Beast in the East: Yakuza 0 - Part 08

Been waiting for this! This time it's REALLY time for Majima's third style :D

@danryckert - Yes, it does fill up your Heat.
"Is that Chie?" Never change, Vinny

Final Edit:

Chiropractic treatments work for very specific conditions IIRC, but the way it gets generalised is mostly quackery.

Couple of tips/suggestions going forward:

• Both characters have plates to sell. You don't need to get them out of the Item Box though - you can sell directly from it at Ebisu Pawn.
• Next time you are Majima, you should hit the karaoke place and sing Rouge of Love.
• Gandahra (the video place) has some great substories that only appear after repeated visits, as do some of the bars/restaurants.
• Kamurocho has a telephone club that IIRC is accessible from this point on.
• The drug store in each city has the best healing items, and you're getting to the point where the amount they cost is inconsequential but they are very useful to have.

Will we meet one of my favorite characters this episode?!

Heeey!

It's time to get down and get funky!

Maaan, my playthrough just keeps getting wilder. I'm so excited for where this series has to go. We're just getting started and it's already one of my favourite things to ever grace this site (which is a high bar).

EDIT: Notes on Gandhara - all of the models are characters you meet in-game. Many are found in sub-stories, while others might be working at bars or found through the phone club. After interacting with them, you will unlock their video.

• Ayu is the dominatrix you helped out.
• Kokoa is the girl who asked you to be her boyfriend.
• Iori is the girl you rescued from the cult of Munan Chohept Onast.
• Maika works at the Maharaja dance club in Kamurocho, you ordered a drink there as Kiryu which unlocked her video.
• Miku works at the karaoke club in Kamurocho, you unlocked her video by singing Heartbreak Mermaid with her as Kiryu.
• Riri is the girl whose boyfriend asked Majima to find him the Destiny Heart necklace.
• Rina - your bathroom "missed connection" from this episode - might not have got to meet the hot-bod man, but you can now watch her video.

The phone cards are all the same girls (3 cards for each), but collecting those is unrelated to the video unlocks - though it will net you some other bonuses. Probably worth noting that, yes, searching the internet for these people will find you some less-than-safe results in a lot of cases. But the videos in-game are all fairly tame fun.

EDIT 2: One more quick note - you don't really get many heat moves for Breaker until you start training, but the ones you get once you do are preeeeettty good.

EDIT 3: Been meaning to mention this, but it's an important detail that you guys didn't really catch (because they flash it on screen too quickly, which you mentioned at the time) - Sagawa is listed the "Patriarch of the Sagawa Family and the Retainer to the 5th Omi Alliance Chairman." I'm not too up on the details but I believe the Omi Alliance are a larger group much like the Tojo Clan (the group Dojima's family is a subsidiary of).

No trophy notification for watching your first adult film in the game, huh?

Just where was the lemon?

Get enough sleep for work tomorrow morning or continue with the adventures of Walking Erection?

LOS TRES HORNY BOYS IN JAPAN

Yes! The whole end of this chapter is amazing. I hope they get through all of it and no become too distracted.

Another short episode ?

@jiggles: The probably have notifications turned off.

@planetfunksquad: Or, have been more BUSTED than Mr. Libido's nuts.

I find it weird how the end of the cutscene right just before you fight Lee changes to 60FPS. Makes me wonder if they could have had all the cutscenes in 60FPS.

Vinny owes me a taco for making me spit out mine when he said "Can love bloom on the toilet?"

Actually so excited when you suddenly hear Miyuki Sawashiro's voice.

Starting with a showstopper, I see. And I have to say that's some absolutely stunning, beautiful... image quality on those CRTs. Really, 80s Japan tech was something else.

Anyway, in previous games you could pocket some weapons you find on the street, I haven't seen that option in this one. In any case they're of poor quality and only last a few hits. You're better of getting something fancier from the weapons store.

The Breaker style is pretty combo focused - it's about keeping the flow going. I don't think it has a lot of heat actions available early on.

Kiryu and Majima are both Tojo Clan, but different families within it. However the guy Majima was handed off to as part of his punishment is from a rival clan - the Omi Alliance.

This game was released fairly close to the PS4 launch in Japan. AFAIK the western release is just a localization and was not updated for the Pro so Boost Mode should apply to it. (Not that I think it matters that much, it was a cross-gen game and shouldn't have much trouble running on a base PS4.)

Ps. Mandarin orange. I mean, you don't want to get scurvy, do you?

Someone PLEASE direct them to the Miracle Johnson stuff!

Now that you're back to Kiryu.

@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.

The story's heating up! This is around the time that I stopped doing side stuff with Majima because I just couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

I love this episode!Please try and do the Miracle Johnson stuff next episode it's so funny.

Really try using R1 + X to dodge. It's the way to go on boss battles.

Must be one of those PVMs Peter Brown was talking about on the Bombcast.

Shake that money maker!

They still haven't figured out you can move the camera in the claw machines lol

They're clearly having no trouble winning stuff anyway, so who cares? Why always the snark in these comments?

"Oh man, they've still never done XYZ highly specific heat move? Hahaha, what losers! That's required in order to earn any respect from me!"

Keep it up guys, this is by far the thing I look forward to most on GB every week.

EDIT: If you want more Heat moves for Breaker style, visit Areshi after unlocking your skill tree up to any of the Master nodes and you can learn some new moves, just like with your other trainers. Breaker is really amazing for taking out large groups, which start becoming more and more common as you progress through the game.

Never used the camera controls my self for the UFO catcher. Didn't need to.

