General RGG Discussion

did you guys watch the Pax west Sega conference?
they talked about the japanese to english localization process
and how much work it is, because a lot of the puns and jokes dont make any sense if you translate them 1:1.
so most of the time they have to come up with something different because otherwise we wouldnt get the joke at all.
they showed some examples and one of them was Yakuza 5 with 2.3 mil kanji letters in the original game
and they said thats comparable with the size of the bible x4.
holy hell.
 
Yeah, there are a lot of jokes and phrases that can’t work literally, but I give the localization credit for what they’ve done.

I wonder how they handled the Fukuoka and Nagoya dialects for 5
 
Going back to the dub discussion. Its hilarious looking back on it, but even Mark Hamill felt wasted as Majima as he didn't get to go full "crazy" with his performance. If he'd gone full on Joker with his Majima, it'd been even better. The rest of the cast were a mixed bag, guess it didn't help that the tons of swearing really felt like it hurt the script in places. That's just my opinion though, as with the upcoming FOTNS game (which I've already completed in Japanese), I could never use an English dub to play the game, it'd just feel weird at this point.

As for why - I just finished the PS4 remaster of Yakuza 3, which while it has some hilarious plot twists for one particular plot point, it also has some excellent plot in Okinawa. At the end of chapter 11 there is a fantastic moment between two characters where one dies (no spoilers, but if you've played the game you know the bit I'm talking about). The voice acting here between both (along with the excellent backing music) flawed me yet again even all these years on, its seriously one of the best performances in a game I've ever heard. Then again, I really love this chapter - especially the stuff with Nakahara and Saki preceding the boss fight, its epic all round.

As for my verdict on the remaster. Its fantastic. There are only a couple of little bits that are removed (Answer X Answer and one associated side story, then 3 more side stories that are incredibly transphobic so it really comes as no surprise to see them removed). The rest of the game is there in all its glory, and looks an runs better than ever with a much smoother frame rate, graphics that are no longer blurry and much faster load times which make a world of difference especially when your zipping in and out of shops so much. Absolutely can't wait to replay 4 like this in a few months either. But for now I'll chip away at the remaining trophies I'm missing on 3 (shudders at the thought of break ace and mini game master!)
 
i think its a bit sad that they removed stuff because of "times have changed" or whatever.
if they designed some missions 9 years ago and agreed that the content is good, sad or funny enough,
why are they afraid of it today?
i dont have anything against gay, transgender or transsexual people
but do we really have to remove or change movies and games just to be sure that you dont hurt somebodys feelings?
isnt that the wrong way if you want to make some kind of art? there is no rule like every art has to be designed for everyone.
i wonder if Sega or the developers made that choice.
if we continue the modern way to tone down every little morally problematic thing, we will end up with really boring
and flat content in a couple of years because everyone is afraid of everything.

in terms of dubbing - i could never play Yakuza with english voices.
i watch pretty much every movie in the original language with subtitles because
it just feels wrong if they speak your main language in a completely different country.
and it would be the same weird feeling in Yakuza. its Japan, they dont speak fluent english. probably not even broken english.

but i have to say, i watched a couple of Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise streams with english voices
and i think that works pretty good. it has that 90s cartoon vibe and it fits the post apocalyptic world.
and for me its a good way to "recover" from Kiryus japanese voice and listen to something different.
 
I haven't open Kiwami 2 yet because I am focussing on Shenmue I & II but I can only think on what karaoke songs are there waiting for me
 
I got Kiwami 2 at Launch day and have already played to chapter 8 and so far I really enjoy it. The story is interesting, better than the Yakuza Kiwami Plot so for. The new characters like Sayama are also quite interesting.

*cringe*

I respectfully disagree.

You can start with Yakuza 0. It's a great prequel that doesn't necessarily step on the toes of the other stories (it actually enhances the first game/Kiwami, as it fleshes out certain relationships a little better), and it's exciting enough that it'd probably get you in the mood for the rest of the series. I'd say if you play 0 and don't like it, then it's a safe bet you won't like the rest much; but then the opposite is true as well. If you end up loving it, then you're ready for the rest.
The only downside to playing 0 first, I'd say, is the fact that it's easily one of the best in the series (though I'm sure Truck will chime in and tell you different), so playing everything else afterward might have an adverse effect on them. But all the same, it's still a surprisingly good starting point for something made so far into the series.


