Log Status
Completed
Playing
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Rating
Time Played
--
Days in Journal
1 day
Last played
January 23, 2019
Platforms Played
GOTY 2018 - NUMBER THREE
Video version
The road for western Yakuza fans to catch up with Japanese releases has been frantic. As such, it’s a little tough to keep track of what’s significant about each game. Make no mistake though. 6 is one of the biggest and most important entries in the series, and one of the biggest shake-ups it’s had for years.
Yakuza 6 follows directly after the ending of 5, with Kazuma on the brink of death and Haruka sacrificing her career by announcing she was raised by a yakuza. In 6, she’s been made a target. By the time Kazuma finds her, she’s lying unconscious on a hospital bed. And, surprise, she has a new baby and no dad in sight. I was rubbing my hands together in glee thinking about how furious Kazuma was going to get in the game.
What follows is a game that understands all the things players have experienced with the series, and doesn’t necessarily focus on making something more frantic and bombastic, but often seems more interested in letting us see Kazuma grow into middle-age with dignity. For a game largely about punching guys, it’s refreshingly sweet. While the tangled web of betrayals and power struggles in Kamurocho is as big a part of the game as fans would expect, much of the game is spent wandering the quiet, sunny streets of Onomichi. Meeting new people, helping old friends and looking after Haruka’s son, Haruto. There’s a sense of peace in it, and it’s a really lovely direction for what’s intended to be Kazuma’s last game in the series.
It can seem mawkish to say you’re going to miss a videogame character, but Kazuma Kiryu is a rare one. We’ve lived alongside him for years. We’ve sat with him through all his highs and lows, we’ve made friends with his friends, and we’ve gone back and learned more about where he came from. As Kamurocho has existed as a very real, subtly changing place in the heart of Yakuza fans, Kazuma has felt real to us, growing older, weirder and kinder with us. He’s the guy we always meet up with when we visit, and now that’s not going to happen anymore. I think we’re all going to miss him. I’m glad that Sega gave him the respect of a proper send-off rather than dragging him out every year, looking more and more tired of the ever-raised stakes. I’m glad these games will always exist, as a wee capsule of those years.
After 0, it seemed clear that a reworking of Yakuza’s underpinning systems were welcome. 6 has learned this lesson. Now, most activities will earn you points to upgrade specific stats, concerning attack strength, health, evasion and so on. Not only does this let you target activities that will help you in specific ways, it adds a sense of value to every activity you engage in. Nothing is a waste of time. Even darts and arcade games add to your experience. It’s a system that makes you more eager to dip into side activities and enjoy the game at a more relaxed pace, which is welcome considering the significance of this entry in the series.
There’s also a focus on making the world a more active, interesting place. There’s now no distinction between the overworld and indoor environments, allowing you to bring fights into convenience stores and restaurants. The new engine also makes fights feel much more freeform. Yakuza 6 establishes the feeling of fighting a big group of enemies in an open environment better than any of the previous games. Enemies will chase you through the city if you don’t get too far from them, sending pedestrians fleeing the danger. There’s a lot of peripheral baddies accidentally getting hit or tripping over the set dressing. There’s a kind of weird bounce to the physics, but that’s part of the charm for me.
I don’t think the game comes close to the fantastic pacing and systems of Yakuza 0, and it dials back on the fights, but I think that kind of suits 6’s more reflective focus. The Onomichi sections call back to the relatively peaceful Ryukyu from 3, and in turn, the relaxing atmosphere of Shenmue. When the game wants to raise the stakes and focus on prepostorous action, it can do so better than almost every other game in the series, but there are quiet, peaceful moments too. Onomichi makes for an incredibly believable Japanese resort town. There’s a real attention to detail, with the dusty shop displays that aren’t really advertising anything, and the charming messiness of the seaside fishmonger’s. The team shows a great fondness and insight into the atmosphere of these kinds of locations, and it resonates, even if you haven’t visited anywhere like Onomichi in real life.
Yakuza 6’s closing hours are some of the best in the series, paying off on exactly the level of melodrama you’d hope for. Again, with the frantic schedule of the Yakuza series’ western releases recently, it’s going to be difficult remembering what was so good about each title. When I think back on Yakuza 6, I’ll be thinking of those last few hours. Kazuma has never been pushed this far before, and seeing him let loose is enough to get you out of your seat cheering.
It’s rare to have a game that makes you care so much about its characters, but Yakuza is a series that has progressed along with our lives. Each year, we’d find out what everyone had been up to, and how Kamurocho had changed. MGS4’s ending felt terribly poignant when we first played it, but by that point, the tone and setting of Metal Gear had shifted dramatically since the early games, and most players had only played one proper Solid Snake Metal Gear game prior to its release. Kazuma Kiryu is a guy who’s been through every Yakuza game with us, with each game reflecting how our world had changed alongside the releases. Saying goodbye to Kazuma Kiryu is closing a door on what those years were for us fans. Replaying Yakuza games will be inherently nostalgic, not just for thinking back to how we felt when we first played them, but for remembering the years they represent. That’s what I’ll take from the games, moving forward. I’m thankful that they ended like this.
