Yakuza 6

[DANGERMAN]

Bit of a weird pace to Yakuza 6. There's a lot of story up front, a lot of back story and video to get you up to speed, but once the game starts it's a very small story. For hours and hours the politics of the yakuza and the criminal underworld take a back seat, there's a few threads introduced, but it's almost all about Kiryu and Haruka.

 

even the daftness of past Yakuza games is kept to a minimum. There's not a ton of side quests to start with, and what there is isn't the sort of memorable stuff you got in Yakuza 0. But then it starts to creep in. I've done a few missions as a mascot, I've fought some ghosts, I've punched a shark in the face, it's started to feel more like a Yakuza game. Once it starts it just steamrolls, you hints of a tangled political plot are now fully realised and I'm seeing multiple groups, multiple betrayals, Kauzuma somehow being key to it all. 

 

The new engine has meant the combat is a bit more free flowing, that's a bit of a mixed blessing as I liked the structured move set more, but at least it feels fresher. Levelling up has changed again, this is fine except for when you're short of one of the 5 different types of points and can't level certain stats up. The experience is also used for the gangs mini game, although it's not as expensive, but while there's lots of ways to get xp, certain types are less common.

 

Money is also initially more scarce. Enemies don't drop it the way they did in 0, nor Kiwami, and there's no job as such. I'd recommend the perk that increases what you get from fights as an early purchase, but even then it's still very sporadic. There's also a gym that's an easy source of xp, and only costs you a meal. I'd mainly recommend it for the results page. Same with the fishing mini game, it's the closest thing you get to a job that I've seen, but it's funny and it's a decent game

[DisturbedSwan]

I started this today, put in 4 hours.

 

Well, it is fair to say this has blown my socks off already and it's mainly down to the new game engine. It is just absolutely bonkers all the stuff you can now do, it honestly blew my mind the first time I walked into a food place, just stood in the door waiting for it to load then realised WAIT I JUST WALK IN SEAMLESSLY WHAT THE FUCK. It feels Rockstar-esque the attention to detail now, being able to walk completely up to the roof of buildings, stopping by certain floors along the way, being able to walk straight into any activity and go right up to it to begin, being able to just seamlessly go from wandering about to fighting some of Kamurocho's notorious punks.

 

Gone are all the black text boxes from NPCs when walking about, gone are the text-only conversations you have that cut the voice over off from a cinematic like in past games, everything just flows so nicely. The graphics themselves are insane, I don't know what they've done with the lighting but it looks photorealistic at times, it is just crazy - and I haven't even experienced Kamurocho at night yet either! - being able to go into 1st-person at any point and walk in Kiryu's shoes is a great added touch as well. 

 

I guess I'd just been so used to the old engine and its intricacies, I'd been playing Yakuza games with it for 8 years now so everything was incredibly familiar and I knew exactly what I could and couldn't do with it, certain things would change but there was an air of familiarity about not only the setting but the presentation as well. All that has gone now - for the better - I just can't get over how phenomenal this is. I think this may be the first time I've ever actually felt like I was somewhere, Kiryu in first person just wandering about I genuinely was transported to Kabukicho for awhile, I cannot stress enough how great it is to just exist in this microcosm of Japanese society for awhile, just wandering about is such a joy and I've not had that in many games.

 

A whole host of systems and menus have been overhauled as well, everything is now done with a Sony Smartphone that will buzz and give you all sorts of tips/texts/emails etc. and has all the apps you need for all the different systems - a bit like GTAV. I guess the most different is the levelling up and eating mechanics, levelling up is now done through a variety of different coloured bars - I've no real idea what they mean yet - once you get a certain number in the red section you can level up something in the menu that'll give you a health/defence/attack etc. boost or upgrade your fighting skills. Eating is somewhat more complicated, it gives you points to level up now - the food looks phenomenal in the photos too, I honestly got hungry looking at the Double Smile Burger - and there's a whole new system where you can see a representation of Kiryu's stomach getting full, and then you can't eat anymore - I'm assuming you can level this up as you go on. 

 

The Prologue took a really long time, I was just captivated by the new engine and the photorealistic way it recreates every muscle movement and motion on the mo-cap actors' faces and I really didn't want it to end. Once I got a tiny bit of freedom in Kamurocho i pied it off though and went exploring, did a bit of Kareoke, played a shit load of Arcade games (how fucking cool is it to play Virtua Fighter V and Puyo Puyo in a fucking Yakuza game?!) including the incredibly addictive Freedom Zone which I hadn't even heard of before?! Some Darts thrown in there as well - even on Medium my opponent was throwing hat trick bullseyes  but I managed to beat her eventually. 

