Not long ago (relatively speaking) I finished the longest entry in the Yakuza series, Yakuza 5. I usually like to give myself a break between sequels, but this time I was just itching to play Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life. It was a chance to take on the role of Kirya Kazma solo again, which seems like such a long time ago now.
Do you like Doughnuts? Of course, you do, you're not some kind of psycho. There is a newish place that opened near me called Off Beat Doughnuts, the great selection includes my all-time favorite; Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It combines some simple and tasty things together, doughnut, chocolate, and peanut butter, nom nom. Playing Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life I found myself asking if was this the perfect recipe, combining all the things I love?
Story
The start of the Yakuza 6 is hard-hitting, Haruka (long-time series favorite, and Kiryu's adopted daughter) is hit by a car while holding a baby. The baby is fine, all good there, but Haruka is in a coma. Kiryu is just out of a stint in prison, and after visiting Morning Glory Orphanage finds out Haruka has been in the wind for a few years, then finds out she is in hospital carrying a baby - that's a lot right? We see Kiryu on a mission to find out how this all happened, why, and what going on with the baby? This time the game has you moving between the quiet(ish) Onomichi, and the bustling city of Kamarucho.
A complaint for me in Yakuza 5 was the substories, there were lots of them, but they lacked the zaniness the series is known for, and none of the felt as heartfelt as others in the series. This time around Sega Team did not make that mistake, we get to see an out-of-control Roomba's, Tinder gone wrong, and the return of one of the best side characters in the series Pocket Circuit Fighter! There is a lot more besides these, but really brought to mind those in Yakuaza 0, along with Kiwami 1 and 2.
Overall the main story is pretty solid, the ending was, well, a little bit of a cop-out in some ways (won't give any more away than that), and I feel it stopped the story from being excellent, rather than just really good.
Visuals
As the series has progressed the visuals have become better and better, and Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life is the pinnacle of that progression. Onomichi is a small town in the Osaka Prefecture, it is a small fishing area, a little run down, but also has this homely feeling. It feels like a small town, from the scale of buildings, the inclusion of an old cemetery, shrines and a temple, and smaller restaurants. Kamurcho is as busy as ever, there are few visual changes to the city in comparison to the other games in the series, a revamped and rebuilt Little Asia, some businesses have closed, and new ones opened in their place.
The characters look more realistic, with some of the older characters, like Detective Dante you can really see details in the face that were not as present before, puffy eyes, wrinkles, and even the hair. Younger characters have similar details, and they look a lot less generic than in some of the series.
Overall, the visuals are strong, the team has focused on both larger details like those of buildings and lightning but also put focus on the smaller things like items in stores and homes. From what I have seen for Yakuza 7 Like A Dragon, they look even better again.
Music
The soundtracks for the Yakuza Series have generally been pretty strong, for Yakuza 6: Song Of Life the composers have knocked it out of the park, and is one of, if not the best soundtrack to date. There is a balanced focus on hard-hitting battle music, and more somber and serene pieces when dealing with poignant and heartfelt moments. The soundtrack is composed by; Hidenori Shoji (Super Monkey Ball
Outrun, Yakuaza Series, along with the spin-off Judgement), Kenichi Tokoi (Daytona USA Championship, Space Channel 5, Feel The Magic: XY/XX, NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams, Yakuza 4),
Yuri Fukada (Super Monkey Ball, Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing, Yakuza Series).
The soundtrack is around three hours long and features some great tracks, some of my favorites were;
Kiyomi Snack, Kamuro Again, Chaos Madness, With Impatience, Through, Town Bully, Stand Off, Sneak Into The Pandemonium, Togenkyo, Recapture Serenade, Fist Law, Qui Garde Un Secret, Destiny, and, A King Of Apathy.
Overall, a really solid soundtrack, featuring nothing but gold.
Gameplay
It won't be any surprise to fans of the Yakuza series that there is a lot to do when it comes to gameplay, but we will get to that shortly. The combat feels more fluid than before, and Kiryu seems to have picked up some new moves. I love the leveling-up system for it as plays more like an RPG, getting experience points from almost everything, such as eating, fighting, completing sub-stories, main stories, clan wars, and lots of other ways too! The game really rewards you for the time you spend playing.
