After completing this it surprises me how the other Yakuza games I have played (0 and 3) are very derivative from this one so that's something worth respecting, it did so many things right from the beginning.
I know Yakuza 3 was the one to introduce karaoke (one of my favorite things in the series having spent countless hours playing karaoke) and perhaps the first one to give us a look into the more-relatable side of Kiryu but I have yet to play 2 to say if my latter statement will hold true.
My only criticisms are that the combat sucks, exploring Kamurocho is frustrating due to how easy is for enemies to approach you and the long load times but it also was the first title in the series so I won't get too focused on these issues.
As long as you don't take the story too seriously -which you shouldn't if you are a fan of Yakuza movies- you will have a great time due to its characters and ridiculous amount of twists.
Something worth mentioning is the neo-noir atmosphere was very comfy -especially when it was raining or snowing- and that I had a good laugh with the dub and listening to Kiryu throw swear words left and right, not that the voice acting is bad but the script itself made a lot of these moments sound very funny.
I also feel the need to mention I stuck to the PS2 version instead of Kiwami because I wanted to see how everything truly started; I would've thought a lot of things I saw in this game were implemented from Yakuza 0 so I'm glad I went to the original PS2 release.
Now onto Yakuza 2!
I know Yakuza 3 was the one to introduce karaoke (one of my favorite things in the series having spent countless hours playing karaoke) and perhaps the first one to give us a look into the more-relatable side of Kiryu but I have yet to play 2 to say if my latter statement will hold true.
My only criticisms are that the combat sucks, exploring Kamurocho is frustrating due to how easy is for enemies to approach you and the long load times but it also was the first title in the series so I won't get too focused on these issues.
As long as you don't take the story too seriously -which you shouldn't if you are a fan of Yakuza movies- you will have a great time due to its characters and ridiculous amount of twists.
Something worth mentioning is the neo-noir atmosphere was very comfy -especially when it was raining or snowing- and that I had a good laugh with the dub and listening to Kiryu throw swear words left and right, not that the voice acting is bad but the script itself made a lot of these moments sound very funny.
I also feel the need to mention I stuck to the PS2 version instead of Kiwami because I wanted to see how everything truly started; I would've thought a lot of things I saw in this game were implemented from Yakuza 0 so I'm glad I went to the original PS2 release.
Now onto Yakuza 2!
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@HylianBran I'm in a similar situation, my first Yakuza was 3 a long time ago and thought it was great but I didn't dive into the first titles back at the time. Yakuza 0 - which I played like a year ago or so - rekindled my interest in Yakuza and now I had the sudden need to play through all the titles.
I can see your point about the extras - such as the arcade games - not counting towards the true quality of the game, especially because some can be played outside of Yakuza so I agree. When it comes to other things such as karaoke (which I have a some bias towards) and original minigames (such as the pocket circuit races or the real estate management) I must admit I'm quite fond of them but still can appreciate a game without all of them as I understand the fact that to get to a game as maximalist as Yakuza 0 the franchise had to go through many iterations and while I expect to have those things in one of the newer games I don't really expect it from one of the first titles in the franchise, what I take into account with older titles are the new things they brought to the table and how they improved on older things, while still focusing on how much I enjoy the fundamentals of course (plot, characters, combat, soundtrack, etc.).
I started 2 right away after writing this review and I must say I'm very impressed so far, they fixed the loading times and the combat as far as I can see so street fights are not a chore anymore. I also really enjoyed the arcade mini game you are referring too and the story started strongly.
I generally really hate game remakes so I usually stick to the original ones; they are usually fine gameplay-wise but they are very good at fucking up the atmosphere, soundtrack and art style of the original which are very important to me.
I can see your point about the extras - such as the arcade games - not counting towards the true quality of the game, especially because some can be played outside of Yakuza so I agree. When it comes to other things such as karaoke (which I have a some bias towards) and original minigames (such as the pocket circuit races or the real estate management) I must admit I'm quite fond of them but still can appreciate a game without all of them as I understand the fact that to get to a game as maximalist as Yakuza 0 the franchise had to go through many iterations and while I expect to have those things in one of the newer games I don't really expect it from one of the first titles in the franchise, what I take into account with older titles are the new things they brought to the table and how they improved on older things, while still focusing on how much I enjoy the fundamentals of course (plot, characters, combat, soundtrack, etc.).
I started 2 right away after writing this review and I must say I'm very impressed so far, they fixed the loading times and the combat as far as I can see so street fights are not a chore anymore. I also really enjoyed the arcade mini game you are referring too and the story started strongly.
I generally really hate game remakes so I usually stick to the original ones; they are usually fine gameplay-wise but they are very good at fucking up the atmosphere, soundtrack and art style of the original which are very important to me.
HylianBran
2 years ago