Yakuza 6: The Song of Life |OT| The Real Dad of War

RedSwirl · May 21, 2018

I am probably more absorbed in this game than I was in Yakuza 5, 0, or Kiwami. The Dragon engine in my opinion makes a huge difference, with both the graphics and the seamlessness of the whole experience. I guess it's not that different from western AAA console RPGs, but combining that new tech with unique settings like Kamurocho and especially Onomichi makes for a video game setting unlike most others. Games like Fallout, Witcher, and Mass Effect haven't really done dense cities and towns like Yakuza 6 has. The closest you get is Novigrad in Witcher 3 which I guess is impressive on its own for how it handles the transition between that city and the surrounding countryside.

Yakuza 6, structurally reminds me the most of Witcher 2. Both are sort of mid-budget games that make good use of small, intimately designed hub environments that combine modern graphics tech with unique art direction and well-written stories. I heard Kingdom Come is kinda similar too.

Verdanth · May 21, 2018

lucebuce said:

Wrong.

RedSwirl · May 21, 2018

Kerozinn said:
I finally started playing Yakuza Kiwami today after beating Yakuza Zero few months ago and i have a question:
should i wait for yakuza kiwami 2 to release and beat it before yakuza 6 or not?

The further I get in Yakuza 6 the more I think it actually makes sense to play it right after Kiwami. Its story mirrors that of Kiwami in a lot of ways. I think it's intentional, maybe in order to make 1/Kiwami and 6 sort of bookends of Kiriyu's story.

Lynchian Anomaly · May 22, 2018

I really hope they've revamped the combat in Kiwami 2 because this combat is a huge step back from Zero. Extremely limited. And most of the heat couldn't function due to the physics getting hitched on everything.

Legend difficulty was ridiculously easy.

Other than that it was an excellent send off for Kiryu. Huge waves of feels. The central mystery was kinda dumb but it was elevated by how much I loved characters old and new.

Get_crazy · May 22, 2018

So I'm in

Onomichi

and sometimes you can pick up stuff

near the port, things like seashells, seaweeds, driftwood etc...

what what's the use of those things?

8bit · May 22, 2018

I don't remember any of those having a use, just junk items iirc. Might be wrong though.

lucebuce · May 22, 2018

I think the "high-quality" versions of those items can get you some decent yen if you sell them at a pawn shop.

RedSwirl · May 22, 2018

Maybe it's because Zero wasn't my first Yakuza game, but I really didn't care all that much about the multi-style system. I thought it was a cool addition for Zero specifically, but didn't see the need for it to be carried over to later games. This may actually be the last we see of it, but who knows what happens when they start doing the games with that new protagonist.

Get_crazy · May 22, 2018

lucebuce said:
I think the "high-quality" versions of those items can get you some decent yen if you sell them at a pawn shop.

Thanks, I just sold everything at the pawn shop, I thought it would have had another purpose but... oh well, money is money (even if I'm already at 16 million haha).

lucebuce · May 22, 2018

RedSwirl said:
Maybe it's because Zero wasn't my first Yakuza game, but I really didn't care all that much about the multi-style system. I thought it was a cool addition for Zero specifically, but didn't see the need for it to be carried over to later games. This may actually be the last we see of it, but who knows what happens when they start doing the games with that new protagonist.

The issue with the multiple styles was literally that the game was just too easy. There was no real reason to switch styles as any style could get the job done easily (maybe Rush mode for Kiryu required a bit more effort but it was still more than doable). Just look at Ishin as a demonstration of how you can add multiple styles but still have the enemies be varied and difficult enough to force you to change styles depending on the situation. It made the styles feel much more fun and satisfying to use properly.

RedSwirl · May 22, 2018

lucebuce said:
The issue with the multiple styles was literally that the game was just too easy. There was no real reason to switch styles as any style could get the job done easily (maybe Rush mode for Kiryu required a bit more effort but it was still more than doable). Just look at Ishin as a demonstration of how you can add multiple styles but still have the enemies be varied and difficult enough to force you to change styles depending on the situation. It made the styles feel much more fun and satisfying to use properly.

Combat in most Yakuza games has never been particularly difficult, save for a few difficulty-spike bosses. The main problem is random mooks have always been way too easy to take down. I actually appreciate their expanded range of abilities in Yakuza 6.

lucebuce · May 22, 2018

RedSwirl said:
Combat in most Yakuza games has never been particularly difficult, save for a few difficulty-spike bosses. The main problem is random mooks have always been way too easy to take down. I actually appreciate their expanded range of abilities in Yakuza 6.

