Quick Look: Yakuza: Like a Dragon

I have scrolled through all these comments and NOT ONE request to see a renewed Beast in the East. Please consider it Alex and Vinny!!

@mattchops: The good news with this one is that this is a soft reboot of the series and there is practically no cover over from the 0 through 6 games besides maybe references to past side quest stuff. either way you can go into this one fresh

@swazzyswess said:

@toughshed said:

Unbelievable to see people complaing about the combat when they are constantly releasing Yakuza games with normal beat em up combat. Gamers folks.

Yeah, just *unbelievable* that people think this bog standard turn-based fighting seems bland.

Boy the same old beat em up gameplay they've had over and over again can be so bland to people also man.

You missed the entire point of the post.

good news, there are tons of other Yakuza games like that and still will be.

I don’t see this as “bog standard” turn based combat. I don’t play many turn based games, but I don’t recall a one, outside of tactics games, that incorporates a characters situational positioning into the combat. In the first few moments of this you see a guy kick some signage at another guy. A sign that just happened to be there. That’s great.

I’ve been on the cusp of getting into Yakuza games for a bit. Intimidated away by the sheer breadth of the series, with no plans to commit the next three years worth of free evenings to fully “get” the characters. So, the main character refresh here seems like as good a jumping in point as any. I was nervous about the combat being turn based – that’s not normally my thing at all – but the way it moves here is really compelling. It doesn’t seem slow or pace breaking.

Please tell me there's karaoke, and Alex only forgot to show it off. I can't have a Yakuza game without karaoke.

Welp, time to skip the 2-6 and go straight here

Having "main character went down" as a fail condition in JRPGs needs to be outlawed.

I hate fish but love sushi (because I get veggie sushi)

@vincentbrooks: I couldn't agree more. I'd love another Beast in the East if the crew ever got the chance.

In any case, thanks Alex and thanks Vinny for the really enjoyable QL.

Is anyone getting some really, really weird warping of textures while using the default AA solution in the game on PC? It's not noticeable while moving laterally, but when you zoom in and zoom out on textures, or during very slow zooms in cutscenes, the texture exhibit a really noticeable, hideous warping. it's like plastic over a flame. it's bizarre.

I've been playing this game non-stop since it came out on Steam, it's really great. And I don't even like JRPGs.

It's also incredibly long, too. I feel like I've been playing it forever, yet I'm nowhere near finished...

There is!

The battle music in this game sounds like some royalty free knock off of the DMX Party Up beat.

https://youtu.be/thIVtEOtlWM

@thepoorassgamer: Gary is a longtime recurring character and a running joke is his questionable Japanese.

Bring back Beast in the East. I'm ready for a season 2 with this game!

I’m just through Chapter 3 now and Alex wasn’t kidding about the looooong intro. Good stuff but compared to other Yakuza games, it definitely feels like it takes longer before stuff opens up to me.

I hope folks are enjoying this game, I am. I want to say, as a veteran of the series, these games are usually a bit of a slower burn in the story, and I have found this one after about 20 hours to be an even slower burn than usual. It may be the party-focused nature of it, but there are story bits where they are all talking about whats going on and you just want them to get on with it. I also have found the number of random encounters, and the first 'dungeon' to be waaay too much combat.

But there is still a lot of good there. If you are looking to get into the series though, still play Yakuza 0.

As to the 'suds on breasts' line, Gary is from earlier games and a running joke is his Japanese isn't great

@thepoorassgamer : Sorry if someone already answered you- this character was in previous games, and a running joke is he is a foreigner and his Japanese is not great.

I wonder if Gary Holmes surname was borrowed from legendary boxer Larry Holmes?

I am about 20 hours into this game and I am loving this more than any of the others that I've played. The combat in past games has always ranged from BAD to serviceable, and I love this switch. The amount of combat is a lot, but that is just how these games are, I really wish at some point they'd have an encounter slider or something.

The story here is on par with Yakuza 0 (if not better) and that is a good thing because most of the other Yakuza stories are...a little rough imo. Anyway this game is jam packed with content and on the series X that 60FPS is awesome!

Ah, yes, please tell me the context of the story only during cutscenes where the characters are talking rather than the gameplay. This is the best way to make sure I completely miss both what's on-screen and Alex's supplementary information!

Gotta agree with this. The combat in Yakuza 0 was, at least to me, horrifically boring. It was like a bad brawler, super simple, super easy, but with pseudo-load screens like JRPG encounters instead of just being able to hit people, which just amped up how annoying I found them.

Here it actually goes the other way, where the combat, while still simple and easy, is a lot more wacky and fun, and despite being a turn-based JRPG, you can actually end battles so much faster than Yakuza 0 once you've got the right moves and power level. You can just stomp an entire group of enemies like nothing. It's great. And when it's challenging, it's really fun.

Kind of wish there was a hard mode out the gate though, as I find all Yakuza games to be annoyingly easy.

Also really hoping they stop re-using the same gags over and over. Comedy is something that rarely benefits from repetition, and seeing the same adults in diapers gag, naked guy hiding behind something gag, main-character-and-chicken-staring-at-each-other gag, etc, is really boring. Write new jokes! If you must have a "signature joke," stick with it but axe the rest for new content!

Other than that, been loving the hell out of this game.

Hoo boy that voice acting for Gary. It's the equivalent of some bad Japanese stereotype from an 80's cartoon. Couldn't spring for an actual foreign actor for once?

@thechris: Also Yakuza 6 is my fave Yakuza. This game is so fucking good.

Adachiiiiiiii!