 

Got introduced to a couple of side activities too. Bought some different varieties of cat food to help out a cat cafe owner who had lost his cats and went to the gym, got myself a personal trainer and completed my first workout/diet challenge - if you eat the right food after a workout you get more XP when you complete the challenge. I've found some safe keys scattered around the city too and I like the new mechanic of opening safes around the city with them rather than the older locker system. Having the minimap on screen and being able to place markers on the full map is a great addition too, lots of QOL improvements in this.

 

So overall, I'm incredibly impressed. I really didn't expect to be this blown away by this engine, I love the Yakuza games but they were somewhat of a known quantity on the old engine, I'm very pleased to see that formula get shaken up considerably in this, fantastic.

 

Some pics:

 

 

[DisturbedSwan]

Played another 8 hours since my last post, 12 total.

 

Still thoroughly enjoying my time with it, the graphics and lighting continue to astound. I was walking around Hiroshima earlier and was like aghast the entire time with how real everything was, I just can't get over it. 

 

The game and story itself is giving me serious Yakuza 3 vibes. You're in Hiroshima looking for information and bump into the local Yakuza faction here (of course you do) and that sets up other bits and pieces. Very similar to the start of Y3 just without all the orphanage stuff. So yeah, nothing much has happened yet, I'm in Chapter 4 now and I'm still getting milk for the baby and talking to new people and shit, all a bit mundane and it still feels like I'm in the Prologue, but yeah I'm loving the down time, I like games when they let themselves breath and enjoy the scenery and that is exactly what this is doing right now. 

 

Some mad shit has happened but nothing too crazy. There was the live cam chat I went through the other day, it's quite similar to the videos from Y0 but here you can interact with the model and if you press certain button combinations to spell out words then she'll slowly get more and more of her kit off. The chat room itself is pretty filled with fake users like 'bigguy' and stuff like that saying things to the model. I completed both the girls available's shows but hopefully I can unlock more later, seems a bit bare bones if it is just the 2.

 

Then there was a side quest where you dress up as this mad mascot and have to put on a dance for the kids  the baby charming mini game - where you have to do certain motions with the controls to stop the baby crying - but nothing else quite on the level of Y0 as of yet, definitely getting more Kiwami/Y3 vibes from this than Y0 so far but I'm still really early in.

 

It's just a joy to spend time here, I was just strolling through Hiroshima earlier looking at all the people walking around and how great everything looks.

 

Some pics:

 

 

[DisturbedSwan]

Another 4 hours earlier, 16 total. 

 

I've still got hardly anything done really, had a whale of a time just dossing about in Hiroshima. I did continue the story a bit but hardly anything is happening still, then it went off in a tangent just to introduce the Clan Battle minigame which was a bit random. 

 

When the whole clan segment started I was initially a bit frustrated as I wanted to continue on with the meat of the story and side quests. I was only really half paying attention to the cutscenes and stuff and then it forces you into a Clan Battle. I really wasn't expecting to like this at all, from the outside it looked quite a bit like NNK2's Skirmish's and I hated those with a passion, so I initially thought I'll get through this as soon as possible then not go back.

 

This being Yakuza...how wrong I was. Turns out it's pretty damn addictive. I mean it is still similar in some ways to NNK2's skirmish mode but it just feels so much better in this, activating all your armies' special moves at the right times feels awesome and it's great when you defeat the enemy. What I love the most though is how much care has been put in to this side story, there's a whole story behind the Clan Battles with these '6 Lunatics' who you have to defeat one by one to work your way up the ranks, lots of characters you get to know quite well too and you do feel a camaraderie with your Clan after a few battles. Crazy deep, so much customisation to be had, you can partake in daily/weekly clan battle events, complete against other real players' squads online and stuff as well and every battle gives you a ridiculous amount of cash, I went from 270,000 Yen to 1,500,000 in the space of an hour or so.

 

So the premise reminds me of the real estate minigame in Y0 where you had all these extravagant bosses you had to defeat to become property king, but it also reminds me of the hostess minigame a bit in Y0 as you have to go out and fight certain people on the streets to recruit them into your Clan. It's just crazy how much effort and care has been put into a mode that probably most people won't bother with.

[DisturbedSwan]

Played another 15 hours since my last post, 31 total.

