Ryu Ga Gotoku / Yakuza

[Combination]

Nope, 480p is a no-go in the US version.

Widescreen however is in for the curious bunch.

[Kungfu]

I'm about 7 hours into it and i'm loving it....feels like the old days where games drew you into the story and you had feeling for the characters involved

Exactly what I have felt, its not the greatest story ever told but I always have that one more go to see what will happen next. The combat engine is solid enough and improves the further you progress though it grates when your getting intercepted by some fool every 5 seconds. At least you get some yen out of it.

Anyway the main story coupled with the side missions is making for an enjoyable experience.

[Jei]

I finished this the other day and honestly think this a game thats gonna be overlooked.

The most part of it is set making your way through tokyo, unravelling the truth behind whats been going on for the past 10 years (You've been behind bars.....covering for a friend)

Some people think thats all it's about.....however there is so more to it.........

Such as the time

->Open Spoiler<-

you're in the car returning to the city and you're being chased by other gang members. I sat there thinking "Give me a god damn gun!!!" Next minute, "Here, take my gun"

There was something about

->Open Spoiler<-

hanging out of the window of a moving car with a loaded pistol

that brought a smile time my face


This game DEFINATLY gets better the more you play though, From around chapter 8 I was 'glued to the pad'...something thats not happened in a very long time!

I also like how you don't only gain experience from battles etc. For example there's a painter in the city thats struggling to get by. I ended up buying all his paintings and much later in the game came across a "bum" in the suburbs. Was chatting to him and he was saying he used to be a writer but now lost his way etc, he's got nothing to influence his writing etc.

So I tried giving him a teddy I won in the arcade, didn't want it.....so on the offchance attempted to give him one of the paintings....it worked!

He later asked me to give an item to the person who painted it and it was his only book he's ever written......I gave it to the painter who then used that as his influence in a few new paintings and you get told how in 5 years time he becomes a successful painter in France......and the "bum" doesn't get off lightly, he becomes a professional writer........all of this was just something I did when I wanted a break from the fighting, optional so to speak and for some reason made me smile

Later in the game the story really starts to unravel, and the ending definatly doesn't disappoint. I recently put this up for sale in the now trading forum but now it can join my hoarding club

Roll on Yakuza 2, can't wait

[JU!]

Just oredered this has to be the Japanese vers as well as my PS2 is Japanese only. After not really understanding much of the Japanese in FFXII at the mo i'm sure this will be the same. But reading all yr impressions makes me so excited to play it. I wish it would turn up already. Will give some impressions when it arrives.

[Rick]

After not really understanding much of the Japanese in FFXII at the mo i'm sure this will be the same.

Not having a go, but whats the point? is it just for the sake of owning japenese games?

[112]

Hey are you getting yakuza 2 or the 1st game? I completed this a lil while ago and really liked it! The main Character is so.............. cool! lol After playing it i felt dead hard and wanted to kick some real ass lol!

112

[JU!]

Not having a go, but whats the point? is it just for the sake of owning japenese games?

No it's a valid point. I know Yakuza is a brilliant game and this is really the only way for me to play it. There are other people here who probably have less Japanese knowledge than me who play Japanese games only. I have always only had a Japanese machine since PS2 was released, even before i could speak or read some Japanese. I don't know i don't want to buy a PAL or U.S machine and it helps improve my Japanese is the way i see it. Sorry if i could not really give you a specific reason.

[Rick]

I understand, I couldn't wait to play the original metal gear solid, so bought it to play through, Then bought the US version to find out what the game was about lol

[112]

Sorry to go off topic, but a lot of peeps do this Rick, I used to do it as i could not afford more than one region of games. Time change and i have now moved onto multi region/platform. But i totally understand where you are acoming from JU!

112

[Number45]

Man I didn't expect this thread to be so old!

So I'm playing through this (Thought I should, considering I've pre-ordered the sequel!) and I have to say it's way more awesome than I'd been expecting. Typically when I buy a game on the recommendation of others I end up hating it (Which is why I tend to steer clear of First Play as a rule), but I'm loving every minute of this so far.

