This review contains spoilers
La saga Yakuza a estas alturas ha ido recogiendo gran parte de la fama de forma merecida por su escritura tan versátil y adepta y por esa mezcla de géneros tan aparentemente incoherente, pero que a la vez todo suma, con un estilo beat'em'up bastante dinámico de cuatro estilos distintos de combate con sus quick time events. Sin embargo, la fórmula estaba bastante desgastada hasta la fecha, y el vídeo que lanzaron como si fuera una broma (que seguramente fuese una forma de testear las aguas) coló. Tras el vídeo, la idea de mezclar el mundo de Yakuza con las dinámicas de un JRPG parecía contentar a la gente, y así nació el propio Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Sobre el lado Yakuza, no hay mucho que hablar. El mapa ha cambiado respecto a modelos antiguos, y con ellos han entrado nuevas mecánicas como las mazmorras de Yokohama, los eventos en los que subes nivel de vínculo o bien sitios en donde poner tus plantas para conseguir objetos curativos, así como otras mecánicas de anteriores Yakuzas para guardar, curarse y comprar objetos, o bien incluso hay sus propios sitios de apuestas, sus minijuegos (destaco tanto el kart y el juego empresarial como también el de no dormirse en un cine) y sus secundarias. Y aquí tengo dos problemas: el primero, que hay demasiados combates -un defecto de entregas anteriores- y, por otro lado, el aburrimiento que genera la monotonía de muchas secundarias. Aunque alguna de esas misiones están muy sembradas, es muy habitual encontrarse siempre una pelea o dos por cada misión secundaria, y eso aburre muchísimo a largo plazo.
Por otro lado, está el JRPG. Yakuza: Like a Dragon introduce muchas mecánicas de sagas como Dragon Quest o Persona. Puedes subir de vínculo, craftear -bien plantando plantas o cogiendo objetos de combates y demás para craftear armas y armaduras- o cambiar trabajos. Esta última mecánica es sumamente interesante porque permite experimentar múltiples roles distintos de forma bastante paródica (algunos trabajos son de madame sadomasoquista, otros de host o de bailarín de breakdance) y, a su vez, algunas mejoras laborales permiten, a su vez, mejoras de estadísticas o habilidades. Jugar con ellas es lo que más salsa me ha dado junto con las historias secundarias de los personajes que te acompañan -lo cual añade muchísimo a lo sumamente bien que está escrita la trama principal y los personajes clave en ella, especialmente el propio Ichiban. A eso se añade el componente paródico del JRPG que introduce la propia saga: el humor absurdo sube niveles cuando recibes daño cuando te atropella un coche, o bien los enemigos reciben daño cuando chocan los unos con los otros, o lo ridículos que son los enemigos, aunque mi fallo aquí es que veo más potencial tanto al rango de los trabajos -especialmente con los trabajos de las mujeres- como también en las físicas, que me parece que podrían ser más slapstick. Y aun así, el elemento vertical, la historia principal de la saga, es muchísimo más memorable que algunas entregas de la propia saga, especialmente Yakuza Kiwami.
En general, es un muy buen cambio dentro de la saga, y aunque le falta pulimiento y mejoras en ciertas dinámicas, creo que Yakuza: Like a Dragon sienta una gran base para poder desarrollar más juegos, pues resulta increíble que el juego consiga desde la parodia criticar los propios estamentos de la yakuza, los continuos rollos de timos y prejuicios de los japoneses o, incluso, darle muchísima dignidad a los estamentos más marginales de la sociedad desde una distancia irónica -y sin ella- muy agradecida. Ryu ga Gotoku sigue posicionándose como una de las sagas con más autoconciencia de la actualidad, y Yakuza: Like a Dragon, fracase el estudio o no, seguirá siendo de esos juegos de 2020 que merecen ser jugados y reconocidos incluso con sus fallos. Al fin y al cabo, necesitamos juegos mamarrachos e irónicos que, a su vez, sepan cambiar de tercio y ejercer su buena dosis de crítica y de dignidad hacia sectores de la sociedad que no suelen ser mostrados mucho en videojuegos de la actualidad.
