The recent release of the Yakuza series on GOG has been tempered by the notable removal of several developers and even entire studios from the games’ credits.
]]>With Yakuza games (or Like A Dragon, as it's now known) on the rise here in the West, I see more and more people ask the question:"What order should I play the Yakuza games in?". Not only does it warm my heart, it also gets to me. To experience the series in the richest way possible, there's an obvious answer. But if you're someone who hasn't got all the time in the world, or you're a bit unsure whether Yakuza is the right fit for you, then there's another way in. Now pick up that bike and walk with me.
]]>In the dead of night I've been hearing things. At first, I thought it was the neighbours next door enjoying a bit of karaoke. Maybe some twigs banging off a discarded Tesco trolley, creating a beautiful tune. No, I'm convinced it was the dulcet tones of Kiryu singing "Dame da ne dame yo dame na no yo!", as a signal from the nether that Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 would be back on Game Pass having been removed last year. And by God, they're there! They're live! That's rad!
]]>Today I made a life-changing discovery. Takaya Kuroda, the man who voices Yakuza's beloved protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, is also the lead singer of a band. They're named Takaya Kuroda & Goodfellas and they have a Christmas song out. Not only is this excellent news, I can't get over the fact it straight up sounds like Kiryu delivering some festive cheer. So get comfy, bang this on, and let Kiryu's warm tones wash over you like mulled wine.
]]>Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 are leaving Xbox Game Pass on 31st December. If you need time to absorb this news, please, take it. Back? Okay, so actually we don’t have much time left now. You must play these beat 'em ups before they disappear into the realms of non-free (sort of; you know what I mean). Here’s why.
]]>As part of the celebration for Sega's 60th anniversary, they've sat down with long-time Yakuza series producer and director Daisuke Sato to talk about his history with the company. Although he's got years of Yakuza games to his name, including Yakuza: Like A Dragon, the series he's never gotten involved with but would like to is Sonic. Heck, maybe that's a Sonic game even I would play.
]]>Earlier in the RPS treehouse, I was explaining to Nate that the Yakuza games are wonderful and kindhearted, not just serious crime drama (though they are also serious crime drama). Then as if my love of gaming's best dads is able to shape reality, mere hours later Sega have announced that Yakuza Kiwami 2 will come to Windows 10 and Xbox Game Pass on July 30th. So more people will soon be able to spend more time with my two wrestledads. I'm so happy for you.
]]>Following a little leak this week, Yakuza: Like A Dragon is now officially announced for PC, coming later this year. This opens a new chapter in Sega's RPG series about mobsters with hearts of gold, starring a different wrestledad in another city. Like A Dragon also shakes up the action, going from a beat 'em up to a turn-based RPG action. Huh! Come watch.
]]>Going by a little Steam database leak, it seems that Yakuza: Like A Dragon is coming to PC - and presumably soon-ish. Sega's wonderful beefy-dads-with-hearts-of-gold RPG series only started coming to PC in 2018, 13 years after it started on PlayStations, and now it looks like we're skipping a few games ahead. Set after Yakuza 6, Like A Dragon introduces a whole new star, turning away from best dad Kazuma Kiryu. In another break from tradition, it also turns the beat 'em up combat into a turn-based RPG. Curious!
]]>The greasy realm of the videogame is not always the best place to look for good writing. For every Disco Elysium there are roughly 800 Detroit: Beyond Humans. But it is a good place to look for wondrous, over-the-top nonsense. I’m talking about character dialogue so flamboyant and exaggerated, you could insert some line breaks and it would instantly become a verse in a glam rock anthem. Here are the 12 most extravagant, exuberant, and intense lines of dialogue. In games, subtext is just whatever’s written on the side of the nuclear submarine.
]]>Sega this week announced western releases for another three Yakuza games, another three stories of kind-hearted mobsters helping everyone offering fatherly advice to children and adults alike and smashing thugs with bicycles. Yakuza 3, 4, 5 are the latest coming our way and... well, Sega haven't actually confirmed PC releases yet. Seeing as the series grew on PlayStation, it's starting there. But asked this week whether the rest of the series is coming to PC too, Sega's Yakuzoids avoided giving a straight answer and I'm totally reading that as "Shhh! The PR people won't let us talk about it yet." Please, Ian Sega, hop to.
]]>It’s International Cat Day! You know, one of those days reportedly invented by a charity, spread by the internet without question, and propagated by the scoundrel media because quite simply we are desperate to post pictures of cats, big cats, fluffy cats, kitten cats, any cat, any excuse for any cat, please, just let me have this day, please, I don't care if it's a fake day, please, I need this.
Here are some good videogame cats for International Cat Day.
]]>The first thing you do in Yakuza Kiwami 2 is walk through a graveyard. As caring dad hero, Kiryu, you’re visiting the resting place of those who died at the end of the previous game. It’s a sombre moment, a cemetery visit with your adoptive daughter to pay respects to loved ones killed in terrible circumstances. You bow your head and inspect the graves.
Then a bunch of mobsters with guns show up and you kick them all in the belly. Hiiii-YAH.
]]>Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyed dads that'd been away. Haven't changed, had much to say, but man I still think them cats are crazy. My dads are back in town, you see, now that Yakuza Kiwami 2 is out on PC. Mobster-with-a-heart-of-gold Kazuma Kiryu will once again roam around Tokyo and Osaka in this brawler-RPG sequel, becoming a father figure to total strangers, wrestling thugs, eating dinners, getting tangled in crimes, singing karaoke, playing arcade games, and battling a tiger in hand-to-paw combat. What a joy Yakuza is. I love my wrestledads.
]]>Gaming's best dads will return to dispense fatherly advice and bodyslam baddies in Yakuza Kiwami 2 this May, Sega confirmed today. Kiryu and Majima will bring more crime melodrama, more minigames, more daft quests, more japes, and more mobsters whipping their jackets and shirts off in one single dramatic movement to reveal their tattoos when it's go time. This remake of 2006's Yakuza 2 is the latest in Sega's mobster/father brawler-RPG series, though we've still not seen Yakuza 6 on PC - or any of the other games from previous console generations. The point is, we'll hear more men shout "KIRYYYYUUUUU!"
]]>Lovers of violent neon soap operas, rejoice. Yakuza Kiwami 2, the open world crime caper about a good dad who punches bad, is coming to PC. At least, that's if the folks who stamp warnings on game boxes are to be believed. The ERSB posted that a PC version of the game has been given a rating of M for Mature, as spotted by a Reddit user yesterday. The ERSB is the US-based ratings organisation who tell you how many bad drugs there are in your shooty-bang. We are comforted by their summary of the game, which confirms that “The words “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole” appear in the dialogue.”
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