Yakuza

Q: I've never played this series. What is it about?
A: The Yakuza games are basically sandbox beat-em-ups with JRPG elements. The maps in these games are highly detailed with tons of food to eat, minigames to play, and people to help. The combat system is initiated in both random and story encounters. You get stronger by beating up people to get experience to learn new moves, or by finding masters who help improve your fighting style.

Q: Where do I start?
A: Ideally, the best place to start would be 1. However, due to the gameplay being the worst in the series, it may be advisable to skip to 2 if you cannot bear with it. If you would like to play 5 ASAP, at least play 4 on PS3 after watching the recaps from the Reminisce menu. Remember, these are big games, so don't play them back to back or you will get burned out.

Q: What are the games in this series?
A: There are 6 mainline games in the series, as well as 5 spin-offs, with 2 games on the way. The mainline games are as follows:
Yakuza 1(PS2): The game that got this Japanese cash cow going. This is the only one with an English dub. Being the first game in the series, the game does not feel as refined as it's successors. Going to get a full on remake for PS4/PS3 as Ryu ga Gotoku Kiwami. That one isn't confirmed for English release.

Yakuza 2(PS2): Improves on the first game significantly. Combat feels much smoother. There is a brand new city, Sotenbori, Osaka. Kiryu punches tigers in the face. Grown men in diapers. Available in English, but since it was a niche English release came at the end of the PS2's lifetime, it's really rare, and expensive on Amazon. It may be advisable to pirate the game instead since it really is one of the best games in the series.

Yakuza 3(PS3): After a long period of no Yakuza games in English, Sega listened to the fans and brought this over. Unlike the PS2 games, the city now connects seamlessly. Instead of Osaka, the second city in this game is Ryukyu, Okinawa, which is a bit smaller. Warning, the game's pacing starts off slow, but don't let that dissuade you. If you've moved to this game straight from Y2, you'll have a blast from the gameplay perspective. Available in English, Physical only.

Yakuza 4(PS3): Since playing as Kiryu all the time would probably get stale, this game introduces 3 new playable characters. Akiyama is the speedy character who is centered on kicks and dodges. Saejima is the power character who is centered around charging his attacks and gaining super armor. Tanimura is the defensive character who is centered around his parry. Available in English, Physical and Digital.

Yakuza 5(PS3): After 3 years since the Japanese release, Sony and Sega finally released this in English. This is easily the best game since 2. Osaka from Yakuza 2 returns, as well as introducing 3 new cities, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Nagoya. Haruka is now a playable character whose gameplay is dance battles that play like the Miku games. Tanimura has been replaced with new character Shinada. He is a character centered around combo grabs and has unique weapon movesets. Available in English, Digital only

Yakuza 0(PS4/PS3): A prequel set in 1988 starring Kiryu and Majima. Not only does Majima finally become properly playable, but each character has 3 brand new fighting styles, as well as a secret style which lets them fight the way they do in the older games. Parodies of Michael Jackson and Steven Spielberg also appear in this game. This game will be releasing in English, but only the PS4 version, which will be both Physical and Digital. Unfortunately for Europe, Sega has no plans of a release there, but PS4 is region free so importing and downloading off US PSN is an option

Ryu ga Gotoku Kiwami(PS4/PS3): A full on remake of the first game. This not only comes with the graphical improvements of the newer games and the fighting styles of 0, but brand new content as well. Foremost are brand new scenes for Nishiki which play at the start of each chapter, as well as the Anywhere Majima system which turns him into a character who can show up no matter what you're doing and you needing to fight him.


Here are the spin-off games. Note that these games are very unlikely to get an English release, except for Dead Souls which came out in English:
Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan!(PS3): Before Yakuza 3 came out, the dev team wanted to experiment with the PS3 hardware. As a result, we have this game. This game is set in early Edo period Japan, right after the battle of Sekigahara, starring Kiryu as Miyamoto Musashi. While a spin-off, this game is just as long and dramatic as the main games. This game was the first game to introduce multiple fighting styles, as Musashi has 4, hand-to-hand, one-handed sword, two-handed sword, and dual wielding one handed swords.

Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou 1/2(PSP): These games have a brand new protagonist, Tatsuya. Due to system limitations, the primary gameplay is set in the underground arena as 1v1 fights.

Yakuza Dead Souls(PS3): This game is basically a zombie apocalypse set in Kamurocho with Yakuza characters. This is the playable debut of both Majima and Ryuji from Yakuza 2. This game also suffers from performance issues and repetitive gameplay. Try before you buy, and make sure that you're a big fan of the characters since the story and interactions are both pretty good.

Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin(PS4/PS3): A spin-off set in the Bakumatsu period starring Kiryu as Sakamoto Ryoma. After his father figure is killed by a mysterious masked man who uses the Shinsengumi's fighting style, Ryoma infiltrates their ranks in order to find the culprit and bring them to justice. This game also has 4 fighting styles, hand-to-hand, sword, gun, and Wild Dance(sword AND gun).

