Fangu
Great Old One
Okay I need to make a thread for this series because I'm on the train now and we all know how that goes
So like a lot of other people I was introduced to the Yakuza games by watching videos by Hollie at Playstation Access on YouTube. Yakuza has a reputation for being That Major game series that for some strange reason hasn't broken through in the West yet (but it's getting there.) After being a bit confused as to the order of the games and where to start (lol it's not even that complicated) I bought Yakuza 0 on PS4 and started playing it, completely blind. Had no idea who the characters were and if they'd even show up later in the series. And oh wow. Had I known about this game last year when it came out it might have beaten Horizon Zero Dawn for game of the year for me. It's so insanely engaging, insanely well done and INSANELY HUGE! 'Japanese GTA' doesn't really cover it, there's just so much... more to it. I finished it last night and I'm on hour 80 something, most of it from playing substories/ mini games. That's 80 hours in a relatively short amount of time. I've never played a game this intensely, never been as flabbergasted and impressed, never felt this drawn in by a game in a very long time. Valkyria Chronicles went straight to my heart, Horizon Zero Dawn had me marvel, Final Fantasy XII had me grind for hours, Super Mario Land on my Game Boy back in 1991 sucked me in like it was life itself. But Yakuza 0 just totally blew me away. It's just so... RICH! Is the only word I can use to describe it. Unendingly rich. Extreme value for money surely!
So I'm gonna play all of them because I have to. I'm gonna give a quick run down of the games for anyone else interested.
First of all, Yakuza is a Japanese beat'em up style mafia soap opera game series that for the most part aren't dubbed (I think just the very first game, the one titled 'Yakuza' on PS2 was dubbed, and luckily they gave that up) meaning the games, compared to other JP imports, come across as very Japanese, if that makes sense. There's a lot of cultural references that might fly over your head, some player might even find that frustrating at times (how the hell do I know what option to choose??) but I find this to be highly interesting and more importantly just as much if even more entertaining.
So the order of the games timeline wise (not release order) that people recommend you play them:
Yakuza 0 - PS4, set in 1988
Yakuza Kawami - PS4, a remake of Yakuza - PS2, set in 2005
Yakuza Kawami 2 - PS4, a remake of Yakuza 2 - PS2 & PS3, set in 2006
Yakuza 3 - PS3, disc only for NA/EUR. Available on PS4 as part of the Yakuza Collection.
Yakuza 4 - PS3, digital purchase available, for NA/EUR. Available on PS4 as part of the Yakuza Collection.
Yakuza 5 - PS3, digital purchase available, for NA/EUR. Available on PS4 as part of the Yakuza Collection February 2020.
Yakuza 6 - PS4
I have to say though, without mentioning any spoilers - starting with Yakuza Kawami (and doing Yakuza Kawami 2) and THEN doing 0 might establish the characters for you in a way that might have 0 make more sense.
I'm on to Yakuza Kawami next. Yakuza 3 is disc only for PS3 so I'll need to start my hunt for it - it's hard to come by a used copy in Norway so I might be looking at an expensive import from the UK. But what the hell. I'M PLaYING ALL OF tHEM
Please mark spoilers in this thread with a Spoiler tag describing game and/or context because surprises are cool![Squee ^_^ ^_^](/forums/images/smilies/sqwee.gif)
So like a lot of other people I was introduced to the Yakuza games by watching videos by Hollie at Playstation Access on YouTube. Yakuza has a reputation for being That Major game series that for some strange reason hasn't broken through in the West yet (but it's getting there.) After being a bit confused as to the order of the games and where to start (lol it's not even that complicated) I bought Yakuza 0 on PS4 and started playing it, completely blind. Had no idea who the characters were and if they'd even show up later in the series. And oh wow. Had I known about this game last year when it came out it might have beaten Horizon Zero Dawn for game of the year for me. It's so insanely engaging, insanely well done and INSANELY HUGE! 'Japanese GTA' doesn't really cover it, there's just so much... more to it. I finished it last night and I'm on hour 80 something, most of it from playing substories/ mini games. That's 80 hours in a relatively short amount of time. I've never played a game this intensely, never been as flabbergasted and impressed, never felt this drawn in by a game in a very long time. Valkyria Chronicles went straight to my heart, Horizon Zero Dawn had me marvel, Final Fantasy XII had me grind for hours, Super Mario Land on my Game Boy back in 1991 sucked me in like it was life itself. But Yakuza 0 just totally blew me away. It's just so... RICH! Is the only word I can use to describe it. Unendingly rich. Extreme value for money surely!
So I'm gonna play all of them because I have to. I'm gonna give a quick run down of the games for anyone else interested.
First of all, Yakuza is a Japanese beat'em up style mafia soap opera game series that for the most part aren't dubbed (I think just the very first game, the one titled 'Yakuza' on PS2 was dubbed, and luckily they gave that up) meaning the games, compared to other JP imports, come across as very Japanese, if that makes sense. There's a lot of cultural references that might fly over your head, some player might even find that frustrating at times (how the hell do I know what option to choose??) but I find this to be highly interesting and more importantly just as much if even more entertaining.
So the order of the games timeline wise (not release order) that people recommend you play them:
Yakuza 0 - PS4, set in 1988
Yakuza Kawami - PS4, a remake of Yakuza - PS2, set in 2005
Yakuza Kawami 2 - PS4, a remake of Yakuza 2 - PS2 & PS3, set in 2006
Yakuza 3 - PS3, disc only for NA/EUR. Available on PS4 as part of the Yakuza Collection.
Yakuza 4 - PS3, digital purchase available, for NA/EUR. Available on PS4 as part of the Yakuza Collection.
Yakuza 5 - PS3, digital purchase available, for NA/EUR. Available on PS4 as part of the Yakuza Collection February 2020.
Yakuza 6 - PS4
I have to say though, without mentioning any spoilers - starting with Yakuza Kawami (and doing Yakuza Kawami 2) and THEN doing 0 might establish the characters for you in a way that might have 0 make more sense.
I'm talking about the Mad Dog of Shimano of course, I knew nothing at all about the game going in and was thoroughly surprised with Majima's character towards the end. I might have appreciated that turn more knowing who Goro Majima is in the rest of the series, but hey.
I'm on to Yakuza Kawami next. Yakuza 3 is disc only for PS3 so I'll need to start my hunt for it - it's hard to come by a used copy in Norway so I might be looking at an expensive import from the UK. But what the hell. I'M PLaYING ALL OF tHEM
Please mark spoilers in this thread with a Spoiler tag describing game and/or context because surprises are cool
![Squee ^_^ ^_^](/forums/images/smilies/sqwee.gif)
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