Yakuza series

Kiwami taunts you with the fake Virtua Fighter 4 machine. Meanwhile Kiwami 2 has actual VF 2 and Virtual On, along with the usual classics Space Harrier and Outrun.

I’m still hoping Yakuza 7 gives us either Virtua Racing or Daytona USA (Let’s go away!).

Does Daytona have a Japanese fanbase? Never mind, it sure does.

Edited by Weirdguy149 on Nov 18th 2019 at 8:10:27 AM

Oooooh yeah.

But yeah. The arcades in Kiwami are sad.

Yeah, Kiwami 1 straight up cockteased me. I go in, see some Virtua Fighter 4 arcade machines and reminded by how good Hi-Tech Sega Land was in 0 (YO OUT RUN SPACE HARRIER FANTASY ZONE SUPER HANG ON) and the minigames in Lost Paradise (INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL MASTER SYSTEM HOKUTO NO KEN) I was eager to see what Kiwami 1 had.

The UFO Catcher I had no issues with, its a Yakuza staple. But then it turns out the VF 4 machines are just background props, can't be interracted with. Instead we get Mesuking, based almost entirely around RNG with player input maybe also depending on cards chosen but man fuck Mesuking anyway. Kiwami 2 is a big step in the right direction, giving me back Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtual-On.

...why's it got posters for VF5 Final Showdown tho? That came out in 2012 and Yakuza 2's set in 2006 YOU CAN'T DO THAT THE FUTURE WILL BE CHANGED

Same reason I got capsule toys of Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram mechs in 1987.

Either way tho its kinda immersion breaking.

Also, sotenbori UFO Catchers in Kiwami 2 nearly fucked me over since unlike the ones in Kamurocho, the camera doesn't move to the side view when you're moving the claw back, or at least it doesn't do that for certain machines.

Great, Sega created a time paradox.

And it felt like Kiwami 2 overcompensated for the letdown that was Kiwami 1. All that was missing was Move compatibility to play Virtua Cop.

Is it weird that I feel like loading up 6 solely so I can play VF 5?

Not if that’s the only copy of VF 5 you have.

See, this is another reason I prefer Yakuza. Lucky Hit can’t really compare to Virtua Fighter 5.

Edited by Beatman1 on Nov 19th 2019 at 10:31:24 AM

All Kiwami 2 is missing is Sonic The fighters. Yes I said it. Sonic Fighters is goofy fun.

And you know what else? I'm just gonna say it: Yakuza Dead Souls deserves a remaster too. It doesn't look that bad and at worst is worth playing for a laugh. I want a remaster of Dead Souls. Or a Dead Souls Kiwami. Or evne Dead souls 2 with a back from the dead Mine and Nishiki playable.

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Dead Souls killed Yakuza in the west (granted, that's more the fault of expectations than anything else, though the game was entirely mediocre barring the goofy story). Let it stay dead.

... though I wouldn't hate a new version of Dead Souls but with melee combat. With Segata Sanshiro as a guest character (Kiryu's introduction really reminded me of this commercial).

Your talk of playable dead Mine or Nishiki just draws even more parallels to Gungrave, which I'm pretty sure is an alternate universe retelling of Yakuza.

Edited by Larkmarn on Nov 19th 2019 at 11:09:45 AM

Judgment has the best arcade game selection imo.

Virtua Fighter 5, Space Harrier, Puyo Puyo, and even an original House of the Dead clone among others.

I should pick that game up. I'm glad it seems like its out of continuity with the Yakuza series apart from being in Kamurocho and thus I can play it whenever instead of trying to keep things in chronological order.

Also, Kiwami 2 retooled the karaoke UI a bit but its still fun. No "Baka Mitai" tho and that's...well honestly, I can't get sad at Baka Mitai, its been memed half to death by the community so now I just chuckle, and the Shun Akiyama version turns it into sort of a slow Aerosmith power ballad.

You know what song did nearly make me cry tho? Fuckin' "Tonight." Like, I went to Kiwami 1 right after 0 and after seeing Nishiki fall to pieces and what does that song's music video do? It shows clips from Yakuza 0 from back when Nishiki and Kiryu were best mates and bros. It hurts more when you're playing Kiwami 1 after 0 since you got to see them from day 1 as true brothers, because otherwise you're wondering what these screenshots are about and why Nishiki's pointing a gun at Kiryu while looking sad.

And now Kiwami 2 brought it back and hurt me all over again. It is kinda hamstrung by the lack of meaningful shots from Kiwami 1 tho.

I'm just gonna say, just wait until you get into Majima's stuff.

Well I liked 24 Hour Cinderella.

Binary Domain showed that the core gameplay loop of Dead Souls could be made viable, if only it had better controls or much more importantly a functional framerate.

And maybe with a remaster it can have all that.

Hell even if we just emulate the PS 3 version. I'm not about to let Dead Souls die, it fits the Yakuza atmosphere of "earnest batshit" perfectly. Majima having so much fun, Goda alive again and with a robot arm, that sorta junk.

Problem is Binary Domain didn't sell very well due to lack of exposure and advertisement, which means it's unlikely they're going to revisit that particular avenue.

remaster that for PS 4 then, market it around "By the same boys that made Yakuza!" and you should be golden, then. Now that Yakuza's practically a household name, things would be different.

Kasuga going to the movies.

Fan translation of the extended story trailer:

What a spoiler-y trailer.

Joon-gi Han is back, is apparently going to join the party judging by the way some of these scenes are framed, Kiryu is back and is apparently a boss... and the guy who's pretty clearly the hidden main antagonist shows up several times as, ostensibly, Ichiban's brother.

Finished with Kiwami 2. Yeah, it's definitely a much better remake than Kiwami 1. For one thing, they combined completion list with leveling up, which made it more convenient for gaining new abilities. Also they brought back Caberet management mini game which I had fun with in Yakuza 0. Also it's cool how you can set waypoints for navigation. Not to mention Majima continues to be my favorite character in this entire franchise. Only minor problems I had were the random teleportations during combat.

I'm actually fighting through Kiwami 2 myself. I felt Kiwami 1 was a little too light at times but Kiwami 2 seems pretty buff. Not as packed as 0 was but it brings back Cabaret Club Czar.

Also, the Colosseum is addictive as fuck once the NJPW guys can become opponents there. And especially once Komaki does so as he has a habit of contorting and clipping through the floor when you beat him.

Yakuza 7 might be getting a dub, too.

Evidently Judgment's and FOTN's were well received enough.