And the zombie game, Dead Souls, takes place (I'm guessing you mean chronologically?) in a bit of an alternate universe, so it's not really canon with the rest of the games. Within that alternate universe, I guess it takes place after Yakuza 4 since it originally came out the year after, and one of the playable characters was introduced in 4. But again, it's non-canonical, so it doesn't really count.

Indeed, I still put it as 3rd best, so your statement is correct ;).

I agree with OL though; start off chronologically; if you want to immerse yourself with the plot and how it evolves from game to game (de-evolves for some titles), chronologically is the way to go:

0-Kiwami-Kiwami 2- 3- 4- Dead Souls- 5- 6


Going back to the dub discussion. Its hilarious looking back on it, but even Mark Hamill felt wasted as Majima as he didn't get to go full "crazy" with his performance. If he'd gone full on Joker with his Majima, it'd been even better. The rest of the cast were a mixed bag, guess it didn't help that the tons of swearing really felt like it hurt the script in places. That's just my opinion though, as with the upcoming FOTNS game (which I've already completed in Japanese), I could never use an English dub to play the game, it'd just feel weird at this point.

As for why - I just finished the PS4 remaster of Yakuza 3, which while it has some hilarious plot twists for one particular plot point, it also has some excellent plot in Okinawa. At the end of chapter 11 there is a fantastic moment between two characters where one dies (no spoilers, but if you've played the game you know the bit I'm talking about). The voice acting here between both (along with the excellent backing music) flawed me yet again even all these years on, its seriously one of the best performances in a game I've ever heard. Then again, I really love this chapter - especially the stuff with Nakahara and Saki preceding the boss fight, its epic all round.

As for my verdict on the remaster. Its fantastic. There are only a couple of little bits that are removed (Answer X Answer and one associated side story, then 3 more side stories that are incredibly transphobic so it really comes as no surprise to see them removed). The rest of the game is there in all its glory, and looks an runs better than ever with a much smoother frame rate, graphics that are no longer blurry and much faster load times which make a world of difference especially when your zipping in and out of shops so much. Absolutely can't wait to replay 4 like this in a few months either. But for now I'll chip away at the remaining trophies I'm missing on 3 (shudders at the thought of break ace and mini game master!)

Break Ace took me about 45 minutes to do, or restarting/quitting and going back to the well; its purely luck-based, thus you could get it on the first try of the 150th; be vigilant!

As for your second paragraph, THIS is why the plot, VA and just overall game in general, makes 3 one of the best (and my favourite), for the series; the story hits on an emotional level, but it is done properly and tastefully, without Kaouru's completely pathetic and over-the-top whining and blubbering in 2 or without the pansy-ass whining of Tanimura in 4.

Not to mention, the connection between Kiryu and
Rikiya
was done masterfully as well, with their side-stories in Kamurocho and their relationship going through trying situations, such as with Lau Ka Long or Tamashiro.

Such brilliant and well-done writing is rare in this series, but 3's got it in droves.
 
I'm not big on the Yakuza games so i never really played any of them however, kiwami 2 intrigues me more than the other yakuzas like kiwami 1 ect looking at the gameplay. New engine i assume?
Seeing a high metacritic score also gave me some interest. 85 is not too bad.
However I'm kinda light on cash right now so i'm not in the position to start collecting all these Yakuza games and spin offs and prequels ect especially since they don't look half as good as this one does. So im wondering. Can i start the series with Kiwami 2 and enjoy it and not be lost? Also, does it have a summary of the first Kiwami?
 
all of the games are designed in a way so that you can play them without knowing anything.
there are little summaries in the games
(there is a video in the Kiwami 2 tutorial that shows you exactly what happend before)
and you can also read character descriptions.
so if you really want to, you could even start with Yakuza 6 and still get what it is about.

of course the experience and story will make much more sense if you play all of them
because a lot of the characters are the same in every game. otherwise its like you watch Star Wars Episode 8 first
and you have to learn all the details at once.

