In the midst of our romance celebration last month, I also finished Yakuza 5, the third and final part of the Yakuza Remastered Collection.
Like Yakuza 4, Yakuza 5 features multiple protagonists, each of whom has a story you play through before their stories come together at the end.
But unlike Yakuza 4, where everyone’s story was set in Kamurocho, Yakuza 5 has each part set in a different city.
Moreover, not only does each character have their own slate of substories, but each part also includes a side story with its own story and set of missions.
For example, the first part follows Kiryu, who is now living in Nagasugai under a fake name and working as a taxi driver. So alongside all the usual Yakuza gameplay and substories, you also can take on taxi missions and racing missions. Each side story is unique and has its own systems.
All of this together means there’s a massive amount of side content in Yakuza 5. It’s a huge game, with a ton of optional things to do.
And it’s great! The substories are as entertaining as usual, and I loved the side stories. I started joking that if RGG had interest in any genre at all, they found a way to include it in Yakuza 5, because the side story gameplay is often completely different from the main game. Meanwhile, the combat is a step up from the previous entry and really felt a lot like Yakuza 0 to me.
(Yakuza 5 is also by far the most Christmas-themed Yakuza game so far.)
In terms of gameplay, there are only two real downsides in my opinion. First, the encounter rate is absurdly high. I could run into five battles just trying to reach a save point. Walking slowly past enemies to avoid battles is something I started to do more and more. Second, although there are five protagonists, there are only four side stories since two character share a part. I wish all five characters had a side story. On the other hand, though, that would make Yakuza 5 even longer than it is already, so maybe it’s for the best.
Each part also has an interesting story, but it’s when they start to come together that it runs into problems. This isn’t like Yakuza 4, where the story is dragged down by a couple ridiculous plot twists. No, the problem with Yakuza 5’s overarching story is that it just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Some aspects of the overarching story work and brought plot points together in a great way! Others, however, just left me saying, “Huh?”
Click for Yakuza 5 spoilers
The Kurosawa reveal? That was great, I started to have suspicions ahead of time, and I thought it worked great (aside from it being on the heels of the protagonists coming up with the stupidest plan imaginable to bait out the mastermind). His plan, however? It barely makes sense and feels complicated for the sake of being complicated.
Then there’s the whole Aizawa & Morinaga mess, which still doesn’t quite make sense to me.
It feels like certain twists and plot points were added solely to surprise the player, regardless of how much sense they actually make. There’s an interview from around when the game originally came out where producer and writer Yokoyama said he didn’t decide how the story would go ahead of time because he likes to surprise himself, and while I respect and appreciate that style of writing, it’s important to go through afterwards and make sure all the pieces line up.
But despite my criticisms of the overarching plot, Yakuza 5 is an incredible game with great moments, interesting story moments in each individual part, and so much fun side content to enjoy that even though story is one of my biggest priorities, I came out of Yakuza 5 loving it. For the overall game experience, I’d rank it near the top of the series.
So if you’re making your way through the Yakuza series and are wondering if you should pick up the Yakuza Remastered Collection, or you’ve played up through 4 and are wondering if you should dive into 5, it’s absolutely worthwhile.
Our final Celebrating All Things Spooky review this year is an entry in a series that has become near and dear to my heart, Yakuza.
That’s right, Yakuza has a “spooky” entry.
I’d been playing Yakuza 5 and hope to finish that before the end of the year, but when October came around, I decided to put that on hold to try the zombie shooter spin-off, Dead Souls.
Yakuza: Dead Souls is a non-canon spin-off set after Yakuza 4. A zombie outbreak sends Kamurocho into chaos, and our characters find themselves at the center of it all as they try to survive, help the people of the city, and learn the truth behind the outbreak.
The thing that struck me the most about Dead Souls is how sincere it feels. I didn’t expect much from the story of a zombie Yakuza game, but it doesn’t feel like an excuse plot or something quickly thrown together. It feels like a genuine Yakuza story exploring what would happen if zombies overtook Kamurocho. To some degree, it comes across as Yakuza Resident Evil, but it uses these elements in a way that makes sense for the series.
It also has great character interactions and some surprisingly emotional moments.
Click for Yakuza: Dead Souls spoilers
Ryuji’s third chapter, when they turn his boss from the takoyaki stand into a monster and you have to fight him, and then Ryuji deals the final blow while flashing back to his boss showing him how to kill an octopus cleanly to avoid causing it to suffer… that was a heavy scene.
And then the start of Kiryu’s chapter, when he refuses to shoot zombies until he’s finally forced to accept that there’s no other choice, that hit hard. It makes perfect sense for his character, so I’m glad they actually did that instead of having Kiryu just go in guns blazing.
Then there are the substories. In true Yakuza fashion, Dead Souls is filled with optional substories that are often hilarious and occasionally heartwarming. Some are ridiculous even by Yakuza standards, and then there are others that involve minor characters from past games, part of the attention to detail that makes it feel so sincere.