Video version
The road for western Yakuza fans to catch up with Japanese releases has been frantic. As such, it’s a little tough to keep track of what’s significant about each game. Make no mistake though. 6 is one of the biggest and most important entries in the series, and one of the biggest shake-ups it’s had for years.
Yakuza 6 follows directly after the ending of 5, with Kazuma on the brink of death and Haruka sacrificing her career by announcing she was raised by a yakuza. In 6, she’s been made a target. By the time Kazuma finds her, she’s lying unconscious on a hospital bed. And, surprise, she has a new baby and no dad in sight. I was rubbing my hands together in glee thinking about how furious Kazuma was going to get in the game.
What follows is a game that understands all the things players have experienced with the series, and doesn’t necessarily focus on making something more frantic and bombastic, but often seems more interested in letting us see Kazuma grow into middle-age with dignity. For a game largely about punching guys, it’s refreshingly sweet. While the tangled web of betrayals and power struggles in Kamurocho is as big a part of the game as fans would expect, much of the game is spent wandering the quiet, sunny streets of Onomichi. Meeting new people, helping old friends and looking after Haruka’s son, Haruto. There’s a sense of peace in it, and it’s a really lovely direction for what’s intended to be Kazuma’s last game in the series.
It can seem mawkish to say you’re going to miss a videogame character, but Kazuma Kiryu is a rare one. We’ve lived alongside him for years. We’ve sat with him through all his highs and lows, we’ve made friends with his friends, and we’ve gone back and learned more about where he came from. As Kamurocho has existed as a very real, subtly changing place in the heart of Yakuza fans, Kazuma has felt real to us, growing older, weirder and kinder with us. He’s the guy we always meet up with when we visit, and now that’s not going to happen anymore. I think we’re all going to miss him. I’m glad that Sega gave him the respect of a proper send-off rather than dragging him out every year, looking more and more tired of the ever-raised stakes. I’m glad these games will always exist, as a wee capsule of those years.
After 0, it seemed clear that a reworking of Yakuza’s underpinning systems were welcome. 6 has learned this lesson. Now, most activities will earn you points to upgrade specific stats, concerning attack strength, health, evasion and so on. Not only does this let you target activities that will help you in specific ways, it adds a sense of value to every activity you engage in. Nothing is a waste of time. Even darts and arcade games add to your experience. It’s a system that makes you more eager to dip into side activities and enjoy the game at a more relaxed pace, which is welcome considering the significance of this entry in the series.
There’s also a focus on making the world a more active, interesting place. There’s now no distinction between the overworld and indoor environments, allowing you to bring fights into convenience stores and restaurants. The new engine also makes fights feel much more freeform. Yakuza 6 establishes the feeling of fighting a big group of enemies in an open environment better than any of the previous games. Enemies will chase you through the city if you don’t get too far from them, sending pedestrians fleeing the danger. There’s a lot of peripheral baddies accidentally getting hit or tripping over the set dressing. There’s a kind of weird bounce to the physics, but that’s part of the charm for me.
I don’t think the game comes close to the fantastic pacing and systems of Yakuza 0, and it dials back on the fights, but I think that kind of suits 6’s more reflective focus. The Onomichi sections call back to the relatively peaceful Ryukyu from 3, and in turn, the relaxing atmosphere of Shenmue. When the game wants to raise the stakes and focus on prepostorous action, it can do so better than almost every other game in the series, but there are quiet, peaceful moments too. Onomichi makes for an incredibly believable Japanese resort town. There’s a real attention to detail, with the dusty shop displays that aren’t really advertising anything, and the charming messiness of the seaside fishmonger’s. The team shows a great fondness and insight into the atmosphere of these kinds of locations, and it resonates, even if you haven’t visited anywhere like Onomichi in real life.
Yakuza 6’s closing hours are some of the best in the series, paying off on exactly the level of melodrama you’d hope for. Again, with the frantic schedule of the Yakuza series’ western releases recently, it’s going to be difficult remembering what was so good about each title. When I think back on Yakuza 6, I’ll be thinking of those last few hours. Kazuma has never been pushed this far before, and seeing him let loose is enough to get you out of your seat cheering.
It’s rare to have a game that makes you care so much about its characters, but Yakuza is a series that has progressed along with our lives. Each year, we’d find out what everyone had been up to, and how Kamurocho had changed. MGS4’s ending felt terribly poignant when we first played it, but by that point, the tone and setting of Metal Gear had shifted dramatically since the early games, and most players had only played one proper Solid Snake Metal Gear game prior to its release. Kazuma Kiryu is a guy who’s been through every Yakuza game with us, with each game reflecting how our world had changed alongside the releases. Saying goodbye to Kazuma Kiryu is closing a door on what those years were for us fans. Replaying Yakuza games will be inherently nostalgic, not just for thinking back to how we felt when we first played them, but for remembering the years they represent. That’s what I’ll take from the games, moving forward. I’m thankful that they ended like this.