I like Pocket Circuit quite a lot. The trial and error of fine tuning cars to fit each course is well done. The parts are crazy expensive though and I haven't opened the business side stuff yet. But the RNG gods have been good to me and the super rare gear from one of the Dream Fortune vending machines. I'll keep at it as such. Knowing what happens PCF in 6, seeing him in his hey day gives me a better appreciation of the character. Who knew grown men getting into beefs with children could be a hilarious but interesting sub plot?Pocket Fighter slander... what madness is this ;)
Karaoke feels nicer in the remaster of 3 and 4 as they have it run in 60FPS as opposed to the 30FPS it runs elsewhere (outside of PC of course), but the way Karaoke is just one long line of notes in 6 and Kiwami 2 certainly helps make it easier to read the notes. I can't say I've ever had any issues hitting 980+ on any of the songs though, bar maybe one or two in Kiwami and Dead Souls.
Darts in the earlier games lets you buy/acquire better darts by doing side stories and buying them in pawn shops. Well worth looking into doing this. I vastly prefer old darts from 3-Kiwami than Dragon Engine darts - I much prefer the way you use the right stick to precisely aim, adds a nice layer of challenge to it, its braindead levels of easy in the Dragon games I found, no challenge what so ever when I'm hitting ton 80's all day long.
Batting cages is an odd one. Its got a super loose crosshair so you gotta be really gentle with the aim, don't forget you can aim at multiple edges (in some cages) to get more points in one swing. Though if your only doing the money cages you really just need to memorise each ball speed/throw type so that makes things slightly more simple. I'm torn on which I prefer, I love the challenges that Yakuza 4 especially throws at you in the cages, but I do love the new aiming they introduce in 5 with Shinada that is later used in 6 and all later games. Either way, I won't miss EX Hard batting cages from 3, that's for sure!
I did notice that 0 has darts that you can buy like in 6. I got one of the best darts and it's made darts way more enjoyable. After playing it some more and winning all 3 bet games, I do see what you're saying and like the depth added to the game by aiming with the right stick.
With karaoke, I guess I suck at rhythm games. I know it's a matter of practicing the songs over and other again on the easy modes to get better at (such as with the disco mini game). I haven't gone back to it for a while so I'll have to touch it at some point.
As for the batting cages, I looked up the Y0 FAQ on it and the easiest way to tell when to hit a ball is to look at the bat animation, don't focus on the ball. When Kiryu squares up his posture, that's a guaranteed homer. The FAQ said that the non fortune challenges have common items so I'll probably wait until I have more money to do it.
Any way, I've been horribly addicted to this game to the point where I've been marathoning well into the night. I think it is shaping up to be one my favorite Yakuza games a few minor annoyances and QOL issues aside (I miss the custom way points from the Dragon Engine for one thing). I'm at Chapter 3 and love Majima's characterization so far. Who knew that a guy who becomes more or less the RGG universe's version of The Joker in later games has a heart of gold? The random guy dry humping in Odyssey when you're poaching Nozomi had me howling.
Two my favorite substories under him so far have been The living statue guy's quest and the girl who has to have a pretend boyfriend for her father. The former made me LOL because I tried all the wrong options for shits and giggles and Majima has a dark sense of humor. Then a random dude decides he wants to beat the crap out of him because his singing annoys him? Okay.
As for the latter substory, I love how the punch line is that the father knew she was faking it any way and Majima laments about why he's single. It makes me want to do another run to see what happens if you play it straight and say you're a cabaret club manager
Other random thoughts:
I like the light rogue-like element added to it with the OP foe for both characters. I can see how it led to the Majima Everywhere in K1. I also suck at Shogi and will probably never understand it enough to play on a deep level since it has a lot of stuff to wrap my head around.
I can go on and on about Y0 but I'll stop it there for now. It's been a blast to say the least.