Even though it’s a prequel and it would be like watching Empire Strikes Back already knowing that my Uncle Ted is my father?
I’d say Kiwami, it’s shorter and does give you some valuable context for Zero’s story. But you won’t screw yourself either way.
Does Yakuza 0 require a controller or is it keyboard and mouse friendly? Also, what was the name of the Yakuza detective game that recently released and was it any good?
Yes. It’s the one example I can think of where I don’t recommend playing a series in release order. There will be one or two nods to the series you won’t get but the intention in making this game was to bring new players into the world of Yakuza and provide extra context to the upcoming rereleases.
Kiwami is a real slog. It may look better but it still plays exactly like the original ps2 game. Yakuza 0 is by far the best introduction to that world. I’m not kidding when I say that Kiwami is entirely skippable. 0 is essential.
@Clay you’re thinking of Judgment. I wish I liked it more. The main story is kind of interesting and I like the main character but I put it down about a third of the way in and haven’t gone back. It’s really hard to beat the Kiryu/Majima team in 0, they’re two of my favorite playable protagonists.
I played Kiwami first, and am in the middle of 0. I slightly wished I had played 0 first, so that I understand why Majima is stalking Kiryu. But, I’d imagine that it would be boring to play Kiwami after 0, since Kiryu have to relearn all of his moves.
Like Mike, I was also around 1/3 into Judgement. I still liked it, and will return to it one day, but I’m sure Yakuza 7 & Person 5 Royal & Final Fantasy 7 remake & Sakura Wars will be played first…(OMG too may games…and I have a brand new still wrapped Yakuza 3-5 right here.)
It’s been a while since I played it, but from what I recall, using mouse+keyboard would be really annoying and kludgy. I don’t think I ever tried it, though, so I may be wrong.
I decided to play 0, if anyone is interested. It’s amazing and I should play it.
How important are the minigames? I’ve played a few and… I don’t like them. Will they somehow get amazing and I should play them? Is a lot of content gated behind them, or can I concentrate on the main plot and the side stories?
Some of the mini games are good but there are quite a few I tried once and never went back to. I’m not a mahjong player but I’ve heard from more than one person that yakuza’s implementation is one of the best around. Also I hate shogi. But karaoke and dancing are fun and I love the way Kiryu gets psyched up to play Out Run.
There’s a few times when side story progression is locked behind getting a particular score in a mini-game. Frequently, it’s okay to fail, as the only thing that changes is a bit of flavor text and losing a bit of money. Some of them, like the telephone date one, are a little embarrassing, and I wish you could skip past the answers. I just suck so much at the dancing mini-game as I just can’t get the timing down for the button presses. I think that’s going to be one of the few substories I have to abandon. :(
Until my Xbox One controller started drifting yesterday, making the game nigh unplayable (Majima and Kiryu are constantly walking forward and menu’s are impossible to navigate), I was head over heels in love with Yakuza 0. I had just finished the big property investment side quest and unlocked a cool “dragon” fighting style. The world is just such a blast to explore. Sometimes pacing can get a little bogged down by lengthy exchanges and cutscenes that prevent you from exploring and beating up chumps for ages, but for the most part they’re very well done, so it’s not a huge deal. If it’s sitting in your backlog, definitely give it a shot. Just remember there’s no autosaves, so don’t quit the prologue prematurely on the assumption your progress will be saved like I did.
I did everything except the mahjong and shogi, and I’d say there are some pretty solid rewards at the end of a few of those–including one of my favorite comedic moments.
Yeah, this game is amazing and you should play it. There is something so charming and Japanese about it. I’m midway through chapter 6. The main story is deep and engrossing and the substories are just adorable. I don’t want to spoil any thing, but one of my favorites has to do with a favor you do for a child buying something he oughtn’t. Also, Marina, don’t read the postcards. And most of all, I’ll make an offer… IN CASH! (Why isn’t that a meme?).
They came a long way to make great substories with 0, which made the quality of the substories in Kiwami a real disappointment.
In Kiwami you get substories that are like:
Walking down an alley, Kiryu passes a man looking at the ground
Guy: You stepped on my contact! Pay me money!
Kiryu: Huh? What? I don’t have that money.
Guy: Then I will kill you!
Kiryu beats him in 2 hits
Guy: I guess you didn’t step on my contact after all!
Substory Complete
I’ve deflected off the game many times and decided to give it another shot. Just got to the scene above and I’m loving the game. It just took forever to click with me as it’s such a departure from what I usually play.
It is one of the all time great character introductions. Glad you’re digging it, it’s just getting going at that point!
So I finished this a couple of weeks ago. Immediately started Kiwami (which I interrupted to play TLoU2). No kidding, this was one of the best games I have ever played.
I loved the story and how over the top melodramatic it was. I loved the Majima character, and I am now a little disappointed that the rest of the series will just be Kiryu, who is simply not as interesting. I thought the ending was fantastic.
I also loved how goofy the substories are. I thought the combat was just deep enough, but simple enough to be accessible. I liked how easy it was to health up using drinks and food to keep the combat challenging but not frustrating.
I didn’t really play a lot of the minigames, other than as necessary to advance the plot or complete some of the substories.
I have now bought almost all of the subsequent Yakuza games on sale, and plan to play through them all. I also bought Judgment.
How long do I have to play before I can save the damn game? Just played for an hour and nothing was saved.
Dear God Japanese games are the worst at this. Fucking Nier:Automata .
Ha, I dropped that game for the same reason.
I also played the game briefly, but I think eventually after the cutscenes I got dropped in the street, and you can save by going to one of the vending machines or something? Or am I remembering a different game? I think it was Yakuza 0.