[DoctorEldritch]

@M2lobazI like jazz, but I am not only about it, of course. How are you with Japanese songs? I quite like the Yakuza series, and they have those karaoke minigames there (a game about modern Japan with no karaoke bit is like sushi without rice 😉)

But what I find they did very well is that they used real songs, and they had the voice actor for the protagonist Takaya Kuroda (and the rest of the cast) record those songs, and as well as being a voice actor, he is a professional singer. And you as a player can pick different songs and invite different characters to sing with you, and they picked a good song to fit the vibe of each character.

So when Kiryu sings with his adopted daughter, songs are more of a pop variety, but if he invites his friend Majima to sing, you'd get a metal version, like this:

This all is to say, I quite like how the Yakuza series in general works with songs. What do you think about Japanese metal, @galadrielmt?

On a semi-related note, the Tetris theme, which one is that?

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Now those are some fantastic recommendations! Your post reminded me of how chock-full of content the Yakuza games are. I don't think I ever listened to this Majima version throughout my entire YK2 play through. His ad lib adds so much to the already energetic track😂

But yeah, I love how these Karaoke songs are great story telling mediums as well. Not only the lyrics convey so much, but the visual that accompanies it in itself speaks volumes. Love Yakuza 0's Judgement for this very reason😁

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH They indeed packed that series to the brim. And very attentive to details, like that song they used in the Don Quijote shop in the game is a real actual commercial song which that shop's real-world counterpart actually uses.

A minor thing, but helps to build the atmosphere, can't help but applaud the level of thoroughness that went into this. And it is interesting to me how for much of it you have to specifically go out of your way to find, for example, apart from a few scripted karaoke visits you do not get to sing unless you actually make a detour to do so, and this goes for many mini-games and quests there.

And yeah, Majima adds quite a bit! I like his voice actor Hidenari Ugaki, it is impressive how he can keep a balance between comical, scary and plain mad. And Majima can sing as well, he has a few songs of his own, you may remember this one:

Small unrelated bit of trivia: in the English version, they invited Mark Hamill to voice him. He is known to all as the actor who played Luke Skywalker, of course, but he is equally famous for voicing Gotham's Joker on many occasions (most of Arkham games, too), but I personally think he did not really capture the same vibe. His Joker is better than Majima.

I'll look forward to Judgement, but I have not played Yakuza 0 just yet, I hit a bit of trouble on my playthrough: I got a virus and had to reinstall my OS in the middle of playing Yakuza 4 (and I do mean right in the middle, I just finished the second character and started the third). Naturally, my save got lost, and I am not quite ready to go through all of that again just yet. I looked online for some save file even, but could not find any. But I'll get there eventually, and Judgement adds some extra motivation!

[DoomGuy]

@M2lobaz
hehe YES

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch I love that Don Quijote detail! I saw a YouTube video where someone visited the Kabukicho district and showed all the prominent Yakuza game landmarks there. Some of them were quite literally 1:1 representations of the real thing. I'm so glad that the Yakuza devs prioritized open-district design over open-world.

Okay, now I HAVE to listen to Mark Hamill's dubbed Karaoke songs (if there are any😅) I wonder if one can collect all of Joker's voice recordings, feed it to an A.I, and use the generated voice to read Majima's voice lines😯

So sorry to read about the loss of your save files😔Do try sending your corrupted save file to the devs if you haven't yet. I friend of mine got his Witcher 3 save file fixed this way. I doubt it'll be fixed, but hey it's worth the shot😁

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH yes, it really does give the "real feel" of Japan, this is one of the things I also like most about it. And I was happy when developers chose to expand the game world with other locations and not just "Kamurucho", we got to see some other good places. Granted, parts 1 and 2 were remastered superbly and parts 3 and 4 only got a "cosmetic makeover, not plastic surgery", but still, you can still get the feeling.

As for Don Quijote, check out this actual sale promotion footage:

Very Japan thing to do, now I think of the Yakuza whenever I see these videos.

