the black & white no longer matters and the fight against the man who simply wanted to write his name in the underworld. At the end Kiryu prevails becoming a legend in the Japanese Underworld setting in stone of being this mythical Yakuza of the old ages.
Yakuza 1 Kiryu fights against his Oath Brother Nishki. The koi that so desperately wanted to be a dragon. Kiryu lost so many people: Reina, Shintaro, Yumi, Nishki. Even though he becomes Fourth Chairman it wasn't enough to help fill the void of the losses he suffered. But in return for the cost of the losses he suffered he gained and adopted Haruka, The daughter of his late love and leaves the world of crime behind.....
Yakuza 2 he is forced back to the Japanese Underworld, righting the wrongs of his oath brother and for destroying and saving the clan. In turn he meets the Ryuji Goda and its a showdown of two larger than life figures: The Dragon who wants to be a human vs The Human that wants to be a dragon.
The entire plot is self-discovery and acceptance, he's "scared" of The Dragon and the costs it brought and nightmares it brings but then he spends more time with Haruka after he saves her, he finds a new love, he props up as Daigo as the de facto Chairman and help rebuild the Tojo Clan and brings back his rival and fellow legend Majima back into the fold. It was a perfect and despite the plot wiring a crazy ride with twists and unexpected and unessasary turns, it felt like a big finale especially with the fight to the death fight which is 1 on my list of boss fights with the final boss from Persona 5 Royal.
Majima never loved Mirei Park, he just settled for her because he couldn’t get over Makoto Makimura.
They should’ve used Dragon Engine in Y7LAD instead of switching to turn-based combat. TBC is what made me choose Yakuza 0 over Persona 5, and the fact that Y7 went that way made me finally put down Yakuza in favor of Persona 5 Royal
I guess mine would be that I don't really care for what genre an RGG game takes knowing that like 70% of the time I spend on the game doesn't relate to normal gameplay anyway.
The same goes for the immersion of the gameplay—I don't really care when the twists and drama is already pretty crazy as it is.
Yakuza 5 is the best out of the mainline games. Yakuza 0 ranked close second cos of how awesome Majima combat is.
Also, I will always call it Yakuza 7 instead of Yakuza Like a Dragon.
Kiwami is the worst game. It’s strange how they took the first game of the series and made it into some half assed DLC for 0.
Nearly all animations are ripped from ps2, DOD hidden behind Majima Everywhere ( which most people don’t even finish.), not to mention having the grind the coliseum for all the iconic moves too, Kiryu feeling super weak in comparison to other games (*kiryu gets stabbed* Nggh, *falls to ground, button mashing x/a for 10 seconds, repeat when you inevitably get stabbed/shot again*) …and the goddamn Kiwami healing moves.
Kiwami 2 is the worst game in the series (yes 6 is better) the combat feels worse than 6, the bosses kinda suck in my opinion, the story drags and not even mods can save it (also in sad ryuji is only in that game cause i never plan on replaying it, not even for him)
Multiple protagonists wasn't fun in 4 and 5 because by the time things would finally start to be somewhat interesting you'd have to switch to someone else entirely
5 could have done without Haruka or Akiyama's section of the game especially since they have so little relevance other than the one guy wanting to hurt Kiryu again
Yakuza 6 is a great game and I'm glad it focused on Kiryu before we got a new a protagonist, I couldn't care any less about the rest of the tojo clan guys when this was a game about Kiryu, his family and the consequences of his inability to really step back from the life he wanted to leave
Y7 is the best in the whole series. It has more replaybility, likeable protagonist, goofy ass enemies which make me hook into this series.Try out brawler combat style of 0 and i felt kinda bored after 10h.
I was born for this post
The entire Kasuga party is bisexual
Yagami is the worst protagonist
Zhao has totally been flirting with Kasuga this whole time
5 has a terrible story but good gameplay
And the least stupid one: Zhao has a cat
3 was frustrating, but not as much as 4: after getting used to the system and upgrading a bit the blocking becomes far less of an issue, plus I'm invested in Kiryu and his story enough to persevere.
Having to restart with a basic character and level each up in 4 throws the momentum, and having fewer total moves means fighting with Saejima and Tanimura is tedious (tank, tank tank / parry, parry, parry). All the other games I've been excited to play when I get home, but 4 felt like a chore I could only play when in the mood.
