General RGG Discussion

[shadowman16]

Thing is, the Yakuza devs are reading feedback so they are aware people aren't happy. While some people are being rather volitile with their responses they are hearing them. And RGG Online is actually being changed because of feedback. But people asking for the game to fail, I mean, it just seems really shortsighted and incredibly petty - and people saying this are the ones that were previously complaining about how not enough people buy the series. Just hilarious double standards that could doom the series!

I honestly don’t know which outrage is stupider, this change of the combat, or the whole Epic Store thing

Hard to say. I understand why people are upset about the Epic thing, and I understand why people are upset about the genre change for Yakuza but the whole Outrage Culture thing mentioned above means that it gets out of control. I dare not even point out on other forums that the Epic thing has some benefits - like getting a fuller version of Shenmue 3. I'm just glad the latest Shenmue 3 trailer has made people more happy overall with the game.

GEE! I wonder where you could possibly be talking about? Wouldn’t start with an R now would it?
Because I’ve been with this franchise for a LONG ass time. And I’ve been supportive of this franchise for a LONG ass time.

Exactly, how ever did you guess I've stopped posting there as the community thread has gone from a place to discuss the games to people whining endlessly that the series is doomed.
And yeah, as you said I've also been a fan of the series since day 1, and have completed every game (and imported them all no less!), but apparently that's not enough!

Anyone know who voices the boss in Yakuza 7? I recognise his voice but I can't remember from what.

Masumi Arakawa (voiced by Kiichi Nakai)

all of the Sega games and presentations at TGS will be live streamed on Youtube
and of course Yakuza 7 is in the Line Up, so we will see real gameplay, screenshots and all that stuff.
they didnt update the schedule yet, we have to wait a little bit.
i'm still super excited. Yakuza 7, Nioh 2 and Shenmue 3 all in one event

Capcom apparently have more to announce as well. SO for me, this should be awesome with good Japanese games to see! Can't wait for Nioh, Shenmue and Yakuza :)

Anyway, more Yakuza 5 played. Doing Akiyama's arena at the moment, quickly climbing the ranks and have just a few more to go to before I'm rank 4. Then its onto actually clearing some of these harder arena battles!

 

[ShenmueTree]

If the previous games were successful and this one with a different type of gameplay isn't, then no. That's obviously not what it tells them.

Yes it will. Yakuza game sales are already at a downward trajectory in Japan, when they see even lower sales it’s not going to be blamed on the turn based system, it’ll just imply to them Japan doesn’t want Yakuza games.

Like, they aren’t gonna see the lower sales and go “guess it was cuz of the battle system!” when the sales are already in steady decline.

 

[Let's Get Sweaty]

Then they must be morons.

 

[Tsukuyomimagi99]

This is probably going to be my only post on the latest issue going on in the Ryu Ga Gotoku fanbase. To be honest, I am pretty neutral on the whole switch from beat em up to turn based rpg. It’s been stated that if fans aren’t happy with the change then it’ll be scrapped next game. So it’s really simple, just don’t buy the game and make it known (in a civil way of course) to publishers and developers that you don’t appreciate the direction, simple as that really. However I just want to address one of the common talking points I see being made about being a “True Fan.”

Both sides are using this Scotsman fallacy for different reasons, one is using it to express that fans should embrace change, while the other uses it to express that one shouldn’t be a mindless consumer. In my opinion, there’s no such thing as a “True” fan of something especially when it comes to certain kinds of media you consume. If you genuinely enjoy the media you consume and support it then you’re a fan, simple as that really. However I do see both sides of this argument and what they are trying to achieve, as this arguement is as old as fanbases are.

To say those who are upset about the change to Ryu Ga Gotoku before giving it a chance aren’t fans is false. Think about it, if something like this upsets you this much then that means you really care about it. You’ve spent a significant amount of yourself (whether that be money, emotion, and/or time) invested in this media. If these fans didn’t really love the franchise they would’ve just been nonchalant about the whole thing and moved on with their day. This anger seems to be their weird way of grieving over something that’s being lost at least for one game.

