TimeEffect
Member
Why isn't Yakuza more popular anyway? Seems like it has lots of fans but you never hear it mentioned outside places like GAF
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Yakuza 0 is blowing me away as someone who never played the series before
- Thread starter Venfayth
- Start date
I have always been interested in the series but it is daunting to jump in, especially when there are so many games in the series all tied intricately together. I think it was a brilliant move to make Yakuza 0 for the PS4.
Tizoc
Member
Not necesarily
I got into the series via yakuza 3 and wasnt lost at all
I just said it was daunting, not that it was impossible.
eyeball_kid
Member
I mentioned this in the OT, but I find the scriptwriting surprisingly good. Blows away most "serious" games. Not only is the story gripping, but the dialogue between characters feels genuine and their introductions are handled deftly.
The graphics engine is no slouch, either. It has its rough edges, but the texture work and character modeling is fantastic, as well as little details like reflections on your glass of whiskey. They really care about the details in this game.
So far for me this is one of those "I'll just play one more hour" games. I always wanted to try a Yakuza game, but I had no idea how good it was going to be.
It was a daunting prospect for me, and obviously for many people considering how many are diving in with Zero. It was a great move on Sega's part to provide a new entry point.
The graphics engine is no slouch, either. It has its rough edges, but the texture work and character modeling is fantastic, as well as little details like reflections on your glass of whiskey. They really care about the details in this game.
So far for me this is one of those "I'll just play one more hour" games. I always wanted to try a Yakuza game, but I had no idea how good it was going to be.
It was a daunting prospect for me, and obviously for many people considering how many are diving in with Zero. It was a great move on Sega's part to provide a new entry point.
Exactly.
ChamplooJones
Formerly Momotaro
I've been playing it nonstop since Tuesday. Loving it!
davidwhangchoi
Member
me too!
arturo2666
Banned
This is very telling. Based on how people talk about it, I feel like there's this myth going around where this series is super hard to understand unless you start from the beginning. This is the not the case. You can pretty much start anywhere, some games better than others, and be fine. This isn't fucking Westworld, guys.
It's 2 years old at this point and last sales award had it at 500k for the SE Asia region
Same here, the recap of 1&2 was more than enough. I played through Y3, got burnt out halfway through Y4, and just started Zero. Feels good to return to the series after a decent break.
Caipirinha
Member
Quick question, is most of the dialogue in the game text only or is most of/all of it voiced?
Honestly, I think if the games weren't numbered, but just had titles instead, it would be easier for people. Heck, I bought 2 yakuza games in the past, and have another through PS+, have been interested in the series, yet just haven't convinced myself to start because the games I have are numbered 3, 4 and 5. In the back of my mind, it just felt like there would be way too much stuff I'd miss out on if I jumped in later, and it wasn't by folks online saying stuff like that, it was entirely my mind's doing. The games have a heavy emphasis on story, and that works against them when there are so many numbered entries out. People just come to their own conclusions about it.
Anyways, I'm jumping in with (actually gonna play) this one. Preordered this long ago, cancelled, and then preordered again last friday but amazon has some delays going on due to stock issues so still haven't received mine yet.
It is absolutely a terrific move on Sega's part releasing this on PS4. I hope this is really successful and leads to a remake of 2 as well along with remasters (or pie in the sky dream, remaster+/remakes) of 3,4,5 for PS4. Have the entire (at least mainline) series be playable on it.
Resident Evil King
Member
This will be the next game I buy.
Never played a Yakuza game before but this sounds right up my alley, and knowing that a remake of the first game is coming out later this year gives me further incentive to play 0 now.
Never played a Yakuza game before but this sounds right up my alley, and knowing that a remake of the first game is coming out later this year gives me further incentive to play 0 now.
I would love to try out the older PS3 games but this is the problem with consoles and no backwards compatibility. There's only so much space in a living room and older consoles that don't get used go into storage or sold. Hopefully they release them again on PS4 as well as release them on PC at the same time otherwise these games will be lost.
I'm at least going to get Zero on PS4 though.
Despite playing the game and enjoying it, I can quite easily see why it doesn't have mass market appeal.
It's definitely an acquired taste, and the quirks associated with these kinds of games are a bit niche, but like Suda games.
Word a mouth is so important for this game, I have told all my gaming friends that Yakuza 0 has blown me away and that they should pick it up (most of them have done, some are struggling due to it being sold out,) I want this game to be a success for Sega as I genuinely believe they could disappear and they do still make some fantastic games.
