I like the interactivity of the cabaret game - hitting a button and waiting just isn't as fun as micromanaging the club. I've spent literally hours running Sunshine at this point, putting off the story where I'm supposed to be in a race against the clock to save an innocent woman from a bunch of mob ne'er-do-wells. But Yuki isn't going to max-rank herself. (Not a euphemism.)
I thought the story in this was supposed to be pretty serious, compared to the side mission nonsense?
Spoiler - click to show Because I just had a corrupt cop lead me to a literally underground fighting tournament accessed via a supervillain-style underwater elevator in the middle of the river.
Credits rolling. In my hours of diversionary hostess-wrangling, I'd forgotten how short the story chapters actually are, and how awful the writing is. It's a common problem in Japanese games, movies and anime: the apparent inability to get to the fucking point. Every point is stated and restated over and over, everyone gives interminable speeches about honour that culminate in a gutteral yell and a fist fight.
Managed 29.41% completion - I know there's a ton of stuff I've not even looked at, and an entire minigame - the pocket car thing - that I never found. Dunno how much more time I'll sink in - have a feeling that the story being done will kill a lot of the enthusiasm to come back.
It's a common problem in Japan: the apparent inability to get to the fucking point.
Fixed that for you. I have meetings with Japanese people (including ones who speak English) all the time and they talk themselves in circles asking for the same points to be clarified again and again with increasing detail. Apparently, a simple yes/no isn't enough. It's bloody infuriating.
Got this for Christmas and have done Chapter 1, didn't really struggle with the boss fight itself (although it was a close run thing, one punch would have finished either of us, which was fitting really considering the plot). What I did struggle with was the Game of Death climb through HQ, failed a few times at that, it asked me to drop the difficulty but I said no then got to the end by switching from Rush mode to Brawler so I could grab enemies.
Was almost pissing myself during the karaoke when the bar suddenly changed into a massive stage with Kuryu and Nishiki playing guitars! Just a shame the button inputs for it are cramped into the bottom corner so it's hard to watch just what's happening on screen.
This isn't my first Yakuza though, I've played a couple of chapters of the original PS2 games years ago and a couple of chapters of 5 which has Kuryu working as a cab driver.
This really is The Soprano's + EastEnders + American Chopper isn't it? All serious business, shady dealings and personal clashes that escalate into shouting matches that usually result in someone having a Honda slammed on their head.
Then you've got this stuff
https://twitter.com/CrispyW0nT0n/status/1077997586655645698?s=19
https://twitter.com/CrispyW0nT0n/status/1078016792310792198?s=19
https://twitter.com/CrispyW0nT0n/status/1078017708246093825?s=19
https://twitter.com/CrispyW0nT0n/status/1078031273539653639?s=19
What the actual feck is going on in the cabaret club minigame.
I can tell I'm going to love it, but I currently have no clue what's happening. Is triangle cute better than circle cute? Is X sexy better than triangle banter? Which customers should I push to extend? How do I know whether to shout at the girl or the man? How do I know which girl goes with which man? Why are these the main worries in my life currently?
I was going to say that, but I wasn't sure if it related to button icons (so, the ones on the DualShock) or the Japanese symbol markings. If it's the latter, then Circle = Good, Triangle = Maybe, X = Bad/No. A circle within a circle is best, but I have no idea if that's even in there. 
Of course. Can't believe I didn't get that immediately.
Thanks!
Is triangle cute better than circle cute? Is X sexy better than triangle banter?
Circle is better than Triangle is better than X.
Which customers should I push to extend?
It's basically random whether they'll accept or not, so I always went for extending a session if the option came up. More money and better rep if they accept.
How do I know whether to shout at the girl or the man?
It depends whether you want to keep the customer happy, or the hostess. The customer might stick around (so, better if they're rich) if you chastise the girl, but it'll take a chunk off her stamina bar. I usually turfed the guys out, just on principle. You'll not be hurting for reputation or money, if you put the kind of time into this minigame that I did…
How do I know which girl goes with which man?
Just look at the little happy face on the portrait.
Amazing, thank you!
This sounds like a really weird game.
This is only one very small, very weird part of a much larger, much weirder whole.
