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

[Deflowerer]

Half-way through Yakuza 6 right now (story-wise, substory etc wise probably 1/4th) and I think so far it seems to be the contender for one of the best Yakuza games to date.

While combat can get samey, it's a welcome change in terms of combat feel from the previous entries which pretty much have been the same since with Yakuza 3 with iterative refinements. At least I'd say not since Yakuza 3 I've felt such a different feel to the combat engine. Of course, Kiwami had pretty much perfected the old combat system, but the Dragon Engine one looks promising as well. Can't wait for them to improve on it in the future.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I only started on Yakuza 6, and the basic gameplay is pretty damn amazing. Makes me really hyped for Kiwami 2's release outside of Japan. And hopefully Hokuto Ga Gotoku's, since that uses Dragon engine too I think.

 

[Felix]

Hokuto Ga Gotoku uses 0/Kiwami engine.

 

[Deflowerer]

Hokuto ga Gotoku uses the older engine, yes. To be honest, it makes sense: the new one is a tad bit too grounded and realistic for the crazy shit you can do in Hokuto no Ken universe, so I can see why they went with the old one.

I think the best part about the Dragon engine combat so far is how much they improved throwing people and the dropkick. I am excited for Kiwami 2, yeah, but hopefully this fall we get more news on Shin Ryu ga Gotoku.

 

[Rahdulan]

You know it's a special series when they can even make long ass installation screens interesting.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

They also used one of the game's best tracks for that. Zero has an exceptional soundtrack all over too, bit of a shame that as norm for the series the main theme songs aren't on non-Japanese releases due to music licensing.

Hokuto ga Gotoku uses the older engine, yes. To be honest, it makes sense: the new one is a tad bit too grounded and realistic for the crazy shit you can do in Hokuto no Ken universe, so I can see why they went with the old one.

I think the best part about the Dragon engine combat so far is how much they improved throwing people and the dropkick. I am excited for Kiwami 2, yeah, but hopefully this fall we get more news on Shin Ryu ga Gotoku.

It's not like the old engine is bad anyway, it's merely old.

Dragon engine's strongest suit IMO is the way it allows them to more fluidly realize detail in the world, I had a laugh when I tossed some goon through West Taihei Boulevard (Yakuza series is also probably the strongest argument for asset reuse not necessarily being a bad thing; after two game's one is already attached to Kamurocho and instinctively knows what place is in question when people talk about street names, and you also spot things like what stores and bars and so on have closed and what have changed over time; ie I was amused when I noticed that Gindaco's moved to the other side of the street and the old corner it was located at was under renovations) Akaushimaru's storefront and bashed another one's head against their sliding door and when I tried to order a beef bowl they told me to get the hell out. I suppose that's where the improved physics play into it too.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I find the idea of this series intriguing, having played a few minutes of Yakuza 1 on the PS2 emulator, but, man oh man, the prospect of a required playthrough of the teenage girl character in dance competitions in Yakuza 5 makes my scrotum feel like it's being de-gloved with a rusty iron pincer from the Age of Torture. Otherwise it seems like a much cooler variation of Shenmue 2 but without the agonizingly limited controls. Still, I might give Y4 a go if a used copy ever comes down in price on eBay for, like, say, 15 bucks or so and since I just bought a PS3 off of there for $40 and need good games to do.

 

[HoboForEternity]

what yakuza games i can play on PC atm with emulator?

only 1 and 2?

 

[witapepsi]

what yakuza games i can play on PC atm with emulator?

only 1 and 2?

1, 2, and the Kurohyou PSP spinoffs

 

[Abu Antar]

3-4-5 might work. Don’t know how well they run in PS3 emulator.

 

[Deflowerer]

Only 1 and 2. RPCS3 can't run any of the games properly. As mentioned above, Kurohyou PSP games too, but they're only in moonspeak.

But yes, Haruka's portion in Yakuza 5 fucked up the pacing of that game real bad. Not to mention the ludicrous bullshit backstory of her manager.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

The series does have fondness for extremely improbable "I know that you knew that I knew that you knew that I knew" schemes and equally improbable secret passages to secret underground locations, so an idol's manager having a ludicrous backstory is probably something you learn to take in a breeze.


Anyway, first stroll around the streets of Onomichi makes one's heart melt.

