Let's Play Yakuza/Like a Dragon

[thefourfoldroot]

1 hour ago, TomoTakino said:

 

 

Thanks for your opinion!  You do have a point regarding console vs series and I can definitely see where you're coming from.  This is a thread about exploring the series and you're absolutely right about that though I do hope to encourage people to explore outside the games available to the west despite the language barrier.  But the new title "Dragons of Dojima" would be more of a "all encompassing series" title while the new Majima's Finest will be more about finishing the main series.  I hope this doesn't discourage you.

Won’t discourage me at all, I’ll still be playing every Yakuza I can and enjoying the thread.

 

I do just feel that you are setting yourself up for difficulties though. I mean, very likely the next Yakuza game will be PS5 only. Or certainly the next. By this logic you’ll then need a new category for those who no longer have (or never had) a PS4, in the same way that you are proposing a change here for those of us who don’t have a PS3…because ultimately this is a request due to many (myself included) not having a PS3; the “mainline Kamurocho” thing is just a post decision rationalisation I think.

 

To me the logical thing is to just split it by those available in the west and then those that need to be imported and so there may be language issues preventing people from enjoying the games. To further demarcate by console seems unnecessary.

 

However, If people like, I do suggest you could just start separate PS3, PS4, and PS5 Yakuza lists for those of us with console restrictions (with the PS5 list including PS4 games due to back compat), and then keep MF as an overarching ultimate goal, which would basically include all non duplicate games (you’d just have to decide if non localised games would be included).
 

BTW, I voted in favour in your proposal, just because other people wanted that option and I don’t really care too much either way. The above is just my logical thought process.

Edited June 24, 2021 by thefourfoldroot

[TomoTakino]

18 hours ago, thefourfoldroot said:

Won’t discourage me at all, I’ll still be playing every Yakuza I can and enjoying the thread.

 

I do just feel that you are setting yourself up for difficulties though. I mean, very likely the next Yakuza game will be PS5 only. Or certainly the next. By this logic you’ll then need a new category for those who no longer have (or never had) a PS4, in the same way that you are proposing a change here for those of us who don’t have a PS3…because ultimately this is a request due to many (myself included) not having a PS3; the “mainline Kamurocho” thing is just a post decision rationalisation I think.

 

To me the logical thing is to just split it by those available in the west and then those that need to be imported and so there may be language issues preventing people from enjoying the games. To further demarcate by console seems unnecessary.

 

However, If people like, I do suggest you could just start separate PS3, PS4, and PS5 Yakuza lists for those of us with console restrictions (with the PS5 list including PS4 games due to back compat), and then keep MF as an overarching ultimate goal, which would basically include all non duplicate games (you’d just have to decide if non localised games would be included).
 

BTW, I voted in favour in your proposal, just because other people wanted that option and I don’t really care too much either way. The above is just my logical thought process.

 

I really appreciate your detailed response and explanations and I'm very glad to hear your opinions and having this discussion.  Thanks for sharing!  I can definitely see your point of view in dividing the series and I can very much agree that mainline series explanation is pretty much post decision rationalization.  Though, in all fairness, group discussion like this often does allow you to gain new ideas and view points that help further rationalize decisions you already had.  The main reason I brought this up to begin with was because the vast majority of people who join and are going through the series don't seem to have access to a PS3 and therefore Dead Souls.  Couple that with the fact that the PS3 has been discontinued for the past 5 years (and are only becoming harder to find) and what we thought was the closure of the PS3 store in the near future (which would have limited access to the game further) and this definitely made me think.  In contrast, every other game that has been translated is easily available on PS4 (and by extension PS5) and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will remain easily available for many years to come, especially due to PS5's backwards compatibility.  Also, I did something similar on my LP Resident Evil thread and it seemed to go over well.  But I also wanted your guys opinions about this because your opinions matter and I never want to implement a change that would cause you guys to become less interested in the thread.  Also, I appreciate your vote but for others your opinion matters even if it's against the crowd so please vote how you would prefer.

 

Also, I did put it to a vote previously about whether or not to track console completions separately, but the vote seemed to fizzle out with no clear consensus.  At this time, everyone is free to discuss it but I don't want to throw the whole thread in chaos right now.  Definitely open to it though if everyone would like this to be a thing.

 

I've been thinking about how to do this split most efficiently and perhaps the following is the best way to do this and compromise so everyone is happy:

• A new category is created that comprises only the main series (Yakuza 0-7): Tojo Clan Captains (or something with a better name).
• Majima's Finest remains how it is with all western games being a requirement including dead souls.
• Dragons of Dojima is created that includes all unique platinums including the Japanese only games.