And here are the upcoming games:
Ryu ga Gotoku 6(PS4): The first game developed without keeping older hardware in mind. All we know about it is that Takeshi Kitano is in, and Kiryu can now move in previously impossible ways by walking through small walls and jumping past gaps. From the demo, we have gathered that Kiryu's style has been overhauled, there are brand new mashing heat actions from the new power up mode you get from filling up your heat gauge, Kiryu is looking after his own Yakuza group, Triads, different types of exp, a lot more destruction of property, Haruka is in, and Nagoshi isn't satisfied with anything but the graphics and transitions.  Set for release in Fall 2016.

Q: What sort of minigames are there?
A: Series mainstays include Batting Cages, Karaoke, Darts, Billiards, Mahjong, Shogi, Western gambling games(Roulette, Blackjack, Poker, Baccarat), Japanese gambling games(Koi-Koi, Cee-lo, etc), Bowling, and more. The Arcade games change up every game, with the constant being the UFO catcher. In 5, the Arcade games include an arcade perfect Virtua Fighter 2, and Taiko no Tatsujin/Taiko Drum Master. 5 introduces a Hunting and Killing minigame as Saejima, as well as Taxi Driving/Racing as Kiryu.

Q: I'd like to emulate the PS2 games. How do I go about doing that?
A:
EMULATION FAQ
TL;DR: Stick with default PCSX2 settings, except for the settings in the pic. Tinker with them if you get slowdowns or graphical glitches. If all else fails, shut up and play.
http://oi67.tinypic.com/o79jrb.jpg

Disclaimer: Because of the jankiness of PS2 emulation, this advice is not guaranteed to create a perfect emulation experience. You may have to tinker around with the settings.
Q: Can my computer run it?
A: PCSX2 (the only PS2 emulator worth using) is very CPU dependent. It’s recommended you have a desktop i5 (any generation should be fine) or better. Desktop AMD and laptop users might as well not even bother. PCSX2 is not as GPU dependent as it is CPU dependant, but it is still recommended you have a discrete GPU.
Q: What are the best “Emulation Settings” for Yakuza?
A: The default PCSX2 “Emulation Settings” should be fine. As for speedhacks in “Emulation Settings”, enabling INTC Spin Detection, Wait Loop Detection, and MTVU seem to not cause any problems.
Q: What are the best “Video Plugin” settings to use?
A: Try Direct3D11 hardware mode initially. Enable Shade Boost, FXAA, FX shader, Texture Filtering, and 8-bit textures. Scale the resolution to your liking.
Q: There is ghosting on all the character models, how do I get rid of that?
A: Be sure to set the aspect ratio to 16:9 in the options menu when you start up the game. If it persists, you can try enabling hardware hacks and tinker with Skip Draw. If that fails, enable Half Pixel Offset, but unfortunately, that causes the below problem.
Q: There are lines going across the screen, how do I get rid of them?
A: Again, be sure you get your aspect ratio to 16:9 in the options menu when you start the game. Try scaling down the resolution. If all else fails, you will need to use Direct3D11 software mode, which will force you to play at native resolution, but will get rid of ghosting and black lines.
Q: I am getting random sudden slowdowns. Any way to get rid of those?
A: These usually occur when moving to a different area around the outside city. Unfortunately nothing I tried has been able to fix them. You are always free to tinker with emulation settings speedhacks to see if you can get rid of them. You can also try using Direct3D9 modes in case it is a hardware issue.

Q: How big is 5's file size?
A: 23 GB, but due to how PS3 compression works, you will need double that to actually install the game.

Q: What should I get as an apology gift at the start of 5?
A: It doesn't matter, but if you buy the spicy fish roe from Tsuruya, the competition's boss will love it and send you back a Staminan Royale in Chapter 2

Q: What are the answers for the trial exam?
A: 1/6, Movement, Gravitational Potential energy, Germany, Seize the day

Q: What are the restaurants you need to recommend to Tatsuya?
A: Kiryu: Hango Zosui Yama, WEST, Hakatasou
Saejima: CURRY SHOP S, Miyoshino, Matsuo Jingisukan
Haruka: Magutako, Kushikatsu Daruma, Tsuruhashi Fugetsu
Akiyama: Zuboraya, Komian, Kani Douraku
Shinada: Sekai no Yamachan, Daruma, Kaburaya

Q: What happens if I don't give enough money to the Orphanage?
A: If you don't give at least a million yen by the end of Kiryu's chapter, you get a bad ending where Kiryu loses all his motivation to fight.

Just kidding, the only reasons you need to give money to the orphanage are for a sidequest where Kiryu must give 100,000 yen in total, and a trophy where you must have given 5 million yen.

Q: What are the sacrifices I need to give to Tendo?
A: Carrot, then Carrot again, then Wood Carving, then Rabbit Meat, then Deer Meat, then Gold Plate, then Pin-up Magazine

Q: What are the answers to the snow statue layout?
A: Magical Girl, Seals, Whale, Fox

Q: How many phone booths are there in Tsukimino?
A: 14