Tag Archives: Yakuza

The Yakuza games are not beat ’em ups, and never have been

I’ve been playing a lot of Yakuza Zero recently. Having been a fan of the series since its original PS2 incarnations, but also being very, very behind on it, I figured it was time I started playing through the whole shebang — starting with one of its most well-liked installments.

And while I feel like people have a much better handle on what Yakuza really is these days thanks to it successfully moving into a more “mainstream” space than on its earlier releases, there are still some fundamental misunderstandings that seem to persist to this day.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon, the entry that bridged the gap between the western and eastern names of the series (and which marked the last time the Yakuza title would be used) certainly helped address some of these things through its fundamental changes to the core game formula, but looking back on reviews and other articles about Yakuza Zero, there are definitely some people labouring under some significant misapprehensions. Most notably, the assumption that Yakuza games are “beat ’em ups”.

Yakuza games are not beat ’em ups. And they never have been. Let’s look at why.

Continue reading The Yakuza games are not beat ’em ups, and never have been

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 9 – Good Physical Morning

After a few weeks of scheduling conflicts, Chris and I are back together once again for another episode of The MoeGamer Podcast.

Remember, the podcast is now available both on YouTube in its full video glory, and now as an audio-only version too. You can enjoy this on the Soundcloud site, subscribe via RSS or look us up on several popular podcast platforms, including iTunes.

Or you can just hit the jump here to enjoy the show in both video and audio formats right here on MoeGamer.

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 9 – Good Physical Morning

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 3 – This Is the Game Preservation Society

Whew! This was a pain to get uploaded. Pro-tip: never put Pokemon footage in your YouTube video because it will get the damn thing blocked in all countries.

Anyway. This is the latest episode of The MoeGamer Podcast, featuring the triumphant return of Chris and a return to our usual format.

Hit the jump to see the new episode and find out more!

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 3 – This Is the Game Preservation Society

From the Archives: Yakuza’s Modern-Day Questing Makes a Fine JRPG

Sega’s Yakuza series is perhaps one of the most misunderstood franchises out there to people who haven’t played it.

Prior to its original release, it was assumed that the game would be a Japanese clone of Grand Theft Auto. Then people saw its real-time combat and started assuming it was a brawler.

It is neither of these things. It is, in fact, one of the most well-disguised JRPG series you’ll ever play.

This article was originally published on Games Are Evil in 2013 as part of the site’s regular Swords and Zippers column on JRPGs. It has been edited and republished here due to Games Are Evil no longer existing in its original form.

Continue reading From the Archives: Yakuza’s Modern-Day Questing Makes a Fine JRPG

From the Archives: Culture Shock

One of the things video games are particularly good at as an entire medium is allowing you to immerse yourself in… things.

Exactly what you’re able to immerse yourself in depends entirely on the game — in Microsoft Flight Simulator you can immerse yourself in a realistic depiction of what it is like to fly a real aircraft, for example, while in Xenoblade Chronicles you can immerse yourself in a well-realized fantasy world.

One interesting possibility that this immersiveness allows for is the ability to “live” in another culture. For Westerners, it’s particularly intriguing to be able to immerse oneself into Japanese culture, for example, which is in many ways rather alien to the societal norms we see in America and Europe. Of course, said societal norms vary even between America and Europe, but not quite so drastically as the divergence in culture between “East” and “West.”

This article was originally published on Games Are Evil in 2012 as part of the site’s regular READ.ME column on visual novels. It has been republished here due to Games Are Evil no longer existing in its original form.

Continue reading From the Archives: Culture Shock

The MoeGamer GameCast: Episode 2

In this episode, Midori, Yumi, Penelope and I talk about whether it’s professional to cover your eyes at the prospect of boobs, one of the most well-received anime in the current season, Steam Greenlight and more.

The GameCast as a whole has had a few minor refinements since Episode 1. Music should now loop properly rather than fading out and starting again every couple of minutes, and I redid the interface buttons I wasn’t happy with.

screenshot-2017-02-11-19-04-29-9273621-7802623

Music, as before, is by watson of MusMus, and the font is the work of Style64.

Something special coming for Episode 3 that I didn’t have time to implement in this one. Please look forward to it!

Download for Windows (99MB)
Download for Mac (102MB)
Download browser version (untested!)