Sobre el lado Yakuza, no hay mucho que hablar. El mapa ha cambiado respecto a modelos antiguos, y con ellos han entrado nuevas mecánicas como las mazmorras de Yokohama, los eventos en los que subes nivel de vínculo o bien sitios en donde poner tus plantas para conseguir objetos curativos, así como otras mecánicas de anteriores Yakuzas para guardar, curarse y comprar objetos, o bien incluso hay sus propios sitios de apuestas, sus minijuegos (destaco tanto el kart y el juego empresarial como también el de no dormirse en un cine) y sus secundarias. Y aquí tengo dos problemas: el primero, que hay demasiados combates -un defecto de entregas anteriores- y, por otro lado, el aburrimiento que genera la monotonía de muchas secundarias. Aunque alguna de esas misiones están muy sembradas, es muy habitual encontrarse siempre una pelea o dos por cada misión secundaria, y eso aburre muchísimo a largo plazo.
Por otro lado, está el JRPG. Yakuza: Like a Dragon introduce muchas mecánicas de sagas como Dragon Quest o Persona. Puedes subir de vínculo, craftear -bien plantando plantas o cogiendo objetos de combates y demás para craftear armas y armaduras- o cambiar trabajos. Esta última mecánica es sumamente interesante porque permite experimentar múltiples roles distintos de forma bastante paródica (algunos trabajos son de madame sadomasoquista, otros de host o de bailarín de breakdance) y, a su vez, algunas mejoras laborales permiten, a su vez, mejoras de estadísticas o habilidades. Jugar con ellas es lo que más salsa me ha dado junto con las historias secundarias de los personajes que te acompañan -lo cual añade muchísimo a lo sumamente bien que está escrita la trama principal y los personajes clave en ella, especialmente el propio Ichiban. A eso se añade el componente paródico del JRPG que introduce la propia saga: el humor absurdo sube niveles cuando recibes daño cuando te atropella un coche, o bien los enemigos reciben daño cuando chocan los unos con los otros, o lo ridículos que son los enemigos, aunque mi fallo aquí es que veo más potencial tanto al rango de los trabajos -especialmente con los trabajos de las mujeres- como también en las físicas, que me parece que podrían ser más slapstick. Y aun así, el elemento vertical, la historia principal de la saga, es muchísimo más memorable que algunas entregas de la propia saga, especialmente Yakuza Kiwami.
En general, es un muy buen cambio dentro de la saga, y aunque le falta pulimiento y mejoras en ciertas dinámicas, creo que Yakuza: Like a Dragon sienta una gran base para poder desarrollar más juegos, pues resulta increíble que el juego consiga desde la parodia criticar los propios estamentos de la yakuza, los continuos rollos de timos y prejuicios de los japoneses o, incluso, darle muchísima dignidad a los estamentos más marginales de la sociedad desde una distancia irónica -y sin ella- muy agradecida. Ryu ga Gotoku sigue posicionándose como una de las sagas con más autoconciencia de la actualidad, y Yakuza: Like a Dragon, fracase el estudio o no, seguirá siendo de esos juegos de 2020 que merecen ser jugados y reconocidos incluso con sus fallos. Al fin y al cabo, necesitamos juegos mamarrachos e irónicos que, a su vez, sepan cambiar de tercio y ejercer su buena dosis de crítica y de dignidad hacia sectores de la sociedad que no suelen ser mostrados mucho en videojuegos de la actualidad.
Not only did this game successfully make a transition from beat-em-up to JRPG, I think this might actually be the best game in the whole series. I love all the characters, I love the writing, the combat feels way more good than I expected, all in all a stellar game.
This review contains spoilers
I'm not exactly a Yakuza veteran, having only played 0 and Kiwami when I picked up Like a Dragon on release.
Being a huge fan of the turn-based RPG genre, I was really interested to see how Yakuza would translate to the genre, and this game definitely didn't disappoint.
First of all, the combat is incredible. The button prompts keep a degree of activity to the combat aside from just selecting attacks, and the skills for each party member and job are mostly really inventive (Nanba's signature attacks are some of my favourites). The battles almost never dragged on for too long, keeping things short and satisfying like in the past games, which is definitely to be praised.
