Support NeoGAF

[Arsic]

Let’s be 100% real. This is by far and large the most underrated and under appreciated franchise in gaming.

This year I completed Ishin, Like a Dragon, and Gaiden. I’m currently working on 0.

Like a Dragon and Gaiden both gave me tear jerker moments in their stories. The story, dialogue, acting is top notch.

Couple this with some of the most slick combat both for the turn based and action combat you have, and you have a recipe for unrivaled fun. These games respect the shit out of your time , and keep challenges appropriate to not frustrate players. Throw in top shelf music and you’re constantly excited to beat cheeks. This is excelled in the over the top boss fights.

Side content is basically unmatched. No other open world type games have this much fun shit to do. That’s just the thing is you can constantly derail yourself to have more fun.

As someone who jumped in with Ichiban story in Like a Dragon (part 7, or part 8 technically if you count 0) I didn’t feel lost in this narrative. Gaiden that just released also didn’t lose me in plot and I felt that if I hadn’t played 7 it would’ve had some sauce lost not knowing what Ichiban was up to in that game.

Current Yakuza you could play 6,7, and Gaiden to be caught up basically. If you get hooked then dabble in 0-5 like I plan to do.

If you’re a JRPG fan, and haven’t played Like a Dragon, my brother in Christ what is wrong with you? This single game proved turn based JRPGs have plenty of ceiling room to go, and rejuvenated my love for the format from yesteryear of snes/ps1 titles.

TLDR: Don’t be a Baka Mitai ass bitch and play these games.

 

[Thief1987]

Nah, it's Trails(Kiseki)

 

[Arsic]

Nah, it's Trails(Kiseki)

Nani da fuh?! Brother in Christ vaporize this post filled with slander and lies.

 

[Elysium44]

Most overrated imo

 

[Arsic]

Most overrated imo

 

[semiconscious]

has been for a while, op. for those of us who've loved the series from the beginning (2005), the series recent success has been a long time coming, & very well deserved...

 

[CrimsonSquall]

I just started because I saw Like a dragon is leaving premium early december. It’s a ton of fun, cant believe Ive never touched any of these really

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Before 0? Yes. After 0? Lmao no. 0 was an amazing game and people took notice after that Yakuza has slowly become more popular.

 

[NeverYouMind]

I think it is a pillar of Sega at this point, so it has more than enough notoriety. Underrated games are either unfairly criticized in comparisons or too niche to interest most people.

 

[Arsic]

I think it is a pillar of Sega at this point, so it has more than enough notoriety. Underrated games are either unfairly criticized in comparisons or too niche to interest most people.

I dug up sales numbers and the franchise had 21 million sales overall worldwide as of 2023. Compare this to final fantasy which is like 180 million ? Hell Persona has far less games and at 17 million. Legend of Heroes was 7 million in 2022.

So it’s still relatively niche.

 

[Danjin44]

/Thread

 

[Arsic]

/Thread

They have hit/miss titles.

If everything was 13 sentinels quality I’d agree but it isn’t.

 

[NeverYouMind]

I dug up sales numbers and the franchise had 21 million sales overall worldwide as of 2023. Compare this to final fantasy which is like 180 million ? Hell Persona has far less games and at 17 million. Legend of Heroes was 7 million in 2022.

So it’s still relatively niche.

Just because certain games are a cultural phenomena does not mean that other games are underappreciated. Besides, the franchise only really entered mainstream conciousness when they localized Yakuza Zero.

 

[JayK47]

As someone who has played at least 6 of the titles, I am suffering from Yakuza fatigue. Very few of the titles bring anything new to the series. I am sick of wandering the same city streets over and over. I played Like a Dragon to try the new combat and play as someone new. It was ok. I've since removed the games from my wishlists. I've lost interest for now. Maybe one of these days I will return.

 

[Jack Videogames]

Nani da fuh?! Brother in Christ vaporize this post filled with slander and lies.

