So, yet another entry to the Ryu ga Gotoku series. This time it's about zombies...
I guess they thought there wasn't enough zombie games around already.
It's an interesting choice, considering that the other games have a more serious, realistic theme.
The big question about this game is whether or not it's a spin-off or canon game.
Personally, I hope it's just a spin-off, mainly because Ryuji is in the game (let's be realistic - he should be dead).
But if it does turn out to be canon, I won't cry over it, it will just seem a bit strange to me.
But anyway, let's get to the review:
GRAPHICS
The frame rate has failed me
Not too much to say about the graphics.
They are pretty much exactly the same as the last game (there aren't any noticable improvements). Not that that's a bad thing; they still look pretty good... But, the engine really is starting to look old now (The same engine has been used since Kenzan and there have only been minor improvements since then).
This game suffers from serious frame rate issues; when there's an explosion, the game really slows down. It also does it when there are loads of zombies on screen at once.
So yeah, that's a big problem for the game.
The cutscenes are the real highlight here - Some of them look amazing.
But overall, the game still looks quite nice. Shame about the frame rate problems though.
7/10
GAMEPLAY
The AI Partner is a retard
This game has very different core gameplay to the other games since this focuses on gun combat. It's actually pretty good, I think; it's fun to run around shooting the hell out of zombies.
The game lets you run while shooting, which is extremely useful (the fact you have to stand still and carefully aim every shot in Resident Evil 5 disturbs me) especially since you automatically hit zombies while doing this (no need to aim each shot - just run around and blast them to bits). This may seem to make the manual aim mode a bit pointless, but the manual aim does have its advantages - For example, you can manual aim to blow up oil drums and such which you can't do in auto-aim. Also it's easier to get headshots in manual aim (especially after upgrading your character to lock onto heads).
A lot of people have been complaining about the camera in this game, but to be honest I didn't have too much trouble with it. There was one occasion where the camera did annoy me though - in the final Majima boss fight... The damn camera refused to move where I wanted it to, which led to me being blindsided quite a lot.
There were also a few occasions where the camera refused to turn while I was holding down R1, which was annoying.
Considering this game is focused on guns, there aren't a huge amount of gun upgrades available.
Sure, there are quite a few, but not enough when you consider that's what the game is about (there should be more variety in the upgrades, really).
Something I really need to complain about is the AI partners... They REALLY fucked up here. They are pretty much completely useless and spend most of their time making your life hell rather than helping you out.
In my experience with the AI partners, they usually only do the following:
- Get in the way of your shots and then moan at you when you shoot them in the face
- Stand around doing nothing
- Get raped by zombies (and refusing to shake off attacking zombies)
- Stand in doorways and refusing to move out of your way
If you're lucky, they may actually shoot zombies, but that's quite a rare occurrence.
It gets even worse when they lose all their health; they walk around limping, doing nothing but get in your way (zombies ignore them when they are in this state). Seriously - I was in manual aim mode trying to shoot a dekamacho from distance and along comes the injured AI partner who stands in the way of where I was aiming. So, I moaned about it, moved to the side a bit and tried aiming again... But the bastard moved in the way again. Needless to say, this led to many shouts of: "Get out the fucking way!"
Even Goda Ryuji is completely useless when he's the AI partner.
So I recommend doing everything solo (unless you are forced to have an AI partner for a story or substory).
All the mini-games from the previous games are here, so if you want a break from killing zombies there are plenty of things to do - Like the SEGA arcade games, the gambling mini-games in the underground area, the volcano casino place, golf, fishing, karaoke, etc.
"Answer x Answer" is still in the game, unfortunately (I don't know the answers to most of them... How am I supposed to know what characters were in <insert anime here>
There are still Hostess Clubs in this game. I haven't been to one in this game yet, but they obviously play the same way as in every other Ryu ga Gotoku game - Go into club, chat up hostess, go on dates with them, max out all the hearts and do the substory... I guess. Not really my thing, but it's there if you want to do it.
The boss fights in this game can be described with one word: EPIC
This game has some of the best boss fights I've seen in a while. The bosses have a lot of variety too - In one fight you'll have a huge armoured beast who likes charging at you, and in another fight you'll be dealing with a hentai tentacle rapist (seriously... only in Japan) who keeps hiding in holes in the floor and trying to surprise attack you. Also, the ending of the final boss fight is possibly the best end to a boss fight I've ever seen (truly epic).
10/10
MUSIC
今の俺に触るな。。。何をするかわからねぇぜ
If I had to single out a few tracks as the highlights of the soundtrack, I'd say: "Start OF THE END" from Volume 1, "Inescapable Battle" from Volume 1, and "Cry..." from Volume 2.
10/10
STORY
神室町が。。。壊れちゃうよ！
I have to complain about some of the character stories though...
Akiyama's story is completely pointless; his entire story is spent finding medicine and getting it to Hana (seriously). It serves absolutely no purpose to the main story.
It's the same with Majima - his story doesn't really serve any purpose to the story. I love Majima and am glad that I can finally play as him, but his story is pointless.
The main story focuses on Ryuji and Kiryu, which is why those two stories are the only ones that are actually relevant to the plot. Personally, I'd have liked to have seen just Ryuji and Kiryu as playable characters, with longer stories (8 chapters for each?), because at least that way all the chapters would actually be relevant to the main plot.
On the whole though, it's a fairly decent story.
The substories in this game are actually really good (especially Akiyama's ones - some of those really made me laugh). Also, the substories are now indicated on the map with a question mark, which is very convenient because now you don't have to run around like an idiot looking for new substories, you can just look at the map.
There's one substory I must comment on though, just because it made me think "what the fuck?" afterwards. It's an Akiyama substory - It's where you have to go and save one of the girls from Elisa (that Hostess club) who is in the quarantined area... You have to escort her all the way back to safety, fighting through an army of zombies (including bastards that spam-throw fire bombs), which is a real performance. She spends all her time crying and getting destroyed by zombies, so you have to keep protecting her while being beaten down by zombies yourself. So, what happens when you get her out? She asks for a gun so she can fight against zombies herself and then becomes an AI partner! What the hell? One minute she's crying and relies on you to save her sorry ass, the next she thinks she's some zombie ass-kicker? Stupid bitch, why didn't you ask for a gun when I first bumped into you
Overally, the main story is pretty decent (but the Akiyama and Majima stories are pointless) and some of the substories are funny.
7/10
OVERALL
Overall, I'd say this is my favourite zombie game ever and it is certainly the most epic zombie game around, thanks to the boss fights and soundtrack.
Some people say this is the worst Ryu ga Gotoku game thus far, but I disagree - I like this more than Kurohyou Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou (the psp game), but I don't like it as much as the Ryu ga Gotoku 1-4 or Kenzan.
But yeah, if you like zombie games you should check this out (even if you've never played a Ryu ga Gotoku game before). If you don't know any Japanese, you don't have to worry too much;
it's usually pretty obvious where you're supposed to go and what you're supposed to do (indicated on the map with a red glowing marker).
Fans of the series should also check this out - I know the combat is a lot different (obviously), but it still feels like a Ryu ga Gotoku game.
- AI partner is a retard
- Graphics look dated
- Some serious frame rate issues at times
8.5/10
