@Kidfried I’ve played 5 Yakuza games and I still have absolutely no idea how to play Mahjong. I know you have to make a hand but I just plopped tiles down until I lost. I think I got really lucky once and ended up with some sort of equivalent of a Royal Flush because Kiryu did a little animation and I won the hand… but that’s about it.
@LtSarge I know right… after posting on here for over a year, could no one take 5 minutes out of their day to warn me!?!. 🤣
@Thrillho the madness is a big part of the fun from the little I’ve experienced so far. Also, I remember reading an article on mahjong around a year ago… seemed quite difficult to get your head around (on paper at least). Yeah, it’ll be intriguing to try and git-gud at that fair play.
@Kidfried yeah, there is a nice balance between characters tbh… some great typical organised crime types and then just plain crazy types. The Funeral has been the stand out so far, thought that was great… but just about to hop in a taxi to somewhere(?) so who knows where that is leading but I’m sure it’ll be fun.
I played Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise a few years ago (& never got anywhere near the Platinum on that) and it’s very similar… think that Yakuza is better though.
@colonelkilgore There are lots of different roadblocks to getting the platinum in different games but the bouncer missions in Y3 (I think) must be up there. Good luck with all the arcade games and the UFO catchers too!
@nessisonett I think one of the games gave you a super tile as a reward from one mission that instantly won you a match. Then there's also that game where you seem to have to match up cards with pictures of flowers and mountains on them. What a nightmare for the non-natives among us
@Thrillho yeah, it's (well all Yakuza games are tbh) a very tough plat. I'll try for it though... and have a feeling that if I somehow pull it off, it'll be right up there with the toughest, if not the toughest of all of 'em.
I’ve had a few sessions on Yakuza Kiwami now and feel that I’ve now got a decent understanding of what the game is (if not all of the series). There’s obviously quite a few hardcore’s around (as I found out earlier this week 😅) but just in case there is anyone out there feeling like I was prior to starting it, I thought maybe an ‘outsiders’ perspective on the game maybe useful for gamers mulling over whether or not to give the series a go (basically… you should 😉).
So I already have a ‘feeling’ that my perspective may ruffle a few feathers, as this series (as do all great series) seems to engender something more than loyalty from its fans… but what the hell right? Long story short, my elevator pitch if you will… Yakuza (to me anyway) is ‘next-gen’ Streets of Rage crossed with Shenmue. Now it’s a ‘little’ more nuanced than that… but isn’t everything (more nuanced than it’s initial pitch)? By this I mean that, the narrative and open-world (for world, see ‘section of a city’) seems like a gritty, organised crime version of Shenmue, while the combat is something similar, if more technical (as it should be all these generations later and on a true 3D plane) to where I would’ve imagined Streets of Rage could’ve gone if the series had made the transition.
As for the game’s quality… it’s good, I’m really enjoying it. There’s a lot to do… and in essence it’s extremely repetitive but for some reason, it holds the interest for ‘just one more fight’. It’s tough too, I’m playing it on Normal (& will try the unlockable Legend difficulty, as I’d like to get the Plat if possible) but some of those fights (I’m looking at you later Majima fights) are not easy to overcome. I’m kinda thinking I’m ‘missing’ something in regards to the combat as it just ‘feels’ like it shouldn’t be this tough… but I’m not sure.
Trophy hunters beware… the dev’s expect A LOT for the Platinum. Even without the Legendary playthrough, 100%-ing the game is insane. There are so many different activities… and all of them need you to reach a respectable level of proficiency. I’m hovering around 48% completion atm, having put in around 25 hours… and there are many (MANY) things I haven’t even tried yet (let alone got-gud at). If I manage it, I have a feeling it’ll be top 3 trickiest plats (at least)… it’s gonna eat up my playtime too. PSN Trophies state that the Platinum takes around 80 hours, PlayStation Trophies say 120 hours… I think it could take even longer. I’m loving it so far though… and while I have no idea about all these Japanese gambling games (there are like 7 or 8 different Japanese specific Gambling games… as well as stuff like Poker and Pontoon etc), I enjoy a challenge, so for the time being at least, I’m quite excited to get stuck in to them once I’ve finished off the story.
@colonelkilgore Roughly 100 hours to get the Platinum and that's only the first game! Multiply that with eight games and you're looking at spending 1000 hours of your life playing Yakuza. I've heard Yakuza 5 is the most tedious one to get the Platinum and that it takes over 150 hours to do it. So if you think the series is already getting repetitive after 25 hours, then I can't imagine how you will feel after 1000 hours because the games are more or less the same until you get to Like a Dragon.
@LtSarge well I was expecting 100 hours+, so I’m not really surprised… it’s more the random activities (& amount thereof) that you need to master to get that 100% Complete trophy. I’ve got plenty of Plats which took over 100 hours, so it’s not something that is new to me… just the way the game requires so many different things that are totally alien to the core gameplay.
