I played this using the Yakuza Restored Patch on my jailbroken ps2, you can find that patch here and I'd highly recommend it. Ive heard this game has some obnoxious loading issues, but considering I was playing this off of my HDD I won't really factor that into my review as it never was really a problem. https://youtu.be/YXsiu9PUbxM?si=AebYm1WSkwDOm7NV
This game definitely gets a bad rap nowadays. People will just say to play the remake or skip it entirely. I've heard people say it's unplayable and that the combat is so bad. I really wanted to challenge that perception and start at beggining. Playing them from the two remakes, back to the older three games, then back to the new stuff just sounds a bit unappealing to me. I'd much rather see it's roots and how it grew mechanically. I'm glad I did because I found a lot to love about this despite its issues.
The star of the show here is Kamurocho. It's such a well realized setting, it's densely packed with unique interactions, big crowds, beautiful fixed camera shots, and fun stuff to do. I don't think I've felt an open city setting feel quite as alive as this. It's also just drenched in atmosphere. Thick fog, appropriate use of motion blur, very unique lighting are all indicative of the strengths of the ps2 aesthetic.
I think the story is quite good here and it helped me truck through the game. I really love all the characters. There were some really neat twists that actually got me, and it all comes together by the end. Kiryu's relationship with Haruka is the heart of this game and I really like how despite losing so much he finds a new family in her. I do have a hard time following these dense kind of noir stories, so I'm glad the broad strokes of the story satisfied me.
I think the combat isn't great, but it's definitely not unplayable. I think an issue with it is that it makes a bad first impression. Your dodge sucks, the lock on has a strange learning curve to it and your move set is very limited. But as you upgrade stuff and do more side missions that give you new moves, it does start to open up and become more functional. This is one of those where you just get stunlocked and knocked on your ass a lot which can be annoying. And also the game is just a bit too easy? Other than some weird bosses that kicked my ass it never really presents a challenge. And when it does get more intense the game showers you with restorative items. So you kinda just get into a lull of repetition with it. But I'd argue the game isn't really trying to give you the deepest combat system, what makes the game special is the experience of it and all the things you can do in the city, and that aspect of it really worked for me. It gets dangerously close to being boring but the game always picks itself up.
This series is definitely prohibitive to new players to catch up, I totally understand if someone wants to start with one of the more recent ones. But I think Yakuza 1 has a lot going for it and shouldn't be forgotten. If you really appreciate the ps2 era then you really should try it and see if you like it. It's a very unique experience and it was fun to experience the humble begginings of this giant series.
This game definitely gets a bad rap nowadays. People will just say to play the remake or skip it entirely. I've heard people say it's unplayable and that the combat is so bad. I really wanted to challenge that perception and start at beggining. Playing them from the two remakes, back to the older three games, then back to the new stuff just sounds a bit unappealing to me. I'd much rather see it's roots and how it grew mechanically. I'm glad I did because I found a lot to love about this despite its issues.
The star of the show here is Kamurocho. It's such a well realized setting, it's densely packed with unique interactions, big crowds, beautiful fixed camera shots, and fun stuff to do. I don't think I've felt an open city setting feel quite as alive as this. It's also just drenched in atmosphere. Thick fog, appropriate use of motion blur, very unique lighting are all indicative of the strengths of the ps2 aesthetic.
I think the story is quite good here and it helped me truck through the game. I really love all the characters. There were some really neat twists that actually got me, and it all comes together by the end. Kiryu's relationship with Haruka is the heart of this game and I really like how despite losing so much he finds a new family in her. I do have a hard time following these dense kind of noir stories, so I'm glad the broad strokes of the story satisfied me.
I think the combat isn't great, but it's definitely not unplayable. I think an issue with it is that it makes a bad first impression. Your dodge sucks, the lock on has a strange learning curve to it and your move set is very limited. But as you upgrade stuff and do more side missions that give you new moves, it does start to open up and become more functional. This is one of those where you just get stunlocked and knocked on your ass a lot which can be annoying. And also the game is just a bit too easy? Other than some weird bosses that kicked my ass it never really presents a challenge. And when it does get more intense the game showers you with restorative items. So you kinda just get into a lull of repetition with it. But I'd argue the game isn't really trying to give you the deepest combat system, what makes the game special is the experience of it and all the things you can do in the city, and that aspect of it really worked for me. It gets dangerously close to being boring but the game always picks itself up.
This series is definitely prohibitive to new players to catch up, I totally understand if someone wants to start with one of the more recent ones. But I think Yakuza 1 has a lot going for it and shouldn't be forgotten. If you really appreciate the ps2 era then you really should try it and see if you like it. It's a very unique experience and it was fun to experience the humble begginings of this giant series.