History YMMV / Yakuza1

* AuthorsSavingThrow: A meta example. Amid concerns that the remake was a MissionPackSequel to ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' with considerably less content (one playable character and one city to explore for starters), the western release of the game launched at $29.99/£29.99/€34.99.

* HilariousInHindsight: The Tojo Clan's missing ten billion yen might have sounded like a big deal back when the original game came out in 2005, but with the remake being released shortly after ''Yakuza 0'', most completionists of that game would dismiss the amount as nothing more than pocket change.
** This is given appropriate attention and explanation in both games however; [[spoiler:Zero sees Majima effectively destroy the Japanese economy with his recommendations to a government employee; prior to the bubble economy's bursting, ten billion yen is still a fairly significant amount (''and equivalent to how much Dojima has put into the redevelopment project prior to the Empty Lot snag'') but not huge in an era where people are waving big bills to flag cabs; post-bubble, ten billion yen is a ''very'' significant amount again, and it's notable that you will probably never come close to that kind of cash in Kiwami as you did in Zero]].
* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: An unusual case in that some of the the complaints aren't about how similar it is to the original, but as mentioned above, many of the animations and moves in the boss battles are taken and recycled from previous recent titles, even if slightly modified. On the other hand, some have complained about the cutscenes being identical to the original, and that some of the design shortcomings of the original carry on over to the remake. There's also a portion of players who consider it an inferior version of ''Yakuza 0'' with less content.

** After the game's Japanese release, videos surfaced comparing the cutsenes from ''Kiwami'' to the original game. One scene that gained attention was Kiryu kicking a door open and sending a mook flying (which takes place before the Shota fight), which fans spread throughout social media.

** Bosses and strong enemies now have a HealingFactor that can only be countered by the Essence of Kiwami Heat Action, which must be unlocked for each individual style. Some bosses tend to go into this state right after a Heat action is used against them, and they can recover a lot of health before you can regain enough Heat again to put a stop to it, provided they aren't a FlunkyBoss...

!! YMMV: [[YMMV/{{Yakuza}} All Games]] | ''Yakuza 1'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza2'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza3'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza4'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza5'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza0'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza6''

** "Majima Everywhere" can also be this. Even if you equip any accessories which reduce encounters (Silent Shoes, Head Honcho Scarf, and Beads of Good Fortune) the "Majima Everywhere" system still triggered regardless, which becomes especially tedious and time-wasting when speedrunning the game on EX-HARD (LEGEND on the localized version) as well as exploring for getting 100% completion for Premium Adventure mode, even if you've gotten SSS Rank for "Majima Everywhere" and defeated him at the batting cages.

** "Majima Everywhere" does change one aspect of his role in the main story. His sudden re-appearance in Shangri-la is now due to [[spoiler: being shot by Dojima Family members instead of his fate being left ambiguous due to taking a knife for Kiryu. The fact that Kiryu is uncharacteristically unconcerned about his friend's fate in the former scenario, and that Majima [[UnexplainedRecovery immediately recovers]] from his knife wound in the latter]], left players scratching their heads.

* {{Narm}}: The absurd amount the times the word "fuck" is heard in the English dub of the first game, the flat acting and unusual pauses found throughout it.
--> '''Hayashi''': Go! Kill this arrogant ''mo.ther.fuc.ker!''

** The game's soundtrack, especially compared to the 2005 original. Some fans have been vocal in their disappointment in it considering [[AwesomeMusic/{{Yakuza}} what they're used to in the series]], finding the first game's music replaced mostly with generic and forgettable techno remixes [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks with none of the flair of the originals]]. But others enjoy the soundtrack and the new tunes added to the game (including remixes from other games), and everyone seems to agree that ''Kiwami'''s version of the final boss song is outstanding, if not a modern rendition that the rest of the soundtrack should have followed.
** Majima's expanded role with the "Majima Everywhere" system. Some fans can't get enough of the Mad Dog now that he's back to his crazy antics, and find that facing him keeps the remake from going stale now that Kiryu is the sole playable character again. Others think his encounters could have been toned down, his characterization here conflicts with his scenes in the main story, and the many encounters against him kill the anticipation of his boss battles in the main story.

** Due to the combat system being recycled from ''Yakuza 0'', the attempts to make the combat challenging have been criticized by veteran players as being unbalanced with FakeDifficulty, as enemies are far more aggressive, evasive, and do more damage. Others, especially those who felt ''0'' was too easy, appreciate the increase in difficulty.

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: An unusual case in that some of the the complaints aren't about how similar it is to the original, but as mentioned above, many of the animations and moves in the boss battles are taken and recycled from previous recent titles, even if slightly modified. On the other hand, some have complained about the cutscenes being identical to the original, and that some of the design shortcomings of the original carry on over to the remake.

