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Yakuza: Like a Dragon

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    Yakuza: Like a Dragon

    I'm around 10/15 hours into this and I've been waiting for someone else to start a thread, purely because there are much bigger Yakuza fans on here better qualified than me. But I can get the ball rolling.

    I've only played Yak 0 previously and I loved it ... all 70 hours iirc. Firstly, the gameplay transition from beat-em-up to rpg battles works really well. In a nice touch the main character is a big Dragon Quest fan which feeds into the new mechanics nicely. It doesn't just start basic but it stays pretty basic for a while, then starts adding and adding and giving more and more freedom.

    The new city is nice enough to mooch around. Plenty to do as you'd expect with many pursuits and side quest that build your group's bond as well as the usual stats you'd expect. There's a business sim which almost could be a game on its own as it gives you a ton of stuff to do. I had my first board meeting last night and I didn't have a clue what I was doing ... but my share price went up thankfully

    Also, the story is unfolding nicely. Really liking the pace of it. Taking time to mess around and explore and then back into the more serious stuff. Well, as serious as things can get ... there is much hilarity in this game ... I'm happy to report it didn't go getting itself all grown up for this new take.

    On Xbox One X it runs nice enough but there'a a noticeable difference on the Series X, with better visuals as you look into the distance and a super smooth 60fps. Tbh though, you'd hope a game like this wouldn't tax a brand new console too much ... and in that I mean it's cross-gen, not next-gen.

    Really enjoying this.

    #2
    This is pretty positive. I have played all the Yakuza games except kiwami 2 and the side stuff but have not got on this (yet). It looks like a lot of nonsensical fun.

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      #3
      I've been holding off as Yakuza games take a while to go through (with a handful still I've not done) and the switch to RPG really, really still bums me out. It's in the post though, not too fussed waiting for the PS5 version of the game as it's Yakuza so far from a visual pushing title. I'm kind of building myself to roll with this one as there's been enough good feedback behind it.

      I'm desperately hoping they announce Judgment 2 soon though as I really don't think RPG sequel after RPG sequel for the main series will hold my interest.

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        #4
        Finished this last night with 80 hours on the clock.

        Incredible game. Solid 10/10 banger. I thought the story has some issues around character motivations as Kasuga's reason for fighting keeps being brought up but the others aren't referenced as much and I kept having to remember back tens of hours ago to remember why they were all going through this.

        That's my only real criticism. Everything else was superb. Mini games are all great, the combat was extremely entertaing all the way though and the city was full of surprises to discover. Some of the substories are the best in the series. The writing and voice acting (played with Japanese voices) are the best I've seen in a game. I laughed out loud several times and almost teared up several times.

        The production values are insane. So much unique asset, ridiculously good combat animations that may only be seen once and everything is so full of character. The Pound Mates are crazy well done but even the smaller combat anims are superb. I switched Nanba to be a fortune teller late on (pro tip, make sure you have a couple of characters with electric attacks for the penultimate boss) and his attack where he drops a stone ball on a downed enemy made me smile like an idiot when I first saw it.

        I was intending to go for the platinum on this but the levelling requirements to beat the end game dungeon are bonkers and I don't want to do the grind. I did everything else though and had a wonderful time. Extremely sad to say goodbye to my wonderful pals in the party and cannot wait to see what they do with Yakuza 8.

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          #5
          I'm pretty bummed out about the next-gen patch being Microsoft-exclusive for now, so it's sat there doing nothing right now. Definitely keen to play though, particularly having playing through DQ 1-3 earlier this year. Definitely keep the impressions rolling, very glad to hear it's still got plenty of daftness going on.

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            #6
            Originally posted by Neon Ignition View Post
            I've been holding off as Yakuza games take a while to go through (with a handful still I've not done) and the switch to RPG really, really still bums me out. It's in the post though, not too fussed waiting for the PS5 version of the game as it's Yakuza so far from a visual pushing title. I'm kind of building myself to roll with this one as there's been enough good feedback behind it.

            I'm desperately hoping they announce Judgment 2 soon though as I really don't think RPG sequel after RPG sequel for the main series will hold my interest.
            The game's structure hasn't changed from the action RPG template of the previous, it's just the combat that has changed to turn based. The combat is probably my RPG combat system yet. It's snappy, full of impact and gives you loads of room to experiment. The animations are out of this world it never stopped being entertaining.

