So in Yakuza 4, I keep my cash and level up orbs in new game +? I thought you could switch between characters and rushed through chapter 2 & 3, without finishing all the side quests and challenges.
^Yes you can, actually after you beat the game, you can finish things up in Prem. Adventure mode, which allows you to finish any sidequests you missed out on, etc.
Screenshots look really nice. Also, someone was telling me that Kazuma is actually working as a Taxi Driver as part of some undercover investigation? I think it might have been in the initial interview that hinted to something like that, so that would explain why heās not at the orphanage.
I just hope they donāt change the battle system too much.
Thatās about the only reason I can think for Kiryu to be a Taxi Driver; working undercover.
I hope we get to fight a Gorilla
I just beat 4 and thought Iād join the discussion. I normally frequent Tech Talk so I didnāt know there was this thread until I did a search for āYakuzaā. Anyway, here are my insight on the story so far and with 5 coming soon:
- Kiryu as a taxi driver might be his new work. With Haruka all grown up, Sunshine might not need his supervision that much, plus wasnāt the blonde fatty from that other yakuza family from 3 (forgot the name) helping out Sunshine while Kiryuās out being Yakuza again?
- Seems like Haruka wonāt be fighting, according to some comments from Nahosi. It feels like itās going to be a chapter full of hostess type choose the right answer game with some rhythm gameplay like the karaoke mini games introduced in 3. Kind of a let down for me. One of the screenshots from 5 show Haruka doing some stretchings. It would be better if Haruka ended up being trained to fight by Kiryu, and that sheās on a mission to go seek Komaki and learn more.
- 4ās ending was rather quite anti climactic. Everything was so great until the last battle but the ending cinematics feel like itās missing something.
- I kind of wanted to have Tanimura playable again. His fighting style is great but then I guess his story is rather done at this point.
- I really hope that baseball dude will have a good story. I canāt imagine why a player would be running around the city doing random street battles. Unless heās in some sort of a bind from the gangs, a former gang banger of some sort, probably owing money from them, supposedly fixing games for money, etc. Instead of keeping away from the cops like Saejima did, heād be hiding from the gangs.
Ninja edit - I guess he doesnāt play anymore. Maybe because heās in debt that most of his missions would be some tests from Akiyama. - I need to look back on this but didnāt Akiyama get his money back? There was a scene where he came back to Sky and was looking at his money back in his vault. I believe the money at the end battle was the money the cops got over the years, the one mentioned on the file they gave Date.
Anyway, I normally wait about a year until I pick up the next Yakuza game on my list, since it takes a while for the US port, and also another bit until ThePatrick comes up with his walkthrough. Speaking of which, his Yakuza 4 walkthrough isnāt even done yet. Anyway with this much time on 5ās development, I just hope that a US release might not be that far along.
Good to see some new blood in this thread since Yakuza isnāt the most popular game in its genre. If you notice all Yakuza endings close most of the story but leave something a little open. I feel Sega learned their lesson from Shenmue and donāt want to give full closure on endings just in case they never get to make another one. The taxi driver thing is a good theory at this point I am unsure about what Kazuma is doing. I am hoping Harukaās segments donāt turn into the worst parts of the game so we will see where they take her story. Tanimura was a great character and contrary to what most think he was actually popular, at max level he is broke and I hope if he does return in future games they donāt give him such a long counter window. Going to stay away from playthroughs and hold off and if Sega makes the release as quick as Yakuza DS then I think we will be fine in that department.
Most interested about the new engine they made and I appreciate companies making a new engine near a consoles demise. The current engine was good but there have been 3 titles developed on it and at this point it was starting to age a little bit. Also the combat system isnāt as good as our experience 3 years ago and games like sleeping dogs have taken the best elements from Batman AA and Yakuza so right now Yakuza actually has comp. I am hoping that the system has more depth this time around and the A.I. gets smarter rather than it just doing more damage on later difficulties. Since the game comes out this year in Japan you better believe TGS this year will have tons of gameplay footage. I wish more Shenmue fans gave up their bias for this game because there is a lot they will like.
Was finally able to get a fresh copy of Yakuza 1ā¦itās the only one with English audio, right?
As far as I know yeah, from Y2 onwards they dropped the english VA.
If you could look past the voice acting the game is really good though it has aged for sure. Yakuza 2 is when they switch to subs which is the best thing they ever did lol.
Actuallyā¦I want the English VA.
Mark Hamill and Michael Rosenbaum FTW.
If it werenāt for Mark Hamill it would have been really bad.
Have you guys watched the live action movie? It felt like a live action version of Yakuza 1 Reminisce 
Mark Hamil was the only good voice actor. Michael Rosenbaum was actually horrible, he sounded so out of it and itās not Shenmue hilarious it is more like sleep inducing. Which is weird cause he usually is a good VA then again itās my preference people may like his rendition of Kazuma. Once you go sub though you canāt go backā¦
Apparently Haruka will not err āfightā in her scenarioā¦which is kinda lameā¦and youād have to be a sexist hetero-sexual to not want to kick some goonās ass with a girl raised by the greatest badass since Segata Sanshiro.
[spoiler=]J/K 
I honestly hope her scenario wonāt be boringā¦[/spoiler]
I thought Rosenbaum played Akira (or whatever his name wasā¦). I honestly donāt remember too much about the Voice Acting in Y1 apart from how stereotypical āold copā Date sounded and Mark Hamill at the batting cages.
In any event, Iām actually pretty worried about Yakuza 5ās Haruka sections now, I seriously donāt want to be forced to play nothing but hostess games during her bits. They can be a fun distraction sometimes, but I donāt know how Iāll go for a whole section without being able to drive someones face into the pavement repeatedly.
As someone who platinumed Yakuza 4 I had to do that crap lol. TBH it is only fun for the first 5 minutes and then you have seen it all, I think young teens get a kick out of it more than anyone else lol. If they have a chase mechanic like they did in Yakuza 4 then I am sure Haruka is going to be chased most of the time.
Iām guessing itāll be a new rhythm game in the same vein as the karaoke minigame. Except thereās some dancing involved. I just hope itās something that can be skipped, much like how you can still take Haruka out in 4 but itās given to you before the last battle.
http://andriasang.com/con1ky/yakuza5_another_drama_screens/
They took Yakuza to another level, this looks hella ambitious.
Hmm no, Iām not liking this at all. At least I know what Iāll be skipping. If it werenāt for that one side quest in 4 where you had to fish for the briefcase, I wouldnāt do the fishing game at all.
I like the way Yakuza 5 looks, aesthetically. You can see the new engine shining through.