I've just started the 7th chapter today, having just finished 2 chapters with Kiryu (where I unlocked the business portfolio management game), I presume I'll get to do the cabaret stuff with Majima-san soon then? The sheer amount of stuff to do in this is ridiculous, I normally barely touch sidequests but whenever I see the speech bubble over an NPCs head I'm straight there to see what the games going to throw at me next. Today it was a kid wanting to cross a bridge in his letterman jacket but couldn't because other people were accusing him of picking a fight by wearing it, in a town full of Yakuza, Yanki's and Bosozoku and yet some snotty teen in a green jacket is seen as looking for trouble :lol:
I've not found Hang-On yet though. Also it's a shame i can't display my UFO Catcher toys in my rather depressing apartments. Hell, I'd love to be able to decorate the place from top to bottom!
The cabaret stuff will open up very soon. Don't expect to make much progress with the main game once you get that unlocked!
hostess club is way better than property management.
I've just started Kiwami, and is it just me, or did they write Majima all wrong in Zero?
He's a completely different character in 1, even aside from the crazy clothes. And obviously 1 came first, so why write him as a much more calm, likeable person in Zero? It's a real shock to see him acting like this now, in 1.
I think they tried to bridge that gap with the final cutscenes of Zero, but it was all a bit late in the day and yes it is a bit jarring.
Kiwami's definitely a big step down from Zero. You can tell it's a remake of a PS2 game, it's all a lot more simplistic (especially the sub-stories) and it's all so serious, there's very little humour in there. The stuff they've added for the remake, such as the Pocket Circuit stuff and the Majima Everywhere system, is more in line with the prequel, but it's all a bit jarring as the tone is completely different.
I'm still enjoying it - the main story's decent enough, and the combat's fun - but it definitely feels like something I'm going to play through fairly quickly, and then move on to the better games in the series. Apparently Kiwami 2 is a LOT better.
Well, I guess it does have some of Zero's charm. My hostess at the cabaret club was a little… surprising.
Spoiler - click to show
Apparently Kiwami 2 is a LOT better.
Welp this is true.
I started it immediately after finishing Kiwami 1, and the difference in quality is very pronounced. The new engine makes a big difference, too. It's the first time the locations have felt like living, breathing cities.
I'm probably going to skip 3, 4 and 5 – I'll watch a plot catch-up on YouTube. I don't think I can go back to the old engine (especially when they're technically PS3 games) after Kiwami 2.
But in 5 you become a cab driver!
Well the PS5 comes out this year, at which point my PS4 will get sidelined. I imagine if I tried to cram in 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 during that timeframe, I'd spend more time living as Kiryu than as myself.
I mean, he's better at karaoke than me, but I'd quite like to give my Real Life some love too.
5 is meant to be the best one after Zero, so it’d be a shame to skip it. I’ve taken a lengthy break since Kiwami 2 which should allow me to readjust to the PS3-era visuals of 3/4/5, I’m fully intending to play them through shortly.
There’s always Judgment if you want that new-engine-not-quite-Yakuza fix.
I'm about halfway through 3 right now and yes, it's technically quite the step back. It looks like the games break down as follows:
Clunky old PS3 engine: 3, 4
Funky new PS3 engine: 5, 0, Kiwami 1
Spanking new Dragon engine: 6, Kiwami 2, Judgment
Despite a 1080p/60fps upgrade, 3 shows its age. Kiryu's got a massive head and wild staring eyes and looks like he's wearing a fat suit. There are a lot of low-res textures on display, the combat system's really simplistic compared to what came later and it just feels like a PS3 game in a way that 0 did not. It's especially weird, due to all the remakes, playing a game that's explicitly the next chapter in a long-running saga, but which is also technically such a step back.
BUT despite that - the sub-stories really start to take off in this one, I've had some hilarious encounters so far and it's a lot better than Kiwami 1 (and possibly 2) in that regard. There are nearly 120 sub-stories in this one too which is huge. The plot continues straight from the earlier games so it's pretty unmissable in that regard. And while the early chapters in Okinawa are very slow and a bit disjointed, it all picks up massively once you get back to Kamurocho and, well, I'm enjoying myself. Even a low-tier Yakuza game is enormous fun. But I am looking forward to moving on to the next couple of games where the series really starts to find its feet.
So today in Kiwami 2, I rescued a sex-trafficked woman, and her sister was so grateful she became a 'hostess' in my pervy sex club. She's of average attractiveness so she won't earn me much money.