Substories are a big staple of the Yakuza series, and this game is no different. There is a good number of them, sometimes they are fun, others sad, and some really heartfelt, you will want to play them all!
If you need something to do while not focusing on the main store or sub-stories there are mini-games galore. There are; darts, karaoke, mahjong, baseball, arcades, and probably more I am not remembering. Then there is Bar Chats, a great feature where you make friends in a local bar, and get to help them. The hostess bars are present as always, and while they can be fun at times, they really need to go back to hostess management featured in the earlier games in the series. Kiryu, kind of sort, has his own clan, and with that comes clan wars a simple strategy game that has you recruit characters from the Yakuza universe, and command them on the battlefield of street fighting. Last, but not least a new addition is managing a baseball team, which is more fun than it sounds, trying to go from zeros to heroes, by using team spirit - and leveling up of players.
Overall, the gameplay is as solid as the rest of the game, and to me felt more in keeping with some of the first three games, which was awesome!
Final Thoughts
So, after a little over thirty hours, how did I feel? Time flew by, and could easily have played more, which I will in the future when I try playing it on Legend difficulty. The story is really heartfelt, the substories are great, and the only thing that let it down was the ending. The visuals, look fresh and smooth and was great watching their progression in the Yakuza series. The music was on point, and I can't say it is clearer than that. The gameplay was really solid, and fun, and felt really rewarding when leveling up either Kiryu, members of the clan, or the baseball team. This one gets a solid 4 out of 5 it narrowly misses out on full marks, but hey, how many of us are perfect?
I have been pretty giddy to play Yakuza 3 since the remastered collection was released, I even made sure to pre-order it. The quality of the story and gameplay of Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 were fantastic and hoped that Yakuza 3 would be the same. This was my first time playing Yakuza 3 so curious to see how the story of Kiryu Kazama would progress.
I love eating a tasty sausage (easy now), there are so many varieties and you can rarely go to wrong unless you go for the super cheap ones. I fancied sausages and mash the other day, so picked up some Tesco Finest Pork Sausages. Now they weren't bad but nowhere near the same quality, I had got used to with O'Flynn's Gourmet Sausages. Now maybe O'Flynn's had simply spoiled me with the taste and flavours of their sausages or maybe Tesco Finest Sausages weren't as good. Playing Yakuza 3 Remastered I found myself asking, what kind of sausages was I eating?
Story The direction of the story is very different from the previous ones in the series. One side of the story sees Kiryu Kazama in Okinawa running an Orphanage, Morning Glory, with his adopted daughter Haruka. It is so sweet watching them take care of the orphans cooking, keeping house, dealing with childhood problems and different prejudices. The other side sees a change in the Tojo Clan and being on the brink of war and a sinister force at work which is far beginner than before. Kiryu is forced back into the troubles of the Tojo Clan while also trying to keep Morning Glory and its orphans safe. This time though can Kiryu really do it all or will it all come crashing down?
While there are many great elements to the game my favourite was those focused on Morning Glory, see Kiryu in a more fatherly light was really nice. There was a level of simplicity about it that was hard not to love. The Tojo Clan storyline was good but lacked a certain something and did draw me in like the other games stories had. The substories were a little shakey, where there were ones I enjoyed they did not seem as fun as the others, Okinawa substories were great for the most part but those in Kamurocho just did not have the same appeal.
Overall the stories lines were not bad but in some ways, I wish they had created a shorter game than just focused on Okinawa and the Morning Glory Orphanage rather than trying to cram so many things into it.
Visuals
The visuals....mmmm.....I.....hmmm. Getting to enjoy a new area was great and felt fresh and fun. However, the visuals were nowhere as good as they could or should have been. Obviously, there was serious remake/remaster of the first two games as they were on the PlayStation 2 and would have looked really poor if they had not. That being said I feel Sega really dropped the ball with Yakuza 3. The visuals look like an early PlayStation 3 game and while side by side comparisons of the original versus the show improvements they just are not enough. Honestly, perhaps they rushed the release due to working on Judgement and being concerned some would be released on the PlayStation 5 and would fail without serious work.
