So great to see the promo ramping up for Hokuto. As much as I've enjoyed Kiwami 2 I really can't wait to get stuck into a brand new game :)
Some people who really liked Yakuza 2 are a bit upset about music choices in other scenes and a smaller side-area not making it into this remake, HyperBitHero specifically. They are perhaps a bit too hard on it for not getting every detail in but also getting upset about a few posters in the arcade showing VF6 in a 2006 game is taking it to extremes.The pissing mini-game in real life wasn't a thing until 2010 either so i can't really take this tantrum too seriously even though i liked his Y0 video a whole lot. I have to weigh the dozens of OGs getting so mad that they won't buy a localized Yakuza game and the thousands of newcomers who will love the additional hijinks at the cabaret club in favor of growing the fan base.
Perhaps it won't meet the quality standards of people who want a 100% authentic experience. In a case of reverse-bad luck the licensed songs they don't like won't make it overseas anyway.
I personally won't take this GOOD FORTUNE of getting a bunch of Yakuza games localized for granted, the notion of not supporting this immensely fun game franchise for me is not an option.
That particular subset of people of Yakuza fans who are this callous about changes aren't really helping in my opinion.
Agree 1000% with this part. I love HyperbitHero's vids on the series, but I can't agree with some of the more hardcore fans opinions that the game is "butchered". I can't help but feel that, bar the musical changes its over reaction (at least, in part). I've put 33 hours into the game so far, I'm still scratching the surface of the game, and in my opinion the game is absolutely brilliant. It looks fantastic, the dragon engine has received a nice upgrade so that it runs better than before, we got all the city back, combat is better, heat moves are more plentiful etc. Its everything I wanted.
Cuts wise yeah I'm a bit disappointed at the music being gone (I don't like it when previous emotional scenes are changed, that's a no-no for me) and I will miss the club Adam stuff but is it a deal breaker? No, since the amount of new content added into the game is nice and plentiful, the Majima stuff is a nice bonus even if its not too long or all that important (honestly its just a nice way to give the Majima fanbase something without doing the Anywhere system again) plus I'm liking the new/tweaked side content added.
I'd certainly never dream of not supporting the franchise over tiny things like this, when its all said and done I'm sure I'll have 100 hours in the game, and another 100 when it gets an English translation, and I'm already hyped for the new releases beyond this.
At this stage I just see it as an alternative version of Yakuza 2 - with some choices for the better and some not so much. I still have my HD remaster on the PS3 should I want to experience the original version, but I can probably see me playing Kiwami 2 more, just for the QoL improvements (side missions can't be failed, random fights don't stop a couple of chapters into the game because you get over leveled quickly, much better graphics/open world to explore, wealth of mini games etc.). This is all my opinion of course, but I do look forward to more new fans actually getting to enjoy Yakuza 2, and not having to play with emulators or dig out a PS2 (or track down a copy of the PS2 game, assuming its still fairly pricey). The negativity on a couple of other forums over the game has pretty much stopped me visiting there. The Sega forums and especially Gamefaqs are so horribly negative these days over the series I actually do wonder why some fans even buy the games, they only ever seem to complain... At least here we can have some lighthearted discussions on the series.
