Yakuza has been in headlines a lot lately, since Yakuza 5 is targeting a mid November release, two Yakuza games got announced at TGS, and Yakuza 0 came out to rave (import) reviews this past spring. But, going by the sales numbers, you’ve probably skipped a few games if not the whole series. That in mind, we had a discussion about the series in general.
Embedded above but also available as an MP3 is our discussion on all things Yakuza. This was recorded a while ago but I kinda… forgot to put it… up… here… but hey, the timing is OK because 5‘s still not out yet! Helpful time stamps:
0:00:00 – Intro
0:02:01 – The Yakuza series in 1 minute
0:03:33 – Our experience with the series so far
0:05:50 – Yakuza is NOT like GTA
0:08:53 – Which game should you start with?
0:16:01 – Should you import the games? Which ones?
0:18:45 – Importing Yakuza Ishin and Yakuza Zero
0:24:33 – Yakuza’s hurdles to localization
0:30:20 – Sega’s marketing (or lack thereof)
0:34:15 – Tropes vs. Yakuza
0:40:41 – In-depth discussion of Yakuza Zero
0:44:05 – Why make a prequel with these characters?
0:47:40 – Japan’s 1988 economic bubble
0:53:12 – Bubble-era pop culture: beepers, disco and more
0:59:30 – 1988 Kamurocho and Soutenbori
1:03:25 – Creeping out random NPCs
1:08:08 – Combat in Yakuza Zero, Differences between 0 and 5
1:18:20 – Making it rain: money in Yakuza Zero
1:20:54 – Sexual content and objectification
1:29:50 – The future of the Yakuza series
Have you played Yakuza games? Import or domestic? Is there another series you might want our humble podcast duo to dive into? Share your thoughts below.
For reference right here on PSLS, here’s a shit ton of Yakuza reviews.
