What's wrong with the Yakuza series?
If you go into it wanting a GTA-type game you will be sorely (controller-throwingly) disappointed. This is much more like a JRPG than an action game. You walk around in an environment with random battles that will level you up and give you rewards, interspersed with story telling. It's the closest thing JRPG's have to a future that is distinct from the Square "modern" RPG.
If you don't like story in a game, move on. Yakuza has a lot of sitting and watching. This is counter-balanced by the over-the-top fighting, and the story is quite good, but if you can't sit for 10 minutes pressing X a lot, Yakuza isn't going to be much fun.
Y1 has some loading issues as you go into battle, and the camera can be frustrating to those who would rather control it than have a fixed perspective (this is true of Y2 as well). I had no problenm with it.
That's all I can think of really. But then, I am a complete fanboy on this topic.
And with that I open the forum to comments and questions ( 
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Not all at once, please take your time.
I just started Y4 last night. Lots of talky-talky so far. No spoiler to say that for the first time you don;t play exclusively as Kiryu. I was kinda bummed for the first ferw minutes of hte game, but the first new character I play as in this game is great. The in-game engine for this game is amazing in terms of the emotions and nuance they can show on the characters faces.
Look at this: You can see a range of emotion in his face:
Once I saw Yakuza 3 and was tempted to get it. I found it expensive, so I backed off. $50+ for a used game seemed a bit high. Copies of it are pretty scarce around here, though, so I might as well pick it up regardless when (if) I see it again on a shelf.
aspro said:And with that I open the forum to comments and questions (
Not all at once, please take your time.
I have a question!
How big is your wang?
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What's a Yakuza?
aspro's wang must be huge. I wouldn't expect any less from a man who built his own house with his bare fucking hands.
I hear he broke the rocks where he wanted to lay his foundation WITH HIS WANG ! ! ! 
...and then shot the rubble with his shotgun for good measure!
Yup. Sounds like aspro alright. A true man's man.
You didn't mention whether or not there is farming in the game. Is there farming?
phantom_leo said:I hear he broke the rocks where he wanted to lay his foundation WITH HIS WANG ! ! !
That was pure speculation. I actually used my hands and a mattock and crow bar (I broke the mattock in the process).
robio said:You didn't mention whether or not there is farming in the game. Is there farming?
There is no farming in Y1-4. But, like Harvest Moon, you can fish (Y4) and date (Y1 though 4). No mining either.
SteelAttack said:Once I saw Yakuza 3 and was tempted to get it. I found it expensive, so I backed off. $50+ for a used game seemed a bit high. Copies of it are pretty scarce around here, though, so I might as well pick it up regardless when (if) I see it again on a shelf.
As much as I love the series I rarely suggest someone buy it unless I know their gaming tastes. I would say that for anyone who like JRPG's you'll get where this game is coming from.
It's a JRPG + Final Fight/ Double Dragon + Soul Calibur + Soap Opera.
aspro said:I broke the mattock in the process...
...and boy was he NOT pleased about that!
I was a Yakuza fan before all of you, before it even had an english name. I feel so left behind now cause I dont have a stinking PS2 that plays my damn copy of Yakuza 2!!! I'm stuck.
I'm digging the music in the new game, I'm about 3 hours in now. There appear to be less random battles.
I think I prefer Yakuza 3's story because the characters are far more well developed. At this stage they don't feel as well rounded, plus Kaz is much more of a dick. Maybe it's the voice acting's fault, though. I appreciate the darkness in the story, but I do miss the goofyness in a lot of the side quests. Most just aren't as fun or as crazy as they are in 3.
Foolz said:I think I prefer Yakuza 3's story because the characters are far more well developed. At this stage they don't feel as well rounded, plus Kaz is much more of a dick. Maybe it's the voice acting's fault, though. I appreciate the darkness in the story, but I do miss the goofyness in a lot of the side quests. Most just aren't as fun or as crazy as they are in 3.
Well, Yakuza's development certainly has been an iterative process, so it makes sense that 3 is more polished and fleshed out.
As to Kaz's character in 1 versus 3, I think that was intentional. He just got out of jail, he's younger -- he's a bit of a dick. Through 1 he'll develop and through 2 even more. Yakuza 3 takes place 5 years later after... some stuff that I won't spoil.
