View difference between Paste ID: X46U14yM and suRg1F4J
SHOW: | | - or go back to the newest paste.
1
(Revised 8/13/2016 - 1.1)
2
(Revised 9/16/2016 - 1.2)
3
(Revised 9/29/2016 - 1.3)
4
(Revised 12/3/2016 - 1.4)
5
(Revised 1/16/2017 - 1.5)
6
(Revised 2/13/2017 - 1.6)
7
8
Q: I've never played this series. What is it about?
9
A: The Yakuza games are basically sandbox beat-em-up JRPGs. 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.
10
11
Q: What are the games in this series?
12
A: There are 6 mainline games in the series, as well as 5 spin-offs and 1 remake. The mainline games are as follows:
13
14
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 its successors. 
15-
Yakuza 2 (PS2): Improves on the first game significantly. Combat feels much smoother. There is a brand new city. 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, with challenging boss battles, well-written story/characters, and great sidequests. The soundtrack is incredibly good as well. 
15+
16
Yakuza 2 (PS2): Improves on the first game significantly. Combat feels much smoother. There is a brand new city. 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 (2/3/2017 update - a retailer ordered reprints of 1-4. Yakuza 2 is $50 at the time of this update). It may be advisable to pirate the game instead since it really is one of the best games in the series, with challenging boss battles, well-written story/characters, and great substories. The soundtrack is incredibly good as well. 
17-
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 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. 
17+
18
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 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. Kickass soundtrack. Available in English, physical only. 
19
20
Significant amount of cut content for this game concerning the western release. 
21
http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?322120-Full-list-of-cut-content
22
23
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.
24
25
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.
26-
Yakuza 0 (PS4/PS3): A prequel set in 1988. 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. A competent story, fine-tuned gameplay, and tons of substories make this game one of the best in the series. Available in English, physical and digital. 
26+
27
Yakuza 0 (PS4/PS3): A prequel set in 1988. 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. A competent and compelling story, fine-tuned gameplay, and tons of substories/side content make this game one of the best in the series. Available in English for the PS4, physical and digital. 
28-
Yakuza 6 (PS4): The presumed final chapter of Kiryu Kazuma, the series' main protagonist. After the events of 5, Kiryu is sent to prison for 4 years, and Haruka is facing backlash for abandoning the idol industry and letting the whole world know her past (smart move). Mysteriously yet unsurprisingly, Haruka is involved in a hit and run accident that possibly involves the one of the Tojo Clan patriarchs. Detective Date also tells Kiryu of a baby... a baby whose name is Haruto Sawamura. That's right. Haruka's presumed child. Kiryu is back to kick some ass one "last" time in Kamurocho and Hiroshima, and find some goddamn answers. But not before online chatting with Anri Okita, playing VF5 in the arcades, and deep sea diving, among other time-sinking things. Revamped combat system also appears, for better or worse. Released December 8, 2016 in Japan. Mixed reviews due to framerate issues, clunky combat, and ridiculous story, even by the series' standards.
28+
29
Yakuza 6 (PS4): 
30
A new engine sets the stage for the presumed final chapter of Kiryu's story. Seamless world, revised combat system, and a new district appear in this game. Released December 8, 2016 in Japan. Mixed reviews due to framerate issues, clunky combat, and ridiculous story, even by the series' standards.
31
32
Western localization planned for early 2018!
33
34
-----------------------------------------------
35
36-
Yakuza Kiwami (PS3/PS4): A full 1080p/60fps remake of Yakuza 1. Cutscenes and voice acting are fully redone. Many sidequests have voiced lines like 0. Switchable fighting styles appear again in this one. "Majima Everywhere" system appears, in which Majima fights you anywhere and everywhere in order for you to level up the "Dragon of Dojima" fighting style, aka the default style that Kiryu uses in 1-5. A bit lacking in innovation, as it feels like an expansion/mod for 0. The cutscenes and fanservice are still worth taking a look at. Recommended buy for the Yakuza enthusiast. Yui Hatano is in it as well if that tickles your HEAT gauge. 
