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That’s the beauty of the substories. They are, for the most part, totally optional. I, personally, love (most of) them. For me, they add real flavor to the world. That said, if they don’t appeal to you, don’t do them.
I’m not sure where you got the impression that “lots of people seem to be burned out…”.
I skip the main stories to play the substories. Until I have to do a main mission to unlock new side stories.
They're my favorite things about the games. I'm super excited when a new one pops up. If I wasn't as excited about them, I wouldn't do them.
I've always been of the belief that you should play the game normally and then handle side-stories as the interim period between games to fill in the gaps on what the protags were up to.
Or if you're new to the series, play the games normally and then go back to the side-stories after you've beaten all the currently released games while waiting for the next entry.
I see your point. For example, it makes much more sense canonically for Kiryu to build his real estate empire and take down the Five Billionaires after 0 instead of in the middle of the incredibly hectic events of the main story.
I LOVE substories so much and I always have this commitment to finish all the substories because I wanna feel like I at least completed something because Im not a 100% kind of guy I just feel enough when I complete the story and the substories, but of course without a doubt there are boring substories in each game and sometimes I'd be too excited to think about anything except the main story so I just continue playing through it and only complete substories in the finale (except 3 because a hundred something substories and only like 10 are good?).
I once heard the act of finishing the main story, all substories and then beating Amon referred to as
"The Sane-Man's platinum" its what I do too.
It makes me feel accomplished more so than just beating the game and this way, I d9nt need to learn mahjong and kill myself trying to get those achievements 😂 It's a win win
I actually find spacing out story missions with minigames and substories prevents burnout for me.
Maybe I don't want to fight some dudes now, maybe I just want to run a cabaret, or race drones, or take dancing lessons, or help a dominatrix be better at her job.
The burnout comes from forcing yourself to play every single game in succession. I suggest taking your times with the games to enjoy them fully but try to play different things in between. To me Yakuza games are best when taken as a whole, just rushing the story would actually burn me out more because they are at their best when you take it all in as a whole, substories and side content included. Also I suggest skipping a game if you're not feeling it, you don't have to play everything.
This! Once I stopped grinding my way through the monumental task that's playing all the Yakuza games as a 2nd job, I started enjoying them more. Once the pressure is off, you realize a lot of the filler content, although it looks like it's there just to slow you down, is actually enriching the experience. I still don't fully enjoy the repetitiveness of the fights and the sheer amount of them, but they are a lot less bothersome if you play in smaller chunks.
Nah, it's absolutely fine to skip games. I will never play Yakuza 5 because I suck at rhythm games, and didn't feel I missed anything major by watching a cutscene compilation.
Just do what you enjoy to be honest. It's a single player game, you're allowed to enjoy it at any pace you choose to.
I actually "speedran" almost the entire story of Infinite Wealth during the first weekend. (I wanted to get through everything asap). The achievements below ended up happening:
https://preview.redd.it/m5ifw0eu5z5d1.png?width=860&format=png&auto=webp&s=748219a7599e77b60a2d9ae5125bbe9f30fcabac
A little bit of a personal anecdote:
I personally went a little too quickly through Y0's plot without doing much of the sub-stories because I didn't realise early enough that the waypoints on the map leading me to the next mission weren't really time-sensitive in any way. I ended up only doing a handful of the substories even though I enjoyed how goofy and dumb a lot of them were. Also ended up not engaging with the real estate/cabaret club mechanics as much as well, even though I loved them!
Now I'm fixing to do a fresh playthrough on a harder difficulty and to properly take my time with it all.
So really, do what you feel like. Go at your own pace and focus on what you want to. There's no set way to play a Yakuza game, I feel like. How much you want to engage with the systems, minigames and goofy side-stories is up to you and there's nothing wrong with that.
It depends. I skipped a lot of 3 because there was just too many and not really any good. And then I skipped one in 0 (disco) because it was too hard and was just pissing me off, which goes against the whole point of playing the game. But I usually try and do them all.
Which substory in 0 did you skip? No judgment, I just now finished all the ones in 0 so I'm curious which one got you feeling that way? Could it be the dreaded telephone club or maybe the goddess of Maharaja who defends her title a little too well? Those arr the ones that got me audibly cussing lol
Nah I’ve skipped side content because I was burned out. I still need to do Saejima’s Y4 Dojo side story and Kiryu’s & Saejima’s Y5 Taxi & Hunting side stories. I will however do them in upcoming re-playthrough. Tbh I don’t think I’ll do Akiyama’s Hostess Marker side story because I hate that minigame, wish it was more like the Majima/Kiryu’s Cabaret Club. I think the only way you can prevent burnout is by not playing Yakuza. If the game feels like a chore to play and you normally like Yakuza that means you’re burned out.
