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Post by Imperial Khador on Mar 25, 2021 7:16:20 GMT
Finished up the main story in Yakuza 3 Remastered for the PS4 (on the PS5).
I was expecting this one to be a bit rough going in, and I'm glad I was prepared for the. All of the Yakuza entries I've played so far (0, K1, K2 and FotNS: Lost Paradise) were made after Y3. The remaster collection of the PS3 era titles (Y3, Y4, Y5) isn't a ground-up remake like Kiwami 1 and Kiwami 2. In general, they just have some slight touch-ups. Better resolutions for in-engine cut-scenes, mostly run at 60fps instead of 30fps, etc.
Yakuza 3 was the first HD-era entry, and it shows. Colors are a bit washed out, character models apart from Kiryu and main, named NPCs look fairly creepy. FMV cut scenes also don't seem to have been up-scaled at all, so often look a bit worse than the in-engine content.
But the main cast still looks pretty darned good for a 12-year old game. The main story keeps up the level of serious, but over-the-top crime drama, and the side stories in Kamurocho and Okinawa are are silly as ever.
I found combat outside of random encounters to be fairly frustrating. Most bosses can block almost any direct attack, requiring much more use of the the dodging and strafing mechanics than I was used to, and even then require you to slowly chip away at their health. This is remedied by some optional counter-moves that can be unlocked fairly early on (around chapter 5), and would have saved me some frustration if I had encountered those side stories earlier than I did.
I think this one could have benefitted from the Kiwami treatment, but I still had a lot of fun.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Apr 6, 2021 22:01:45 GMT
Finished up Trails of Cold Steel III for the PS4 (on the PS5)
Unsurprisingly, I really enjoyed this one. The story continued to be engaging, though filled with many anime tropes, and the lore for world of Zemuria is still excellent.
This was the first Trails game to be designed for then-current gen consoles, with Cold Steel I and II being PS3/Vita titles originally, and it feels like a nice graphical upgrade, though doesn't hit the heights of top budget JRPG titles like the Final Fantasy series.
I'm eagerly awaiting the sale on Cold Steel IV to conclude my playthrough of this quadrilogy.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Apr 10, 2021 7:32:20 GMT
Finished up Ys: The Oath in Felghana.
I talked about it more in the "What are you playing?" thread, but I had a lot of fun with this one.
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,648 
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Post by stratogustav on Apr 12, 2021 22:06:13 GMT
Finished up Ys: The Oath in Felghana. I talked about it more in the "What are you playing?" thread, but I had a lot of fun with this one. Congrats, that's cool! |
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Post by Imperial Khador on Apr 21, 2021 17:16:53 GMT
Finished up Yakuza 4 Remastered for the PS4 (on the PS5).
This felt like a dramatic improvement over Yakuza 3 Remastered. Boss fights, with a few exceptions, felt challenging, but didn't rely on being able to block all of my attempts to fit, and instantly being able to break my guard.
Splitting the story between four main characters kept things feeling fresh, both in terms of narration, and because of the different combat styles.
Next will be a detour back to the PS3 for Yakuza: Dead Souls
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,648
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Post by stratogustav on Apr 22, 2021 2:27:11 GMT
That's so sweet man, I'm so far behind that I need to start catching up.
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Pimpjira
Guardian Force Shooter
Posts: 1,102
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Post by Pimpjira on Apr 26, 2021 14:22:48 GMT
I've finished these over the last month or two.
Fight'n Rage(I plan to play this more to unlock stuff and get the other endings, surprisingly good game)
Final Fantasy V
Mega Man X
Super Mario Kart(50/100/150cc)
The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors
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Armored Core Raven
Vanguard Ranger
Radio: The test is over. From this moment on, you are a Raven!
