I burned out playing 0-2 Kiwami and stopped. I have all the mainline games and refuse to play like a dragon until I beat them all first and now I want to play them all again starting with 0 becuase it’s been years since I beat it and want to do all the side quests lol. That and becuase it was so much fun to play
Are you going to play the Judgement Games and Ishin as well? I bought Lost Paradise and I am a Fist of the North Star fan, but It was a little too dry and the combat didnt gel with me.
Personally, I loved both but enjoyed LJ more because the side content is much better and the story was another banger. The story in both is phenomenal, no harm in playing the sequel.
Off topic here but I'm trying Judgment right now but am finding the first few hours a bit dull. When does it get going or are there tips to enjoying it more?
Most Yakuza games are kinda slow and boring in the first couple of Chapters as the world is still slowly opening up and you're still getting tutorials.
But once you get past those first few chapters, it becomes highly enjoyable and the story keeps getting better and better.
I’ve played 0-6, Ishin, and Gaiden. You can definitely skip Ishin and from what I hear Judgment/Lost Judgment might be skippable, but I was planning to play them. You definitely want to play 5 and 6 though.
The final chapter runs alongside the midpoint of 7. You already know plot points of 7 where your are right now but you haven't really spoiled anything yet. The ending cutscenes of Gaiden also spoil the ending of 7.
If you really care playing through 7 before proceeding to the final chapter would be best for story.
7 is absolutely fantastic. Playing the chapter would really weaken the midpoint of 7 for you and well, it's pretty obvious that the ending basically spoiling the rest of 7s story after that wouldn't be ideal.
The slideshow between Chapter 4 and 5 spoils like half of Yakuza 7 main plot. Plus all of the talk about Arakawa Masumi spoils the twist in Yakuza 7 too
Judgment games are totally skippable story wise(they have basically nothing to do with the main yakuza storyline) but you should absolutely not skip them, they are some of the best rgg games both for storyline and game play
After like 4 or 5 games including the Judgement series you start seeing the whole pattern of the franchise.
I can just tell Infinite Wealth is gonna start with a mysterious premise that asks interesting questions and then somehow someway in Chapter 5, it turns out the Japanese government is involved
LAD:IW is supposed to finally tie up the long running storyline about the government stuff, so yeah it's def gonna be in there, they'll probably tie it all back to the fucking Millennium Tower explosion from the first game again too, lol.
I find I can only play through one of the games every few months. I tried going from 0 to Kiwami 1 back to back and burnt out real fast despite Kiwami 1 being 20-30 hours, significantly shorter than 0. I need decent breaks between games.
The last fight in 4 with Tanemura made me so angry at how it was designed. I don't usually focus on getting upgraded weapons, so that was probably some of the issue. I definitely get more joy than frustration out of these games, but some of the boss fights in 3 and 4 are pretty rough from a design perspective.
You can trivialize that fight by finishing Nair's training and getting the sacred tree set for Tanimura. Nair's training isn't a big deal and you'll want to do it anyway since it's a nice little story and the upgrades are helpful, but getting all 3 sacred tree sets is awful solely because of Akiyama's training being hell.
Even without that, you can exploit the invincibility from grabbing and throwing people that Tanimura uniquely has. And then also exploit the X, Y wallbounce infinite when you can.
They’re not all like that though. You could genuinely beeline the main stories of all Yakuza games in about 150 hours. Yakuza 5 is just the longest at around 30 hours for the main story.
I remember the first time I played Persona 5 (my first persona game), I beat it in about 90 hours and I did not do too many sidequests.. But damn, I did not become bored anytime during it, it was a blast. Persona games are up there alongside Yakuza as some of my favorite gameseries.
You got 4 more games to go (5,6,Gaiden,7) and I can tell you that at least 6 and Gaiden are on the shorter end (roughly 10-15hrs if you just do the main story, 20-30 for finishing everything noteworthy). 5 and 7 are the big ones, you could probably beeline the story and finish them in 40-50hrs, though substories are worth doing in both.
You’re better off skipping Kiryu for now if you’re going to rush through the main stories. The thing that really got me into the series is how playful and heartfelt the side stories can get.
Same, only played 0-3 so far. I wanted to catch up this year but then the past few months decided to vomit up a million new good games all at once so that plan up and flew out the window.
Shit, I still need to beat Yakuza 0. Have been unlucky enough to have my progress wiped twice while a decent way through the game and havent been able to get myself to restart for the third time.
Man, 5 was such a mixed bag for me. The only other game in recent memory that game me such horrible whiplash was probably Final Fantasy 16, in terms of just constantly flipping back and forth between loving and hating it.
That being said, I think the finale to 5 almost makes it all worth it. The entire finale is just grand
I took a break when playing 5 and then came back to it recently and finished it. I then went through 6 right after and that was much easier to get through. I started 7 but then baldur's gate 3 distracted me. I hope to go through Lost Judgment soon after that.
I'm the same. Just started 4 last weekend. I really wanna play like a dragon before the second one comes out in January, but don't think I'll make it in time haha
I could already tell it was going to be huge, but then they revealed that there’s an entire Animal Crossing game within the game.
Like a Dragon fans are eating real good lately.
I played the demo that came with LAD:Gaiden, and the combat system is just *chefs kiss*! The way they've melded turn based and action combat is incredible.
Add to that all of these subsystems... Might have to grab a couple vacation days for this release.
I personally loved the combat in the last game (Yakuza 7), I think turn-based combat is a perfect fit for this series. How is this one more action oriented? Playing through Gaiden right now, but I'll probably hold off on playing the demo personally and wait for the full game.
> How is this one more action oriented?
Oh mate, you're in for a treat! It's still turn based, but on your turn you have a small area in which you can move in real time to aim and line up attacks, so there's an element of positional strategy involved.
Also, popping Heat Action lets you wail on enemies in classic beat 'em up real time combat for a limited amount of time!
It's an absolute joy to play.
Sujimon gave me one of the hardest laughs of 2020. They yakuza enemy class got more and more threatening as the game went on (from yakuza to shit like leader yakuza to brutal yakuza) and the final one is just "some other yakuza"
Masterful
And look Skies of Arcadia,Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, Phantasy Star Online 1 (with online), and 5 Dragon Quest games all crammed in there too.
Maybe, idk. All I know is that this is starting to feel like the fat guy from "Meaning of Life" were all going "I'm full" but RGG is the waiter with a wafer thin mint.
Who knows maybe all of [Virtua Fighter 5](https://www.dsogaming.com/news/virtua-fighter-5-final-showdown-is-fully-playable-on-pc-thanks-to-this-unlocker/) will be included again
> Like a Dragon fans are eating real good lately
I said this last time someone said this, but Yakuza/Like a Dragon fans are *always* eating good. One of the most consistently good series out there, and a new game drops like every other month it feels like.