The new protagonist, Ichiban, might have endeared me to him more than Kiryu has (granted I've only played 2 of the Kiryu games). Why? Because his obsession with Dragon Quest is on par with mine if not greater. The new supporting cast are also excellent, and made Ijincho a setting on par with Kamurocho and Sotenbori for me. Speaking of which, the sub stories and other side content like mini games are just as fun as I've come to expect them to be and help add to the charm of this new setting. New to this game are the Drink Links and party chats, similar to the bonding systems other JRPGs use between their MCs and party members. These help to develop the party members and give them more fleshed out side stories, and helped especially to develop some of the later recruited party members who didn't get too much of their background explained or have their past explored in any great detail in the main story (Joon-gi Han's drink link was really good, and I wouldn't like the character as much if the Drink Links weren't a thing). I should also mention that the returning characters in this game were masterfully handled- Where it would have been easy for them to have felt forced into the game, not one of them did- Their appearances felt organic, and the game would have felt incomplete without some acknowledgement of what came before it. I think there was no better way to usher in a new era for the series.
The main story of this game is maybe one of my favourites in any JRPG, and it didn't have to be a tale about a fated hero setting out to kill a God to earn that title. All it had to do was have heart, and this story about an average yakuza grunt starting over from rock bottom turned into much more than that- A story about family, those you're born with AND those you choose, that could be inspiring and triumphant at times, but was full of twists and turns that could lead it to be incredibly shocking, thought provoking and even heartbreaking.
TLDR: This game was absolutely amazing, please play it.
Being a huge fan of the turn-based RPG genre, I was really interested to see how Yakuza would translate to the genre, and this game definitely didn't disappoint.
First of all, the combat is incredible. The button prompts keep a degree of activity to the combat aside from just selecting attacks, and the skills for each party member and job are mostly really inventive (Nanba's signature attacks are some of my favourites). The battles almost never dragged on for too long, keeping things short and satisfying like in the past games, which is definitely to be praised.
The new protagonist, Ichiban, might have endeared me to him more than Kiryu has (granted I've only played 2 of the Kiryu games). Why? Because his obsession with Dragon Quest is on par with mine if not greater. The new supporting cast are also excellent, and made Ijincho a setting on par with Kamurocho and Sotenbori for me. Speaking of which, the sub stories and other side content like mini games are just as fun as I've come to expect them to be and help add to the charm of this new setting. New to this game are the Drink Links and party chats, similar to the bonding systems other JRPGs use between their MCs and party members. These help to develop the party members and give them more fleshed out side stories, and helped especially to develop some of the later recruited party members who didn't get too much of their background explained or have their past explored in any great detail in the main story (Joon-gi Han's drink link was really good, and I wouldn't like the character as much if the Drink Links weren't a thing). I should also mention that the returning characters in this game were masterfully handled- Where it would have been easy for them to have felt forced into the game, not one of them did- Their appearances felt organic, and the game would have felt incomplete without some acknowledgement of what came before it. I think there was no better way to usher in a new era for the series.
The main story of this game is maybe one of my favourites in any JRPG, and it didn't have to be a tale about a fated hero setting out to kill a God to earn that title. All it had to do was have heart, and this story about an average yakuza grunt starting over from rock bottom turned into much more than that- A story about family, those you're born with AND those you choose, that could be inspiring and triumphant at times, but was full of twists and turns that could lead it to be incredibly shocking, thought provoking and even heartbreaking.
TLDR: This game was absolutely amazing, please play it.
The game's combat is fun but flawed, and the spikes in difficulty might be a bit much for people who don't play a lot of RPGs. But for an April Fool's gag made real, the game and its incredibly story have made their way to my GOTY spot for 2020.
I look forward to seeing more of Ichiban and his merry, middle-aged band in the future.
I look forward to seeing more of Ichiban and his merry, middle-aged band in the future.
GAME OF THE YEAR -- 2020
Runner up for Game of the Year 2020 and best game in the series. Very excited to see where it goes from here.
This review contains spoilers
As someone who's not really into the Yakuza series (I just played Yakuza 1 on the PS2 a little bit), but really enjoyed 'Judgement', I was carefully interested in 'Like a Dragon'. And what can I say? The game managed to hook me right from the start!
Starting with the characters, who are interesting and have their own little quirks and stories, especially Ichiban, the main character of the game, who is just such a great, funny, but also serious and emotional "Anime-Heart-of-Gold" kind of guy.
The story, that is interesting and comes with cool twists and great moments, even if it can be a bit slow at times, especially at the beginning.
Next is the combat system, that I enjoyed much more than Yakuzas "Press-the-button-until-your-enemy-is-down" system. It might seem a bit simple at the beginning, but becomes more complex later with more skills and jobs. Only problem I had was, that later enemy's, especially bosses are HP sponges, that take a lot of hits, before they go down, what leads to using the same skills that work best over and over again.