 

Finished off the Clan Battle minigame, really compelling and I couldn't stop until I'd finished the main storyline, some great moments, characters and bosses hidden in there that some players won't experience, such incredibly attention to detail. There is even more to do there with the online raids, daily/weekly missions and stuff but I don't think I'll go back to it, there is a continuation of sorts with the story but I tried to mission involved and got my arse kicked so I don't think I'll bother, definitely got my fill.

 

For an awful long time in this game I didn't really feel like there was a lot going on with the story, tons of build-up and exposition as usual with most Yakuza games but this one did seem to drag a bit at times I have to say. The payoff is though that once you reach a certain point everything previously has context and meaning and you know exactly why they pondered over certain moments, introduced certain characters and stuff. It is simply gripping stuff now and I can't wait to see what happens next. Of all the other games this one feels the most personal to Kiryu and I feel more affected by certain emotional story beats than other games and they definitely hit closer to home and resonate more. 

 

I've sampled most of the minigames, think possibly lullaby mahjong is the only one I've left to tick off. Made decent progress on the completion list too, probably sitting at around 50% for most of the categories although I plan to finish off a lot more of the restaurants before I clock it. 

 

Probably the biggest let down has been the side quests, there have been some great ones but I feel like they're very much few and far between and I find myself pining for the zaniness of 0 and the unique character of Majima at times.

 

Don't think I have much longer left to go now, cannot wait to see how everything wraps up.

[DANGERMAN]

I've gone back to this today and put a fair few hours in. The story seemed to be building to a crescendo so of course it now looks like there's another 10 hours. 

 

I think when I stopped last time I had a grip on what was going on, I've spent most of today completely lost as to the story. Names I don't recognise, politics that don't quite make sense. Now though it's pulled everything back in again, what happened before kind of doesn't matter, the secret not seeming like that big a deal to me, it doesn't matter. There's someone who isn't going to just leave Kiryu alone, and for that reason they'll probably end up dead on a rooftop

[AndyKurosaki]

Being a huge fan of the series, I love this. It does feel toned down from the manic-ness of both Zero and Kiwami 1. And I didn’t feel like there was quite as much to do. 

 

But still,it was a satisfying journey from beginning to end. Even if the tone is all over the place. One minute you’re hunting down Haruka’s attacker. The next you’re in an internet chatroom talking filth to a girl half your age. Typically bonkers Yakuza.

[DANGERMAN]

Kiryu-sama   I don't think it really gets talked about quite how good a character he is, I'm struggling to think of a better one in modern gaming

 

 

anyway, finished this. In typical fashion the end of the game is about 45 minutes of cutscenes, but also in typical fashion they're great, so melodramatic but so bizarrely earnest. Yakuza 6 is really good, it ends really well, even if the end comes about quite quickly in some ways. I was expecting a huge walk up to the final battle but it kind of just starts. It's not that hard either, it's easier than one of the previous boss fights, and it's a cake walk compared to the optional assassin boss fight. Brilliant game, more serious than 0 with fewer fun distractions, but otherwise it's right up there with the best in the series

[AndyKurosaki]

Absolutely agree,it was a great finale to Kiryu’s epic story. Was just a shame that Majima barely featured in it at all,as next to Kiryu he’s one of my favourite characters in gaming.

 

But yeah,I had a huge smile on my face the entire time I was playing it. Something that the series is consistent at.

[spatular]

Been playing this last few weeks, on the final chapter now but suspect there might still be loads to go. Nearly quit with the baby section near the start. Overall its been a bit mixed for me, some bits ive enjoyed, but not all of it, dont think i like it as much as 0 or 7, or possibly ive just not been in the mood for it. Quite enjoyed the fishing minigame, even though its a bit jankey and quite difficult, would have missed it if DANGERMAN didnt tell me about it as i would have skipped a normal fishing minigame. Had a quick go on a few of the arcade machines too which was pretty fun.

[AndyKurosaki]

Zero is a lot more fun than this. I’d say Zero is probably my favourite of the entire franchise, but Infinite Wealth now probably tops it. 

[spatular]

^ nice one, im looking forward to getting to the infinite one eventually

[AndyKurosaki]

If someone asked me “What’s your least favourite Yakuza game”, I’d likely say 6. But that said, it’s very far from being a bad game. 

[DANGERMAN]

Probably 3 for me. Maybe a little unfair because it's one of the ones I didn't finish, and again, it's not like it's bad 

[AndyKurosaki]

3 was the first one I played. My best mate, who had played 1+2, strongly recommended i try the series. So I went with 3. It was a spectacularly slow start, but after a few hours, it “clicked”. And I’ve loved it ever since. I can’t really remember much about 3, but for nostalgia value, it has a place in my heart.