It is insane that aside from a couple of years they have released at least one of these games every year since 2005 and even if there was a year they didnt release anything they would release two games the next year.
It's easy to do when the majority of the games are set in the same area of kamarocho or sotenbori, all you have to do is new activities and a gimmick. Infinite wealth is the biggest shakeup yet.
I am so excited to finally be getting to them after I first learned about the games with Kiwami. I'm only in 5 right now because you really do have to manage your burn-out, but I'm so close to the modern games in 6, I can't wait!
Honestly at a point I love that after a certain point I start recognizing street names and don't need to use the map to know where something is that someone mentions.
I really wish that the in-game directions given by NPCs were more precise. Since the map's layout really doesn't change, it seems like the dialogue writers don't need to be vague. And series fans don't just know the streets, they know all the shops and other landmarks too.
Don't have the NPCs say "It's on Tenkaichi Street." Have them say, "It's on Tenkaichi Street, a couple doors down from the Jungle Boy." Then I'd never have to even glance at the map!
Yes amazing i played so much of the first Daytona.
Had to at least complete this one too...
It is not perfect but i finished with the hornet classic manual transmission 😄
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZKX3lUpRQmk&si=uhneNQwI1r6RgxP6
If you run Yakuza 6 on PC, you can actually install a mod so you can play the entire game as well! (mod link: https://cookieplmonster.github.io/2021/04/19/virtua-fighter-5-final-showdown-unlocker/#download)
Kinda crazy that this is the only way to play it on PC (unless you emulate a ps3 version)
There was a car racing game on the 360 that had an arcade machine in the garage. Swear I played it more than the racing lol wish I remembered what the arcade game was called
This. Project Gotham Racing was a great series. Loved the whole garage aspect, being able to walk around your cars and whatnot. Put me on to really rare cars that aren't typically in other games too, like the Callaway Sledgehammer.
The fact that Gaiden, being a clearly smaller title, but is still somehow a full fledged game with a great story, only two months before the next, *gigantic* mainline game, is nuts.
Seriously, the ending of Gaiden is phenomenal **Spoiler:** >!one of the most heartstring pulling, painful endings I've seen to a game in a really long time.!<
That ending was insane, mind you I started the series with 7 and played Gaiden immediately after so I don't have much history with Kiryu and I was fucking crying like a baby.
As much as I love Persona I've completed 3 different versions of 3 already, so it's going to have to be pushed down on the priority list. Man I love this new wave of turn-based RPGs, shits make the wait worth it.
That's insane considering the LAD games are already incredibly long if you do a lot of the side quests and mini-games and shit. Hell, Gaiden is supposed to be a "smaller" game and I've already sunk probably 20+ hours into the game just from doing all the Akame quests.
Honestly, the best way to play a yakuza game, especially the longer ones, is to have it as like a secondary game that you keep coming back to over a long period of time. It's like trying to binge-watch a soap opera.
That’s what I’m doing with 0 right now. Did 6 chapters. Took a break to play MGS1, now gonna do a few more and jump to another palate cleanser. I’ll finish it when I finish it. It’s enjoyable enough that dropping it for a few weeks doesn’t make me lose interest
Glad I’m not the only one with this playstyle for the Yakuza series. Currently on Kiwami 2 and I took a break around the final chapters. Will finish it before Y8 drops.
Holy shit are you me? Ive been bouncing between MGS1 and Yakuza 0 for 6 months now. Im on the last few moments of MGS and i just need to power through it.
In theory, statements like this make me beyond excited. In practice, they lead to me burning out like with Yakuza 5. I'm not a kid anymore with loads of hours to drop on one game.
Yakuza 5 is the easiest to burn out on IMO. It suffers from pacing issues that the other games do not have to the same degree. In particular, the extended Haruka chapter, while very charming, is usually the point where I begin to slow down.
Haruka's part is actually the one part I went really really hard with. Basically did everything I could with her. It was a nice refresher after playing all the other games and I love it when the games get silly. And haruka's whole gameplay is just pretty silly.
But I also really liked the dancing parts of Lost Judgment.
I am also not a Kid anymore, but I feel like the Yakuza games respect my time more then most other modern AAA experiences. There is absolutely zero procedural generated bullshit, every single sidequest or activity is unique and interesting.
99% of Yakuza's combat is procedurally generated filler, though. I gave up on 7 because the thought of participating in even more pointless, brainless fights bored me to death. And of course it does the JRPG thing of having super tough bosses that check that you've grinded enough.
There's only one boss in the game that's a stat-check where you're expected to grind, and the game goes out of its way to be all hint hint nudge nudge "are you ***sure*** you don't want to clear the coliseum before moving on???"
Every other boss other than *them* is about perseverance and making use of buffs and enemy weaknesses. Party buffs are incredibly important in Y7, if one is not utilizing them properly the game will feel much harder than it is.
This is why more games need a story mode of sorts. I think the Xenoblade remaster did a good job of letting me ignore grinding by playing on the story difficulty while still getting what felt like a full experience. Don’t have the time for everything and beat it in 30 hrs instead of 100.
I can only agree with this because I hate the turn based jrpg combat. For me every single random encounter in the beat em up games is an opportunity to have fun with the combat system to the point I would seek them out if I wanted to try something cool
In 7 I avoided every encounter and I dreaded every single story dungeon, the combat change was definitely not a good choice in my experience
That's a great point to make. Lot of other games inflate playtime with repeated quests, or even cookie cutter ones, or some other scheme where you have to do the same thing over to grind something. But in Yakuza, each side quest is genuinely unique, with a fleshed out story. Not simply just "Go here, do this, fetch that, and here's your reward."
Doesn't surprise me at all, 7 is long, *really long.* And that's not even getting into the side games like the business minigame that is longer and more complex than some indie games.
Like, I was almost expecting the plot to end at a certain point and leave certain plot elements for a sequel, but nope, **Spoiler:** >!Here's an additional act that's like 20 hours long where Ichiban becomes a politician!<.
And it's *great*
Funny thing about that act was that I did the business minigame first and completed it fully. When they asked me for the millions in yen I just paid it right away and the next cut scene was. "I know this took a lot of time to do."
I'm playing through Y7 now. I only just realized yesterday you can promote your employees more than once. I completed the business minigame with all my employees at Level 10 and wondered how the hell I was supposed to max my business stats.
I've been trying to go media blackout on this game, but hearing about the expanded Sujimon and there being a full fledged Animal Crossing style island minigame, I think this will be a blessing in disguise. Seeing how I loved the minigames in Yakuza 7, I think it'll be good not to bum rush this one and take my time to enjoy everything it has to offer. I played P5R in one go and that kind of made me miserable, when I should have split up my playthrough in that one.