Overall I really enjoyed my time with the game a lot and I can't wait for the next game, that will hopefully continues Ichibans story. Hope I can finish the rest of the Yakuza series until then!😁
Starting with the characters, who are interesting and have their own little quirks and stories, especially Ichiban, the main character of the game, who is just such a great, funny, but also serious and emotional "Anime-Heart-of-Gold" kind of guy.
The story, that is interesting and comes with cool twists and great moments, even if it can be a bit slow at times, especially at the beginning.
Next is the combat system, that I enjoyed much more than Yakuzas "Press-the-button-until-your-enemy-is-down" system. It might seem a bit simple at the beginning, but becomes more complex later with more skills and jobs. Only problem I had was, that later enemy's, especially bosses are HP sponges, that take a lot of hits, before they go down, what leads to using the same skills that work best over and over again.
Overall I really enjoyed my time with the game a lot and I can't wait for the next game, that will hopefully continues Ichibans story. Hope I can finish the rest of the Yakuza series until then!😁
This review contains spoilers
An old friend tried out a new cake recipe for me after I complained that the one he'd been making every year for a decade was getting a bit repetitive. It was a bit raw on the inside, and he got the measurements totally wrong, so I ended up eating so much of it that I felt a bit sick, but it was made with love, and I was still grateful that my friend tried something new for me.
The JRPG combat in this is essentially a paradox. It's simultaneously the bedrock of the game and also feels completely unnecessary. It's the lynchpin of Ichi's character - a representation his fantastical, idealistic, manchildish imagination, and also serves as a way to mark out his friendship-collecting character and all the other ways he differs from Kazuma Kiryu... But it also kills any and all momentum the game tries to build, especially in its back half. I really, really just wanted to raw punch bad people. Especially Ryo Aoki.
The "grind your ass off to face a legend" trick was a nice wee bit of fun and a respectful nod to the RGG legacy the first time they tried it with Majima, but then immediately following it up with the exact same thing for Kiryu felt like a stupid jerkoff. Narratively, the game was hurtling towards one of the biggest climaxes in its history; gameplay-wise, I was spending hours upon hours going between kushikatsu restaurants and Pokemon battle arenas to collect gemstones so I could make my telephone nunchucks do ice damage, which is apparently the Dragon of Dojima's one weakness.
Kiryu's presence in the game is something of a sticking point for me. I didn't bother playing Yakuza 6 because the "this time he's REALLY not coming back!" promises rang hollow, and Yakuza 7 feels like something of a validation of my decision. I get that they wanted to have Kiryu (almost literally) pass the torch to Ichi, but there's something hollow about having Kiryu go "Okay, I guess YOU are LIKE a DRAGON, TOO!" after a boss battle where I turtled out his neutered combos with poison damage and paid summons. Why not give us a crumb of the legend with Majima and Saejima in this game, then give Kiryu a meatier role in a subsequent entry? Now RGG Studio have set a worrying precedent for the Former Dragon to come back in a walk-on role for every game, no doubt sporting sillier and sillier disguises to maintain this ridiculous pretence of him being dead. 72 year old Kiryu wearing a top hat and moustache to talk to the chief of police in Yakuza X, please.
Anyway, I feel like I'm ragging a little too hard on what is mostly a very good game. The opening hours of this are among the best narratives these games have ever attempted - which, by extension, means Yakuza 7 is among the best story-driven games ever made. I just wish the game didn't graduate from explorations of poverty, homelessness and sex work into more Yakuza-By-Numbers storytelling that I could find on just about any Battles Without Honour or Humanity DVD (a critical flaw of the series that doesn't just apply to this latest entry - Yakuza 0 and 3 were particularly guilty of this too).
Woops, I slipped into ragging on the game again! Gahhhh!! I really do like these games a lot! I've collectively spent about 500 hours playing them, and they are really fun! I only want the best for this series! Please, forgive me!! cuts off pinky
The JRPG combat in this is essentially a paradox. It's simultaneously the bedrock of the game and also feels completely unnecessary. It's the lynchpin of Ichi's character - a representation his fantastical, idealistic, manchildish imagination, and also serves as a way to mark out his friendship-collecting character and all the other ways he differs from Kazuma Kiryu... But it also kills any and all momentum the game tries to build, especially in its back half. I really, really just wanted to raw punch bad people. Especially Ryo Aoki.