Yes, this may not allow for DoD to be as diverse as Undead Wolf suggested but this would create a new category that eases the requirements while making Majima's finest about going for the side games and rewarding those who imported.  I'm really not trying to throw more at you guys especially this close to the deadline but please let me know your thoughts on this.  I don't want to go against the vote (which if it passes will take effect on Sunday) but I feel this would be the most effective way to split up the series without having to have detailed explanations about each category.  Please let me know if you guys are opposed to this.  Thanks.

[bogaards1997]

27 minutes ago, TomoTakino said:

• A new category is created that comprises only the main series (Yakuza 0-7): Tojo Clan Captains (or something with a better name).

Koi dragon is a better title.

[thefourfoldroot]

@TomoTakino

To me, the most sensible long term solution to the console obsolescence problem (for now PS3) is to commit to separate lists per platform. Then have an ultimate category for those committed to getting everything Yakuza related across platforms. As such, I’d like to retract my support in your poll and change to “other” (it doesn’t let me actually change it, but you can do the maths!)

Edited June 25, 2021 by thefourfoldroot

[TehUberCheezCatz]

Here's my take, as an outsider with no stake in this shit.
I agree with segregating the import games, cause making people import, especially in a language they probably can't read, sucks, and isn't particularly fair.

But separating by console has its own problems, by jailing people to play specific versions of games they might not want to, like people who don't want to try and find y3 on the ps3.

I guess the best option so far is the three separate titles by main, west, and all, even if the main is just to stop complaining?

[bogaards1997]

@TomoTakino

Does Dragons of Dojima olso include the HD collection or is this covered by Kiwami? 

[Redgrave]

14 hours ago, TomoTakino said:

 

I really appreciate your detailed response and explanations and I'm very glad to hear your opinions and having this discussion.  Thanks for sharing!  I can definitely see your point of view in dividing the series and I can very much agree that mainline series explanation is pretty much post decision rationalization.  Though, in all fairness, group discussion like this often does allow you to gain new ideas and view points that help further rationalize decisions you already had.  The main reason I brought this up to begin with was because the vast majority of people who join and are going through the series don't seem to have access to a PS3 and therefore Dead Souls.  Couple that with the fact that the PS3 has been discontinued for the past 5 years (and are only becoming harder to find) and what we thought was the closure of the PS3 store in the near future (which would have limited access to the game further) and this definitely made me think.  In contrast, every other game that has been translated is easily available on PS4 (and by extension PS5) and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will remain easily available for many years to come, especially due to PS5's backwards compatibility.  Also, I did something similar on my LP Resident Evil thread and it seemed to go over well.  But I also wanted your guys opinions about this because your opinions matter and I never want to implement a change that would cause you guys to become less interested in the thread.  Also, I appreciate your vote but for others your opinion matters even if it's against the crowd so please vote how you would prefer.

 

Also, I did put it to a vote previously about whether or not to track console completions separately, but the vote seemed to fizzle out with no clear consensus.  At this time, everyone is free to discuss it but I don't want to throw the whole thread in chaos right now.  Definitely open to it though if everyone would like this to be a thing.

 

I've been thinking about how to do this split most efficiently and perhaps the following is the best way to do this and compromise so everyone is happy:

• A new category is created that comprises only the main series (Yakuza 0-7): Tojo Clan Captains (or something with a better name).
• Majima's Finest remains how it is with all western games being a requirement including dead souls.
• Dragons of Dojima is created that includes all unique platinums including the Japanese only games.

Yes, this may not allow for DoD to be as diverse as Undead Wolf suggested but this would create a new category that eases the requirements while making Majima's finest about going for the side games and rewarding those who imported.  I'm really not trying to throw more at you guys especially this close to the deadline but please let me know your thoughts on this.  I don't want to go against the vote (which if it passes will take effect on Sunday) but I feel this would be the most effective way to split up the series without having to have detailed explanations about each category.  Please let me know if you guys are opposed to this.  Thanks.

 

I feel like this makes it more complicated than it needs to be since it still leaves some people like me who have done Fist of the North Star and/or Judgment somewhere in-between the Tojo Clan Captain and Majima's Finest. If there were to be a third rank I wouldn't be opposed to it being for those that have only done the mainline series but I still think the suggestion Undead Wolf did is still the best way to go.

[TomoTakino]

Thank you guys so much for your feedback and voicing your opinions.  I really do enjoy reading your guys thoughts about the thread and becoming involved in how it works.  It means a lot!  I'm glad to see people also voicing their concerns too, it really helps me see things in a different viewpoint.  After much talking and deliberation, I've implemented a new system.  We now have Tojo Clan Captains for those who have platinumed the main series.  We have Majima's Finest, which remains pretty much the same minus Dead Souls (it requires both of the other spin offs though as well as any future spin offs) and Dragons of Dojima, which requires all including Dead Souls and the three Japanese only games.  I have also separated Dead Souls into its own category: Survivors of the End.  The reason for this is I did something similar in another LP thread that seemed to go over well.  For now, Dead Souls will be considered a bonus game.  I hope you all enjoy the new system, feel free to keep leaving comments and thoughts and if you guys really don't like this new change, I will revert it back to the old system.  Congrats to all of the new Majima's Finest/Tojo Captain members and super congrats to our first Dragon of Dojima: Undead Wolf!