Also, if you know anything about me yet… I won’t be going Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza Kiwami 2 etc on the head. I’ll play this one, then maybe play the sequel towards the end of the year. By the time I’ve finished the core series and moved onto Judgment and Like a Dragon etc. it’ll be 2026 and I would have played roughly 30 different games between each instalment.
… and although I’m finding it somewhat repetitive, there is something that keeps you playing. I’d be very surprised if even the biggest Yakuza fan wouldn’t admit that the gameplay is pretty repetitive (actually… given this last week, maybe I wouldn’t 🤣). That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing though… and as I’ve alluded too, there are a multitude of other activities you can do if the combat gets boring. Personally though, I’ve just concentrated on plowing through the main and side missions, so hardly touched the mini-games and activities.
@Kidfried that’s cool… I thought I was about to get crucified for my noob-minded comparison. The fact that both games mentioned were actually inspiration, just confirms to me that I’m ‘getting’ it.
@colonelkilgore interesting. I played Yakuza back on the PS2. I thought it was okay but never returned to the series and it didn’t make any particularly strong impression on me. All the Yakuza talk around these parts has definitely piqued my interest but the series is so overwhelming to me at this point I just can’t bring myself to bite. Glad you’re enjoying it though! Presumably Mankind Divided was just put on the back burner and not in fact banished to the salt plateaus of gaming hell for offering a bad experience? 😉
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
@colonelkilgore I know you've gotten a lot of Platinums, but it's different when it comes to the Yakuza games because you'll be doing mostly the same things over and over in every game in order to get 100%. It's very easy to get burned out with these games, even if you do take long breaks. I only get 30-40% completion in every game and that's enough to burn me out. Can't imagine having to do the same side activities in every game.
By the time it's 2026, there will be even more Yakuza/Judgment games to play considering they're releasing a new one every 1-2 years. But if you think you're up to the challenge then by all means. I only know of one person who's gotten 100% in all the Yakuza games and that guy is a hardcore achievement hunter. I think he has like 1.5 million gamerscore or something, which is insane. It took him roughly 2 years to finish up all games 100% and he's planning on doing the same with the PC versions. He's also played the Judgment games and even the original PS2 Yakuza titles. So yeah, this dude is really hardcore. If you manage to do it, then you've definitely earned my respect. 👍
@Jimmer-jammer although I didn’t play it during the PS2 era, I’d imagine that I would’ve reacted pretty similarly in fairness. In my old age, my appetite for different experiences has grown though. In my early twenties (when I had my PS2) I just wanted everything to be GTA… but now I’m my forties I’m after as many different gaming experiences as I can get. Judging from our conversations, I’d imagine you’re ‘around’ my age (maybe a little younger) and it’s possible you might now appreciate the different experience that Yakuza provides. It still takes some acclimation for sure… but it is a bit of a breath of fresh air (even though it’s essentially almost 20 years old).
@LtSarge yeah I appreciate the challenge and in no way think it’s a done deal… I actually think there is far more chance that I’ll fail than that the Plat will pop… but I try to Plat everything I play so why should this be any different. Fair play to your mate… ask him if he wouldn’t mind giving me some Mahjong lessons 😉.
@LtSarge I think Y5 took me like 120 hours just to complete the game (with all side quests, substories etc) and nowhere near getting 100%!
@colonelkilgore If there’s every anything you need help with when it comes to Yakuza, CyricZ is the absolute don. His guides are incredibly in depth for everything from the story to collectibles through to how to beat specific challenges in the batting centre.
It’s worth having a half look to see which games and chapters have missable substories as some of them can suddenly be locked off. The vast majority can be done at any time but missing one might mean you can’t get the trophy!
The weirdest thing for me is how each game seems to have such a different system for “XP”. I think Kiwami had the weird circle where you often have to unlock one ability to allow access to the next. One has “orbs”, others give you specific points for strength, intellect etc.
And then one roadblock might be the battle arena (the Coliseum) that seems much easier in some games than others.
@Jimmer-jammer also, yeah… so Mankind Divided is still installed and I plan on playing it Q1 but… it just so happened that I had a few weeks off work and I was aware that Yakuza Kiwami (which was always in my backlog and planned for 2022 at some point) was a ‘meaty’ game, so I thought that now was the time. I’ll get to it though… although it feels like an age ago, I remember really enjoying Human Revolution.
@Thrillho appreciated bud, I’ll definitely check that link out… it sounds like I’ll need all the help I can get 😅.
In regards to the XP system, it is a bit ‘much’ in this game at least… though it sounds like I’ll have to get used to new systems in every instalment yet to come. I’ve managed to max out all the skills on the three ‘things’ you can use XP on to level up… but I’m only about halfway done on ‘Dragon’, which I’m sure that you’ll remember is levelled up differently (ie through beating Majima and again and again… and again.,. and Coliseum rewards). I’ve done over half of the Coliseum tourneys but it seems to take replaying previous tourneys a few times to unlock the next one, so it’s taking a while.
@Kidfried I’ve tapped out at Yakuza 4 for now! I’ll need to go back to it but the PS5 means that I’ve basically had a steady stream of games keeping me busy.
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