Any Yakuza fans here?

This is the latest trailer for the upcoming Like a Dragon Garden featuring the original badass Kiryu Kazama! Comes out November 9th. What do you think, SW? Have you tried Yakuza games? Are you a fan? This one looks familiar while at the same time having some new elements to keep things interesting. Also, I find it hilarious that they're using real Cabaret models this time 😆 The franchise is known for having super melodramatic plots featuring gangsters fighting for control of Tokyo, while at the same time having very silly and funny side content.

Also, I find it hilarious that they're using real Cabaret models this time 😆

This game is wild. At first I thought "Wow, those graphics are next level"... then it turned out to be real-life models. I will definitely be getting this lmao

Don't get this cheesy IP.

I still need to beat Yakuza Zero...

Ofc I'll be getting it since it's a Kiryu brawler, albeit it's half the length of a normal game. It just depends on whether Sonic comes out within the same time frame if I'll get it day one or not.

Lol yea it took a second to realize it. love it.

That makes sense now. First it was the digital only release, and then the $50 price point. So basically it’s a major DLC? I would actually welcome a Yakuza game at that length. Makes me think of the earlier games (was it 3?) and it‘s not bad.

@SolidGame_basic:

I think it's supposed to be the Yakuza equivalent of Spiderman: Miles Morales. So I'm guessing it'll be 60ish hours to plat, but probably around 20 hours just to beat, similar to the earlier games like you said.

Fan of Shenmue. better series (not counting 3).

didnot likeed Yakuza. Judgment is ok i guess.

Went through 0-4 in a go. I took a break on 5.

Hater here. No thanks, give me more Sleeping Dogs instead.

Only played yakuza like a dragon, was pretty great despite the main story being trash!

Sleeping Dogs is great. What don't you like about Yakuza?

Love Shenmue 1 & 2, though hard for me to compare them to Yakuza.

@SolidGame_basic: It's just too silly. You either are getting well written and well acted story bits or things just go completely silly. Same for combat too.

I needed it to take itself more seriously. I get that's what people love about it but I find no humour in that type of humour. No disrespect but - to me - it just comes across as stupid.

I do enjoy the Yakuza franchise but don’t get to play them as much as I would like to. Too many games, too little time and all that.

I love my self some Yakuza. Good to see they went back to a brawler but they should move away from Kiryu now. He's what 60+ by now.

I like what I’ve played so far. Glad they came to Xbox.

@pc_rocks: He's 55 in 2023, but Kiryu is a dragon, so I wouldn't take it so literally. Ichiban is also 46 and he only has one game so far.

What? Didn't play 7 because I didn't like the change in direction but it's stupid they went with a character of such age. Are they somehow trying to go with western route of middle aged anti-hero cliche.

Yakuza 0 with a young Kiryu was I think better suited for a character in such a world.

In that game Ichiban is 42, but he was born in '77, so he should be 46 in Y8/Infinite Wealth.

I don't think they're following a western trope, but are going against the grain of most jrpgs where the main protagonists are teens. They've commented on it before, how Yakuza is meant to appeal to an older crowd that feels ignored in video games.

@Renegade_Fury: I'm a fan of the older hero lol. So glad he's even back to begin with. And he looks great here, unlike that Persona 5 look he has going for in the new Yakuza lol.

probably not day one this time.

Nah, never played a Yakuza game, they seem to have too much weird stuff in it.

That gameplay looks trash. That has to be the worst enemy AI ive seen in a long time.

I picked up judgement but haven't started it yet.

For someone who's never played any of these games, is judgement a good game to start with the franchise??

@last_lap: not surprised since ur only on xbox IP but now since the game is on most platform give it a try. The series is a pretty straightforward yakuza story if you ignore the sidequests which about 80% is just shit 5 minute busywork.

@sakaixx: I do own every PS console except for 5 you know. So i've had plenty of chances to play the series, it's just weird af Japanese stuff. If it were funny I would stomach it, but it's cringe in the worst possible way 🤮

@sargentd: They're for the most part standalone, so yeah. As for the main series, the best games to start with are either Yakuza 0 or Y7/Like a Dragon (it's turn based).

Yeah I have absolutely zero idea what these games are about.

From what I've seen, they're beat 'em ups? Fighting game?

But then....there's like a lot of minigames and activities? So it's a life-sim?

And look I won't deny it: I have a strong strong attraction to Japanese women, but I find the whole "cabaret" model (or, if we are being honest, "former Japanese pornstar now works at nightclub" model) thing really creepy.

Like you said: cringe.

Some of these games are on Game Pass, I suppose I could give one or two a try.

Just take a look at this clip, some of the cringe is the localisation, imagine a Japanese lady saying what's your name big boy, or the AI in the first scene calling him an asshat etc.

Cringe from beginning to end.

Really looking forward to like a dragon the man who erased his name. The combat is the best em up style looks like a good story.

Yeah honestly its pretty cringe to me. its just a shock value scene and if I recall they do the scene twice one in Y0 and another in Y2 or Y6.

thank you, will go ahead and play judgement, will try yakuza 0 later after judgement

More details!

Shouldn't it be called Yakuza 8?

Maybe Yakuza 7.5 as it is positioned as a side story that bridges the gap between 7 and 8 (as "Gaiden" means "side story" in Japanese).

However, it is not that simple in the West: Sega renamed Yakuza 7 to "Yakuza: Like A Dragon", dropping the numbering, and then renamed Yakuza 8 as "Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth," dropping the word Yakuza as well.

So in the West,

• Yakuza 7 = Yakuza: Like a Dragon
• Yakuza 7.5 = Like a Dragon Gaiden
• Yakuza 8 = Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

People who don't know this might be a little confused, haha.

Yea I guess Yakuzas got offended by the original titles.

@SolidGame_basic: Well, also, both Kiryu and Ichiban have already left the Yakuza clan, so the title "Ex-Yakuza" might be more accurate and not so offensive to the real Yakuzas, haha.

That’s true. Plus, in the Ichiban games, Kiryu looks like Yu from Persona 4 now, so they probably didn’t want to be associated with that.

Still have to play the ishin spin off but looking forward to the man who erased his name. Looks another interesting story.

Ahh so this essentially played after Like a Dragon and then Infinite Wealth. I was confused a bit on the storyline as I've only played Like a Dragon

Didn't realize there's an actual Yakuza 8 coming out until now. Still would've been better to call them Yakuza 8 and 9.

The original name is Like a Dragon, not Yakuza... Or rather, the original name is Ryu ga Gotoku, which translates to Like a Dragon. That's what the series was always called in Japan.

Yakuza was the localized name used for Western markets. Now that the series is taking off in the West, they're reverting back to the original Japanese name (or an English translation of it).

One of my favorite game studios. Their games are high quality and loaded with content and memorable characters. The way they flow between the melodramatic to silly humor is fantastic.

They get my money because they earn it.

Mostly just liked 7.

Good to know 👍

What about Judgement? Any love for Judgement franchise?

@SolidGame_basic: Judgment is great. I still need to pick up Lost Judgement, and will one of these days

If you haven't tried it yet, Fist of The North Star: Lost Paradise is definitely worth your time. I'm reinstalling it now, thanks to this topic.