 

On a side note, looking on eBay and Amazon, Dead Souls is hovering around $50-$70 (£36-£50) which is starting to get more and more expensive as well.  Sega could always make more (like they did with Yakuza 2 a few years back) but I'm sure it will get worse before it gets better and the price has already jumped over 200% since I bought it in 2019.  This is probably further reason to exclude it.

 

15 hours ago, thefourfoldroot said:

@TomoTakino

To me, the most sensible long term solution to the console obsolescence problem (for now PS3) is to commit to separate lists per platform. Then have an ultimate category for those committed to getting everything Yakuza related across platforms. As such, I’d like to retract my support in your poll and change to “other” (it doesn’t let me actually change it, but you can do the maths!)

Thanks for pointing this out and I did mentally change your vote.  In my opinion though, Dead Souls is the only game to really suffer from obsolescence as it's the only game not available on any other platform and is not playable in any form on modern hardware.  PS5 is fully compatible with all PS4 Ryu ga Gotoku games and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will remain so for the entirety of the PS5's lifecycle.  This means that the PS4 titles aren't in any danger of facing the same problem as Dead Souls, even if PS5 versions come out later (or exclusively).  The only benefit I personally can see for tracking consoles in this manner is for the two games that vary from their previous list: Yakuza 3 (which had cut content/different translation) and Judgment (which PS5 made an easier list).  Outside of these two lists, the other console versions share the same lists/content.  I'm not trying to cut down your ideas (I really do appreciate feedback like this, thanks a ton, you've been very helpful) but more I'm not seeing how this would benefit the thread outside of encouraging more people to double platinum games as Dead Souls really is the only game that faces this issue.  But I am more than happy to track individual platforms moving forward on the tournament fighters section if that's what the community wants (though the tiles will still be rewarded once per completion).

 

13 hours ago, TehUberCheezCatz said:

Here's my take, as an outsider with no stake in this shit.
I agree with segregating the import games, cause making people import, especially in a language they probably can't read, sucks, and isn't particularly fair.

But separating by console has its own problems, by jailing people to play specific versions of games they might not want to, like people who don't want to try and find y3 on the ps3.

I guess the best option so far is the three separate titles by main, west, and all, even if the main is just to stop complaining?

 

Thanks and welcome!  I appreciate your opinion.  It isn't so much that other people have been complaining, more so that a good majority of people in the thread don't seem to have access to PS3 anymore (or it would be a big hassle to get it out) and PS3 is getting harder to find.  And I really don't think thefourfoldroot is suggesting people in the thread would be forced to a specific version (we really don't want people forcing themselves to play the series here, especially in a language they can't understand), more that there would be a reward for people who do play different platforms.  But I appreciate your feedback!

 

11 hours ago, bogaards1997 said:

@TomoTakino

Does Dragons of Dojima olso include the HD collection or is this covered by Kiwami? 

 

Correct.  Dragons of Dojima includes the Japan only HD collection.  Kiwami would not cover it because of how vastly different Kiwami 1 and 2 are to the original PS2 versions, so to earn that title you would have to plat both the HD games and both Kiwamis.  But in the Tojo Clan Captains section, you could substitute either or (as they both cover the events of 1 and 2).

 

6 hours ago, Redgrave said:

 

I feel like this makes it more complicated than it needs to be since it still leaves some people like me who have done Fist of the North Star and/or Judgment somewhere in-between the Tojo Clan Captain and Majima's Finest. If there were to be a third rank I wouldn't be opposed to it being for those that have only done the mainline series but I still think the suggestion Undead Wolf did is still the best way to go.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!  I've implemented mine/Undead Wolf's plan with one exception that I made after some thought.  I felt that excluding FotNS from Majima's Finest, despite being so different, would have made things difficult for newcomers.  Dragons of Dojima is more for people who are very invested in the series to the point they're willing to explore games that aren't even translated.  Putting Fist of the North Star in with that would mean people would most likely ignore FotNS in the scope of the thread as they would have to import and platinum three Japan only games in order to get Dragons of Dojima and it would likely lead to this game being sidelined.  Plus, barring Dead Souls which is now considered a bonus game, all of the spin offs are in Majima's Finest, which will differentiate it from Tojo Clan Captain now.  Had we retained the two tier plan, I would definitely have kept the plan as is.  But congrats buddy, you're finally part of Majima's Finest.

[thefourfoldroot]

@TomoTakino

Thanks for your continued support and engagement with the group.

 

I agree that currently the only game with a console obsolescence problem is Dead Souls, and fully support your new system.
 

