General RGG Discussion

Sput Vas Normandy said:
Any recommendantions about Y3, Y4 & Y5?
Click to expand...

Basically, there are a few of us that deem 3 and 5 to be among the best, while many don't like them and say 4 is best.

I'll break it down like this:

3:

Pros:

- Wonderful story, more heartfelt and universal than 4 or 5, but not as, "adult," if you can say that. Characters as well, just a fantastic cast from top to bottom.
- A ton of varied gameplay, lots to see and do; you will spend 20 hours minimum on the game, even if you don't complete a single sidestory (outside of the mandatory ones, of course).
- A phenomenal soundtrack that keeps you in things.

Cons:

- First fighting system of its type in the series on PS3, thus they were still working out the kinks; it's far from bad, but they refined it for 4 and 5 and you hit the ground running in those games, whereas in 3, you need to build up Kiryu's skills before opening up his wide array of attacks (this turned a lot of people off, who weren't willing to stick with it).
- I still maintain that it looks better than 4 and it doesn't look bad at all, but it isn't the best-looking Yakuza game.

3 is my absolute favourite game in the series and always will be; I rank it 3rd best, of the 17 titles in the series.

4:

Pros:

- 4 characters to play as, so a ton of great, varied gameplay to be had.
- A much-more mature, Crime-oriented plot, than 3.

Cons:

- Despite having 3 new characters, you may not like everyone's fighting style; I dislike Tanimura's to death and many dislike Saejima's. Pretty universal-praise on Kiryu and Akiyama's fighting styles.
- While a more mature plot, at times it falls off the rails and the major players are not strong at all, in comparison to 3's characters (don't mean physical strength, I mean characterization).
- 2 locations down to one, albeit more-expanded; this was not met with praise with the majority of gamers who played the game (I'm indifferent).

4 is my fourth least-favourite in the series and I rank it 3rd worst, of the 17 titles in the series.

5:

Pros:

- Biggest and most-varied gameplay in the series (until 7). Tons to do, tons to play around with, my first go-around ever was when it came out in 2012 (I wasn't well-versed with the series or Japan, yet), I did not substories or anything of the, "Another Life," portions of gameplay and it still took me 26 hours to beat. A platinum can take upwards of 90 hours, so there's a ton packed in here. 5 characters are now playable.
- Absolutely phenomenal cast of characters and an insanely-good plot.
- 5 cities and a few more locations to roam around in
- Arguably the best soundtrack in the series

Cons:

- Like with 4, Haruka and Shinada's, "combat," styles may not be your cup of tea (I had 0 issues with it).
- The final boss; the consensus is either that they're terrible or underwhelming (I'm indifferent; I feel they make sense to be in the position they are in).
- If you aren't a fan of, "too much," then this can be overwhelming, IF you choose to dive in completely and platinum it.

There was a full 2+ years and a new engine constructed for this game, which really showed that RGG Studios wished to put a ton of effort into 5 and it shows in spades; this was a game crafted with love and heart (like 7).

It is my second favourite in the series and I deem it 2nd best, of the 17 titles in the series (was always #1 until 7 came out).

That's pretty much it, from my POV; you can't go wrong with either 3, as every RGG game since its inception, is an 8/10 game or better.

Of course, if you're picking up the remastered versions that came out this year, the technical notes of 3 and 4 that I wrote above, basically go out the window; the only thing that remains the same is the overall look and the plot of each game.
 
I'm going to bring up 3's story again...I haven't played in three to four years, but
the things like the doppelganger in the CIA and foreign government interference
was to me, way over the top. Was it you who told me that this was loosely based on real events?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Truck_1_0_1_ said:
Of course, if you're picking up the remastered versions that came out this year, the technical notes of 3 and 4 that I wrote above, basically go out the window; the only thing that remains the same is the overall look and the plot of each game.
Click to expand...
Gonna play the gamepass version
 
I read earlier today on my lunch and totally glazed over, my bad! Tagged them now.
 
I got Yakuza LAG finally (been desperate to play this all week) and am about 2 hours in. I'm really digging the new fight mechanic, but must admit to something that's bothering me.

Currently, i'm still on chapter 1 set in 2000. I found it odd going to Club Sega and seeing posters for modern games like House of the Dead - Scarlet Dawn, but am now at a flashback scene (which I believe to be 1976) and still seeing Club Sega in the background. I know the Yakuza games aren't exactly simulators or anything like that, but it's kinda sloppy and distracting to see stuff like this!