 

[Deflowerer]

OH NO MICHI

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I bought a "like new" copy of Yakuza 4 on eBay yesterday for $19.00. I'm trying to break a certain very bad habit I have about not paying for most of my games, which I believe is a genuine addiction for many of us, not just limited to poor cunts living in The Turd World. I bought no less than eight, count 'em - 8 - PS3 games over the last 3 weeks since purchasing my used Playstation 3 console. It's time to be good... to lead only a virtuous gamer's existence, to stop this vicious cycle once and for all... to stand up and say, "NO MORE!!!" I want to thank Sony for making me a better man, to make me realize that what I did was wrong all these years, that it's never too late to change. And I especially want to thank that eBay seller that sold me that PS3 Slim for $40 in very good condition that, unbeknownst to myself at the time, was a model with a firmware version that prohibits any and ALL attempts to ever mod it. I'M CURED! Hallelujah!

"You're not cured yet, my boy!" Dr. Brodsky, A Clockwork Orange

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Hokuto ga Gotoku uses the older engine, yes. To be honest, it makes sense: the new one is a tad bit too grounded and realistic for the crazy shit you can do in Hokuto no Ken universe, so I can see why they went with the old one.

I think the best part about the Dragon engine combat so far is how much they improved throwing people and the dropkick. I am excited for Kiwami 2, yeah, but hopefully this fall we get more news on Shin Ryu ga Gotoku.

I like what little I've played of the series, but I was kind of surprised after playing it how much it feels like a weaker take on the AKI engine. It's like a looser take on what they did in Def Jam: Fight for NY, but without the variety of grappling options.

Playing them and wishing they were more like AKI games just makes me want to play those spinoff games AKI actually developed even more.

 

[Felix]

This is still the series' best karaoke song, just listen to it increase you T tenfold.

 

[Rahdulan]

One of my greatest regrets is Ishin never got translated. I'm not hardcore enough to play these games with a printed out English script.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Yea it's a real bummer, since Ishin also looks like a really damn fun game.

 

[Silva]

I'm on a dilemma: I want to get Yak 6 on PS4 because of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown as I'm a big VF fan. But I never played these Yak games except the demo of 6 I got yesterday and.... It was shit. "More cutscenes than game" -level shit.

Is that it? The game is really this string of cutscenes that you just play here And there to smug some mook? It never opens up like a GTA or something? If that's the case no way I'm paying this much money to play VF5.

 

[Deflowerer]

This shit is not GTA, you fucking moron.

But otherwise yes, the demo is a poor representation of the actual game, and if you haven't followed the series, the story in the beginning in particular isn't very interesting either. Demo only opens up in the end of the demo, and iirc the activities you can do in the town are limited beyond just traversing it.

 

[flyingjohn]

I'm on a dilemma: I want to get Yak 6 on PS4 because of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown as I'm a big VF fan. But I never played these Yak games except the demo of 6 I got yesterday and.... It was shit. "More cutscenes than game" -level shit.

Is that it? The game is really this string of cutscenes that you just play here And there to smug some mook? It never opens up like a GTA or something? If that's the case no way I'm paying this much money to play VF5.

The story to game play ratio is 20-80 percent unless you have some version without any combat and exploration.Most of your time will be spent in combat or exploring around the city.
This isn't gta style open world where you have a big empty open world which looks nice.You can access most locations and in fact most of the game play will be you doing side related stuff and mini games which you find by exploring.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

If anything, the open world of Yakuza is the biggest counter-argument to a giant empty space that is a GTA style open world. Kamurocho is a place where it's quality and detail over quantity and space, and the same holds for Onomichi and Sotenbori as well.

The purpose isn't to wow you with "oh it took me so long to drive from here to here" but instead that you could actually give directions around the district after just one game and where you don't even need to open the map when someone talks of Pink Street, Tenkaichi Street, West Taihei Boulevard, West Park, or Nakamichi Alley. Or with successive games, notice establishments that have closed down or moved over time, or new ones that have appeared.

The minigames are also a very diverse sort of lot. You got straightforward ones like playing darts, karaoke or various strange (well, obviously not if one was Japanese) traditional Japanese card games, but then you have ones that qualify more as small game than minigame, like in case of Yakuza 6 the baseball manager and Clan Wars minigames which can take hours to beat. Plus in case of Zero and 6, full older arcade games, like OutRun and Space Harrier. Or Virtua Fighter 5, in 6.

 

[Felix]

Still nothing compare to Ishin's courtesan minigame

That stripping rock-paper-scissors.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

If we keep talking about Ishin too much, I'm going to end up ordering a copy and then printing some huge-ass document to tell me what the fuck is happening and what I should do.

 

[Matador]

Finally I bought Yakuza 0 for 20 euro, I'm at chapter 3 and having a great time.

- Cool characters and dialogues, and entertaining story.
- Funny fighting system.
- And what a great visual atmosphere and art direction, they nailed the city. I like this approach to open world with a small map packed of content.
- Cool side activities.
- plus 60 FPS.

One of the best PS4 exclusives for sure.