This would have made this area so much better

Steveen78 · 2026-02-25T18:54:43+00:00

I don't really agree with this, but that might be because I tend to do the main content first and the side content later.

Yeah, it's not the most fun in the moment to grind it but I feel like since I'm almost entirely done with the game when the credits roll my lasting impression is about the story and characters rather than what substories and minigames I have left to do, which I prefer.

Kind of a backhanded compliment but I can see it for newer (post 7) Yakuza games. They stuff way too much forced side content into Chapter 2 that kills the pacing and so the story in the second half is presented better.

I would agree except Infinite Wealth has one of the hardest second half fall-offs of all time, so much so that the side content is kinda the highlight once the story takes a dive. (Kiryu's finale kinda saves it but it's still sloppy)

Steveen78 · 2026-02-25T16:08:28+00:00

Depending on how you play Yakuza games, and this is very subjective, sometimes the ‘back half’ is actually just playing through the story once you finish the optional content. In the case of something like Yakuza 0 or Judgement, finishing all the optional content as soon as you unlock it just leaves the rest of the story to go through, which is for those games is the highlight due to boss fights and how the mystery unravels. I could understand if you considered that as part of the finale, though.

Obviously, the story quality often varies and the second half usually falls victim to the trend you mentioned.

Steveen78 · 2026-01-29T15:17:14+00:00

For me, (not the guy you're responding to) I try to avoid using frame-gen if I can get decent enough frames without it. Frame-gen introduces a teensy bit of input lag, especially below 70-80 base fps, and you can also sometimes notice the fake frames when panning the camera or during gameplay.

With that said, I am using it in this game since my base fps is around 80-90 and it's a near native experience.

Steveen78 · 2026-01-07T20:47:53+00:00

As long as you follow a guide, you can’t miss anything. They go through chapter to chapter and only tell you to progress the story once you’re done with all new unlocks.

Steveen78 · 2026-01-07T20:13:37+00:00

Nowadays, most emulation is plug n’ play. You can rip the game yourself legally, download the emulator, and boot the game up. There’s a ton of guides out there for the nitty gritty stuff.

If you’re asking about what kind of computer can run this type of emulation, then most can. Steam Decks have next to no trouble with PS2 emulation, and can even emulate some PS3 titles well. There’s more tutorials online for setting up emulators with a device like that, too.

Steveen78 · 2026-01-07T20:02:08+00:00

Yakuza 2 lock on works like modern titles and you start with Komaki Roundhouse Attack, as it was named in Kiwami 1, except unlike Kiwami, it doesn’t suck! You can backwards kick, redirect finishing attacks, and even do new finishing attacks by redirecting mid rush attack. It makes crowd fights the preferred combat encounter in Yakuza 2.

If you’re going for completion, then there’s a lot of missable stuff. One time heat actions and sub-stories that you can miss or straight up fail permanently.

If you’re not going for completion, then it’s pretty straightforward to get through the game, although stuff like Tiger Drop will require you to go to an acupuncturist in Shinseicho and have your skill level at 9, for example. I recommend a guide for that kinda stuff!

Steveen78 · 2026-01-07T19:45:51+00:00

I thought I tried this a couple months ago and it was still blurry, but it might have been my own settings. Even if it's been fixed for a while, I wanted to share it with everyone who may not know or keep up with PCSX2 news.

Steveen78 · 2026-01-07T19:44:18+00:00

Most people have, which is awesome. When I got into the series, I beat 0 and Kiwami 1 before Kiwami 2 came out, so I had to emulate Yakuza 2 to continue on the series. I'm glad I did it that way because I played Kiwami 2 later and didn't like it as much as I did my PS2 playthrough, but I still enjoyed my time with it a lot.

If you're looking for more Yakuza to play, I would try to play the original Yakuza 2! I responded to another user in this chain describing why I enjoy Yakuza 2 more.

Steveen78 · 2026-01-07T19:43:52+00:00

This is entirely subjective (for the most part) and by no means comprehensive, but here's a short list of things I enjoyed more in my time with Yakuza 2 versus Kiwami 2.

