You've probably barely heard anything about this series. You probably didn't know there was a series to be known about.

The lowly Yakuza, released on the PS2 when the machine was already getting long in the teeth, turns out to be prince and heir to the dead sonic franchise as SEGA's flagship. They are already releasing number three in Japan to great sales, and its got a spinoff set in a more classical period of Japan.

Premise is this: you are an ex-yakuza member, fresh from prison for a murder committed by closest friend that you willingly took the fall for. Looking for a woman in your past you get caught up in a spider web of mob intrigue. Along the way you find a lost little girl, and your orphan heart demands you protect her (don't worry, no escort missions) from the battling factions intent on capturing her. You do this with your fists.

Its an action movie in videogame form, or like someone exasperated with the Shenmue series said it was okay if they pissed around with lotto machines or the batting cage but they damn well better bust some heads occasionally. Combat is good, but a bit repetitive. Even the games indulgence with heat actions, a powerful action command when your doing well enough that usually ends some dudes fight, from a simple face slam into a table to pulling a fingernail off with a pair of pliers, get tired after a while. Consider giving a playthrough. The dating game is not required, so do yourself a favor and ignore it. I like it, and you should give it a try, if nothing else to hear the guy who plays the Flash in JLU as the main villain and Mark Hamill as the best recurring villain in the game.

Yakuza 2 is the prodigal sequel, which thinks that more stuff is all the game needs. It has more of everything except what it needs, and way too much of what it doesn't. More minigames, which are annoying. Shitload more of heat actions, which are pointless because every enemy is a punk, in both they are all pretty much the same street punk and in they suck at life and go down with basic combos. The embarrassing hostess club minigame has been expanded so that now you can work at a host club, as well as own and manage a hostess club of your own cause that doesn't make the main character seem creepy.The story has themes of conflict between Tokyo and Osaka, and Japan and Korean foreigners. Unfortunately, this doesn't translate like the first game's plot and so you find yourself not giving caring. If number one did not leave you satisfied, then I guess get number 2. Otherwise, I would avoid.

You have three bars of experience: Heat, Technique, and Body, which do exactly what you think they would do. They go from one to ten, and you pump experience into them to raise them, teaching you new techniques or improving things like your health and ability to recover from knockdown or the like.

Its not very deep, but its so minimal that it doesn't get in the way, really only serving as a way to not be overwhelmed in the beginning of the game.

-bjork- wrote:

I'm up through chapter 7. If this was just a game where you went around the city doing random short missions without the cutscenes, I'd like it way better.

You can actually unlock that mode.

Yeah, nobody heard a damn thing about this game. I'm not going to say it was a tragedy, cause that would be an exaggeration, but its a poor use of resources.