I hate to bash on a game's visuals but it hard to ignore them, perhaps I was just spoiled by the others but consistency is key and Yakuza 3 is certainly lacking that element. Music Thinking back on all the Yakuza games I have played so far there is a distinctly Sega sound to it. There are these fun tracks combined, guitar riff infused tracks along with epic battle tracks. Many of the sounds of Sega are created by Japanese composer Hidenori Shoji. He is a rich body of work including not only the Yakuza Series but also; Sega Tour Car Championship, Project X Zone 2 (and when 3 is released might be the only reason I buy a Nintendo Switch), and Sonic All-Star Racing to name but a few.
As always there are number of great tracks even though it feels like one of the shortest soundtracks to date. Some standout tracks for me were; 'Fly', 'Howl Of The Dragon', 'Urgency', 'Pure Malice', 'Lyricism Without Tears' and 'Fish On'.
Overall it is a fairly solid soundtrack and while it is not my favourite one of the series it did not make it any less enjoyable.
Gameplay
As always in Yakuza games there is a lot to discuss in terms of gameplay, let's start with the big one, combat. The fighting element is fun and will feel familiar to those how have played the others in the series. There are a couple gripes I had, firstly fighting does not feel as robust as the other remastered Yakuza games, and the levelling up system. The more you fight, complete mini-games and sub-stories the more experience points you can gain. That makes sense, what does not make sense is that often you have to pick between upgrading between two abilities, for example, you can increase your health or improve the damage you do when throwing an enemy. This way of levelling up made no sense to me and is something that was unnecessary to incorporate into the game. On the plus side, there is a new way you can acquire fighting abilities, one of these by capturing people having crazy things happen to them and then blogging about it.
There is a host of mini-games including; fishing, mahjong, massage (you read that right), running, and a number of others. Then, of course, there are the classic substories, they are usually quite quick to complete and pulls you away from big responsibilities and just helping people in their day to day life, from the simple to the bizarre.
Hostesses Bar. This is an element I have really enjoyed in the series I love managing the clubs, the fun stories of the hostess and the competition in other clubs. Sadly, this was missing this time around. Instead, you get to visit hostess bars and try to win over the hostesses. That part to me seems a little bizarre, you pay a lot to be there, you are kind of expected to give gifts and to answers their questions the way they want. Now it could be just me but if you are paying to be there with them surely they should just go along with whatever you like or are into (unless it is demeaning or all-out rude). Instead, you are pretty much courting them with no guarantees they will like what you say or do. So why would you not either go to an escort or try to get with a real girl especially considering the effort you have to put in with a hostess. I am not sure if this was put in because this is how it actually works in Japan or if Sega just wanted to go in a different direction, in either case, it was not for me. Overall the gameplay isn't bad but certainly has some shortcomings, while of course, I understand the need to change things up but as the old adage goes, if it ain't broke why try to fix it? Final Thoughts
So, after nearly thirty hours how did I feel? A bit underwhelmed. The story had some great elements in it but felt like they tried to cram in too much. The visuals were a huge downside and hope that Yakuza 4 and 5 look a lot better. The music was reliable as always and while it was not my favourite to date in certainly is not bad. The gameplay was a little hit and miss, risks were taken that did not pay off and the combat was a little weak by comparison of the other games in the series. Overall this one slides in with a 3 out of 5
I recently completed Judgement (or Judge Eyes) on the PlayStation 4. It is set in the same world as the Yakuza series but follows a different character. It became clear earlier this year that Yakuza 3 remastered would not be released until 2020, and needing a fix my attention was drawn to Judgement. It offered similar elements to the Yakuza series but instead of playing as a Yakuza you play as a lawyer-turned-detective.
I like coconut things, quite a bit and if it is combined with chocolate even better. I recently went into Tesco and decide to try their Tesco's Finest Coconut and Chocolate Biscuit cake. I had gone in for something else and thought 'how bad could they be?'. They were one of the tastiness things I have had in ages, so much so I went back for more. Playing Judgement I found myself asking was this even better than what I really wanted?