Yup, the first 3 games could still offer a bit of a challenge in the highest difficulties but Y4-onwards is when the difficulty levels really dropped down. Even Hard is barely even a challenge. Only times I ever die in a Yakuza game is when I first play the Amon fights. Literally no other boss or enemy is that difficult lol.

Linkura · May 22, 2018

lucebuce said:
I think the "high-quality" versions of those items can get you some decent yen if you sell them at a pawn shop.

Pretty much.

Deleted member 1162 · May 23, 2018

lucebuce said:
Yup, the first 3 games could still offer a bit of a challenge in the highest difficulties but Y4-onwards is when the difficulty levels really dropped down. Even Hard is barely even a challenge. Only times I ever die in a Yakuza game is when I first play the Amon fights. Literally no other boss or enemy is that difficult lol.

The only time I died in Yakuza 0: disco brothers fight on "hard."

Freezasaurus · May 24, 2018

I spent like two hours the other night just taking screenshots of beating guys up in the Onomichio costume. The best were the screencaps of Onomichio shooting people. XD

shadowman16 · May 24, 2018

Freezasaurus said:
I spent like two hours the other night just taking screenshots of beating guys up in the Onomichio costume. The best were the screencaps of Onomichio shooting people. XD

Please post a couple of those shots. Those sound really funny :)

Tomasdk · May 24, 2018

Could I get some advice with the baseball minigame? The ingame explanation doesn't tell me much, I have no idea what players to put where, I have no idea how the scoring works, I have no idea when/why to substitute people. Can I get through it just by letting the game run as it seems that the only thing I can do is substitute people...sometimes when the game lets me and play the batter a few times for some reason.

Aurc · May 24, 2018

Tomasdk said:
Could I get some advice with the baseball minigame? The ingame explanation doesn't tell me much, I have no idea what players to put where, I have no idea how the scoring works, I have no idea when/why to substitute people. Can I get through it just by letting the game run as it seems that the only thing I can do is substitute people...sometimes when the game lets me and play the batter a few times for some reason.

I don't know anything about baseball, and just used the sample lineup from CyricZ's guide on GameFAQs:

You don't have to substitute or anything, just set game speed to fast and make good player-controlled hits when applicable. Keep spending your XP and grinding if necessary, and you should be fine beating the entire storyline like this.

Deleted member 1067 · May 25, 2018

Playing around in 6 again and guh getting the Shogun picture at the start of the game is such a haymaker right in the gut.

Ishin...

sega has wronged you :'(

RedSwirl · May 25, 2018

I don't know about that ending man. Damn.

Anyway, I'd like to say that Yakuza 6 to me feels like the latest in a trend I've been feeling regarding some recent Japanese games. I don't really know how to describe it, I tried to make a thread about it but it can kind of come off as pedantic about Japanese games or something.

Basically, it feels like some Japanese games are starting to learn from western games in exactly the way I hoped they would while retaining exactly the aspects of Japanese gaming I hoped they would retain. The big three examples for me were Metal Gear Solid V, Breath of the Wild, and Resident Evil 7. They all feel extremely modern compared to their predecessors, finally throwing off the last vestiges of their old school control schemes while retaining the spirit of what made those games. MGSV and BOTW specifically became more systemic, focusing a lot more on player freedom in a way that ended up being really fun, and in a way that western developers used to do back in the classic PC days but forgot how to do on consoles. BOTW feels more like Skyrim's predecessors than Skyrim itself. RE7 borrowed exactly what I wanted it to borrow from the recent indie horror games but also remained Resident Evil and in my opinion is also exactly how VR should be improving storytelling mechanics. Final Fantasy XV might be an example too but I decided not to mess with that game for now (actually XII might be a better proto-example, the Souls games too).

Yakuza 6 fits into this generally just by how much more immersive its experience is. It took in a lot of the new technology the AAA developers have been using but employs it towards its own purposes -- not making a massive theme park-style open world but continuing to do city streets that feel ever more real. I also think the physics system is a net plus.

I guess I'm just glad to see some of these developers apply new, western technology towards uniquely Japanese gaming ideas.

Fairy Godmother · May 25, 2018

Just finished the game.

Another Kiryu's death cop out. I'm glad they didn't kill him though, he's survived worse.

Perhaps the next game will star Daigo as the main protagonist.

Linkura · May 25, 2018

Queen Kong said:
Just finished the game.

