[ZaidH]

Yeah there's probably some behind the scenes stuff going on cuz I was fully expecting a new Judgement game after Infinite Wealth.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH There is always something going on. But on a more positive note, the devs claim that the "Like a Dragon series will keep being about middle-aged guys doing middle-aged guy things". Which is all good and well, I suppose. Faces may change if the core stays the same. After all, it is hard to fill Kiryu's shoes, Ichiban does not really manage, at least, to me...

And hey, they promised to "surprise" everyone with the new game they are cooking up, and chances are they will showcase it at Tokyo Game Show 2024 in just 2 weeks (26th of September). And as, at this point, it would be surprising for it to be a new Judgement game, well... who knows, it may actually be it. 😉

[ZaidH]

That's great 😄 So glad that they aren't following the manga template where teenagers are usually the top pick for "middle-aged guy things" 😅

Oh wow seems like we might get some big games at TGS this time. Death Stranding 2 already has a panel, and now a new Yakuza game 😯 Btw I saw some rumours flying around that we might get to see Kiwami 3 soon 🤔

[DoctorEldritch]

Originally Posted by ZaidH

That's great 😄 So glad that they aren't following the manga template where teenagers are usually the top pick for "middle-aged guy things" 😅

Well, we have the Persona series for that 😅 followed by a myriad of visual novels...

We shall know the truth very soon, but we can speculate. I did not really "get" Death Standinjg the first time, so while it is good the sequel is coming, it is neither here nor there for me. The new Yakuza game is intriguing.

As for Kiwami 3, I am not sure. I mean, Yakuza games 1 and 2 got Kiwami versions, but games 3-5 got Remasters, so they did sort of get a makeup, they are playable on modern devices and everything. It could be nice to get a Kiwami of Yakuza 3, but honestly, with an option to play the remastered version right now, I'd be happier if they spent their time and resources on something new or something that is not remastered yet. Like Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! After Ishin remaster it would make sense to do that one too.

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Oh dang, I missed replying to your comment! Apologies for bringing up this thread again, but I wanted your advice on a game purchase.

I committed the cardinal sin and ended up watching a Yakuza 6 summary video 😭 For some reason, Y6 felt like a barrier I couldn’t pass to enjoy the rest of the series.

That said, I’m now torn between two games: Like a Dragon and Baldur’s Gate 3. Have you played BG3? If so, would you recommend it over LAD? I’d have bought Yakuza 7 right away if it weren’t for the grindy aspects you mentioned before. Are those optional, or do they impact story progression? I’ll be buying on console, so mods aren’t an option 😅 It's on sale for 10 dollaroos as well. So confused 😆

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH No worries, you can always bring back an old thread, that's what they're there for 😉

I am a bit confused now, by "Yakuza 6" do you mean Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, the last game with Kiryu as the main protagonist? If so, it plays similarly to the previous games of the series, Kazuma is chilling in a small sunset-lit coastal town, rocking his ukulele, you know, the usual:

Where did you feel that "barrier" there?

I have not played "Baldur’s Gate 3", I am waiting for a final patch. By the way, Larian studio is calling for volunteers to stress-test the upcoming patch, you can register interest if you like. Though it may be a bit complicated with who and how can access it. Still @GoLLuM13 this may be something to take a look at if you like 😊

So I have not tried BG3 but by all accounts, it is very good. In terms of grind for LAD, I'd say it may depend on how much of a completionist you are. Yaluza series always had those semi-grindy extra activities, like bear hunting or trade card battles or Pocket Circuit or baseball or Colesium and whatnot and standalone minigames, so to get 100% you had to do quite a bit of, not grind exactly, but repetitive gameplay.

I never aimed for 100% complete, the line for me was to complete all subquests and find all hidden objects. That being said, often you needed to do quite a bit of minigames before to get access to late-game subquests, with the last subquest in every game always being the Amon boss, and to defeat him, you often needed to grind your level a bit.