Story The story follows Yagami, a lawyer who, after a bad case, retires and opens his own detective agency in Karamucho. He has a number of allies - his closest being Kaito, a former Yakuza who is pretty handy in a brawl. There is a killer called The Mole who has been gouging out peoples eyes and when those murders intersect with one of his own cases Yagami decides to investigate. I can't give any more away as there are way too many spoilers. What I can say is while it feels sort of slow start with it picks up in pace quickly and ends really well.
The main story is great but one of the best elements is the side cases and friend requests. They share some of the some dark and often comedic moments that the other Yakuza games are known for. That said, while I liked many of them they were not quite as enjoyable as the Yakuza series ones.
Overall the main story, sides cases and friend requests were a lot of fun and many of the characters, especially your allies, are very likeable which really helped me invest in them.
Visuals
Since Yakuza 0 and the remake of Yakuza 1 and 2, I have been spoiled by the visuals and Judgement is no exception. The world is busy and full of life, sometimes even to the point where I start asking people to get out of my way. The stores, restaurants, and mini-game venues all have a lot of detail in them making them feel like real places. The character designs look amazing and no detail was spared, except for one, the eyes. Not all but some characters have dead-looking eyes which can be very jarring at times.
Overall the visuals are amazing and it was great getting to explore Karamucho again.
Music
Hidenori Shoji has helped create a very distinct sound for the Yakuza Series (Ryu Ga Gotoku) and now he has turned his attention to this. Judgment has a very similar sound there are rocking guitars for battles, and whimsical tracks for the happy fun moments. However, Judgement adds an extra layer that I have not experienced before which is moody guitars along with what I can only surmise as being a cross between old school detective shows and modern-day espionage films.
The soundtrack runs a little over three hours and there is a lot packed into that time. There are so many great tracks some of my favorites being:
Random Fire
Puzzle
My Own Style
Yagami Detective Agency
Strange Encounter
Hyenas Wheezing
In Jeopardy
Speculation
The Laff Riot
Vast Fire
Off Guard
Destination
Penumbra
Kamimurochi Funny
Anyway Happy
Dive In
Overall it is great soundtrack and is easily as good as any of the Yakuza games if not slightly better.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Judgement is very similar to that seen in the Yakuza series but with some new additions. The combat is more streamlined and feels smoother, there are two fighting styles; tiger and crane. Yagami is more agile and because of this can leapfrog over enemies, wall jump and get out of tight spots. It took me a while to get used to the new styles but once I did I quite enjoyed them. Enemies feel a little tougher especially when they hit you with special attacks that destroy your health and make it impossible to heal fully until you have been to a doctor or got a medical kit.
The Keihin Gang terrorizes the town but what's worse is they keep coming back even after you defeat them. They appear with a 100% threat level and overtime or as you defeat the gang leader and footsoldiers it drops. The only issue is that it happens so often and if you ignore them you get a guilt-ridden text message from a local restaurant owner.
The final boss battle is really well done and had a perfect build-up to it. It ended up being a slight struggle as I hadn't brought enough supplies, but in the end, I prevailed.
The detective element is played out very lightly, tailing people, taking pictures and asking/answering the right questions. It was fun enough but was not very taxing from the detective point of view. It is difficult to know if this was done on purpose or not. If it was taxing it might distract too much from the main narrative.
We all need friends sometimes and in Judgement, there are fifty potential friends. Each can be made friends by fulfilling certain requests, some are more challenging than others. The one I did not get was the Majong girl, mostly because I can't quite get my head around how to play it. Once acquired, friends will then greet you around town and in some cases will even help you in fights.
There is a host of mini-games to enjoy including; baseball, darts, blackjack, poker, VR and my favorite - drone racing! These are a lot of fun and there are lots of upgrades available to make your drone the best out there. As a fan of pigeons, I quite liked the little pigeon head on my drone.
The Yagami Detective Agency feels small and homely and there are a number of activities available. There is sleeping on the less than a comfy looking couch, playing pinball, listening to music, adding decorations to the place and of course checking out your side cases. Side cases are a welcome distraction from the main story and some are dark, funny and sometimes a little weird. I liked them a lot and helped build relationships with characters in the town.
Overall the gameplay was really good with almost nothing to complain about. I'm already looking forward to my next playthrough.