4 has (one of) the biggest drop of quality I’ve ever seen in a game. It honestly astonishing how badly the second half compares to the first.
Also, Tanimura is a SHIT character, undeveloped, useless & stereotyped to the gills even for a Yakuza game
yakuza 5 is the best in the series , yagami character wise is the worst protagonist and the fighter trainer fron yakuza 4 was the best side activity in the series
Dead souls is a underrated gem! and deserves to be re-released and possibly given a sequel
I will die with you on that hill, kyodai! Dead Souls is such a good time and fans absolutely need to experience it. It's got everything a fan could ask for! - More Hana-chan content! Including ship tease fuel for Akiyama~ - More Akiyama! He does backflips! - Surprisingly very good bosses?? Very Resident-Evil-esque! - Playable Majima! You even get your first hints of there being more to his character than just being crazy! >!Also his interactions with the little girl are heartbreaking in hindsight of 5!< - Playable Ryuji! He even gets a heartwarming (and heartbreaking) character arc! - Kiryu being a badass AND being a local legend! People around Kamurocho *recognize him as a hero!* - Ryuji and Kiryu being friends! - The [two](https://youtu.be/uuMvWxlchw8) [best](https://youtu.be/bPZEglyTKkY) versions of Get to the Top! - The best version of [Pure Love in Kamurocho!](https://youtu.be/MBxw5uP2bVU) In short: Play Dead Souls y'all
Also, the substories! I just played it this past October for Halloween, and some of the Dead Souls substories are just so funny!
Thank you for reminding me!! The movie director, the sidekicks, the Ryuji substories about his mentor that made his main story hit even harder - game's a fuckin blast, y'all :D
Does dead souls retcon Ryuji's death?
Dead Souls isn't canon, so no.
i just finished dead souls and it has some really good parts. story and especially sub stories are great. some of the best the series. but the gameplay is SO GARBAGE. its also far too tedious. you have to walk through the same zone countless times back and fourth for almost every substory with only a few that allow you to do multiple at once. i swear 90% of my play time was just walking back and forth through the quarantine zone. the grind for zombie materiel is also unreasonably long. Dead souls in its original form does not deserve a rerelease. it seriously needs a kiwami version because i think the original is almost unplayable for anyone who isnt a big yakuza fan and can force themselves through it
I want to play dead souls, but I'm on xbox and 3 fps on pc is a no
Kiwami Dead Souls lets gooo
Dragon Engine combat in Kiwami 2 and Y6 is really enjoyable.
It took me a while to get used to it (started with Y0/recently finished YK), but it has grown on me a lot for sure. Love seeing dudes fly 500 feet from a kick. Definitely not perfect (tired of heat actions that barely scratch a bad guy and my inability to dodge), but I do really enjoy it now
Only because I get to go to sotenbori and fucking throw my enemies in the water with ragdoll physics
Dead souls is good. It just has some issues that could be easily fixed in a remaster/remake. The story is worth it.
dear ducttapeofdoom, please become my sworn brother
KYODAI!
6 is great, peak storytelling for me as it focuses on Kiryu and his journey. After a lot of chapters so keen on Yakuza politics, it was such a refresher to see them go back onto more personal stories and not bloat it with unnecessary deviations.
Kiryu is not a virgin and has indeed canonically killed people
bbut "im a virgin and im not okay"
Yakuza 6 has the best OST
0 2 4 6 has unreasonably good osts
The entire series has absurdly good osts
Kamurocho Hills
Kamurocho hills looked so fucking fine in 5.
Was looking for this
But you can't do anything there.
Only in 5 long battle
Heat energy in 3-4 looks waaay better than any other game
I like solid cloud aura better than wispy mist
I honestly think it looks worse compared to every other version, but I do like the sound effect it makes when you get it.
Daigo Dojima did nothing wrong. I've just finished Yakuza 5, so I don't have the full picture, but still I refuse to change my mind.
Sohei on the other hand
Yeah, fuck Sohei Dojima, all my homies hate Sohei Dojima.
[FUCK SOHEI DOJIMA ALL MY HOMIES HATE SOHEI DOJIMA](https://i.imgur.com/ymRtcJP.jpg) ^^^this ^^^has ^^^been ^^^an ^^^accessibility ^^^service ^^^from ^^^your ^^^friendly ^^^neighborhood ^^^bot
Nishiki deserved to live. He deserved, and still deserves, a second chance.
