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Yakuza 0. 1/24/17 Less than a month to go. Let's make a difference.

Everythime I see one of those Yakuza-Threads - and thankfully the series seems to gain traction in the west - I feel obligated to post this fine video:

The Yakuza Series - Your Next Favourite

Its an epic, 50 minute overview of the series. The video is a tad older and does not cover the newer parts but I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is still on the fence or Yakuza-curios. Inmo it portrais the magic of the Y-series perfectly - better than I could. And for such a length the video is still quite entertaining.

Kudos to GAFs very own HyperBitHero for this mighty piece of work, love and dedication! :)
I swear, I started writing a post recommending watching this video for anyone who's on the fence but then you went and did it anyway lol.

Although for anyone who's interested in getting into this series with 0 and the subsequent release of Kiwami and Y6, then you should watch the following video, as it's entirely a review/description of what to expect from Yakuza 0. Again, done by the wonderful HyperBitHero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZD2eufsDII
 

ZeroX03

Banned
If you posted on this Persona 5 thread saying that you hate anime,
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1328377

then you should definitely check out the Yakuza series, it's actually one of the very few Japanese games that is based on modern times (well except 0 which is a prequel) and have a realistic visual and setting. Heck some of the characters are based on famous actors. And for the folks that needs their waifus in their games, Yakuza also have you covered with hostesses that are based on Japanese models and even pornostars!

Let's be real here, the storytelling in Yakuza is still pretty melodramatic in that Japanese kind of way. If it's the art style that turns you off anime, you may be able to persevere here, but otherwise this game is as Japanese as it gets.

At least it's full of adults (and Haruka), which is a nice change of pace from the majority of JRPGs and anime.
 

Spaghetti

Member
Is a Steam version of the game happening?
I wish. I've been banking on SEGA bringing Yakuza to PC for a while now to help spread the cost of having the series come to the West. I hope it still happens, even just to preserve the series in the long run instead of having older titles left to rot on defunct platforms.

But I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and get a PS4, it seems.

My primary dilemma is when exactly I jump back in to the series. I appreciate the sentiment of getting 0, Kiwami, and 6, but I don't really want to fatigue myself on the series by playing three entries within the space of 12-16 months, y'know?

It's a shame the series is finally getting some traction in the West when it seems like it's probably getting close to winding down. Sales are waning in Japan (although Asia is picking up the slack), and Nagoshi seems interested in moving on.
 

StereoVsn

Member
New Yakuza thread, hell yeah. Getting Zero (pre-ordered) and going to pause GR2 for it.

To doubters, it's a great series that's a mix of Beat'm Up and ARPG with actual abilities leveling, items, clothing, random thug fights, fights with tigers and bears, dodging bullets, melodramatic manly boss encounters and a ton of side quest activities.

Combat is fast, quite deep and fun. You can use the environment, pick up trash to throw/hit Streets of Rage style, and have very cool finishers.

On top of that you have whole Tokyo neighborhood and more to explore, you'd have actual stores in game, food looks awesome, and there are actual arcades game in the game.

Zero is coming with a cool business card holder and steelbook I believe. It's a long game and full of things to do. Just get into it!
 

dirron

Neo Member
Oh man I didn't realize it was so close. I'll preorder it later today! I still need to beat 5 even though I got it as soon as it came out haha.
 

Tailzo

Member
I'm buying. I've bought almost all the yakuza games. I imported Kenzan back in the day, but never got the samurai game for ps4.
 

aravuus

Member
Still haven't finished Yakuza 5 (the second part is awful), but yeah, getting this asap even if I don't have the time to play it right away.
 
Yakuza 4 offers a well-produced recap of the first three games. It was also given away for free on PS+, along with 5. So in the interest of time, people should just start with 4.
 

Ricitor

Member
Definitely grabbing this. It is crazy how a few years ago it was the dream to get these games localized and it looked near impossible.
I better go finish Yakuza 5, I put 50+ hours into that game and am still only on the 4th Chapter, might as well push through it.
 

StereoVsn

Member
No, no no! Play 3 and 5, both are incredible! 3 is what got me into the series in the first place and holy shit I'm hooked for life now.
People should really knock off with recommendations of not playing 3. Personally I liked it better then 4 or 5 since I felt the focus of multiple chars of those games spread things too thin and some parts were subpar.

3 has great rundown videos for 1&2 (play 2, it's very good) and introduces you to main man Kazuma Kyriu. Going to 4 or 5 doesn't do that and IMO it's a loss. 3 is a great game even with some Sega cut content and a bit slower start.
 

Withnail

Member
Got 0 preordered even though I won't have time to play it. Showing support for a series I really like.

I've got the platinum trophies in 3 and 4, not really into trophies but enjoyed getting those. Mastering the mini-games in 3 was so satisfying.

But guys, let's get something straight: his name is Kiryu Kazuma. Kazuma Kiryu is an anglicisation used in the western versions, but you can't just reverse someone's name. Sega dumbasses.
 

artsi

Member
My least favourite entry in the series (not counting dead souls), but I'm still buying the localized version to support the future games.
 

SephLuis

Member
I've not ever played one, so I guess I'm your target audience. I read the whole thread. Im really not convinced to buy it. You clearly care so I'll tell you why you failed to convince me.

