Zero Punctuation: Yakuza 4

[jack583]

"constable blimy chips"
hate to say it, but i'd play that.

I was just going to ask if I was the only one who thought that sounded like an awesome game... Something along the lines of an open world game of the Rivers of London books maybe.

if you want it, make it!
we should find a way to make this game come alive!!!

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Thank you for the precursor.

 

[The Great JT]

Why not just call the main character "Facepuncher." That's all he seems to do in that game...

 

[orangecharger]

I think you are splitting hairs that buy what we are really trying to say is -- you like that it's Japanese and I don't. You don't have to justify why you like it any more than I have to justify why I don't. I was simply stating I would not buy that game for that reason -- but that I did not have it on my "to buy" list anyways.

With all due respect to you, why are you so set on telling me I made a mistake or that my opinion is wrong? In lieu of my opinion (I believe I have settled that case above)why do you keep harping on my use of Kung Fu in reference to a Japan-based game. I didn't make a mistake I was using the terminology from the video. Yahtzee said the 4 had amazing Kung Fu skills -- I made reference to that in my post. That's where I got it from -- it was not a "mistake" it was referential. I was not trying to offend your or any other person's cultural sensibilities. Having done ZERO research into each individual's fighting style (again not interested in the game) I figured going with what it was called in the video was a safe bet.

You misunderstand. Yes I do like the Japanese audio but I wasn't justifying that. And I never said anything about your opinion being wrong, nor was it ever my intention to argue such a thing. I was simply defending the decision to use Japanese audio. But even so, I understand that subtitles are not for everyone. And I respect that.

And yes, I admit that I made the mistake of assuming that you were making the same mistake as Yahtzee when you were really just referencing what he said. The reason I pointed the Kung Fu thing out in the first place was for purposes of cultural and political correctness. Although you could have made the fact that you were referencing Yahtzee clearer through the use quotation marks or something. Even so, I did make the wrongful assumption and it's still my fault for doing so. And for that I apologize.

Once again I misunderstand -- I am so stupid -- it truly must be awesome to be smarter than everyone. Tell me how does that feel? Thanks for continuing to point out my shortcomings. I have been reading some of your other posts and it seems like you spend a great deal of time making sure everyone is being politically correct and that they are made aware of the mistakes they've made in their posts -- making sure the turns of phrase they use meet your gold standard. I should have made it clearer that I wasn't being obtuse, or that my intention was not to offend Japanese or Chinese culture, and that I was aware of the cultural location of Kung Fu, and that I was only using the term Kung Fu for the particular martial arts in the game because Yahtzee had, and yada yada yada -- give me a break. Next time you see a post of mine keep your opinion to yourself and your PC police badge in your pocket. You making sure no one is offending anyone and helping me realize how I fail to understand the nuances of your discourse, is starting to offend me.

 

[Tempest13]

Nani? Visual novels without tits?

 

[Blank Kold]

I feel this already good review would have been greatly improved by an allusion to Yakuza 2's example of punching a ghost tiger in the face.

 

[A1]

Heh, solid jokes overall. Weren't looking into this game, so the review haven't moved me either way though.

That's quite frankly getting borderline racist.

Japanese isn't a race, it's a nationality. Calm down it's just a joke, bro.

Fair enough. A more precise word to use would be prejudiced. So let's instead use "borderline prejudiced". And I know that it's a joke. But even so it's still a joke that could easily offend someone. Even if a person doesn't actually mean any harm that doesn't excuse the use of offensive language. It's like if a non-African American person used a certain N word in a humorous and off-handed manner without meaning any harm. I think it's safe to say that any self respecting African American would still take offense, and understandably so.

I guess it's all a matter of respect and good manners. Which are arguably things that Yahtzee arguably often lacks. But even when your purpose is to be ill-mannered in a humorous and sarcastic way there are still certain lines that are best left alone.

How on earth would humorously stating that the Japanese are into some weird stuff - i.e. roughly the equivalent of "those cheeky Japanese" - be anywhere near crossing the exceedingly far off line for what satire and sarcasm can bear?