However the other side I disagree with also fans who are willing to embrace new things are not “mindless sheep.” This side is simply saying to take a wait and see approach, they aren’t saying that you should automatically embrace the change. Change can also be a good thing, because if Ryu Ga Gotoku’s formula never changes then it will be become stagnant. This is what I find hypocritical about the other side in that they’ll become upset over a drastic change but then complain when they do play it safe. It’s complaining about the monsters that you helped create. Also I find the “mindless consumers” argument to also be hypocritical when the fans who make this complaint mindlessly consume the same media year after year.

Does this mean that change is always a good thing or that it works? No it doesn’t, sometimes it does more damage then what would’ve happened if you played it safe. However that’s how risks work because if they do work they pay off big. For example, where would the Metroid franchise be if it didn’t take a risk with the Prime Trilogy? Or to bring it more closer to home, what if Yu Suzuki played it safe? Do you think we would’ve gotten Shenmue, that gave birth to a brand new genre of gaming?

I think embracing what works while taking risks is something that should always be done. It’s what keeps gaming a thriving and engaging medium.

 

[SCQ]

Honestly I would probably be more bothered by this change if there weren't 10+ games in the series, counting spin offs, that were already beat em ups. While there was a time where I would check regularly for news on the games being localised so that I could satisfy my fix, that time is long gone, and even if they ended the series with 6 I wouldnt be too bothered.

Although I didn't know what to think of the change until now, I'm starting to see it somewhat as a new series starting rather than a continuation of Yakuza so I am pretty excited. If I want a classic yakuza experience I have every game on my shelf that can give me probably 600+ hours of gameplay.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

Maybe it’s because I’m a Shenmue fan, but I don’t understand how a fan base can be so fickle that they’d protest the franchise they love over a creative decision they’ve yet to even try for themselves. Yakuza fans get two new quality Yakuza games a year and they’re throwing down like this is the new EGS controversy. I feel bad for RGG Studio. Imagine if we Shenmue fans had gotten all six or seven Shenmue games and acted like spoiled children when Yu Suzuki decided to make something else. If only.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

Honestly I would probably be more bothered by this change if there weren't 10+ games in the series, counting spin offs, that were already beat em ups. While there was a time where I would check regularly for news on the games being localised so that I could satisfy my fix, that time is long gone, and even if they ended the series with 6 I wouldnt be too bothered.

Although I didn't know what to think of the change until now, I'm starting to see it somewhat as a new series starting rather than a continuation of Yakuza so I am pretty excited. If I want a classic yakuza experience I have every game on my shelf that can give me probably 600+ hours of gameplay.

Seriously. Is there a franchise outside Call of Duty or sports games that has so many entries in such a short amount of time? If you don’t want turn based fights, go 100% one of the other endless Yakuza games.

 

[shadowman16]

Seriously. Is there a franchise outside Call of Duty or sports games that has so many entries in such a short amount of time? If you don’t want turn based fights, go 100% one of the other endless Yakuza games.

Mega Man. That little fella had so many games and spinoffs back in the day. I remember when that series (granted, spinoff, not main series) turned into an RPG and ironically became much bigger than previous entries in the franchise, but the kicker is the style of gameplay for said RPG worked insanely well for the game.
Likewise, as I mentioned a while back Panzer Dragoon Saga managed the switch really well as well.

I believe in the team to create an interesting and hopefully unique take on an RPG. And while I understand people not liking the change, being all "hope the game fails" seems somewhat heavy handed in getting the point across. I just don't want the series to disappear, as its still a damn good series, all these games on. But on the brighter side - they did so many great games in the series an at least finished off Kiryu's saga, even if the series goes away, its not as if I don't have a lifetime of games to replay in the series (just like Mega Man really!)

 

[Guppy]

Don't know what fans are complaining about as most asked for change within the series. Though I agree its JRPG turn based combat will likely be mediocre, fans are being short sighted on this. With a simplistic combat, the developers have now the chance to pour all their resources into the exploration aspect of the game. Imagine all the detective like elements from Judgement taking the front center stage of the game, but with way deeper and more polished mechanics. And maybe now that your avatar can have a party to tag along, we may also have plot changing choices this time around. What a change that would be.

Anyway, the English title appears to be Yakuza: Like A Dragon, which I'm thankful for as it really appears to cement the new direction from here onward, and not just an offshoot spin-off.

Here's the subbed English trailer for those who didn't get to see it yet...

