On 10 December the series of Yakuza celebrated its XNUMXth anniversary. Although in Japan the adventures of the yakuza with a heart of gold are appreciated and followed, so much so as to make it a "millionaire" title, in the West it has always struggled to take root, skipping some "minor chapters" set in the Edo period or spin-offs for portable consoles, with biblical waiting times regarding adaptations.
And while in their homeland they are preparing to discover the much-attested sixth episode, we poor unfortunate European players can finally put our hand, 3 years after the original release, a Yakuza 5, available from December 8th on PlayStation 3 exclusively in digital format on PSN.
Kamurocho's calling
Honor, vengeance, brotherhood, all strong themes that reflect the rawness of the events of Yakuza 5Following the adventures again Kazuma Kiryu, Kamurocho Dragon (the fictional district of Tokyo, the scene of the events of Yakuza), in Yakuza 5 we will end up entangled in a new rise to power within the hierarchy of the most powerful clans in Japan.
Kyriu, who moved away from Osaka to give a chance to Haruka (her "adopted daughter") to break into the world of idols, thus cutting any ties and links to the world of the mafia that would have hindered the girl's career, will arrive in quiet Fukuoka with a new identity and a new job. Hanging up the yakuza's clothes, we will find ourselves living a more normal and peaceful life, in the shoes of an unlikely taxi driver. Despite the change of setting, it won't take too long to end up in the eye of the storm again, when, one evening like many others, we will be approached by Daigo Dojima, current head of Tojo Clan, in town for a meeting with another head of the family, to draft the terms of new agreements between clans. It will be the disappearance of Daigo to trigger a series of events that will push our Kazuma Kiryu to return to business and find out what lies behind the disappearance of his friend.
As in Yakuza 4, where the story was divided into 4 parts, each entrusted to a different protagonist and then culminating in a single epilogue, Yakuza 5 calls and raises, bringing the characters involved in this new adventure to 5. We will find the unstoppable Taiga Saejima, in prison serving the last years of his sentence, after having escaped in the previous chapter and ready again for a new escape to "settle" a rather urgent matter, and Shun Akiyama, the eccentric loan shark ready to lend money to the most deserving, here in an unprecedented detective role to solve a murder case of an old acquaintance of his. New entry in the playable cast we also find Haruka, struggling with the rise to success as an idol within a television talent, in which she will have to give heart and soul to be able to break through and earn the promised success, and Tatsuo Shinada, a former baseball promise, ended up in disgrace after being accused of rigging the outcome of a game. All stories apparently distant and unrelated to each other, but which for a strange twist of fate will intertwine revealing a scheme and design worthy of the best investigative crime.
From this point of view, Yakuza 5 hits the target again, with a story with a strong emotional charge. Honor, revenge, brotherhood, all strong themes that reflect the crudeness of the events and show us a world governed by its rules and mechanisms. A world distant from us, at times told in an almost excessive and too romanticized way, however, endowed with an aura from which it is impossible not to be attracted by it. It is true, perhaps the development and narration of the facts, at least in the first few bars, appears too slow and diluted, and it will be necessary at least to complete the first 2/3 chapters before being able to start formulating some hypotheses about what is happening, but the he excellent quality with which every single event is told and waved under our noses, makes each film a unique moment to be savored without too much haste.
The only narrative problem that could arise is the rooting of the story spread over several chapters. Despite being self-contained, the Yakuza episodes are linked together, and the constant references to past facts and events could be a really big obstacle for those approaching the series for the first time. To make up for this lack, it is possible to access the "reminiscence" mode which allows you to see the videos of the old titles and have a general picture of the story. A non-exhaustive solution at 100% but able to fill the gaps of certain players (our advice is to be able to recover at least the third and fourth chapter, available on PS3)
The mafia kills only in the summer
Yakuza 5 is a videogame “slice of life” set in an open world on a human scaleMistakenly referred to by many as the GTA of the East, by others as a spiritual heir to the immortal Shenmue, the truth behind the Yakuza series is something that goes far beyond mere stereotypes or classifications. Yakuza 5 is a videogame “slice of life” set in an open world on a human scale. Each story, as well as each protagonist will enjoy his setting (for the first time in the 5 different neighborhoods series) to explore and experience minute by minute. Not just the facts of the story, but everything that orbits in the life of the characters. Kazuma Kiryu will not only have to find out what happened to Daigo, but also carry out his job as a taxi driver regularly, carrying out a subplot that will see him confront and socialize with colleagues, making regular daily runs satisfying the most bizarre customers and at the same time competing. with a gang of underground racing drivers, with a twist on the Fast'n'Furious (or to the Initial D remaining in the Sega house). This will not only affect the narrative aspect, precisely with the presence of secondary plots and sub quests, but precisely on the gameplay, introducing, in the case of Kyriu, a fairly basic guide system, but sufficiently articulated to give a boost to the classic mechanics of game and add new meat to the fire. For example, in the missions dedicated to the taxi, we will have to bring the customers to their destination, trying to keep a clean guide and respecting the signs, perhaps entertaining our passenger with some exchanges to improve the final score. The sections dedicated to racing are more intriguing, in 1 vs 1 challenges, where driving skills and the strategic use of the turbo will put us in competition with the most skilled drivers in Tokyo.
But the guide will not be the only novelty within Yakuza 5. The chapter dedicated to Haruka is an idol simulator, in which we will have to manage all the commitments of this young rising star, carrying out activities to improve relations with the public, with appearances on television broadcasts or participation in events such as photo shoots or handshakes with fans.