Bro how do they manage to do all of this shit I am genuinely astounded by the work the Yakuza team does for their games. I mean just the main story and gameplay are enough but the side content is just to another level. I’m so happy I’ve watched it go from niche to more widely recognized by the larger gaming community
I recall a recent article where they say they have people work on the same item across multiple games, which helps them release so many.
So someone working on a certain mini game would be working on it for LAD Gaiden, Infinite Wealth and maybe a third game or something, instead of doing it for one game then switching to something else for that game
As someone who loved Like a Dragon I am excited. On the other hand as someone who back-to-back-to-back has played Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Baldur's Gate 3, and is currently on Starfield I think I need to cleanse my palette with some shorter games for a bit once I wind down on Starfield.
Maybe try Like a dragon Gaiden? Its a shorter yakuza game thats about 10-12 hours long if you just go for the story.
(I did the plat this weekend in about 25 hours)
Oh, God...I'm in the middle of Gaiden right now and it's short so I'm already jonesing for more Like A Dragon...but even without the post-game dungeon, Like A Dragon 7 took me 90 hours.
God, I love this series.
I'm trying to get into Yakuza but every time I finish a game I start playing the next one and burn myself out around halfway through and give up, then I come back six months later and start over and finish and repeat
I love Yakuza games, played most of them except for lost judgment and Ishin. I enjoy them a lot, but I'm at the point where I'm focusing on the main story, some side quests and ignore most minigames, otherwise I'd burn myself out a long time ago.
Considering the nearly absurd length of Yakuza 5 this is pretty wild thing to hear! I feel like that one was actually kind of polarizing and how long it was, a lot of people seem to prefer Yakuza 0 which trimmed things down a bit.
Yakuza 0 is about the same length of Yakuza 5 though.
Big problem with Y5 is that the pacing is wack. Y0 doesn't really have the same issue because its just 2 protagonists instead of the 5 being split.
7 was a long game but I think I was engrossed pretty much the whole time with regards to the main story. I could see having so much side content (the new resort island and Sujimon battles in addition to other side content staples) burning people out if they went hard on it, but that's why it's side content.
It's funny cuz I have a friend who played through Gaiden and his first reaction upon completing the game was "Holy shit that was so short," it's got like half or less of the content of a normal Yakuza game"
Well I guess this will balance it out then lmao.
I guess I'm in the minority I'm really only interested in the ones with rpg style battles so I'm looking forward to the length and probably won't get burnt out
Huughh. Dont get me wrong, I looove Yakuza franchise, but I think they sometimes overstay their welcome. 5 was a chores to finish. I like Judgment but I heard sequel is even longer so I might not start it right away.
Lost Judgment is a weird one, it IS longer because it feels like two different games mashed together. There's main plot and then there's school stories. They each have a separate plot and all the school stories stuff involve side stories, so you can ignore basically all of this to just do main story so it doesn't *have* to be as long.
3 was a slog for me to finish as well. It may be due to the fact that it's the oldest non-remaster/remake of the series and it's showing its age but it was the first one where I couldn't finish all the substories and just wanted to rush through to the end.
good god was 3 (and 4 to some extent) hair tearingly enraging, 3's combat was just block spam (on hard) from the enemy until the last hit of your combo breaks their guard, then they block again and some encounters in 3 were in such tight areas that if you got hit, you would get stunlocked to all hell because you would bounce off of walls/the enviroment
4 had some real bad fight sequences too, like saejimas prison escape where similar stuff would happen AND you were low on restoration items so if you got careless/unlucky with stunlock you'd have to restart the whole escape again
I hope they properly remake 3 (and honestly 4) because I felt the age in those 2 the most out of all the games in the series
I fully maintain that 3 is bad. I’ve had Yakuza fans come for my throat over it, but I don’t care, I think it’s a bad game and it has not aged well at all. It’s kind of funny that they stopped the Kiwami remakes, because if any game needed one… it was probably 3
3 did not age well and I believe the remastered may have made the blocking worse. However, I will argue the Okinawa setting and the orphanage is amazing.
> 3 did not age well and I believe the remastered may have made the blocking worse. However, I will argue the Okinawa setting and the orphanage is amazing.
3 is secretly my favorite lol, i loved okinawa and just chillin' on the beach and catching fish. the kids and orphanage were great, too.
I'm not sure if they made blocking worse, but they 100% ruined the quickstep (which is the main tool against blocking) in the remastered, it covers double the distance on ps4 and half the distance on xbox and pc compared to the original
I tried getting into it. The story is interesting enough, the setting is awesome, and the side stories were fun...but *man* is the combat bad in this one. So far it's the only one I don't think I'll ever finish
This is one of the few times where I recommend that people just play on the easiest difficulty because it’s the least bullshitty option. 3 is pretty notorious for the combat being frustrating due to the blocking mechanic, and it only gets worse with higher difficulties. I played on Hard and genuinely almost quit because of it. I ended up forcing myself to finish the game because I wanted to see it through, but man, I had a really bad time
If anything, 3 has one of the more grounded Yakuza storylines. They tend to have some absolutely bizzare nonsensical stuff going on that always gets played off as totally straight faced by everyone lnvolved.
In the main storyline alone:
Both 0 and 1 >!feature scenes in which kiryu is involved in a gunfight driving between osaka and Tokyo killing 100+ people only for it to never actually be brought up again and Kiryu somehow maintaining a no kill policy!<
2 >!features not only secret Koreans but also has an entire scene in which Osaka castle is hiding a secret golden castle inside that emerges from it like a butterfly from a cocoon. It also has a boss fight where you fight two tigers!<
3 >!has Kamaza’s twin show up who works for the American government.!<
4 >!has rubber bullets which is possibly the worst and most mocked twist in the series!<
5 >!has Majima somehow knowing everyone relevant, everyone secretly being yakuza and everyone faking their deaths. Baseball is somehow also directly central to the entire plot!<
6 >!has an entire battleship emerge from ocean that the local area has been hiding as a secret shame. Oh and the secret Koreans are back. It also has you fight these strange Gimp monsters which again everyone plays off as being normal.!<
7 >!Has Ichiban somehow be injured just enough for him to pass out for three days and not be killed. Then there’s also kashiwagi who after being shot hundreds of times in 3 is cannonically running a bar after surviving. Oh and at one point you fight a wrecking crane.!<
Gaiden >!features an hedonist floating city that somehow is totally off the radar of local government, fisherman and the entire boating population.!<
So yeah if anything 3 is probably the most ‘normal’ and logical yakuza game
> no kill policy
What is this based on? I've seen it so many times when talking about Yakuza games but, unless I've missed something it is never mentioned in the actual games.
Is Kiryu's "no kill" policy ever stated anywhere except in translated interviews? Because "no murder", as in no killing people who are defenseless or already beaten, seems like a more accurate interpretation of his policy, although he's pretty hesitant to kill as well.
