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StarTopic YAKUZA / LIKE A DRAGON COMMUNITY |ST| A FAMIBOARDS CLAN SUBSIDIARY

I have a question that I feel a lot of Serious Fans of this series are not going to like šŸ˜‚:

Infinite Wealth sounds fucking dope and I want to play it, but I havenā€™t played LAD/Y7. Could Iā€¦just play the much shorter Man Who Erased His Name to prep for it? Or is that Crazytown?
 
big lantern ghost said:
I have a question that I feel a lot of Serious Fans of this series are not going to like šŸ˜‚:

Infinite Wealth sounds fucking dope and I want to play it, but I havenā€™t played LAD/Y7. Could Iā€¦just play the much shorter Man Who Erased His Name to prep for it? Or is that Crazytown?
Click to expand...
100% Crazytown. Gaiden's one of the least newcomer friendly games in the series. Like at bare minimum Gaiden's plot assumes you've played 7 already and there's a bunch of nods to the other games in the series.

You shouldn't just play 7 for Infinite Wealth prep though, you should play 7 cause it's great on it's own and Ichiban's amazing.
 
big lantern ghost said:
I have a question that I feel a lot of Serious Fans of this series are not going to like šŸ˜‚:

Infinite Wealth sounds fucking dope and I want to play it, but I havenā€™t played LAD/Y7. Could Iā€¦just play the much shorter Man Who Erased His Name to prep for it? Or is that Crazytown?
Click to expand...
You gotta play LAD, but all the rest are optional (even Gaiden).
 
big lantern ghost said:
I have a question that I feel a lot of Serious Fans of this series are not going to like šŸ˜‚:

Infinite Wealth sounds fucking dope and I want to play it, but I havenā€™t played LAD/Y7. Could Iā€¦just play the much shorter Man Who Erased His Name to prep for it? Or is that Crazytown?
Click to expand...
At the very least, play 7. Infinite Wealth is a direct sequel to it, picking up multiple plot points. Gaiden is pretty helpful too.

Regardless, donā€™t rush things. 0 and 7 are equally dope, and are both a lot cheaper to boot. Infinite Wealth isnā€™t going anywhere. Take your time, the older games are worth it.
 
big lantern ghost said:
I have a question that I feel a lot of Serious Fans of this series are not going to like šŸ˜‚:

Infinite Wealth sounds fucking dope and I want to play it, but I havenā€™t played LAD/Y7. Could Iā€¦just play the much shorter Man Who Erased His Name to prep for it? Or is that Crazytown?
Click to expand...
Iā€™d start with Yakuza 0 and slowly work your way up, mainly because itā€™s all readily available at this point. I bounced around the series when I played it and had a great time, but there are select spots where it would have been so nice to have the proper build up and context so the big moments land as intended. 100% I know I didnā€™t get what I was supposed to out of Yakuza 6 playing it out of order and you can really only have that experience once.

If you did want to just skip ahead, at least play LAD7 and LAD Gaiden. Those two most inform LAD8. So much of the early part of LAD8 just will not land without having played LAD7 especially. It expects you to know and care about the characters already.

Let me put it this way though BLG, once you play Yakuza 0 and get into it, I donā€™t think for a second youā€™ll regret your decision you started there.
 
Alright, sounding like it's too Crazytown šŸ˜‚ I will play 7 first! I already own it on Xbox, even.

I have played Yakuza 0, Kiwami, 3 & 6! Weird mix I know but, that's the way it worked out haha. Only played 'em through once years ago so it's fairly hazy, but 0 and 6 I really loved.
 
IT'S TIME
XruV3DW.png
 
Iā€™m in Chapter 12 now with a hundred hours in game, still havenā€™t finished all the side content because Iā€™m having such a great time. I think Iā€™m happy to say this is my facto favourite game ever at this point. Theyā€™ve improved on 7 in every way and itā€™s just incredible
 
0
Infinite Wealth is so good on the Steam deck.

45fps, medium settings, 800p + XeSS quality and i think i'm going to play the rest of the game like this, portable LAD is here to stay.
 
going to that Island for like 10 hours of playtime or however long it took me to finish it had me feeling a bit out of it coming back to the rest of the game but finally got back into things this weekend

this cancer tour has me feeling so nostalgic and I haven't even played any of the Kiryu games other than 0, i'm such a sucker for stuff like those reminiscence spots or whatever it was that the game called them
 
0
I've just finished Infinite Wealth. I don't think I've felt this way about a J-RPG since Persona 5 Royal. Like the latter, I see absolutely all the flaws, but they're completely erased by the ensemble.

Everything works so well, as usual in Yakuza it's above all in the writing of the characters that the writing shines, it's the cement of all these games, and here like in 7 we have a choral cast where everyone bring something to the table. On the other hand, the story is a little less good than in 7, a little less focused: the game shits itself a little on its very end, which refuses to close certain arcs, and it also seems less accessible than 7 to anyone who hasn't played episodes 0 to 6 (even if most of the content referring to those games is secondary). But despite this, it's without doubt the game in the series that made me cry the most.

The map is gigantic, there's plenty to do, but it's never overwhelming: progression is very fluid and, above all, they've done all they could to fix the problems of the combat system from 7. The battles are fluid, I never felt bored, and you progress quickly enough in the jobs to be able to change often, which also helps to vary the experience. Graphically, it is what it is, they've had to make concessions: I still like the Dragon Engine look, especially on the lighting, but it looks like an early-gen PS4 game in many ways (but is it really that bad or important?).

