Yakuza / Like A Dragon Megathread

johnny_ultimate

Lots of reviewers noting that Infinite Wealth starts slow.

Spent 30 minutes yesterday watching Ichiban freak out over a date and trying to decide whether a beef bowl or ‘the hottest curry on the planet’ is an optimal date meal. I would take 50 hours of that without hesitation.

An absolute joy so far. Only played the first two hours but already obvious from the tutorial that they’ve significantly improved the combat - positioning is now a big deal. And the writing is a delight - have laughed out loud several times.

ironictoaster

About 7 hours in now. Plays great on the steam deck. !

johnny_ultimate

Can’t get enough of Infinite Wealth. What a generous smorgasbord of an RPG! The volume of stuff to do in Hawaii is as overwhelming as it is delightful - that’s always the way with this series, but just feels like there’s a particular sense of swagger with this one that makes it even more enjoyable than usual. I’m 16-17 hours in and have barely scratched the surface of the main story because there’s so many fun mini games, substories and gameplay systems to engage with. All with the charm of Ichiban, plus obvious refinements and improvements on pretty much all the core mechanics from the last game.

I also love how happy the game is for you to break the difficult curve - I’m so far ahead of the recommended level at this stage, and tbh the only thing holding me back is how long it actually takes for the individual mechanics and systems to be dished out 😅

johnny_ultimate

35-odd hours into Infinite Wealth now, and the last ten of those have been spent on the Dondoko Island minigame :) Have it mostly wrapped up now, and not sure there's anything much else to do now that I've gotten to five stars, but it was a very funny little diversion that provided just the right dopamine hit. It's definitely more involved than the business minigame in the LAD, although I did miss the increasingly lavish ad spots you unlocked in that as you went along (there’s ads here, but nothing as delightful as the most expensive ad spot in the last game). Although had to laugh at how blatantly the main story gets interrupted to send you have on a wacky island adventure for a few hours (or a dozen).

I do think the day / night cycle is too long for it to be much of a money generator once you've gone through the main story, which of course provides you with an economy-breaking amount of money by mid-game standards. Also, the Sujimon 'raids' are really bloody annoying: they really disrupt the routine and are way too frequent. Other than that though, a fun and generous little game within a game.

Glebee

Never played any of these games before but at a loose end gaming wise to going to take Yakuza 0 for a spin. Is it a long game?

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121773053#Comment_121773053

Yeah, it can be. And fair warning, the start is sloooowwww.... It's about 4 hours before it really starts getting going. But it's a really great game, was my first Yakuza game too and once you get into it, it's a lot of fun. You'd probably easily get 25-30 hours out of it.

Glebee

Near the end of Chapter 2 in Yakuza 0, these cut scenes are killing me.

brady12

From what I remember less cut scenes more game goes on very cut scene heavy at start .

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121795475#Comment_121795475

Yeah it's more a case of as you progress through the game and more and more side-stuff opens up, you spend more time doing those and so it dilutes down the amount of time spent on main-mission cutscenes etc. In the opening chapters, you're almost completely just doing main-mission stuff so it's quite cutscene/set-piece heavy.

johnny_ultimate

I've always felt the big persistent frustration with the Yakuza games is pacing, as you can get locked into long story sequences that can last upwards of an hour. BUT they're also insanely generous with the amount of actual gameplay. In Infinite Wealth the first 5-6 hours was around 75% cutscenes and 25% short, limited gameplay sections... but the subsequent 30 or so hours have been around 85%-90% gameplay. Granted, I'm now at the point where most of the substantial side stuff is done, so will be more focused on the main story, but it's an insanely generous series in terms of the amount of stuff you can do.

Glebee

Uninstalled, could not handle it. Just not for me. Oh well I gave it a good go anyway.

johnny_ultimate

Finished Infinite Wealth over the weekend and loved it, with only minor caveats.

In mechanical terms, it’s a clear step up over LaD. The combat is just more dynamic and interesting, just thanks to the extra layer of positioning they’ve added compared to the last game. It’s not very hard at all - I felt I was 5-10 levels ahead of the level curve for most of the game, until just the final boss (which was still a one and done attempt) - but that’s kind of the joys of breaking apart a JRPG battle system and getting OP.

In some ways the game’s a better successor to the classic PS1 era RPGs than something like FF7 Remake. It emulates that gameplay flow so well, albeit in the classic Yakuza structure. This is just so full of goofy asides that are mostly entirely optional and don’t overstay their welcome, and while the ‘dungeons’ are fairly basic they at least are short and sharp for the most part (optional ones aside, perhaps). Just so much to do, and the game’s flexible enough to let you do what you want for the most part.

The central plot isn’t as compelling as the last game, but the character stuff is just as good. I was disappointed initially Ichiban was sharing the limelight with Kiryu, and while the former doesn’t have quite as much narrative agency as the last game, he’s still the same endlessly positive goofball he was there. Kiryu’s story is well handled, and since much of it plays like an epilogue for the character (that’s not a spoiler - it’s mostly built around him reminiscing on his past) I really hope they’re mostly done with him now as there’s just not many places for him to go. I will say though, the way they’ve translated his fighting style into turn based combat is kinda ingenious - the one character I refused to give another job to, as it just felt wrong to do so :) It’s the main plot that’s a bit all over the place, but the characters win the day.

A few minor complaints aside - there’s one wild setpiece battle on a boat that made me wish a few more fights had fun gameplay gimmicks like it - but generally a damn good 70+ hour experience. I’ve only the final sections of the two optional dungeons to finish, and a few more levels til 70 (well, a few more til 60, and then level boost drinks :)) for the platinum so will finish those out. Another fine game for a series that’s hit a really comfortable stride, and I of course look forward to Ichiban’s third adventure.