General RGG Discussion

Talking about Yakuza, it always seemed suspicious why they made so many version of Yakuza games, when it fact reality is that the game is not so popular compared to Sonic for example or even Skies of Arcardia which sold very well and was very popular, yet never got a sequel.
There are theories that Sammy has strong Yakuza ties that is why they make so many Yakuza games.
They originally a Pachinko company which is know to be used by Yakuza to laundry their money.
" Sammy purchased Sega right before Yakuza 1. Sammy, being a pachinko powerhouse, has long had rumored Yakuza ties. Once the merger happens, Sega just happens to release a game showing that Yakuza with a heart of gold are good for the community."

"And the most blatant well known appearance of the yakuza is their complete dominance of the pachinko industry, just do some googling for yourself, Sammy a yakuza owned pachinko company bought 51% of SEGA shares so it’s no coincidence the Yakuza series has been pushed aggressively, I think it’s the first ever japanese made gamer series focusing on the yaks, I doubt the real life guys would let such a game be made without their blessing."

So Basically Yakuza games are probably propaganda to get more youth's into their ranks.
 
WTF is this crap?

People can't stop with the outright bashing, now they have to go after the company, saying they're owned by Yakuza?

All this conspiracy BS.

And the Yakuza games have sold better than SoA, not to mention that the majority of the budget is spent on sponsorship and edorsements.
 
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That's funny as fuck. Yakuza doesn't make The Yakuza look good, and it's not even called Yakuza in Japan. The heroes are always running against the actual top brass in the Yakuza. Yeah, they're 'heroes,' but they're heroes that make the status quo look like real degenerate slimeballs.

Sega keeps making the games because they're solid sellers, review well and are cheap to produce. Huge mystery! Fist of the North Star and Judgment DEFINITELY have no connection to whatever those articles claim.

I'm a Shenmue fan first, Yakuza fan second, but I am pretty tired of the hate for Yakuza 'round here. Just seems like sour grapes. Learn to appreciate the series or ignore it. It has no effect on Shenmue's existence. The fact is the Yakuza games are easier for a wider audience to enjoy than Shenmue, particularly Shenmue 3. They're primarily comedy action games. There is plenty in there for Shenmue to learn from: the side quests are about a million times better than the side quests in Shenmue 3 and the way they're tracked with the completion list is great.
 
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Indeed; the whole point of the series is NOT to glorify and promote the Yakuza, but to show the constant struggle of people who DO NOT belong in that world, but are so deep into it that they can't get out.

And let's face it; maybe, MAYBE Majima is the only character in the entire series up to this point, who truly, "belonged," in that world; Every single other character, who's backstory we know, was roped in due to circumstances and issues that were beyond their control (or, in the case of Kiryu and Nishkiyama, they made a grave mistake, especially after Kazama told them to not get involved) and they do not fit in with those type of people.

If anyone played and fully grasped the first game, then you'd see that in spades, but I doubt @Ren even has played a game in the series.

(small side note, that's another reason why I dislike 2; THAT game is the closest in terms of glorifying and praising the Yakuza, which is a marked shift from the rest of the games in the series).

Every game (aside from 2) shows how people's lives in the Yakuza, are filled with death, loss and ultimately, sorrow; Kiryu NEVER comes out a game with a better outlook than at the outset (save for 2, when things are the same as they ever were) and though I'm only in Chapter 11, it looks like Ichiban may have that same fate... (more on this below)

Judge Eyes on the other hand, ends off with Yagami absolutely in better shape than he was at the outset, with his reputation restored and his business upticking; THAT game is promoting a good group (law people) and still showing that the Yakuza world is not a great place (so even there, the devs are STILL not promoting or glorifying the underworld).

EDIT* Had to leave my desk lol.

Anyways, as mentioned, on Chapter 11, The gang is all level 71 or higher and I'm just finishing off a few completion requirements to get some more stat boosts, as I am over halfway to maxing out Mental, Fashionable and Cheerful. Just about to congregate for the funeral and I'm going to attempt to get into the back courtyard of the old folks home, to open those safes and to meet with the other Niginigi (sp?) chick, to get a few more stat boosts.