What is this, Waypoint? This episode got real horny real fast at the beginning!

#BastionFucks

Chiropractors are not quack doctors, as someone with multiple people in my family with back problems, there are several with specific back issues that need regular adjustments. People with regular back soreness don't need them, people with spinal issues that need realignment do.

IIRC the biggest bit of quackery in chiropractic is "subluxation theory," which is basically the idea that misalignments in your spine create "nerve interference" that cause a variety of illnesses in your body. In extreme cases, some practitioners claim that all internal illnesses stem from this cause, and that things like immunizations and cancer treatments are unnecessary if you just visit a chiropractor instead.

For actual back pain, what Alex said is basically in line with what I've read: you can get your spine "adjusted," but getting a firm massage is probably just about as likely to bring you relief.

Thank god, they didn't make a perfect game. Had to ruin it at least a little with a stealth/escort mission.

You know what goes hand-in-hand with chiropractic? Rejection of vaccinations.

Here's a quote that I thought was pretty good: "Everything that chiropractors do that ‘does’ work is just stuff physical therapists already do, and the rest is junk."

I love that first scene in Hogushi Kaikan so much.

To be fair, stealth isn't necessary. You can just fight your way through if you want.

@vinny i'm not sure if majima's dagger has any sort of cultural significance, but i can tell you they keep holding the camera on it as long as they do because that's the same dagger he's had through the entire series. this is the first time we're seeing it in the timeline

edit: there's even a character you'll meet later on that sort of inspired majima to change up his fighting style. he has majima's movelist from the first 2 games, so majima's got a lot of attachment to that thing

While the Beast Crew probably won't get to it in the series very much, the "business" parts of the game are really enjoyable. I especially like the hostess cabaret club mini-game, it just easy enough for me to do fairly well. I feel like you have some fun interactions with the girls too. Kiryu's, real-estate empire mini-game is okay too, if slightly less interactive. I like how both of the business games pull in side characters from other missions.

What is nice about Majima business game is you can repeat it over and over and really get good at it over an hour's time, no waiting for collections like Kiryu's game.

@vinny@alex

Soft on Demand is real company, and Iori Kogawa is my fav actress. Don't ask me how I know that.

Habu is Okinawan pit viper, thus Mr. Libido - Habu...

The thugs on the street shout:

* oee, soko no! (You there / that one there)

* oee, onore! (You (in rude manner, e.g. you bastard, etc))

Uni is urchin. Ikura is roe.

Speaking about urchin, hee hee hee. 'Chin chin' is slang for pee pee / pit viper / salmon / third leg.

Also, just to inform you beforehand. Psychogenic Blindness is rare, but true case of blindness.

Likewise I'm fairly sure they won't, but I wish they would - the fourth fight styles that it unlocks on completion are pretty intense, especially for Majima (mechanics spoilers/examples):

• Both: upgrades buff ALL fight styles, and can be levelled almost indefinitely (IIRC at max. level, which is completing a sphere grid 99 or 999 times, you pretty much one-punch bosses)
• Kiryu Heat Action: Pick up a guy and slam up tailbone first into a railing
• Majima Heat Action (best in the game IMO): Single bar of Heat stabs two guys, then throws the knife into the air, which Majima then kicks into a third guy. He then pulls the knife out whilst saying "You're pathetic". Usually kills all three guys instantly.

@meauntienora: You listen to the Skeptics Guide to the Universe by any chance? I just got to that part this morning.

But yeah, you could go to a chiropractor for a short term symptom fix or you could do physical therapy and actually strengthen your joints and surrounding muscle, which can eliminate the problem itself

@stordoff: it's also a really nicely done sequence, reminds me of that action film sub genre where the hero has to protect an important vulnerable person (the Statham movie Safe for example)

I was just about to make the comment that I bet you guys meant "sordid" instead of "sorted" in the blurb. Then I checked again, and it was fixed.

Adding my voice to the chorus of those who love these videos every Monday; really great stuff.

@dizzyhippos: Have you looked into the "science" behind Chiropractic? According to recent British legal libel rulings, it is ok to call Chiropractitioners "Quacks".

It might also be worth pointing out that Makoto is a name that is often used for both men and women, which I'm sure was deliberately chosen in this game for that reason.

Street Fighter also has a female character named Makoto who commonly gets mistaken for a boy, due to a combination of her tomboyishness and her name.

Sordid

I'm loving this video series, and the game is hilariously written. I'm just wondering why it gets such a pass on the lack of VO, the lack of real lyp syncing in comparison to something like ME:A? This site has been so rough on ME:A and the animations and I agree that a lot of the automated things it tries can look weird but it is trying to animate and provide voice over for an insane amount of content. (plus the story really does go somewhere great in the end). Anyways this series is great, love the vids GBEast!

Chiropractors are not doctors. And I'm sorry to say, but chiropractic in general is bullshit and the people in your family suffering from back problems should see physical therapists, actual medical professionals.

The difference in scale of developer teams and budgets between Yakuza and Mass Effect make them bad comparisons. Also this game is 2 years older than Andromeda.

Also this game has great writing that's interesting and funny, something ME:A largely lacks.

@stordoff: Majima's 4th style is so good, but I doubt they will (probably shouldn't) take the time to grind out his business (I liked it but it does take a while)

Kiryu's they could do I guess if they timed out the business stuff around their other adventures

@doncabesa:Yakuza is a lower budget series. It sells a fraction of what the Mass Effect games do, and is designed around those limitations. ME:A on the other hand seems to shoot for the moon, and in several cases do worse than its last gen predecessors.