The active part of the idol will instead be managed through a rhythm game mechanism, in which we will have to press the icons on the screen with the right timing trying to respect the necessary requests (number of combos, challenge level, etc.) to pass the test.
Not only that, Saijima at some point in his history will find himself engaged in some hunting missions, armed with rifles and traps, all against the backdrop of a prohibitive snowy mountain, in which to test our skills as a predator, all thanks to an FPS-style first-person view. It must be said, however, that among all the news, this and the one dedicated to Tatsuo Shinada (a baseball-based minigame) are the ones that work less in terms of gameplay: the first suffers mainly due to some controls that are not very precise and enough cumbersome, while the second collides with a fairly complex system (much more than it actually seems) linked to the dynamics of the bar, not as intuitive and immediate as it should be.
Almond-eyed Gomorrah
in Yakuza 5 each fighter will be more outlinedThat said, the basis of the game remains unchanged in the formula: on the one hand we have the narrative and exploratory sections dedicated to the advancement of the plot or secondary activities, on the other hand the fighting phases from fighting to scrolling. Here too we find interesting new features and additions that enrich the overall gaming experience. Each character (with the exception of Haruka) will enjoy their own fighting style, and if already in the fourth chapter a good job had been done on the side of physical characterization, in Yakuza 5 each fighter will be more outlined, thanks to the unique and special moves from the devastating power that can be activated once the appropriate indicator is loaded.
Character growth is governed by experience points obtained by fighting or completing side missions, with a new system for the management of growth more streamlined than in the past that will allow you to unlock new finishing moves and combos, and which now sees a new type of also collect points for usable weapons. The use of a new graphic engine has not only brought benefits regarding the aesthetic aspect of the game but also improvements in terms of playability. First of all, the enemies on the screen have increased, transforming the scuffles of the previous chapters into real group fights, all without affecting the development of the same as regards the framerate. The animations have also increased, allowing you to make a greater number of moves, especially environmental or contextual ones, making the clashes more dynamic and less woody. However, it must be emphasized that despite the conspicuous improvements that make it one of the most enjoyable chapters from the point of view of gameplay, a certain basic complexity remains. For example, during battles against the most difficult enemies or some boss fight, it will not help to "be leveled" or parry and avoid enemy attacks, as it will almost always happen to be at the mercy of the opponents without being able to free ourselves from their attacks. , seeing our energy bar collapse miserably. Even the increase in enemies does not automatically lead to an improvement in artificial intelligence, ending up not changing what we saw previously, with 1 or 2 enemies attacking us while the others will turn around us waiting for their turn. There is also a certain repetitiveness in the clashes, at times really too many and infinite, which after a certain number of hours begin to weigh, pushing the less patient players to avoid them when possible.
To all this are added all the other secondary activities that can be completed independently that embellish the Sega title. In addition to the now classic mini-games such as billiards, air hokey or darts, it will be possible hang out with gorgeous girls in host clubs, trying to win their hearts in a sort of date-sim, in which we will have to use our skills as a Latin lover (and our wallet) to impress them, giving gifts or taking them out, perhaps to spend an evening at the karaoke (another rhythm-based minigame). We will be able to spend some of our free time visiting local shops, allowing ourselves to read some magazine or manga (different serial numbers available such as Shingeki no Kyojin o Fairy tail) or entering the vortex of arcades between ufo catchers in which to win action figures by Hatsune Miku and other Sega characters, or indulge in a game of Virtua Fighter 2 (available in full version, also with the possibility of accessing new online features) and the Taiko no tatsujin, with the ability to "play" up to 3 different songs.
Once the game is complete it will be possible to access a premium section, which allows you to load the end-game save to focus only on secondary activities, to recover all those secondary missions left behind and aim for 100% (which will take you away safely beyond a hundred hours).
Don't make that face!
A source of pride and pride is the realization of the facesBefore moving on to the technical analysis it is good to open a parenthesis due to the timing of adaptation that led the game to reach the end of its life cycle on PlayStation 3, and 3 years late compared to the original release. It is therefore right to treat Yakuza 5 taking this factor into account. Net of this, the use of the new graphic engine, when compared with the previous chapters, is palpable right away. Not only on an overall level there is an increase of elements on the screen, be it these enemies or various details but also the overall quality of texture and global illumination improve the final result of the Sega product. A source of pride and pride is the realization of the faces, which offers some of the best 3D models of the past generation, and which are perfect for enhancing acting, thanks to the expressiveness they are able to release on the screen, especially during movies, which enjoy an almost perfect direction on every occasion.
Despite the positive changes, other subdued elements remain firmly in place, such as the polygonal modeling of most of the secondary elements (see the inhabitants of the cities, among other things afflicted by a conspicuous pop-up effect) or the new driving sections, which they seem torn from the era PS2. Overall, net of these defects, Yakuza 5 despite the weight of the years manages to come out great without making us weigh too much belonging to the past generation.
Excellent as always the sound sector, above all the majestic work done during the dubbing phase (from the first in the original language subtitled in English) which denotes the skill of all the actors in bringing their characters to life. Even for the music, the work carried out shows a certain study, not only for the themes that will accompany us during the adventure or during the clashes, but also for all the melodies that can be heard walking freely through the city passing between a shop and the other, or again JPOP tracks designed for Haruka and her idol career.
✓ Well-told story with unpredictable implications
✓ New game mechanics modernize the gameplay ... x ... but not all convincing
x Combat system improved but to be reviewed
x Repetitive battles in the long run
