THIS POST CONSISTS ENTIRELY OF GAMEPLAY SPOILERS FOR YAKUZA
Yeah, I'm probably never going to get that last Neuropsych article done. Consider the final point that games can put the brain through its paces, for whatever that's worth.
I didn't think I was going to get back to Yakuza's fighting system either. But after I wrote my final journal / review about reversals not working against certain opponents, I felt like I'd already started this article there and just needed to put in the work to finish it.
Firstly, it's important to note the additional abilities the game added and what I learned about existing abilities since the first mechanics article.
The "strafe" button R1 actually does turn you to face your opponent, but only if you're already largely facing them, and only while you're moving. You don't turn in place. From an aesthetic point of view it's kind of nice as both fighters look like they're maneuvering for position, but it's a pretty ridiculous requirement from a gameplay standpoint. You can change facing without moving in real life. And it couldn't have been an engine limitation. And it hurt the aesthetics as much as it helped them by removing the option of letting the player stand their ground. Letting the opponent make the first move lets the player express fatigue, boredom; contempt. It's aesthetically valuable.
Dodges became long enough to be useful for positioning. They also got an optional attack added to the end, so a quick shift and punch was possible. I still didn't use them very much as I seemed to still take a fair amount of hits using them. This was inconsistent with how I learned them. When you are taught dodges, the teacher throws rocks (or baseballs, I forget) at you. Often times, I would see the cloud of smoke that indicated I'd been hit. But I'd keep dodging and get credit. I don't believe I took any damage from those hits. But I did still take hits while dodging in fights, so I would occasionally use dodges because they looked kind of cool, but they didn't seem worth mastering.
I'm seeing a theme here. Targeting with throws was a pain, often resulting in me getting crushed under a giant jerk because I grabbed him instead of the little guy next to him. So I would use a grab then a knockdown punch instead of a throw. Dodging was inconsistently effective. So I'd generally only use it as an aesthetic choice or occasionally for positioning. Long combos would often be dodged by faster opponents who would then attack from the side. So I learned to stick to short ones against anything but the lowliest of street trash. Punch and throw counters didn't work very well (or at all against certain enemies). So I would only try them to show off or against otherwise unblockable attacks. There were back facing attacks that would allow me to attack opponents behind me, but they had no auto aim at all and would miss if the opponent was precisely behind me and left me facing away from a still standing opponent. So I learned not to use them much.
There are two ways to view these "flaws". On one hand, you never want a dominant strategy. If throws always work, players will simply throw everyone forever. On the other hand, if throws are a useful tool for clearing space, but their targeting makes them unable to accomplish that task reliably, they serve no purpose.
Fighting mechanics can be described as a language. Verbs include things like jab, smash, charge, grab, throw, block, dodge, counter, special. Those verbs imply properties of the attack. A jab does less damage than a smash, but has less windup and recovery time.
As a game is played, players learn how these verbs interact. A block beats a jab, or a smash, but not a grab or throw. Players also learn which opponents use which verbs. Guys who attack flat footed never dodge, but guys who dance like featherweight boxers generally do. Players then learn which verbs to use with which opponents. Featherweights tend to jab a lot, making them vulnerable to counters. Bruisers tend to smash a lot, meaning they can easily be dodged and attacked from the side. Flatfoots can be easily thrown, making them useful for crowd control. Guys with weapons can't be blocked.
As the game goes on, players learn now to take advantage of situations. Enemies become tools. And as new modifiers are introduced (Blocks don't work against weapons.), players learn to adapt and use verbs they didn't have to before. I beat one of the later bosses in Yakuza using mostly punch counters because he had a weapon and attacked frequently. A tool that was of marginal use suddenly became the only way to survive.
But that's the ideal situation. A normal verb won't work, for a specific reason. Another verb will. When punch and throw counters don't work on medium sized enemies, there's no reason. When the targeting isn't good enough to use throws properly, that's a bad reason. When the camera isn't good enough to see charges coming (and there's no obvious sound cue or other way to anticipate them), the game feels arbitrary, like success and failure aren't within the player's control.
Yakuza basically compensates for issues like these by being easy. You can carry health items and weapons to get you through fights. You have boatloads of health. You can wear armor. I'd say they made the right choice. The combat is tight enough to make you feel like you're responsible for your success and easy enough that even when you experience breakdowns in the system, they don't cost you the game.
Hmm. I'm sorry I said I'd only give the game a three for gameplay now. Looking back on it in more detail, it has more depth and gave me more choices than God of War ever did. :P
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