Deleted
I have made 0 posts
Right now I'm Offline
I joined January 1970
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2017 19:44:13 GMT -6
At the endpoint of 2015, I'd taken a friends' advice on a game I wasn't yet aware of Yakuza. And as they say, the rest is history. The series throws itself in the political intrigue of the Japanese Mafia, bearing similarities to titles like Shenmue and Metal Gear...But I've found that they're aiming higher than to simply be a sum of the past; Instead, a mark was made on the gaming industry through their offbeat take on Brawler/Melee combat, realistic/lifelike characters, a more assured quality in side quests, and some of the best storylining in the AAA gaming market. That was Yakuza 4 for me, anyway. And if you're also new to the series, the Zero/Kiwami titles in 2017 means it couldn't be a better time to jump in. So where does the new game Yakuza Zero fit in all of this? Unlike Yakuza Five's natural progression from the previous game, zero springs to life at a point just before Yakuza 4, acting as both standalone, and a proper jumping point for those unfamiliar with previous games. If we're judging by the cover, multiple protagony's been slimmed down by half of its usual, but is thankfully not indicative of a change in quality - quite the opposite. Fan favorite Kiryu Kazuma finds himself at the lower rung of the Tojo Clan, while events covered in Yakuza 4(which are flashbacked in Zero) put Mister Majima in a position that's glamorous on the surface, and murky at the core. Apropos for the life of a gangster, no? With introductions out of the way, let's get to the heart of why Zero's making a name for itself. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, it's made apparent that SEGA isn't sitting on their laurels in building a sequel. Cinematic design is something they've mastered at this point, and these early scenes present their new directions in cinematic experimentation. Instead of classic cutscenes, we see stylized and filtered frames held inert, like a graphic novel in 3D Space. I was also bewildered by their use of First-Person; There's an immersion and intensity through the literal eyes of your character that's hard to emulate through the voyeuristic viewpoints of classic filmmaking, and the peppered use of that in Yakuza's own brand of cinema heightens the sensitivity when the moments come. Besides their hallmark traits of Ahead-Of-Its-Time facial animation and general craftsmanship, there's inventiveness in how they flow into the game. Goro Majima's opening, as an example of integrating cinematics and gameplay, may very well be the best introduction to a character I've seen in *quite* some time. But of course, style is only one facet of their work. How about substance? When I meet a fictional person, you can usually get a general feel for who they are: Personality, Interests, etc. - The Basics of characterization. But as time goes by, discoveries can grow and alter not only how you perceive them, but their previous actions taking entirely new context. Real life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it? The naturalistic growth in those around you is part of what makes Yakuza characters as interesting at they are, and Zero captures this in one of the most hard-hitting, personal stories I've witnessed. I saw The Godfather at a very young age, but never quite got the appeal of well-dressed men doing horrible things for glittering gold. But what if that's the only family you knew, when the world you grew up in says what's contrary to common belief? Somewhat analogous then are the motivations in Yakuza 0, which find a broader spectrum than just being a guy who doesn't know any better. The use of all these character arcs under the flag of Kamurocho leave so much going on at once in terms of story, the likes I've only seen in The Witcher 2 and a scarce few others...feels like being in the eye of a hurricane. Feels marvelous. Of course, Kamurocho follows suit in the realm of ambiguous moral dilemma. Even if certain parts of the game border on over-the-top(Shirtless Shoulder Tricks, and how the hell did he get that down a sewer, anyway?!), the problems are generally grounded in the ethically gray parts of the human condition . Both Kiryu and Goro are fairly tranquil by comparison, and this in line with their present circumstance can prove to be a true test of character. Despite most of the game's narrative structure juggling the disparate story arcs, they seem to slowly develop into the same overarching plot...this is impressive, considering that they appear as two disconnected mysteries for most of the game. It's telling to the amount of hard work put in crafting a story with multiple characters that intertwine, while also working as an enjoyable independent narrative. So yeh, it's gud. There's also a level of foreshadowing that's well done, and this wraps back into the character development mentioned above. While classical exposition straight from the characters is one way they go about this, there's a few visual hints that, even if they misdirect, will point players in the right direction and keep you wondering how it plays out in the grand scheme of things. That well-paced control of information suggests a smartly-built mystery. But Yakuza isn't just a glorified chessboard, or an immeasurably long story told though cinematic form; It's a delicious piece of Japanese culture for you to explore. As with 4, it holds a realistic take on the cityscape : Kamurocho's littered with modestly-sized ramen shops, karaoke bars, with a healthy balance of familiar and foreign venues for audiences. So what's different this time? An entirely different bloody city, for one. In the wake of Kamurocho's NYC-esque skyscrapers, Sotenbori finds itself to be a bit more modest in Goro Majima's neck of the woods. Built off a river, it offers similar shops and glamorous signage but holds much tighter level design in alleys and walkways on the river's edge. It's quaint, and many memorable parts of the story make good use of Sotenbori's unassuming locale. SEGA's signage has taken some big leaps in making the two cities' night life a tale to remember, its Akira-levels of neon look great even in the daytime. Since this *is* in the 80's, Zero follows suit with the in-game use of pagers, and fitting wardrobe like Awano's Iconic purple blazer. In terms of visual caveats...this is a PS3 game. The cinematics easily hold up to current-gen graphics, but much of the rest is expectedly around High-End PS3. The payoff for PS4 owners is a higher