Final Thoughts After fifty hours of playing Judgement, how did I feel? Pretty happy! The story was really well done, and while the side missions were not quite as enjoyable as the ones in the Yakuaza they were still good. The visuals look fantastic and are really detailed, the music was good too and add something a little more than heard in the Yakuza series. The gameplay overall was really fun, with the exception of a few minor annoyances. Overall it was a solid contender and I hope there is a sequel in the near future, this one gets 4 out of 5
Can anyone explain to me how it is almost the 1st of March? 2019 is flying by already, I have been so distracted with everything I've been neglecting playing games! My second game of the year is Yakuza Kiwami 2, I was really excited to play this as I had so much fun with Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami.
There is a snack food company called Paqui, I came across them about a year or so ago when I saw people trying the one chip challenge. Basically, you get sent one chip from them that is so hot you may actually die, well not really but it's crazy hot. I wanted to try some of their products but they don't ship to Ireland, so I checked Amazon UK who had them but also won't ship to Ireland. Finally resorted to Parcel Wizard and sometime later I got them. One of the flavors of chips I got were Cool Salsa Verde, they were awesome and reminded me of the old Phileas Fogg chips. They are dry but also full of flavor, they are not as good as Phileas Fogg chips but pretty good. Playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 I found myself asking was it as good as the previous installments or was it slightly lesser but still good?
Story There is so much story in the Yakuza games and Yakuza Kiwami 2 is no exception. The game starts with you being able to watch the events of the previous games. The games see Kiryu and his adopted daughter Haruka living together in peace. That is until he is pulled into the Tojo Clan fold again due a dying wish, and an impending war with the Omi Alliance. Kiryu will need to explore the streets of Kamurocho and Sotenbori to find answers and stop an all-out war.
Outside of the main story, the game features seventy-six sub-stories which although good doesn't feel as memorable as previous games. If this wasn't enough Majima is back! He has his only saga, which is really short but also really enjoyable.
Overall the story is great, the Majima saga is really enjoyable if a little short, and while the sub-stories are not as good as previous instalments they are pretty solid overall.
Visuals The visuals are completely overhauled versus the original release of Yakuza 2. The game looks amazing and is bustling with life. The streets of Kamuroho and Sotenbori feel even more detailed than the previous game and feel more organic than the previous games. Even going into the store there is so much more details to items in the shop. The minimap feels a little clearer as well making it easier to navigate your way around the world.
Overall the visuals continue to amaze and I am curious to see what will be done with the Yakuza 3 Remaster, which will hopefully be released sometime this year in the west. Music The music in Yakuza never really disappoints, as the game's progress so does the music. There is still heavy use of electric guitars and electronic sounds, but it now features a nice dose of piano pieces which will really help in creating a sombre feel. The score is composed by Hidenori Shoji, a composer from Japan who works include; Sega Touring Car Championship, Project X Zone 2, Sonic All-Star Racing Transformed and the Yakuza series itself.
Listening to the score again it reminded me in part of Yuzo Koshiro's Streets of Rage, which isn't a bad thing. There were many great tracks in Yakuza Kiwami 2 including; 'Majima Construction', 'The End Of Dogma', 'Vertical Point', 'Ogre Has Been Reborn', 'Amusing Octagon', 'Bad Fortune, Not Bad', 'Fall Is Eternal Moment' (Piano), and 'Credits of Kiwami'. Overall a great soundtrack that really helps define the overall feel of the game.
Gameplay Like with the Yakuza Kiwami 2 story there is a lot to offer in terms of gameplay. There are many enemies to take on, all lining up to be punched, kicked, thrown or otherwise abused. Fights
can end up spilling into shops and you can even put enemies through windows. A new, fun addition are allies, once you unlock them they can help you in battle by throwing you hot sauce, a large whip, an oversized fan and a leek are just some of the helpful weapons you can get. The game won't always see Kiryu fighting alone and the special attacks you can pull off with allies are quite satisfying.