70 hours to get to the end by doing most of the side content apart from Sujimon's fights, which aren't very interesting (Dondoko Island is pretty awesome though, and kept me busy for 8-9h). As for the completionists, I have the impression that, like Gaiden, they've tried to make the Platinum trophy accessible, but I'm not sure I'll be going for it any time soon, there are too many interesting games coming out at the start of the year for that!
 
Party Sklar said:
As for the completionists, I have the impression that, like Gaiden, they've tried to make the Platinum trophy accessible, but I'm not sure I'll be going for it any time soon
Click to expand...
As someone with 13 platinum trophies for the Yakuza/LAD/Judgment games, the Gaiden/Infinite Wealth ones were the most enjoyable and least skill-dependent of the lot. I get a pain in my stomach thinking about what I went through for most of the others...especially Y0/Y5/Ishin. These new ones are actually pretty fun!
 
Party Sklar said:
I've just finished Infinite Wealth. I don't think I've felt this way about a J-RPG since Persona 5 Royal. Like the latter, I see absolutely all the flaws, but they're completely erased by the ensemble.

Everything works so well, as usual in Yakuza it's above all in the writing of the characters that the writing shines, it's the cement of all these games, and here like in 7 we have a choral cast where everyone bring something to the table. On the other hand, the story is a little less good than in 7, a little less focused: the game shits itself a little on its very end, which refuses to close certain arcs, and it also seems less accessible than 7 to anyone who hasn't played episodes 0 to 6 (even if most of the content referring to those games is secondary). But despite this, it's without doubt the game in the series that made me cry the most.

The map is gigantic, there's plenty to do, but it's never overwhelming: progression is very fluid and, above all, they've done all they could to fix the problems of the combat system from 7. The battles are fluid, I never felt bored, and you progress quickly enough in the jobs to be able to change often, which also helps to vary the experience. Graphically, it is what it is, they've had to make concessions: I still like the Dragon Engine look, especially on the lighting, but it looks like an early-gen PS4 game in many ways (but is it really that bad or important?).

70 hours to get to the end by doing most of the side content apart from Sujimon's fights, which aren't very interesting (Dondoko Island is pretty awesome though, and kept me busy for 8-9h). As for the completionists, I have the impression that, like Gaiden, they've tried to make the Platinum trophy accessible, but I'm not sure I'll be going for it any time soon, there are too many interesting games coming out at the start of the year for that!
Click to expand...
Sums up my thoughts pretty well too. Story is frustratingly written at times, especially near the end. Characters seemingly teleporting between Hawaii and Japan, some characters are basically just plot devices, multiple plot threads arenā€™t even touched on in the finale, some characters desperately needed an additional scene or two, and itā€™s baffling that Ichiban and Ebina barely get to interact when they have so much shared history. Couldā€™ve been one of the best antagonists in the franchise, but instead theyā€™re just missed potential more than anything. Might go more into detail on it later, once I sit on it for a bit.

But despite all that, the storyā€™s muddled themes are still strong enough to carry it overall for me. Itā€™s pretty firmly in Yakuza 5/Ishin territory of being too ambitious for its own good, but thereā€™s enough there where itā€™s still easy enough to get invested. Wish we got more, but what we got is fine enough, especially when everything else is as good as it is.

I ultimately still prefer 7 due to how incredibly well everything tied into the main themes and Ichibanā€™s characterization; itā€™s one of the most inspirational video game stories Iā€™ve ever had the pleasure of playing. But everything else is improved on Infinite Wealth in such a meaningful way that itā€™s my second favorite game in the franchise. Which is incredibly impressive, considering my mixed thoughts on the story.

Makes me want to go back to Yakuza 5 at some point, actually. I didnā€™t love it my first time, but I was much more focused on story. Now that Iā€™ve clicked with a Yakuza game despite its story, maybe Iā€™ll have a more positive opinion on 5, which definitely shares a lot of similarities with Infinite Wealth.
 
Currently on chapter 9

- Havenā€™t switched jobs yet. Its right there, but Iā€™m liking the standard jobs ha.

- Almost completed the Sujimon stuff. Most of the side content is done for me. Dondoko island is fun.

- Combat remains fun; itā€™s just a blast to play through the many fights.

Chapter eight is moot though
 
0
Finished up the new game last night after a long marathon session lol, absolutely loved it. It took me a little while for me to get into it plotwise, the first half felt a little too carrot on stick/your princess is in another castle plot wise where the search for Akane without having any context why everyone else was looking for her without much else going on lasts quite awhile (or at least it felt that way) but after the party split , it REALLY picked up for me. Ichiban's story picks up decently well and has some absolutely laugh out loud moments (although I don't think it got to the heights of the first game) but Kiryu's exploration of all the lives he's touched, the regret over things he did and didn't do in the face of his cancer and his lack of closure with his life was REALLY touching in a lot of moments. I only got onboard the LAD series with Judgment so I haven't played any of the games prior to those and the LAD rpg entries but the idea is clear and strong enough, I never felt like I was missing out having not experienced them to get here and I was really invested in seeing how it would work out. Really great stuff and the last couple of hours of the finale were suitably bonkers as the game just ups and ups the ante. I was really satisfied by the time credits rolls plot wise.