frame rate, something very handy for a game with solid reflexive requirements. NPCs outside of Main/Side characters still have somewhat polygonal faces to bear, and I wouldn't have minded to see more fluid animation in much of the enemies' combat as well. Incidentally, one of the final foes in the game employs a visual trick similar to the game's HEAT system with fluidity that would've been a very welcome addition. For those needing a frame of reference, the HEAT system builds as you beat the living crap out of bozos. It means more extravagant ways to beat up said bozos: Knockout by Bicycle, ducking to have two goons punch each other, that sort of thing. It's fairly grounded, even with the kind of silliness you might see in wrestling games. A more dramatic change made to the established brawling is the new style system. My original instinct was to make a Jade Empire comparison in how it's structured, but the more personalized nature to these styles instead of a One-Style-Fits-All mantra finds itself in a slightly different niche. No longer bound under a single approach, adapting to the battlefield makes combat far more compelling this round. Kiryu's new options switch between the Saiga-esque focus on sweeping attacks/environment, and a "Rush" style which feeds into the player's reflex with quick dodging. I found for many of the bosses(including the new Mr. Shakedown), Rush was a great option to play the role of hyperactive punch-and-dodger. Goro continues this trend: The thug form is relatively normal, a rogue-ish dirty type of fighting...but the breaker form uses literal breakdancing as a form of fighting: Inspired, great for taking down large crowds, absolutely bonkers, yet surprisingly fitting for a character that lively. Last but not least is Slugger. Not the most flexible(breakdancing's better for that), but has excellent range against melee fighters, and comes with a *very* handy charge attack for Bosses/Highly Defensive enemies. Play your cards right, and the ballgame's finished with little fuss.
...with one exception. I'm still not the biggest fan of the Arcade-y approach boss health is handled. The AI has strong variety and often goes through combat phases, but the absurdly-sized HP in half of these scuffles makes them longer than they need to be. This may be hammered in by the latter half of some of these fights as HEAT triggers, where the enemy's speed and strong inclination to block means that even on Rush/Breaker, you can get a few light punches, dodge, and repeating that for quite a while. However, this remains a small nitpick for a game spanning 50 hours long; Conversely, the Big Daddy-esque Mr. Shakedown roaming the streets has a fearsome size, but is easily dodged in rush form, and takes a small matter of minutes to topple. As for the Joe Schmo's, the game throws in traditional Fist/Blade combinations...though it seems guns are allowed this time? Prioritizing who gets the knuckle sandwich becomes a bigger challenge due to this, and careful maneuvering is the best route for staying afloat. Though Kamurocho's level design for outdoor combat typically sticks to the Big-Ass-Circle route, the main story's latter half in particular makes use of larger spaces, and some room-to-room transitions that bring a better flow of combat than previous iterations. One of my biggest complaints on Y4 was its nigh-forced outdoor combat, and this is thankfully remedied through a sprint ability, map markers for enemy encounters, and an amusingly creative alternative using handfuls of yen. But there's more to the game than fighting. Expressing ones' self through interactivity unerringly defines how your story is told, and the stories in Yakuza 0 do so with Bits & Pieces of Kamurocho's Passtimes as well. Do you wanna boogie? :3You can totally boogie. I'll commend SEGA for one thing: With musical gaming trends preferring the "highway" track format to get your groove on, they switched to an oddball system using what I would almost call a Bingo board, with glowing rings to show when to light up the night. It's very cute, and has a solid track of J-Pop/Eurobeat with the sorts of tunes you'd hear back in 88'. One of kamurocho's other new passtimes also involves phone calls of the...lovey-dovey nature. It's bizarre, brilliant, and one of a kind. Instead of verbal description, I'll let the game speak for itself. Further into the rabbit hole of oddity, the game's side quests maintain the legacy of being by far some of the strangest quests you'll ever experience. I have to give them credit for consistently building the most outlandish premises imaginable, while remaining *mostly* in the realm of plausibility. I also noticed that they even play off said premises and throw them in reverse, so my hat's off to that. One has to wonder though about the stark contrast between the grounded nature of the main story, versus a Surrealistic/Parodic Kamurocho that seem to coherently fit, I wouldn't have minded a healthier balance of normal and bonkers. Character quests can chain together, or require building a bond beforehand instead of just conveniently jumping into weird shit. A couple of these quests(Mushroom Merchant comes to mind) don't quite hold up for longer than the first round, but the vast majority had me literally laughing out loud or applauding its originality. Whoever wrote these things must've been on some serious weed, man. And I think that's it. A Story that stands far beyond the average title, a shot-in-the-arm in terms of diverse combat, and 50 hours of greatness.
This means my final verdict for Yakuza 0 IS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Uh....?Hello? Is there anybody in there?
Echo Echo Echo....May have broke the review... Gimme a sec to get things back in action.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So, a final thought. For every review written, it's wise to find what separates it from the rest of the pack. The main story by itself already accomplishes this on multiple counts. It's not just a bar of quality, but what the game leaves you with after the fact. One of the game's underlying themes captures exactly how I feel about the series: It's important to learn from those bearing wisdom...but to truly make a mark in the world, one must create their own path instead. Yakuza 0's accomplished that mission, I'd say. For those irked by open worlds with little to do, or video game stories that don't quite hold up, Zero may just be your hero. For me, it's a dream come true. Thanks for reading. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|