If you’re wondering if Dead Souls is worth it, I’d personally recommend it for the substories alone.
We do have to consider the gameplay, however.
Unlike the rest of the series, Dead Souls is a third-person shooter. You get a variety of guns, with each character having a main type. Handguns have infinite ammo, while the rest require you to have ammo in your inventory. Heat is replaced by the snipe gauge, which lets you use things in the environment to wreak devastation upon the zombies.
The shooting does not feel great, especially when you aim. You can aim by going into first-person, but you can’t move while aiming. That would be fine, except it also decided that means the left stick should control your aim instead of the right stick (which controls the camera in third-person). Going into first-person also sometimes swung me around so that I was facing a different direction; I never figured out what caused it or how to avoid it. Aside from fights with bosses and certain types of special zombies, I found it easier to shoot without aiming, since there’s some sort of auto-aim in place.
I’m not the biggest shooter fan, so I can’t really speak to whether it’s fun or not. Combat was the game’s weakest link for me, but not enough to stop me from playing it.
(Chases were also rough and felt clunkier to me than Yakuza 3’s chases despite this game coming out after Yakuza 4, but fortunately they don’t occur often.)
Now, all of this zombie shooting occurs in the quarantine zone, which gets larger and larger as the game goes on. Outside of the quarantined area, life in Kamurocho goes on like usual. Between that and the ability to liberate businesses within the quarantine zone (at which point they act like things are totally normal despite zombies swarming outside), all of the usual Yakuza side activities are here. While it might feel surreal to eat with a hostess, enjoy some karaoke, and then blast your way through a legion of zombies, I appreciate how Dead Souls is a complete Yakuza experience.
Click for minor Yakuza: Dead Souls spoilers
And since Ryuji’s return itself isn’t part of the plot, just a retcon, I choose to believe Ryuji survived in canon as well and is just happily making takoyaki without drawing any attention to himself.
…Maybe without the gun-arm.
(It would be ironic if Ryuji is alive and just successfully managed to do what Kiryu’s been trying to do for half the series now – drop out of sight and live a quiet life away from the Yakuza.)
It’s the shortest game I’ve played in the series, with my playtime coming in at a little over 30 hours. However, while I did all the substories, I skipped a chunk of side content – like the procedurally generated underground dungeons, which I did one floor of and then left – that could make a playthrough much longer.
So, is Yakuza: Dead Souls worth playing? If story, substories, and side content are the main draw for you, I’d say it is, although finding it is another matter. Dead Souls is only available on the PS3. You can buy a digital copy for $19.99, or hunt down a physical copy like I did. Since PS3 games are region-free, I imported a PAL copy since they’re easier to find.
Will they ever remaster Dead Souls? I don’t know, but I think it deserves it.
Yakuza: Dead Souls is a strange spin-off that has a lot more good in it than you might expect. It turned out to be the perfect way to end this year’s Celebrating All Things Spooky celebration. Happy Halloween, and don’t forget you have until midnight tonight to participate in the contest!
We ended up with a Nintendo Direct yesterday morning, a State of Play yesterday evening, and then the RGG Summit this morning, and we have so many exciting announcements to talk about, I can’t stand it!
So let’s go through these events and take a look at the highlights!
Nintendo Direct
The Nintendo Direct began with the announcement of the latest Fire Emblem game.
Now, it was actually leaked a while back, but most people dismissed it as being fake. Turns out it’s real, and the protagonists really do have that red-and-blue look seen in the leaks.
It seems there’s some sort of crossover aspect where you can summon characters from past Fire Emblem games… which is a little odd, but I’ll keep an open mind. The one thing I’m not crazy about, though, is the title. Fire Emblem Engage just sounds boring for a main series entry.
Anyway, after a couple of announcements, the next major game was indeed the one I saw leaked the previous day, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.
That’s right, the never-localized Fatal Frame 4 is being remastered for all major platforms and translated. It will be out in early 2023. It’s digital-only, but I’ll take what I can get!
The next wave of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 DLC was also announced for October 13, and I have every reason to believe I’ll still be playing by then.
Fist of the North Star is getting a boxing game, which I’m not interested in, but I had to mention just because of how unexpected it was.
Tunic is coming to the Switch as well.
And hey, remember when Square Enix announced a Front Mission remake for this summer and then never mentioned it again? It’s now set for October, and then the Front Mission 2 remake will be out in 2023. Oh, and they announced a Front Mission 3 remake, as well.
Speaking of remakes, Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is being remade (as Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life), but that’s not all. They also announced Rune Factory 3 Special for 2023, and then teased more Rune Factory in development.
They specifically said “a new Rune Factory series,” so I’m not sure if that is just an odd way of saying Rune Factory 6, or if they mean a new subseries within Rune Factory.
In between Marvelous announcements, Square Enix revealed Octopath Traveler II and Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line.
(The trailer and description for Octopath Traveler II both mention intertwining stories, so I’ll keep an eye on it.)