If all continues as it has, I will be platinuming this with no further issues or grinding, as I've gotten all the trophies that require grinding, to this point (unless you count the human power trophies as grinding lol).

For story stuff, I've given up on Yen because he's still in chapter 4 and still plodding along; knowing how long it takes to get to a decent level, he'll be playing this game until August and he still won't be done, at the pace he's going.

Thus, I've turned to Twitch and the same guy that I watched for the Judge Eyes translation, DzyDzyDino; if anyone is looking for a translation for this game, he beat the story well over a month ago and does a VERY good and significantly more-concise translation job than Yen does.

I don't like Twitch, but what can you do? Seems like a nice guy too and doesn't bash Yakuza 6 at any given opportunity.

Depending on how the story progresses, I have a feeling we will have a new best game in the series ;)
 
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I get why people feel the need to attack Yakuza, but I think the anger is misplaced. This series released nearly four years after Shenmue II. I highly doubt it has any impact whatsoever on Sega's desire to continue working with Yu Suzuki or on Shenmue. I would say the same to any Yakuza fanboy who feels the need to knock Shenmue. Enjoy each series for what it is or ignore it...
 
Ended up kind of loving Mesuking in Kiwami. I beat all the kids! I'm actually kind of surprised how much content there is in Kiwami. I'd heard it wasn't quite as content-filled as 0 but it feels pretty substantial to me, arcade aside.
 
It is more-than enough; the games have always been chock-full of content, even the PS2 ones.

So I beat the Sotenbori fighting tourney on the first try (wasn't too difficult) and cleaned off a good 5 Byte.com requests as a result. With literally everything done up until that point (and everyone at level 73), I headed off to the Omi headquarters.

The last 10 minutes of cutscenes+fights of chapter 12 is easily one of the three-best sequences in Yakuza history, OMG I was going NUTS in a way I have rarely done before lol; it was just incredibly... incredible.

And yes, I also will not spoil it because it is phenomenal :D:D

I lost the fight to
Saejima and Majima
the first time and forgot that my cash gets depleted :mad:. Still have over 1600(symbol)XXXX(symbol) of Yen and the second time around, stuck to my strategy that I quickly devised and it was (almost lol) a breeze.

With only a couple of substories left to finish and 3 non-story trophies left, this looks to be a most-satisfying platinum :D

Phenomenal game. Period.
 
I've got a loooooooooong way to go 'til I get to 7. I hope I don't burn out by then. Think I might just jump into Kiwami 2 when I'm done with Kiwami. I just got out of purgatory.
 
Indeed, it is A LOT of time to invest...

But so worth it, trust me ;).

The gameplay does change ever-so-slightly from game to game (save for 3>4; that, IMO, had the least amount of variation and innovation, even with some extra fighting styles) and things get bigger as the games go on (save for 6, but that's not a bad thing).

Stick with it, you won't regret it ;)
 
Yeah, I'm a little concerned you're not a fan of 2, but I'm just loving the series right now. The side stories are SO addictive. 2 is where I stopped was back when. Played about 2 hours and gave up for some reason...
 
Don't worry; I gave the original 9/10 and Kiwami 2 9/10, on my Gamefaqs reviews; they are both excellent games (and 2 is quite a deal better than the first, on PS2).

The major reason why I dislike it, is that ridiculous plot; sure, 'mue III did a terrible job explaining things and fleshing out characters, but Yakuza 2 is just a whirlwind of, just, well, ridiculousness; again, things make no sense, connections and such are made through ridiculous contrivances and if you deconstruct the events (let alone just watch them and take them at face value, "in the moment)," Kiryu is made out to be a total wuss that doesn't cry, "manly tears," and does things that a stoic, former boss of an entire clan, would NEVER do (there are just *so* many things wrong with the last scene lol :mad:).

Don't forget; the fanbase on the whole really likes 2's story, for the sole reason that Kiryu falls in love... Which is NOT like him at all.