** While the Dragon of Dojima fighting style has been Kiryu's default style throughout the series, it suffers the biggest {{nerf}} after his prison sentence, becoming the only fighting style that cannot be upgraded with experience points, but through fights against Majima and Komaki's training. Because certain events involving them are locked out until certain chapters, the Dragon fighting style is practically unusable until late in the game, and you'll probably have completely maxed out your other stats and other styles long before then.

** [[spoiler: Even if you equip any accessories which lower the encounters (Silent Shoes, Head Honcho Scarf, and Beads of Good Fortune), the "Majima Everywhere" system still triggered regardless, having to speedrun EX-HARD (LEGEND on localization version), as well for exploring for getting 100% completion (even you got SSS rank for "Majima Everywhere") for premium adventure mode is way more tedious and time wasting as before.]]
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The soundtrack, which some consider to be techno remixes of the original tracks that don't do the originals justice. [[http://www.siliconera.com/2015/09/15/yakuza-kiwamis-new-scenarios-fill-in-various-gaps-more-spotlight-time-for-majima/ An interview with Famitsu]] prior to the game's release revealed they struggled with the music.

** [[spoiler: Even if you equip any accessories which lower the encounters (Silent Shoes, Head Honcho Scarf, and Beads of Good Fortune), the "Majima Everywhere" system still triggered regardless, having to speedrun EX-HARD (LEGEND on localization version) is way more tedious and time wasting as before.]]

** [[spoiler: Even if you equip any accessories which lower the encounters (Silent Shoes, Head Honcho Scarf, and Beads of Good Fortune), the "Majima Everywhere" system still triggered regardless, having to speedrun EX-HARD (LEGEND on localization version) more tedious and time wasted as before.]]

** Due to the new combat system, the attempts to make the combat challenging have been criticized by veteran players as being unbalanced. Several enemies are ImmuneToFlinching and are able to escape from a combo, only to attack from behind with their own. They are far more aggressive, making it a real pain to fight them in large groups. Kiryu is also much more prone to being stunlocked, although some late upgrades help alleviate the pain somewhat.

** Majima's expanded role with the "Majima Everywhere" system. Some fans can't get enough of the Mad Dog now that he's back to his crazy antics, and find that facing him keeps the remake from going stale now that Kiryu is the sole playable character again. Others think there's such a thing as "too much" and want to be able to just roam around without being bothered and attacked by him.
** Nishiki's StartOfDarkness. Some found the beginnings of his FaceHeelTurn to be both interesting and tragic, while some others found him to be the ''Yakuza'' equivalent of [[Franchise/StarWars Anakin Skywalker]], and not in a good way.

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: An unusual case in that some of the the complaints aren't about how similar it is to the original, but as mentioned above, many of the animations and moves in the boss battles are taken and recycled from previous recent titles, even if slightly modified. On the other hand, some have complained about the cutscenes being too identical to the original, and that some of the design shortcomings of the original carry on over to the remake.

** After the game's Japanese release, a comparison image of Kiryu kicking a door open and knocking out the person in front of it (which takes place prior to the Shota fight) circulated throughout social media.

** Due to the new combat system, the attempts to make the game challenging have been criticized by veteran players as being unbalanced. Several enemies are ImmuneToFlinching, can evade your attacks during a combo and attack from behind with their own, are far more aggressive, and worse, Kiryu is much more prone to being stunlocked, although some late upgrades help alleviate the pain somewhat.

** The game's soundtrack. Some fans have been vocal in their disappointment in it considering [[AwesomeMusic/{{Yakuza}} what they're used to in the series]], finding the first game's music replaced mostly with generic and forgettable techno remixes [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks with none of the flair of the originals]]. But others enjoy the soundtrack and the new tunes added to the game (including remixes from other games), and everyone seems to agree that ''Kiwami'''s version of the final boss song is outstanding, if not a modern rendition that the rest of the soundtrack should have followed.

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: An unusual case in that some of the the complaints aren't about how similar it is to the original, but as mentioned above, many of the animations and moves in the boss battles are taken and recycled from previous recent titles, even if slightly modified.

** After the game's Japanese release, an image of Kiryu kicking a door open and knocking out the person in front of it (prior to the Shota fight) spread throughout social media.

** While the Dragon of Dojima fighting style has been Kiryu's default fighting style throughout the series, after his prison sentence, it is the only fighting style that cannot be upgraded with experience points, but through fights against Majima and Komaki's training. As certain events are locked out until certain chapters, the style only becomes useful late in the game in which it becomes the most powerful style.
** Bosses and strong enemies now have a HealingFactor that can only be countered by the Essence of Kiwami Heat Action, which must be unlocked for each individual style. Some bosses tend to go into this state right after a Heat action is used against them, and they can recover a lot of health before you can regain enough Heat again to put a stop to it. It's much more painful against [[FlunkyBoss Flunky Bosses]].

* MemeticMutation: People had a field day with the announcement of the "Majima Everywhere" system and photoshopping him into other completely unrelated series. When you consider the kinds of places Majima will ''actually'' show up in ''Kiwami''...