After several more announcements, we got to the reveal that Ib is coming to the Switch. It’s a creepy game that looks like my sort of thing.
And it turns out the new Atelier game is Ryza 3 after all, as Gust revealed Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key for February 24.
(Meanwhile, the Atelier 25th anniversary website was updated so that it now lists only 4 total projects, not 6. That still leaves one unannounced project, but… did they just change their minds? Then again, the Japanese website still lists 6 total but has the fourth filled by a Ryza 1 & 2 dual pack of some sort.)
(Update: The website now has 6 listed again.)
Moving on, I’ve never played Pikmin, but I’m happy for Pikmin fans that Pikmin 4 was at least acknowledged.
Square Enix was back with another Harvestella trailer, along with the announcement of a demo that’s out now.
We got a new Bayonetta 3 trailer, and it’s looking great!
Not only that, they also released an 8-minute gameplay video after the Nintendo Direct. I might have had concerns at one point, but Bayonetta 3 really looks fantastic.
Moving on, remember when we discussed the announcement of Rain Code, from the creator of Danganronpa? It was at the Nintendo Direct too! Now under the title Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, it definitely looks like a game I’ll be interested in.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion got a new trailer and a December 13 release date, and then they announced Tales of Symphonia Remastered, which I was super-excited about since Tales of Symphonia is one of my favorite games of all time…
…although right now, it’s unclear if this is an upgrade over the existing PS3/PC version or not. The official details claim it has visual improvements and “new gameplay enhancements,” but it also appears to be 30 fps.
There is a “Chosen Edition” available to order as well, but it’s not compelling enough to convince me despite how much I love the game.
Anyway, that’s it for the exciting Nintendo Direct announcements for me, although people excited for Breath of the Wild 2 can rest easy now that it’s officially titled The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and has a May 12 release date.
That was an excellent Nintendo Direct. There are so many games I want, and the Fatal Frame news is fantastic! I was much less excited going into the State of Play last night, but little did I know what was in store…
State of Play
WE ARE GETTING YAKUZA ISHIN; THIS IS NOT A DRILL, ISHIN LOCALIZATION IS REAL!
I was idly watching the State of Play when suddenly it happened and I nearly lost my mind.
Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin is being remade and coming west under the title Like a Dragon: Ishin. In Japan, it’s called Ishin Kiwami.
The title concerned some people, but it still has action combat like it did before. It seems like they’re shifting away from the Yakuza title for the west and translating the Japanese title from now on.
It’s really happening! Ishin in English is no longer a dream! It’s coming out next February!
And then some other games were shown.
Okay, it was more exciting than that, but really, I was barely able to concentrate on the State of Play after Ishin. It was already the best State of Play ever, and it didn’t matter what else was shown.
But I did manage to scrape up some remaining focus for a few other games, such as Project Eve, which now has the title Stellar Blade and is set for 2023.
Team Ninja also announced a new action RPG called Rise of the Ronin that seems like it could be cool, although it’s open world, so we’ll see.
They ended with a new trailer for God of War Ragnarok, which I really should have been more excited about since it’s one of my most-anticipated games, but I was too busy screaming over Ishin.
And so, I left the State of Play satisfied and went to sleep last night with the knowledge that I need not feel tempted to wake up at 6 to watch the RGG Summit. They would show more Ishin, likely reveal Yakuza 8, and maybe announce PC ports of the Judgment games, as those had potentially leaked earlier in the day.
RGG Summit 2022
The RGG Summit did indeed bring new information about Ishin, along with a new trailer and some surprising details. Like a Dragon: Ishin will be released on February 21, and several characters have been recast with characters from Yakuza 0 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Notable replacements include the three lieutenants from Yakuza 0, but a gameplay trailer that surfaced later on also showed characters like Bacchus (along with a plethora of delightful mini-games).
They also officially announced, uh… Like a Dragon 8. No, that’s really what it’s called in the west. That’s why I mentioned earlier in this post that they seem to have dropped “Yakuza” as the localized title. It will be out in 2024, and is said to be the largest game in the series to date.
Also, it seems Kiryu will be back with a new haircut (disguise?) as a second protagonist.
It should be fun to explain to people that the series order goes Yakuza 6, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Like a Dragon 8. They should never have dropped the 7 for the English title.
And with Ishin and 8 both shown, that was tha–
Nope! They also announced Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, a game set after Yakuza 6 that follows Kiryu in the events leading up to 7 and 8. It is said to be about half the length of a regular Yakuza game, and will be out in 2023. Like Ishin, it will be an action game.
And that was the end of the RGG Summit. No Judgment news, so–
Then Sega shadow-dropped Judgment and Lost Judgment on Steam, both separately and in a new bundle called The Judgment Collection. If the rumors of Judgment being in danger of cancellation were ever true, this should put an end to that now.
In the midst of our romance celebration last month, I also finished Yakuza 5, the third and final part of the Yakuza Remastered Collection.
