Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth looks like a much better game than FFVII Rebirth

And yet the gaming press, the overhype, and the "dumb game culture" props up FFVII Rebirth as a second coming level event while it looks like a typical bloated open world game with fan fiction level writing that undermines some of the power of the original.

Then you got this.....

A complete game with not only strong characters, like the very underrated by press Yakuza: Like a Dragon had, stronger overall writing with actual good sidequests for a Japanese game, but may well be the close of a legacy in Kiryu as the series switches to Kasuga.

And both FFVII Remake and Like a Dragon came out in 2020 and the game press was too dumb to realize that Like a Dragon was by far the better overall game with far better storytelling, writing, and characters, far better game direction (one of the few that can have both light hearted comedy and dark emotional drama at once) and a better complete package when it comes to gameplay.

While I very much enjoyed Like a Dragon, Final Fantasy VII Remake was definitely my most favourite of the two. Am a huge fan of the original FFVII and I absolutely loved what they did with FFVII Remake. I got the Deluxe version of FFVII Rebirth preordered and am super hyped for it. Am also looking forward to Infinite Wealth and will most likely get that later on.

Both look like shit. Dragon's Dogma 2 is the real game for muscular men.

Just because you think it looks better doesn't mean others do.

Not related to each other at all lol

Play what you want, like what you want. No need to dog on other games in the process.🙃

Honestly never been much into Yakuza series just from lack of committing to a game, but since the branding pivot to Like A Dragon and them pumping out games like there's no tomorrow, I worry Infinite Wealth looks like something made in a time crunch to just keep pumping these games out. Perhaps I'm wrong, but this looks like something that started out as a mobile game in design that got pivoted to a more conventional release mid production. But that's me being prejudicial, hope that isn't the case. Either way it'll be on Game Pass so if any other Yakuza / Like A Dragon fans are on the fence about grabbing it, many will be able to step foot into it without much of a financial sacrifice.

No, its the Man Who Erased His Name that is the extra kinda rushed game here, with Infinite Wealth being the true sequel. And its not like they haven't pumped out spinoffs before.

And no, it does not look mobile at all, but an expansion of what Like a Dragon's game design already has.

Both are JRPGs.

Both had predecessors released in the same year as well.

I disagree with Y LAD having better story. It also definitely more unbalanced with difficulty spikes that turns people away halfway. Agree with better subquests, they aren't that good Yakuza fans tends to overhype the few that devs takes more attention to but its definitely better than FF7R.

No, YLAD blows FFVII Remake out of the water when it comes to story, characters, and writing. Its not even close. FFVII Remake is dumb fan fiction that takes the edge of the original and waters down the dark parts and Rebirth from what I have seen, does the same with Bottomswell. Its a corporate product, not a work of art. YLAD has a point, and while there are flaws here and there with the plot, it sticks to its themes in a consistent way, has fantastic characters, and has one hell of an ending, while many of the side quests have good stories and knows how to balance humor and seriousness.

There is a difficulty spike if people did not listen to what the game is telling them and use the battle arena, which levels you up quickly. The game is easy. The only real spike is the L99 Tower, which originally was DLC.

I have the platinum trophy in both games that are mentioned above, that's how much i like them; I can understand why some people would like more Yakuza 7/like a Dragon over FF7 remake, but saying that is a better game overall, that's something i have to disagree completely.

It is a better game overall, because it is the sums of its parts. FFVII Remake isn't.

FFVII R does combat better and regular soundtrack, thats about it.

Cool? Play that instead.

*shrug*

I disagree.

It doesn't, but okay...

already did

Grown men arguing over which story in a game is better 🤦‍♂️

I have to disagree with story, characters and writings I don't think its as good as FF7R but its subjective and based on your enjoyment. I don't even think Y7 story was good it was just average compared to other Yakuza games (my Fav is Y4).

there is obvious spikes such as the Kiryu battle where most dropped. Suddenly you gotta grind to atleast lvl 40 that halts progress.

And yes I also beat the extreme ver of the millenium tower for the platinum trophy. It honestly not hard just cheap. Halfway into the fight dude suddenly have % insta kill moves out of nowhere and uses the laser from space attacks. the fights before him was harder. Just spam friendship attacks it deals the most damage to the last boss.

Once again, the Battle Arena, you level up VERY quickly and the game points you to get prepared by playing there. This is not on the game, but the players who did not pay attention. I went from low 30's to high 40's in less than an hour. The Business Management game also jacks the player up as well. The post game dungeons were actually DLC in Japan, and yeah, the last one is poorly balanced.

The story is far different and more theme oriented than past Yakuza titles, but the characterization is the best in the series by far. In fact the old characters from the past games come off as one dimensional compared to the new cast. But the writing, the dialogue and the direction is far better than FFVII Remake, which is basically fan fiction level writing. Really, it takes moments from the original, and makes them less meaningful, especially the plate drop and the Shinra HQ story beats.

I thought yakuza like a dragon was amazing but certainly not because of the story which ranged from absolutely terrible to cringy as ****!

No, the story is great, outside a couple of moments, like the rest of the series.

@texasgoldrush: lol no, besides being needlessly complicated the main protagonist was such an little bitch who just kept getting screwed over by every yakuza he met and somehow just accepting it, was sooo annoying!