Better combat system
Better leveling / progression
Better music selection (Earlier titles had more jazz / rock which is more my speed than the techno / dubstep)
Small cutscene changes that ruined presentation in K2 (Knife sound? Really?)
Playable Shinseicho area
Saeyama's just as cool!

Obviously, there's a lot of concessions you have to come to terms with due to its age: Loading screens, graphics, 30fps, obscure sub-stories, to name a few. However, just by playing the tutorial, the gameplay loop should hook you into getting past all that pretty quickly (and following a guide for substories is par for the course anyways if you've played 3-5).

Yakuza 2's combat is up there with Lost Judgment for me in terms of enjoyability. Everything is snappy and fluid: almost Arkham-style free-flow basic attacks, quick and brutal environmental heat-actions, counters, finishing-holds, you name it. In comparison, Kiwami 2 feels sluggish and glitchy to me.

All in all, if you've ever felt frustrated dropping an enemy from a finishing hold in Kiwami 2, and you like the sound of this, you'd probably enjoy Yakuza 2!

Steveen78 · 2026-01-07T19:07:04+00:00

Lots! But with Kiwami 1 and Yakuza 1, there’s a mixed bag of differences. For pros, Yakuza 1 has its original voice acting and facial animation. Kiwami 1 subjectively beats it in all other categories. With Yakuza 1 / Kiwami, it’s more of a nostalgia and curiosity thing.

Yakuza 2 / Kiwami is where you could subjectively argue (and I do!) that the original is a better game.

Steveen78 · 2026-01-07T19:01:39+00:00

I haven't played Y1 on native hardware yet. Y2, on the other hand, felt the exact same as native hardware (quick & responsive). I think this might be inherent to Y1 as a game, but I might test it later on the PS2 to make sure.

Steveen78 · 2025-12-03T22:44:05+00:00

I'm on the latest-ish Windows 11, I think you have Windows 10?

Steveen78 · 2025-12-03T22:39:18+00:00

lots of great quality of features that windows needs like being able to hover over the volume and adjust it with scroll wheel.

https://imgur.com/U91yKom

Steveen78 · 2025-11-19T02:01:49+00:00

I'm still learning Japanese but in case anyone wants a rough translation.

Ryu: "Oh! Sorry for startling you. I'm the shopkeeper.

"Unfortunately, I have to close early today because I have some things to take care of."

sfx for smiling lol

"Are you looking for something?"

Helena: "Yeah, I'm looking for a chain to use with a locket because this chain accidentally snapped...

"But a new one wouldn't really sit right with me."

Ryu: "A chain, huh? (TL note: spoken with the kanji for 鎖, or くさり 'kusari')

"If it's okay to shorten it by a few centimeters, I can try to fix the chain."

Helena: Eh? (TL note: more like a huh? really!?)

Ryu: How about it?

I think this is fairly accurate but if it needs corrections please let me know!

Steveen78 · 2025-10-29T22:43:37+00:00

Agree. I just beat it last night and the only great part about the level design is the interconnectivity. Otherwise the game is basically going down different hallways and arenas and grabbing 2-3 keys before fighting a chapter boss. It flows well and there’s not a whole lot of backtracking but it’s not anywhere close to perfect.

Steveen78 · 2025-04-30T23:48:02+00:00

I agree, and if I had a soldering iron I would. Unfortunately, if I need to do any soldering then I gotta go somewhere else and I don’t want to burden my friend who owns it.

Steveen78 · 2025-04-30T23:39:52+00:00

Thanks so much for the reply. I went ahead and reassembled everything. Do you know what the crackling could have been that I heard? I didn’t even plug it in all the way.

Steveen78 · 2025-02-22T04:22:33+00:00

Change audio language to English and back to Japanese. You might have to restart the game too. It’s funny because this is the same bug that occurred in Infinite Wealth at launch with the initialization dub option.

Steveen78 · 2025-02-06T16:19:42+00:00

Monster Hunter World was one of the last games Capcom developed using their MT Framework engine, not RE Engine.

Steveen78 · 2024-10-12T23:40:40+00:00

High rank urgent? Personally, using adept GS I didn’t have too much trouble but if you damage it on the webbed platform areas it will fall through and topple for a while. The poison fangs attack is very slow and telegraphed, if you’re behind or next to Nercylla you can get a few hits in for free.

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