Kids kids

You're both right

 

[Arsic]

As someone who has played at least 6 of the titles, I am suffering from Yakuza fatigue. Very few of the titles bring anything new to the series. I am sick of wandering the same city streets over and over. I played Like a Dragon to try the new combat and play as someone new. It was ok. I've since removed the games from my wishlists. I've lost interest for now. Maybe one of these days I will return.

Infinite wealth is in Hawaii, and uses a combination of turn based and the action combat.

Maybe that’s what you need?

 

[Danjin44]

They have hit/miss titles.

If everything was 13 sentinels quality I’d agree but it isn’t.

I personally enjoyed all their games including GrimGrimoire, in fact I dont remember getting disappointed by any of their games.

 

[havoc00]

I always end up putting like 10/15 hours into them since most are/were on gamepas/ps plus but then I just give up.

 

[Arsic]

I personally enjoyed all their games including GrimGrimoire, in fact I dont remember getting disappointed by any of their games.

Kumatanchi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This game is hot caca.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

That's a tough one. It's an amazing series that I love but a lot of the gameplay segments are recycled and repetitive.

I find often when I play a Yakuza game, even one I have loads of fun with and praise highly, it's a case of inspiring characters and amazing stories carrying "passable" gameplay.

 

[Danjin44]

Kumatanchi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This game is hot caca.

It never got released on west, so never got to play it.....but even so, I enjoyed 90% of their games.

 

[Kiya's Guard]

If it was underrated it wouldn't have like 10 games lol

 

[Arsic]

It never got released on west, so never got to play it.....but even so, I enjoyed 90% of their games.

I’ll agree with you though that vanillaware is super under appreciated as well. Can’t wait for unicorn overlord.

 

[Arsic]

If it was underrated it wouldn't have like 10 games lol

Legend of Heroes has 17 mainline entries. I guess it also isn’t underrated by that metric.

 

[Guilty_AI]

That'd be Deus Ex.

 

[Windom Earle]

Played and enjoyed a few of the originals but got really tired of it. They just make way too many lmao.

 

[PanzerCute]

Yes, definitely. Insane level of quality and consistency.

 

[ungalo]

I think it's pretty overrated.

I finished Ishin not long ago. It starts well but the plot is just idiotic.

I tried to finish 0 but after doing a fair amount of side content it became tedious, again the story is appealing at the start but then you got those dumb twists, new characters appear out of nowhere endlessly...

The worst thing is that it has everything for me to like it. Action combat system, stylish manly and iconised characters, urban open world, music is dope, some side activities are fun, the social aspects of modern Japan...i should love it. But the devs just fuck it up by trying too hard with the plot and the structure of those games is just insufferable.

 

[bender]

I wouldn't call it underrated at all at this point as the series largely gets the love it deserves.

 

[BouncyFrag]

Gamepass is Yakuza land.

 

[The Cockatrice]

I played 0,1,2 kiwamis and 7 when they released and decided to watch the 3-4-5 story recap online right now and im going through 6 now and going to replay the 7th(found a mod that makes it harder) and buy Gaiden even tho initially didnt want to get Gaiden cuz its just an overpriced DLC but fuck it, I really like Yakuza and Judgment series and im super hyped about the next one next year so yeah.

 

[Labadal]

It has been my favorite series for years, but I also know that it isn't for everyone. There are many reasons for that, but the first being the amount of cut scenes in the games. I have recommended the series to three friends, and they all said that they don't mind the combat, but too much talking.

I have played every game, except Dead Souls, and I liked/loved each entry, but I don't often recommend it.

 

[Dacvak]

I just wanna get that one Yakuza game that has Daytona 2 in it. I don’t know which one that is, but is the actual game any good?

 

[Generic]

I can't be underrated when it's praised and popular.

 

[Danjin44]

I’ll agree with you though that vanillaware is super under appreciated as well. Can’t wait for unicorn overlord.