The leveling up system is interesting but in many ways, I prefer those in the previous installments. Experience can be gaining by pretty much-doing everything, but the bulk of it will come from eating food. There is now a hunger gauge which helps you pick gain points in certain attributes, which are then used to unlock abilities. Getting the right balance of food can be difficult and I found that after completing a third of the game I had so much money but little to spend it on.
The hostess bar returns which is a fun mini-game which all about trying to take a run down and make it great. Majima decided to set up his own construction company, you recruit staff, level them up and carry out missions to protect your area. It sort of plays out like a real-time strategy but the last mission was overly awkward and felt so much harder than the other missions including those online.
There are a number of other mini-games including; a peeing game (yep, that's right), baseball, golf, watching videos like 'An Anteater Ate My Husband, photography, Colosseum battles, and playing games in the arcade. These are just some of the options on offer.
while I have my reservations in relation to the leveling up system and Majima constructions end mission overall the gameplay is fairly solid.
Final Thoughts
After forty-hours of playing how did I feel? Pretty good. The main story was good and I really enjoyed the Majima story, the sub-stories weren't as good but far from bad. The visuals and music were amazing. The gameplay was really solid and had some great new features, even if it did take me a while to the leveling system. It might not have been as memorable as the other two games but it's hard to fault it. This one gets a solid 4 out of 5
I remember playing the original Yakuza on the Playstation back in 2005, while I liked it there were a few things that annoyed me about it. In fairness though I never completed the game because there was section I kept dying in, I kept trying to run & buy health but always got attacked by a random group of thugs before I could. That being said I have always meant to go back & try it again. Yakuza 0 was a great chance for me to start from scratch.
I like appetisers, they are a great way to get you ready for your main course. Sometimes though the appetisers are almost better than the main course a great example of this for me is Buffalo Wings. I really love them, my favorite in recent times has been from a restaurant called Soozis, they were just so damn tasty. Playing Yakuza 0 I found myself asking were the appetisers better than the main course?
The story takes place in 1988, in both Kamurocho & Sotenbori. Kazuma Kiryu is a small time debt collector for the Yakuza. Shortly after a simple debt collection the guy you collected from turns up dead & everyone is looking to you as the guilty party. The police are after you & the Dojima family want to throw you under the bus. It's clear you are being framed, but by who & for what reason? Lucky enough you have some allies, most notably your main oath brother Akira Nishkiyama, who seems a little innocent for a Yakuza but is as loyal as you can get.
Not so far away you have an ex-yakuza who is not having a great time of things either. Enter Goro Majima, manager of the high end cabaret club called The Grand. He is doing all he can to get back to his former status , no matter how close he gets another new road block is put in his way. This time he is being asked to kill & it is something he may not be able to do but if he doesn't he will be killed.
I enjoyed getting to play as both characters & watching them develop but as a whole I found Majima's story to be far more satisfying. I even found a lot of his sub stories to be more engaging. This is not to say Kiryu was boring but I think I already knew what to expect from him after playing the original game.
There are some many great side characters in the game including; Bacchus who is bad at paying his debts & his friend Kamoji who is apparently a fisting artist (his words not mine), Nugget who is a brilliant financial manager, Miracle Jackson (aka Jack Michaelson, aka Michael Jackson) a singer, a dancer, a lover but not a fighter, Mr Libido, who is well....ummm, interesting.
The ending is bitter sweet & while it kept me wanting more I did not finish the story feeling unsatisfied (that's what she said).
Visually there are both highs & lows. The highs would have to be the bright lights, down & dirty feel of the city. There are fluorescent lights everywhere at night & the streets look dirty, there are people selling all manner of things & some of the outfits have that classic 80's feel. There was an interesting feature used sporadically throughout the game, when some characters are interacting with each other the look changes to a kind of film Noir style. The camera pans from one character to another, no lip or body movements just the occasional change in facial expression, I felt it really worked well but would have like to see it used more.
The lows were that some of the character designs almost look unrendered at times during gameplay. It made the characters looks flat & lifeless, considering the look of the rest of the game I wonder was this used to convey how young the two protagonists were or did the studio simply go over budget on of the other parts of the game?
