It’s been a big news week with Super Mario Brothers selling for over 2 million, Capcom showing off the final Street Fighter V DLC character, and Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds adding BattleGrounds to their name to become PUBG: BattleGrounds. We also dig into the deeper stuff with Steve Gaynor’s abusive behavior at Fullbright, J. Allen Brack stepping down from Blizzard, and Unity making it a whole lot more expensive if developers want to put their game on console.

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Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

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The news hasn’t slowed down either! IGN’s whole situation is kind of a mess right now, the Epic v. Apple case continues to be a disaster leaking some redacted info about Nintendo, Genshin and Honkai Impact are having a crossover, Twitch officially states that being sexy is not a crime, Ubisoft’s employees are now starting trial against the company following many workplace abuse allegations, a new Dragon Quest themepark has opened while the series is expecting some big news hitting its 35th anniversary, Blizzard continues to be in a rough spot with few active projects and several high profile resignations, and we remember the influential Berserk mangaka Kentaro Miura, who unfortunately passed away.

As always you can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @VGChooChoo, @scottblah, @lvmaeparian, @mavsplaniamania, @ErikaMiaou, and on Instagram @fataleflare.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

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As always, we’ve got both full write-ups and a handy video guide to today’s awards!

Best Surprise: Deltarune

Runners-up: THE MISSING: J.J. MACFIELD & THE ISLAND OF MEMORIES, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Released out of nowhere for free on Halloween, Deltarune immediately proved itself to be a captivating experience. From its intro sequence until the final moments of what’s only the first chapter, the entire experience is as gripping as it is clever, playing on every expectation an Undertale fan may have. Not only has the combat system been revamped to accommodate multiple party members with various roles in the group, but even familiar characters and story beats have changed in unpredictable and unusual ways. Despite being a vastly shorter experience overall, there’s a lot about Deltarune to discuss and unpack, even as we go into 2019. With Toby Fox hitting on all fronts again, it’s no surprise that Deltarune manages to be 2018’s best surprise.

Most Disappointing: Red Dead Redemption 2

Runners-up: Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

It’s no secret that the hype-cycle for Triple A game development has been out of control for years now, but it’s phenomenally difficult to think of an example of a game failing to hit the mark of expectations quite like Red Dead Redemption 2 did. Rockstar games have occupied a weird space for a while now where they’ve been held up as immersive and bold for decisions that other games have been repeatedly derided for, and seeing the trend continue in the wake of Red Dead 2’s release has been pretty baffling. An overblown, bloated mess of a product that sacrifices fun for “realism” and “immersion”, except for when it doesn’t, Red Dead feels like an example of a game that wants to have its cake and eat it too. Useless and unnecessary systems pile on top of useless and unnecessary systems to create an experience that’s less a video game and more of a chore. That bloat, combined with stiff, awkward gunplay, a story that could easily have had at least ten hours of fat trimmed from its hide, and an inconsistently written protagonist who flits between the honorable cowboy and a complete sociopath with such regularity that it sometimes happens multiple times in the same mission, only serves to make Red Dead 2018’s biggest disappointment.

Best Writing: THE MISSING: J.J. MACFIELD & THE ISLAND OF MEMORIES

Runners-up: Heaven Will Be Mine, Deltarune

Swery has always been known for entertaining writing, even if that writing wasn’t always the best, but THE MISSING feels like an entirely different format for him. While there are still moments of those classic Twin Peaks-esque non-sequiturs explaining some sort of specific concept or thing, the story focuses a lot more on text-based and realistic interactions. Since most of the game is told through a series of text messages gradually unlocked on J.J.’s phone, we get to see a different form of character writing, which is actually accomplished quite well. While plenty of games like Persona 5 or Spider-Man have integrated instant message style conversations into their game, they’ve never been the entire crux of their story. Being able to see the different ways that J.J. interacts with others demonstrated through word choice and honesty without hardly a hint of the stereotypical writing a lot of outsider writers tend to lean towards with queer narratives shows exactly how much research and discussion must have been done with real and actual people. THE MISSING makes me excited for the prospects of more modern methods of storytelling in the future, where a story doesn’t have to be told strictly through disembodied and one-sided audio logs, but through a different and less vocal form of conversation.