The "grind your ass off to face a legend" trick was a nice wee bit of fun and a respectful nod to the RGG legacy the first time they tried it with Majima, but then immediately following it up with the exact same thing for Kiryu felt like a stupid jerkoff. Narratively, the game was hurtling towards one of the biggest climaxes in its history; gameplay-wise, I was spending hours upon hours going between kushikatsu restaurants and Pokemon battle arenas to collect gemstones so I could make my telephone nunchucks do ice damage, which is apparently the Dragon of Dojima's one weakness.
Kiryu's presence in the game is something of a sticking point for me. I didn't bother playing Yakuza 6 because the "this time he's REALLY not coming back!" promises rang hollow, and Yakuza 7 feels like something of a validation of my decision. I get that they wanted to have Kiryu (almost literally) pass the torch to Ichi, but there's something hollow about having Kiryu go "Okay, I guess YOU are LIKE a DRAGON, TOO!" after a boss battle where I turtled out his neutered combos with poison damage and paid summons. Why not give us a crumb of the legend with Majima and Saejima in this game, then give Kiryu a meatier role in a subsequent entry? Now RGG Studio have set a worrying precedent for the Former Dragon to come back in a walk-on role for every game, no doubt sporting sillier and sillier disguises to maintain this ridiculous pretence of him being dead. 72 year old Kiryu wearing a top hat and moustache to talk to the chief of police in Yakuza X, please.
Anyway, I feel like I'm ragging a little too hard on what is mostly a very good game. The opening hours of this are among the best narratives these games have ever attempted - which, by extension, means Yakuza 7 is among the best story-driven games ever made. I just wish the game didn't graduate from explorations of poverty, homelessness and sex work into more Yakuza-By-Numbers storytelling that I could find on just about any Battles Without Honour or Humanity DVD (a critical flaw of the series that doesn't just apply to this latest entry - Yakuza 0 and 3 were particularly guilty of this too).
Woops, I slipped into ragging on the game again! Gahhhh!! I really do like these games a lot! I've collectively spent about 500 hours playing them, and they are really fun! I only want the best for this series! Please, forgive me!! cuts off pinky
Despite some repetitive combat that has the capacity to overstay its welcome, Yakuza: Like A Dragon features a wide variety of things to do and batshit crazy characters. I'd highly recommend this to anyone.
this game is great, yakuza changing to a jrpg was a super ballsy move that paid off in the end. game's a little easy and the fact that hard is locked to NG+ is baffling, but this is easily one of the best JRPGs of 2020. (I have not played 13 sentinels)
imo probably the best and most realized plot the yakuza series has had to date with my favorite cast of characters, shit ruled
BUT!
though i found the new turn based gameplay enjoyable, it was pretty clear RGG still has some kinks they need to work out for the future. i think this is hardly a fault of their own because this is their first time doing a turn-based title after years of brawlers. not the earth shattering JRPG experience people say it is (maybe people are saying that because of how much it contrasts with YLAD's relatively unique setting for a JRPG instead of how it actually plays? idk) but still very much a fun time. i also spent like 90-100 hours playing this total cuz i was trying to max out kasuga's stats and complete all the substories lol
like i said, this is absolutely my new favorite yakuza plot and its got me really excited for a yakuza 8 (or like a dragon 2 i guess) where the RGG squad can really polish up the gameplay and have it be on par with their clearly ambitious goals
BUT!
though i found the new turn based gameplay enjoyable, it was pretty clear RGG still has some kinks they need to work out for the future. i think this is hardly a fault of their own because this is their first time doing a turn-based title after years of brawlers. not the earth shattering JRPG experience people say it is (maybe people are saying that because of how much it contrasts with YLAD's relatively unique setting for a JRPG instead of how it actually plays? idk) but still very much a fun time. i also spent like 90-100 hours playing this total cuz i was trying to max out kasuga's stats and complete all the substories lol
like i said, this is absolutely my new favorite yakuza plot and its got me really excited for a yakuza 8 (or like a dragon 2 i guess) where the RGG squad can really polish up the gameplay and have it be on par with their clearly ambitious goals
Probably my favorite Yakuza game
Yakuza: LaD has allot of really fun things in it: how ridiculous the fighting abilities are, how extraordinary the special moves and summons are, even side quests are all laced with hilarity and fun!
