How does one top Yakuza 0? My favorite game of 2017 was easily the best entry in the series. So what can Sega do to top that game? How will they cap off the story of Kiryu Kazuma?
Overhauling the engine sounded like a good idea on paper. Introducing a physics basic combat system should allow for fights to play out more dynamically. New graphical bells and whistles should result in a prettier Kamurocho as well. The end product wasn’t as rosy as I envisioned though. Coming from 60 FPS of Yakuza 0 to the 30 FPS of Yakuza 6 took a bit of time to adjust. What good were dynamic brawls if the controls were less responsive? The visuals received a huge upgrade resulting in a game that didn’t look like a high resolution PlayStation 3 game but it was tainted by horrible aliasing. I would gladly sacrifice all the modern niceties of the Dragon Engine for 60 FPS and a clean image. The lighting, materials, and textures were quite remarkable but the jagged edges crawling across the screen during conversations and cutscenes were very distracting.
Image clarity issues aside, I found the move to eliminate any sort of loading within Kamurocho or Hiroshima was a long awaited technological advancement for the series. I always liked how dense Kamurocho was and not having to see a loading screen while entering/exiting buildings or combat transformed the little district into one seamless space for shenanigans. I’m particularly fond of the upset restauranteurs who refuse to do business with Kazuma after he smashes into through the windows during a brawl.
The move to a more physics based brawling system gave way to gems like this but it also sucked out most (if not all) the combat’s challenge. The running dropkick can bulldoze over half-a-dozen enemies like they were clustered dominoes. Heat actions were noticeably less abundant and toned down which genuinely bummed me out coming from Yakuza 0’s wince inducing bangers. But perhaps it’s a fitting departure for an aging Kiryu Kazuma; maybe he’s feeling too old for this crap.
Much of what I loved from Yakuza 0 is present in Yakuza 6 but it’s now viewed through the eyes of a 48 year old grandfather. I didn’t play Yakuza 5 but I was just as surprised as everyone else when I discovered she was Haruto’s mother. Baby Haruto was at the center of attention in this organized crime story and because Kiryu Kazuma’s the loving grandfather, he gets sucked right back into the thick of it. It was a solid tale of fatherhood in various forms but it was also a ridiculous one — just like every other title in this series.
Yakuza games always imparted life lessons and advice laced with wackiness but I felt Yakuza 6’s side stories lacked the wackiness seen in Yakuza 0. Kazuma was older,wiser, and a tad subdued and I felt Yakuza 6’s side stories reflected that this go around.
The big side commitments asked Kazuma to spend his time managing a small time gang to drive out another gang filled with Japanese wrestlers, manage a local baseball team, or make friends at a local Hiroshima bar. I completed the gang management but only dabbled sparingly in the other two. I just wasn’t drawn to these activities like I was with the slot racers and other activities from Yakuza 0. I would have liked to spend more time making friends at the Hiroshima bar but I got around to it too late and the inertia of the main story thread pushed me to just wrap it all up.
I would also like to take a second and give Sega props for including games like Virtua Fighter 5 and Puyo Puyo. I finally found games that I wanted to play in the Sega arcades. Titles like Outrun, Space Harrier, and Fantasy Zone were interesting retro game artifacts but I never had much affinity to them. I am wondering if Sega will be releasing these inclusions as standalone releases on modern consoles. I know a PlayStation 4 release of Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown would make some folks really happy.
If this indeed is Kazuma Kiryu’s final chapter in the Yakuza series, I think Sega did right by their man. It wasn’t perfect by any means but it was a solid effort considering the circumstances. I would have liked to have seen the technology handled better but I really cannot fault them for toning down the outlandish nature of the stories for an aging Kiryu Kazuma. Don’t misunderstand, there’s a sizeable chunk of crazy here — they just paled in comparison to Yakuza 0’s and is metered out by a lot more wisdom. It was always going to be tough to follow Yakuza 0 but I’m ultimately glad Sega dragged us all forward with the series. There’s nothing sadder than watching an aging star relying on past glories.
Verdict:
I liked it
Leave a Reply