Gameplaywise, it is just an absolute blast and a very clear upgrade in every way from LAD, which did feel a bit rough and proof of concept-y at times. None of the brutal difficult spikes reared their head, all the extra options and control added in combat made it feel better and meaningful towards pulling off more interesting strategies moment to moment and doing exactly what I wanted to do instead of just kind of hoping for the best. The sheer amount of side content is kind of staggering and it isn't just copy and paste stuff, the sujimon stuff feels like a whole game to itself at times. I don't quite remember in detail, but I feel like in LAD I was more hesitant to change jobs regularly but adding skill inheritence alongside the better combat fed into better engagement with them, although my one major nitpick is still not being able to change jobs more freely. Honestly I don't really see why you can't just do it in the menus but for the love of all that is good, you should at least be able to do it at save stations, survive/the other bar, there should be way more smaller points around the map for changing, that part was annoying. I also think how you unlock them could be looked at again since I went from having very few to being able to unlock them all pretty much at the same time lol maybe attaching them to plot moments more organically or sing posted sub stories that open up at a measured pace as the game goes on.

Overall, very few complaints though. It's wild to me how generous these games are and how frequently the team manages to ship them between the various sub series in the larger franchise. You know they did something right when you finish a game this size and immediately can't wait for more.
 
big lantern ghost said:
On Chapter 4 of LAD7 now.

Holy shit šŸ˜‚ This game rules
Click to expand...
I'm glad you're enjoying it because I've seen some complaints that it takes a while to get going. Never shared them since they introduce a LOT in those 3-4 chapters at the beginning before full free-roam, but can understand the frustration of people who are used to be off the leash much earlier.
 
0
Glad to see Akiyama again, i thought it was pretty funny that he's super mad about being left outside of the big boys club.


The fact that he's being lumped with a bunch of characters that are very obviously not going to show up ever again is kind of depressing though...
 
AngryNopon said:
Glad to see Akiyama again, i thought it was pretty funny that he's super mad about being left outside of the big boys club.


The fact that he's being lumped with a bunch of characters that are very obviously not going to show up ever again is kind of depressing though...
Click to expand...
I agree with you, I think they could not have everyone around Kiryu but itā€™s a shame to see Akiyama so left out, especially after 4 to 6 showed that he was one of Kiryuā€™s best friends and more trusted allies (I still remember a line like ā€œIā€™d rather have you than 100 menā€ from Y6)
 
Finished it just now, really enjoyed it, some thoughts:

I actually preferred the start of the story and felt it fizzled out near the end, I struggled to care about the Palakena plotline/Bryce. Kiryu's side of the story was better to me and I feel he even kind of took Ichiban's spotlight, but that may be intended. Would have liked for a few more things to get closure or a resolution too, like what happened to yakuza at Nele Island, what the Daidoji wanted with Akane (unless I missed this), but I guess some of that is being saved for later. Eiji being forgiven was pushing it some for me too but I can overlook that.

Wouldn't mind if the next game has a more down to earth plot that focuses more on Kamurocho, it's barely featured in this game. Doing something similar to Y4 and really fleshing out Kamurocho again would be cool to see but I don't know if that's within the scope of the devs.

I think this game has my favorite overall batch of substories (I did all of them), genuinely hilarious game at times. All the walk & talks, bond bingos and conversations at the restaurants were also really funny, I got really attached to the party. Chapter 8 also hit really hard as someone who's been playing the games for a long time.

Combat was much improved over the first game, I haven't done any postgame stuff though and I feel it'd still run in the same issue the previous game had where it gets a little boring at like level 50+ The job system needs a some fine tuning still, it gets opened up too late and you have to overlevel like crazy to level up multiple jobs, I only ended up changing once for each character (except Kiryu who I never swapped off) and I barely managed to get both jobs to level 30.

I don't think the game needed 3 Dwight fights and like 4 (I think?) Yamai fights, but I also get reusing assets is how they deliver games this content rich at the pace they do.

Would like to see dungeons improved the most out of anything in the next game, they need it.
 
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I've played LAD 0-7 on Playstation and just started The Man who erased his name on Series X, taking advantage of Gamepass.
I love the game so far but the combat isn't clicking as usual, it's a different controller but layout is the same so why am I hesitant and struggling?
Is it just me?
 
0
In chapter 13, heading towards 14ā€¦

Story/content spoilers

- Whatever happens to Kiryu, he wonā€™t die I suppose, Kasuga is a great replacement for the future. The original game wasnā€™t a fluke with him. Still, I wished Kasuga had more to do. His story meeting Akane, the smear campaign, the plot took a whole other turn here.

- Partymembers remain a good thing. Chitose was pretty sus, but her redemption arc is going well. Seonhee is hilarious with her fangirling over Kiryu. Bummer that Han is such a late addition. I do like all the partychat stuff.

- Agreed with the posts above me about Akiyama. All the links for Kiryu are great, but Akiyama punching Kiryu was fun haha. Shame he wonā€™t appear anymore (probably) in the future.

- Although, I think the saddest one is Kaoruā€¦ she is still waiting for Kiryu. Kind of sucks for her.
 
big lantern ghost said:
I have a question that I feel a lot of Serious Fans of this series are not going to like šŸ˜‚:

Infinite Wealth sounds fucking dope and I want to play it, but I havenā€™t played LAD/Y7. Could Iā€¦just play the much shorter Man Who Erased His Name to prep for it? Or is that Crazytown?
Click to expand...

If you really want to just play 8 directly, just watch a recap of 7/Gaiden (full recap not a summary) on YouTube and play 8. I don't think playing Gaiden will do much for you since that combat structure isn't in 8.
 
So I completed Infinite Wealth yesterday; just some thoughts.

- From a gameplay perspective, Infinite Wealth is fantastic. I know when Yakuza Like A Dragon released, the change to an RPG was met with questions from the fanbase, it did work. Not perfect, but a good starting point. Battles in IW are far better than it's predecessor; battles are quick, snappy and just plain fun to play. More importantly, they're not overly long. Encountering weak enemies and discarding them with a quick battle function is great and I love it. Additions like combo moves, more range in movement and more really improve the flow of combat. Who ever decided to let Kiryu break the RPG combat and with a special attack turn it into a brawler is a genius.