Where the game falls short for me is a few places. The combat, while having its enjoyable moves, lacks logic and tactic (especially for a game that is essentially an RPG). Boss fights are incredibly more difficult than the encounters that lead into them, often times resulting in a full re-load of a previous save to grind to higher levels to stand a better chance at defeating the boss. Lastly the story's progression is abysmally sluggish (at no point in a game should we ever have to do side-quests to progress the main story, period).
The game's improvements to graphics, cinematography, and drama are everything great about the Yakuza series. However the dead air within the game was enough to make me wish for the end around hour 30 (50-60 hours total played).
Where the game falls short for me is a few places. The combat, while having its enjoyable moves, lacks logic and tactic (especially for a game that is essentially an RPG). Boss fights are incredibly more difficult than the encounters that lead into them, often times resulting in a full re-load of a previous save to grind to higher levels to stand a better chance at defeating the boss. Lastly the story's progression is abysmally sluggish (at no point in a game should we ever have to do side-quests to progress the main story, period).
The game's improvements to graphics, cinematography, and drama are everything great about the Yakuza series. However the dead air within the game was enough to make me wish for the end around hour 30 (50-60 hours total played).
Truly one of the best Yakuza games. On par with Yakuza 0 and Judgment. A game that respects its themes and does some incredible things with them. Mad respect for this serie.
The apex of the Yakuza series, and that's a pretty high bar
They got me to play a 65-hour JRPG, and that alone should be commended. The plot twists and turns and weaves back around on itself in some genuinely jaw dropping moments, and the combat manages to feel dynamic despite being turn based. Add on a clever class system and often absurd side content, and this really is an impressive video game.
The reason this is not a five-star review is that grinding for experience slows down the pace of the back half of the game, coinciding with some story beats that lean too heavily on the series' past. It's not unforgivable, but it is unfortunate.
The reason this is not a five-star review is that grinding for experience slows down the pace of the back half of the game, coinciding with some story beats that lean too heavily on the series' past. It's not unforgivable, but it is unfortunate.
Ichiban Kasuga is a comrade and a real homie, a certified hood classic right here
everyone in this game is a loser but in a wholesome way
A masterpiece, that will be remembered as such for years to come. GOTY 2020.
Yakuza the RPG
great game, some of the flaws in the combat system preven it from being amazing for me but still 100% worth it
Yakuza Like A Dragon is incredible.
Although at times the grinding in the later chapters may seem rough, and the plot midway through the game could be more engaging, Like A Dragon is a wonderful game full of extremely genuine, real feeling characters. Ichiban Kasuga is one of the most compelling and entertaining characters I’ve seen in a game in a long time.
The side stories are entertaining and funny, the gameplay is fun, and the story is absolutely incredible. The story of the Arakawa family and Ichiban is so gut wrenching and incredibly real.
I would genuinely recommend this game if you want a good story, RPG, and most importantly, a good time.
Only docked half a star for the grind in later chapters and as stated, the plot midway through the game wasn’t as engaging as the intro, or the chapters that follow.
Play Like A Dragon.
Although at times the grinding in the later chapters may seem rough, and the plot midway through the game could be more engaging, Like A Dragon is a wonderful game full of extremely genuine, real feeling characters. Ichiban Kasuga is one of the most compelling and entertaining characters I’ve seen in a game in a long time.
The side stories are entertaining and funny, the gameplay is fun, and the story is absolutely incredible. The story of the Arakawa family and Ichiban is so gut wrenching and incredibly real.
I would genuinely recommend this game if you want a good story, RPG, and most importantly, a good time.
Only docked half a star for the grind in later chapters and as stated, the plot midway through the game wasn’t as engaging as the intro, or the chapters that follow.
Play Like A Dragon.
By far the best Yakuza game in the series, and it surpasses 0 too!
Ichiban is an amazing protagonist who might even be better than Kiryu from how I see things; the party members are great as well. There's so much to do in Ijincho too with the amount of activities, side quests, and minigames. Its new combat shines very well with the dragon quest inspired combat. The best part is you don't even know a whole about about Yakuza to get into it so anyone can pick it up.