I'll be here for another hour typing if I don't stop now lol :$
 
Anyways, as mentioned, on Chapter 11, The gang is all level 71 or higher and I'm just finishing off a few completion requirements to get some more stat boosts, as I am over halfway to maxing out Mental, Fashionable and Cheerful. Just about to congregate for the funeral and I'm going to attempt to get into the back courtyard of the old folks home, to open those safes and to meet with the other Niginigi (sp?) chick, to get a few more stat boosts.

If all continues as it has, I will be platinuming this with no further issues or grinding, as I've gotten all the trophies that require grinding, to this point (unless you count the human power trophies as grinding lol).

For story stuff, I've given up on Yen because he's still in chapter 4 and still plodding along; knowing how long it takes to get to a decent level, he'll be playing this game until August and he still won't be done, at the pace he's going.

Thus, I've turned to Twitch and the same guy that I watched for the Judge Eyes translation, DzyDzyDino; if anyone is looking for a translation for this game, he beat the story well over a month ago and does a VERY good and significantly more-concise translation job than Yen does.

I don't like Twitch, but what can you do? Seems like a nice guy too and doesn't bash Yakuza 6 at any given opportunity.

Depending on how the story progresses, I have a feeling we will have a new best game in the series ;)

You'll platinum it without question :D You're already most of the way there.

I hear you on Yen. He is 22 parts in and he has only just got to the Job Change system....and there is still a LOT of game there. He's gonna be at it for awhile. But, speaking for me, I don't mind too much. There were other places I already got the translation from so I know what happens...I'm just enjoying watching his playthrough casually.

What's your favorite job so far?
 
This has probably been asked by others already, but I'm thinking of taking the plunge into the series.

Does it make sens to begin with Kiwami and just go in order? I've seen some recommend beginning with 0...
 
You'll platinum it without question :D You're already most of the way there.

I hear you on Yen. He is 22 parts in and he has only just got to the Job Change system....and there is still a LOT of game there. He's gonna be at it for awhile. But, speaking for me, I don't mind too much. There were other places I already got the translation from so I know what happens...I'm just enjoying watching his playthrough casually.

What's your favorite job so far?

Hard to say, but Riot/SWAT would probably be it; Adachi's already a Mighty Glacier and if you add that job to his already huge stats, holy crap!

The Electrocution-rod special attack at 41 MP is the best move in the game, by far. BY FAR.

To get a few more human points, I had a foursome of Riot guys walk around Survivor, to get easy kills; arguably the most-fun (and dominating) grind session of them all, for the whole game! Too bad it lasted less than an hour :(

Also really like Hero. Dominatrix is another one I don't mind; I accidentally made it one of the level 30 jobs I was grinding, because you said it had great healing moves... until I got to level 30, saw that it had NOTHING, then came back on here and saw that you weren't talking about Dominatrix, but HOSTESS (cue massive facepalm).

lol so now I've set Saeko's job to that and am up to halfway through level 21, but if I think of all the time I will be, not wasting, but using up instead of just getting to the end of the game now... ugh lol, more time grinding!

I am 92 hours in, btw and now partly done chapter 13 (story translation, I'm up to the end of chapter 11), so it's looking like I will be able to finish the game over the weekend... but we'll see.

Despite having practically no space left on my leg to add another tattoo, I may need to find something small to add, for Ichiban's sake; just a superb character.

This has probably been asked by others already, but I'm thinking of taking the plunge into the series.

Does it make sens to begin with Kiwami and just go in order? I've seen some recommend beginning with 0...

Either/or; as MJQ said, you will miss out on some jokes by doing it in reverse, but then again, Kiwami 2 has a couple of things referenced by 0 (and vice-versa) as well.

Kiwami is a step down from 0 in every way but story (basically; story is definitely better, soundtrack is iffy {if they kept the original game's soundtrack, I'd give it to Kiwami 100%} and it can be on-par, graphics-wise. Gameplay, replay and over-the-top ridiculousness, 0 wins hands down) so if you're not too put-off by first impressions and the like, I think it'd be fine to go in numbered order.