1. You don't really explain the combat. Is it a high point or just there? Is there variety? Bosses are just bullet sponges (fist sponges)? How is that fun?

2. So the only thing I know about the story is that it's got overly long cutscenes and it will be tough to remember characters names. Give better examples of why this story is interesting. I can watch 1000 crime procedurals on TV. Why should I watch this instead?

3. Show, don't say. Don't tell me it's good. Tell me why it's good. I don't know you. I don't trust you at your word for something like this.

4. Cut out like half of your words. You don't need them and this is too long. Literally half.

5. You need to address how going 0, 1, 5, 6 is going to be remotely ok.

6. The history of Yakuza does not matter.

I don't mean to be harsh. You clearly care about this, so I'm just giving feedback you can hopefully take and use to convince me and others this is worth my time.

1. The combat changes a lot from title to title, but there's plenty of variety on how to dispose your enemies with special attacks, regular attacks, using the environment, using itens and more. It's one of the high points in the series.

Bosses will depend on your skill. If you're good, you can clean the floor with the quite quickly. If not, some of them can become nuisances. And that's something that happens with pretty much any game. What you need to know is that the battle system will always give you many options on how to deal with any enemy.

2. Each Yakuza game is a stand-alone story using recurring characters. You can jump pretty much in any title and you will be able to understand the story. Some of the games have recaps for the titles before it, making it easier for newcomers to play. This should also explain on why it would be okay going through 0.1.6 which are the ones available on the PS4 (though, playing 2-5 is great too).

Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the entire series, so it's one of the best games to start. As I said before, each game is a stand alone story and, as a characteristic of the series, the characters are very well developed along with the crime story line.

It's difficult to pinpoint what Yakuza story is because it's campy sometimes, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes unbelievable, but even with this everything it's still a coherent product.

3.4.6 are just baseless complaints. OP brought a lot of videos which you can see and should take care of the showing part. The rest you should take a minute or two to read.
 
Me in the FFXV thread: "I am done pre-ordering games!"

Me in this thread: "I pre-ordered this months ago!"

This game doesn't "technically" count though as the japanese version has already been out for over a year. We know exactly how well the game runs, what's in it and how good it is so there's little to no risk involved.

And it's worth the full price.
 

Lifeline

Member
If this doesn't convince players to give the series a chance, nothing else will:
Warning (some spoilers for 3, the video is so hilarious you won't remember it in the event you play the game anyways)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__zGnZtL53Q

I have had this series spoiled to me so many times, i even watched the massive recap video on Yakuza 3 (but never got around to actually playing the game), and i still have no idea what the story in these games are about. I think the mix of the complicated story and the foreign names, make it pretty hard to remember anything.


i'm buying 58 copies whos with me

Send them all to twitch streamers and Youtubers and then this game might have a chance.
 
i'm buying 58 copies whos with me

RNSy4zZ.png


56 copies to go!
 

GeoramA

Member
I can't wait to finally play the series on PS4, finally! Still can't believe we're getting 3 Yakuza games in a span of 1 year. All in perfect order too.
 

D-Man

Member
Already have it preordered. I beat Y3 a few months ago and loved it. Now I'm on chapter 4 of Y4. I knew this series was up my alley and will stick by it for a long time.
 
I'm the only person at my local Gamestop to have yakuza 0 preordered. I've had it preordered since the day it was available to preorder at the store. I'm so ready for this game and the business cardholder thing I get for preordering has me pretty excited as well
 
More Yakuza threads is always a good thing. Especially one that is as well written as this, so great work arbok26.

I encourage everyone to give Yakuza 0 a try. At worst it'll be your way of playing some of Sega classics like Hang-On, Out Run and Space Harrier on PS4. And at best you'll add a great series to the list of your favorite franchises in gaming. I honestly believe that for the majority of people it'll be the latter.
 

TreIII

Member
Mine's been preoedered for months, but topics like this are enough to get my Heat Guage going all over again. Can't wait. Especially since I didn't import, this time, so it'll be all fresh!

The fact that RE7 isn't going to be a Day 1 purchase for me any longer means I'll have that much more time to devote to this game, as well.
 

vaporeon

Member
I've never played a Yakuza game, nor do I own a PS4...but I think I'll buy this anyway to show support. This is a series I would love to play in the near future, and I feel like it won't disappoint!
 
Okay, this is my first Yakuza game. I used to have a Japanese account on my PS3 and tried a demo of the Yakuza samurai game and didn't think much about it. Then I was going to get Yakuza 5, but I have the OG PS3 and didn't have enough drive space left to install it from PSN.

Now finally, I can actually try one. The 1980's setting is an extra bonus.
 
I was reading through the thread and wanted to say that combat in Yakuza games is not as average as it my look. I don't know why some of the guys feel that way but it's a very enjoyable part of the series and one that actually have some good depth to it. (especially if you consider your surroundings and plan your attacks, parries, etc to finish an enemy off with a certain heat move)

In the little bit of Zero's demo that I played, the combat was extremely good and satisfying. The inclusion of styles have added a lot of depth to the game as well.

I hope it's good.

Please be good.

As SephLuis said, the game has already been out in Japan for some time. Rest assured, it's a known quality.
 
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