Ichiban is an amazing protagonist who might even be better than Kiryu from how I see things; the party members are great as well. There's so much to do in Ijincho too with the amount of activities, side quests, and minigames. Its new combat shines very well with the dragon quest inspired combat. The best part is you don't even know a whole about about Yakuza to get into it so anyone can pick it up.
Great game but ran into the midpoint difficulty bump. Wish the game let you change difficulty midstream! As it is I don't have it in me to proceed. Which is a shame since the team of ne'er-do-wells is probably the best I've ever seen in a jrpg. Love every single one of the idiots.
I was excited about this since I [like many people probably] latched onto the series with Yakuza 0 and had grown to love its balance of John Woo-ish action soap opera and "the wild shit" that adds a lot of levity and personality. I also love the willingness to shift to a completely different battle system, and I happen to really like turn based RPGs.
I learned while playing Like a Dragon that apparently battles being over very quickly was a big part of my enjoyment of 0 [as well as Kiwami 2, wasn't as big on Kiwami 1]. The battle system in this absolutely killed it for me, especially when other party members would lag behind and a battle would start with them a mile away. I don't want to watch AI pathfind to hit a single enemy over and over. And if I ever got in a groove of battles ending pretty quickly, the ones with debris in the environment to interfere with that pathfinding [shrubbery, desks, didn't really matter] made sure to rear their ugly heads and bring me back down. I'm not against Yakuza using an RPG system, but something this passive and arbitrarily slow is the absolute worst to me.
Combine that with a job system that requires you visit one specific building in the world to change up, and a party filled with characters that don't feel like they belong in these fights as much [one in particular I'm not even sure why they would join in the first place]..... I got some of the Yakuza flair I wanted in the story eventually, but my heart just wasn't in it by the end. A real bummer for me. I don't want them to give up on turn-based battles but anything that felt way faster would be immensely welcome. The fanservice in the late game story was not at all beneficial either. Ichiban is great by himself; he does not need the help of the past.
I learned while playing Like a Dragon that apparently battles being over very quickly was a big part of my enjoyment of 0 [as well as Kiwami 2, wasn't as big on Kiwami 1]. The battle system in this absolutely killed it for me, especially when other party members would lag behind and a battle would start with them a mile away. I don't want to watch AI pathfind to hit a single enemy over and over. And if I ever got in a groove of battles ending pretty quickly, the ones with debris in the environment to interfere with that pathfinding [shrubbery, desks, didn't really matter] made sure to rear their ugly heads and bring me back down. I'm not against Yakuza using an RPG system, but something this passive and arbitrarily slow is the absolute worst to me.
Combine that with a job system that requires you visit one specific building in the world to change up, and a party filled with characters that don't feel like they belong in these fights as much [one in particular I'm not even sure why they would join in the first place]..... I got some of the Yakuza flair I wanted in the story eventually, but my heart just wasn't in it by the end. A real bummer for me. I don't want them to give up on turn-based battles but anything that felt way faster would be immensely welcome. The fanservice in the late game story was not at all beneficial either. Ichiban is great by himself; he does not need the help of the past.
Ichiban really was the Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020).
Pues uno de mis juegos de la generación de cabeza (y el jrpg del año). Me da un poco de toc haber saltado del 2 al 7, pero ha valido la pena desde luego, disfrutándolo desde el primer momento hasta el último.
La transición a un combate por turnos (que nació como una broma) ha quedado genial, es cierto que no inventa nada y están muy claros sus referentes, desde la propia jugabilidad al HUD, pero hace las cosas muy bien y sabe adaptarlas a su estilo, teniendo su propio alma.
Aun le quedan por pulir cosillas, principalmente en las animaciones que hay veces que hacen movimientos muy raros, pero por lo demás es un sistema bastante satifactorio, y sobre todo diverto (con esos mega ataques e "invocaciones"). Han plantado una buena base y tienen margen.
En todo lo demás, es un Yakuza de pura cepa, sus secundarias loquísimas y divertidísimas, un cojón de minijuegos pa echar el rato (los karts y la empresa un vicio), referencias a toda la cultura pop, una buena bso (esta es mi favorita de los 3 que he jugado)...
Terminando con la historia... Lo mejor del juego. Tiene un sentido del humor cojonudo, que además se usa para justificar las mecánicas con la narrativa, sabe muy bien cuándo meter momentos divertidos para calmar el drama y giros locos a los que va escalando la trama. Hay un giro no me ha convencido del todo, pero tiene su justificación a nivel narrativo, los usa para cerrar un círculo y cada decisión es un paso más en su discurso, aunque no aplique con tus gustos, todo tiene un porqué, y eso es algo muy a tener en cuenta.