Every game is an 8/10 or better though (including spinoffs), so you will be getting a quality-gaming experience no matter what you play.
 
I loved the whole Pocket Racing Circuit call-back to Yakuza 0. The writing, music direction and cutscene direction in these games is just so perfect, even during the unvoiced side story moments.
 
For your above post, MJQ (in regards to Pocket Circuit; nothing major, but if you want to go in completely blind, then avoid!):

Yakuza 6

He has a family now and a son, plus there's a substory revolving around him AND he becomes a pretty good (until the end-part) member of the Kiryu Clan.

Yakuza 7

He (seemingly) appears again as the Dragon Kart owner, but since I haven't completed the full Dragon Kart part yet (2 chapters away), I don't know what his fate is or anything.

I think most people thoroughly-enjoyed the Pocket Circuit stuff :)
 
I beat 7 earlier this month. I really did enjoy it, and I do feel that there are some things that are left unresolved such as
what happened to Kume after he stabbed Aoki/Masato? Was he not caught? Does he still maintain his political position? Will Ichi pursue politics again?
I am sure there will be a sequel that could explore the aftermath of 7 and continue Ichi's journey, and if a sequel to Judgment happens, I'd like to see it take place in Yokohama as well. If you level up pretty high and have a lot of summons (or delivery help in the game),
the final battle with Aoki/Masato is soooo easy. I just beat him with summons alone

The RPG mechanics works for what it sets out to do, so I have no issues with it. I say the localization team has a lot of work to do. I don't really play the international releases but playing it in Japanese, there are a lot of things that very tricky to translate and relate to a non-Japanese audience.

As for the side conversations, one takes place at an arcade and Chou talks about how he played Dreamcast in his childhood lol. They even make reference to how when the batteries of the VMS are out, it makes that beeping sound when you turn on the Dreamcast. So yeah, Yakuza 7 is definitely for true Sega fans.

The tests at the vocational school are both unique and challenging. Most of the Sega test questions relate to Sakura Taisen so I wonder if they'll be kept for the international versions, or change them with other Sega games that have more international popularity?
 
I beat 7 earlier this month. I really did enjoy it, and I do feel that there are some things that are left unresolved such as
what happened to Kume after he stabbed Aoki/Masato? Was he not caught? Does he still maintain his political position? Will Ichi pursue politics again?
I am sure there will be a sequel that could explore the aftermath of 7 and continue Ichi's journey, and if a sequel to Judgment happens, I'd like to see it take place in Yokohama as well. If you level up pretty high and have a lot of summons (or delivery help in the game),
the final battle with Aoki/Masato is soooo easy. I just beat him with summons alone

The RPG mechanics works for what it sets out to do, so I have no issues with it. I say the localization team has a lot of work to do. I don't really play the international releases but playing it in Japanese, there are a lot of things that very tricky to translate and relate to a non-Japanese audience.

As for the side conversations, one takes place at an arcade and Chou talks about how he played Dreamcast in his childhood lol. They even make reference to how when the batteries of the VMS are out, it makes that beeping sound when you turn on the Dreamcast. So yeah, Yakuza 7 is definitely for true Sega fans.

The tests at the vocational school are both unique and challenging. Most of the Sega test questions relate to Sakura Taisen so I wonder if they'll be kept for the international versions, or change them with other Sega games that have more international popularity?

What level were you at?

I have everyone at 78 right now and I'm aiming for at least 90, for Amon.

Also, sorry to get a bit hot under the collar, but...

His name isn't Cho, I don't know why everybody can't spell it properly.

Its Zhao. As in the Tiger General, Zhao Zilong. Watching DzyDzyDino's stream and there's a moron on there who comments on EVERYTHING with childishness and never shuts up... And he writes, "Choooooooo," all the goddamn time and it's so bloody irritating... GET IT RIGHT!

Anyways, last chapter and started the dungeon in Kamurocho... So awesome! :D I will definitely finish the game by tomorrow and will ad my thoughts as well!
 
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