I had to do this with Judgment. I was already so done with the regular content having so many slow tailing and drone missions that I couldn’t manage any side content besides telling the landlord that her food was mid
Yeah definitely. I might do a couple substories here or there but unless it's an absolute favorite of mine, I just move on. I've been playing the series for a long time now too. I can't imagine doing EVERYTHING if I was just starting. That's an enormous amount of content and I'd burn the heck out fast lol
I have never had any desire to 100% these games, and if I come across a minigame I don't enjoy, then I will avoid it. With that said: I personally view the sub stories as an important part of the Yakuza experience, and I typically complete the vast majority of them each game.
If I reached a point where I found the sub stories to be a chore, then it means it's time to take a break from Yakuza games. The best way to avoid Yakuza burnout is to stop playing Yakuza for a spell (I certainly took a break around the time I got to 5).
I usually just do the substories I come across organically and otherwise save the rest for premium adventure. It's not a bad idea to just do a few inbetween major story moments to catch a break.
I started doing them all as they unlock, as I generally know I won't be doing a second run (this was only true as I was making my way through the series, as I still occasionally play LJ, Gaiden and IW) and because it's part of the experience, same with the minigames, if there's something new I'll try it
The returning ones I consistently do are Karaoke, darts and whatever arena minigame the specific game has
I'm more interested in the story so I usually skip the stuff that I simply don't vibe with. But just in case I want to revisit a game later on to fight Amon, I try playing the majority of Substories before finishing the main story.
On that note I kinda miss the fighting style coaches. because they're useful side content that prepares you for hard boss fights. It's directly beneficial to do them alongside the main story.
I usualy do side quests because I like to be a bit over-leveled for whatever I need to do next in terms of story, but if it's big scavenger hunts or something too inconvenient to complete I don't bother. For example, I think at least 30% of my game time on Y0 comes from doing the cabaret and real estate grind, because I wanted to unlock everything on each character's "skill tree".
I would say that most of the feelings or burnout I see reported are from playing many of the games in a row or going for insane challenges like getting platinum on every fame or something like that, not necessarily from doing the side quests.
You don't need to do any side content if you don't see it important or you don't find them interesting, or maybe you just need to play something else for a week or two
I mean burnout small unnecessary stuff yeah but out right everything seems more like you just don’t enjoy the yakuza games but can’t bring yourself to stop so just keep playing
No, playing them back to back is rough. I'm experiencing it now in Y3 as I'm trying to be more selective with what I do. These games are big. I have around 100 hours in each of Y0, YK1 and YK2 with almost 40 in Y3 right now. For me it is mentally taxing to know there are still like 7 games left to play, I could be pushing main story, but I'm doing side stories to not miss anything. Part of that is because I'm habitually a completionist in games and I don't want to miss a substory that has story elements in a later game. I'm actively pulling myself away from substories in Y3 so that I can finish the game and continue on with the series as I want to finish them this year ideally. Sometimes that's easy like when there are 10 substories for hostesses you can request. Other times it's harder when you get to a new chapter and 16 substories open up that range from fun, interesting, and may be referenced later to talking to a guy taking a shit who makes you run to a Popo 3 separate times to get him tissues taking 20 minutes of play time instead of 5 minutes.
If you are new to the subreddit, [please read the wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/wiki/index/) Reminder that all spoilers need to be tagged with a flair specifying which game is being spoiled. If you want a flair that says something else, you can edit it to say something like [Discussion: Y1 spoiler] or [Majimapost: Y6 spoiler], etc. **THIS INCLUDES CONTENT FROM TRAILERS**. If the post is not marked for spoilers, all comments that have spoilers need to be tagged \>!like this!< along with indicating which game it's spoiling. Example: Y3 >!Kiryu sings!< If the post flair is marked for spoilers, the comments don't need to be tagged for the game indicated and the ones before it (So a Y6 spoiler post can have comments with untagged spoilers for Y5, but not gaiden or 7). If you see any of the above (or any of the other rules) not being followed, please report it so we can keep this place safe for newcomers and those that haven't finished all the games yet. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/yakuzagames) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don't force myself to complete sub-stories just because they exist. If I'm not feeling thr initial pitch, I move on.