- HawaĆÆ is a nice change of pace; don't get me wrong, Kamurocho, Yokohama etc. are fantastic places to visit. However the change of scenery gives the series a new perspective I really like.

- The amount of activities (in both Honolulu and Kamurocho/Yokohama) are absolutely astounding. Sujimon, Sicko Snap, Photo Tours, Party chats, Sub stories, Drink links, Aloha Links... its gigantic. Had a lot of fun checking out all the things to do around the city.

In regards to the story... hoo-boy.

Spoilers! Don't click!

Let's start with the parts I did not like... being the latter half of the Hawai story line. Not going to lie, it was a weaker story for Kasuga and the gang. I was invested in the whole "Ichiban gonna meet his mom!" story. And they finally meet, Ichi gives her a bit of the ashes of Arakawa, tears are there... and then nothing. When the game ends, there is a throwaway line which mentions that Akane is with Lani, looking forward to the future of Palekena. That's it. It was felt just like a big nothing burger essentially. The game trailed off when the whole Palekena story came to unfold, with Bryce being the big bad in the story and the connection to Ebina in Japan. And really, Bryce sucked. One of the more weaker LAD villains.

It just felt empty. When compared to LAD, with how emotional the story is for Ichiban, this was a step back. There are some great character moments. Ichiban being the eternal optimist is still a great thing and appreciated. I saw some comments on other sites making the argument that Ichiban got Apollo'd (Ace Attorney) to a certain degree, which I can definitely see. For a character destined to follow in Kiryu's footsteps, he got a bit sidelined in his own game with a less interesting storyline. Here is hoping that with the next installment, they will make it a Ichiban only story and give him the full spotlight, because RGG did show us that they are able to give Ichi his big story.

The who Eji thing was weird too. Him being Ebina's second in command for Bleach Japan was weird and his fall of grace was handled poorly. And yeah, I know, Ichiban is a great dude, but him forgiving the guy is a bit much.

And oh, RGG, please; why do you hate your main characters love life? Ichi loves Saeko (I love the part where he finally gets what he missed during his proposal to her, thanks to a talk with Kiryu) but during the ending, come on. Don't treat it as a joke. I mean yeah, I can totally see Ichiban making the same mistake for a second time. It's all or nothing for the guy, but I did hate the fact that it was a gag. Please let them be together in the next game.

Best side character plot goes to Yamai. He felt strangely like Majima, but his whole arc was done wonderfully. Hope he will return in the future.

Things I did like in this game... everything with Kiryu. I loved everything about how they handled it. Okay, the final battle is somewhat strange, considering Ebina being Ichi's half brother, but everything else was beautiful.

  • Kiryu having cancer hurt, but his almost suicidal run was interesting to watch. He's the most stubborn man alive, giving out free advice on everything, but getting advice himself, unheard off!
  • Especially that scene where he wants the help of Majima, Daigo and Saejima was particular hilarious; everybody against Kiryu: dude you need to slow down, shit is falling apart. Please you have to understand! Kiryu: *sniff sniff * does it smell like bitch in here? It's the only way I can describe it, as the audible gasps of these legendary Yakuza is like "You just did not say what I think you just said, ya punk".
  • You know what I found one of the most wholesome scenes in the game? The moment Date returns, they start drinking during those stories and Date calls Kiryu his best friend. And while normally he's reluctant to say anthing, I love the fact that he said the same thing to him. (Plus Date has the best summon in the game, ha)
  • Kiryu's "farewell" tour with Nanba, Seonhee, Saeko and Zhao was great. The many memoirs of a Dragon moments were an amazing trip down memory lane and the many faces we've seen during his adventures.
  • Akiyama being mad at Kiryu was awesome. And I agree; dude did him dirty.
  • Don't want to talk about Kaoru; she is still holding a candle for the guy. Poor lass. I truly feel for her.
  • The ending though... with the Dragon of Dojima doing one last trick... that was glorious. Still I am glad that Kiryu isn't working for the Daodji anymore. His name restored, reunited with Haruka (I see people saying we still haven't seen them in the same room rabl rabl, but its cool guys. Haruto calls Kiryu Grandpa. They're together again) and wanting to live is a perfect ending.
  • But his fighting days are over; he looks incredibly sick at the end. I still think he's going to beat the cancer, but he won't have an active roll anymore in the series. I can see him being a guide/guru towards Kasuga for future installments. We'll get cameo appearances in future games, most def. And that's fine.
 
On chapter 9 of Infinite Wealth rn. Hoping to beat it before Rebirth comes out, but I'm not holding my breath
 
0
Playing Yakuza 4 these days, I was a bit worried the game would be too similar to Y3 but I ended up being quite surprised, the game feels like a total step forward to me. Spoiler ahead in case not everyone played Y4 and doesn't want to know what I'm talking about:
- Heat Actions having "upgrades" is such a nice addition

- The multiple playable characters take is refreshing, even tho the different stories feels sometimes a bit in a hurry. Currently half way through Tanimura's, I love the different playstyles

- Speaking of story, Y4's better imo than Y3's. Yakuza 3 plot was cool but doesn't felt as interesting, even tho I like when it's all about politics. Also Y3 felt a bit poorly-paced sometimes, like I understand (for chara dev purpose) and I like a bit of slice of life sometimes but it was too much for my taste.

