You guys should finish both the businesses if you have the time. They're both pretty interesting in terms of characters and story, and you get something from finishing them.
Something you should definitely do before finishing the series is grabbing a second controller and going to versus mode in the main menu. Even if it's just for a few minutes.
That knife heat move that they do on each other? That's actually a variation on Majima's normal heat move with any bladed weapon, it's just that they're both trying to do it at the same time against each other, so it's pretty awesome.
Oh man, they keep walking right past it everytime, such a tease. There's a good chance they're never going to find that substory, and that's really sad.
We need a wiki page for games Vinny as a joke blurts out a statement that is actually the plot twist for the end of the game
Vinny actually takes it a step further in this playthrough. Multiple times he's actually jokingly made statements that are actually things that happens in later games. I'm not convinced he hasn't actually played through this series.
@alex There's a sidequest you should check out south of Theatre Square, right next to the beef bowl place, two guys are talking, you should walk up to them. I'm pointing this out cause you would otherwise walk right past it everytime, like i did, and it's a quest you'd REALLY like, for reasons.
Oh and go back there after the quest too.
There, i did it, hope you're happy guy above me, and everyone else.
Just for you guys who are using Yakuza as the answer to knife vs bat. Knife totally wins, for reasons which i won't say yet.
On that note, hey you should do the knife heat move, it's really good. Knife triangle attacks are just good in general, insane amounts of damage.
Also, in terms of combat, you want to stomp on people with triangle when they're on the ground if you don't have heat as often as possible, it's a good way to do damage and charge up heat.
@zeik: he definitely does, but the little bits and pieces of Akiyama I got told me a ton about his character and I'm into it.
60 hours until 4!
You mean for this playthrough? If so....i think you're underestimating it just a bit.
Also i felt like Akiyama got a pretty good deal in 5, especially the end and how he ends up. They could basically set him up as the next main protagonist after they finish Kiryu's story in 6. He's one of the most popular characters too so it would probably work great.
@alex You mentioned maybe wanting some direction for the next episode to see some sub stories. If this is still the case when you record next, here are a few side story locations that should be quite enjoyable. I believe these are all limited to [b]daytime[/b] so when you said the game opened up around when you need to rest at Kiryu's you were mostly correct.
Here are some places you should be able to find some substories during the day in chapter 2.
Pink Street North, near the erotic store (it's on the map)
The Shrine (yellow area in the center-ish of town. ) This is also where you get the free DLC and spend your CP. There is then a quite good follow up to this story that starts at...
...Tenkaichi Street, near one of the restuarants at the end of the street. The one opposite of the one you got drunk at. The shrine substory must be finished first.
Shichifuku Street, near the save point
Top left of the map, near the taxi and save point. I'm blanking on the street name.
Shichifuku Street West
Don Quixote, Nakamichi Street
This is not all of them, and more become available as you progress through the chapters. They are not chapter specific and I don't think you can miss any until you are locked out of free roam at the end of the story.
Something else the game doesn't tell you outright is that there is a "friendship" system in the game. Talking to various characters will create a bond between them and Kiryu which can be raised through further talk, minigames, etc. If you get any of these I highly recommend seeing them through. They are often easy to raise, for example one involves you shopping at a particular spot about a dozen times and another involves you playing a few arcade games. An example character would be the woman you played bowling against. I believe hers begins when you play a solo game.
Lastly, this is a thing of... interest, I guess: many of the named women in the game are actually AV idols, basically adult film stars. Once you complete their quest you can watch cheesy videos of them at the erotic video place. I highly recommend you do this.
Just to add on to this a bit. there's a side quest/substory that starts here which unlocks other ones once completed.
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