The graphics are surprisingly good (It took me a while to realise it as I played PS3 Ratchet just before, which is obviously a stunning looking game), the characters are all interesting (Particularly Kazuma himself) and the voice acting I have to say is some of the best I can recall.

The combat is fun without being too complex (And is progressed nicely by the levelling system). I do love the way that random people challenge you on the street - I particularly like the con artists that accuse you of pinching their chicks arse!

I'm somewhere in chapter four at the moment

->Open Spoiler<-

(Just about to leave Serena with Haruka for bar "Ares" in search of her mother/Yumis' sister)

. The characters and the voice acting are making the story particularly compelling at the moment, I can't wait to dive in and find out where the story's going next. Fortunately Mrs. 45 is out tonight so I'll be able to play it all night.

Anyway, thumbs up from me. Recommended (So far) to anyone that's intrigued by the sequel but hasn't played the first.

[The Glider]

Man I didn't expect this thread to be so old!

Two & a half years! Good to see that you're enjoying it & I keep meaning to start my copy, as I've already pre-ordered Yakuza 2.

[Eight Rooks]

I always mean to go back and give it another shot - too easy, a little simplistic, but great fun. The story's excellent B-movie action fodder and the voice acting does help kick it up a few notches - I liked Edge pointing out Kazuma's VA is the utter unknown and yet he does a much, much better job than most of the "names". Plus the tech is surprisingly accomplished for a PS2 game going back a few years - said it before, say it again, I love the crowds. Sure, they're all low poly and completely random, but Yakuza's little slice of Tokyo is one of my favourite virtual landscapes next to Liberty City in GTA IV.

Let me also plug the movie again - if you get a chance to see it or pick it up, do it! Excellent, excellent Friday night material, probably the best videogame-to-film adaptation there's been so far.

[Number45]

I liked Edge pointing out Kazuma's VA is the utter unknown and yet he does a much, much better job than most of the "names".

You know that's bang on the money. Kazumas' VA just seems so much more interested in the role than Shimano (Madsen), for example.

I played this solidly from around half-eight on Friday night until gone one in the morning, and I honestly can't remember the last time I did that for a game. Around chapter 10 (

->Open Spoiler<-

Fought through to and past Lau Ka Long (?), which was hugely frustrating given there are two tricky fights in a row (Meat cleaver dude stole my HP. ), then through the weird shooting section after that

).

Still really enjoying it, about ten hours down. I think it'll get tired if it turns out that the game is another ten hours long, but if it's no more than a couple more hours I can honestly say this is one of my favourite games for a long time.

Also... am I alone in thinking Kazuma looks a lot like John Travolta?

[Number45]

Well that twisted and turned like a twisty turny thing!

Fantastic game though, I'm genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this pretty much from start to finish. There were a few things I could do without (Projectiles should have been kept out of combat as they ruin the flow, until right at the very end of the game) but in general it's a really enjoyable package.

Really looking forward to the sequel arriving now. I was planning to play MGS2 first, but I think I'll just play HSG until Two turns up and play it straight away.

[JamesS]

I'm finishing this off ready for Yakuza 2, and I do generally really like it, but I'd cheerfully kill whoever came up with the restart system. Why can't it have an option to put you at a point just before the fight, rather than restarting you in combat? If you've not saved for a while and you get into a hard fight with low health, it's incredibly frustrating. And that "you seem to be crap, shall I switch to easy mode now?" message can sod off, too. At the very least, they could give you an option to pay money to restore your health before restarting or something.

I've just got to the terrible

->Open Spoiler<-

shooting and driving minigame section

which has actually made me shout at the TV in anger. Not only is it utterly dire, but if you lose when it gets hard right near the end, you have to go all the way back to the start. Brilliant. Think that's enough for me tonight.

It's a great game, but just little things serve to make it a lot less fun than it should be at times.