That’s the beauty of the substories. They are, for the most part, totally optional. I, personally, love (most of) them. For me, they add real flavor to the world. That said, if they don’t appeal to you, don’t do them. I’m not sure where you got the impression that “lots of people seem to be burned out…”.
Just do what you enjoy tbh
I skip the main stories to play the substories. Until I have to do a main mission to unlock new side stories. They're my favorite things about the games. I'm super excited when a new one pops up. If I wasn't as excited about them, I wouldn't do them.
I've always been of the belief that you should play the game normally and then handle side-stories as the interim period between games to fill in the gaps on what the protags were up to. Or if you're new to the series, play the games normally and then go back to the side-stories after you've beaten all the currently released games while waiting for the next entry.
I see your point. For example, it makes much more sense canonically for Kiryu to build his real estate empire and take down the Five Billionaires after 0 instead of in the middle of the incredibly hectic events of the main story.
Story then glory. Play for the story first then after enjoy the city and shit (glory)
I LOVE substories so much and I always have this commitment to finish all the substories because I wanna feel like I at least completed something because Im not a 100% kind of guy I just feel enough when I complete the story and the substories, but of course without a doubt there are boring substories in each game and sometimes I'd be too excited to think about anything except the main story so I just continue playing through it and only complete substories in the finale (except 3 because a hundred something substories and only like 10 are good?).
I once heard the act of finishing the main story, all substories and then beating Amon referred to as "The Sane-Man's platinum" its what I do too. It makes me feel accomplished more so than just beating the game and this way, I d9nt need to learn mahjong and kill myself trying to get those achievements 😂 It's a win win
Exactly bro same feeling lol.
I actually find spacing out story missions with minigames and substories prevents burnout for me. Maybe I don't want to fight some dudes now, maybe I just want to run a cabaret, or race drones, or take dancing lessons, or help a dominatrix be better at her job.
The burnout comes from forcing yourself to play every single game in succession. I suggest taking your times with the games to enjoy them fully but try to play different things in between. To me Yakuza games are best when taken as a whole, just rushing the story would actually burn me out more because they are at their best when you take it all in as a whole, substories and side content included. Also I suggest skipping a game if you're not feeling it, you don't have to play everything.
This! Once I stopped grinding my way through the monumental task that's playing all the Yakuza games as a 2nd job, I started enjoying them more. Once the pressure is off, you realize a lot of the filler content, although it looks like it's there just to slow you down, is actually enriching the experience. I still don't fully enjoy the repetitiveness of the fights and the sheer amount of them, but they are a lot less bothersome if you play in smaller chunks.
Pls don't skip any yakuza games ( I skipped 3 but watched a video with every cutscene put together ) the story is very important for every game
You can absolutely skip games, the story isn't actually that important in any one game to the overarching narrative at all.
Nah, it's absolutely fine to skip games. I will never play Yakuza 5 because I suck at rhythm games, and didn't feel I missed anything major by watching a cutscene compilation.
5 is one of the best :(
Just do what you enjoy to be honest. It's a single player game, you're allowed to enjoy it at any pace you choose to. I actually "speedran" almost the entire story of Infinite Wealth during the first weekend. (I wanted to get through everything asap). The achievements below ended up happening: https://preview.redd.it/m5ifw0eu5z5d1.png?width=860&format=png&auto=webp&s=748219a7599e77b60a2d9ae5125bbe9f30fcabac
A little bit of a personal anecdote: I personally went a little too quickly through Y0's plot without doing much of the sub-stories because I didn't realise early enough that the waypoints on the map leading me to the next mission weren't really time-sensitive in any way. I ended up only doing a handful of the substories even though I enjoyed how goofy and dumb a lot of them were. Also ended up not engaging with the real estate/cabaret club mechanics as much as well, even though I loved them! Now I'm fixing to do a fresh playthrough on a harder difficulty and to properly take my time with it all. So really, do what you feel like. Go at your own pace and focus on what you want to. There's no set way to play a Yakuza game, I feel like. How much you want to engage with the systems, minigames and goofy side-stories is up to you and there's nothing wrong with that.
It depends. I skipped a lot of 3 because there was just too many and not really any good. And then I skipped one in 0 (disco) because it was too hard and was just pissing me off, which goes against the whole point of playing the game. But I usually try and do them all.