36+
37
38
Yakuza Kiwami (PS3/PS4): A full 1080p/60fps remake of Yakuza 1. Cutscenes and voice acting are fully redone. Many sidequests have voiced lines like 0. Kiryu's fighting styles from 0 appear again in this one. "Majima Everywhere" system makes its debut, in which Majima fights you anywhere and everywhere in order for you to level up the "Dragon of Dojima" fighting style, aka the default style that Kiryu uses in 1-5. A bit lacking in innovation, as it feels like an expansion/mod for 0. The cutscenes and fanservice are still worth taking a look at. Remixed soundtrack, for better or for worse. Recommended buy for the Yakuza enthusiast. Yui Hatano is in it as well if that tickles your HEAT gauge. 
39
40
Western localization planned for summer 2017!
41
42
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. A partial guide is available on khhsubs.
43
44
khhsubs' guide for Kenzan:
45
http://www.khhsubs.com/projectsryugagotokukenzan.html
46
47-
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.
47+
48
49-
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). An epic, compelling story (if you can understand Japanese very well/use khhsubs' guide), fun gameplay, and novel minigames make this one of the best spinoffs for the series.
49+
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.
50
51
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). An epic, compelling story (if you can understand Japanese very well/use khhsubs' guide), fun gameplay, and novel minigames make this one of the best spinoffs for the series.
52
53
khhsubs' in-depth guide for Ishin:
54
http://www.khhsubs.com/projectsrggishin.html
55
56
Q: Where do I start?
57
A: Ideally, the best place to start would be 1 (the original PS2 one, not Kiwami). 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. Remember, these are big games, so don't play them back to back or you will get burned out.
58
59
Q: Emulation settings for 1 and 2?
60
http://i.imgur.com/4pA439D.jpg
61-
A: Movies:
61+
62
Q: OST download for the series?
63
https://ryugagotokucompletesoundtracks.wordpress.com/ (does not include 6 at the time of this update)
64
65
Q: Any more Yakuza-related goodness I can steal from this paste?
66
A: Don't hurt me, these are just things I enjoyed in some capacity. It's not an end-all list of the best shit ever.
67
68
Movies:
69
Sonatine
70
Hana-bi
71
Outrage
72
Beyond Outrage
73
Violent Cop
74
Ichi the Killer
75
Dead or Alive (trilogy)
76
Battles Without Honor or Humanity 
77
Tokyo Drifter
78
Branded to Kill
79
Pale Flower
80
------------
81
General gangster movies:
82
Hollywood:
83
The Departed 
84
Goodfellas (you oughta get whacked if you haven't seen this yet)
85
Casino
86
Donnie Brasco
87
The Godfather 
88
The Godfather Part II
89
Mean Streets
90
91
Korean:
92
New World 
93
A Bittersweet Life
94
Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time
95
Gangnam Blues
96
A Dirty Carnival
97
No Tears for the Dead
98
99
Hong Kong/Chinese:
100
Election 
101
Election II
102
Hard Boiled
103
A Better Tomorrow
104
The Killer
105
Infernal Affairs (The Departed is a remake of this)
106
107
Manga:
108
Gokusen (comedy)
109
Ichi the Killer
110
Shimauma
111
Sanctuary
112
Ouroboros: Keisatsu wo Sabaku wa Ware ni Ari
113
Black Joke
114
115
Music:
116
Really now, this is just a chance for me to plug city pop for Yakuza 0. 80s goodness with cute girls and manly men singing, reminding you of those days that you never lived through in 1980s Japan. Here are some artists to get you started. Tons more out there for sure. 
117
118
You can find a lot of artists at 
119
http://jpop80ss.blogspot.com/
120
121
Meiko Nakahara
122
Seiko Matsuda
123
Junko Yagami
124
Akina Nakamori
125
Anri
126
Miki Matsubara
127
Keiko Kimura
128
Mai Yamane
129
Makoto Matsushita
130
Tatsuro Yamashita
131
Mariko Tone
132
Hiroshi Sato
133
Makoto Matsushita
134
Toshinobu Kubota
135
Chisato Moritaka