I tried looking for Mark Hamill karaoke, but so far came up with nothing. Maybe some longer walkthrough videos could have some, but I do not think you end up in karaoke with him in the first game unless you specifically want to, there is no step like this in the main plotline. And I am not sure how Mike would sing in Japanese. But, to be fair, his Majima is different from his Joker, he was not doing the same voice for them, here:

Personally, I find the English version lacking, but that's me. And compiling karaoke songs in his Joker voice is a great idea, I wonder if there is already an AI app that could do that. Luckily, Mark sang as a Joker on several occasions already, so as far as English songs are concerned, we have an idea of how it would look, take, for example, his little number from Arkham Knight (Spoilers ahead!)

Thank you for your condolences about my saves. I do not have a corrupted file, it all got deleted when I reinstalled Windows. It is unfortunate, but I ain't too worried about it, I am just waiting to forget the plot of the first half a bit now before I play it again so it would not be boring. Besides, I have not started Shenmue yet, I may give it a go before going back to the Yakuza series.

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Now that's how you promote stuff! Such a catchy tune. In the game, not only did they blast out this earworm in the store, but one could hear this playing far away as ambient noise. Win-win move for both the game and the Don Quijote stores 😁

Yikes, yeah you weren't kidding about the English dub😬I think Mark Hamill would've nailed this if he got proper pointers to play the character. Also, that Joker video is hilarious😂Savage joker at it again.

Do let me know if you ever start playing the Yakuza series again. It's always a pleasure to read people's impressions of the uber wacky stuff that happens in the game😄

[Saka]

One of my favourites is "Fear Not This Night" from Guild Wars 2.

https://youtu.be/qOMQxVtbkik

[DoctorEldritch]

Originally Posted by Saka

One of my favourites is "Fear Not This Night" from Guild Wars 2.

https://youtu.be/qOMQxVtbkik

This is a good one, and a nice addition to pieces of other genres already here! Mix up the Joker and Metal with some gentle vocals.

[DoctorEldritch]

Originally Posted by ZaidH

@DoctorEldritch Now that's how you promote stuff! Such a catchy tune. In the game, not only did they blast out this earworm in the store, but one could hear this playing far away as ambient noise. Win-win move for both the game and the Don Quijote stores 😁

Yikes, yeah you weren't kidding about the English dub😬I think Mark Hamill would've nailed this if he got proper pointers to play the character. Also, that Joker video is hilarious😂Savage joker at it again.

Do let me know if you ever start playing the Yakuza series again. It's always a pleasure to read people's impressions of the uber wacky stuff that happens in the game😄

You know, while we're on the subject of promotion, the Yakuza series actually has some interesting trivia about that. When the game was originally made for PS, Sony licensed the Don Quijote song from those stores, it was part of the commercial partnership agreement. They also put it into all-scale Yakuza 1 and 2 Kiwami remakes, as well as put shop locations in the games. But after that, the partnership with Don Quijote ended, so when they made remastered for parts 3-5, they had to remove that song from the games, so if you play those remastered, there is generic music playing in stores, and fans of the series made a mod to put it in the game the way it was originally there. This could also be why part 7 has no Don Quijote store anymore (though it is set in a new location). So yeah, it was an interesting, but time-limited promotion action.

About English Dub, I know, right? Seems like lost potential there, it could have been much better. But then again, a matter of personal preference, of course, but when I play Japanese games (or watch animes, for that matter), I always do it in the original language with subs, you get the best "feel" as it was intended, I think. So it does not bother much, but it does seem like a lost opportunity. And I feel bad for those who like to use dubs more than subs in cases like this because they are missing out.

As for the Joker, it really is a nice number, glad you liked it! But it does not stop there, Arkham Knight has another song by Joker, a tad more...I want to say intimate? (Spoilers ahead!)

I think it is a nod to the idea that Batman and Joker complete each other.

But wait, there's more! Mark voiced Joker not only in Arkham games but in series and cartoons and animated movies. In "The Killing Joke" he had a nice number for kidnapped Gordon:

The Killing Joke is based on a comic that tells the story of how Batgirl became the Oracle.

We can still talk about Yakuza, it is a great series with lots of awesome content, and I can talk about everything in parts 1-3 😉 Maybe we should create a separate thread just for that for all Yakuza fans here!