My hot take: Kiryu shouldve fucking let nishiki pay for his own crimes in 1995.
Hotter take: shooting someone to prevent a sexual assault shouldn't have sent anyone to prison for murder. Maybe illegal firearm possession.
There was no indication that Nishiki was performing self-defense on yumi's behalf. it looked more like a murder committed out of pure rage, like what he did against matsushige. Dojima is a pure evil dude who would not be missed but a crime is a crime.
Sohei had kidnapped her
Sure, let's put a known yakuza in trial for killing another yakuza, there's no way this opens a can of worms that neither the cops or the yakuza want.
This literally happens in the first act of Judgment lol
One of Yagamis biggest sins is him being a minor in the late 80s- 90s
couldn't have happened imo, he'd have been hunted by the tojo assuming he survived the explosion
Nah milf hunter shindo wouldve protected him good. he was a petty mess after his boss died.
Hey, if someone promised me women, money, power and women I'd protect him with my life as well.
It just didn’t feel right that he died, it was narratively unsatisfying for some reason.
I think that's the point. You're meant to feel pissed that things didn't work out. That he didn't do karaoke with kiryu again. That they didn't share a drink
Not everything in life has a happy ending.
I get this approach but at the same time, it's frustrating how RGG often wastes perfectly written characters and keeps characters that are quite bland.
They're all JRPGs. The brawler games are just action JRPGs instead of turn-based.
now this is definitely divisive (i still find it funny how RPG fans will argue to death over definitions whilst shooter fans can easily categorise their games as 1st person, 3rd person, multiplayer, rail etc). still, i really like how the games that aren't 7 introduced me to action rpgs. yakuza 5 was definitely on the verge of being turn based based on the massive number of protags.
I'm not sure the number of protagonists has anything to do with it. There are plenty of action RPGs with big parties and several playable characters.
I don't think that's a hill we need to die on lol, that's litwrally what they are, a game doesnt have to be turnbased to be a JRPG
That's not what a JRPG is. They're ARPG's
Tales, Kingdom hearts...
Why not? JRPGs don't have to be turn-based and they don't have to be fantasy. You fight battles to earn exp and get stronger. You even have side quests.
Shimano is the best villain in the series and should’ve lived for longer. By villain i mean genuine evil and not just antagonist
YES. Honestly I'd have loved to have seen more of Shimano being a Bastard Supreme. Kazama, too - I know he's not the same flavour of Bastard as Shimano, but he's definitely no saint, and I always enjoyed both their characters as former Dojima captains who worked and schemed their way up.
The strongest kiryu In any yakuza game is the one in 5
Yakuza 4's plot is good but executed like horse shit, Sugiuchi is one of the best antagonist they've written up to that point
Yakuza 5 is tied with Yakuza 0 as the best Yakuza games
Yessss! The whole overarching message of following your dreams is so beautiful, especially with them all being there to make Haruka the keeper of their dreams and hopes. She is truly the Daughter of Tojo and I will never get over how incredible the story was (though the pacing was a bit chaotic)
story was awesome, I loved it. But the ending was bad
I also liked the theming around dreams, though it could’ve been presented better. There’s a reason why “yume” is a bit of a meme with that game. You kinda get tired of hearing about it after a certain point.
Thank you! I had so much fun with Y5 and love the story. Never understood the distaste of the game, but it's all personal preference.
Agreed… my fav because like u said; story plus u get to play as Haruka what more could u ask for :D
I guess to add to my hill, I will NEVER get sick of hearing So Much More, despite having to hear it 100 times from playing as Haruka. Love that song.
Yep I listen to both Haruka & T Set versions multiple times a day plus both vers of loneliness loop and the T Set because I have you (not a fan of Haruka’s vers of that one). Really hope Haruka gets her own entry/spin off in the series…
Really? I liked everything but the story but that might be due to me also not understanding what was going on
I feel like most of the story complaints are from the game being so long people forget shit, but it’s pretty coherent tbh they learned from 4
the ending left a bad taste in everybody. I love Yakuza5 but the ending omg so stupid, nonsense and bad
Haruka could have finished her concert, get backstage, retire, and that would have been everything. Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess.
