Found this to be interesting.
archived 23 Jun 2019 05:24:07 UTC
archive.is
Well yeah, Yakuza is an action RPG that tells the story of a Yakuza with a heart of gold trying to get out of the family but always finds himself pulled right back in.
Shenmue is a adventure game that aspires to be a true journey. A martial arts epic of revenge and self discovery.
The only thing they ever had in common was that they both had mini games and they both had fighting as their main means of combat. But even those two are so different from one another. The fighting and mini games in Shenmue really do kind of serve the plot (well some of them do) while the fighting and mini games in Yakuza are mostly just there for distraction.
What I mean is that getting a job in Shenmue is important to the plot. You need money to survive, you need money to make progress. They are trying to integrate that into the story. Whereas the mini games in Yakuza really are just there for distraction...they're fun distractions but they're not vital in anyway to Kiryu's journey. I mean you can own the entirety of Kamurocho in Yakuza 0 through the Real Estate mini games and it means absolutely nothing to the core story...never mentioned again. That illustrates my point...it's all side distraction and nothing more...it's fun but yeah, it doesn't mean anything.
Where as earning money in Shenmue does mean something as it will help Ryo advance and is a way to keep you going.
Even the fighting is different in both games. Every fight in Shenmue serves the plot. You're never just getting into random fights out on the street for no reason. They all serve the plot and they all feed into the serious focus that the game has towards Martial Arts. Whereas Yakuza, the random battles are all typical RPG and are just there to give you XP to unlock new abilities.
I love both franchises to death. They're two of my favorite franchises in gaming. But I never saw them as the same...I've always seen how they differ from one another.
Good write up though, but the people who have only ever played one or the other or none will never be convinced. They'll still peddle the stupid "Yakuza is Shenmue but better" line. Just a shame people will still make those comparisons none the less....even though we all know they're so wrong and that the similarities are all surface.
Just look at the comments in that article, they're still comparing it. Or saying "you're right. Yakuza did it better"
You'll never win with these people.