I also disagree on this, it is Player choice to engage in side contents. Yakuza 7 for the first half is a very smooth experience players able progress story without needing heavy investment. Its so stupid to put roadblocks in the later half forcing players to invest in grinding it just means halting progress for side content that may or may not engage players. Not to mention the business management game is also very grindy, repetitive and the payout is so small forcing players to do the mini games so many times to earn cash.

That's not saying much. You can randomly pick any game and it will still be better than the garbage known as FF.

Game preferences are rather subjective.

Personally, I love the entire FFVII 🌎 that SE has created and super impressed with the Remake.

Definitely going to buy Rebirth irrespective of the judgement of critics and users.

To be fair that wouldn't take much. ;o

FF is way past its shelf life and only game starved cows are eating that rubbish. lol :P

Apples and oranges. It's like comparing Scarface vs Star Wars. They don't have much in common, so the comparison doesn't make much sense.

I am a Yakuza fan who played almost all the games (except for Ishin), and honestly LAD did not hook me at all (I played halfway through it then dropped it). The RPG system didn't do it for me and there were some difficulty spikes that I didn't like.

The Man Who Erased His Name was awesome in my eyes, and I just wish they didn't go the RPG route in the newest entries.

Not excited one bit for Infinite Wealth 😮‍💨

Looks like OP is jealous that ff7 rebirth isn’t coming over to the almighty poorest sold console ever created, the xbses/x

It looks great would be day one if it still had the beat em up combat. Can't get to grips with turn based.

The main quest in Chapter 12 actually takes you to the battle arena and your companions tell you basically to use it to get ready. Hell, you can complete it at this stage, but you don't have to. It levels you up very quickly at that stage of the game. It also gives you easy key crafting materials.

This is the players fault, not the games. The game basically announces its "spike" and tells you how to get over it. People just want to not blame themselves for their failures, blaming the game instead

.

Well the RPG system has made the game series far more successful, and Infinite Wealth has the series record in pre orders.

Its a corporate product, plain and simple. Designed to make money out of FFVII superfans.

All that hype and FFVII Remake cannot sell 10 million.

Can't wait for FFVII Remake, probably my most hyped game this year.

Well yeah, FFVII has nothing on this game. This is gonna be awesome.

He wasn't screwed over by Hoshino, and his faith an Masumi Arakawa was rewarded. And how is it needlessly complicated?

Fact is f.f. has no life on xbox. xbox fans only like games with no story at all. no reason just shoot. no emotion no nothing.

xbox players don't like single player games.

Starfield is the most played single player RPG of 2023.

really enjoyed Yakuza: Like a Dragon and would like to play the direct follow-up to that.. seems like there have been a ton of games released by those guys since then, is this game the direct sequel to Like a Dragon?..

Infinite Wealth is the sequel to Like a Dragon, and The Man Who Erased His Name is a side game set during Like a Dragon.

@Antwan3K: Yes, this is the direct sequel to Like A Dragon (and also a direct sequel to Yakuza 6/Gaiden). And to be fair, it's been four years since the previous game came out, or three years since their last major game (Lost Judgment). The only games they've released recently are Ishin and Gaiden (a remake and a smaller game), and neither took much time to develop.

Back on topic, I...actually agree with Texas on this one. Like A Dragon has the best story of any recent JRPG, and I'm sure the new one will be a better game than FF7R2.

FF7R was a unique remake where the writers clearly hated the original story, but also failed to build on it in any meaningful way. Any time the heroes or villains tried to do anything sensible or meaningful during the story, the Plot Ghosts appeared with musical fanfare and forced them to follow the story of FF7 instead - which highlighted how frustratingly little agency the characters have throughout the game, and positioned the original story of FF7 as a fail-state that must be resisted.

The subtext was really clear: the Plot Ghosts are the developer's stand-in for the legions of fans of FF7, who would be opposed to any changes to the original story. By symbolically defeating the fans at the end of the game, the writers felt that they could finally do something different.

Only...uh, all of the new content in FF7R was pretty bad. It didn't work as a standalone story, and the obligatory boss fight with Sephiroth was one of the least-earned finales in the entire FF series.

@Planeforger: This.

And Like a Dragon actually had the balls to connect the yakuza to right wing politicians, groups, and political causes in Japan, which is the reality over there. You basically fight a uyoku dantai in Bleach Japan.

maybe on xbox, elsewhere that would be baldurs gate 3

This looks like an early GOTY contender, but you know, game critics always underrate the Yakuza series.

Yakuza looks like a soul less game with no emotional element. I found FFVII remake amazing that improves on the original. Top-tier voice acting, great boss fights (also boss designs are very good), engaging story, beautiful music and very good story. Rebirth looks a hole lot better and the score showcased at the games award was impressive.

The game approach is similar to Sherlock Holmes TV show starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman that updated the original with a modern twist.

But again those poor Xbox/PC fans would consider it sour grapes as they can't experience the fun in all its modern glory.

Hard Pass

Ummmmmmmmmmm.......

The endings to Yakuza Like a Dragon and The Man Who Erased His Name are highly emotional. The entire Kasuga arc is highly emotional. What are you talking about?

And Infinite Wealth deals with cancer of the long time protagonist.

Yes, it does

Swing and a miss. Nuttin but Fiction.

Xbox has the Exclusive and finest FF ever made...

And cows will cry hard when the sequel is announced later this year. lol :P

Not according to Larian. They announced all hours played on all devices. Starfield was much more.