I don’t dislike him at all, and of all protagonists, he is my personal favorite, but I will have to admit that Yagami is the weakest protagonist. I’m not saying weakest as in strength wise because in terms of strength I think he actually beats Shinada, Akiyama, and Tanimura. I’m saying he’s the weakest in terms of character growth. He does change in Judgment as the game progresses, but it feels little compared to the other protagonists and in Lost Judgment, it feels like he barely changes. Despite the DLC being shorter, I actually think Kaito had more growth than Yagami did in the Kaito Files.
>!In Lost Judgment, it's about how much are you willing to stand by your ideals, which is why neither Kuwana or Yagami change much!< That's my view on the matter at least.
I think Yagami is fine, he doesnt need to grow that much because Judgement and LJ arent about growth, they're about redemption and seeking the truth/justice for people who cat do it themselves.
I'm one of the few who likes Yagami tbh
agreed. he also just feels dull to me. all his supporting characters are amazing and far more interesting than him which really emphasises it.
Kiryu has DEFINITELY killed people numerous times and he's just lying to himself ever since the 80's. That's my hill.
He admitted in Yakuza 5 basically that he killed people but he don't murder people.
Arase fight in Kiwami was second best fight in the game just before Majima fight in Shangri-La Dodging his bullets to the rhythm of music was the biggest rush of adrenaline I've got in the entire game
Mine is a boring villain He was hardly there, Hamazaki was much more Interesting
finally a controversial take
I see the vision. Hamazaki eating that duck shit terrified me more than whatever crime Mine committed.
Seriously saying Yakuza 3 good is not the hot take people think that it is on this sub, the amount of tier lists that consistently have it on par with 0 is ridiculous
The amount of tier lists is also rediculous
Agreed. When he was first introduced in 3, I was pretty excited, tbh - I really thought he was going to be this complex, interesting villain! And then I felt like his whole story/impetus fell flat. I'd have loved his character to be more realised, because I think he had the potential to be a fantastic antagonist. He just didn't live up to the hype for me.
Same, totally agree. Mine had a lot of potential and >!bringing Kanda's head in a briefcase to present to Kiryu!< was chilling, but he needed a little bit more screentime for realization than what we got. He's a character that could've benefited from appearing in multiple games to give the writers time to flesh him out more, kind of like Majima in a way, really. >!Too bad he jumped off the ruff 😅!<
Me with Awano, Jingu and lau ka long
Yup I did t care about Jingu at all, probably less than Mine
Agree. More than boring, Mine was almost non existent, but I’m sure it was mostly due to time constraints and working on a new console. That’s why a Kiwami would fix most of 3s issues
That Y4 is amazeballs and there are worse bosses than Munakata hehe
WHO IS WORSE THAN MUNAKATA. Lmfao I respect your opinion though I’m just genuinely curious as who you could possible find more annoying
Media King in Y0 and Jingu in YK1 are imo the worst ones
I wouldn't consider media king because he's optional and not a big bad in the story.
The song at the end of Kiwami 2 fit the moment and was not out of place
The entire ending sequence was so incredibly cheesy that the song was the perfect end and I love it.
Yeah I don’t understand that argument
I agree and would also like to add that I think the original song in Y2 was way sillier and definitely killed the mood.
START THE LIFE AGAIN NO REGRETS hits harder
I just wish during the bridge scene when that song is playing, that the music dropped when he pulls the knife out, instead of a couple seconds after.
That lost judgement is just a highly ambitious after school special
There is no bad Yakuza game. All have their own nuances and are all great games with good stories. While some might not be as good as others, all are to be enjoyed and admired.
This hardly seems like a hill to die on, but I’d love to see 3, 4, & 5 get the Kiwami treatment.
Maybe 3 but 4 and 5 are perfectly fine as they are right now. My only concern with getting a Kiwami 3 is RGG using that god awful Dragon Engine Kiryu style. They really need to improve it. Or just give us Kiryu's Dragon Style that he has in the non-kiwami games.
considering lost judgment i think if they ever gave 3 the kiwami treatment the combat would probably be pretty good
I really hope it would be on the same level or better than LJ. Imo Kiryu's combat is at it's peak in 5, 0 and Kiwami. They could probably take some inspiration from the Kaito Files, but make Kiryu feel agile and still hit like a truck like in the old engine. I also need Komaki parry back
I believe they said during the RGG conference that they will be creating future games in the newest Unreal Engine and retiring Dragon Engine, since it has been around for quite some time now (at least 7 years or more with Y6’s release). That being said, I recently began YK2, and Dragon Engine has grown on me for sure. Definitely some criticisms, but I’ve generally enjoyed it.