** Majima's expanded role with the "Majima Everywhere" system. Some fans can't get enough of the Mad Dog now that he's back to his crazy antics, while others think there's such a thing as "too much".

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The soundtrack, which some consider to be techno remixes of the original tracks that don't do the originals justice. [[http://www.siliconera.com/2015/09/15/yakuza-kiwamis-new-scenarios-fill-in-various-gaps-more-spotlight-time-for-majima/ An interview with Famitsu]] prior to the game's release revealed they struggled with the soundtrack.

* MemeticMutation: People had a field day with the announcement of the "Majima Everywhere" system and photoshopping him into completely unrelated series. Granted many of them aren't all that ludicrous compared to kinds of places Majima will ''actually'' show up in ''Kiwami''.

* MemeticMutation: People photoshopping Majima into completely different series, because of the already ludicrous amount of places Majima will actually show up because of the "Majima Everywhere" system.

* BrokenBase: The English voice acting for the first game, despite having an AllStarCast, wasn't at all well received and was quickly dropped from the sequel onward. While this move was praised by many fans who expressed the English dub took away from the intended Japanese feel of the game, there are fans who enjoyed the English voiceovers and want to be able to play the games with spoken English dialogue again, or at least hear Creator/MarkHamill voice Goro Majima again.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The opening of "id", the song used for long battles, sounds remarkably similar to the opening of Music/{{Rammstein}}'s "Engel". Both open with electronic notes before the guitar comes in.

** The ''VideoGame/VirtuaCop''-esque car chase shooting sequence due to its controls and ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoon''-like camera system, which doesn't go as smoothly as one would think. It returned in ''0'' with a huge overhaul, and the mechanics would be reused in ''Kiwami''.

!! [[YMMV/{{Yakuza}} All Games]] | ''Yakuza 1'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza2'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza3'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza4'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza5'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza0'' | ''YMMV/Yakuza6''

!! Yakuza Kiwami

Examples for the series altogether can be found [[YMMV/{{Yakuza}} here]].

* BrokenBase: The English voice acting for the first game, despite having an AllStarCast, wasn't at all well received and was quickly dropped from the sequel onward. While this move was praised by many fans who expressed the English dub took away from the intended Japanese feel of the game, there are fans who enjoyed the English voiceovers and want to be able to play the games with spoken English dialogue again.

* {{Narm}}: The absurd amount the times the word "fuck" is heard in the English dub of the first game, and the flat acting found throughout it.

** Nishiki's StartOfDarkness. Some found the beginnings of his FaceHeelTurn both interesting and tragic, while some others found Nishiki to be the ''Yakuza'' equivalent of [[Franchise/StarWars Anakin Skywalker]].

YMMV page for the [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 first game]] in the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series and its remake, ''Yakuza Kiwami''. Examples for the series altogether can be found [[YMMV/{{Yakuza}} here]].

* AngstWhatAngst: In the first game, Haruka is barely shocked when she learns of the possibility of her mother being dead. She also goes through a ton of stuff that would leave anyone else traumatized for life relatively unaffected.

* GoodBadBugs: In the first game, finishing the last enemy in a group with a HEAT action ends the round before the HEAT bar gets drained, meaning you could get an extra HEAT action. Since HEAT was slightly harder to build up in the early games, this was particularly welcome.

** In the first game, combat was very clunky and specifically targeting a particular enemy was quite tedious. It got an overhaul in the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] [[CompilationRerelease HD re-release]] using the second game's mechanics.

** The game's soundtrack. Some fans have been vocal in their disappointment in the soundtrack considering [[AwesomeMusic/{{Yakuza}} what they're used to in the series]], finding the first game's soundtrack replaced mostly with generic and forgettable techno remixes [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks with none of the flair of the originals]]. But others enjoy the soundtrack and the new tunes added to the game (including remixes from other games), and everyone seems to agree that ''Kiwami'''s version of the final boss song is outstanding, if not a modern rendition that the rest of the soundtrack should have followed.
** The use of recycled elements, such as the bosses having their moves taken from previous bosses in the series. Some fans are disappointed to see the bosses not have completely unique movesets of their own, while others argue it's not the first game in the series to do this, and are fine with how it turned out.
* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: An unusual case in that the complaints aren't about how similar it is to the original, but as mentioned above, many of the animations and moves in the boss battles are taken and recycled from previous recent titles, even if slightly modified.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The soundtrack, as many songs are merely techno remixes of the original tracks as opposed to modern renditions that do the originals justice. [[http://www.siliconera.com/2015/09/15/yakuza-kiwamis-new-scenarios-fill-in-various-gaps-more-spotlight-time-for-majima/ An interview with Famitsu]] prior to the game's release revealed they struggled with the soundtrack.

** Also in the first game, the ''VideoGame/VirtuaCop''-esque car chase shooting sequence due to its controls and ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoon''-like camera system, which doesn't go as smoothly as one would think. It returned in ''0'' with a huge overhaul, and the mechanics would be reused in ''Kiwami''.