I mean, really?
I also made another woman believe in herself and start a music career, and she thanked me by… becoming a hostess in my pervy sex club.
Token sex objects. Gotta catch em all!
6 is definitely the most fun I've had with this series since Zero. (I gave up on Kiwami 2, and skipped the PS3 games.)
The new area is lovely, and I've already dressed up as the town mascot, helped a time traveller and fought some pirate ghosts.
Zero must have been bloody amazing for you to keep giving the series this many chances.
Really enjoying Like a Dragon, Ichiban is really likeable, I personally think the JRPG style to it really works (but then it feels like Persona) and it still manages to handle being completely serious and utterly mental.
I've hit a bit of a difficulty spike in Like a Dragon, so I'm doing a bit of exploring/grinding to improve my chances before retrying the boss fight that's given me trouble.
I'm finding a ton of stuff to do, though. Side quests pop up fairly regularly, the "Part Time Hero" stuff ticks along, and fights are avoidable if you want but not too difficult or drawn out if you do engage. (I did get wrecked by a couple of randos early on, but you just lose some money - and if you remember to deposit most of your cash in the conbini ATM you'll never lose much.) I finally found the place where you've got to turn in the Tojo crests.
Plus there's the business management minigame that I've not touched in about a dozen hours, and another minigame listed in the pause menu that I've still not even unlocked. I know you can date people as well, but I've not even encountered any of those characters yet, as far as I know. I've found a bunch of arcades, a darts bar and a handful of mahjong parlours, but haven't played any of them yet.
I may never see the end of this thing.
Finally started Like A Dragon - looks like it’ll be a hoot but bloody hell that is a LOT of cutscenes, even by the standard of this series. I’ve literally watched a whole movie’s worth and I’m still in chapter 1. It makes Yakuza 5 look positively snappy.
Yeah, it's a slow start - from memory, all of Chapter 1 is pretty glacial, but after that the cutscene frequency plummets.
At one point my headphones cut out and I couldn’t work out why until I realised the controller they were connected to had timed out - so that’s at least 20 minutes worth in one go with no player interaction at all. Still, at least they are good cutscenes, I guess. All Yakuza games start off slow so I’m sure it’ll get into the swing of things shortly.
Just started Zero. I was a bit worried after Kiwami 1 that there would be too much off a difference between the games.
No need to worry then, same map, same graphics, same gameplay.
Exactly what I wanted. Do the later games vary much?
If you've come from Kiwami 1, you're going to be blown away by Zero. The quality of the sub-stories and side activities is off the charts in comparison, and the main plot is superb too. Have fun.
All the games are pretty similar. All of them take place, at least in part, in Kamurocho, and part of the fun is seeing the city evolve over time. 3 and 4 are a bit rough, technically, as they're remasters of early PS3 games (the transition from Kiwami 2 which is all modern shiny goodness, to the very ropey-looking 3, is particularly jarring) but they're still great fun. And Kiryu's story continues through all of them so there is real benefit in playing them through in order.
The first big shake-up to the series doesn't come until Yakuza Like a Dragon (which is Y7) which has turn-based RPG combat rather than being an action-based brawler like all the rest.
OK, so 7 is tremendous, once it finally takes the training wheels off.
Only up to chapter 6 but it's already giving me that Zero feeling of "too much STUFF". Everywhere you look. Side-stories, weapon upgrades, mini-games, businesses, just things to do all over the place.
Shout-out to the "don't fall asleep at the arthouse cinema" mini-game which is the creepiest thing I've ever seen in a game. You end up nodding in a cinema seat surrounded by humanoid rams kind of… waggling at you. Then occasionally a chicken with a big pair of cymbals shows up. Someone was definitely on drugs when they made this, and I want some.
.
They got my personality spot on, at least.
.
Also, it's amazing what a great job they've done with the cast. It's impossible not to love the massive doofus of a main character, and the supporting cast are great too. I was worried about a Yakuza game without Kiryu, but honestly I don't even miss the guy.
Favourite things so far in Yakuza: Like a Dragon:
The only readily accessible place to buy weapons at the start of the game is the local sex shop. I've spent the first few hours whacking people with what is clearly an enormous vibrator, and something called an "Adult Ruler".
