Current Events > Why did the Yakuza series become drastically more popular recently?

(+) Yeah! (+)

What caused this?

Final Fantasy sucks now and it stopped being turned based so everyone went with Yakuza series instead since it's turn based and Japanese

Part of it has been its availability on Game Pass

epik_fail1 posted...

What caused this?

CyricZ

Yakuza 0 blew up

https://youtu.be/MJbE3uWN9vE

hockeybub89 posted...

Yakuza 0 blew up

Apparently Like a dragon was the most popular, Yakuza 0 being the second most

Like a dragon and BG3 kinda goes against the SE narrative that photorealistic turn based doesn't work

Obviously it's because of Kiryu Coco.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Like a dragon wasn't that bad, but holy shit Yakuza 0 had soft porn on an old tv you could rent and see lol.

Aztex posted...

Final Fantasy sucks now

oooo look at me running around with a lil girl n shit

Cruciferous posted...

oooo look at me running around with a lil girl n shit

What?

It wasn't very popular in the west until 0 came out

It's always been amazing and people finally took notice

0

they're really good and fun games.

Aztex posted...

Final Fantasy sucks now and it stopped being turned based so everyone went with Yakuza series instead since it's turn based and Japanese

Erm no? It started getting hugely popular around Yakuza 0. The only one that is turnbased was Yakuza 7 (like a dragon) and that was relatively recent.

Edit: Just for reference, we've had Yakuza 0, Yakuza 6, Kiwami, Kiwami 2 and all the remasters from 3 to 5, and also Judgement before it ever went turnbased lol.

SpiritSephiroth posted...

Erm no? It started getting hugely popular around Yakuza 0. The only one that is turnbased was Yakuza 7 (like a dragon) and that was relatively recent.

Edit: Just for reference, we've had Yakuza 0, Yakuza 6, Kiwami, Kiwami 2 and all the remasters from 3 to 5, and also Judgement before it ever went turnbased lol.

It seems like a lot of people say they are revisiting old classics BECAUSE of either like a dragon or 0

epik_fail1 posted...

It seems like a lot of people say they are revisiting old classics BECAUSE of either like a dragon or 0

The old classics were revised before like a dragon came out.

Yakuza 0 started the craze (in the west) with more and more people getting into it.

SpiritSephiroth posted...

The old classics were revised before like a dragon came out.

Yakuza 0 started the craze (in the west) with more and more people getting into it.

Well... a prequel made the series less intimidating for me.

epik_fail1 posted...

Well... a prequel made the series less intimidating for me.

Same with me too. It was a starting point for a lot of us. Not to mention a damn great game. I guess they capitalised on that in the perfect way with kiwami as well.

SpiritSephiroth posted...

Same with me too. It was a starting point for a lot of us. Not to mention a damn great game. I guess they capitalised on that in the perfect way with kiwami as well.

Well. Like a dragon was my first. I just did 0, but I think I would not consider 1 to 6 if it wasn't for 0. Still 550 hours seems very time consuming

They are all consistently high standard games. The very worst is still good and the best are really good.

Its also great that they're all available for PC. Square Enix are too greedy with the exclusives and exclusives only really work when the games are actually good enough to back it up.

Cobra1010 posted...

They are all consistently high standard games. The very worst is still good and the best are really good.

Its also great that they're all available for PC. Square Enix are too greedy with the exclusives and exclusives only really work when the games are actually good enough to back it up.

Well, they were pretty niche not that long ago and even the creators admitted it. Seems like more and more people are doing the whole series

Yakuza 0 happened. Like a Dragon might have sold more, but people who never touched the series played them all retroactively because of 0.

I remember hearing the underground hype around 3 and 4 and people were saying it was like actually going to Japan. You could go do karaoke, find a hostess bar, etc. it was super realistic to the actual streets and stores. so it was people living out their fantasy.

VRX3000 posted...

I remember hearing the underground hype around 3 and 4 and people were saying it was like actually going to Japan. You could go do karaoke, find a hostess bar, etc. it was super realistic to the actual streets and stores. so it was people living out their fantasy.

I've actually been to Japan and Kabukicho several times, the games pretty much got it spot on.

Oh. That and shenmu. A lot of people claimed the series was like a spiritual successor

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

That's mostly just Neon being Neon, lol. Any horny content these games have is usually optional, and I only say usually because adult content is bound to pop up in a series involving the criminal underworld. For me, what makes these games worth it is the unique juxtaposition between serious crime drama and sometimes goofy, sometimes heartfelt side stories. Some of the main stories even actually have good writing too, with 0 remaining a fan favorite for several good reasons. If you ever actually get curious enough to try one of these games, you can never go wrong with playing 0.

Yeah, definitely because of Yakuza 0. I started with Kiwami, since that was a remaster of 1, but 0 was the fan favorite ever since that released in 2015. Like a Dragon was a big hit as well, but that released in 2020. The hype train was already going strong at that point.

epik_fail1 posted...

What?

someones never seen chad daddy smh

VRX3000 posted...

Oh. That and shenmu. A lot of people claimed the series was like a spiritual successor

Only in that Dobuita Street is a real place and it really looked like that and the combat was Virtua Fighter but sorta like a beat em up.

Dobuita Street is also really close to a Kanagawa US Naval Base, so it has a lot of taco places and bars.

Its kind of like Shenmue to me. Very good jokes in this game i like the tone but

Most of them are on game pass and a bunch of Xbox players like myself never got around to any of them. I just started Like A Dragon today and i'm probably gonna wind up liking this series a lot.

Nasty_Nitro posted...

Its kind of like Shenmue to me. Very good jokes in this game i like the tone but

I would also like never ever in a million years recommend Shenmue if someone said they really like Lost Judgement and Yakuza 0.

Umbreon posted...

https://youtu.be/MJbE3uWN9vE

Never got far enough in game to hear that, but first saw it watching chess videos on Youtube. Catchy as fuck and impossible to get out of your head.

wanderingshade posted...

I would also like never ever in a million years recommend Shenmue if someone said they really like Lost Judgement and Yakuza 0.

As someons who never played Shenmue. Why?

I can only speak for myself. I remember being vaguely aware of the games back in the day, but never had the desire to seek them out. For whatever reason Y:LAD interested me and I finally got around to playing it recently. Im enjoying it so much that I plan on catching up with the whole series now. Plus a sequel in January. Fuck yeah.

Super Best Friends gave it exposure with their let's plays of Yakuza 4. That led to Yakuza 5 getting released on PS3's PSN store and Yakuza 0 getting made at all. 0 blew up incredibly thanks to being a prequel that anyone could enter the franchise with and all the meme that followed. After that it's popularity kept the series itself afloat.

epik_fail1 posted...

As someons who never played Shenmue. Why?

Because 85% of the game is asking people questions and or doing a job or karate practice or arcade games to pass the time (arcade games like Outrun and Space Harrier or Darts). A few times you do something and the game just tells you to come back later. Yakuza breaks out into a street fight every 10 minutes.

wanderingshade posted...

I would also like never ever in a million years recommend Shenmue if someone said they really like Lost Judgement and Yakuza 0.

its like a spiritual sequel. Shenmue isnt a very modern game but it was the building block for open world games today