AKA my favorite Dead Rising game after 1 AKA they should make a sequel to this AKA actually better then Binary Domain.
I don't know if Dead Souls is actually a good game. The framerate is pretty bad to begin with and whenever there is an explosion it dips to single digits for about 10 seconds. The aiming is extremely bad so you just end up using the auto target or hip firing most of the time. The camera is pretty bad. In fact the controls are all pretty bad. The most dangerous enemy in the game isnt any of the mutants but anything holding a molotov cocktail because it keeps knocking you down, or any regular zombie in a room full of benches or tables because they will cause them all to ricochet and knock you over again and again. Even at the fully upgraded inventory you're constantly full on space because you have to hold bullets for everything but pistols.
But for some reason I kept playing it. The loop of the game never really changes, where you either do a story mission or enter into the quarantined area through the one gate they let you in with (this is extremely annoying at the start as Akiyama because they make you run through a bunch of shit to even get into the main area) unless theyre making you do bad forklift puzzles (was this a Shenmue dig?) or using a tank or military jeep. The game is never really difficult, although if you set it to Dead Souls difficulty it would probably just be unplayable. The boss fights are very Resident Evil 1-3, and they're pretty enjoyable except for that tentacle fucker or the flying one that heals. Instead of heat actions you get Heat Sniping where you take aim at environment stuff or weakpoints in stronger enemies. I knew Kiryu would end up with a gun because he has one on the cover but at the start he is just punching zombies. I would have actually loved if Kiryu just beat everything using his fists.
But the game does good by its characters, even though I never played Yakuza 2 so I didn't know much about Goda. I actually think the substories in this are better here then in 4, 5 or Kiwami 1. They can at times be annoying to access but there is some gold there. Majima is amazing in this game. Like every cutscene he is in is a delight. He is introduced watching some zombie movie on TV when real zombies barge in and he looks at them then the tv then back to them then back to the tv and then pulls out a shotgun. I don't know how people can say this game is bad when Akiyama pitches a grenade to Majima and he bats it with his shotgun so hard the pin comes off and flies into a monsters mouth. The very last time you see him in the storymode MIGHT be the best Majima moment of all time. They off hand mention Saejima is in China during this but Tanimura is just never mentioned even though Little Asia is in game. What happened to Tanimura? Not like I really care much about him but he just up and completely disappeared! I think they only mention him in 5 when you're about to go fight Amon which is completely optional. The game does not even try to make the regular Kamurocho citizens reasonable. Outside the quarantine they're doing regular stuff and somehow have NO IDEA zombies are a thing despite this being like 2010/2011 and a fake Twitter existing. Inside the quarantine they are just hanging out or waiting to be rescued. Once you free buildings from being under attack they open as usual and people are just in them. Is this a critique of the Japanese work life??? Probably not they just wanted you to be able to do regular Yakuza side stuff as well. It would probably be funnier if only things like the Pachinko parlor, convenience stores or the Hostess Clubs stayed open during the zombie apocalypse because of course they would.
There is the typical Yakuza stuff outside of the zombie stuff - Sega arcades, bowling, baseball, golfing, fishing, gambling, pool, hostesses that I refuse to engage with etc. Also a black guy with the most extreme case of black gaijin accent I've ever heard. Nothing really new but some of the Karaoke songs are incredibly good.
As something to do in between me beating 5 and before 6 comes out Dead Souls was fine. I weirdly liked a lot of things about it and ended up playing way more of this then Ni no Kuni 2 which I also got. I still have some substories to clear up and the subterrenea to do (maybe. I was pretty ticked when it forces you to leave when you're halfway through it and return to the guy without telling you where he actually is) but I am never doing 100% completion in any Yakuza game and ESPECIALLY not this one because I'd rather die then do all of the requests like getting 100 headshots in a row. 10 is already hard enough because the aiming is so bad. This makes me kinda want to import Ishin and try and do that with a translation guide. I think at this point I've played so many games and watched so many anime/movies I could get by with a guide and recognize maybe 10% of the sentences without it.