I was just trying to save you additional work in the future because, inevitably, games will soon become PS5 only and, by your own reasoning, you’ll soon have to make a new group for those who only have a PS4 but no PS5 (because expecting people to buy a PS5 currently is worse than the expectation they’ll need to buy a PS3 for Dead Souls).

 

Still, good for me that I no longer need to buy the cables, PS3 controller, and Dead Souls to get MF!

[Redgrave]

12 hours ago, TomoTakino said:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!  I've implemented mine/Undead Wolf's plan with one exception that I made after some thought.  I felt that excluding FotNS from Majima's Finest, despite being so different, would have made things difficult for newcomers.  Dragons of Dojima is more for people who are very invested in the series to the point they're willing to explore games that aren't even translated.  Putting Fist of the North Star in with that would mean people would most likely ignore FotNS in the scope of the thread as they would have to import and platinum three Japan only games in order to get Dragons of Dojima and it would likely lead to this game being sidelined.  Plus, barring Dead Souls which is now considered a bonus game, all of the spin offs are in Majima's Finest, which will differentiate it from Tojo Clan Captain now.  Had we retained the two tier plan, I would definitely have kept the plan as is.  But congrats buddy, you're finally part of Majima's Finest.

 

Thanks for taking the time to go through with this and looking at feedback ? I think the change works out for everyone in the end now. But yeah, maybe some day Sega will release Dead Souls with a Kenzan and Ishin remaster/remake that would make getting Dead Souls easier but I guess because of the lukewarm reception it had initially they probably aren't eager to go releasing it again on its own.

 

And yeah, I was thinking about how Fist of the North Star could probably be included too since that one is easier than Dead Souls to get but I wasn't really sure how to implement it without making it more complicated myself so I'm glad it worked out the way it did. But alright, glad I could make it to the Majima's Finest list now ?

 

[Grotz99]

On 6/26/2021 at 2:30 AM, TomoTakino said:

On a side note, looking on eBay and Amazon, Dead Souls is hovering around $50-$70 (£36-£50) which is starting to get more and more expensive as well.  Sega could always make more (like they did with Yakuza 2 a few years back) but I'm sure it will get worse before it gets better and the price has already jumped over 200% since I bought it in 2019.  This is probably further reason to exclude it.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I was actually looking at buying Dead Souls recently and yes it's around that price on Ebay, but apparently it's on the PS3 store for $20?

[ShadyWARcotix]

Got my FotNS platinum trophy unlocked today and will do Like A Dragon in the near future. Happy hunting guys.

[thefourfoldroot]

@TomoTakino

Just finished Judgment, thankfully! What a slog that was! Two main problems for me: I had no connection to the characters, who were mostly dull (as was the main storyline in which they were placed incidentally), and the combat was no fun (slow animations, no immediacy, movement a bit “loose”).

 

The Plat itself was straightforward though, without the Ultimate challenge fights of the Yakuza series. The Puyo Puyo challenge I found easy once I learnt the tower method, but I understand it is a bit RNG too and perhaps I got lucky to get all the characters in play with only a couple of 30+ runs. More annoying was the drone time trials, but generally there was only one point on each circuit that had to be practiced and, once down, it was easy.

 

It became pointless to fight once the VR game was open and you had the experience drinks, yet there was nothing to equip to prevent fights, and the alternative of the stealth extract cost more time to run around buying the ingredients than you would save not fighting so, along with the aforementioned combat issues, every red triangle became an immediate annoyance to be avoided.

 

I really hope the sequel is better. As the only action based Yakuza type game they are making now I really want to get into the series. They just need to bring in some new playable characters with better combat, a personality I like, and new fightstyles that are more fun.

 

Anyway, I’m going to play some other stuff before getting to Fist of the North Star, and I’m waiting until the price of like a dragon comes down, so looks like I won’t be one of MF for a while.

 

edit: OK, found Like a Dragon for £18 so had to get and play it immediately. Already loving it, but a little disappointed the plat doesn’t require fuller completion. As I understand it the mini games aren’t needed and you don’t even need to finish all the side stories.

Edited July 11, 2021 by thefourfoldroot

[TomoTakino]

On 6/26/2021 at 4:38 AM, thefourfoldroot said:

@TomoTakino

Thanks for your continued support and engagement with the group.

 

I agree that currently the only game with a console obsolescence problem is Dead Souls, and fully support your new system.
 

I was just trying to save you additional work in the future because, inevitably, games will soon become PS5 only and, by your own reasoning, you’ll soon have to make a new group for those who only have a PS4 but no PS5 (because expecting people to buy a PS5 currently is worse than the expectation they’ll need to buy a PS3 for Dead Souls).

 

Still, good for me that I no longer need to buy the cables, PS3 controller, and Dead Souls to get MF!