It's not like there aren't unusual offerings [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95937-This-Is-the-Best-Trailer-for-a-Japanese-Porn-Game-Ever] coming out of Japan (and into the West; I'm so getting that one for the sheer hilarity when it's released here) to warrant poking a bit of good-natured fun at, and there aren't any real malice behind it, nor hardly an exceedingly foolish assumption that this is what most Japanese people actually like.

Anyone offended by something behind which there is no malice need to toughen up anyway. Trying to censor or persecuting others based on one's own offence, when there's no actual discernible harm to what they say or do, is a far greater problem than entirely harmless jokes of varying taste.

It isn't about being harmful. It's about being offensive. And while a joke may be intended to be non-offensive that doesn't necessarily make it so. I think that well-meaning people have a responsibility to be careful about such things.

And yes, perhaps people who could plausibly be described as overly sensitive would do well to "toughen up". But I also think that's something that would probably best be done by going to therapy, or reading books about the subject, or even talking about it with friends and family and not by actually being offended.

Don't get me wrong. I believe in the right to free speech and I don't believe in taking away or infringing upon that right just because someone uses it in a questionable way. I believe the right way to respond would be to use that same right to free speech to respond in a defensive way or perhaps simply ignoring the offending stuff altogether. But even so as I said I also think that well-meaning people have a responsibility to do everything they can to avoid starting such an exchange in the first place.

 

[A1]

I think you are splitting hairs that buy what we are really trying to say is -- you like that it's Japanese and I don't. You don't have to justify why you like it any more than I have to justify why I don't. I was simply stating I would not buy that game for that reason -- but that I did not have it on my "to buy" list anyways.

With all due respect to you, why are you so set on telling me I made a mistake or that my opinion is wrong? In lieu of my opinion (I believe I have settled that case above)why do you keep harping on my use of Kung Fu in reference to a Japan-based game. I didn't make a mistake I was using the terminology from the video. Yahtzee said the 4 had amazing Kung Fu skills -- I made reference to that in my post. That's where I got it from -- it was not a "mistake" it was referential. I was not trying to offend your or any other person's cultural sensibilities. Having done ZERO research into each individual's fighting style (again not interested in the game) I figured going with what it was called in the video was a safe bet.

You misunderstand. Yes I do like the Japanese audio but I wasn't justifying that. And I never said anything about your opinion being wrong, nor was it ever my intention to argue such a thing. I was simply defending the decision to use Japanese audio. But even so, I understand that subtitles are not for everyone. And I respect that.

And yes, I admit that I made the mistake of assuming that you were making the same mistake as Yahtzee when you were really just referencing what he said. The reason I pointed the Kung Fu thing out in the first place was for purposes of cultural and political correctness. Although you could have made the fact that you were referencing Yahtzee clearer through the use quotation marks or something. Even so, I did make the wrongful assumption and it's still my fault for doing so. And for that I apologize.

Once again I misunderstand -- I am so stupid -- it truly must be awesome to be smarter than everyone. Tell me how does that feel? Thanks for continuing to point out my shortcomings. I have been reading some of your other posts and it seems like you spend a great deal of time making sure everyone is being politically correct and that they are made aware of the mistakes they've made in their posts -- making sure the turns of phrase they use meet your gold standard. I should have made it clearer that I wasn't being obtuse, or that my intention was not to offend Japanese or Chinese culture, and that I was aware of the cultural location of Kung Fu, and that I was only using the term Kung Fu for the particular martial arts in the game because Yahtzee had, and yada yada yada -- give me a break. Next time you see a post of mine keep your opinion to yourself and your PC police badge in your pocket. You making sure no one is offending anyone and helping me realize how I fail to understand the nuances of your discourse, is starting to offend me.

I'm sorry that you feel that way. I never said that you were stupid nor did I ever mean such a thing. Even a smart person can make mistakes or misunderstand something. They are still human after all. But I understand that I may have unintentionally done something to offend you. If this is indeed the case then I'm very sorry about that.

