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GAME: Yakuza 6: The Song of Life




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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4926
PostPosted: Fri Apr 02, 2021 11:33 am Reply with quote
Having played Yakuzas 0 through 5, my experience with them is that the stories typically suffer from severe writing issues from nonsensical plot twists and poorly developed story beats. From evil twin dads and fake bullets to pointless character deaths, the Yakuza stories always seem to be a mess. Yakuza 0 is the only exception to that rule out of the games I've played. So I'm a bit surprised that the reviewer is praising the writing. Yakuza 6 is coming to gamepass so I'll probably play it at some point, but I sure as hell don't expect anything good out of these stories at this point.
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Casval Rem Deikun



Joined: 24 Feb 2021
Posts: 270
PostPosted: Fri Apr 02, 2021 12:39 pm Reply with quote
I hope we can get a english release for Kenzan and Ishin, such great games.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 6281
PostPosted: Fri Apr 02, 2021 1:45 pm Reply with quote
Cam0 wrote:
Having played Yakuzas 0 through 5, my experience with them is that the stories typically suffer from severe writing issues from nonsensical plot twists and poorly developed story beats.


Yep

Cam0 wrote:
fake bullets


Wasn’t a fan of Taejima’s massacre either huh :p

Cam0 wrote:
Yakuza 0 is the only exception to that rule out of the games I've played.



Nope that game had some dumb writing, a nonsensical plot twist, and at least two pointless deaths.

You also had weird shit like Kiryu who isn’t known in the canon as a killer engaging in a shootout on a highway likely causing deaths in the process......,though like that guy who he kicks out of the window early on those Yakuza could’ve survived uninjured somehow.
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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 2116
PostPosted: Fri Apr 02, 2021 3:56 pm Reply with quote
Without spoiling anything, this game further hammers the message of never killing enemies.

Still, the ending of the game..... Only read this if you have finished spoiler[Kiryu fakes his death after the credits after taking serious wounds. It feels like Nagoshi didn't want him dead at the last moment despite the narrative being clearlly focused on his fate and revived him. spoiler[ This ending feels ]more forced when playing Like a Dragon cos Majima and the others see Kiryu again fighting for five minutes in joy but his whole role in the story felt like fanservice.]
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Brand



Joined: 30 Jan 2006
Posts: 1029
PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 10:17 am Reply with quote
Cam0 wrote:
So I'm a bit surprised that the reviewer is praising the writing. Yakuza 6 is coming to gamepass so I'll probably play it at some point, but I sure as hell don't expect anything good out of these stories at this point.


There are still some serious issues with the plot but the character writing in 6 is really good.
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El Hermano



Joined: 24 Feb 2019
Posts: 450
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 12:07 pm Reply with quote
I felt 6 is definitely the weakest game in the series. I especially disliked the story direction with Haruka and her character regression from 5. I'm glad 7 went in a new direct and cast (for the most part).
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GhostStalkerSA



Joined: 17 May 2015
Posts: 425
Location: NYC
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:47 am Reply with quote
BadNewsBlues wrote:

Wasn’t a fan of Taejima’s massacre either huh :p

Think you combined Taiga Saejima’s given and family names here.

And yeah, the Yakuza series is always a mix of “serious” Yakuza drama with crazy twists and betrayals and unnecessary deaths, plus 4koma style silly side story content, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Stupid twists like rubber bullets, secret Koreans, secret CIA uncle, plus things like “the bear attack from 9 years ago” and “YUME” (and series veterans will know what each and every thing I referenced is referring to) don’t take away from the fact that this series is great, the voice acting top notch, even if the story suffers a bit, and 6 is no exception to that. Yeah, it gets long in the tooth in the middle section, but I felt it was a good (if super depressing) conclusion to Kiryu’s saga, even the Haruka parts. Sure, it added a lot of melodrama where it wasn’t needed, but any game with Rugby Baby and Korean Virgil will never not make me laugh, to say nothing of the return of MUNANCHO and Pocket Circuit Fighter, plus the Makoto Shinkai film references in some of the more well known side stories and the Kabedon King.

As for karaoke in 6, it was lacking compared to the selection in other games, but Today is Like a Diamond is such a catchy song with depressing ass lyrics that somewhat makes up for it, Hands was a great capstone after you beat the game and the only full length karaoke song in the series, and Brand New Stage was so damn catchy. Older songs Like a Butterfly and Tonight are always good too.

Combat is a bit lacking because they were still figuring out the Dragon Engine at this point and the inability to hold weapons in your inventory, plus enemies being limited to a single health bar certainly limited fights a bit, but some of the new Heat moves were cool, especially Essence of Electromagnetic Torture (which returned in Kiwami 2, but debuted here first, even though most new fans to the series would’ve likely played the latter first). Also, the new grab and swing helped out a lot with group combat, and the new vending machine drinks added a bit of depth.

For me, the weakest game would probably be 3, even though it’s still good. 5 drags on a bit too long with so much side content for each character, and 4 had a crazy storyline but introduced so many important characters to the series (and Tanimura, but we don’t talk about him much anymore unfortunately).
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 6281
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 2:41 pm Reply with quote
GhostStalkerSA wrote:

Think you combined Taiga Saejima’s given and family names here


I knew it was wrong by virtue of Tanimura being the only main character whose name starts with a “T” but figure to Hell with it I’m on the iPod which is a pain in the ass to edit on.
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