On 7/6/2021 at 2:42 PM, thefourfoldroot said:

@TomoTakino

Just finished Judgment, thankfully! What a slog that was! Two main problems for me: I had no connection to the characters, who were mostly dull (as was the main storyline in which they were placed incidentally), and the combat was no fun (slow animations, no immediacy, movement a bit “loose”).

 

The Plat itself was straightforward though, without the Ultimate challenge fights of the Yakuza series. The Puyo Puyo challenge I found easy once I learnt the tower method, but I understand it is a bit RNG too and perhaps I got lucky to get all the characters in play with only a couple of 30+ runs. More annoying was the drone time trials, but generally there was only one point on each circuit that had to be practiced and, once down, it was easy.

 

It became pointless to fight once the VR game was open and you had the experience drinks, yet there was nothing to equip to prevent fights, and the alternative of the stealth extract cost more time to run around buying the ingredients than you would save not fighting so, along with the aforementioned combat issues, every red triangle became an immediate annoyance to be avoided.

 

I really hope the sequel is better. As the only action based Yakuza type game they are making now I really want to get into the series. They just need to bring in some new playable characters with better combat, a personality I like, and new fightstyles that are more fun.

 

Anyway, I’m going to play some other stuff before getting to Fist of the North Star, and I’m waiting until the price of like a dragon comes down, so looks like I won’t be one of MF for a while.

 

edit: OK, found Like a Dragon for £18 so had to get and play it immediately. Already loving it, but a little disappointed the plat doesn’t require fuller completion. As I understand it the mini games aren’t needed and you don’t even need to finish all the side stories.

 

Thanks for being a big part of it!  I'm glad it seems like the new system works best for everyone and I thank you (and everyone else for that matter) for your opinions and input.  I hope that this gives people multiple goals to strive for without anyone feeling left out.  And I really do appreciate your arguments and giving me new perspectives to look at.  I do respectfully disagree with what you're saying about creating a separate group for PS5 though.  The biggest difference for me personally is that PS5s are continually in production and will become easier to find over time as more and more start to exist while PS3s are becoming more scarce and harder to find as time goes on (unless somehow they integrate PS3 backwards compatibility in the future).  Thankfully, it sounds like most developers are going to continue supporting PS4 for at least a couple more years (based on what I've read) so hopefully Ryu ga Gotoku studios don't completely jump ship to PS5 just yet.  Hopefully all the success of being multiplatform now will keep them supporting both generations for a while.

 

I'm sorry again to hear you didn't like Judgment much.  From what little I've played, it does seem a bit slower paced.  It was interesting reading your perspective though.  I suppose I'll see when I fire it up again in the future.  But hopefully you're enjoying Yakuza Like a Dragon.  Awesome that they had a sale on it!  And on a funny side note, I talked to my wife about possibly breaking away and focusing on completing these by myself and she told me "you better prepare to play it twice then" lol.  I'm getting near the end of Yakuza 3 though.  Here's your tile!

 

@thefourfoldroot

Spoiler

 

On 6/26/2021 at 2:43 PM, Redgrave said:

Thanks for taking the time to go through with this and looking at feedback I think the change works out for everyone in the end now. But yeah, maybe some day Sega will release Dead Souls with a Kenzan and Ishin remaster/remake that would make getting Dead Souls easier but I guess because of the lukewarm reception it had initially they probably aren't eager to go releasing it again on its own.

 

And yeah, I was thinking about how Fist of the North Star could probably be included too since that one is easier than Dead Souls to get but I wasn't really sure how to implement it without making it more complicated myself so I'm glad it worked out the way it did. But alright, glad I could make it to the Majima's Finest list now

 

 

Thank you for giving your thoughts on the matter!  Hopefully they do release an updated Dead Souls/Kenzan/Ishin after Lost Judgment.  I'd preorder them day one.  And welcome to Majima's Finest!  I'm glad things worked out!  On an unrelated note, I have a similar picture as my phone's wallpaper (Kiryu and Majima dancing) lol.

 

On 6/28/2021 at 10:46 AM, Grotz99 said:

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I was actually looking at buying Dead Souls recently and yes it's around that price on Ebay, but apparently it's on the PS3 store for $20?

 

You're absolutely correct.  But my concern is also that Sony very nearly took that option away by shutting down the PS3 store.  Who's to say they won't try again in the near future?  And there's also the investment cost of getting a working PS3 on top of that, which will likely only increase with time.

 

On 7/1/2021 at 8:19 AM, ShadyWARcotix said:

Got my FotNS platinum trophy unlocked today and will do Like A Dragon in the near future. Happy hunting guys.

 

Awesome job!  You're one platinum away from Majima's Finest!  Best of luck with LAD!  Here's your tile!

 

@ShadyWARcotix

Spoiler

 

[thefourfoldroot]

@TomoTakino

Yes, maybe I was a little too optimistic about Yakuza going truly next generation, I fear you are correct and they’ll hold the games back and keep them on last gen systems for commercial reasons. At least for a little while yet.

