Browse Yakuza Kiwami — clumsy remake of the first “Japanese GTA”

⚑ 23 Aug 2017г. Category: Articles | ❤ 1525 | Reviews: 0

Contents

1 Sink or swim
2 Below zero
3 To break the bike
4 Contradiction

“Mister, that dog’s!” Leaving the prison, Kazuma Kiryu was ready to any kind of complex situations. Attacks of pals every five minutes. The betrayals. Even for murder — where do without them in the world of organized crime. But life loves to surprise us — and now the harsh thug in a white jacket running around the supermarkets in search of food, and beaten by bullies puppy. Welcome to the “GTA on-japonski” — there is no autorename and skirmishes with the police, but there is dog food and a lot of broken teeth!

Sink or swim

At the turn of the century, SEGA was experiencing not the best times: the console war with Nintendo and Sony ended in failure, the investment is not returned, and the Japanese game market began to slowly rot because of low fertility. The company was on the verge of her desperately needed hits. Alas, sonic the hedgehog brought enough money — and other popular (and “cash”) brands such as Football Manager and Total War the firm did not yet exist. To save the situation and restore the lost due to the number of failures of reputation could only be a miracle. And it showed up in the person of the J Project, an ambitious action movie with gangsters and criminals in the lead roles.

Success, however, no one was waiting for: a slippery topic and bloated the budget did not inspire confidence his superiors. Even the developers themselves, people are certainly talented and soulful, not fully understand what they are doing — like a hybrid of action and role-playing games was for them new. How to build a narrative, to imagine heroes and villains, to develop the conflict? On what basis do side jobs? A story of fights, what to do with them?

The result of their efforts now makes us smile, but in 2005 the “adult crime drama” literally flying off the shelves. A resounding triumph at home gave the team a guide to action: since Yakuza has become one of the main and most profitable series for SEGA.

But after all these years the original is no longer impressive: the picture is outdated, the game and the game design, to put it mildly, not the best. Beginners it’s difficult to recommend. Leave everything as it is, the authors could not: reputation requires.

So in honor of the 10th anniversary of the brand Ryu ga Gotoku Studio decided to give the fans a gift: first, to produce a prequel about the 80s (Yakuza Zero), and then a full remake of the first part with improved mechanics and graphics. The idea is fine. But the execution, to put it mildly, disappoint.

Below zero

How you can produce one of the best games of the year 2015/2017 (in the face of Zero), and then take to fail? Easy. The fact is that despite promises and loud declarations of the authors (“we wanted to remake to bring the first part up!”), Yakuza Kiwami — cheap, highly controversial project. It’s cobbled together in no time product, which the publisher had planned to collect funds for the development of a sixth part of the series.

After launching the Kiwami Zero, it’s hard not to pay attention to as many details combine both games. The combat system with 4 styles? Put a check. The mechanics of pumping in the spirit of Final Fantasy X? Is. Familiar mini-games? Available with no Out Run, Space Harrier and other classics. In good, Kiwami more correct to call mod — large-scale and in their stout, but nothing more.

Someone, of course, will say that the production of Yakuza has always been more of a conveyor with transition from part to part with assets — and will be right. This, oddly enough, the Eastern part of the charm of the series: to return to Kamuro-those from year to year has become a pleasant tradition for many gamers. However, in the remake of SEGA seemed to have decided to put the record ponderal elements from all editions of time and secure them somehow to the first part. Additional bosses (not martial artists, and ordinary street hooligans, by the way) even use combos and cunning the main characters in Yakuza 5! Why? And why not.

A familiar world, a familiar, all familiar… At some point you start to experience déjà vu — maybe in the console happened to be the wrong disk, it happens. But the novelty betrays a lack of the bright side quests. No more dances with Michael Jackson and discussions of tax policy of Japan in sushi restaurants — very often the swindlers and drunkards, with whom the conversation is quite short. The contrast is striking, but explainable: 12 years ago the authors didn’t know what emotional give sidquests — because many of them extremely serious (or at least without absurd clowning). It would seem that if we’re going to improve something, here it is, nepahannoe field, update it — don’t want to. But alas.

With the story scenes the same story: they had Amateur written and delivered, and left. Even the animation of the PS2 era, no one to touch did not — and why, in fact, if you can play friends episodes frame for frame? Modelki characters new, detailed — and if the audience and then there will be cognitive dissonance at the sight of the creepy facial animation 12 years of aging? And so it goes. And if you don’t, it will cost half an hour of new rollers too cheap but at least quality taken and contested at the level of the late editions series.

To break the bike

By itself, the budget of the project, however, is not the problem. To base a remake of a great Thriller and lightly repaint it is a usual industry practice. Especially being new in any case more pleasant of the original: the combat system, controls, camera, the feeling of shocks, special effects — all the way through. The main thing with the creation of such reconsiderations is nothing to spoil.

And it is here that the designers have failed. In an attempt to justify the subtitle (Kiwami, if you do not know, it means “extreme”) and a bit to distance themselves from their predecessors, the authors have added to the game a couple of frankly unnecessary details.

For example, many bosses what was learned to regenerate health. The idea is that this element needs to complicate the battles — to make them a little harder. In fact, the new thing is rather annoying, not adding numerous special duel challenges.

The second global change system Majima Everywhere. Thanks to her, the main character Kazuma is constantly coming up with new mini-boss, beloved Goro Majima. At first it’s really funny to watch as 40-year-old Bobby is dressed in a Horny hostess to call an old friend to mortal combat. But after a dozen similar situations to smile more does not pull — the persistence of a psychopath begins to noticeably tire.

And it’s not the only problem: the very existence of this kind of mechanics makes vivid antagonist in obscure failures. In the first part (Kiwami mistakes which were supposed to fix), Goro was the unpredictable villain is a such a Joker, which appeared rarely, but neatly.

In the remake of the same character, which is so good in small doses, was the pea jester clown, which just is not going to save. No arcade room, no restaurants, no bowling alley, anywhere — crazy hooligan in snakeskin jacket everywhere find and always get. Both literally and figuratively.

But worst of all, ignore MAXIMO will not work — and it’s not even in his omnipresence. Deranged Yakuza need to find and need to win, even if it is sick — because without it the 4th (legendary) fighting style completely useless. Want to Kazuma remembered how to build a long combo, to refresh your memory a couple of moves and pumped up the power with speed? Cut circles around the city in search of an old friend — only nakostylyat him the hero suddenly realizes that his fists to wave, not two, but whole three times in a row.

Contradiction

To put it bluntly: Kiwami is disappointing. Not because it’s bad action (it’s really addictive) — missed opportunities. The first Yakuza — work outdated, in dire need of quality rethinking. On a new engine with a radically rewritten by script, and updated gameplay with no ridiculous innovations like Majima and bosses regenerates. But no luck.

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Fans, of course, the game will please is to beat the muzzle of the Japanese bullies, and visit hostess clubs is never boring. And the price tag it extremely affordable: only 2000-2500 rubles for 30+ hours of exciting crime Thriller. In short, if a lack of ideas and budget of the remake does not push forward into Tokyo. Miracles, however, it is better not to wait: compared to predecessors content not so much, and he is not first grade.

All others begin the series better with Yakuza Zero: here there is everything as befits a real hit. Yakuza Kiwami, despite a number of useful improvements, just a reminder of how clumsy was the original. Agree, not the best way to pay tribute to the classics.

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