Yakuza: Like a Dragon - Review @ RPG Site

RPG Site has reviewed the upcoming Action RPG Yakuza: Like A Dragon:

Yakuza: Like A Dragon Review

It is hard to believe that the Yakuza series has been around for nearly fifteen years now. From its humble beginnings on the PS2 and having a title on every PlayStation non-Vita platform since then, the series has grown and evolved each step of the way. Despite its long-standing presence, the awareness and popularity that the Yakuza franchise enjoys today in the west exploded with the localization of Yakuza 0 three years ago. To many fans, that game was the ideal entry point into the series and most importantly, it was a damn good game.

There have been recent efforts to expand the series beyond just PlayStation though. Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 were later made available on PC and Xbox One, while the rest remain PlayStation exclusives at this moment in time. Now at seven mainline titles prior to Like A Dragon, there is an understandable concern to reinvigorate the series so more newcomers can give it a shot. In Japan, Yakuza: Like A Dragon is titled as Ryu ga Gotoku 7, which distinctly categorizes it as a mainline game that takes place after the events of Yakuza 6. Despite the western marketing push for Like A Dragon to be a new starting point like Yakuza 0, it feels disingenuous in expecting optimistic individuals to understand Like A Dragon's narrative without prior knowledge or experience of the series.

[…]

There is a decent game lurking beneath Yakuza: Like A Dragon. Its experimental, numerous half-baked ideas in the shift to a turn-based RPG drag it down from being an excellent experience, but the core ideas are solid enough on paper that they could be amazing if given a future chance. After all, this is the first time the Ryu ga Gotoku Studio development team has embarked on this wild idea to transform this long-running series into something it has never been before. I do disagree that this title can serve as a newcomer's first foray into the Yakuza series. Yakuza: Like A Dragon is not outstanding, but its vision of what an RPG would look like set in today's world is fascinating. I played the entire game with Japanese audio and I must say, Ichiban's voice performance in the finale of his game is phenomenal.

Score: 7/10

More information.

I played the entire game with Japanese audio

Is there any other way to play enjoy jrpgs?

Originally Posted by joxer
Is there any other way to play enjoy jrpgs?

Forgive me if I ask a stupid question but…

I have never been a fan or jrpg, but I'm not sure to understand the interest of playing a game with voices you don't understand? The English-speaking voice actor tend to not be as good as the Japanese's?

Originally Posted by vanedor
I have never been a fan or jrpg, but I'm not sure to understand the interest of playing a game with voices you don't understand? The English-speaking voice actor tend to not be as good as the Japanese's?

I would assume it's a similar reason to why I like to watch anime in Japanese with subtitles (because my Japanese isn't good enough for something like that - yet): Somehow the sound of the language is part of the feeling. In English (or German, for that matter) it feels different.

Please note: I do not believe that this way of watching movies is "better" or "more true" or some other bullshit like that. It's a personal preference, nothing more. Could also just be a habit.

Originally Posted by vanedor
The English-speaking voice actor tend to not be as good as the Japanese's?

It's not about being good but about emotion that is language specific in this case.

Originally Posted by Irian
I would assume it's a similar reason to why I like to watch anime in Japanese with subtitles

Exactly. Subtitles.
Additionally, PC got lucky unlike consoles and our subtitles aren't microscopic.

Originally Posted by vanedor
Forgive me if I ask a stupid question but…

I have never been a fan or jrpg, but I'm not sure to understand the interest of playing a game with voices you don't understand? The English-speaking voice actor tend to not be as good as the Japanese's?

Usually a translation isn't as faithful and thorough as the original. I don't mean only about the text, I mean the type of voices, the way it's spoken, the emotion it conveys.

Also, usually voice overs aren't as diverse as for the original language. So we get more voices per voice actor and it shows.

The fact that we don't know japanese, helps to hide a little bit the performance of the voice actor. In english or another language we understand fairly well, we notice everything (wooden acting, talking as if reading, a wrong tone, etc…).

OTOH, sometimes japanese girl voices can get on my nerves, as they usually go for the high pitch squicky type, as if most women were little girls… But that's japanese culture, were men value how girly a woman is.

I played through the Witcher in Polish, with English subtitles. I hate recognising the same English voice actors who seem to voice a lot of different games. That irritation doesn't happen when its in a foreign language.

I always liked to consume(watch, play, listen) media in their "original" form.
Also I find japanese VO for JRPGs to be much better than english or others. Also lip syncing.

Started playing today on PS4. The performance seems worse than Judgment. I'll probably buy it on the PC. 30 fps can't do Dragon Engine justice.

PC Gamer was mixed on it, too. There was a lot the reviewer liked but he said there were a LOT of random battles. Unlike the other Yakuza games, though, you can't just fly through the easy ones so they got to be a real chore.

As for playing in the native language + subtitles vs. English, it kinda depends for me. I'll try it in English and, if I like it, I'll leave it. If not, I'll switch. (Assuming it gives me a choice. Yakuza 0 didn't.)

Originally Posted by Gwendo
OTOH, sometimes japanese girl voices can get on my nerves, as they usually go for the high pitch squicky type, as if most women were little girls… But that's japanese culture, were men value how girly a woman is.

All that volcanic landscape in Japan makes for more helium content in the atmosphere and… uhhh… ok, you're right.

Originally Posted by shamroxor
I played through the Witcher in Polish, with English subtitles. I hate recognising the same English voice actors who seem to voice a lot of different games. That irritation doesn't happen when its in a foreign language.

I kinda like that, actually - especially if I don't notice until near the end of the game. For instance, the main character voice I used in Divinity 2 also played Malady in Divinity: Original Sin 2.