I'm thinking it's because it's very Japanese. Set in Japan with an entirely Japanese cast with no English dub and steeped in Japanese pop culture.
The shift to the 80's is honestly what's helping this games reception more than anything else. It's a game based around Japan's past during the glory days of the 80's economic bubble and that nostalgic look back to a time that's so close but also far gone helps to ground the experience for a western audience. That foreign yet familiar feeling is felt just as much by a Japanese player as it is to a Western one.
The fact that the game kicks ass is just a nice bonus ;P
Parmadillo Marshmallow
Member
Edit: sorry, moved this to the correct thread.
Hazelhurst
Member
BlazingDarkness
Member
The story stuff is pretty much all voiced
Sub stories aren't voiced
Voice acting is pretty much better than any other game, btw.
goldenpp72
Member
Same, I played 3 a bit and said fuck it and quit, enjoying 0 a lot though.
Demoskinos
Member
First mistake everyone makes is assuming Yakuza is open world or anything resembling GTA. Glad you took the plunge. Its a good game series.
Demoskinos
Member
Well that is sort of....true and untrue. Its a complicated game series story wise. Keeping track of allegiances who betrayed who and what sub factions belong to what larger Yakuza families can be an absolute nightmare.
The games have (or at least 3 and 4 did) do a great job of providing incredibly in depth recap videos for you to watch along with in game flow charts that let you chart the relationship status between all the major players in the story.
So yes... it is a pretty complicated story but SEGA does a fairly good job at providing you the tools to sort of catch yorurself up.
They're bringing over the remake of the first game, so I don't think they have plans to do that.
What they do with Yakuza 2 will be interesting. Maybe that gets a Kiwami release, too?
Aztechnology
Member
That wasn't my issue with it. This is my first. I think the VA is great, the story was intriguing. The controls, especially the camera controls feel stitled, dated and awkward. A lot of the assets look the same as what I've seen from previous Yakuza titles, some even dating back to early PS3 days.
Speaking of which what's with the random still frame, but creepily shifting face cutscenes? Like why not just keep it in fluid and standard like the rest of the cutscenes?
Right here
https://youtu.be/baOaBagWNTA?t=199
Where it starts, that's all fine, then right after that. Just why? And they do it sporadically throughout. I just don't get that.
The combat also suffers because of the poor AI, granted I'm only on chapter 4, but there hasn't been any noteworthy enemy variety and fighting any mob other than a special guy like Mr. Takedown or a boss has been more annoying than fun as you just bash their head in within 5 seconds and they stand there. Even on Hard. it's difficult for me to want to invest the time to really play this game when there's a lot of other great stuff out there right now. At least based on what I played.
Should I keep going? I put it up for sale on Amazon, but I could easily take it back down. Does it get substantially better or if it hasn't hooked me yet should I walk away?
Nightengale
Member
No marketing hell was the least of Yakuza's problem.
Between Luke Plunkett of Kotaku and maybe like 10 other influencers/prominent games media, a vast majority of games media people don't care enough for Yakuza to even give it a fair shake, despite the very clear underlying praise that every single one of these games have gotten.
Evident by the response to Yakuza 0 ( which while great, isn't somehow way better than other games by leaps and bounds ), Yakuza 0 was a franchise that more influencers would had loved... if they bothered to actually play the game they were recommended to play by feverish Yakuza fans instead of shrugging it off as "oh I've heard this niche Japanese GTA game has wacky stuff and cool mini-games."
In general, it's tough to give any product a lot of above-the-line marketing when below-the-line marketing ( eg. getting press to cover the game in the first place) was so difficult in the first place
Finally for once the timing and opportunity is right for Yakuza 0 for naysayers to give it a shot.
I agree with everything you've said but I'm a huge fan of the series, perhaps my favourite series. It does have flaws but I tend to forgive it anyway. If you're looking at the game with an objective eye there's going to be problems everywhere. I think the difference is that some of these problems have been there all series long but some have persisted. For example not every cutscene being voiced is a big one that looks janky by today's standard. When I played Yakuza 5 it was awkward but I forgave it anyway. Should faults be forgiven on games like this and not other games? It's a tough decision, Yakuza games tend to improve in many aspects and iterate on things over the series. If you're fresh on the series maybe you're comparing with other games rather than within the Yakuza series itself. Zero is a huge step up in the graphics department over Yakuza 5. Also in Yakuza 6 every line is finally voiced.