In Y1, the characters are drawn with a broader brush -- but remember at that time, they were not assured a sequel, so they had to kind of get to the point. By the time you et around to Y3, the developers know they have a bestseller in Japan regardless, so they can luxuriate with giving Kaz 12 long winded side stories to do before the main plot kicks in.
In terms of separating the quality of story and development here, I'm talking fractions anyway. Like 1 is 10, 2 is 10.5, 3 is 9.5...
Oh absolutely, and his development into the more mellow latter Kaz is fantastic, but playing it backwards makes him far less likeable. All the characters seem far worse without their Japanese voice actors, though. Full sympathy to the voice actors involved as Yakuza's translation's strongest point is uninentional humour; uninentional humour that comes across far less funny when a voice actor tries to make it believable.
The Japanese voice acting, which is in Y2 through 4 helps greatly with the immersion. I've picked up one Japanese word while playing 3 adn 4, adn that is something that sounds like "Nanda" which seems like a catch all for "I don't know" or "why".
Nanda you talking about?
I have a question for you Aspro: is there an adventure mode thingy like at the end of Yakuza 3?
Yakuza. It's defined a lot by what it isn't rather than what it is, so I figured I'd describe it a little for those of you who have not partaken and also provide a place to talk about the series and the most recent game, Yakuza 4.
So what it isn't:
- A "Sand-box" game. It is not GTA. You can go where you wish, for the most part, but you can't jack cars, assault people as you walk along or interact in the environment unless there is an indicator saying you can (which is going to be talking to NPC's).
- It is not a third-person shooter. On limited occassions you will be able to use a gun while in combat.
- It is not a mission-centric game (like GTA). You follow a plot that has been laid out for you. You will be instructed what to do, but it's not the A to B, A to C, C to D format of GTA.
So what it is actually is actually unique. The game consists of three modes:
In my opinion all three components of yakuza are equally astonishingly great.
1. Traversal.
In Yakuza 1 and 2 (Herafter Y1, Y2) you will travel through roughly four large environments (two each) with a fixed camera and static backgrounds. In Y3 and Y4 the camera is lower to the ground and follows you in third person. The traversal segments of the game depict a heavily detailed and rich environment. With the NPCs, sounds and sights you get a feeling of what it must be like to walk the streets of Tokyo. As you walk, there are stores, bars, phamacies and restaurants you can enter and buy hundreds, if not thousands of varieties of foods, alcohol and convenience items. Most of these items are actual brands that are available in Japan, and like an item store in an RPG, these items all have an impact on your health and experience (yes, you earn XP in this game).
In this mode you are also able to enter casino's, bowling alleys, mahjong parlors, SEGA arcades, Pachinko arcades, gold courses, driving ranges, batting cages, strip clubs, tattoo parlors, massage parlors, hostess clubs and more. Most of these arenas are available at any time, some are linked to side-stories or the main mission. As with the stores, each of these add to your overall XP.
2. Soap Opera.
So through the traversal mode you get to associate with your character to a very great extent. To pump up that association there are (often long) segments of the game where you will be watching a movie and pressing X a lot. This sounds bad, but the level of drama in the Yakuza series is top shelf, and by the time you are an hour in you will watch these cutscenes because you care about the characters and the story greatly. Trust me, I skip most cutscenes in other games, but in Yakuza YOU ARE the character.
Y1 presents the best story in my opinion, perhaps matched by Y2, but since it was first it has more impact. Y3 goes a little goofy, but to balance it has a tale of international intrigue and so far Y4 is shaping up nicely -- more on that later.
3. Fighting.
While in traversal mode you will encounter (like in a JRPG) random battles. At this point the game perspective changes entirely and you go into a Soul Calibur like area wher eyou brawl with some assailants. You canuse weapons that you have previously picked up or puchased (but most time you won't want to), you can use your bar fists and legs, or you can pick up things in the environment and use those to beat your opponents (like bicycles, advertising stands, pot plants, bar stools etc...). Using the environmental weapons is very satisfying, as is all the combat. As you gain more XP you can unlock about 50-100 different moves, all of which are contextual depending on where you are (near a wall for example).
The fighting segments are BRUTAL and feel real. I don't knwo how they did it, but it's satisfying beyond most other game fighting experiences. Think MMA, not Fight Night. They make you feel like an utter bad-ass, which adds to the whole quality of associating with the lead protagonist.