- Side activities are refreshing too, that's probably my biggest surprise with the game. You get the classics: arcade, pool, bowling, thƩ substories, etc. But also some new additions like the subway digging thing, dojo with Saejima, police things with Tanimura... You know after playing a few Yakuzas games side activities can be very redundant. I love Yakuza 0's side content. I like Yakuza 1's. Yakuza 2's got some cool things and Majima Construction was fun but it started to feel repetitive. Ishin's was kinda cool but half of it wasn't that interesting (like chicken race is funny but not engaging imo). Yakuza 3's might be the worst because it's the older (considering Y1 and Y2 I played them through Kiwami), most of the cool stuff wasn't there at the time and substories felt overwhelming (almost 120 subs) and like 80% of the subs weren't interesting at all, I remember a lot of "1 dialog, 1 combat, 1 dialog". Not even talking about the fact you got to max 10 hostess, beat every IF-6 battles and do every hitman missions to unlock Amon. And not even talking about the HORRENDOUS hostess maker, too. That one might be the WORST sub activity in the whole series so far.

- The characters having super interesting scenario complement through substories (Saejima's youth being explored, Tanimura pursuing another of his father's case...)

- And a lot of smaller things that makes the games feel more alive, or things I find cool like most of the tutorials being given via NPC and marked with blue arrows to recognise them

Yakuza 4 feel so much more enjoyable than 3 (which I still really like despite its flaws and its kinda boring postgame). What are your thoughts about it? I found a number of times peoples who didn't enjoy 3 and 4 as much as the others. Is this true for anyone here?

So far 3 is my least prefered Yakuza game (played 0 to 3 and Ishin). In my personal tier list Yakuza 4 really could be above K1 if the story doesn't disappoint, or at least equal to it. What is your opinion about the game?
 
Raytro said:
Yakuza 4 feel so much more enjoyable than 3 (which I still really like despite its flaws and its kinda boring postgame). What are your thoughts about it? I found a number of times peoples who didn't enjoy 3 and 4 as much as the others. Is this true for anyone here?

So far 3 is my least prefered Yakuza game (played 0 to 3 and Ishin). In my personal tier list Yakuza 4 really could be above K1 if the story doesn't disappoint, or at least equal to it. What is your opinion about the game?
Click to expand...
I think most people who hate Yakuza 4 dislike it for one of these two reasons :
  • it has one of the most ridiculous plot twists in the series (or at least one the people consider the most ridiculous)
  • It has one of the hardest final bosses in the series
Despite that, I really like it. I think Iā€™d put it just under Kiwami 1 in my overall Yakuza tierlist, the characters are awesome and the finale is really epic.
 
Sadist said:
So I completed Infinite Wealth yesterday; just some thoughts.

- From a gameplay perspective, Infinite Wealth is fantastic. I know when Yakuza Like A Dragon released, the change to an RPG was met with questions from the fanbase, it did work. Not perfect, but a good starting point. Battles in IW are far better than it's predecessor; battles are quick, snappy and just plain fun to play. More importantly, they're not overly long. Encountering weak enemies and discarding them with a quick battle function is great and I love it. Additions like combo moves, more range in movement and more really improve the flow of combat. Who ever decided to let Kiryu break the RPG combat and with a special attack turn it into a brawler is a genius.

- HawaĆÆ is a nice change of pace; don't get me wrong, Kamurocho, Yokohama etc. are fantastic places to visit. However the change of scenery gives the series a new perspective I really like.

- The amount of activities (in both Honolulu and Kamurocho/Yokohama) are absolutely astounding. Sujimon, Sicko Snap, Photo Tours, Party chats, Sub stories, Drink links, Aloha Links... its gigantic. Had a lot of fun checking out all the things to do around the city.

In regards to the story... hoo-boy.

Spoilers! Don't click!

Let's start with the parts I did not like... being the latter half of the Hawai story line. Not going to lie, it was a weaker story for Kasuga and the gang. I was invested in the whole "Ichiban gonna meet his mom!" story. And they finally meet, Ichi gives her a bit of the ashes of Arakawa, tears are there... and then nothing. When the game ends, there is a throwaway line which mentions that Akane is with Lani, looking forward to the future of Palekena. That's it. It was felt just like a big nothing burger essentially. The game trailed off when the whole Palekena story came to unfold, with Bryce being the big bad in the story and the connection to Ebina in Japan. And really, Bryce sucked. One of the more weaker LAD villains.

It just felt empty. When compared to LAD, with how emotional the story is for Ichiban, this was a step back. There are some great character moments. Ichiban being the eternal optimist is still a great thing and appreciated. I saw some comments on other sites making the argument that Ichiban got Apollo'd (Ace Attorney) to a certain degree, which I can definitely see. For a character destined to follow in Kiryu's footsteps, he got a bit sidelined in his own game with a less interesting storyline. Here is hoping that with the next installment, they will make it a Ichiban only story and give him the full spotlight, because RGG did show us that they are able to give Ichi his big story.

The who Eji thing was weird too. Him being Ebina's second in command for Bleach Japan was weird and his fall of grace was handled poorly. And yeah, I know, Ichiban is a great dude, but him forgiving the guy is a bit much.

And oh, RGG, please; why do you hate your main characters love life? Ichi loves Saeko (I love the part where he finally gets what he missed during his proposal to her, thanks to a talk with Kiryu) but during the ending, come on. Don't treat it as a joke. I mean yeah, I can totally see Ichiban making the same mistake for a second time. It's all or nothing for the guy, but I did hate the fact that it was a gag. Please let them be together in the next game.

Best side character plot goes to Yamai. He felt strangely like Majima, but his whole arc was done wonderfully. Hope he will return in the future.

Things I did like in this game... everything with Kiryu. I loved everything about how they handled it. Okay, the final battle is somewhat strange, considering Ebina being Ichi's half brother, but everything else was beautiful.