Spoiler

 

[高野和泉]

There is pros and cons to every system. But it is weird how the negative is already dog-piling before we even sample the game yet.

 

[ShenmueTree]

So, the new game will even have systems than are even more R.P.G than your average turned based JRPG as in it will have different classes for each party member, which affects the role they will play in combat. You can even change your class at Hello Work, which is a real life Japanese Employment Service.

This game is going to be special.

 

[danielmann861]

Playing Yakuza 3 on Hard Difficulty right now. I didn't start playing Yakuza games on Hard difficulty until Yakuza 6 (to be honest)

Man this AI is dodgy as all hell...and when I say dodgy I mean it literally DODGES everything. I've only so far fought Majima and Rikiya...but man, the AI just dodges every single attack in these major fights. I don't know whether I like playing on hard or not. It's kind of cool to get some difficulty, but I feel the only way to land an attack is to either hold the block button and wait for them to come at you and then get them on the rebound (or sometimes you can interfere their moves due to frame data) but they literally dodge (or block) almost every attack you do.

I'll keep playing it on Hard I guess...but I still might drop it down if it should ask me if I wanna reduce the difficulty just because I would like to sort of breeze through the story.

Still, it's nice to be back in Okinawa again.

The game may look old. I mean in certain respects, it does look like PS2 models upressed and I don't say that in the "lOoKs LiKe a Ps2 gAmE" way....I still think it has a really nice charm to it. But can definitely tell there are things here that look like upressed PS2 assets.

I still love the orphanage aspect to this game. I know it's a bit hit and miss with some Yakuza fans...but I love the orphanage. As much as I don't agree with the Shenmue comparisons for the Yakuza franchise in general...I still feel like this is the one that (at times) has a little bit of Shenmue Yokosuka charm about it simply because of the low key vibes of the Orphanage and the laid back nature of Okinawa.

Would be nice to see Okinawa again in the Dragon Engine (outside of the orphanage I mean)

 

[shadowman16]

3's AI was more about blocking to me than dodging, but yeah that first Rikiya fight is not great. Now when you reach Kamurocho soon... this is where combat should be getting good - assuming your also doing side stories as you play! You can get all Komaki upgrades early, and you should absolutely do so, as they make the combat way better, especially against bosses - Tiger Drop + bounding against walls = badass.

As for me, I've been making no progress with Akiyama's arena. He... sucks in these fights. Reading around, its better just to level him up to the max and then go back, as he has some awesome unlocks late in the game. So time to level grind as him then!

While I love the Victory Road quest line, Akiyama and Shinada should not be in the normal arena. They are just not great, these fights are totally designed for Kiryu and Saejima in mind.

 

[BruceWayne911]

I recently found out that the new Yakuza game will be a turned based RPG. I'm sad to hear this after playing and beating Yakuza 0. I absolutely love that game and look forward to all the other entries. Yakuza 7 might be a deal breaker for me though. I just never could get into turn based RPGs. I think the concept of taking turns hitting each other is boring and ridiculous. I also find the leveling up system in turned based RPGs to be overly complex and tedious, and don't get me started on grinding. I am a open minded person though and will see what reviewers and fans from this site have to say about the game when it releases. You never know Sega might make things interesting.

This post was not meant to offend anyone who likes turned based RPGs or thinks this was a good move. This is purely my opinion.

 

[danielmann861]

3's AI was more about blocking to me than dodging, but yeah that first Rikiya fight is not great. Now when you reach Kamurocho soon... this is where combat should be getting good - assuming your also doing side stories as you play! You can get all Komaki upgrades early, and you should absolutely do so, as they make the combat way better, especially against bosses - Tiger Drop + bounding against walls = badass.

As for me, I've been making no progress with Akiyama's arena. He... sucks in these fights. Reading around, its better just to level him up to the max and then go back, as he has some awesome unlocks late in the game. So time to level grind as him then!

While I love the Victory Road quest line, Akiyama and Shinada should not be in the normal arena. They are just not great, these fights are totally designed for Kiryu and Saejima in mind.

Mix of both dodging and blocking on Hard, at least to me it has felt that way. The fight with Majima on the rooftop was straight up dodging or blocking every attack and the fight with Rikiya was much the same.