I have a successful property business, and it is managed by a chicken.
I can phone up a lobster I rescued, and get it to attack people.
Please see a doctor, I fear lockdown may be giving you hallucinations.
Favourite things so far in Yakuza: Like a Dragon:
The only readily accessible place to buy weapons at the start of the game is the local sex shop. I've spent the first few hours whacking people with what is clearly an enormous vibrator, and something called an "Adult Ruler".
I have a successful property business, and it is managed by a chicken.
I can phone up a lobster I rescued, and get it to attack people.
I like that your best mate is Hideo Kojima
Still plugging on with Like A Dragon, I'm finding it very hard to actually progress the plot because I keep getting side-tracked by ridiculous activities. I think that's a good sign. I've finally made it to (chapter 12 spoiler)
Spoiler - click to showSotenbori
so I'm getting there I think. What characters/jobs did you all settle on? I'm currently rocking Ichiban as his default Hero class, Saeko as Idol for healing, #5 as her default class as she's a killing machine, and #6 as Host simply because it's ridiculous. (Unlockable character names withheld for reasons of spoilers). I want to try out some other jobs but I've pumped so much time into levelling up these ones, especially for Ichiban, that I might end up doing that as an end-game activity. I did make Adachi into a breakdancer for a bit then felt guilty because the poor old sod looked so undignified.
Also, the business management mini-game basically gives you unlimited money once you've completed it - you can net yourself 3 million yen every 5 minutes or so. Worth sinking the time into (and it's pretty fun too).
I'd been using Saeko's default class because so many of the alternatives had atrocious outfits (looking at you, Night Queen, but not in a creepy way I swear) – but I just changed her to Idol with one of the alternate costumes that has her looking like a boring office lady. Don't really know what to do with Nanba – his default is pretty middling, but none of the others seem all that great either. He's currently a fortune teller (and not in the main party). My Adachi was an Enforcer for most of the game, but I've recently switched him to Bodyguard. Might swap back though - I've already seen most of those skills with Ichiban, and I miss the cattle prod skill.
Re: Sotenbori
Spoiler - click to show There's a 30-floor battle arena on the south side of the river, along the footpath on the west side, that's great for both leveling and earning some money - you'll net around 4 million yen for getting through the full thing. It's got unique rewards for completing each floor, and repeatable bonus objectives like completing them in a certain number of turns or without using healing skills.
Yeah, I'm just doing that now actually. Did the first 5 floors and hit a checkpoint so turned it off for the night, but it was pretty fun and should also help to get my Sujidex better populated.
When you switch classes, do you retain any of the skills from your previous class? i.e. is there any actual point to levelling up multiple jobs for a single character, other than the ability to switch between them at will?
As you level jobs, you unlock two types of skill – Job skills, which you lose when your switch, and Character skills, which stick around.
How do you switch jobs at will? I assumed I had to go back to the job centre every time.
Yeah you do - sorry that was a bit confusing. Can you tell which skills are character/job skills or is it just a case of seeing what sticks around when you switch?
I think there's a class icon in the background of ones that are job skills. From a quick Google it looks like each class only gets one Character skill.
I love the way that guide has clearly been put together by someone who's missed an entire optional character.
Like A Dragon chapter 12 spoiler:
Spoiler - click to showI know this is a bit of a soft reboot and doesn't really require any prior knowledge of the series to enjoy it, but speaking as someone who's played pretty much all the previous games, fuck me that was a great moment when Majima and Saejima made their entrance. Just absolute fan service of the highest order. Had no idea that was going to happen at all and I was grinning like a maniac all the way through the (remarkably tough) fight. Then KIRYU!
I'm loving this. I think it may be the best game in the series, it's certainly up there with Zero.
I think you pretty much now understand how I felt playing Cold Steel 4 after the previous games now.
Hit a vicious difficulty spike in chapter 14. Suddenly I'm about half a dozen levels behind where I need to be, despite having done a LOT of side content and other stuff, and finding myself getting one-shotted repeatedly. Time to go back to the battle arena and grind a few levels out, I guess.
Judgment - the very well-received Yakuza spin-off released a year or two ago - is getting an Xbox X/S and PS5 release on April 23. 60fps and contains all previously-released DLC. Not sure if it's coming to GamePass but all the other games have…