  • Kiryu having cancer hurt, but his almost suicidal run was interesting to watch. He's the most stubborn man alive, giving out free advice on everything, but getting advice himself, unheard off!
  • Especially that scene where he wants the help of Majima, Daigo and Saejima was particular hilarious; everybody against Kiryu: dude you need to slow down, shit is falling apart. Please you have to understand! Kiryu: *sniff sniff * does it smell like bitch in here? It's the only way I can describe it, as the audible gasps of these legendary Yakuza is like "You just did not say what I think you just said, ya punk".
  • You know what I found one of the most wholesome scenes in the game? The moment Date returns, they start drinking during those stories and Date calls Kiryu his best friend. And while normally he's reluctant to say anthing, I love the fact that he said the same thing to him. (Plus Date has the best summon in the game, ha)
  • Kiryu's "farewell" tour with Nanba, Seonhee, Saeko and Zhao was great. The many memoirs of a Dragon moments were an amazing trip down memory lane and the many faces we've seen during his adventures.
  • Akiyama being mad at Kiryu was awesome. And I agree; dude did him dirty.
  • Don't want to talk about Kaoru; she is still holding a candle for the guy. Poor lass. I truly feel for her.
  • The ending though... with the Dragon of Dojima doing one last trick... that was glorious. Still I am glad that Kiryu isn't working for the Daodji anymore. His name restored, reunited with Haruka (I see people saying we still haven't seen them in the same room rabl rabl, but its cool guys. Haruto calls Kiryu Grandpa. They're together again) and wanting to live is a perfect ending.
  • But his fighting days are over; he looks incredibly sick at the end. I still think he's going to beat the cancer, but he won't have an active roll anymore in the series. I can see him being a guide/guru towards Kasuga for future installments. We'll get cameo appearances in future games, most def. And that's fine.
Click to expand...

Yeah now that i'm done with the game i agree that

Ichiban's route was overall weaker than Kiryu's.

It starts off really strong but by the time the party split happens Kiryu and the "Yakuza" side of the story definitely becomes the focus. But i don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, because they handled Kiryu incredibly well in this game.

I liked the scene with Eiji at the end, but i think it lacked something to make it properly resonate. Dude just disappears at some point after pulling some truly despicable shit and shows up again during the ending to be "saved" by Ichiban, but it all felt a bit empty and forced when Eiji didn't really show any sign of repentace up to that point.

In general there's a lot of stuff that feels unresolved or underbaked by the time credits roll. I think Akane, Lani, Yamai and Chitose deserved a properly fleshed out epilogue considering their relevance in the story.

Kiryu reclaims his name...and Daidoji is just fine with it? What?

But i imagine that's going to be a big plot point in 9...i hope at least.


And i also think Kiryu is not going anywhere. IW is doing well and Gaiden sold way more than Sega's expected, maybe he won't be a main character but i definitely expect him to be a party member at the very least...but i think 9 will be his last game for realsies this time.


Terrific game overall though, i'm 90% sure it's going to end up as my GOTY.
 
AngryNopon said:
Yeah now that i'm done with the game i agree that

Ichiban's route was overall weaker than Kiryu's.

It starts off really strong but by the time the party split happens Kiryu and the "Yakuza" side of the story definitely becomes the focus. But i don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, because they handled Kiryu incredibly well in this game.

I liked the scene with Eiji at the end, but i think it lacked something to make it properly resonate. Dude just disappears at some point after pulling some truly despicable shit and shows up again during the ending to be "saved" by Ichiban, but it all felt a bit empty and forced when Eiji didn't really show any sign of repentace up to that point.

In general there's a lot of stuff that feels unresolved or underbaked by the time credits roll. I think Akane, Lani, Yamai and Chitose deserved a properly fleshed out epilogue considering their relevance in the story.

Kiryu reclaims his name...and Daidoji is just fine with it? What?

But i imagine that's going to be a big plot point in 9...i hope at least.


And i also think Kiryu is not going anywhere. IW is doing well and Gaiden sold way more than Sega's expected, maybe he won't be a main character but i definitely expect him to be a party member at the very least...but i think 9 will be his last game for realsies this time.


Terrific game overall though, i'm 90% sure it's going to end up as my GOTY.
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In regards to your spoilers

Agreed that the Eji stuff at the end lacks punch.

Kiryu being released from the Daidoji isnā€™t that weird. With the public knowing him to be alive thanks to the Tatara Channel and vloggers having video footage of him at the old Tojo HQ, as an asset he became useless.

Plus Hanawa, despite being unceremoniously killed, did have a high opinion of Kiryu and made sure superiors knew this.

Weā€™ll see a happy ending for Kiryu in 9, I hope.
 
0
Just platinumed the game

The lvl 70 trophy for Kasuga suuuuucks. Thanks god I had five level boosters at lvl 65
 
I beat Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth a few days ago now and got the Platinum last night after 105 hours. Really enjoyable game from start to finish with an astounding amount of interesting activities to enjoy (especially Dondoko Island), great combat, and truly fantastic characters I care so much about. While Ichiban gets a fun adventure in Hawaii (which is a fantastic setting that feels so fresh) it was definitely Kiryuā€™s part of the story that really hit and made the game feel special.

Not sure where the series will go from here (Hawaiian Judgment likely aside lol), but Iā€™m down for whatever at this point. They really improved the turn based combat in this one where Iā€™d welcome either an action game or another RPG. Maybe my biggest hope is we get more Gaiden games somewhere in there. Give me a Majima game, an Akiyama game, etc.
 
Just beat Yakuza 4. Great game overall!