It’s been a while since I played 3 but I don’t remember it being that bad on Medium on my PS3...it’s not so much me complaining, but I just wasn’t sure if the whole game was gonna be this way on Hard...but I’ll keep plugging through on Hard. I haven’t really dug too far into it yet to find out.


Also saw that on the weekend...man, I so can’t wait for a demo of this to be released on PSN...this and Shenmue III are the two games I most desperately want to get my hands on now and (strangely enough) for similar reasons; to check out their respective battle system.

 

[mjqjazzbar]

I recently found out that the new Yakuza game will be a turned based RPG. I'm sad to hear this after playing and beating Yakuza 0. I absolutely love that game and look forward to all the other entries. Yakuza 7 might be a deal breaker for me though. I just never could get into turn based RPGs. I think the concept of taking turns hitting each other is boring and ridiculous. I also find the leveling up system in turned based RPGs to be overly complex and tedious, and don't get me started on grinding. I am a open minded person though and will see what reviewers and fans from this site have to say about the game when it releases. You never know Sega might make things interesting.

This post was not meant to offend anyone who likes turned based RPGs or thinks this was a good move. This is purely my opinion.

If you’ve only played 0, the good news is you have about nine other Yakuzas you can play that don’t feature turn based battles.

 

[danielmann861]

I think the concept of taking turns hitting each other is boring and ridiculous. I also find the leveling up system in turned based RPGs to be overly complex and tedious, and don't get me started on grinding.

In regards to the overly complex and tedious levelling....it really just depends on how deep they go with it. If its all stat based or what not.

Yakuza games do have their grind now as is. If you really want to unlock most abilities, you will spend your time grinding. Hell, if you want 100% in these games then it’s nothing but grind through a shit ton of mini games and what not.

In terms of combat, I think RGG studios will probably do a good job in finding a blend of both accessible and depth for those who want it. I feel much the same about current Yakuza games. Sure, you can button mash your way to success, but if you want, you can actually dig a little deeper into the combat and pull off some amazing stuff (like Tiger drop and what not)

I can’t see it being Shin Megami Tensei levels of deep...but I can see it giving a nice in between for both those who want depth and those who just want accessibility.

I used to feel the same way about turn based stuff...as in give me “action” based combat and this is tedious and boring to sit through menus and I don’t want to grind to get ahead. Why would anyone want to play this way? Then I played Final Fantasy VIII way back when on PSone and had my mind completely changed on the concept of turn based games. I can’t say I’m the biggest turn based guy; I don’t have time to sink into most RPG’s today as is, but for whatever reason FFVIII was the one that changed my opinion.

Sometimes the grind can be tedious, but I feel most modern day RPG’s do a good job of letting you get around grinding if you don’t want to grind. Persona 5 felt that way to me even on Normal difficulty...I never felt like I had to rely on grinding to get ahead in that game.

Even Final Fantasy VIII is a bit like that; the more I’ve played that game, the more I realise it kind of caters to the way you want to play. If you want to be all about grinding and leveling then the game will grind and level with you. If you want to exploit the hell out of it then go right ahead. If you just want to blitz through the story then you can kind of do that too. Granted, some would say FFVIII is kinda broken but I love that about it.

Anyways, this is not about FFVIII. I understand why people who don’t like turn based would be turned off by the idea of this (I really do having been the type of guy that didn’t care for turn based once upon a time) but I still would suggest at least trying out a demo when it releases and just giving it a chance at least. See if it gets its hooks into you.

I still have a couple of curious thoughts about Yakuza 7. Like how’s the party system going to work? You’re usually just running around in free roam by yourself in standard Yakuza games, so are you always going to have your party with you while out on the streets for random battles? Or will they just randomly show up when transitioning into random street battles?

I imagine the random street battles will be pretty quick and painless (as usual) but I do kind of hope they cut down on the obtuseness of them. I don’t know about anyone else, but Judgment kinda got a little obnoxious with that gang always hunting you down on the streets when they were on the prowl. I hope Y7 is nowhere near as obtuse as that.

 

[BruceWayne911]

In regards to the overly complex and tedious levelling....it really just depends on how deep they go with it. If its all stat based or what not.

