Yakuza 0

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Rumpy
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Yakuza 0

Post by Rumpy »

It's my first game in the series and I've been playing it for a few months now. At first, I was taken aback by what kind of game it was and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but it's definitely grown on me. It's its own thing, and it's best not to compare it to anything else. At first, I wondered how they could make a game set in two smallish cities where all you could do was walk around and beat up some guys. All I know is that it's a lot of fun with a story that keeps me engaged, and just when I think I've come across every conceivable character encounter, I discover a new one.

The minigames are a bit of a mixed bag. Some I've aced, while the ones that rely more on rhythm like the karaoke and dance I can't seem to do well at no matter what I do, like there's some lag in the button presses, nevermind the fact that the dance game seems really weird to me in what you're supposed to do, and it's never properly explained.

I think I'm nearing the endgame. I'm finishing up the Real-Estate Royale and have the final battle with the Finance King to do, then I can head back to the main quest. I think I'm possibly in the final chapter as it's title Final.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by malchior »

I've got this or Kiwami teed up as next up after Persona 5 Royale as I am getting towards the end of that now. I've heard lots of good things about the series and apparently Like a Dragon is supposedly fan-freaking-tastic.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Alefroth »

I took a shot at Yakuza 2 a long time and didn't get far at all, so Yakuza 0 was really my first in the series also. I loved it. The story and two main characters are great. I never really pulled of many of the combat combos, but was able to get through all of the fights. The side stories are so wacky and charming. I sucked at karaoke and don't think I ever tried dancing.

I just started Kiwami and am looking forward to the rest of the series.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

Awesome. I just started Yakuza 0 (but picked up Kiwami and Kiwami 2 as part of sales on Fanatical in a giant bundle) and have been enjoying the hell out of it. It's like a lite RPG with arcade street-fighting mixed in. The side stories I've seen so far are totally bonkers, but I've been having a blast just wandering around and engaging with random people. Hell, even going into the various stores or shops to buy random things has been fun (oddly enough). I did try dancing and it wasn't something I quite understood - I'll have to watch the tutorial again as it went over my head.

The actual story is kinda interesting as well. I can't imagine playing this with anything other than a controller, for anyone interested. I'm sure it's possible, but it feels perfect with a wired Xbox360 controller.

The only caveat I have for people playing is that there's no auto saving. So like old-school RPGs, I'm always saving by visiting the phone booths that are thankfully available and easily accessible.

From reading around, I guess these were all rather niche games in Japan but after they were released here in the U.S. they gained significant popularity? So far it's been filling a really sweet spot for me - not to heavy, not too lite. That's a rarity!
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Alefroth »

I forgot to mention the weapon crafting. It's a surprisingly deep system, but I barely used it because I never really fought with a weapon.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Alefroth wrote: Tue Dec 29, 2020 5:05 pm I sucked at karaoke and don't think I ever tried dancing.
I get what I'm supposed to do with the karaoke, but I feel the timing is all off for some reason, and I don't mean reaction time, because I press it as shown, but it feels like some of the button presses are not registering when they should, like the contrrols feel a little mushy, and everything else controlwise feels fine. Using a Logitech F310 wired controller.

Oh, one thing I didn't come upon until later in the game that they don't tell you about is about using weapons. You have your 3 brawl styles, but there's also a 4th one you that will pull your chosen weapon out by pressing down on the d-pad.

And one thing about the Pocket Racing is that each championship has its own build. Once you have the correct build, it's actually fairly easy to win, but I found it annoying that some of the better parts had to be found outside the stadium, including one from a million yen machine.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

I wasn't expecting a character switch, but I just can't stop playing. A greaser punk band that needs my help to get street cred? Break dancing battles? Some guy named Walking Erection? Helping a mother get her daughter back from a fake cult? The side stories i this game just continue to deliver non-stop fun.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Kasey Chang »

I am horrible with the minigames. :D
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Yeah, the sidestories are amazing in this game. The one that really got me was the one with the girl that ends up wanting to call Kiryu 'Daddy'. There's also one as part of the Pocket Racers championship that has a little girl wanting you to be her boyfriend. Whoa, full stop! :shock: :lol:
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Wow, fair warning guys. Just did the finale, and between the gameplay and the cutscenes, it clocks in at around 2 hours. Pretty hefty amount of time for that one segment.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

Geez, that's nuts. I've already had a few situations where I'm not paying attention and I'm ending a chapter and then starting a new one...and it's a 45+ minute ride, mostly cut scenes.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Yeah, and I forgot to mention, unskipabble credits, and there's a 5 min cutscene after them.