Party Sklar said:
I think most people who hate Yakuza 4 dislike it for one of these two reasons :
  • it has one of the most ridiculous plot twists in the series (or at least one the people consider the most ridiculous)
  • It has one of the hardest final bosses in the series
Despite that, I really like it. I think Iā€™d put it just under Kiwami 1 in my overall Yakuza tierlist, the characters are awesome and the finale is really epic.
Click to expand...
Now that I've finished the game, I know now what that 'ridiculous plot twist' is and it didn't felt that stupid imo. I can see why some people could feel a bit 'upset' by it but nothing that shocked me, unlike
the motherfucking Kappa at the end of its substory, WHAT WAS THAT LMAO
However that last boss was really BAD like not funny at all. Beat it quite quickly but that was soooo annoying.

Also I still have only a bit more than 10 substories to do, I won't play this weekend but it should be done by next tuedsay or wednesday!
 
So, as a Yakuza virgin, seeing all of the games on Game Pass is a little overwhelming. I am going to assume the order I should play them in is kind of straight-forward for most of them.

Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza 3 Remastered
Yakuza 4 Remastered
Yakuza 5 Remastered
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Then where would these slot in? Not timeline wise really. Just if I were to play them in an order that made sense.

Yakuza 0
Yakuza: Like a Dragon


Though seeing as I have copies of the Bioshock Collection and Kingdom Hearts compilations that I have not even touched, this situation is probably purely hypothetical lol though I'm going to try to change that.
 
Raytro said:
Just beat Yakuza 4. Great game overall!


Now that I've finished the game, I know now what that 'ridiculous plot twist' is and it didn't felt that stupid imo. I can see why some people could feel a bit 'upset' by it but nothing that shocked me, unlike
the motherfucking Kappa at the end of its substory, WHAT WAS THAT LMAO
However that last boss was really BAD like not funny at all. Beat it quite quickly but that was soooo annoying.

Also I still have only a bit more than 10 substories to do, I won't play this weekend but it should be]
Click to expand...
People go on about how nonsensical it is, but the real problem imo is how that twist neutered Saejima as a character. The scene in Coliseum where he talks down to the audience about how they don't know what it means to take someone's life and how that incident has left him scarred is a series best. Then they undercut that by saying "oh he didn't ACTUALLY kill people, he was just set up by the mastermind!" (This is especially strange considering they also made THAT scene with Haruka, but uh, the less said about that the better.) RGG wanted to make a series about criminals and yet seemed opposed to having their protagonist commit crimes, it's very strange.
 
Hosermess said:
So, as a Yakuza virgin, seeing all of the games on Game Pass is a little overwhelming. I am going to assume the order I should play them in is kind of straight-forward for most of them.

Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza 3 Remastered
Yakuza 4 Remastered
Yakuza 5 Remastered
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Then where would these slot in? Not timeline wise really. Just if I were to play them in an order that made sense.

Yakuza 0
Yakuza: Like a Dragon


Though seeing as I have copies of the Bioshock Collection and Kingdom Hearts compilations that I have not even touched, this situation is probably purely hypothetical lol though I'm going to try to change that.
Click to expand...
0 would go first before anything else and Like a Dragon would go after 6.

0 was released between 5 and 6 but the Kiwami's have new side content that reference it pretty heavily. Like a Dragon meanwhile straight up is Yakuza 7, it's just not called that in the west because it's meant to be a soft reboot of the series and Sega wanted to emphasize it as a jumping on point for newcomers.
 
Paxie said:
People go on about how nonsensical it is, but the real problem imo is how that twist neutered Saejima as a character. The scene in Coliseum where he talks down to the audience about how they don't know what it means to take someone's life and how that incident has left him scarred is a series best. Then they undercut that by saying "oh he didn't ACTUALLY kill people, he was just set up by the mastermind!" (This is especially strange considering they also made THAT scene with Haruka, but uh, the less said about that the better.) RGG wanted to make a series about criminals and yet seemed opposed to having their protagonist commit crimes, it's very strange.
Click to expand...
I suppose he still lived 25 years long thinking he commited those crimes, and all the traumas it seems it has caused, but yeah I can understand the point. Also yeah the scene involving Haruka was absolutely not needed.
 
Hosermess said:
So, as a Yakuza virgin, seeing all of the games on Game Pass is a little overwhelming. I am going to assume the order I should play them in is kind of straight-forward for most of them.

Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza 3 Remastered
Yakuza 4 Remastered
Yakuza 5 Remastered
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Then where would these slot in? Not timeline wise really. Just if I were to play them in an order that made sense.

Yakuza 0
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Click to expand...

If you like modern turn-based combat, start with Yakuza: Like a Dragon/Infinite Wealth
If you like modern action combat, start with Judgment/Lost Judgment
If you want the full Yakuza Experience, play 0/K/K2/3/4/5/6/J/LAD/LJ/Gaiden/IW + Ishin (whenever).

Starting with Yakuza 0 is ideal, however a lot of new fans to the series get burnt out playing all the older games first, and some of them feel a bit dated. I honestly think Yakuza: Like a Dragon or Judgment are better starting points to avoid series fatigue...
 
Was pretty close to start Kurohyou 1 with my sister's PSVita but then I met with Amon in Yakuza 4 and boi that battle seems so long and awful. Been reading a bit of tips for it, hopefully if I manage to get the Sacred Tree Armor for a specific battle I could be doable without trying like a hundred times.