Yakuza games do have their grind now as is. If you really want to unlock most abilities, you will spend your time grinding. Hell, if you want 100% in these games then it’s nothing but grind through a shit ton of mini games and what not.

In terms of combat, I think RGG studios will probably do a good job in finding a blend of both accessible and deep for those who want it. I feel much the same about current Yakuza games. Sure, you can button mash your way to success, but if you want, you can actually dig a little deeper into the combat and pull off some amazing stuff (like Tiger drop and what not)

I can’t see it being Shin Megami Tensei levels of deep...but I can see it giving a nice in between for both those who want depth and those who just want accessibility.

I used to feel the same way about turn based stuff...as in give me “action” based combat and this is tedious and boring to sit through menus and I don’t want to grind to get ahead. Why would anyone want to play this way? Then I played Final Fantasy VIII way back when on PSone and had my mind completely changed on the concept of turn based games. I can’t say I’m the biggest turn based guy; I don’t have time to sink into most RPG’s today as is, but for whatever reason FFVIII was the one that changed my opinion.

Sometimes the grind can be tedious, but I feel most modern day RPG’s do a good job of letting you get around grinding if you don’t want to grind. Persona 5 felt that way to me even on Normal difficulty...I never felt like I had to rely on grinding to get ahead in that game.

Even Final Fantasy VIII is a bit like that; the more I’ve played that game, the more I realise it kind of caters to the way you want to play. If you want to be all about grinding and leveling then the game will grind and level with you. If you want to exploit the hell out of it then go right ahead. If you just want to blitz through the story then you can kind of do that too. Granted, some would say FFVIII is kinda broken but I love that about it.

Anyways, this is not about FFVIII. I understand why people who don’t like turn based would be turned off by the idea of this (I really do having been the type of guy that didn’t care for turn based once upon a time) but I still would suggest at least trying out a demo when it releases and just giving it a chance at least. See if it gets its hooks into you.

Jo Amon is gonna be Yakuza's version of Sephiroth?

 

[Tosh]

i love leveling up characters in rpg games, i have absolutely no problem with grinding in Nioh or Bloodborne,
i like all the different stats and builds and that you can become "too strong".
i'm not the biggest oldschool RPG fan but i have nothing against Persona 5 or Dragon Quest 11 or Final Fantasy 10
but its not like i love that combat. i also dont really love the Yakuza brawler combat, ... i didnt really care about it.
i just used it, it worked and nothing more. i think the only the time where i thought -thats cool- was when i used
Yagamis fighting style for the first time.

i dont know how deep the new turn based combat will be, but if it has builds or classes, stats, skills, levels and all that stuff
then there is a high change that i will like it because i will make my group and Ichiban super overpowered
and it will be fun to test all of the skill and character combinations, if there is a perfect combat order and so on.
i trust Nagoshi and Daisuke Sato, if they think that they and we should try something new
and that this turn based thing is the right thing, why not. i dont see this as a fan betrayal or whatever, its just a test
that doesnt affect any of the other existing games or storylines. these guys know that a lot of fans will be sceptical,
so we just have to wait 10-11 days for TGS and then they will show us everything they got because they have to.

 

[shadowman16]

Yeah, I have more trust in Nagoshi making a good game than I do doubting that it'll be good because of a change of genre for the combat. His team hasn't lead me wrong so far, I don't really expect it to happen this time. And as pointed out above, the Yakuza games do somewhat have a grind involved to do certain things. I'm actually right at that point now - I need to grind out several levels for Akiyama in Yakuza 5 because the arena is a complete nightmare as him in places and his good moves are locked behind certain late level skill upgrades.

Mix of both dodging and blocking on Hard, at least to me it has felt that way. The fight with Majima on the rooftop was straight up dodging or blocking every attack and the fight with Rikiya was much the same.

It’s been a while since I played 3 but I don’t remember it being that bad on Medium on my PS3...it’s not so much me complaining, but I just wasn’t sure if the whole game was gonna be this way on Hard...but I’ll keep plugging through on Hard. I haven’t really dug too far into it yet to find out.

Medium difficulty is way easier. The game actually drops its difficulty when you switch over to premium adventure mode and I instantly noticed a difference in enemy AI/behaviour. All games after 3 unfortunately though kinda neuter them on hard mode