Posts: 1,738
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Post by Armored Core Raven on Apr 26, 2021 15:45:59 GMT
I played and completed Land of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse on Master System for the first time the other day.       Good game overall. I had never played it before so I died a lot when there were gotcha noob moments, but it wasn't too bad and it has unlimited continues. I found almost half of the power stars, so I had maxed out my hit points for the end game at least. The end part of the game was very tricky with lots of impossible to guess gotcha moments, so thanks to the extra hit points I had, I was able to power through and complete it without too much hassle. I definitely would've loved this game as a kid, and had I played it back then I'd undoubtedly still have it as a favorite and happily play through it from time to time. |
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Pimpjira
Guardian Force Shooter
Posts: 1,102
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Post by Pimpjira on Apr 26, 2021 16:19:08 GMT
I played and completed Land of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse on Master System for the first time the other day. Good game overall. I had never played it before so I died a lot when there were gotcha noob moments, but it wasn't too bad and it has unlimited continues. I found almost half of the power stars, so I had maxed out my hit points for the end game at least. The end part of the game was very tricky with lots of impossible to guess gotcha moments, so thanks to the extra hit points I had, I was able to power through and complete it without too much hassle. I definitely would've loved this game as a kid, and had I played it back then I'd undoubtedly still have it as a favorite and happily play through it from time to time. I've heard the Mickey games on Master System are good, I'd like to get around to them eventually. Also a Donald Duck game or two iirc. |
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Post by Imperial Khador on May 1, 2021 9:03:20 GMT
Finished up Yakuza: Dead Souls on the PS3.
This one is a non-canon tale...sort of set between Yakuza 4 and 5, featuring a zombie invasion of Kamurocho.
I'm not sure why this one gets some flak. It certainly isn't top tier in the survival horror genre, but it does a good job of being a Yakuza game with survival horror flavouring.
Since I just went from Yakuza 4 Remastered on the PS4 to Dead Souls on the PS3, there was a noticeable downgrade in resolution and frame rate, but I got used to it pretty quickly. Seeing the usual Yakuza cast in this unusual situation, with their usual side of silliness was pretty fun, and at around 15 hours, it didn't overstay its welcome.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 2, 2021 16:08:31 GMT
I guess I didn't post when I finished Yakuza 5 a little more than a week ago.
It was a nice evolution from 4, but it is an extremely long game, with 5 protagonists. It was very cool to see Haruka as a protagonist, though of course her gameplay was rhythm-based instead of the normal violence. It also looked really nice, as it used the same engine as 0 and Kiwami. So the remaster felt right at home on the PS4.
And this morning I finished Yakuza 6.
It was a really nice way to finish off Kiryu's story, even though it didn't feature much in the way of returning characters (aside from Akiyama) outside of cameos. It was great to return to Kamurocho one more time in Kiryu's shoes, and the seaside fishing town of Onomichi also felt lively and fun. Haruto may be the cutest baby in video games.
I'd played Kiwami 2 previously (the second Dragon-engine game after this one), so the combat felt familiar. Things are definitely a bit more rag-doll than the older Yakuza games, and that takes some getting used to, but it didn't take long to re-adjust.
I'm a bit sad that the PS4 version didn't get a nice 60fps upgrade running on the PS5, the way the XB1 version does running on an XBSX or XBSS...but much like the combat, I quickly adjusted to 30fps, and the game is still gorgeous.
Next up will be the PS5 version of Judgment, so this will be my first Dragon-engine game at 60fps, and with what look to be some other visual enhancements. I'm looking forward to trying out this new lawyer-turned-private-detective protagonist.
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Pimpjira
Guardian Force Shooter
Posts: 1,102
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Post by Pimpjira on Jun 6, 2021 7:20:16 GMT
Games I've beaten since the last post:
Arc the Lad
Gunstar Heroes
Knights of the Round
Slay the Spire(with all four characters)
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Pimpjira
Guardian Force Shooter
Posts: 1,102
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Post by Pimpjira on Jun 9, 2021 14:06:11 GMT
I noticed I forgot one game in my last post and it was Breakthru(arcade version on Switch).
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 24, 2021 6:58:43 GMT
Finished up Judgment for the PS5.
I really liked this as a spinoff of the Yakuza series. Yagami is an interesting character, and supporting cast is great. It really felt like part of the same world of the Yakuza series so far, but it was nice to see a different view of Kamurocho, and the view of a detective and former lawyer was an interesting one.
Courtroom sections were fun, with a bit of a Phoenix Wright flavour in some cases. Yagami's combat style didn't feel quite like any of the previous Yakuza characters, and I really liked it.
I would say the finale was probably my favourite of any of the Yakuza games I've played thus far.
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,648
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 24, 2021 8:48:07 GMT
Judgment got very good reviews from people. I'm looking forward to play it too. Congrats on finishing all those Yakuza games.
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