In terms of the combat, things will escalate before important bosses, you'll have to run through a whole gauntlet of guys on your way to a boss so they are always fun. But I kinda agree that there isn't much AI in the regular enemies. It is what it is I guess?
matrix-cat
Member
Yeah, it'll be really interesting to see what the Yakuza team's next project is. A 60FPS 2 remake ala Kiwami would be wonderful, but after Yakuza 6 I imagine they'll want to keep using and refining their new engine. I can't say I wouldn't like to see young Kiryu, Kaoru and Ryuji in 6's engine.
I'm a long time fan of Yakuza and I tend to agree with you. SEGA's core brands have been a bit meh for a few years but SEGA has also had a lot of positive releases from areas people don't think of as SEGA like Atlus, like you mentioned, and Creative Assembly.
He1nekenP1ss
Member
I hope the enthusiam of most newcomers to the franchise on neogaf is a sign of a more global interest for the whole gamers population.
If it is the case, it's surprising, in a good way, because this month is incredibly full of good games on PS4.
If it is the case, it's surprising, in a good way, because this month is incredibly full of good games on PS4.
Doesn't 6 play super differently than prior games? Kiwami plays a good deal differently than the original version, but it largely "works" because the remake includes additional links to 0.
It would be weird to go from 0/Kiwami's gameplay system to a variation of 6, then back to the more traditional systems of 3, 4, and 5, and then back to 6.
I believe Nagoshi has said in the past he wants the whole franchise on one platform, and I assume that means they're all natively playable on the platform. This may already be true for PS4 users if they have PS Now, but I haven't followed that very well at all to see if the Yakuza series is even on the service.
Evil Monkey DTT
Banned
It's goofier but better written, it plays better, and it has a heart no other series has. I have never screamed when I saw product placement positively.... except for yakuza.
Shadowman16
Member
Doesn't 6 play super differently than prior games? Kiwami plays a good deal differently than the original version, but it largely "works" because the remake includes additional links to 0.
It would be weird to go from 0/Kiwami's gameplay system to a variation of 6, then back to the more traditional systems of 3, 4, and 5, and then back to 6.
I believe Nagoshi has said in the past he wants the whole franchise on one platform, and I assume that means they're all natively playable on the platform. This may already be true for PS4 users if they have PS Now, but I haven't followed that very well at all to see if the Yakuza series is even on the service.
Its not really super different, they just changed up Kiryu's moves list (his basic combos) again just like 0 did. It still plays very closely to the rest of the series.
And yeah, I really hope they get all the Yakuza games on one platform, remakes/remasters of 3-5 and a remake of 2 would rock. Getting them all on PS4/PC would be perfect for me just so I can retire my PS3 versions of 2-5 (and a remake of Kenzan would be out of this world for me).
Yakuza is like... 20% of all their games developed through that period though haha.
Okay a gross overexgerration when they make yearly Football Manager and Total War games too
You throw in stuff like Binary Domain, arcade ports, Miku and the Sonic Racing titles, their track record is a lot better then people are willing to credit them for. Yeah you have trash like Alien Colonial Marines, Golden Axe and Sonic 06 but for every bad game they made they usually had it a decent to great follow up in their yearly franchises, especially their true heir to the mascot series, Ryu Ga Gotoku!
That's incredible.
Great game though Majima's origin story is turning out to be even greater than I had dreamed. Can't wait for Kiwami, been too long since I played Y1. Wsh they had remade 2, that's the best one IMO.
darkwing-buck
Member
This game is a treasure.
immortal-joe
Member
I just realized this realization experience by the OP happened to me ten years ago. TEN. Fuck me.
We've been telling you dudes this for a decade.
We've been telling you dudes this for a decade.
Lmao
This game is a treasure.
Going to the old Sega fandoms and telling them about this awesome new franchise starring a bad ass Yakuza 10 years ago.
"Um isn't it a lamer Shenmue?" "Sorry I don't really like mafia games" "Ah nah I can't trust Sega after what they did to Sonic"
And now everyone is jumping on board O/
immortal-joe
Member
I'm experiencing this weird mix of catharsis, sorrow and joy.
IrishNinja
Member
GOTY in a hotly competitive year! glad you're enjoying it, OP
for those on the fence:
Series starter guide
Yakuza 0 OT
Yakuza-GAF community thread
for those on the fence:
Series starter guide
Yakuza 0 OT
Yakuza-GAF community thread