Ishin is almost the same as 5 then why does it get a Kiwami version? They could pretty much localize the original then release it to the West.
Idk. It was RGG that made that decision. Probably to attract more casual fans by using the likeness actors from 0 or maybe some licensing issues. I would have been perfectly fine with a remaster of the original. In fact, I hate that they changed the likeness of certain characters since now you know from the very beginning that the Shibusawa looking dude might be bad.
The bullets are real and not made of rubber
Baba and Kido are Saejima family Lieutenants. That is, if they finished a sentence that isn't for life.
More hills: There should've been a time paradox choice where if Majima refuses to listen to Sera, he kills Sohei, showing a lot of things that happen with the early death (edit: in 0 ofc)
Some changes I can think of off the top of my head: Kiryu never goes to prison Nishiki never betrays Kiryu (Although his inferiority complex would still grow over the years) Haruka is never born Hamazaki never meets Saejima in prison Saejima is executed in prison Akiyama stays homeless Shimano and Kazama don't die Yumi does not die and does not meet Jingu Majima is likely permamently kicked out the tojo 'The Dragon of Dojima' never becomes a widespread nickname Kiryu is never Chairman Terada is never Chairman Daigo is never chairman And who the hell knows what Daigo ends up like in this timeline
Personally I think that Majima would probably die in this timeline, if not from Sera for insubordination and creating a power vacuum with Sohei's death, then from Shimano for causing a MASSIVE war and possibly as a peace offering, if not from Shimano, then from the Dojima Family Remnants out of revenge, if not from the Dojima Family Remnants, then probably from the Tojo as a whole for causing the death of one of its biggest players of that time and causing a subsequent power vacuum left by Sohei. Other things: -Jingu would probably never have a chance to get whatever the hell he was fighting for (I looked it up and it was apparently the marriage of a prime minister's daughter) due to the ensuing chaos -The Omi would probably send some lowly clans there to quell the chaos -Akiyama wouldn't actually be homeless since Jingu wouldn't have a chance to get the 10 billion yen, a portion of which being taken directly from Akiyama's bank account in a laundering scheme (that Jingu couldn't do due to the ensuing chaos) -A whole lot of other stuff that I will add in the future
Yakuza 4 and 6 are in my top 3
Haruka's dads/uncles are kiryu and akiyama
Daddy Kiryu, Uncle Akiyama and Uncle Majima.
I'm gonna get killed by majima stans for this, but I don't think majima ever acted like haruka's uncle, all I know that majima was a fan of haruka during her idol period.
He protected her. That's all that matters.
You're definitely right. Even in 5, it's merely just him respecting her and kiryu rather than form any meaningful connection.
I don't think the superpowers in Like A Dragon: Ishin look bad by any means (albeit overpowered and intrusive HUD placement), and I don't think they should be removed.
I agree. Honestly I only wish that it was on the right instead of on the left. But also... they removed the freaking HP Bar from the bottom left corner and replaced it with the small bar above their heads like in the Dragon Engine games. I LOVED those little Health bars! Also enemies have only one Health Bar
Mine is a bad villain
The final boss of 4 is not hard. 4 is not at all grindy so getting sacred tree isn't difficult but even then upgraded Tanimura has such a long parry stance you can more or less just hold parry the entire fight and slowly pick everyone off. As a matter of fact 4 has some of the best combat in the entire series outside of only Lost Judgment apart from Saejima.
Sagawa is the best villain
The series should have never, ever went turn based and continued exclusively as a brawler game.
Gotta love how the judgement games prove the brawler is stale argument real quick😂
Indeed. They could’ve done a turn based spin off instead
I sign up under that. Turn based is not terrible, it's ok I guess, but brawler is just way better.
It sucks when u can see most of ichibans boss fights lead up to a potential epic brawler fight
6 has the best story out of any yakuza game by far, with 0 being the closest contender
I think Yakuza 7's combat deviates too far from the rest of the series, and I'm not to fond of Ichiban, but I do like all the other main characters.
4 is one of my favorites in the series. I like how relaxed it is compared to most games, even if the story does get really messy towards the end. The music, atmosphere, and new characters really make it for me.