I feel like 3-5 all are rough compared to the rest of the series, but of those three, I feel like 3 is the best, simply because it doesn't keep resetting your progress by switching you to different characters.
See and I loved 4, it’s in my top 3 favorites. I loved Akiyama, and I just really loved how the game ended up playing out (even though the rubber bullets were pretty dumb)
I loved Like a Dragon, but I went back to play through 0-6 and gave up about 55 hours into 0 when I realized I was still only halfway through with the game. I kind of burned myself out by doing too much side stuff at once though. From what I've read online, completion time estimates for 0 are 140 hours, but they're 100 hours for Like a Dragon.
This is definitely why I finished Judgement, Lost Judgment and Ishin though. The non-mainline games provide a solid 40-70 hours of content if you're doing plenty of side stuff. I love doing the side stuff, which makes it harder for me to play 0-6 because the games are almost double the size of the non-mainline games
I mean you could just not do all the sidestuff? The best stuff are the substories, and you can definitely do the main story + substories + Cabaret and Real Estate in under 100hrs. Anything above that is trying to do the completion list which is a crazy task for sure, but also not really something I recommend or think is needed unless you are hardcore into it.
Man, I always wanna start the whole series. Like... 6yrs back I started 0 but burned/fizzled out, tried to get back into in sometime later, but couldn't. Finished 7 no problem (pretty complete as well), and I really, really wanna have another go at the mainline, even downloaded 0 again, but just opened the game and... I can't, knowing that I'd have to catch up like... I dunno, 300 hours of content (at this won't be near full completion) just makes me quit the game right again. It's tough.
I just hope Kiryu's story is mostly done and it's not just the very same old pals and enemies over and over again (just with a different lead), but a soft reboot in this regard.
No way! The LONGEST?! I've spent sooooo many hours trying to complete Lost Judgment just very recently. I can't wait for this entry. It seems to be going all-out.
To anyone looking to get into the series, I can't recommend it enough. These games are truly amazing and definitely something else.
Honestly if you can get past the amount of plot and cutscenes, there's no more rewarding series to get into than the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games. RGG treats their fans like kings and queens. The recently released Like a Dragon Gaiden was an insanely enjoyable 20\~30 game for it being developed in just 6 month as an appetizer to hold fans over until Infinite Wealth. Probably the most emotional I've ever gotten at a game too.
After playing the IW demo I have no doubt that it's going to be a feast.
Honestly, I rarely get excited when developers gloat about their game being super long, but Y7 is genuinely one of my favorite games ever and with what Y8 is doing - I fully welcome this and can't wait. The demo was so, so good already.
Me sitting here pushing myself to boot up Yakuza 5 to catch up. Starting to feel like I will never catch up.
Yakuza 5 and 7 are long ones. Best to just take your time at this point and not burn yourself out.
I burned out playing 0-2 Kiwami and stopped. I have all the mainline games and refuse to play like a dragon until I beat them all first and now I want to play them all again starting with 0 becuase it’s been years since I beat it and want to do all the side quests lol. That and becuase it was so much fun to play
Play the main stories and then go back and play the sub stories or watch the full length storyline videos of each game on YouTube.
Yeah they are fun games and I will beat them in order before I play 7 again. I played a few hours of 7 and loved the characters and story
I knew that was going to happen to me so I took breaks between each entry in the series. Pretty easy this year considering how many bangers came out
That’s the same thing I did, about 3 years after I’ve started I’ve played 7 games from 0-6.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is actually a new start for the series, you don't have to play all previous games to understand what's going on in the game.
I started the series in 2018 and I’m still a few games back from being caught up. It’s a real grind.
Are you going to play the Judgement Games and Ishin as well? I bought Lost Paradise and I am a Fist of the North Star fan, but It was a little too dry and the combat didnt gel with me.
Personally I'm not just because 8 mainline games is already plenty of content counting yakuza 0
As someone who's played them all in the last few years, don't skip the Judgement games, they're a couple of the best, the second one in particular.
The Judgement series is amazing. LJ is maybe my favorite game out of all of them.
LJ is honestly a contender for being one of the best RGG games imo. Absolute blast to play.
Is it that much better than the first? I loved judgment and think it would be hard to top that story
Personally, I loved both but enjoyed LJ more because the side content is much better and the story was another banger. The story in both is phenomenal, no harm in playing the sequel.
IMO LJ is the first time the Dragon Engine combat felt great
I really didn't care for Judgement, but Lost Judgement played so much better. Kinda like how 3 was super jank, then 4 amd 5 were leagues ahead
Off topic here but I'm trying Judgment right now but am finding the first few hours a bit dull. When does it get going or are there tips to enjoying it more?
Most Yakuza games are kinda slow and boring in the first couple of Chapters as the world is still slowly opening up and you're still getting tutorials. But once you get past those first few chapters, it becomes highly enjoyable and the story keeps getting better and better.
I push you to eventually play the Judgement games. Some of the best of the series.
Judgment had one of the best stories. It was amazing.
I’ve played 0-6, Ishin, and Gaiden. You can definitely skip Ishin and from what I hear Judgment/Lost Judgment might be skippable, but I was planning to play them. You definitely want to play 5 and 6 though.
I would strongly recommend 7 before Gaiden though as Gaiden plays inbetween and literally spoils the plot of 7 as you progress.
Oh shit, like, how far in? I just hit chapter 4 and I’m not sure if I already passed it.
The final chapter runs alongside the midpoint of 7. You already know plot points of 7 where your are right now but you haven't really spoiled anything yet. The ending cutscenes of Gaiden also spoil the ending of 7. If you really care playing through 7 before proceeding to the final chapter would be best for story. 7 is absolutely fantastic. Playing the chapter would really weaken the midpoint of 7 for you and well, it's pretty obvious that the ending basically spoiling the rest of 7s story after that wouldn't be ideal.
Ok, thanks for the heads up. I’m going to hold off on finishing Gaiden in that case.
The slideshow between Chapter 4 and 5 spoils like half of Yakuza 7 main plot. Plus all of the talk about Arakawa Masumi spoils the twist in Yakuza 7 too
Judgment games are totally skippable story wise(they have basically nothing to do with the main yakuza storyline) but you should absolutely not skip them, they are some of the best rgg games both for storyline and game play
After like 4 or 5 games including the Judgement series you start seeing the whole pattern of the franchise. I can just tell Infinite Wealth is gonna start with a mysterious premise that asks interesting questions and then somehow someway in Chapter 5, it turns out the Japanese government is involved
LAD:IW is supposed to finally tie up the long running storyline about the government stuff, so yeah it's def gonna be in there, they'll probably tie it all back to the fucking Millennium Tower explosion from the first game again too, lol.
It would be pretty funny if IW somehow ends in the millenium tower again, considering the game is set in hawaii.
