So after many hours, I finally finished Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami. What a rush. I must admit I am into these kinds of movies, Zatoichi is a favorite of mine and I still haven’t seen the whole series. I love how they spoof and humor the typical stereotypes of these kinds of plots to a point were it is just funny for people who know the background a bit about these storylines and that they are very much like a soap opera story wise.
This is also the reason why nobody should play these games dubbed, the Japanese voices add a lot to the atmosphere and you can just hear the voice actors -some of which are actual movie actors whom starred in similar films- having the time of their lives!
Now the reason I start this topic is: There are seemingly few topics about this series and even an OT is lacking. (At least I cannot find any ). Which I find very sad. This is a game series that has kept me of this board from the very moment I started playing. SImply as its SUCH a DAD GAME that it’s hilarious. From the humor to the storyline, which gets ever more melodramatic… it seems like a game MADE for Japanese middle aged men :P.
So, I wanted to see if there were other fans of the series that would be interested in talking about it and joking about a series were you drag a small child into a sex club and buy 9 year old boys nudy magazines… while racing toy cars!
That said: I could be projecting, as Kiryu rings huge alarm bells on the Aspie scale LOL (And thus identifiable, Good gosh, the guy hides all emotions from neurotypicals and enjoys the company of children more so than adults :P).
Sorry if the First post makes little sense just needed to get this ball rolling! So what is your favorite Kiryu moment?
Yeah, I checked out the dub for LAD and immediately switched back. It loses a lot of the Japanese zaniness, which can ruin the overall tone and come off quite flat.
Not referring to anyone here, but I hate when people complain about Yakuza having a dub when it’s completely optional. There’s literally no harm in it and anyway, the dub is great. I played LAD with the dub and the performances were well-done, I thought it actually fit pretty well.
It should have been a lot earlier, really it’ll find quite a few new fans I hope. And might get people interested in Japanese Cinema beyond : Idols, Anime High school cutsey stuff and Godzilla :P. While I love tokasatsu movies, there really is soo much more to it. It’s like thinking all French Cinema is about nudity :P.
But I agree 0 was really slow to start, and I almost gave up on it due to it :(. As it felt like “Oh no… ot another walking simulator with long tutorials. Why do they all do that!”. But was pleasantly surprised how fast you were let off the leash and into the absurdness of the world :P.
Plus Nugget is a great manager!
OH most definitely! Not only is it a gigantic nod to Japanese cinema and anti heroes, they also sound like the actors are having a total blast doing the voices. Especially the Majima voice guy must be laughing his ass off.
The tone for instance is spot on! And how Kiryu is oblivious to most emotions… giving of huge aspie vibes in a cartoonish way. Being on the spectrum myself I found some of it recognizable to a point of “erm… yeah… he’s right… best just groan and scowl” XD.
BUt I know it’s a parody of classic protagonists of Japanese cinema. Which I hope people in this thread, that are new to that, will check out :). No it’s nothing like Anime. Heck Anime already is a biiit of a too braod a term (I Love Japanese Space Opera Animations from the late 70’s until early 90’s… that stuff was stylish! but please don’t wake me up for a cutsey high school thing with squealing voices )
Usually I agree, but there are certainly exceptions. Exceptions like Kid Icarus Uprising, in which the English voices were a lot better than the Japanese. This was also due the voice actors being professional actors too and didn’t take the game too “serious”. They had a lot of jokes to reference the very first game.
But that is a rarity though. I usually play the game in the voice that the creator imagined it. French, German, Norwegian, Japanese, Korean… there is a certain thing lost to me otherwise.
Start with 0, the Kiwami remakes actually even use your save games (for some minor stuff), if they detect it :). Do try to play sub, I know it is hard for some people not used to reading… but the voice tonation is really important in Japanese Cinema. IT is a bit of a running joke too, how Kiryu shows no emotion in voice but anger usually (some exceptions LOL ;)). It’s hilarious for those who liked Japanese Cinema before idol culture kind of made it a different culture all together.
Also don’t worry too much about spoilers, the story is very much like a Soap Opera/Melo dramatic. They are very well known tropes, and thus predictable… to a point were it gets hilarious :). Once you play one of those games? You will know what to expect in the next heh. It’s like Soap opera for Japanese dads LOL.
It’s nto shaming, it really is something that you lose. Please try playing the game on a sub, it might inspire you to also see some Yakuza based movies. For instance like the fantastic Zatoichi series of movies (there also is a series). Much of the translation (the tone really) is lost in dubbing it to another language. This is due to a certain tradition of acting that is very Japanese (and to lesser extend Hong Kong Kung Fu movie, which the series also borrows from a bit).
For instance in Zatoichi movies, the tone of the voice can tell you a lot about the scene that is to come or the mood of the character.
PLus you have the added bonus of learning a few words in a different langauge! Granted you won’t learn the langauge itself (too different ;))… but I learned my English and German from subtitled movies and series :). As a kid you pick up on those things. But that is off topic and a different discussion, again… I"m not shaming…but I do think subtitles should be the way to go for kids shows too. If only to increase reading skills (Which are piss poor in some countries ). BUt I’ll stop as that becomes a different discussion.
). Which I find very sad. This is a game series that has kept me of this board from the very moment I started playing. SImply as its SUCH a DAD GAME that it’s hilarious. From the humor to the storyline, which gets ever more melodramatic… it seems like a game MADE for Japanese middle aged men :P.
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