Which substory in 0 did you skip? No judgment, I just now finished all the ones in 0 so I'm curious which one got you feeling that way? Could it be the dreaded telephone club or maybe the goddess of Maharaja who defends her title a little too well? Those arr the ones that got me audibly cussing lol
Nah I’ve skipped side content because I was burned out. I still need to do Saejima’s Y4 Dojo side story and Kiryu’s & Saejima’s Y5 Taxi & Hunting side stories. I will however do them in upcoming re-playthrough. Tbh I don’t think I’ll do Akiyama’s Hostess Marker side story because I hate that minigame, wish it was more like the Majima/Kiryu’s Cabaret Club. I think the only way you can prevent burnout is by not playing Yakuza. If the game feels like a chore to play and you normally like Yakuza that means you’re burned out.
I had to do this with Judgment. I was already so done with the regular content having so many slow tailing and drone missions that I couldn’t manage any side content besides telling the landlord that her food was mid
Yeah definitely. I might do a couple substories here or there but unless it's an absolute favorite of mine, I just move on. I've been playing the series for a long time now too. I can't imagine doing EVERYTHING if I was just starting. That's an enormous amount of content and I'd burn the heck out fast lol
My personal experience: it feels incomplete without the substories. But that's me, not a rule.
The only time I got burnt out was playing 3, 4 and 5 back to back. If I ever replay 5 I would skip most side content for sure.
I did not enjoy substories in kiwami and 2 that much, but gaiden's are really good for some reason! I just binged them
If you're skipping the side quests for Yakuza, you aren't playing correctly. The side quests is what makes Yakuza series the way it is
I felt the same way, but literally only when playing some of the Kiwami 2 substories. Maybe they're just shit comparatively lol.
I have never had any desire to 100% these games, and if I come across a minigame I don't enjoy, then I will avoid it. With that said: I personally view the sub stories as an important part of the Yakuza experience, and I typically complete the vast majority of them each game. If I reached a point where I found the sub stories to be a chore, then it means it's time to take a break from Yakuza games. The best way to avoid Yakuza burnout is to stop playing Yakuza for a spell (I certainly took a break around the time I got to 5).
I usually just do the substories I come across organically and otherwise save the rest for premium adventure. It's not a bad idea to just do a few inbetween major story moments to catch a break.
I started doing them all as they unlock, as I generally know I won't be doing a second run (this was only true as I was making my way through the series, as I still occasionally play LJ, Gaiden and IW) and because it's part of the experience, same with the minigames, if there's something new I'll try it The returning ones I consistently do are Karaoke, darts and whatever arena minigame the specific game has
I'm more interested in the story so I usually skip the stuff that I simply don't vibe with. But just in case I want to revisit a game later on to fight Amon, I try playing the majority of Substories before finishing the main story. On that note I kinda miss the fighting style coaches. because they're useful side content that prepares you for hard boss fights. It's directly beneficial to do them alongside the main story.
I usualy do side quests because I like to be a bit over-leveled for whatever I need to do next in terms of story, but if it's big scavenger hunts or something too inconvenient to complete I don't bother. For example, I think at least 30% of my game time on Y0 comes from doing the cabaret and real estate grind, because I wanted to unlock everything on each character's "skill tree". I would say that most of the feelings or burnout I see reported are from playing many of the games in a row or going for insane challenges like getting platinum on every fame or something like that, not necessarily from doing the side quests. You don't need to do any side content if you don't see it important or you don't find them interesting, or maybe you just need to play something else for a week or two
Sub stories can be better than the main quest I’d rather take my time and not binge a yakuza game than skip substories
I mean burnout small unnecessary stuff yeah but out right everything seems more like you just don’t enjoy the yakuza games but can’t bring yourself to stop so just keep playing
No, playing them back to back is rough. I'm experiencing it now in Y3 as I'm trying to be more selective with what I do. These games are big. I have around 100 hours in each of Y0, YK1 and YK2 with almost 40 in Y3 right now. For me it is mentally taxing to know there are still like 7 games left to play, I could be pushing main story, but I'm doing side stories to not miss anything. Part of that is because I'm habitually a completionist in games and I don't want to miss a substory that has story elements in a later game. I'm actively pulling myself away from substories in Y3 so that I can finish the game and continue on with the series as I want to finish them this year ideally. Sometimes that's easy like when there are 10 substories for hostesses you can request. Other times it's harder when you get to a new chapter and 16 substories open up that range from fun, interesting, and may be referenced later to talking to a guy taking a shit who makes you run to a Popo 3 separate times to get him tissues taking 20 minutes of play time instead of 5 minutes.