And yeah, I really do wish they'd allowed saving in between chapters, as I'd often end up playing longer than I wanted simply because of the cutscenes and the recap from chapter to chapter before giving you control back. And then the endgame is like a mini-movie itself. I guess if I had to list a peeve, it would be that. It becomes quite a time commitment.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

Ok, so I ran into a guy that had no pants and he demanded that I give him mine. Of course I refused and fight ensued. This sent me on a special quest to try and find the guy roaming the streets and stealing people's pants. That automatically puts this in a Top 5 game for me.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by hepcat »

That’s great, but what about your experiences with Yakuza 0?
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Re: Yakuza 0

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No time for Yakuza nonsense. Mr. Libido needs my help!
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by hepcat »

I bought it after you mentioned the ability to lose one’s pants. Conan Exiles showed me how much gameplay you can get out of pantslessness, so I figured it was worth my 5 bucks.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

I didn't even tell you about the Nouveau riche businessmen that eventually stroll around the downtown in gold lame suits and start fights with you.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by hepcat »

If my character and I are both in booty shorts before the end credits roll, I will consider it money well spent.

side note: this is actually included with XBox Game Pass. I'm going to switch over to the console version so I have more shimmy room while playing.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

The telephone dating mini game is absolutely hilarious. The mechanics are a bit weird, but because of how it all works, you can accidentally choose a really bizarre question or response when you're trying to impress a lady. Playing just the main game is one thing. The amount of additional stuff (mini games, running side businesses, etc...) -- it's like an entirely different set of games altogether.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Speaking of that game, I felt it was so much easier using a mouse, which made me feel bad for those playing it on consoles. It's one of the few things in the game I wouldn't recommend using a gamepad for.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by hepcat »

I tried the karaoke mini game last night. It went kind of like this:

game asks me to press X, X, Y, B, X, B, Y, X, X

I press Y and left trigger

game asks me to press Y, B, B, X, hold Y, press X, B, Y, Y, hold B

I press Y and right bumper
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Rumpy »

Yeah, that'd sum it up for me too. If there are many rapid button presses to be made, I feel it it doesn't always register them.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

I'm not having any problems with Karaoke - seems to be working fine with my Xbox360 controller connected to PC. The dancing mini game? That feels like I'm trying to get a rocket to the moon using rubber bands and thumbtacks. I legitimately don't understand that one at all.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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I read and reread the rules several times for that one and still couldn't make sense of it. I mean, I get it that I have to move the guy to the beat, but the UI makes it feel counter-intuitive.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Smoove_B wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 4:55 pm I'm not having any problems with Karaoke - seems to be working fine with my Xbox360 controller connected to PC.
I'm playing it on the XBone and that was actually not much of an exaggeration of how it went. I eventually just rage quit out of it, only to have the guy with the prince valiant haircut berate me for having no rhythm. If it had been Conan Exiles I'd have eaten the son of a bitch then made pants out of his remains.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

I have almost 30 hours in the game and I've only done karaoke twice. Once when it forced me as part of the tutorial and only just now as part of condition for a side quest (non-mandatory) to advance my burgeoning financial empire. When the Media King comes knocking, you need to answer!