What the Fuck Award: Fallout 76

Runners-up: Filip Miucin, The Triple-A Industry

From infinitely fast walking speeds to nylon bags to completely doxing their own users, Fallout 76 was truly 2018’s shittiest gift that kept on giving. Originally pitched as everything you’d expect from a Fallout game but online, reality quickly set in as it became painfully clear that this was going to be a paper-thin cash-in. Even players who tempered their expectations were not prepared for the absolute shitstorm surrounding this game. Even now, more and more disappointing news keeps coming out about the future of Fallout 76. The game’s most diehard players and defenders are now upset that the new cosmetic purchasables in the in-game real money store are going for upwards of 20 dollars per costume. Not to mention as found in a recent changelog, the game will soon support the biggest wet fart in the entire game industry: loot boxes. Shine On You Turdy Diamond.

The post Game of the Year Awards 2018: Day Three appeared first on Gamesline.

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Luckily, Kiryu’s swan song is consistently gripping: our hero travels to Kamurocho and inevitably Hiroshima to search for answers after his adopted daughter Haruka is hit by a car (while also carrying her son that nobody knew about). Furthermore, in the time since Kiryu was involved with his ex-yakuza family, the Tojo Clan, power has shifted both in and outside the family. The drama is plentiful throughout 6’s story, with many great twists and wonderful character moments. Most of the plot focuses on Kiryu dealing with his immediate family, making the story far more personal than previous tales focused on yakuza conspiracy. This hiccups at the end, which – not to spoil – does end up getting a bit too big for its britches. Thankfully, this brief set piece doesn’t detract from the personal stakes Kiryu has in the story.

With many previous characters in jail or in exile, Yakuza 6 focuses on mostly new characters. One highlight is Tsuyoshi Nagumo, a hardheaded yakuza captain with a huge crush on a local bartender. Kiryu knocks him around a bit, but after a harrowing run in with a more powerful member of his family, Nagumo becomes enamoured with the Dragon of Dojima. It’s extremely endearing, and I quickly warmed up to him and the rest of the small yakuza family that Kiryu shacks up with in Hiroshima. Famed yakuza movie star Takeshi Kitano, also known as “Beat” Takeshi, plays a role in the story as well, but one that doesn’t pay off until the end of the game.

It’s apparent just how much focus the story of Yakuza 6 was given in development the more you play it. Previously, Yakuza games would give you story quests at a far less pressing pace, allowing you free time to roam around and interact with the city. This time, the game feels almost linear. Yes, you still have opportunities to break off from the main quest and goof off, but with the way the game is structured, it’s hard to tell when those moments are. You’ll be told to handle pressing issue after pressing issue, with seemingly no time to spare on things like substories or mini-games. Every moment in the story is pulling you to the next beat, even if you’re physically able to run off and enjoy the side content. There’s never a moment where it doesn’t feel wrong to tear yourself away from that main questline.

Kiryu is slowly dragged back down into the yakuza lifestyle he had hoped he left three years prior. Now in his 50s, he just wants to spend time with his daughter and the orphanage he helped found. Kiryu’s desperation surfaces throughout the entire story, but other characters seem less focused on his worry, and more on constantly bringing up just how old the Dragon of Dojima is. He hasn’t slowed down at all, which would be a valid and interesting avenue to explore, but people are still calling his ability into question. Hell, he’s buffer than ever. It almost makes me wish the developers had actually made Kiryu a weaker character, instead of beating it over your head that he’s old with no changes to his ability.

To an extent, Kiryu’s abilities actually feel like they’ve been nerfed, but not due to age. The multiple fighting styles from 0 and Kiwami have been narrowed down to a singular style, leaving you with far less options in combat. Sure, Kiryu has a solid combat moveset, but it quickly becomes more and more repetitive without the option to shake things up. Heat is different yet again as well, with balls next to your health filling up, not only allowing you access to heat moves mid-fight, but a new super form that allows Kiryu to shrug off attacks and do big finishers. All of your combat skills are upgraded through a new EXP system where you gain points in a variety of stats and use them in specific slotted upgrades. It’s nowhere near as understandable as previous Yakuza upgrade systems, and the combat barely changes with each upgrade.