 

im loving Like a Dragon so far, although I haven’t had much time to play it. I also started Fist of the North Star for one night before I found LaD and that seemed fun too. 
 

LaD still hasn’t had a proper sale unfortunately. But I did find it at my local CEX for £18. Can currently get £13 trade back, so effectively only £5. Judgment ended up costing my £4, lol. Really see no point in paying 10 times more for digital copies.

 

Its good that you can experience it along with your wife. When I’m playing my wife looks on it with incredulity because of the Japanese wackiness.

Edited July 15, 2021 by thefourfoldroot

[NullRay85]

I've reached Saejima's chapter in Yakuza 5 and so far I'm enjoying it more than Kiryu's. The hunting mini-game is pretty neat though though the map itself is small.

[TomoTakino]

Well, I've finally beaten Yakuza 3.  I'd have to say it was interesting at first but kinda petered out near the end for me.  I think it's because I chose to play it on Hard mode and everyone is constantly guarding which got old really fast (I resorted to throwing most of the enemies a lot of time until I learned the Tiger Fist).  I will likely start Yakuza 4 tomorrow for the story (my wife is off with me tomorrow) and catch up on completing Yakuza 3 when I'm by myself again.  I mainly just have minigames and hitman missions so I can unlock the last substory and trophies then do a Legend run.

 

On 7/14/2021 at 11:50 PM, thefourfoldroot said:

@TomoTakino

Yes, maybe I was a little too optimistic about Yakuza going truly next generation, I fear you are correct and they’ll hold the games back and keep them on last gen systems for commercial reasons. At least for a little while yet.

 

im loving Like a Dragon so far, although I haven’t had much time to play it. I also started Fist of the North Star for one night before I found LaD and that seemed fun too. 
 

LaD still hasn’t had a proper sale unfortunately. But I did find it at my local CEX for £18. Can currently get £13 trade back, so effectively only £5. Judgment ended up costing my £4, lol. Really see no point in paying 10 times more for digital copies.

 

Its good that you can experience it along with your wife. When I’m playing my wife looks on it with incredulity because of the Japanese wackiness.

 

Yeah I have a feeling until the PS5 and Series X become more commonplace and build up their user bases, Sega will continue to port games to the PS4 (especially given how popular the PS4 was).  I'm glad to hear you're enjoying LaD though, I hear it's a lot of fun despite the battle changes.  And I'm glad to hear about the deal you got.  Are you gonna finish off LaD and get the Tojo Clan Captain title or go for FotNS first when you've got some time?

 

And yeah, I'm definitely not complaining that she's interested in the series, I really enjoy that we can share it together.  But we work opposite shifts so it's hard to coordinate sometimes.  Still, now that we've beaten the story of Yakuza 3, we'll move on to Yakuza 4 and hopefully get a buffer so I can clean up completions when I'm alone (she's only really interested in the substories and story).

 

On 7/15/2021 at 11:02 AM, NullRay85 said:

I've reached Saejima's chapter in Yakuza 5 and so far I'm enjoying it more than Kiryu's. The hunting mini-game is pretty neat though though the map itself is small.

 

Awesome!  I'm glad to hear it.  Haven't gotten that far in the series yet but I'm excited to play Yakuza 5 (I've heard it's pretty awesome).

[thefourfoldroot]

 

@TomoTakino

Congrats on finishing 3 further. I can understand the fighting might have been tedious on hard. I did the first run on easy and, until you learn moves to guard break, it is extremely tedious to fight even on that difficulty.

 

I hope you like 4. Unfortunately I found it not so good from a narrative perspective; introduced new characters but without much depth. It definitely pays off in 5 though!

 

I’m continuing with LaD before going back to Fist. I already know I’ll like it more.

 

BtW: did you delete / hide your old profile or games and / or make one with just PS5 games?

Edited July 19, 2021 by thefourfoldroot

[TomoTakino]

On 7/19/2021 at 4:30 AM, thefourfoldroot said:

 

@TomoTakino

Congrats on finishing 3 further. I can understand the fighting might have been tedious on hard. I did the first run on easy and, until you learn moves to guard break, it is extremely tedious to fight even on that difficulty.

 

I hope you like 4. Unfortunately I found it not so good from a narrative perspective; introduced new characters but without much depth. It definitely pays off in 5 though!

 

I’m continuing with LaD before going back to Fist. I already know I’ll like it more.

 

BtW: did you delete / hide your old profile or games and / or make one with just PS5 games?

 

Thanks!  Yeah I decided just grind through it on hard since it wasn't too tough, it was just super aggravating trying to hit enemies who kept guarding.  That and it felt like every five steps someone would attack you.  But I started 4 yesterday and it seems interesting but I'm only on Chapter 2.  Also best of luck with Fist!