Another Kiryu's death cop out. I'm glad they didn't kill him though, he's survived worse.

Perhaps the next game will star Daigo as the main protagonist.

Have you not seen the announcements regarding the latest in the series? It's starring an unrelated character: Ichiban Kasuga.

Fairy Godmother · May 25, 2018

Linkura said:
Have you not seen the announcements regarding the latest in the series? It's starring an unrelated character: Ichiban Kasuga.

I have.
He's an unrelated character created only for the spin off.

Aurc · May 25, 2018

Queen Kong said:
I have.
He's an unrelated character created only for the spin off.

I don't think it's a spinoff. I think this counts as a mainline entry for the new direction of the series, post-Kiryu.

Plus, knowing RGG Studio, there's just no way they'll develop a moveset for this guy and only get one game's use of it. Very rare for them.

shadowman16 · May 25, 2018

Queen Kong said:
I have.
He's an unrelated character created only for the spin off.

Its not a spin off. The team already stated when he was announced that Ichiban is the new face of Yakuza and his game

takes place after events of 6, by the sounds of it the main plot points are Ichiban getting out of prison only to find out his boss (and mentor - basically his Kazama figure) stabbed him in the back and the Omi now runs Kamurocho. Well, that's at least the plot of RGG Online, and Nagoshi stated Shin RGG and Online will follow the same basic plot, but branch out from each other at some point. But I would be interested to see a Daigo game just to see him get a little redemption, he's been treated as a tool over the years. He deserves a win and if the plot of Online is anything to go by, sounds like he's either underground again or dead.

Linkura · May 25, 2018

Queen Kong said:
I have.
He's an unrelated character created only for the spin off.

Tomasdk · May 25, 2018

Aurc said:
I don't know anything about baseball, and just used the sample lineup from CyricZ's guide on GameFAQs:

You don't have to substitute or anything, just set game speed to fast and make good player-controlled hits when applicable. Keep spending your XP and grinding if necessary, and you should be fine beating the entire storyline like this.

Thank you, this is really helpful.

Fairy Godmother · May 25, 2018

shadowman16 said:
Its not a spin off. The team already stated when he was announced that Ichiban is the new face of Yakuza and his game

takes place after events of 6, by the sounds of it the main plot points are Ichiban getting out of prison only to find out his boss (and mentor - basically his Kazama figure) stabbed him in the back and the Omi now runs Kamurocho. Well, that's at least the plot of RGG Online, and Nagoshi stated Shin RGG and Online will follow the same basic plot, but branch out from each other at some point. But I would be interested to see a Daigo game just to see him get a little redemption, he's been treated as a tool over the years. He deserves a win and if the plot of Online is anything to go by, sounds like he's either underground again or dead.

Going from a yakuza legend to a nobody mook is going to be a severe downgrade.

I kinda wanna play on Yomei side in the next game.

Aurc · May 25, 2018

Queen Kong said:
Going from a yakuza legend to a nobody mook is going to be a severe downgrade.

The only reason people knew Kiryu was a yakuza legend in the original game is because it flat-out tells you so, you don't actually see him doing that amazing stuff to ascend the hierarchy and make a name for himself until 0.

So, with new guy, one of two things will go down: He's either a nobody who we'll get to see achieve his status over the course of the game(s), or he'll remain mostly a nobody, and we'll get a perspective of a yakuza who, unlike Kiryu, Saejima, and Majima, has no reputation attached to him and must claw his way through the underworld. We did get this with 0, and it was pretty great to see.

shadowman16 · May 25, 2018

Queen Kong said:
Going from a yakuza legend to a nobody mook is going to be a severe downgrade.

I kinda wanna play on Yomei side in the next game.

See, that's why I'm quite excited. I want a new character to build a new legend around. Its all down to the story though, as I know the gameplay will rock anyway, hopefully they can come up with a compelling followup to 6.
With regards to legends though, I really did think

Akiyama was next in line for focus in Yakuza 6/7 seeing as they went out of their way to build him up in 5 - his whole finale chapter part was about his "legend" starting (he directly says this when he fights Kanai), pity they don't seem to be following this up, I really like Akiyama as a character.

ara · May 25, 2018

Queen Kong said:
Going from a yakuza legend to a nobody mook is going to be a severe downgrade.

I'm personally looking forward to it. Rags to riches stories are always great, hoping the new one will be like that.