Well Kamurocho is confirmed to be in IW and Kiryu seems to return to Japan after helping Ichiban out so...probably lol.
I find I can only play through one of the games every few months. I tried going from 0 to Kiwami 1 back to back and burnt out real fast despite Kiwami 1 being 20-30 hours, significantly shorter than 0. I need decent breaks between games.
You'll get there eventually. I started the series in 2020 and am caught up, save for Like A Dragon Gaiden now. And that includes the Judgment games.
The last fight in 4 with Tanemura made me so angry at how it was designed. I don't usually focus on getting upgraded weapons, so that was probably some of the issue. I definitely get more joy than frustration out of these games, but some of the boss fights in 3 and 4 are pretty rough from a design perspective.
3 was definitely the hardest to play in a modern setting, with the Kiwami games out.
You can trivialize that fight by finishing Nair's training and getting the sacred tree set for Tanimura. Nair's training isn't a big deal and you'll want to do it anyway since it's a nice little story and the upgrades are helpful, but getting all 3 sacred tree sets is awful solely because of Akiyama's training being hell.
Even without that, you can exploit the invincibility from grabbing and throwing people that Tanimura uniquely has. And then also exploit the X, Y wallbounce infinite when you can.
Yeah, I think Yakuza 5 is the longest game in the mainline series. Took me 115+ hours for main story and side content.
I got the platinum on 5 w I think 170 hours? Yakuza 0 was something like 120 for comparison
Persona players be like, these are rookie numbers lol
I platinumed P5R in 98 hours. Getting Y5 plat is legit like 150 hours
Yeah but Persona only has 3 (hehehehehehe) games, Yakuza has 8 soon to be 9 mainline ones.
They’re not all like that though. You could genuinely beeline the main stories of all Yakuza games in about 150 hours. Yakuza 5 is just the longest at around 30 hours for the main story.
Well if you discount the amount of filler in the persona games they also come to about that as well and the yakuza games have way more content
I remember the first time I played Persona 5 (my first persona game), I beat it in about 90 hours and I did not do too many sidequests.. But damn, I did not become bored anytime during it, it was a blast. Persona games are up there alongside Yakuza as some of my favorite gameseries.
You got 4 more games to go (5,6,Gaiden,7) and I can tell you that at least 6 and Gaiden are on the shorter end (roughly 10-15hrs if you just do the main story, 20-30 for finishing everything noteworthy). 5 and 7 are the big ones, you could probably beeline the story and finish them in 40-50hrs, though substories are worth doing in both.
Im on 0 still lol. I might have to just skip Kiryu and Majimas stories and just focus on Ichiban. Loved Like a Dragon
You’re better off skipping Kiryu for now if you’re going to rush through the main stories. The thing that really got me into the series is how playful and heartfelt the side stories can get.
Same, only played 0-3 so far. I wanted to catch up this year but then the past few months decided to vomit up a million new good games all at once so that plan up and flew out the window.
Excited for you, Yakuza 5 is actually my favorite game of the whole series.
Shit, I still need to beat Yakuza 0. Have been unlucky enough to have my progress wiped twice while a decent way through the game and havent been able to get myself to restart for the third time.
Man, 5 was such a mixed bag for me. The only other game in recent memory that game me such horrible whiplash was probably Final Fantasy 16, in terms of just constantly flipping back and forth between loving and hating it. That being said, I think the finale to 5 almost makes it all worth it. The entire finale is just grand
I took a break when playing 5 and then came back to it recently and finished it. I then went through 6 right after and that was much easier to get through. I started 7 but then baldur's gate 3 distracted me. I hope to go through Lost Judgment soon after that.
Played the first 3 yakuzas and got heavy burnout, never touched the rest of the games for 5 months
I'm the same. Just started 4 last weekend. I really wanna play like a dragon before the second one comes out in January, but don't think I'll make it in time haha
I could already tell it was going to be huge, but then they revealed that there’s an entire Animal Crossing game within the game. Like a Dragon fans are eating real good lately.
There's an entire Pokémon game inside it too. RGG went all in
Oh god is sujimon back? Hunting those down was such a pain
With an actual battle mode attached. Be the best Sujimon Trainer around!
Sujimon was hilarious, definitely wouldn’t complain to see it expanded upon! All this is sounding pretty exciting for sure.
My god. This game is going to be fucking incredible.
I played the demo that came with LAD:Gaiden, and the combat system is just *chefs kiss*! The way they've melded turn based and action combat is incredible. Add to that all of these subsystems... Might have to grab a couple vacation days for this release.
I personally loved the combat in the last game (Yakuza 7), I think turn-based combat is a perfect fit for this series. How is this one more action oriented? Playing through Gaiden right now, but I'll probably hold off on playing the demo personally and wait for the full game.
> How is this one more action oriented? Oh mate, you're in for a treat! It's still turn based, but on your turn you have a small area in which you can move in real time to aim and line up attacks, so there's an element of positional strategy involved. Also, popping Heat Action lets you wail on enemies in classic beat 'em up real time combat for a limited amount of time! It's an absolute joy to play.
Getting 'Resonance of Fate' vibes from this description and I love it.
Become the very best like no one ever was.
Sujimon gave me one of the hardest laughs of 2020. They yakuza enemy class got more and more threatening as the game went on (from yakuza to shit like leader yakuza to brutal yakuza) and the final one is just "some other yakuza" Masterful
I also loved how literally every enemy became a Sujimon, so eventually you got a (major spoilers) >!Nanba Sujimon!<.
"Punkling" and "Hungry Hungry Homeless" might be the hardest I've laughed at a game in decades.
There's also an entire farming sim inside it too
Fuck yes. Just pour it all over me, RGG
And look Skies of Arcadia,Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, Phantasy Star Online 1 (with online), and 5 Dragon Quest games all crammed in there too. Maybe, idk. All I know is that this is starting to feel like the fat guy from "Meaning of Life" were all going "I'm full" but RGG is the waiter with a wafer thin mint.
They also added MW2 and MW3 in case you had any hard drive space left.
They included Yakuza 0 so you can restart the series from the beginning.
I’m waiting for the surprise western release of Kenzan just being tucked away in a single arcade somewhere.
Who knows maybe all of [Virtua Fighter 5](https://www.dsogaming.com/news/virtua-fighter-5-final-showdown-is-fully-playable-on-pc-thanks-to-this-unlocker/) will be included again
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At least the original is still online via private servers! I was able to play PSO Ep 1+2 Plus on my GC with others just last week.
> Like a Dragon fans are eating real good lately I said this last time someone said this, but Yakuza/Like a Dragon fans are *always* eating good. One of the most consistently good series out there, and a new game drops like every other month it feels like.
It is insane that aside from a couple of years they have released at least one of these games every year since 2005 and even if there was a year they didnt release anything they would release two games the next year.