 

But no, this is my original profile and I haven't changed anything on it.  I did hide a couple games in the past for various reasons that stayed hidden after I unhid them.  My only other accounts are my JPN and EUR accounts which I don't really trophy hunt with.  Why do you ask @thefourfoldroot?

Edited July 21, 2021 by TomoTakino

[ShadyWARcotix]

On 19.7.2021 at 11:05 AM, TomoTakino said:

Well, I've finally beaten Yakuza 3.  I'd have to say it was interesting at first but kinda petered out near the end for me.  I think it's because I chose to play it on Hard mode and everyone is constantly guarding which got old really fast (I resorted to throwing most of the enemies a lot of time until I learned the Tiger Fist).  I will likely start Yakuza 4 tomorrow for the story (my wife is off with me tomorrow) and catch up on completing Yakuza 3 when I'm by myself again.  I mainly just have minigames and hitman missions so I can unlock the last substory and trophies then do a Legend run.

 

 

Yeah I have a feeling until the PS5 and Series X become more commonplace and build up their user bases, Sega will continue to port games to the PS4 (especially given how popular the PS4 was).  I'm glad to hear you're enjoying LaD though, I hear it's a lot of fun despite the battle changes.  And I'm glad to hear about the deal you got.  Are you gonna finish off LaD and get the Tojo Clan Captain title or go for FotNS first when you've got some time?

 

And yeah, I'm definitely not complaining that she's interested in the series, I really enjoy that we can share it together.  But we work opposite shifts so it's hard to coordinate sometimes.  Still, now that we've beaten the story of Yakuza 3, we'll move on to Yakuza 4 and hopefully get a buffer so I can clean up completions when I'm alone (she's only really interested in the substories and story).

 

 

Awesome!  I'm glad to hear it.  Haven't gotten that far in the series yet but I'm excited to play Yakuza 5 (I've heard it's pretty awesome).

 

Yakuza 5 feels like they could make 2 games of it. It's crazy how many stuff they put in it but there will be one thing you will hate to the core and it's called colloseum. I don't wanna spoil to much but you will understand when you get there. 

 

The 100% in this game is crazy and it's the longest Yakuza game in the series to plat. You will definetely love it. 

[thefourfoldroot]

On 21/07/2021 at 8:40 AM, TomoTakino said:

 

Thanks!  Yeah I decided just grind through it on hard since it wasn't too tough, it was just super aggravating trying to hit enemies who kept guarding.  That and it felt like every five steps someone would attack you.  But I started 4 yesterday and it seems interesting but I'm only on Chapter 2.  Also best of luck with Fist!

 

But no, this is my original profile and I haven't changed anything on it.  I did hide a couple games in the past for various reasons that stayed hidden after I unhid them.  My only other accounts are my JPN and EUR accounts which I don't really trophy hunt with.  Why do you ask @thefourfoldroot?

Well, I took a quick peak and your profile was only showing the PS5 games, nothing else, and I just thought it was strange. It’s back to showing everything now though. Must have been some type of glitch or something. It was like all your PS4 games where hidden and it showed stats like that.

 

I hope you like 4 better than I did! It’s a good game overall.

Edited July 26, 2021 by thefourfoldroot

[TomoTakino]

On 7/21/2021 at 1:08 AM, ShadyWARcotix said:

 

Yakuza 5 feels like they could make 2 games of it. It's crazy how many stuff they put in it but there will be one thing you will hate to the core and it's called colloseum. I don't wanna spoil to much but you will understand when you get there. 

 

The 100% in this game is crazy and it's the longest Yakuza game in the series to plat. You will definetely love it. 

 

Thanks for your input!  I think that's one of the reasons I'm looking so forward to it but I will definitely be on the lookout for the colosseum (hopefully it wasn't as bad as the wrestling in Yakuza 0).  Thanks for sharing!

 

On 7/21/2021 at 10:59 AM, thefourfoldroot said:

Well, I took a quick park and your profile was only showing the PS5 games, nothing else, and I just thought it was strange. It’s back to showing everything now though. Must have been some type of glitch or something. It was like all your PS4 games where hidden and it showed stats like that.

 

I hope you like 4 better than I did! It’s a good game overall.

 

Thanks!  I was worried for a minute that someone else created a profile like me but that's very strange.  Thanks for pointing that out though I'm not sure why it would do that.  And so far I'm liking 4 a lot but I think it's more the improvements over 3 (and the fact I'm starting this time on normal and no one is blocking near as much).  I did finally wrap up batting in Y3 though.  You were right, it does feel like there are some weird timing issues with it where I feel like it's a good hit and it isn't.  I ended up using my Wii U's sensor bar and dangling it over the TV where the marker was to aim on Extra Hard.  Once I finally got the timing down I managed to clear it without too much hassle.  I just have the gambling games and fishing/darts to complete the minigames but I'm nearly done with darts.  Then I'll probably move to the colosseum after that.