Every Amon I've beaten (0-1-2-3 ; didn't bother with Ishin because it wasn't tied to a substory and I guess the requirements were too much of an effort imo), I did them pretty easily, aside from 0 which was my first experience with the series. But this one is starting to scare me lmao

Edit: Nevermind, Amon is history šŸ˜Ž Thanks to some guides I managed to beat them easily

Yakuza 5 when? šŸ¤”
 
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0
Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon
I'm at Chapter 12. Just went to the location of the dungeon, went through the dungeon very easily, and then... and then...

Oh, a Lv50 boss, my team is at levl 38. The previous bosses were around Lv40. We managed to kick all the goons since then with ease (and I mean it), I upgraded most of my weapons, grinded the Ichiban Holdings for millions and millions. The boss destroyed me. I tried back with a better start, did an Orbital Strike on the adds, and...

Oh noes, another Lv51 boss joins the fun and destroys me too. Game Over. Can't save in the dungeons.

So I went back to the arena to farm and farm and farm and farm and upgrade my weapons to what seems to be their final form... Man, that difficulty spike is so insane...

I really hope saving is better handled in Infinite Wealth...
 
Koren Lesthe said:
Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon
I'm at Chapter 12. Just went to the location of the dungeon, went through the dungeon very easily, and then... and then...

Oh, a Lv50 boss, my team is at levl 38. The previous bosses were around Lv40. We managed to kick all the goons since then with ease (and I mean it), I upgraded most of my weapons, grinded the Ichiban Holdings for millions and millions. The boss destroyed me. I tried back with a better start, did an Orbital Strike on the adds, and...

Oh noes, another Lv51 boss joins the fun and destroys me too. Game Over. Can't save in the dungeons.

So I went back to the arena to farm and farm and farm and farm and upgrade my weapons to what seems to be their final form... Man, that difficulty spike is so insane...

I really hope saving is better handled in Infinite Wealth...
Click to expand...
Yeah that part is ass!
 
Koren Lesthe said:
Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon
I'm at Chapter 12. Just went to the location of the dungeon, went through the dungeon very easily, and then... and then...

Oh, a Lv50 boss, my team is at levl 38. The previous bosses were around Lv40. We managed to kick all the goons since then with ease (and I mean it), I upgraded most of my weapons, grinded the Ichiban Holdings for millions and millions. The boss destroyed me. I tried back with a better start, did an Orbital Strike on the adds, and...

Oh noes, another Lv51 boss joins the fun and destroys me too. Game Over. Can't save in the dungeons.

So I went back to the arena to farm and farm and farm and farm and upgrade my weapons to what seems to be their final form... Man, that difficulty spike is so insane...

I really hope saving is better handled in Infinite Wealth...
Click to expand...
I just did this part last time I played too. Luckily I had heard about this difficulty spike. Seen lots of people basically saying "The arena is not optional." Even then it was a tough fight though

Question to all the people in this thread: I'm gonna finish 7 soon, and have already played 0. I do plan on going back to 1-6 + Gaiden at some point, but at what point could I comfortably play 8? Someone I know said it has a ton of references to the series
 
Lord Azrael said:
I just did this part last time I played too. Luckily I had heard about this difficulty spike. Seen lots of people basically saying "The arena is not optional." Even then it was a tough fight though

Question to all the people in this thread: I'm gonna finish 7 soon, and have already played 0. I do plan on going back to 1-6 + Gaiden at some point, but at what point could I comfortably play 8? Someone I know said it has a ton of references to the series
Click to expand...
Itā€™s gonna depend on your definition of ā€œcomfortably.ā€ You can play it right away if you want, if youā€™re OK knowing thereā€™s going to be plot-irrelevant references you might not immediately understand.
 
0
Lord Azrael said:
I just did this part last time I played too. Luckily I had heard about this difficulty spike. Seen lots of people basically saying "The arena is not optional." Even then it was a tough fight though

Question to all the people in this thread: I'm gonna finish 7 soon, and have already played 0. I do plan on going back to 1-6 + Gaiden at some point, but at what point could I comfortably play 8? Someone I know said it has a ton of references to the series
Click to expand...
You can play it right after 7 even if you haven't played any of the other games in the series and you'd be totally fine, that said a certain part of the game is more impactful depending on how many of the old games you've gone through. 6 and Gaiden set up some plot points for 8 but they're easy enough to understand immediately even if you haven't played them.
 
0
i've only ever played 0,7, and 8 and while there were still a bunch of characters on the Kiryu end of things I didn't know I feel like even just playing 0 was super helpful as far as driving in the feelings of nostalgia it was trying to evoke
 
0
Lord Azrael said:
I just did this part last time I played too. Luckily I had heard about this difficulty spike. Seen lots of people basically saying "The arena is not optional." Even then it was a tough fight though

Question to all the people in this thread: I'm gonna finish 7 soon, and have already played 0. I do plan on going back to 1-6 + Gaiden at some point, but at what point could I comfortably play 8? Someone I know said it has a ton of references to the series
Click to expand...
The most meaningful part of LAD 8 for me was having the weight and story stuff of Yakuza 1-6 + Gaiden behind it. At the bare minimum, play Gaiden, but that too Iā€™d recommend playing 1-6 first. You can only experience these games first once, so I suggest making them count especially if you already know you like the series.
 
0
Lord Azrael said:
I just did this part last time I played too. Luckily I had heard about this difficulty spike. Seen lots of people basically saying "The arena is not optional." Even then it was a tough fight though

Question to all the people in this thread: I'm gonna finish 7 soon, and have already played 0. I do plan on going back to 1-6 + Gaiden at some point, but at what point could I comfortably play 8? Someone I know said it has a ton of references to the series
Click to expand...
Finally beat the bosses (still got a bit rough with my whole team at level 51).
I'm quite scared of what's coming next so I went back to the Arena to get everyone at level 55.
 
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