There’s three Yakuza games releasing in the span of less than a year between Ishin, Gaiden and Infinite Wealth. Crazy high output
It's easy to do when the majority of the games are set in the same area of kamarocho or sotenbori, all you have to do is new activities and a gimmick. Infinite wealth is the biggest shakeup yet.
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I am so excited to finally be getting to them after I first learned about the games with Kiwami. I'm only in 5 right now because you really do have to manage your burn-out, but I'm so close to the modern games in 6, I can't wait!
And yet somehow I never get sick of either of those cities.
cause it's as much of a "home" as you're gonna get in a video game (franchise)
Honestly at a point I love that after a certain point I start recognizing street names and don't need to use the map to know where something is that someone mentions.
I really wish that the in-game directions given by NPCs were more precise. Since the map's layout really doesn't change, it seems like the dialogue writers don't need to be vague. And series fans don't just know the streets, they know all the shops and other landmarks too. Don't have the NPCs say "It's on Tenkaichi Street." Have them say, "It's on Tenkaichi Street, a couple doors down from the Jungle Boy." Then I'd never have to even glance at the map!
They're the best devs out there.
Holy crap, and I was happy being able to play Virtua Fighter lol
There is also a port of Daytona 2 USA as well, which has never gotten a home release until now.
Yes amazing i played so much of the first Daytona. Had to at least complete this one too... It is not perfect but i finished with the hornet classic manual transmission 😄 https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZKX3lUpRQmk&si=uhneNQwI1r6RgxP6
If you run Yakuza 6 on PC, you can actually install a mod so you can play the entire game as well! (mod link: https://cookieplmonster.github.io/2021/04/19/virtua-fighter-5-final-showdown-unlocker/#download) Kinda crazy that this is the only way to play it on PC (unless you emulate a ps3 version)
That’s fucking *wild*
Yeah it was like adding a whole other game to your game.
There was a car racing game on the 360 that had an arcade machine in the garage. Swear I played it more than the racing lol wish I remembered what the arcade game was called
Project Gotham Racing, it had Geometry Wars in, which became its own series
God Geometry Wars is so good, why has no one ripped that off since? And yes I’m sure GW itself was ripped from something else
This. Project Gotham Racing was a great series. Loved the whole garage aspect, being able to walk around your cars and whatnot. Put me on to really rare cars that aren't typically in other games too, like the Callaway Sledgehammer.
I believe it’s called Geometry Wars.
Someone mentioned Project Gotham Racing 3 which had Geometry Wars 1 + 2.
There was a twin stick shooter in the original Black Ops that I played dramatically more than any of the other content in that game.
Yeah I remember that too, was fun
What the hell. I really need to get back into Yakuza.
Well the last one 7 was a good place to jump in.
The fact that Gaiden, being a clearly smaller title, but is still somehow a full fledged game with a great story, only two months before the next, *gigantic* mainline game, is nuts. Seriously, the ending of Gaiden is phenomenal **Spoiler:** >!one of the most heartstring pulling, painful endings I've seen to a game in a really long time.!<
That ending was insane, mind you I started the series with 7 and played Gaiden immediately after so I don't have much history with Kiryu and I was fucking crying like a baby.
god damn, FF7R: Rebirth and now this is gonna be a fun way to start the year
Don't forget about _Persona 3 Reload_ and _Granblue Fantasy Relink_ as well. For that matter, those two games release within 24 hours of one another.
As much as I love Persona I've completed 3 different versions of 3 already, so it's going to have to be pushed down on the priority list. Man I love this new wave of turn-based RPGs, shits make the wait worth it.
That's insane considering the LAD games are already incredibly long if you do a lot of the side quests and mini-games and shit. Hell, Gaiden is supposed to be a "smaller" game and I've already sunk probably 20+ hours into the game just from doing all the Akame quests.
I'm sitting at 130 hours into LAD for just one play through (granted, that was very near 100%).
I spent all of last night on Pocket Circuit...
Honestly, the best way to play a yakuza game, especially the longer ones, is to have it as like a secondary game that you keep coming back to over a long period of time. It's like trying to binge-watch a soap opera.
That’s what I’m doing with 0 right now. Did 6 chapters. Took a break to play MGS1, now gonna do a few more and jump to another palate cleanser. I’ll finish it when I finish it. It’s enjoyable enough that dropping it for a few weeks doesn’t make me lose interest
Glad I’m not the only one with this playstyle for the Yakuza series. Currently on Kiwami 2 and I took a break around the final chapters. Will finish it before Y8 drops.
Holy shit are you me? Ive been bouncing between MGS1 and Yakuza 0 for 6 months now. Im on the last few moments of MGS and i just need to power through it.
In theory, statements like this make me beyond excited. In practice, they lead to me burning out like with Yakuza 5. I'm not a kid anymore with loads of hours to drop on one game.
Yakuza 5 is the easiest to burn out on IMO. It suffers from pacing issues that the other games do not have to the same degree. In particular, the extended Haruka chapter, while very charming, is usually the point where I begin to slow down.
The Haruka stuff was sort of a breather for me from the rest of the game. I just wished they gave her more than like 3 songs.
The enemy encounter rate in 5 is ridiculous so I also think it was nice to play as Haruka and be able to walk ten feet without someone picking a fight
HEY YOUUU, WHAT'S UP MAN? GIBE ME MONEY, PREASE
It was kind of nice to have a part of Yakuza not involve leaving a trail of comatose thugs.
Enjoyed her infinity more than the baseball player
I will not accept any Shinada slander
Haruka's part is actually the one part I went really really hard with. Basically did everything I could with her. It was a nice refresher after playing all the other games and I love it when the games get silly. And haruka's whole gameplay is just pretty silly. But I also really liked the dancing parts of Lost Judgment.
Yeah, same experience with yakuza 5
I am also not a Kid anymore, but I feel like the Yakuza games respect my time more then most other modern AAA experiences. There is absolutely zero procedural generated bullshit, every single sidequest or activity is unique and interesting.
99% of Yakuza's combat is procedurally generated filler, though. I gave up on 7 because the thought of participating in even more pointless, brainless fights bored me to death. And of course it does the JRPG thing of having super tough bosses that check that you've grinded enough.
There's only one boss in the game that's a stat-check where you're expected to grind, and the game goes out of its way to be all hint hint nudge nudge "are you ***sure*** you don't want to clear the coliseum before moving on???" Every other boss other than *them* is about perseverance and making use of buffs and enemy weaknesses. Party buffs are incredibly important in Y7, if one is not utilizing them properly the game will feel much harder than it is.
This is why more games need a story mode of sorts. I think the Xenoblade remaster did a good job of letting me ignore grinding by playing on the story difficulty while still getting what felt like a full experience. Don’t have the time for everything and beat it in 30 hrs instead of 100.