 

[A1]

Actually, a new release date for the next Yakuza game has been set for June 9. It's not all that surprising really. Yakuza is one of Japan's most popular video game franchises after all.

Hm, perhaps they are assuming they would have cleaned up the bits of civilization by then...

Not very likely. Sega also revealed that a portion of the sales is going to go to the Japan Red Cross. One really has to give them credit for that.

 

[Gigano]

Spoiler

Heh, solid jokes overall. Weren't looking into this game, so the review haven't moved me either way though.

That's quite frankly getting borderline racist.

Japanese isn't a race, it's a nationality. Calm down it's just a joke, bro.

Fair enough. A more precise word to use would be prejudiced. So let's instead use "borderline prejudiced". And I know that it's a joke. But even so it's still a joke that could easily offend someone. Even if a person doesn't actually mean any harm that doesn't excuse the use of offensive language. It's like if a non-African American person used a certain N word in a humorous and off-handed manner without meaning any harm. I think it's safe to say that any self respecting African American would still take offense, and understandably so.

I guess it's all a matter of respect and good manners. Which are arguably things that Yahtzee arguably often lacks. But even when your purpose is to be ill-mannered in a humorous and sarcastic way there are still certain lines that are best left alone.

How on earth would humorously stating that the Japanese are into some weird stuff - i.e. roughly the equivalent of "those cheeky Japanese" - be anywhere near crossing the exceedingly far off line for what satire and sarcasm can bear?

It's not like there aren't unusual offerings [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95937-This-Is-the-Best-Trailer-for-a-Japanese-Porn-Game-Ever] coming out of Japan (and into the West; I'm so getting that one for the sheer hilarity when it's released here) to warrant poking a bit of good-natured fun at, and there aren't any real malice behind it, nor hardly an exceedingly foolish assumption that this is what most Japanese people actually like.

Anyone offended by something behind which there is no malice need to toughen up anyway. Trying to censor or persecuting others based on one's own offence, when there's no actual discernible harm to what they say or do, is a far greater problem than entirely harmless jokes of varying taste.

It isn't about being harmful. It's about being offensive. And while a joke may be intended to be non-offensive that doesn't necessarily make it so. I think that well-meaning people have a responsibility to be careful about such things.

And yes, perhaps people who could plausibly be described as overly sensitive would do well to "toughen up". But I also think that's something that would probably best be done by going to therapy, or reading books about the subject, or even talking about it with friends and family and not by actually being offended.

Don't get me wrong. I believe in the right to free speech and I don't believe in taking away or infringing upon that right just because someone uses it in a questionable way. I believe the right way to respond would be to use that same right to free speech to respond in a defensive way. But even so as I said I also think that well-meaning people have a responsibility to do everything they can to avoid starting such an exchange in the first place.

Still a long way from poor manners - to the extent a harmless joke regarding the more preposterous offerings from Japan even qualify as such - to prejudice.

You certainly have every right to be defensive in regard to such things, but anyone who disagree with taking such stance similarly have every right to criticise you for de facto condemning others for harmless words by doing so as well.

Guess it's ultimately a disagreement over what warrant condemnation ("discernible harm" is my absolute requirement), and what "well-meaning" people should endeavour to do; Not every sensibility should be grovelled before, lest society become intolerable for anyone but those knowing how to weigh their words on gold scales.

 

[BlackSaint09]

Another great game solely for the consoles T.T
Anyway great vids as always^^

 

[CleverCover]

I figured someone would want this as an avatar so i made it just incase!

Oh! I was just thinking about that and the Alligator Charles Darwin one.
Thanks ever so much!

 

[A1]

Hehehe, but then again, Japanese ARE into some weird shit

Okay. There are at least two things about that statement that are problematic. First, it's too general. It insinuates that all Japanese people are "into some weird shit" or in other words they all have the same tastes. That's quite frankly getting borderline racist.