I thought I should mention it now, otherwise i'll forget! Still, it's a minor thing haha.
 
There is a new trending Yakuza thread on Era and guess what its about ...
the most 'disturbing' scenes of the franchise
(Saejima w Haruka, Kiryu buying a adult magazine for a kid, franchise doesnt care about women ...)
and why this stuff is still in the western releases / remasters and not censored.

I dont even know where to begin ... why are 'we western' players such crybabies
who think that absolutely everything should be made just for us and correrspond to our moral values.
Like ... demanding censorship because of topics and themes we dont like personally ...
this is very dumb.

'I didnt like that scene, its very uncomfortable', yeah ... maybe thats the point?
Maybe, just maybe, not every joke is compatible with every human being on this planet and thats just how it is?
It is okay to not like something in movies, games, books, whatever. But removing or censoring content
for everyone just because you are against this content?

pngaaa.com-2451537.png
 
Last edited:
I have to agree to a certain point. It's interesting, because I agree with regulation but for the most part am against censorship. I am fascinated with censorship in the film industry - especially with the video nasties of the 1980's. Back then, censorship was a joke to the point where I believe the BBFC these days are much better and much more transparent. Especially compared to the American censorship board.

I believe that the main problem these days is the issue of context. I think pretty much anything is fair game as long as there is context behind it. Any muppet can take a troublesome scene from a game or film and by itself, it looks worse than it actually is. Where I have to draw the line is when something is done for the sake of it. I can watch some pretty gruesome horror films and stuff with troublesome content, but if it's done just because you can, then I think that's a different story.

It's funny, because I like to think i'm pretty progressive, but at the same time I do believe that many people overreact to things. Paradoxically, I find sex and violence on TV shows difficult to watch, yet in a movie i'm 99% OK with it. I'm a paradoxical prude haha. It's funny to say this, but I kinda miss the days when sex and violence was suggestive rather than visceral. As a case in point, I started watching the anime 'Space Dandy' after a few years and my first thought was "the oversexualisation of women is kinda sad", but at the end of the day a) the women are in on it and b) Dandy is made to look kinda stupid, so I think it's OK.

With the Yakuza games, i've never been troubled by them. When there are bits that make me wince, it's because it's supposed to. I would find it more troubling if there was violence and I was nonplussed by it, because by then you've normalised it.

At the end of the day, as long as there is justification behind troublesome content, then I don't see the problem.
 
I believe you should be able to enjoy games and still criticize them. Shenmue has a couple cringe moments and I think they should've only changed the dialogue (which iirc translated direct was phobic) and not rewrote Yuan as a woman in the West; Code Veronica has always been my favorite RE ever, but the cross dressing phobia really fucking bugs me. Doesn't mean I don't still enjoy the game overall.

I don't see anything wrong with disagreeing with something you love--despite crossing cultures--your own beliefs and sensitivities are valid regardless.
 
I'm just not a fan of this modern approach where people join or start discussions with this
mindset that their values are the most important above everything else
and they are able to judge something as 100% good or 100% bad in the name of everyone.

Instead of looking at the original intention or if theres a meaning or something,
a lot of people only see 'oh i dont like that' and thats it.
And then a lot of them dont stop at that, no, they have to tell everyone
that everyone should feel bad about scene or joke XYZ
like they are the worlds leader in terms of global moral values.

A uncomfortable scene in a offcially rated and released game or movie
should not be banned, censored or whatever just because
some offended hothead demands it. We are not on some marketplace in the 15 century.
Nobody has to like anything, you can criticise whatever you want.
But theres a huge difference between criticise in terms of a discussion about the meaning / situation
and screaming 'i dont like this! this should not exist! why would anyone like it? i dont like it!'

Why should some random person you dont even know a little bit
tell you what kind of legal entertainment content should exist or not?
Cant you judge for yourself?

I feel like nowadays on one hand people dont want any kind of offending jokes,
no sexual controversial stuff, no 'super dark themes', not too realistic, nothing about controversial politics ...
like every content should be enjoyable for everyone on the planet.
But at the same time on the other hand a lot of people are also bored with modern movies
and games because they dont have the guts to do / tell / show anything special anymore.
And then someone comes around with something controversial once or twice a year
and you can bet that it wont take long until the digital online crowd is back on the marketplace
because they want to see heads roll.

Isnt this whole system just pretty stupid? Like what do we even want from the entertainment industry?
 