With this focus on the main plot, sidestories don’t factor into the game as well as previous entries, unfortunately. There are no markers on the map for undiscovered substories, forcing you to wander around blindly to stumble upon new ones. While this is something you had to do previously at times, in 6 it feels completely random. It doesn’t help that a good portion of these sidequests are devoid of the humor recent entries have had. Maybe the only ones I full-on laughed at were the Michio mascot substories, which involved Kiryu entertaining children and fighting thugs in a mascot suit. The more involved minigames are also a bit disappointing, such as a simple gym membership event with a confusing stipulation; After each workout, you are given a vague hint at a food to follow up with. For example, one said “beef, but if you feel like it, get this side!” I expected any beef to work, but I was supposed to dig around the restaurants and find the order with that specific side, even though it was implied in the text to be optional.

Other minigames are available in Yakuza 6, but they often require more legwork than they’re actually worth. The cat cafe, for example, just involves randomly running into cats on the map and feeding them cat food you have to buy from convenience stores. Feeding them food they prefer increases their bond with you, but you have no idea what kind they like until you feed them. After you befriend the cat, they’re sent to the cafe, where you can sit with them in the room. That’s really it. The baseball minigame is similar, involving running into men in Hiroshima and giving them items so they’ll join your baseball team. Of course, some of them want items you can’t get in Hiroshima, but you can’t freely travel to Kamurocho until the post-game, meaning if you’re in the middle of a story mission, you’ll have to write down what the men want, as the information isn’t kept in-game.

The most involved minigame is likely the clan creator. Wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling challenge you to large scale clan battles, and Kiryu is tasked with assigning roles to different yakuza he meets to fill out his own gang. The fights play out similarly to a reverse-tower defense game, with your characters storm areas guarded by your enemy’s goons, making their way to the leader. There’s some strategy involved, with different leaders of yours providing support to your own gang with special power-ups. A word of advice, however: the Yakuza social media pages have been releasing codes to unlock the NJPW guys immediately (you can also unlock them through normal gameplay). Don’t use the codes unless you want to remove any challenge from the mode, as they’re very strong.

From the way it looks to the way it sounds, Yakuza 6 is leaps and bounds better than previous games. As the first PS4 exclusive entry, as well as the first to use the new Dragon Engine, Yakuza has never looked so pretty. A new first-person mode allows Kiryu to walk around and really absorb the sights, and while this is a momentary distraction, it’s a welcome addition with the nicer textures. Another welcome addition is the full voice acting, another first for the series. Every single character in every single conversation has full voice over, a marked upgrade from the grunts and chuckles that occured during non-mainline cutscenes. One slight issue with the new engine is the wonky physics, which react hilariously when Kiryu runs into objects. This can sometimes be a detriment mid-battle if you get sent flying into an object and end up creating a chain reaction of falling over things, but usually it’s more funny than annoying.

Yakuza 6 closes the door on Kazuma Kiryu, but leaves a window open for the future of the franchise. If a more slim and more personal experience is what you’re looking for in a Yakuza game, then 6 will deliver. However, if you were sold on the excess of humor, rewarding minigames, and style that Yakuza 4, 5, and 0 provided, then temper your expectations on Kiryu’s finale. While Yakuza 6 may be a small disappointment, it leaves room for vast improvement in the series’ imminent future.

The post Yakuza 6 Review appeared first on Gamesline.

Follow us on twitter @VGChooChoo, @john_michonski, @YourPalNiall, & @horngal and don’t forget to rate & review the show on iTunes, as well as tell a friend! You can also send questions, comments, and concerns to podcast@videogamechoochoo.com or find us on Tumblr! You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

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Check out Ehm’s work at The Cutting Room Floor, follow us on twitter @VGChooChoo, @john_michonski, @sewerpeak, @finaldasa, & @OtherEhm and don’t forget to rate & review the show on iTunes, as well as tell a friend! You can also send questions, comments, and concerns to podcast@videogamechoochoo.com or find us on Tumblr! You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Be Chooch’s wife via iTunes, Hipcast, Direct Download or listen below!

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