[ShadyWARcotix]

1 hour ago, TomoTakino said:

 

Thanks for your input!  I think that's one of the reasons I'm looking so forward to it but I will definitely be on the lookout for the colosseum (hopefully it wasn't as bad as the wrestling in Yakuza 0).  Thanks for sharing!

 

Ah fuck it. I just tell it but no worries, no story spoilers.

Wrestling in Yakuza 0 was luck based but this is skill based. The reason why you will hate the colloseum in Yakuza 5 is you have to beat it with everyone I think?! And there is one particular mission in the colloseum where you have to beat 13 waves of enemies with Akiyama and the event is called "Limited Berzerk". Because Akiyamas attacks are so weak you will be frustrated really fast. Imagine dying on wave 12 or 13 over and over again and imagine you have no chance to heal yourself.... man this was hell and I believe this was the hardest task in the whole game. But like I said I enjoyed the hell outta Yakuza 5 and I admit it.. in the end I miss those "first time experience" with the Yakuza series. I'm so glad that I had the chance to play almost all Yakuza games on the ps4. I always saw those videos where Kiryu beats some people on the streets and never thought that Yakuza will have a special place in my heart. Yakuza 0 is my favorite game in the series but every Yakuza game has some charm in it and it's one of my favorite series now.

Edited July 22, 2021 by ShadyWARcotix

[Redgrave]

On 7/22/2021 at 3:36 PM, TomoTakino said:

 

Thanks for your input!  I think that's one of the reasons I'm looking so forward to it but I will definitely be on the lookout for the colosseum (hopefully it wasn't as bad as the wrestling in Yakuza 0).  Thanks for sharing!

 

On 7/22/2021 at 5:14 PM, ShadyWARcotix said:

 

Ah fuck it. I just tell it but no worries, no story spoilers.

Wrestling in Yakuza 0 was luck based but this is skill based. The reason why you will hate the colloseum in Yakuza 5 is you have to beat it with everyone I think?! And there is one particular mission in the colloseum where you have to beat 13 waves of enemies with Akiyama and the event is called "Limited Berzerk". Because Akiyamas attacks are so weak you will be frustrated really fast. Imagine dying on wave 12 or 13 over and over again and imagine you have no chance to heal yourself.... man this was hell and I believe this was the hardest task in the whole game. But like I said I enjoyed the hell outta Yakuza 5 and I admit it.. in the end I miss those "first time experience" with the Yakuza series. I'm so glad that I had the chance to play almost all Yakuza games on the ps4. I always saw those videos where Kiryu beats some people on the streets and never thought that Yakuza will have a special place in my heart. Yakuza 0 is my favorite game in the series but every Yakuza game has some charm in it and it's one of my favorite series now.

 

Yes, you do have to beat it as all the characters. I think Akiyama and Shinada are the most difficult ones to do it with although Shinada can at least heal himself with the L3 and R3 healing ability whereas they didn't give Akiyama that ability for some reason. But for Akiyama's Limited Berserk and pretty much all of the tournaments you can spam his backflip attack that can stun lock enemies on the ground most of the time and it builds up Heat pretty quickly. I think I remember not liking doing Shinada the most since he doesn't have much of a moveset compared to everyone else and so I mostly just mashed his SST combo over and over throughout the whole colosseum. If Shinada didn't have that healing ability I think he would have been the worst one to do the colosseum with for sure.

 

I also remember there being a few opponents that were a pain in the ass because they would do funky AI things like a command grab while you're in the middle of a combo or they get hyper armor where they just don't flinch whenever you hit them but they are perfectly capable of knocking you on your ass or stunning you when they start to get aggressive. I forget their names but at least two of them were wrestler guys and one of them was a guy that wears a white suit and hat. I know there were a couple others like that but those are the more notorious ones I remember.

 

Saejima and Kiryu make the colosseum a joke because of how tanky Saejima is along with having his own Tiger Drop ability and Kiryu has his Dragon Spirit ability that makes him invincible as long as you have heat and it's really easy to get Heat with Kiryu when you have all the upgrades. So yeah, definitely go for the colosseum when you have all the upgrades.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Redgrave

[NullRay85]

Finally finished Yakuza 5 today and by far, it's the most ambitious game in the series story and gameplay-wise. Loved the twists in the story, the awesome characters, varied gameplay, and the amount of content in store. It took me over 80 hours to beat with a 50% completion rate and 58% trophy progress. I'm mainly playing the games for fun but good luck to everyone planning on platting the game.

 

All in all, an amazing experience and my favorite in the series after 0 and Kiwami. If I had to rate it, it's def a 9/10.

 

Right now, I'm waiting for Lost Judgement then after that going back to finally starting 6 then 7.