I've been clobbering people insanely hard, but nothing yet suggests you can punch someone out of their own pants. I need to do more research because it seems like I should be able to do that based on what I've experienced so far.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Wow, you're that far into it already? Took me much longer to get to that point. Although I kept getting distracted by enemy and character encounters. Make sure to visit the shrine to purchase upgrades. I found the business upgrades quite useful, especially the one decreasing the collection time for the real-estate royale. I found that one to be a good way of making money. Sadly, I didn't get to do too much of Majima's cabaret club business as it was introduced too late into the game, imo, but I liked what I saw, in particular the hostess training was fun, but didn't get far enough into it to obtain any other star hostesses.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Yeah, I think I'm Chapter 9? The story points are a bit weird. Sometimes I have no idea what I should be doing next, other times I feel like I'm being railroaded into the next chapter. They give you all these crazy side quests and mini games to play, but if you wander to a main plot point, sometimes you just get pulled into the next chapter. I think I had to meet the Media King in Chapter 6, but couldn't get to him because the roads were blocked and so I needed to advance the plot. Which of course then had me switch characters for two chapters and now I'm just getting back to finish that and go on telephone dates. I've done some of the Cabaret mission stuff and it's also interesting - the mini game for managing guests and responding to hostess requests is damn fun. I've done some training sessions, but not too much there either. The whole real estate / cabaret story element is like a whole different game!
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Re: Yakuza 0

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There are several ways you can tell them apart. The main story quests are denoted by the pink circles. The sidequests on the other hand, if a character gives you a particular objective, it will show up as an exclamation point on the map. So, for me, I never had trouble avoiding the main story if I wanted to putz around with the sidestories. But still. I wished I had known not to advance it at certain points to avoid being guided by the story for 20 min or so before being able to get free roam again, because I realize there was so much more I could have done with Majima and his Cabaret club that I missed, and there aren't all that many opportunities.

Oh, one thing I missed for Kiryu until I was late in the game was his version of Mr Moneybags. I had unlocked the investor mode already for Majima and couldn't figure out where Kiryu's version was hiding. Turns out he was hiding in the Vincent bar.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

I need to refocus and finish Zero. I think I'm on chapter 13 now. Just saw that #3-5 were just released on STEAM today. What a crazy time to discover this game. :D
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Octavious »

It's an amazing series and I really have to get back and finish 0 myself. Every time I pick it back up I wonder why I stopped. :lol: I could spend the next couple of months just playing that series and not get bored.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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In my slow slide into total Jeff V-ness, I'll cast the somewhat dissenting opinion that I'm really glad I played one of them (this one) but no great desire to play any more of them.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Octavious »

Are you dead inside? ;) I kid it's a weird series because well the Japanese are freaking weird.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by gbasden »

Octavious wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 5:28 pm Are you dead inside? ;) I kid it's a weird series because well the Japanese are freaking weird.
I played through this and enjoyed it, but I agree with Coop. I was hoping for something more like Sleeping Dogs, not whatever this was.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Alefroth »

Yeah, the series definitely isn't Japanese GTA.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Yeah, definitely not. It's more of an action/adventure game/rpg.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by gbasden »

Rumpy wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 12:12 am Yeah, definitely not. It's more of an action/adventure game/rpg.
It's not the genre or game type at all. It's just so relentlessly silly.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Silly is what makes it so different and refreshing though. It was a shock to me at first, but I just rolled with it. You just have to learn to not take it too seriously.
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Re: Yakuza 0

Post by Smoove_B »

I thought maybe you were exaggerating about the ending being 2+ hours of non-stop fighting followed by cut scene after cut scene? Nope. That's 100% accurate. I was so afraid I was going to have a power outage or a crash and lose all that progress. Good lord that was nuts.

Absolutely loved it, regardless. Even late in the game, it still surprised me. For example, I learned that boss-level Yakuza all wear break-away style suit jackets and tops. And when they rip their tops off to show off the full back tattoo? Things are going to get nutty. I don't think I'm going to jump into the next one (Kiwami?), but what a great game. Totally exceeded my expectations.
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Re: Yakuza 0

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Yeah, I know! I would have found it hard to believe myself, if I hadn't experienced it. I kept wondering when it would end. At least give a warning that the last bit is very lengthy? It has you save right before it, but that's not really enough. I was fairly annoyed, because I did have it crash before that and was a little nervous about it possibly happening again.

I did enjoy the game too. It took me by surprise, but then it had me and wouldn't let go. Probably will be a few years until I get into the next one.
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