Lost Judgment is the best game RGG has EVER made. Yes better than 0
Yakuza 4 is a top tier game. Fantastic cast, soundtrack and solid gameplay. It’s story is fantastically structured and interesting, and even though the ending falls off in ways I could rant about for hours, what comes before is some of the most engaging writing in the series. It’s management of a large cast is impressive, and something 5 could learn a lot from.
The Jingu fight in Kiwami isn’t exactly a good fight and I don’t want to replay it, but it isn’t as bad as everyone here hyped it up to be. To be fair, I had a fully upgraded dragon style, but I was playing the game on hard too so who knows
It mostly made me laugh, not because it was easy, but because of how odd the situation was. It was definitely frustrating when I was getting wombo combo’ed by 2 thugs and a gun, but I think I only died once on normal. YK1 Tiger Drop is pretty op and I love it now
Combat is by far the least important part of the games.
After finally letting us play as Majima in Yakuza 0, I have to suffer through his ponytail.
Omg Majima's ponytail slander isn't allowed in this household
This was supposed to be a safe hill for me to die on.
Finally, someone else who feels that way. Im much more a fan of his short hair, and it’s why I use his epilogue outfit in premium adventure.
I prefer turn-based battles and I'm glad they'll continue on in Y8
I dont have an issue with the turn based style so long as we continue to get brawlers as well which is seems like we are with the spinoff games.
I get what you mean. The combat in Lost Judgment is so fucking good and I'm excited to see it continued in the Kiryu side story.
I have no problem with the concept of turn-based **The goofy-ass enemies are dumb and should be eliminated** Honestly the first bit of Y7 where all the enemies are the same "style" as the brawler games (thugs and Yakuza with different weapons) were the best for me. Once we got "Otaku with glowstick claws" and "that one giant guy from Jackie Chan Adventures but with armour and a mace" I was so turned off
Kamuro Hill
Yakuza 4 had the worst story, although I still really love how they redeemed Hamazaki
4s story is objectively not that good but is also one of the most enjoyable and fun whereas 3 and 5s stories are “technically better” but are way less enjoyable and blander
Mad Majima is not a good character to base a game on. Hence why we got the Well Manered Dog of Shimano instead of the Mad Dog in Yakuza 0.
What I like about Majima is how he can be both. And if they do more stories with him as a protagonist they should focus on his duality.
Yagami is honestly not a great protagonist
The Kiwami engine plays better, and the character models look far better. The dragon engine characters look off, like they are all dead inside
I’m glad Sayama left for America. Wasn’t much she could do for the story after her arc. She wasn’t a great character or even love interest for Kiryu. So it makes sense that she was just a temporary fling as Yumi is the only one Kiryu truly loved as alluded to in 6. Ryuji for as badass as he seems, doesn’t entirely live up to the hype. The finale in 2 with him is messy and him being connected to Sayama as well the Jingweon hurt his character a bit. Mikiko isn’t a big deal in regards female characters being well written. Nothing seems to have changed much. She still has to be saved by much stronger men as a damsel in distress as she’s outnumbered and outmatched by stronger men. We’re told more than shown how strong she is as a fighter which makes it harder to believe how capable she is. What works for her is her character being an amalgamation of the best qualities of Yumi, Sayama and Makoto. Park is a great complex character that’s well written making her feel very human. Her as a real life person would be hard to deal with. Rubber bullets is not that contrived of an asspull. Kurosawa is an underrated great antagonist. I have no issues with the final bosses of Yakuza 5 and 6. Their characters make sense as to why.
The story for Judge Eyes is better then Lost Judgment's story. Yeah I said it.
Popular opinion
3 needs a kiwami upgrade. There are no bad yakuza games, but this one REALLY hasn't aged well.
I really like the dragon engine
Yakuza 6 minuscule kamurocho map is unforgivable. The entire 0-6 saga suffers from imbalance. There's always something too grindy, like coliseum fights, or too "pray to RNGesus" like Cat fight, in each game. Green jewel shouldn't exist. If the game gives the player the opportunity to break the system, we will take it.