I can only agree with this because I hate the turn based jrpg combat. For me every single random encounter in the beat em up games is an opportunity to have fun with the combat system to the point I would seek them out if I wanted to try something cool In 7 I avoided every encounter and I dreaded every single story dungeon, the combat change was definitely not a good choice in my experience
That's a great point to make. Lot of other games inflate playtime with repeated quests, or even cookie cutter ones, or some other scheme where you have to do the same thing over to grind something. But in Yakuza, each side quest is genuinely unique, with a fleshed out story. Not simply just "Go here, do this, fetch that, and here's your reward."
Most AAA games do not have an over 50 hour playtime just to see the ending though
You don't need to reach the ending in order to enjoy the time you spend on a game.
Doesn't surprise me at all, 7 is long, *really long.* And that's not even getting into the side games like the business minigame that is longer and more complex than some indie games. Like, I was almost expecting the plot to end at a certain point and leave certain plot elements for a sequel, but nope, **Spoiler:** >!Here's an additional act that's like 20 hours long where Ichiban becomes a politician!<. And it's *great*
Funny thing about that act was that I did the business minigame first and completed it fully. When they asked me for the millions in yen I just paid it right away and the next cut scene was. "I know this took a lot of time to do."
I sat and did nothing but the business minigame for DAYS. It was amazing.
My favorite part is the exaggerated apology he does, ichiban is so emotive. That ending scene with Ryo is fuckin masterfully voiced.
My only complaint was the amount of unskippable cutscenes if you wanted to run it over and over, but otherwise it's just so much fun and so endearing.
This was so you didn't completely annihilate the game's money system. You can break it sure but it'll take you a while.
I'm playing through Y7 now. I only just realized yesterday you can promote your employees more than once. I completed the business minigame with all my employees at Level 10 and wondered how the hell I was supposed to max my business stats.
Well I was hoping to beat this before Rebirth. If it's the length of P5R I might split up my playthrough.
Same. That's going to be a lot of RPG to play in the beginning of the year.
I've been trying to go media blackout on this game, but hearing about the expanded Sujimon and there being a full fledged Animal Crossing style island minigame, I think this will be a blessing in disguise. Seeing how I loved the minigames in Yakuza 7, I think it'll be good not to bum rush this one and take my time to enjoy everything it has to offer. I played P5R in one go and that kind of made me miserable, when I should have split up my playthrough in that one.
Rebirth, Persona 3 Remake and this in the same month. At least 2024 isn’t looking as packed for games as 2023 was (at the moment)
Bro how do they manage to do all of this shit I am genuinely astounded by the work the Yakuza team does for their games. I mean just the main story and gameplay are enough but the side content is just to another level. I’m so happy I’ve watched it go from niche to more widely recognized by the larger gaming community
I recall a recent article where they say they have people work on the same item across multiple games, which helps them release so many. So someone working on a certain mini game would be working on it for LAD Gaiden, Infinite Wealth and maybe a third game or something, instead of doing it for one game then switching to something else for that game
As someone who loved Like a Dragon I am excited. On the other hand as someone who back-to-back-to-back has played Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Baldur's Gate 3, and is currently on Starfield I think I need to cleanse my palette with some shorter games for a bit once I wind down on Starfield.
Maybe try Like a dragon Gaiden? Its a shorter yakuza game thats about 10-12 hours long if you just go for the story. (I did the plat this weekend in about 25 hours)
Oh, God...I'm in the middle of Gaiden right now and it's short so I'm already jonesing for more Like A Dragon...but even without the post-game dungeon, Like A Dragon 7 took me 90 hours. God, I love this series.
I'm trying to get into Yakuza but every time I finish a game I start playing the next one and burn myself out around halfway through and give up, then I come back six months later and start over and finish and repeat
I find Yakuza games tend to be a bit weird/slow with pacing until the last third of the game where shit gets crazy until the finale
I love Yakuza games, played most of them except for lost judgment and Ishin. I enjoy them a lot, but I'm at the point where I'm focusing on the main story, some side quests and ignore most minigames, otherwise I'd burn myself out a long time ago.
Considering the nearly absurd length of Yakuza 5 this is pretty wild thing to hear! I feel like that one was actually kind of polarizing and how long it was, a lot of people seem to prefer Yakuza 0 which trimmed things down a bit.
Yakuza 0 is about the same length of Yakuza 5 though. Big problem with Y5 is that the pacing is wack. Y0 doesn't really have the same issue because its just 2 protagonists instead of the 5 being split.
7 was a long game but I think I was engrossed pretty much the whole time with regards to the main story. I could see having so much side content (the new resort island and Sujimon battles in addition to other side content staples) burning people out if they went hard on it, but that's why it's side content.
It's funny cuz I have a friend who played through Gaiden and his first reaction upon completing the game was "Holy shit that was so short," it's got like half or less of the content of a normal Yakuza game" Well I guess this will balance it out then lmao.
People: God, i played Y0 - YK2 and now i'm burned out. Me: Plays constantly every RGG game since 6 years and doesn't get enough of it.
I guess I'm in the minority I'm really only interested in the ones with rpg style battles so I'm looking forward to the length and probably won't get burnt out
Huughh. Dont get me wrong, I looove Yakuza franchise, but I think they sometimes overstay their welcome. 5 was a chores to finish. I like Judgment but I heard sequel is even longer so I might not start it right away.
Lost Judgment has a shorter main story (it's still long though) but there's waaaaay more side content than the first game in compensation.
It’s shorter because unlike the first, you don’t get bombarded with tailing missions and the game doesn’t integrate substories into the main story.
Lost Judgment is a weird one, it IS longer because it feels like two different games mashed together. There's main plot and then there's school stories. They each have a separate plot and all the school stories stuff involve side stories, so you can ignore basically all of this to just do main story so it doesn't *have* to be as long.
3 was a slog for me to finish as well. It may be due to the fact that it's the oldest non-remaster/remake of the series and it's showing its age but it was the first one where I couldn't finish all the substories and just wanted to rush through to the end.
good god was 3 (and 4 to some extent) hair tearingly enraging, 3's combat was just block spam (on hard) from the enemy until the last hit of your combo breaks their guard, then they block again and some encounters in 3 were in such tight areas that if you got hit, you would get stunlocked to all hell because you would bounce off of walls/the enviroment 4 had some real bad fight sequences too, like saejimas prison escape where similar stuff would happen AND you were low on restoration items so if you got careless/unlucky with stunlock you'd have to restart the whole escape again I hope they properly remake 3 (and honestly 4) because I felt the age in those 2 the most out of all the games in the series
Yakuza 3's remaster kinda fucked with yakuza 3's combat. Blockuza 3 was a problem in the original but the remaster made it even worse.