Also what I can appreciate with Vanillaware is they always make new games, they almost never made sequels.

Yakuza series are great games but I hard to call it "underrated" when it they get get this much exposure, meanwhile GrimGrimoire Once More barely got reviewed.

 

[Hypereides]

That was the case back in the late 2000s and early 2010s imo. But, now its not that underrated nor niche nowadays anymore. Honestly, preferred it back when it was more niche.

Are there any alternative urban 3D brawlers like the old school Yakuza games besides Judgment these days? There doesn't seem to be any new modern games that contest it.

 

[deriks]

You could say that in the PS3 era. Maybe when 0 was launched on the PS4, but not today

 

[MiguelItUp]

I always end up putting like 10/15 hours into them since most are/were on gamepas/ps plus but then I just give up.

Same. Loved Lost Paradise cause I'm a FotN fan, but everything else lost me. I do respect it all though.

I can't be underrated when it's praised and popular.

Exactly. If they were truly underrated there wouldn't be a ton of sequels and spin offs. Especially stateside.

 

[PrefectAboro]

I would love for a gritty mature Yakuza game without the over-the-top anime style quirkiness just for one title. Maybe it's because I finished Mafia Definitive edition and it was refreshing for the gangster genre to be taken serious unlike Yakuza/GTA.

 

[SmokedMeat]

So underrated it’s 75% of what Sega publishes

 

[RAIDEN1]

I wouldn't go that far, Sleeping Dogs may have given it a run for its money if things were different, also they COMPLETELY missed a golden opportunity to make a Japanese Vice City with Yakuza Zero, barely felt like you were in 1988..

 

[LectureMaster]

Judgment series I like better.

Yakuza entries have highs and lows, not every single one is as good as 0.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I always have a blast with Yakuza games. I tend to mainly focus on the bonkers main plot and a handful of side stories, but I always come back for a new main entry. I think its one of the best examples of a narrative that can both not take itself seriously at all (fighting Tigers, Bears, men in diapers lol etc...) whilst still taking itself seriously and making you care about the characters and what's happening. So quite unique in that regard.

 

[Slothbeing1209]

As someone who has played at least 6 of the titles, I am suffering from Yakuza fatigue. Very few of the titles bring anything new to the series. I am sick of wandering the same city streets over and over. I played Like a Dragon to try the new combat and play as someone new. It was ok. I've since removed the games from my wishlists. I've lost interest for now. Maybe one of these days I will return.

Same. Tired of the same outdated combat system. New turn based game is not my type. Only thing that's still interesting to me is the main story.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Overrated. But LaD is great tho.

 

[RNG]

Pre 0 era yeah, but now thankfully every new entry is being appreciated it now. Those dark days of when/if the next entry will ever come over to the west are thankfully over.

 

[stn]

Yakuza 2 is still my favorite story in the whole series.

 

[StereoVsn]

It’s an amazing series and has been that way even during the slow years in US with cut down Yaluza 3 and that long wait for Yakuza 5.

Thankfully Yakuza 0 kicked things into gear. Overall things one of my favorite series in gaming. It’s also consistently good. Well unless you count the Zombie shooter one. That kind of sucked.

The “Detective” Judgment games are also very well done and even the side games like Ishin or Kenzan were great.

I am a bit more ambivalent toward 7, since I actually liked the old battle system , it it’s still pretty great.

 

[StereoVsn]

Yakuza 2 is still my favorite story in the whole series.

Yes, the OG PS2 one even. Kiwi 2 has a bit too much fluff in comparison. Mind you it adds quite a bit in UI/UX changes but goes a bit too ham in places.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

The series itself is good, I only played part of Yakuza 0, Kiwami, Yakuza 1 of PS2....

What I would like is for it to be based more realistically on the world of what the yakuza is and not put those Japanese slangs or those humorous scenes out of sense.

If they reduced the "exagerrated events" or made it a real combat, the series would be even more interesting.