And second it's worth noting that there is probably a decent chance that many people in Japan think similar things about people who live in other countries, if you catch my drift.

My mistake, i meant some...

Although certain sections on certain numbered websites, specially one being the 4th letter of the alphabet is troublesome

It's no biggie. Everyone makes mistakes.

 

[Darkong]

Yakuza 4?!? I didn't know there'd been a 2 or 3. Christ, didn't realise I was that out of the loop.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

German Yahtzee? I think I died when heard that.

Fantastic episode as always!

Being german myself, I probably missed it, but what part are you reffering to/talking about?

when he said you can only fight "wisin ze dezigated areaaaaa!!!!"

Sorry if you took offence at the purposeful spelling mistakes for sake of german accent

 

[nipsen]

Again, another game series I never played. Am I wrong or were there surprisingly many positive points mentioned in favour of the game (aka like 10 %).

Oh and were the three predecessors good?

..if you want my advice, pick up Yakuza 3, look at the recap for Y1&2 that they've hidden in the game's intro. And then.. skip Yakuza 4 if you like it. The fighting in Y4 is better, and more advanced. A bit easier to control in some ways. But it's not as rewarding, and the amount of situational scripted events are fewer. The story in Y4 also is.. it's exactly like Yahtzee says. It starts out in an interesting way, has several very well-written segments once in a while. But it's strung together in curious ways that doesn't really do the game any favours. While the sidequests - apart from the Hostess club segments - isn't part of the story, not even indirectly. And don't, like the sub-quests in Y3, tell anything interesting about the city, or what's going on there.

That was my biggest problem with y4. In Y3, you had quests like these: a fishmonger was going to sell a rare fish to a customer. They'd placed the order, etc. But before they can pick it up and pay for it, another customer comes along and wants to pay twice the amount. So the fish-monger sells the fish for twice the sum. And then gets in trouble when the first customer comes along. So when you arrive, they're arguing. Then you can listen to the story, and decide to get involved in some way.

Then there are a few different ways to solve the quest. You can just pay for the fish-monger's mistake yourself (now he owes you and the mafia). You can try to get a new fish for the first customer (but they will want something on top of that as an apology). Maybe get the fish back from the first guy (they didn't want that fish specifically, but just something exotic - and they won't need you to beg - but it's going to be expensive). Etc. This kind of thing reminds you of the hostess-segment in y4, because it fits into the city and tells a story. But that's.. almost the only quest like that in y4. In y3, there are masses of quests like that around Okinawa and Kamuro-cho..

Y3 also has all the unbelievable quick-time events that they hide into the player-controlled segments. All of the boss-fights in y3 were completely insane. Not so much in y4.

One thing that.. kind of explains this is that Y4 is about as long as Y3 if you rush through it. But Y3 only features Kiryu for the entire game, while Y4 has four separate side-stories.. There are honest attempts here to make the sidequests universal, and so on. That you see them from different points of view, for example. But there were too few of those to justify making the effort.. they could have made separate intros to the events, and it would have taken about exactly as much writing..

So.. y4: graphics, fighting mechanics, combos, animation.
y3: story, screenplay, pacing, setting.

 

[Bostur]

Lovely episode. Keen and athletic in the delivery, makes Yahtzee sound like a fit cheetah.

I get the feeling Yahtzee loves this game for all the wrong reasons in a very sick way, and he would be the only one twisted enough to admit it. Unfortunately he can't do that in ZP so this will be another unsolved mystery to go on the pile.

 

[Rainforce]

German Yahtzee? I think I died when heard that.

Fantastic episode as always!

Being german myself, I probably missed it, but what part are you reffering to/talking about?

when he said you can only fight "wisin ze dezigated areaaaaa!!!!"

Sorry if you took offence at the purposeful spelling mistakes for sake of german accent

ok, that's a bit weird, now that I heard it.
na, no offense taken. In fact, most germany related jokes can be even funnier for us, knowing a bit more background stuff.