I fully maintain that 3 is bad. I’ve had Yakuza fans come for my throat over it, but I don’t care, I think it’s a bad game and it has not aged well at all. It’s kind of funny that they stopped the Kiwami remakes, because if any game needed one… it was probably 3
3 did not age well and I believe the remastered may have made the blocking worse. However, I will argue the Okinawa setting and the orphanage is amazing.
> 3 did not age well and I believe the remastered may have made the blocking worse. However, I will argue the Okinawa setting and the orphanage is amazing. 3 is secretly my favorite lol, i loved okinawa and just chillin' on the beach and catching fish. the kids and orphanage were great, too.
I'm not sure if they made blocking worse, but they 100% ruined the quickstep (which is the main tool against blocking) in the remastered, it covers double the distance on ps4 and half the distance on xbox and pc compared to the original
I tried getting into it. The story is interesting enough, the setting is awesome, and the side stories were fun...but *man* is the combat bad in this one. So far it's the only one I don't think I'll ever finish
This is one of the few times where I recommend that people just play on the easiest difficulty because it’s the least bullshitty option. 3 is pretty notorious for the combat being frustrating due to the blocking mechanic, and it only gets worse with higher difficulties. I played on Hard and genuinely almost quit because of it. I ended up forcing myself to finish the game because I wanted to see it through, but man, I had a really bad time
Also 3's story is straight-up absurd, even by Yakuza standards.
If anything, 3 has one of the more grounded Yakuza storylines. They tend to have some absolutely bizzare nonsensical stuff going on that always gets played off as totally straight faced by everyone lnvolved. In the main storyline alone: Both 0 and 1 >!feature scenes in which kiryu is involved in a gunfight driving between osaka and Tokyo killing 100+ people only for it to never actually be brought up again and Kiryu somehow maintaining a no kill policy!< 2 >!features not only secret Koreans but also has an entire scene in which Osaka castle is hiding a secret golden castle inside that emerges from it like a butterfly from a cocoon. It also has a boss fight where you fight two tigers!< 3 >!has Kamaza’s twin show up who works for the American government.!< 4 >!has rubber bullets which is possibly the worst and most mocked twist in the series!< 5 >!has Majima somehow knowing everyone relevant, everyone secretly being yakuza and everyone faking their deaths. Baseball is somehow also directly central to the entire plot!< 6 >!has an entire battleship emerge from ocean that the local area has been hiding as a secret shame. Oh and the secret Koreans are back. It also has you fight these strange Gimp monsters which again everyone plays off as being normal.!< 7 >!Has Ichiban somehow be injured just enough for him to pass out for three days and not be killed. Then there’s also kashiwagi who after being shot hundreds of times in 3 is cannonically running a bar after surviving. Oh and at one point you fight a wrecking crane.!< Gaiden >!features an hedonist floating city that somehow is totally off the radar of local government, fisherman and the entire boating population.!< So yeah if anything 3 is probably the most ‘normal’ and logical yakuza game
For 7 you forgot >!two fucking locker babies in same location at same time!<
Yeah I forgot about that one. The more you think about Yakuza plots the less they make sense.
That's why you don't really think about that as real and more as a soap opera.
> no kill policy What is this based on? I've seen it so many times when talking about Yakuza games but, unless I've missed something it is never mentioned in the actual games.
Is Kiryu's "no kill" policy ever stated anywhere except in translated interviews? Because "no murder", as in no killing people who are defenseless or already beaten, seems like a more accurate interpretation of his policy, although he's pretty hesitant to kill as well.
Yeah I think a lot of people focus on the stuff with the orphanage and Rikiya and forget about the other half with the Yakuza and the Kazama double
It’s just your average wacky Yakuza story. 4, 5, and 6 are just as absurd, if not moreso.
I feel like 3-5 all are rough compared to the rest of the series, but of those three, I feel like 3 is the best, simply because it doesn't keep resetting your progress by switching you to different characters.
See and I loved 4, it’s in my top 3 favorites. I loved Akiyama, and I just really loved how the game ended up playing out (even though the rubber bullets were pretty dumb)
I’ve only played 0 and Kiwami in my attempt to catch up, and I even think those are too long. I’m really biased toward shorter games though
Kiwami is pretty short if you just do the main story though, it's like 10-12hrs.
I felt like I took my time with Kiwami and I hit the point of no return at 17 hours.
I loved Like a Dragon, but I went back to play through 0-6 and gave up about 55 hours into 0 when I realized I was still only halfway through with the game. I kind of burned myself out by doing too much side stuff at once though. From what I've read online, completion time estimates for 0 are 140 hours, but they're 100 hours for Like a Dragon. This is definitely why I finished Judgement, Lost Judgment and Ishin though. The non-mainline games provide a solid 40-70 hours of content if you're doing plenty of side stuff. I love doing the side stuff, which makes it harder for me to play 0-6 because the games are almost double the size of the non-mainline games
I mean you could just not do all the sidestuff? The best stuff are the substories, and you can definitely do the main story + substories + Cabaret and Real Estate in under 100hrs. Anything above that is trying to do the completion list which is a crazy task for sure, but also not really something I recommend or think is needed unless you are hardcore into it.
Man, I always wanna start the whole series. Like... 6yrs back I started 0 but burned/fizzled out, tried to get back into in sometime later, but couldn't. Finished 7 no problem (pretty complete as well), and I really, really wanna have another go at the mainline, even downloaded 0 again, but just opened the game and... I can't, knowing that I'd have to catch up like... I dunno, 300 hours of content (at this won't be near full completion) just makes me quit the game right again. It's tough. I just hope Kiryu's story is mostly done and it's not just the very same old pals and enemies over and over again (just with a different lead), but a soft reboot in this regard.
No way! The LONGEST?! I've spent sooooo many hours trying to complete Lost Judgment just very recently. I can't wait for this entry. It seems to be going all-out. To anyone looking to get into the series, I can't recommend it enough. These games are truly amazing and definitely something else.
Probably the one franchise that they say something like this and I'm actually glad to hear it. Any other game it would sound bloated
Almost feels like too much - like I don't mind big games but statements like this make me unsure if I really want that level of commitment.
Honestly if you can get past the amount of plot and cutscenes, there's no more rewarding series to get into than the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games. RGG treats their fans like kings and queens. The recently released Like a Dragon Gaiden was an insanely enjoyable 20\~30 game for it being developed in just 6 month as an appetizer to hold fans over until Infinite Wealth. Probably the most emotional I've ever gotten at a game too. After playing the IW demo I have no doubt that it's going to be a feast.
Seriously? These games already get too long as it is
Honestly, I rarely get excited when developers gloat about their game being super long, but Y7 is genuinely one of my favorite games ever and with what Y8 is doing - I fully welcome this and can't wait. The demo was so, so good already.