That said, I still can't believe how much better the character's concept art is. Or the drawing anyway, whatever it technically is. The 3d render is fine, but not nearly as good as the drawing.

e: three people, essentially the same reply. Great minds etc.

colonyoo · May 26, 2018

as much as i like kiryu, a lot of the most interesting characters in the last few games have generally been the scrappier dudes who dont have pre-established gigantic legacies

what i mean to say is shinada should have an entire game

Bosh · May 28, 2018

Finally beat the game. It was ace.

The story was incredible and the voice acting (IDK Japanese either) was the best in any video game I have played. Every character was top notch.

GeeTeeCee · May 28, 2018

Hmm, these last few Clan Creator battles don't mess around. My usual strategy of just deploying all the leaders at once and hoping for the best clearly isn't working.

kamineko · May 28, 2018

Beat the game. Liked it, but wish there had been more time to fill in the game. As others have noted, the combat system seems undeveloped and the world emptier. It is a less generous game than Kiwami. The engine shows a lot of promise though--I'm seriously excited for Kiwami 2.

I can't get "Thanks for everything, Mama" to pop. I've got her to 3 stars, I've done everybody else's side story at New Gaudi. I've gone back and had drinks with everyone again. I've returned to both the bar and the restaurant at dusk, day, and night. I've left town and come back. I've quit the game and loaded a save. Now that I'm typing this, I realize I haven't done a hard restart of the system. I also haven't done spearfishing yet. Maybe I need to do that? Halp

Aurc · May 28, 2018

kamineko said:
I can't get "Thanks for everything, Mama" to pop. I've got her to 3 stars, I've done everybody else's side story at New Gaudi. I've gone back and had drinks with everyone again. I've returned to both the bar and the restaurant at dusk, day, and night. I've left town and come back. I've quit the game and loaded a save. Now that I'm typing this, I realize I haven't done a hard restart of the system. I also haven't done spearfishing yet. Maybe I need to do that? Halp

You need to talk to a woman handing out stationery to trigger this. From your apartment, head straight and take a right on the same street the indoor mall is on. She should be standing at the end there.

kamineko · May 28, 2018

Thanks, that's what I mean by restaurant. That corner there. She isn't there, though--I've been doing all this stuff but she doesn't appear. I'm about to try approaching from the apartment side, I just restarted.

EDIT:

Angle doesn't matter either. I'm going to go try spear-fishing. I don't get it, I've googled & the only issue I've seen is time of day.

Aurc · May 28, 2018

kamineko said:
Thanks, that's what I mean by restaurant. That corner there. She isn't there, though--I've been doing all this stuff but she doesn't appear. I'm about to try approaching from the apartment side, I just restarted.

If that doesn't work, then yeah, you may have to advance in spearfishing, baseball, or something else. I remember the substory triggers being a bit weird in this one.

kamineko · May 28, 2018

Good point, I haven't gone far with baseball either. I'll try both of those and come back. thanks!

EDIT
Those didn't help, either. I DID finally get it to pop though. Dunno if it was luck or what, but I sang karaoke again, drank until I got thrown out, then walked over to the spawn place outside the restaurant drunk. Whew, I probably spent three hours messing with that.

Arex · May 29, 2018

So I just rushed through the game in my homecountry and now I'm on chapter 8 or 9 I think.

Hirose just gone missing with Haruto. We just returned back to Onomichi

Now I have to go back overseas for work and can't play for a while. I still wanna find out the thruth about Haruto though lol.

Is there any recommended lets play for this game on youtube that I can follow?

Egida · Jun 1, 2018

Finished it yesterday. Loved it, this is the Yakuza game I've enjoyed the most since Yakuza 3. I have tons of stuff to do, like the fishing, last clan creator missions and substories.

That ending, damn

I was seriously afraid they were going to kill Kiryu when he goes against the Korean mafia at Onomichi. After that I was still afraid, but far less. The ending is bittersweet, I'd like for Haruka to know he's alive, but oh well, I'm sure he'll come back.

Die Squirrel Die · Jun 4, 2018

I'm on the finale chapter but haven't finished it yet, will do so over the next few days, time permitting.

How old are Iwami and Hirose meant to be? If they were as old as they were meant to be at the end of WWII Hirose would be 80+ by my estimation and Iwami at least 15 - 20 years beyond that.

Also I loved how Hirose's boss fight was like a Yakuza version of a Tonberry.

PlanetSmasher · Jun 7, 2018

Getting close to the end (somewhere in Chapter 12), and I really have to say...this game has me feeling two ways.

