#yakuza
#yakuza
by Amr (@siegarettes)
With the newfound popularity of the Yakuza saga and the next gen remakes of the early games, it’s a great time to get into the series. And with the release of the Yakuza Remastered Collection the previously PS3 only games–Yakuza 3, 4 and 5–have made it onto modern platforms, making it easy to play the whole series on a single console.
For those used to the slick presentation of the recent entries this might be a jarring contrast. Yakuza 0 and Kiwami, while being simultaneously released on the PS3 and PS4 came out well after some of the entries in this collection, and boast much slicker interfaces and quality of life changes. Alongside the harsher edges brought on by the high resolution treatment, it makes these earlier games look quaint by comparison.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Becoming familiar with the Yakuza series means becoming familiar with Kamurocho, the bustling entertainment district that the series calls home. And like Kiryu Kazuma I’ve come to accept that Kamurocho is a place I can’t escape, but also a home of sorts. The are others cities, each with their own character and charm, but the heart of Yakuza has always been Kamurocho. So I’m pleased to see that Yakuza 6 has once again brought new life to this city.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Yakuza Kiwami has a strange tension between the new and the old. Its modern face lift of the original PS2 game bring it in line with the look of the later PS3 titles, and it’s clear that this is where many series conventions were established. Kiryu’s established as an icon of the old school ideals of masculinity. Rough, straightforward, and honorable to a fault. There’s also plenty of melodrama and absurd reveals, all of which build into a slowly unraveling conspiracy. But while the core is there, it’s clear that Kiwami suffers from being held to the original Yakuza’s structure.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
For all its distractions, Yakuza is a romantic series. There’s a certain nostalgic feeling towards its city, its characters, and its ideas of masculinity. So there’s no better time to set one of its games than in the 80’s, when Japan’s boom economy created in atmosphere of prosperity and excess. Of course, within excess breeds corruption, and so in the midst of this new prosperity rise the machinations of ambitious men. Enter Kiryu and Majima, two inexperienced yakuza caught in the web of a conspiracy. A conspiracy they’ll have to untangle by punching a lot of other men until they give up the truth.
In practical terms, this means roaming the cities of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, hitting up bars and brawls on your way to the next story beat. Yakuza’s dense cities often get it compared to open world games, but its rhythms and pacing are distinctly JRPG. Cutscenes are lengthy and frequent, often accompanied by excellent voice acting and theatrical facial expressions. Naturally, plenty of these escalate into violence.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Yakuza is probably the only series that can remain tonally coherent while moving between taxi driving, prison brawls, idol performances and detailed hunting games. Soaked in absolute melodrama, Yakuza 5 is just as much a soap opera as every game before it. And like those it has cities full of miniature stories, distractions and a sheer sense of density that makes it stand out in a year overrun with open world games.