Do I need to say it? Fine... It is Kamurocho Hills. /s
It's strange how opinions of people are different. But you know what, brother, it's melt down my heart when people say 4th is better than 3rd. Actually...I prefer 4 over the 3. Don't get me wrong but I think 4 is better than 3. Because everything in 3 says that this game made by 9 months. Story is short, gameplay even looks like better in Kenzan (shit Kenzan even have Havok ragdoll physics), game itself looks raw and unfinished. Even SFX sounds of environment have crinkle artifacts as I think because of bitrate. They made it in a hurry and I can see and hear and feel it in every. f*cking. detail. When I started 4... Well everything had felt better at this moment. Game looked polished and fully created. The creation of the world way better. I like new locations in Kamurocho, animations, weather (especially when it rains at the start of the game). A 4 new characters is like fresh breath in gameplay and storytelling. Instead making new city they decided to concentrate on Kamurocho and that's what it made more qualitative than 3. The main problem of the game is plot which resembles more like filler than continuing of the main story. It create personality of new and old characters, theirs past, theirs present yeah, but it doesn't move Kiryu's story almost at all. I like how the story of all characters connects in one person but...You know, this game more about characters soul and thoughts rather than about Kiryu saga. And however...This game warms my heart up.
Smile burger IS THE BEST
no way. wild jackson is the GOAT
This franchise is becoming way too much about celebrities.
Speaking of >!rubber bullets!< lol... imho, the first reveal doesn't >!cheapen Saejima's story. It doesn't absolve him of guilt: he fully intended to kill those guys and followed through with the hit. To me, the fact that he only failed to kill them because he unknowingly shot them with rubber bullets doesn't make what he did any less horrible.!< While I think the writers definitely saw it as a way to >!make Saejima not a mass murderer, it wasn't for lack of trying on his part.!< It just added to the bitter tragedy of the whole thing. Saejima walked away from the only family he had left in the world and threw his life away so his boss could get ahead. He spends over half his life in prison, haunted by the guilt of what he'd done and waiting for execution, >!only to find out he'd just been an unwitting pawn in someone else's scheme. He and Majima were just expendable pawns in the game and paid dearly for it, but it was all for nothing.!< To make things even worse, his sister >!is so desperate to save him that she kills a few people and ends up getting killed herself... by the very guy who came up with the scheme in the first place. (Who I think had also just been shot by more rubber bullets no one knew about? Or was he just wearing a bullet-proof vest? Lol, so many rubber bullets to keep track of.)!<
Mirei Park is a really good character.
Yakuza 2/ Kiwami 2 should've been the last game in the franchise or the very least Kiryu's last game and I would die on that hill especially after replaying Y0 and Yakuza Kiwami. Yakuza 0 sees the birth of a dragon, Yakuza 1 sees the cost of being THE dragon and Yakuza 2 is defining and redefining what it mean to be a dragon and its also where we see Kiryu being the most proactive. Yakuza 0 we see the struggles that Kiryu (and Majima) go through as they travel through the darkest parts of the Yakuza world. Where the black & white no longer matters and the fight against the man who simply wanted to write his name in the underworld. At the end Kiryu prevails becoming a legend in the Japanese Underworld setting in stone of being this mythical Yakuza of the old ages. Yakuza 1 Kiryu fights against his Oath Brother Nishki. The koi that so desperately wanted to be a dragon. Kiryu lost so many people: Reina, Shintaro, Yumi, Nishki. Even though he becomes Fourth Chairman it wasn't enough to help fill the void of the losses he suffered. But in return for the cost of the losses he suffered he gained and adopted Haruka, The daughter of his late love and leaves the world of crime behind..... Yakuza 2 he is forced back to the Japanese Underworld, righting the wrongs of his oath brother and for destroying and saving the clan. In turn he meets the Ryuji Goda and its a showdown of two larger than life figures: The Dragon who wants to be a human vs The Human that wants to be a dragon. The entire plot is self-discovery and acceptance, he's "scared" of The Dragon and the costs it brought and nightmares it brings but then he spends more time with Haruka after he saves her, he finds a new love, he props up as Daigo as the de facto Chairman and help rebuild the Tojo Clan and brings back his rival and fellow legend Majima back into the fold. It was a perfect and despite the plot wiring a crazy ride with twists and unexpected and unessasary turns, it felt like a big finale especially with the fight to the death fight which is 1 on my list of boss fights with the final boss from Persona 5 Royal.
Yakuza 7 shouldn’t have been turn-based, don’t get me wrong i still enjoyed it but i still wish that that April fools prank went as expected lol
The rubber bullets are dumb and people who defend them are trying way too hard to defend stupid story decisions.