The soundtrack is a varied one & includes many genres; pop, rock, dance & romantic. Take for example Kiryu's battle music, it is has a very rock sound which worked well with his character & fighting styles. Often when going into a fight I thought the music was saying a lot about the character; he is a tough guy that can take whatever you throw at him. Then there is Majima, his battle music often had a more dance/trance sound which again worked well with his character & fighting styles. The music spoke to his character, I felt it said; the more violent the better & if things get chaotic or bloody I won't be disappointed.
The composer of this very eclectic mix of music is Hidenori Shoji, who's has worked on; Super Monkey Ball (which is an awesome game on the Playstation 2 that I cannot recommend enough),
Fighting Vipers 2 & The Yakuza Series. He is also part of a music group called [H.] who are made up of the Sega Sound Team which includes:
They have worked on; OutRun 20th Anniversary, After Burner, Fantasy Zone: Ultra Super Big Maxim Great Strong Complete Album, Galaxy Force 2, Thunderblade & others.
Listening to the score again really got me pumped & made me want to start playing the game again. The soundtrack is just over 3 & half hours long & is packed with great pieces, some of my favorites included;
'Substory Theme A'
'Substory Theme B'
'Pandora's Palace'
'Force Addiction'
'Crash Addiction' 'Fatal Conflict'
'Customer Creed'
'One Eyed Slugger'
'Try To Have Some Fun For Me'
'Fever Time'
'Misery Comes on Beat'
'Archnemsis'
'Two Dragons'
'Breeze Time'
'Ignite Your Spirit'
'Friday Night'
'Judgement' '時間シンデレラ' '怨魔の契り'
The gameplay, where to begin? There is simply so much to see & do. I suppose lets look at the fighting side of things. Each character has three main fighting styles & one legendary one. They play very differently from one another & work with whatever playing style suits you best. Two of my styles were; Kiryu's Rush Style, which offers speed & evasion at the cost of power & Majima's Mad Dog Style, which to me felt like the best of all his styles with a little extra thrown in. My two favorite moves were; Kiryu's recovery flying headbutt & Majima's triple take down finisher using Demon Fire Dagger to stab the third enemy.
Making money is a big part of the game, you use it not only to buy items but also to unlock abilities. Kiryu's money making game is real estate; buy properties, upgrade them, protect them & take out the King of each area. The money is slow to come in at first but after a while it flows nicely, there are also there a few sub stories attached to it that are quite fun. Majima's money making game is a helping a failing hostess bar take over the town; find hostesses, upgrade the club, train the girls, get support from the local businesses & keep the customers happy. I found the hostess bar to be more rewarding from a story point of view but financially Kiryu's I think was more rewarding.
There are so many mini games available, here are just some that are available:
Karaoke - which works alright & can be quite funny
Baseball - I found this to be fun enough but got bored of it quickly
Space Harrier/Outrun - getting to play the original classics was great & also reminded me how tough they were
UFO Catcher - a game I really like playing in real life as well as in the game
Pool/Darts - a lot of fun & many options for both
Bowling - great fun & good mechanics
Fishing - fairly straight forward, quite fun & it's crazy what some people through in the water
Telephone Club - the 1980's version of Tinder which had some hilarious endings
One of the past parts of the gameplay were the sub stories, they actually provided you with stories rather than just being a set of side missions. There were so many characters I got to like & learn about. Some of the stories were really funny & many offered real emotions & depth. I finished more than 80% of both characters sub stories, half the reason I did not go for 100% was because I wanted to leave some for the next time I played it.
The game offered so much & each time I thought I had discovered everything it had to offer something new popped up. The gameplay was really good & while on occasion I found Kiryu's fighting styles to be a little stiff overall I had very little to complain about. There is a healthy amount of Japanese comedy which I really enjoyed. All in all some great gameplay & I look forward to playing it again in the future.
I knew finishing the game that I had been playing it for a while but I never realised I have been playing for 70 hours. To me this is a testament to how good the game was - time flies when you are having fun. While there were a couple of things that I was not as pushed on gameplay/visually/story wise as a whole the game was really really good. I am looking for to playing Yakuza Kiwami (remastered version of the original Yakuza with a bit more thrown on top). I would like to give this game a big monkey thumbs up or 4 out 5 (the conversion rate is about the same).
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