Donde me parece que más avanza respecto a los Yakuza que he jugado es en su desarrollo de personajes. El grupo está muy bien definido; es cierto que la historia desarrolla a 4 principalmente, pero a través de contenido secundario conoces más de todos (hay convers a lo Tales of incluso). Y destaca sobre todo su protagonista, Ichiban Kasuga. Este cabrón me ha conquistado, desde la declaración de intenciones en su diseño invertido de Kiryu. Tiene un carisma de la hostia, evoluciona, y sabe cómo emocionarte cuando debe. Kiryu ha tenido un digno heredero desde luego.
La ciudad principal, Isezaki Ijincho, está muy bien, es extensa, variada y consigue también esa cercanía cuando llevas horas explorándola, tampoco cansa gracias a sus atajos. Aun le queda para llegar al carisma de Kamurocho, desarrollado en tantas entregas, pero tiene potencial.
PD: Se sitúa de momento como mi Yakuza favorito, se nota que cada vez tienen más pulida la fórmula y ni siquiera algo tan arriesgado como cambiar drásticamente la jugabilidad les afecta en dar su calidad habitual. Tengo ganas de ir descubriendo más Yakuzitas.
La transición a un combate por turnos (que nació como una broma) ha quedado genial, es cierto que no inventa nada y están muy claros sus referentes, desde la propia jugabilidad al HUD, pero hace las cosas muy bien y sabe adaptarlas a su estilo, teniendo su propio alma.
Aun le quedan por pulir cosillas, principalmente en las animaciones que hay veces que hacen movimientos muy raros, pero por lo demás es un sistema bastante satifactorio, y sobre todo diverto (con esos mega ataques e "invocaciones"). Han plantado una buena base y tienen margen.
En todo lo demás, es un Yakuza de pura cepa, sus secundarias loquísimas y divertidísimas, un cojón de minijuegos pa echar el rato (los karts y la empresa un vicio), referencias a toda la cultura pop, una buena bso (esta es mi favorita de los 3 que he jugado)...
Terminando con la historia... Lo mejor del juego. Tiene un sentido del humor cojonudo, que además se usa para justificar las mecánicas con la narrativa, sabe muy bien cuándo meter momentos divertidos para calmar el drama y giros locos a los que va escalando la trama. Hay un giro no me ha convencido del todo, pero tiene su justificación a nivel narrativo, los usa para cerrar un círculo y cada decisión es un paso más en su discurso, aunque no aplique con tus gustos, todo tiene un porqué, y eso es algo muy a tener en cuenta.
Donde me parece que más avanza respecto a los Yakuza que he jugado es en su desarrollo de personajes. El grupo está muy bien definido; es cierto que la historia desarrolla a 4 principalmente, pero a través de contenido secundario conoces más de todos (hay convers a lo Tales of incluso). Y destaca sobre todo su protagonista, Ichiban Kasuga. Este cabrón me ha conquistado, desde la declaración de intenciones en su diseño invertido de Kiryu. Tiene un carisma de la hostia, evoluciona, y sabe cómo emocionarte cuando debe. Kiryu ha tenido un digno heredero desde luego.
La ciudad principal, Isezaki Ijincho, está muy bien, es extensa, variada y consigue también esa cercanía cuando llevas horas explorándola, tampoco cansa gracias a sus atajos. Aun le queda para llegar al carisma de Kamurocho, desarrollado en tantas entregas, pero tiene potencial.
PD: Se sitúa de momento como mi Yakuza favorito, se nota que cada vez tienen más pulida la fórmula y ni siquiera algo tan arriesgado como cambiar drásticamente la jugabilidad les afecta en dar su calidad habitual. Tengo ganas de ir descubriendo más Yakuzitas.
La apuesta por convertir la saga en un JRPG ha salido bastante bien pese a estar lejos de ser notable. Gráficamente increible, buen argumento y buenos personajes acompañan a un combate por turnos correcto y que recuerda muchísimo a Dragon Quest.
At around Chapter 8 or so I was ready to give this game like a 7/10 but then Ichiban started pummeling me with amazing story beats from every direction and here's the result