Same with LAD, but on a greater scale: you have companions and different "jobs" with each advancing independently, so there is more grind involved to get you to the level where you can beat Amon.

The way the game works is, you get your characters, each has an exclusive job unique to them, and then there are a number of generic male and female jobs that they can change into. Each job is sort of like a fighting style from the previous games, but you need to level up each of them independently. Then it gets trickier: the max level for every job is 99, but up until level 30 in every job you get different job-associated skills that you can then combine, so ideally you need to level up a couple of jobs to level 30 for each character and then one main job all the way to 99, and that is a lot of levelling up. Plus the amount of XP is distributed unevenly and dependent on Ichiban's bond with his teammates, it is all a bit complicated...

The bottom line is, that there will likely be some grind, and a lot more of it if you do not plan carefully from the start (and read some guides to help you with that, naturally). Main story progression will likely not be that affected, and even less so if you do all the subquests as they come in, but if you want to beat Amon, then you are likely to need to grind somewhat.

[GoLLuM13]

@DoctorEldritch interesting to test indeed 👀

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Speaking of sales, SEGA is having one on Steam, I tagged you there as well. In case PC game would end up cheaper than console 😉

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch My brain is a jumbled mess lols. And yep, I ended up watching a cutscene movie of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, on YouTube 😬 I can't quite pinpoint what turned me off from playing the game. I tried twice but quit after a session or two. Somehow though, I feel really drawn toward LAD. From what little I’ve seen of the game, I really need that Ichiban energy in my life 😁

Oh dang, good point about patches coming out for BG3. From what I’ve seen, they tend to include substantial additions, like new endings. Maybe it’s a sign I should wait for the final package. Thank you, this made my decision much easier!

I never aimed for 100% complete, the line for me was to complete all subquests and find all hidden objects.

I tend to do the same, except the minigame quests and the hidden objects part. To be honest, I’m very intimidated by the “jobs” stuff (tysm for the explanation of the system!) you mentioned, but like you said, maybe I wouldn’t need to spend much time maxing them if I stick to the main and side quests. Not really looking forward to progressing the minigame substories to the fullest.

Also, thank you for sharing the Sega Sale! The game is heavily discounted on PSN too, so maybe I’ll bite the bullet there. My PS has been collecting dust 😅

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH I get a bit of what you mean, the vibe in that one is a bit off, with Haruka plotline and all. And I have more complaints about the overarching plot, but to reveal them would be a spoiler, so I'll wait in case you do finish it. And there is this...feeling...of sorts, that this is the end, Kiryu's story is ending (well, we know it didn't now with LADs, but back then it was sort of the vibe). I had reservations when I began playing it too, but at the end of the day, I enjoyed it well enough.

Originally Posted by ZaidH

I really need that Ichiban energy in my life 😁

That reminded me of Mambo No. 5. "A little bit of Ichiban in my life" 😅

I think BG3 updates patches for free, so if you get it now while it's on sale, you can just wait for the patch to come out, then update it and then play. Then again, there will surely be other sales later if you'd rather spend your hard-earned on something else 😉...now that I think about it, this advice might have made your decision harder again 😅 and you're right, this new patch will bring in new subclasses and mod compatibility.

Oh, I do not mind minigames if they are not needed for substories, I tend to ignore anything not connected to them. If something is connected, I only do that part. Like how sometimes Kiryu needs to beat someone in baseball or pool. After I'm done with that, I mostly ignore the rest. And I am not good at mahjong at all, there I would usually "cheat" with one of those special items you can find. And by hidden objects, I meant keys for the tower lockers.

At the end of the day, what they did was move the fighting from skill-based where it depended on your agility to number-based where it depends on your...well...algebra skills 😅 If you like to work with numbers, it can be an extra fun addition to the experience, but if not, then you can always use a guide to check the best job/team/equipment combos without having to sit and calculate them yourself. I mean, I like deck-building games and they too often dip into that numbers territory, but JRPG numbers are something else 😅