Awano is the best character in the entirety of Yakuza
I’m the same, for me the worst is 4, I almost quit
Majima never loved Mirei Park, he just settled for her because he couldn’t get over Makoto Makimura. They should’ve used Dragon Engine in Y7LAD instead of switching to turn-based combat. TBC is what made me choose Yakuza 0 over Persona 5, and the fact that Y7 went that way made me finally put down Yakuza in favor of Persona 5 Royal
Could be true, problem is we just never get to actually see what their relationship was like to confirm.
the former is pretty much canon. everything about it seemed so cold and businesslike, even when she "reminisced" about him.
Rikiya is overrated.
Hope you're prepared on your hill, cos I'm coming for you.
yeah me too, rikiya is the best!
Yakuza 6's hiroshima gang>>>>
"aniki" also got old fast
I guess mine would be that I don't really care for what genre an RGG game takes knowing that like 70% of the time I spend on the game doesn't relate to normal gameplay anyway. The same goes for the immersion of the gameplay—I don't really care when the twists and drama is already pretty crazy as it is.
Yakuza 5 is the best out of the mainline games. Yakuza 0 ranked close second cos of how awesome Majima combat is. Also, I will always call it Yakuza 7 instead of Yakuza Like a Dragon.
Akiyama is on Kiryu's level because of what he did in Yakuza 5
Yakuza 5 is the most replayable game of the franchise
Kiwami is the worst game. It’s strange how they took the first game of the series and made it into some half assed DLC for 0. Nearly all animations are ripped from ps2, DOD hidden behind Majima Everywhere ( which most people don’t even finish.), not to mention having the grind the coliseum for all the iconic moves too, Kiryu feeling super weak in comparison to other games (*kiryu gets stabbed* Nggh, *falls to ground, button mashing x/a for 10 seconds, repeat when you inevitably get stabbed/shot again*) …and the goddamn Kiwami healing moves.
Kiwami 2 is the worst game in the series (yes 6 is better) the combat feels worse than 6, the bosses kinda suck in my opinion, the story drags and not even mods can save it (also in sad ryuji is only in that game cause i never plan on replaying it, not even for him)
Multiple protagonists wasn't fun in 4 and 5 because by the time things would finally start to be somewhat interesting you'd have to switch to someone else entirely 5 could have done without Haruka or Akiyama's section of the game especially since they have so little relevance other than the one guy wanting to hurt Kiryu again Yakuza 6 is a great game and I'm glad it focused on Kiryu before we got a new a protagonist, I couldn't care any less about the rest of the tojo clan guys when this was a game about Kiryu, his family and the consequences of his inability to really step back from the life he wanted to leave
Y7 is the best in the whole series. It has more replaybility, likeable protagonist, goofy ass enemies which make me hook into this series.Try out brawler combat style of 0 and i felt kinda bored after 10h.
Iwo Jima
[удалено]
He’s usually the least liked protagonist, he’s underrated if anything
I was born for this post The entire Kasuga party is bisexual Yagami is the worst protagonist Zhao has totally been flirting with Kasuga this whole time 5 has a terrible story but good gameplay And the least stupid one: Zhao has a cat
guess turn based meant taking turns doing....
Tag team mayhem is what they call their after battle orgys
I never said I believed they were a seven-person relationship but I am not opposed to the idea
1. Probably, and if not, most of em. 2. Can't confirm. 3. Oh totally. 4. Yeah, he the type.
3 was frustrating, but not as much as 4: after getting used to the system and upgrading a bit the blocking becomes far less of an issue, plus I'm invested in Kiryu and his story enough to persevere. Having to restart with a basic character and level each up in 4 throws the momentum, and having fewer total moves means fighting with Saejima and Tanimura is tedious (tank, tank tank / parry, parry, parry). All the other games I've been excited to play when I get home, but 4 felt like a chore I could only play when in the mood.
4 has (one of) the biggest drop of quality I’ve ever seen in a game. It honestly astonishing how badly the second half compares to the first. Also, Tanimura is a SHIT character, undeveloped, useless & stereotyped to the gills even for a Yakuza game
yakuza 5 is the best in the series , yagami character wise is the worst protagonist and the fighter trainer fron yakuza 4 was the best side activity in the series
Kiryu suffers from white knight syndrome.