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Yakuza Studio seems to be having some trouble
Posted on 2/19/26 at 8:32 pm
Posted on 2/19/26 at 8:32 pm
I was not the biggest fan of Infinite Wealth. Too much focus on wacky side activity bloat and the main story was quite bad. The studio just can't seem to quit Kazuma Kiryu, even after providing him with an amazing sendoff in Yakuza 6.
I enjoyed Gaiden, but one would think the games were developed simultaneously or something as there are multiple inconsistencies between the two games.
Pirate Yakuza tacked on mediocre ship battles to the standard formula, and the main story is a giant nothing burger. The biggest offender is the completely fricked up lighting that makes me feel like my retinas are about to explode every time the main character walks outside during the day.
Now, we have Kiwami 3. Kiwami 3 seems to have fans up and arms over changes to the original story and character designs. I am not as up-in-arms about that, but the much advertised additional story (Dark Ties) is like 3 hours long. There is eggregious asset re-use in a game known for asset re-use. Kazuma Kiryu's Hawaiian shirt he wears in Okinawa is the same one Majima wears in Pirate Yakuza. Then, once again, the lighting is just bad. It's bad in an entirely different way than Pirate Yakuza. It doesn't make my eyes burst looking at it but it looks overexposed and washed out in Okinawa then in Kamurocho there's this really weird blue filter. Nevermind the fact that, for some reason, the city streets are devoid of NPCs so the whole world just feels dead.
At least it has Emergency Call Ambulance as one of the playable arcade games which is a game I totally forgot existed.
Essentially, they seem to have lost the ability to tell good stories, and have completely fricked up the visuals that the dragon engine is capable of putting out.
I enjoyed Gaiden, but one would think the games were developed simultaneously or something as there are multiple inconsistencies between the two games.
Pirate Yakuza tacked on mediocre ship battles to the standard formula, and the main story is a giant nothing burger. The biggest offender is the completely fricked up lighting that makes me feel like my retinas are about to explode every time the main character walks outside during the day.
Now, we have Kiwami 3. Kiwami 3 seems to have fans up and arms over changes to the original story and character designs. I am not as up-in-arms about that, but the much advertised additional story (Dark Ties) is like 3 hours long. There is eggregious asset re-use in a game known for asset re-use. Kazuma Kiryu's Hawaiian shirt he wears in Okinawa is the same one Majima wears in Pirate Yakuza. Then, once again, the lighting is just bad. It's bad in an entirely different way than Pirate Yakuza. It doesn't make my eyes burst looking at it but it looks overexposed and washed out in Okinawa then in Kamurocho there's this really weird blue filter. Nevermind the fact that, for some reason, the city streets are devoid of NPCs so the whole world just feels dead.
At least it has Emergency Call Ambulance as one of the playable arcade games which is a game I totally forgot existed.
Essentially, they seem to have lost the ability to tell good stories, and have completely fricked up the visuals that the dragon engine is capable of putting out.
This post was edited on 2/19/26 at 8:43 pm
3
Posted on 2/21/26 at 1:21 am to BulldogXero
Love the yakuza games but the writing has always been contrived crap
Posted on 2/21/26 at 5:58 am to BulldogXero
The only thing I know about the Yakuza games are the Fleekazoid reviews... and they're glorious.
WOW! SUNK IT!!!
WOW! SUNK IT!!!
Posted on 2/21/26 at 10:38 am to BulldogXero
I’m a huge fan of this series. It’s something about how they can have a serious main story (even though it’s a soap opera turned to 11) and balance it with crazy side stuff and heartfelt moments. I’ve played every main game plus the judgement series multiple times each.
To me, Kiryu is a cross between Superman and Batman. His morals are strong and absolute and he cares deeply about justice. But he’ll put you in a coma if he needs to and doesn’t canonically kill anyone directly. Sometimes I’ll start a New Game+ and set it on easy and burn through the story. I tell my wife it’s my feel good place. There are so many stupid things in this series that I would normally hate but can tolerate, and often enjoy.
I highly recommend Kiwami 3. I’m maybe halfway through and it’s a massive improvement over the last version. I get the gripes about story changes but I don’t care. It’s a great change from the first couple of games where you really feel what Kiryu is truly like.
Anybody that hasn’t tried this series should give it a shot. Start with Yakuza 0 and go in numerical order. 4 is now the “oldest” game and will be the most clunky. 5 is an improvement and everything after that is a new or remastered game in new engines. 7 and 8 represent a huge change in gameplay I ended up enjoying.
To me, Kiryu is a cross between Superman and Batman. His morals are strong and absolute and he cares deeply about justice. But he’ll put you in a coma if he needs to and doesn’t canonically kill anyone directly. Sometimes I’ll start a New Game+ and set it on easy and burn through the story. I tell my wife it’s my feel good place. There are so many stupid things in this series that I would normally hate but can tolerate, and often enjoy.
I highly recommend Kiwami 3. I’m maybe halfway through and it’s a massive improvement over the last version. I get the gripes about story changes but I don’t care. It’s a great change from the first couple of games where you really feel what Kiryu is truly like.
Anybody that hasn’t tried this series should give it a shot. Start with Yakuza 0 and go in numerical order. 4 is now the “oldest” game and will be the most clunky. 5 is an improvement and everything after that is a new or remastered game in new engines. 7 and 8 represent a huge change in gameplay I ended up enjoying.
Posted on 2/21/26 at 1:13 pm to Dave Worth
I think in general they have leaned too far into the wackiness aspect. Probably has something to do with the original director leaving Sega.
They've also embraced a lot of unfortunate AAA gaming trends with making their games 80 hours long and their maps enormous for no reason.
The games were better when they were 15-20 hours long set in small maps densely packed with activities. I think when you feel compelled to develop a segway for players to travel around faster, you've probably messed up somewhere.
A bad Yakuza game isn't a horrible experience, but my problems with Kiwami are mostly into how it looks visually and the lack of quality sub stories. I am starting to wonder if the studio is bleeding talent or stretched too thin.
They've also embraced a lot of unfortunate AAA gaming trends with making their games 80 hours long and their maps enormous for no reason.
The games were better when they were 15-20 hours long set in small maps densely packed with activities. I think when you feel compelled to develop a segway for players to travel around faster, you've probably messed up somewhere.
A bad Yakuza game isn't a horrible experience, but my problems with Kiwami are mostly into how it looks visually and the lack of quality sub stories. I am starting to wonder if the studio is bleeding talent or stretched too thin.
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