I don't know if Dead Souls is actually a good game. The framerate is pretty bad to begin with and whenever there is an explosion it dips to single digits for about 10 seconds. The aiming is extremely bad so you just end up using the auto target or hip firing most of the time. The camera is pretty bad. In fact the controls are all pretty bad. The most dangerous enemy in the game isnt any of the mutants but anything holding a molotov cocktail because it keeps knocking you down, or any regular zombie in a room full of benches or tables because they will cause them all to ricochet and knock you over again and again. Even at the fully upgraded inventory you're constantly full on space because you have to hold bullets for everything but pistols.
But for some reason I kept playing it. The loop of the game never really changes, where you either do a story mission or enter into the quarantined area through the one gate they let you in with (this is extremely annoying at the start as Akiyama because they make you run through a bunch of shit to even get into the main area) unless theyre making you do bad forklift puzzles (was this a Shenmue dig?) or using a tank or military jeep. The game is never really difficult, although if you set it to Dead Souls difficulty it would probably just be unplayable. The boss fights are very Resident Evil 1-3, and they're pretty enjoyable except for that tentacle fucker or the flying one that heals. Instead of heat actions you get Heat Sniping where you take aim at environment stuff or weakpoints in stronger enemies. I knew Kiryu would end up with a gun because he has one on the cover but at the start he is just punching zombies. I would have actually loved if Kiryu just beat everything using his fists.
But the game does good by its characters, even though I never played Yakuza 2 so I didn't know much about Goda. I actually think the substories in this are better here then in 4, 5 or Kiwami 1. They can at times be annoying to access but there is some gold there. Majima is amazing in this game. Like every cutscene he is in is a delight. He is introduced watching some zombie movie on TV when real zombies barge in and he looks at them then the tv then back to them then back to the tv and then pulls out a shotgun. I don't know how people can say this game is bad when Akiyama pitches a grenade to Majima and he bats it with his shotgun so hard the pin comes off and flies into a monsters mouth. The very last time you see him in the storymode MIGHT be the best Majima moment of all time. They off hand mention Saejima is in China during this but Tanimura is just never mentioned even though Little Asia is in game. What happened to Tanimura? Not like I really care much about him but he just up and completely disappeared! I think they only mention him in 5 when you're about to go fight Amon which is completely optional. The game does not even try to make the regular Kamurocho citizens reasonable. Outside the quarantine they're doing regular stuff and somehow have NO IDEA zombies are a thing despite this being like 2010/2011 and a fake Twitter existing. Inside the quarantine they are just hanging out or waiting to be rescued. Once you free buildings from being under attack they open as usual and people are just in them. Is this a critique of the Japanese work life??? Probably not they just wanted you to be able to do regular Yakuza side stuff as well. It would probably be funnier if only things like the Pachinko parlor, convenience stores or the Hostess Clubs stayed open during the zombie apocalypse because of course they would.
There is the typical Yakuza stuff outside of the zombie stuff - Sega arcades, bowling, baseball, golfing, fishing, gambling, pool, hostesses that I refuse to engage with etc. Also a black guy with the most extreme case of black gaijin accent I've ever heard. Nothing really new but some of the Karaoke songs are incredibly good.
As something to do in between me beating 5 and before 6 comes out Dead Souls was fine. I weirdly liked a lot of things about it and ended up playing way more of this then Ni no Kuni 2 which I also got. I still have some substories to clear up and the subterrenea to do (maybe. I was pretty ticked when it forces you to leave when you're halfway through it and return to the guy without telling you where he actually is) but I am never doing 100% completion in any Yakuza game and ESPECIALLY not this one because I'd rather die then do all of the requests like getting 100 headshots in a row. 10 is already hard enough because the aiming is so bad. This makes me kinda want to import Ishin and try and do that with a translation guide. I think at this point I've played so many games and watched so many anime/movies I could get by with a guide and recognize maybe 10% of the sentences without it.