Yakuza 0 - its a prequel in the old PS3 engine (60 fps)
Yakuza Kiwami 1 - the real first story part, a complete remake of the PS2 game in the PS3 engine (60 fps)
Yakuza Kiwami 2 - second story part, a complete remake in the brand new PS4 Dragon engine (30 fps)
Yakuza 3 - a 60 fps remaster is probably coming soon to the west but its the old PS3 engine (60 fps)
Yakuza 4 - a 60 fps remaster is probably coming soon to the west but its the old PS3 engine (60 fps)
Yakuza 5 - a 60 fps remaster is probably coming soon to the west but its the old PS3 engine (60 fps)
Yakuza 6 - the last part of Kiryu's story, the first game that used the new PS4 Dragon engine (30 fps)
 
also i'm pretty sure that all of the Yakuza games will be available on Steam in the future
but it will take some time. Kiwami 1 is listed on Steam but no release date.
i think there was a leak where you could see that Yakuza 6 will be available on Steam in March or April 2019
so i guess Kiwami 2 will be available maybe 5-9 months after that.
the Fist of the North Star game is probably PS4 exclusive for 9-10 months too
so it will be available on Steam in the summer 2019 i guess.

they arent using the "PS4 exclusive" tag on the cover anymore.
 
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Also, there are some Japan exclusives like the PSP Kurohyo games and spin-offs that spoof Japanese history like Kenzan and Ishin. Of course you need Japanese comprehension.

I tend to buy the Japanese versions while my brother gets the US releases. Hopefully when the PS4 version to 3 is released outside Japan, it’ll include the hostess mini game
 
Looking back on my post, I was wondering if I should slip the Kurohyos in there, as they are part of the Canon (and Date appears), even if Tatsuya isn't involved with the console characters...

If so, 0-Kiwami-Kiwami 2-3-4-Kurohyo: Shinso-Dead Souls-Kurohyo: Ashura Hen-5-6
 
*cringe*

Break Ace took me about 45 minutes to do, or restarting/quitting and going back to the well; its purely luck-based, thus you could get it on the first try of the 150th; be vigilant!

As for your second paragraph, THIS is why the plot, VA and just overall game in general, makes 3 one of the best (and my favourite), for the series; the story hits on an emotional level, but it is done properly and tastefully, without Kaouru's completely pathetic and over-the-top whining and blubbering in 2 or without the pansy-ass whining of Tanimura in 4.

Agreed. I love 3's characters, I actually don't remember much of 4's story frustratingly so the remaster will remind me of that gamme. Most of what I remember are Kiryu's side stories which serve as a nice wall to call back to previous points in the series.

I got lucky and eventually got Break Ace. It was still fairly annoying and completely luck based to even get the 9 ball to move, let alone pot it on break.
Mahjong's trophy was a bit of a pain as well, the fully exposed hand took forever to get just right in order to get the trophy. Its not even a high scoring hand either!

I'm now working on Darts, Baseball and Pool for the mini game master trophy. So basically the hardest stuff in the game!
 
the team behind the Yakuza games announced a new IP today at the Tokyo Game Show Playstation LineUp Tour.
Its called Judge Eyes or Project Judge. it looks very much like Yakuza but it seems like you are playing as a detective.
Toshihiro Nagoshi called it a detective action investigating game.
release is 2018 in Japan, 2019 in the west and there is a japanese demo.

of course its published by SEGA.

 
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Judge Eyes certainly looks like Yakuza but that reveal trailer doesn't really give a clear feel of the gameplay mechanics. Hopefully the demo will be more illuminating. We'll just have to wait for someone to upload demo footage to YouTube.

Regardless, I think its great news that Sega has a Western release planned from the outset. We've certainly come a long way from the days when Yakuza couldn't even get a digital port in the West.
 
i have a japanese PSN account but the demo is not available.
i dont know the exact times for the PS store updates.

but yeah, its cool that the game is already out in december in japan. so its only 3 months
between the announcement of this brand new ip and the release of the final game
and they already have the fans in the west in their mind.
 
Okay then, so alot more like Yakuza then the original trailer indicated. Looks like the game is even set in Kamurocho.

That combat style though, this guy moves like Akiyama on crack. o_O
 
Yeah, the combat looks a little too crazy, but still VERY interesting. I love the idea of playing a detective story using the Dragon Engine and set in the same city as Yakuza. The game mechanics look varied enough to differentiate it from the rest of the Yakuza series too. The lead character is just a tad too pretty boy for my taste, but other than that, I'm looking forward to this.
 
A new PS4 game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios was just announced.

Plot:

Described as a drama set in present-day Japan, you play as Takayuki Yagami (voiced by singer/actor Takuya Kimura) - a former lawyer turned detective whose looking to clear his name.

Release dates:
  • Japan: December 13th 2018
  • West: 2019


More information: https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/10/project-judge-trailer-ps4-yakuza-series/
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I've never played the Yakuza series thanks to the 'Go play Yakuza instead of Shenmue!" brigade which just put me off. Though I did really enjoy Binary Domain. I'd be interested to check this out.
 
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