Not advocating for censorship, but things need to be said and effort should be made for improvements.
 
xatruio said:
Not advocating for censorship, but things need to be said and effort should be made for improvements.
Click to expand...
But whats the improvement in lets say this Saejima Haruka scenario for example?
Lets say Toshihiro Nagoshi wrote and directed this scene (just as a example, i dont know who was responsible)
and sure its controversial and uncomfortable but thats the way he wanted to present it,
nobody said that anyone has to love this scene but it still has some kind of purpose.
Its telling you something and its your decision what to do with it.

So now the NA and EU remaster people are joining the franchise
and a part of them demand that Nagoshi should never ever do such a thing ever again because its like a moral no go.
(well, for us. obviously not for the developers)
Which already is a bit weird because we are pretty much saying that our moral compass is superior.
Whats the message? The consumer is telling the story writer / director how their characters are supposed to act
just because we didnt like the decision they made for their own content?

Do we want to scare him off so that he will be afraid and never try anything controversial again
or what is the goal? Whats the improvement in this scenario?
Is it considered an improvement if they never try anything like that again just because they are afraid?
Why should the 56 year japanese story writer listen to the moral criticism of the 31 year old from California?

This global moral compass for everyone does not work, just look at stuff like the Netflix Cuties movie.
 
It’s not much unlike how whiny babies ruined quite a bit of Deadly Premonition 2, and then had the gal to blame Swery himself when the cutscenes turned out more jank because of missing voice lines and awkward cuts. Glad ai played through it before then. I can’t imagine how that kind of thing would go with Yakuza.
 
I think the Yakuza series is one of the most sincere and humble game series out there. To have the “woke culture” try to target this, despite the cultural differences, is pretty absurd. I think the Yakuza 3 remaster removed that one sub story with the transgender character. There are even disclaimers at the beginning of all the remasters saying something like these games came out a few years ago and the views reflect the time or something.

I agree, people are absolutely entitled to like and dislike what they want. But if the woke culture continues in the way it is, all forms of entertainment will eventually become so fucking sanitized and neutral, we may as well just be living in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 
bcdcdude said:
Paradoxically, I find sex and violence on TV shows difficult to watch, yet in a movie i'm 99% OK with it. I'm a paradoxical prude haha.
Click to expand...
I'm not a progressive by any means, but I can relate a bit to this. I've become surprisingly prudish when it comes to violence/gore in my adult years, yet I love (sometimes truly gruesome) murder mysteries. Even when I finally started Yakuza 0, I was pretty disturbed by the beating Kiryu gave to whatshisface at the beginning of the game... To the point I was genuinely wondering if this was really a game for me or not. Thankfully, Kiryu turned out to be a goodboi in the end, though! 😇

Anyways, I always go into the options menus before playing a game and turn off/down the gore if I can, Yakuza included. While I really appreciate that option being there, I would never want that to be the default. If I had to choose between Yakuza being censored for everyone, or myself having to play the uncensored version like everyone else, I would choose the later in a heartbeat. I just don't think it's right to pressure or manipulate artists into self-censorship based on personal and/or cultural moral values, even if (or especially if?) the ones applying pressure constitute a majority in some context. I want the creator's raw vision out there for anyone who wishes to see it, standing loud and proud.
 
24Nathan said:
I'm going to bring up 3's story again...I haven't played in three to four years, but
the things like the doppelganger in the CIA and foreign government interference
was to me, way over the top. Was it you who told me that this was loosely based on real events?
Click to expand...

lol, there is no doppleganger ;)

And yes; when Adelstein had 3 real-life Yakuza play 3 when it came out in 2008/9/whenever, one of them mentioned that, "this type of thing just happened," or, "this thing is happening right now!"

Of course, the CIA wasn't what they were referring to, but the land deal between a resort and military base was what they were referring to

EDIT* And wanted to mention, the Saejima/Haruka scene in 4 is absolutely brilliant and a reason why this series is phenomenal story-telling; that is something that 99.9% of heterosexual convicts would do, IMO and it is a testament to his morality and awesomeness, that he doesn't follow-through on it: Kiryu even references it in a later scene.

This is another reason why I want the series to remain in the East; the message and appreciation for this series is completely distorted and ******-up in the West (I'm talking the majority of casuals, not the fine folks that have showed a level head) and I would much rather engage with people by discussing the fine points of Kiryu's morality and demeanor, than engage with those who write, "Baka-mitai!" in every internet post they make or post stupid gifs that are silly and childish/sophomoric/unfunny.

Almost like we don't want the casuals that don't appreciate 'mue, to stay away from the series.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top