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              #7
              I did enjoy the demo when I tried out the mechanics. Oddly, the timing means I am willing to wait whereas I have been day 1 since Y3 for the others. I feel like it will drop a bit in cost but it has also been popular enough to suggest it is worth continuing for sega (in the west).

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                #8
                Enjoying this immensely. Around 40 hours in at this stage and still can't get enough. The characters are brilliant and form a really strong bond as you grow with them and get to know them more, hanging out in the Survive Bar Only thing I can't seem to get a grip on is the business game mechanics ... I opened a new restaurant and it's mega-profitable, but the original business you start with (which you can't sell) is constantly in the red. Small gripe though ... and it just means I have to make money elsewhere.

                Definite GOTY contender this one.

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                  #9
                  All finished and what a game. So much going on and pretty much all of it fun and engaging ... didn't feel like any filler or flab. Great characters and battling are at the heart of it and it's all wrapped up in trademark lively environments full of madness and capers. A game to be grateful for this one. Brilliant stuff.

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                    #10
                    Finally started this on the weekend and I am loving it. Where Judgment was enjoyable it didn't quite shake things up enough for me to truly say it revitalised the series, whereas this on the other hand is totally scratching that itch.

                    I've only got three in my party so far but I'm liking all of them and where the story's taking them - the Dragon Quest love-in is great, the concerns about being of a certain age and not having direction speaks to me, and to top it off I'm actually finding that the battle system is very enjoyable. Even a basic turn-based setup likely would've felt good, but things like having to take locations of everyone into account, and timing perfect guards are keeping me away from going into auto-battle fatigue.

                    Looks and runs great too - glad I held off for the full PS5 version.

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                      #11
                      Made it up to chapter 12, and got held back by a lack of funds, which I took to be the game's very unsubtle way of telling me to actually go spend some time in the business mini-game. Promptly lost the best part of a day grinding out getting to number 1. Have been trying to do sub stories and rescue quests where I can, but haven't dabbled too much with too many other jobs or many of the other mini games. Still enjoying this a lot, but also hoping it's not too much of a leap to the finish line from here.

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                        #12
                        ... and there's the difficulty spike I was warned about.

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                          #13
                          Ok, finished now.

                          In conclusion, I did enjoy it a lot. The story, the sidequests, the mini games and the world in general all have the same charm as other games in the series, and yet it's the first one that has done the core action in a genuinely different way. For me this is what Judgment promised but then fell short on.


                          A lot of the story beats towards the end were suitably high-stakes but it was all fairly clear what was going to happen, yet it was all well written and performed enough to work. The fanservice around Kiryu, Daigo, Saejima, Majima etc was handled reasonably well too. They were kept out of mind for most of the game, had some good moments on arrival, but didn't completely steal the show. I should've known a totally clean break was unlikely!



                          There definitely are a few kinks in the battle system though, like having characters run un-necessarily back and forth in battle and regularly getting stuck on scenery, poor enemies that are needlessly spongy or hugely variable in terms of what they do, and the balancing between some classes. Given they're sticking to this formula for another game, there's nothing here that shouldn't be ironed out for future though.

                          Crucially, Ichiban's a good protagonist and I think he's a good character to take the series forward. Some of the supporting cast are less convincing, but hopefully we're not carrying the entire crew on from here.
                          Last edited by fuse; 07-06-2021, 10:53.

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                            #14
                            Just finished it myself. Loved every second of it and Ichiban was great. The English VA is superb also; 10 years ago I would have stuck with Japanese audio but the cast here delivered their lines perfectly and with real impact, especially at the end.

                            I agree the auto running around in battles was a little off/glitchy. The only other thing I'd change is having Ichiban being KO'd result in a Game Over. One of the last bosses has a KO attack and I was getting a little nervous fighting him. You should be able to revive Ichiban just like you can with the other members of your party.

                            Also for some reason I thought it was only going to be a 25 hour game but it clocked in at 60 for me. Never overstayed it's welcome though.
                            Last edited by Cepp; 01-09-2021, 00:29. Reason: ****ing Bleach

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