On one side, I really like the story. Kiryu and the Hirose boys are a great little mad band, and it feels like a better interpretation of the kind of story the team was trying to tell in Yakuza 3. I'm a little disappointed at the fact that most of the Kamurocho core cast is nowhere to be seen (I am praying for a last-minute Majima appearance, but at this point it doesn't seem like it's going to happen), but the laser-focus on this one singular storyline helps keep things a little more believable, and it also allows the supporting cast for this game to feel like actual characters because they have enough time to grow on screen.

But on the other side of things...I just really don't enjoy the combat nearly as much as I did in previous games. I like the seamlessness, but enemies are significantly more aggressive (and tankier) this time, and when Kiryu's attacks are blocked it slows him down so much that it makes it very difficult to defend yourself. Pretty much the only way to deal with large groups of enemies is spamming the light-light-heavy-grab finisher AOE throws over and over again. Even Tiger Drop doesn't feel as effective because so many enemies' attacks come out so quickly or with such little windup that timing a Drop is next to impossible. Not to mention it's much weaker.

I really hope Kiwami 2 managed to tighten up the combat mechanics more and make fights feel more balanced. When Kiryu's on a roll, it feels fine, but the current design just doesn't make him feel like the unstoppable juggernaut we all know him to be because getting crowded by more than one enemy pretty much means he's gonna spend the entire fight on his ass like a goof.

CannonFodder52 · Jun 7, 2018

PlanetSmasher
Kiwami 2 feels much tighter. I wasn't bugged by the tanky blocking thugs that I recall being fairly annoying in Y6 .
It felt faster but also a bit more weighty. As well the wind down on attacks is much quicker, so I didn't feel as locked into a combo.

PlanetSmasher · Jun 7, 2018

CannonFodder52 said:
PlanetSmasher
Kiwami 2 feels much tighter. I wasn't bugged by the tanky blocking thugs that I recall being fairly annoying in Y6 .
It felt faster but also a bit more weighty. As well the wind down on attacks is much quicker, so I didn't feel as locked into a combo.

Yeah, it's like...I can buy BOSSES being able to block Kiryu's hits. But random cannon fodder enemies should not be throwing out that glowy-arm super block against 90% of your combos. Especially not against a powered-up Kiryu.

Tribes of Trusty · Jun 11, 2018

I just beat the game and fuck this I wasn't ready for that emotional rollercoaster. Especially when I look back when I first played Yakuza in 2006 and was just a teenager.

It made me feel like MGS4 really.

Lindsay · Jun 12, 2018

Randomly saw walmarts currently got the game down to $40 so I ordered myself up a copy! Totally worth being 2 months "late" to it. Gonna get here in a couple days so my hype is on! This game will SO redeem the series in my eyes after the missteps of 0 an Kiwami! ...Well maybe I shouldn't get my hype up THAT high just yet >.>;

Lindsay · Jun 14, 2018

Yay! Got my copy an what the heck is this game case? A box/book? 0's a normal ps4 game case, Kiwami's a steelbook, an now this. Can Kiwami 2 come in a cd jewel case ta continue complicating matters? O_o

edit! phew! This games SUPER cutscene heavy upfront huh? Nice ta get back to Okinawa an see the kids again but then its right back to plain old Kamurocho. Hopefully not for long? That Hirsoshima part at the very start better wouldn't have been a one-off tease! Also wow what is with the powerup menu and all the icons littering up the mini-map? @_@

An why do I keep playing these on Normal after everytime I finish one I say the next will be where I drop to Easy?? Why are start of the game random baddies so hardy??

Multiverse Moo · Jun 15, 2018

Oh man, totally broke this guy's neck (Stardust) but luckily it changed to a cutscene after of him getting beatup :P

Lindsay · Jun 15, 2018

Finished Chapter 1 and what is this freakish alien baby I'm looking at?!

Also... what the heck kinda HUD and UI am I looking at?! They're all so busy an overwhelming! Where are the completion lists and all the other usual stuffs to find in menus? Why's equipment hidden in the powerup menus and not with the items no more? What even is my Heat meter?? e.e;;

On another note this game actually both looks and feels like a real deal genuine sequel unlike soooo many other Yakuza games. They musta got an actual budget for this one! Kamurocho looks almost entirely different, theres actual new animations for specials, and theres the loading hiding!

btw hurrah for my cries of the city needing more taxi locations being heard at long last!!

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life |OT| The Real Dad of War

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Backward compatible

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Linked the Fire

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The Abominable Showman

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