So is the new effort put into Yakuza 3 PS4 really noticeable?

[DaveMcDamage]

Hi everyone, 

 

I started with Yakuza Zero a months back. Probably one of the greatest games I've ever played let alone this gen. Then I played Kiwami, not as good but still had a great experience. Then moved onto Kiwami 2 and was blown away, mostly by the story. 

 

So for those of you that couldn't wait, is the remaster of Yakuza 3 a job well done? I ask because I am aware they didn't put as much work into what they did the Kiwami remakes, but still hear it has some things new, some things removed. Overall have you guys been impressed? 

 

I'm waiting for 3, 4 & 5 to be released and then play them all back to back and then finish  with Yakuza 6 to complete the saga from Sega (hehehe) *pats self on back for that gem*. Just holding out for any patches that need to be put out etc, but really looking forward to it. 

[barticle]

(I haven't actually played the Y3 remaster but I did play both versions of Y3 on PS3.)

 

You made the important distinction between remakes and remasters. Y1 and Y2 are two generations old (PS2) so it was decided to completely remake those titles to PS4 standards, while Y3-5 are only one generation old (PS3) so they were remastered instead - you do get enhanced resolution and frame-rates, but otherwise they're still PS3 graphics.

 

Major content cuts were made for the localized Western release of Y3 on PS3. They took out 22 substories (of 123), four minigames (of 20), one hostess (of 10) and all cabaret club activities, plus five trophies (of 50) that were related to that removed content. The Y3 remasters don't quite have all the original content from the Japanese PS3 edition, but the Western PS4 remaster does have everything from the Japanese PS4 version. Only four substories and one minigame (an arcade quiz machine) are absent and you get the full trophy list, all ten girls and the full club experience (although the girls and clubs in Tokyo were renamed to match the Kiwami games).

 

I know that the translations got quite a substantial overhaul for the remasters and there are some quality-of-life improvements too, like substory map markers and reduced requirements for some (but not all!) grind trophies. Overall I think it's very worthwhile, especially for Y3 which previously had so much missing content and (unlike Y4 & Y5) wasn't previously playable on PS4.

 

(BTW I have trophy guides for Y3 and Y4 up on GameFAQs ? so maybe give them a look once the Y5 remaster is finally out.)

[Happy]

It’s definitely a remaster, not a remake. Essentially the same as the original japanese version. I think even if you’ve played the original Yakuza 1 & 2 the Kiwami games are different enough to be worth playing. Can’t really say the same for this remaster unless you’re really crazy for the series and want the content cut from the original western release.

[PooPooBlast]

36 minutes ago, barticle said:

(I haven't actually played the Y3 remaster but I did play both versions of Y3 on PS3.)

 

You made the important distinction between remakes and remasters. Y1 and Y2 are two generations old (PS2) so it was decided to completely remake those titles to PS4 standards, while Y3-5 are only one generation old (PS3) so they were remastered instead - you do get enhanced resolution and frame-rates, but otherwise they're still PS3 graphics.

 

Major content cuts were made for the localized Western release of Y3 on PS3. They took out 22 substories (of 123), four minigames (of 20), one hostess (of 10) and all cabaret club activities, plus five trophies (of 50) that were related to that removed content. The Y3 remasters don't quite have all the original content from the Japanese PS3 edition, but the Western PS4 remaster does have everything from the Japanese PS4 version. Only four substories and one minigame (an arcade quiz machine) are absent and you get the full trophy list, all ten girls and the full club experience (although the girls and clubs in Tokyo were renamed to match the Kiwami games).

 

I know that the translations got quite a substantial overhaul for the remasters and there are some quality-of-life improvements too, like substory map markers and reduced requirements for some (but not all!) grind trophies. Overall I think it's very worthwhile, especially for Y3 which previously had so much missing content and (unlike Y4 & Y5) wasn't previously playable on PS4.

 

(BTW I have trophy guides for Y3 and Y4 up on GameFAQs  so maybe give them a look once the Y5 remaster is finally out.)

I saw your name on Reddit a bunch of times especially when people ask about anything mahjong related. Given that I don't have a Reddit account but I do have one here I can finally get a chance to say thank you :). So thank you! 

[DaveMcDamage]

Cheers guys, and cheers Barticle. No doubt I used your guides but didn't know it was you, especially where mahjong is concerned, which by the way ended up being my most favourite mini game from Zero to Kiwami 2. My playthrough times got massively extended simply because of how much fun I had with mahjong.

 

I just bought Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. These will no doubt last me until Yakuza 3, 4 & 5 have been released. 

 

Are the ultimate battle modes much harder that Zero and the Kiwami games? I found for each game there were 1 or 2 which drove me nuts, but eventually did them. And it always seemed to be the earlier prologue challenges that were the worst and the ultimates mostly being the easiest haha. 

 

But one thing I am looking forward to is the combat in the main game. I actually much preferred the combat styles of Zero and Kiwami than that of Kiwami 2. 

[barticle]

Glad I could help, PPB, and happy to hear you got into mahjong, Dave.  I stopped writing Yakuza trophy guides after Dead Souls but I continue to support the community on the GameFAQs forums and more recently on Reddit too. My Yakuza mahjong guides were always too long so now I recommend my abridged beginners guide on the Yakuza wiki.

 

http://yakuza.wikia.com/wiki/Barticle's_Introduction_to_Japanese_Mahjong

 

(Mahjong was one of those minigames reinstated for the Yakuza 3 remaster ofc.)

 

Been a while since I played Zero and Kiwami on import - and tbh I think I probably skipped the ultimate battles!

[DaveMcDamage]

10 hours ago, barticle said:

Glad I could help, PPB, and happy to hear you got into mahjong, Dave.  I stopped writing Yakuza trophy guides after Dead Souls but I continue to support the community on the GameFAQs forums and more recently on Reddit too. My Yakuza mahjong guides were always too long so now I recommend my abridged beginners guide on the Yakuza wiki.

 

http://yakuza.wikia.com/wiki/Barticle's_Introduction_to_Japanese_Mahjong

 

(Mahjong was one of those minigames reinstated for the Yakuza 3 remaster ofc.)

 

Been a while since I played Zero and Kiwami on import - and tbh I think I probably skipped the ultimate battles!

Cheers man.

 

I'll be honest mate. I hate the GameFaqs site. Don't get me wrong it has some of the greatest game guide writers I have seen, but the Yakuza forum members over there are toxic. Try asking a question about a trophy in a trophy related thread and you get some toxic bastard from the PC side giving you shit on how trophies aren't important yadda-yadda. 

 

So I read but I don't login at that shit hole anymore.