Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (Yakuza, Judgment, Binary Domain + more!) Discussion Thread

[Abu Antar]

Of all the settings not in Japan, Hawaii is the most Japanese.

 

[Lyre Mors]

Of all the settings not in Japan, Hawaii is the most Japanese

What about Korea, or Taiwan, or Hong Kong, or any coastal Chinese city?

 

[Abu Antar]

Of all the settings not in Japan, Hawaii is the most Japanese

What about Korea, or Taiwan, or Hong Kong, or any coastal Chinese city?

Sure, but Hawaii is very influence by Japanese culture. They get a lot of Japanese tourists, and there are many Japanese restaurants, and I think even hostess clubs, and whatnot.

My guess is that Hawaii won't be the only location, but I could be wrong. My guess is that we'll get a party split at some point, if there are actually ten playable characters.

 

[Lyre Mors]

My guess is that Hawaii won't be the only location, but I could be wrong. My guess is that we'll get a party split at some point, if there are actually ten playable characters.

Hawaii will more than likely be the "main" area, with Yokohama and Kamurocho being the "sub" areas.

Either way, least hyped and interested in an RGG Studio game I've been in a very long time. I'm all about unique settings, but Hawaii just feels so wrong. Really sad, because I was very interested in how they would progress not only with Ichiban, but the JRPG design too. I'll play it eventually, but I won't be rushing to buy it day one like I thought I would.

 

[Maxie]

Yakuza games just don't feel right outside of Kamurocho, it's one of those maps you learn by heart and never forget

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

Yakuza games just don't feel right outside of Kamurocho, it's one of those maps you learn by heart and never forget

They should have just used Okinawa instead of Hawaii. Would be good to see it again and how it changed compared to Yakuza 3.

 

[Abu Antar]

I both agree and disagree. I like Kamurocho, but I don't mind new places. Yokohama did feel a bit sterile, and not as cool as previous locations in the series, but it was nice with a change, and you still got to visit a few smaller maps. Yakuza 5 was fun with many different locations.

I just want a busy place that doesn't feel as boring as some areas in Yakuza: Like A Dragon did. But even that had good areas that were busy.

 

[Maxie]

I both agree and disagree. I like Kamurocho, but I don't mind new places. Yokohama did feel a bit sterile, and not as cool as previous locations in the series, but it was nice with a change, and you still got to visit a few smaller maps. Yakuza 5 was fun with many different locations.

I just want a busy place that doesn't feel as boring as some areas in Yakuza: Like A Dragon did. But even that had good areas that were busy.

i really didn't like how underdeveloped Yokohama stays north of the train tracks

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Yakuza 5 was fun with many different locations.

Fuck that Sapporo location though. (Tsukimino?)

 

[Jenkem]

It all feels like a forced case of 'the new lead writers thought Hawaii would excite western audiences, so that's the setting now'.

The Hawaii setting is a mistake and a huge turn off for me. There's tons of interesting Japanese locations they could have chosen from, not to mention east-asian settings. But they went with fucking Hawaii? It also means we're going to be saddled with it for at least a couple entries, because you know they're going to re-use those assets. What the fuck RGG?

They've been ever increasing their ways to push the series in the west since 0 became popular, it's the same reason they shovel in youtubers and shit into the game and waste money on English VA. Setting it in HI is just another box tick to them.

 

[Deflowerer]

Because Japanese sales are declining. Anyway, Hawaii is definitely not that weird of a choice, it also had tons of yakuza activity in 80s.

 

[Maxie]

Because Japanese sales are declining. Anyway, Hawaii is definitely not that weird of a choice, it also had tons of yakuza activity in 80s.

such a shame ichiban's games are set in the 20s

 

[Deflowerer]

Because Japanese sales are declining. Anyway, Hawaii is definitely not that weird of a choice, it also had tons of yakuza activity in 80s.

such a shame ichiban's games are set in the 20s

Yeah, but they'll probably have remnants and shit. It's not like yakuza in Japan itself is anything close to what it was in 80s either.

 

[Maxie]

Because Japanese sales are declining. Anyway, Hawaii is definitely not that weird of a choice, it also had tons of yakuza activity in 80s.

such a shame ichiban's games are set in the 20s

Yeah, but they'll probably have remnants and shit. It's not like yakuza in Japan itself is anything close to what it was in 80s either.

the games aren't a bad chronicle of the decline of yakuza influence, if not marred a little by guys like Saejima being a little too in the vein of a fiercely loyal misguided hero (i assume this archetype just runs deep in jap culture)

 

[Deflowerer]

Because Japanese sales are declining. Anyway, Hawaii is definitely not that weird of a choice, it also had tons of yakuza activity in 80s.

such a shame ichiban's games are set in the 20s

Yeah, but they'll probably have remnants and shit. It's not like yakuza in Japan itself is anything close to what it was in 80s either.

the games aren't a bad chronicle of the decline of yakuza influence, if not marred a little by guys like Saejima being a little too in the vein of a fiercely loyal misguided hero (i assume this archetype just runs deep in jap culture)

To be frank the games are not about yakuza at all if you go beyond the appearances, and definitely not at all in the way that Western crime fiction portrays organized crime stories. The yakuza connection is just an excuse to have conflict in a modern Japanese setting. Notice how even in the games you never really play with any of the protagonists while they are proper yakuza members, it's always temporary exile or being an outcast. The events that transpire in Yakuza 7 are actually a natural conclusion to it all. They of course tap into the chivalrous yakuza trope of old classic yakuza movies, but even there the games' portrayal of it is much more naive when you compare it to the actual films.

I think Yakuza 1 might have been the closest to a gritty Yakuza story, but even there they greatly humanized it by adding the Haruka element to the story (original drafts were all about the missing money as the only key plot device).

 

[karoliner]

Hawaii is perfectly fine as a setting. After reusing Kamurocho so much they needed to put something new.

 

[True Ukrainian]

The latest game is supposedly about the "necessity" of the yakuza as an organization and the fallout caused by their decline. So it's keeping with established themes at least.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

The latest game is supposedly about the "necessity" of the yakuza as an organization and the fallout caused by their decline. So it's keeping with established themes at least.

Yeah. First the protagonists quit the Yakuza and they get roped back in. Now the Yakuza itself has quit and it gets roped back in by Black Monday.

 

[Maxie]

wow Tanimura's section in Y4 was super short. I'm not sure having four protagonist is a particularly satisfying gimmick

 

[Modron]

I liked Tanimura's fighting style of being able to weave different combo chains together or into various heat moves depending on how the attacks ended.

 

[Maxie]

I liked Tanimura's fighting style of being able to weave different combo chains together or into various heat moves depending on how the attacks ended.

too bad tanimura hitting anybody doesn't have the oompf at all and you're barely able to register there was contact

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Tanimura is a parryfag, not a hitter. All he's good for is redirecting people into walls and other stuff.

 

[AlwaysBrotoMen]

Yakuza like a dragon was boring .The gameplay was good but there were too many cutscenes and story dragged like a sitcom special in the 90s. Lost interest in lost judgement where story was bullcrap. It was typical run of the mill justice story which dint make any sense. i hope like a dragon gaiden is a return to form for the series.

 

[Modron]

Like a Dragon Gaiden is slated to be one of the goofiest installments yet isn't it?

 

[Abu Antar]

Like a Dragon Gaiden is slated to be one of the goofiest installments yet isn't it?

It ironically will probably be, yes. It's the setup for Kiryu's presence in Infinite Wealth.