[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Oh yeah, Japanese all day every day. RGG Studio got a lot of heat when they brought in a famous YouTuber to voice Kiryu, but it’s good to see things have improved on that front.

Same here. I took extra precaution and saw the video signed out and in an incognito tab, but then my eyes darted toward the recommendations and disaster struck 🥲 I’ll probably become a monk and seek refuge in the mountains around the release of GTA 6 😆

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Really? I did not know that story. I always such to the Japanese voices with little regard for English counterparts, it's just that, with Hawaii, for some reason the trailers are much more often in English now. I guess they are more actively pushing for that market and trying to break out of the niche frame.

Ah well, that may help, but you never know. Some time ago there was this story about someone in the Vatican wishlisting Baldur's Gate 3. So chances are, you may get some spoilers in a mountain monastery still. Monks may want to play GTA 6 too 😅

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Agreed 100%. On your point about the game being marketed more toward the Western crowd, I have noticed a common but concerning sentiment pop up in user reviews of Pirate Yakuza. Apparently, the game leans too much into the wackiness, while the main plot did not get as much attention.

Now, I will not take these impressions at face value until either I or you have played the game, but I do worry that the wackiness might be tailored to generate more views on social media and sell more units at the cost of watering down the very heart of the Yakuza games.

LMAO I was not aware of the Vatican story 😂 Damn, and here I thought video games among monks was limited to games like Stardew Valley. God we really are gonna get a full fledged recession when GTA 6 comes out 😭

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Well, there could be an overload because it is a double combo: Yakuza is a violent but romanticised world, and the piracy period is a violent, but romanticised world. Before, the Yakuza series operated with one of them, and wackiness came from location and Japan's more noticeable quirks. Now they have a combo, Yakuza + Piracy, and it is overload, and what's more, Hawaii is not as well known and, to tell the truth, probably not as wacky place as Japan, so wackiness comes from piracy, a mainstream theme, not location. Given that, an overload of it is to be expected indeed. It just comes down to whether you enjoy it or not as a gamer, I guess... And also, Majima in the first place is not as serious of a character as Kiryu.

Here you go, now you know. Probably. Personally, I am not bothered by GTA 6 one way or the other, I just hope it lives up to all the hype.

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch That uh, makes a lot of sense! Thanks for putting it into perspective. Majima seems totally off his rocker now, but since he’s dealing with memory loss, maybe there's a slight hope of the game squeezing in glimpses of serious Majima like in Yakuza 0.

Amazing article 😂😂😂 It even links to the "Gamer Saint" story, which is just as fascinating. And yep, I really hope GTA 6 nails the landing 🙏

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Well, to be perfectly fair with you, amnesia is such a cliche these days, I feel a bit off that Yakuza decided to use that plot twist. I too hope that they will be able to play around with it in an unexpected and amusing way because, if not, then it's just lazy writing on par with romantic series from the 90s 😅

To be honest, I am fearful about it. They keep hyping it so much that there is a danger of overhype. Rockstar is known to be able to deliver fantastic games, though, RDR2 a testament to that, so I am hoping they manage to live up to expectations, but those expectations just keep rising higher and higher...

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Yeah, I really hope this memory thing is used in a meaningful way because there are way better reasons Majima could've ended up in Hawaii for.

Oh man, I don’t think GTA 6 can possibly live up to all that hype. One glance at the GTA forums, and you’ll see people asking for the most insane stuff imaginable. You know things are bad when some folks want to touch grass in the game instead of real life 😅 I’m really excited for it too, but there’s definitely an air of uncertainty looming over it, especially with some key individuals leaving Rockstar.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Indeed. I mean, what is wrong with just taking a vacation? I mean, if Majima went to Hawaii just for fun for some R&R (or chasing after Kiryu who, as we know, visited it during Infinite Wealth), and saw all those pirates running around and having fun, do you think he would not join in just for the fun of it? Please. The guy used to run Coliseum, come on. But they went with amnesia. Maybe there is a good reason for it, we'll see...

Ah well, you can't make everyone happy, but when RDR2 came out, it was almost universally acclaimed success. GTA 6 does not need to be perfect, does not even need to live up to all the expectations, but it does need to be very, very good. If it is "just very good", that's not good enough now 😅

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch

and saw all those pirates running around and having fun, do you think he would not join in just for the fun of it?

God this is so in line with Majima's character. Now I’m disappointed they didn’t go with it. The only reason I can think of for this memory loss shenanigans is that the writers wanted to separate Majima from Daigo, cuz there’s no way he’d leave his side after everything that happened in LAD.

Agreed 100%

[DoctorEldritch]

Originally Posted by ZaidH

writers wanted to separate Majima from Daigo, cuz there’s no way he’d leave his side after everything that happened in LAD.

That's even easier. I picture it like this:

Daigo is sitting in his cabinet with Taiga standing behind him. There is a scroll on the table in front of him. Enter Majima.
Majima: What's all this? I had to interrupt my karaoke session for this.
Daigo: Thank you for coming. The situation is dire. We need the fourth chairman.
Majima: What, again?
Daigo: Majima, you know as well as I do, we always need the fourth chairman.
Taiga: Always.
Majima: There is not even Tojo Clan anymore, what is he the fourth chairman of, huh?
Daigo: Once the fourth chairman, always the fourth chairman.
Taiga: Always.
Majima: But I can't just drop everything and leave, what if something crazy happens again, like when we disbanded the Tojo Clan?
Daigo: Never fear, I have Taiga here, he always keeps me safe.
Taiga: Always.
Majima: Oh fine. It was getting dull without him around anyway. So where is our Kiryu-chan hiding now, Jingaicho again?
Daigo: Do you have a swimsuit?
Majima: Wait, what?
Daigo rolls out the scroll on his table which turns out to be an island map, then leans back on his chair.
Daigo: The fourth chairman...is in Hawaii.
Majima: Where?!
Taiga: In Hawaii.
Majima:...Nice!

Or something like that. 😉