so i do not like this game. i also dont like typing long about things i dont like, gives me Dars Souls 2 coniptions...
Game is split into 4 (technically 5) routes, all each with their own story and mini games attached to them. Before you have much time you want to invest or care much into the characters story/ minigame, you are either burnt out from its monotnous routine or the characters story is already over. For instance, the worst story in this game belongs to act ., which really sucks bc that character itself is very sick and his combat is insane! Its just that his story and forced minigame are so goddamn boring and longwinded that you get really burnt out from Y5 by the end of his campaign. Also on a side note, this game does not respect your time. You cannot skip a lot of the filler dialouge that doesnt matter nor does it allow you to skip said cutscene, you have to mash your way to the end of it. Also im glad we're out of the era of yakuza games where u have to save at a phone booth and no where else. you cannot save into 4th story until an hour into that segment. By far, yakuza has some of the most bullshit bosses ive played. It is not fun fighting a boss that constantly blocks after the 1st initial hit that does 5 damage. And if your retort to that is use specific heat actions or breakable weapons, your game philosophy is stupid. There is plenty more id like to get into, but remembering gives me a headache. The story was very all over the place and finale was a mess save for two characters lol. Y4 still stands as my favorite.

I first touched this game during online school in early 2021 after having beaten all the previous Yakuza titles, at first I was reluctant on even starting it because at that time I had been quite tired of Yakuza and streaming it to my friends on discord but I gave in and started playing it.

The story, while some may consider to be messy in nature, is actually fantastic. The themes of dreams and following them and not letting them die is present with every single major character story told in this game, and the way they go about realizing these dreams, be it their dreams or anothers, is so deeply profound that I fail to see why some people consider the plot to be "messy" or "confusing". I do not like saying this but I really think people that hold that belief actually did not get it at all.

It still has my favorite Yakuza combat of all time (Yes, I would place it highly above 0 and Lost Judgment), all the different characters feel so unique and are evolutions of their respective counterparts in Yakuza 4. The new guy though, Shinada, is usually the one people complain about the most, but he is actually the most fun character in this game both gameplay wise and story wise (If you believe otherwise you did not get it x2).

Overall this game is so good I fail to see what I can say on it other than just "Experience it". It changed my life, genuinely. I still think about those days hunting as Saejima in the mountain while I drank a nice Monster Energy at 3 AM on a school night after having woken up at like 7 PM the day prior (Terminal bumness). Yakuza 5 in the end is all about the Dream, and it has inspired me to fulfill mine. Thank you RGG

Nagoshi I kneel

This game is so good, it feels like I'm dreaming.

5 protagonists, all of them so much fun to play as and their stories and side stories great in their own ways. 5 whole cities with so much content packed into each one, there is always something else to do in this game.

If I had to find a complaint, I guess the info dumps during the Finale did get a little tiring, even if the Finale itself was amazing.

There is so much soul and passion put into this game, it's hard to find any major fault in it. Incredible Yakuza game and just an incredible game overall.

My favourite Yakuza game and one of my favourite games in general. This one seems to cop some flak from people for perhaps overstepping its bounds a bit, but for me, it’s precisely because of that ambition that it’s my favourite in the series. It probably is too much, it is fairly messy, but there’s so much love oozing out of this thing, I can’t not get swept up in it. There’s also a nice little meta aspect to its ambition seeing as the story is all about dreams and aspirations. You can truly feel the passion that went into Yakuza 5.

I’m also really hoping that the new maps in this one make a return someday. I love them. Please RGG, pleeeaaaaassseeee.

Whilst full of interesting choices from story to gameplay, that pushed the franchise even further, Y5 unfortunately falls flat as one of the most underwhelming Yakuza experiences thus far. Dragged out with side content that distracts you from the more intriguing narrative, though even when confronting said story, still feels convoluted and padded, Y5 is a total bore from start to finish. This was the moment that I started to lose interest, which is why I think highly of more engaging and experimental later entries.

J’ai adoré le gameplay de chaque personnage qui se complète très très bien. Je préfère peut-être ce gameplay à celui du 4 d’ailleurs, et je trouve ça positif car ça montre qu’avec le temps, les développeurs ont réussi à créer une réelle identité et à retravailler chaque jeu pour l’améliorer.
L’histoire ne m’a pas trop convaincue, même si j’aime beaucoup tous les plot-twists, ça ne suffit pas à en faire un bon jeu. Le fait de séparer le jeu en 4 parties, rend le récit compliqué à suivre, et il en perd peut-être un peu en qualité. Mais globalement le jeu est super cool, très bien optimisé, et très joli.

https://i.imgur.com/AbGZYCb.png
Game's heavier than a honey baked ham!!!
For every moment in Yakuza 5 that lead me into thinking I was playing an untamed vortex of passion and uncompromised vision, there were two-to-five other uncomplimentary moments that felt like spinning plates and taking the meandering narrative for walkies. Spreads its roots far & wide across so many ideas and gameplay concepts that, on paper, scans as a maximalist daydream I'd love to lose myself in, but all of it feels so perfunctory and checklisty. Fifty different minigames to micromanage and level up in individually to access Harder Levels of said minigames - - - Vidcon Gospel since time immemoria but my patience has limits :(

Haruka's chapter was probably my personal standout, if only with thanks to how vastly different her story played to any character to come before. The rhythm battles were so fun albeit with the game's slim tracklist, and her substories took on a refreshing dynamic too. The combat in these games has never impressed me but I'd much rather play an unimpressive rhythm game than a brawler I've lost heart in. From a narrative perspective, it is infuriatingly complacent with the practices Japanese idol industry in a way I find legitimately toothless in a series that tends to dedicate fisticuffs to rooting out corruption and it makes Haruka's characterisation weaker as a result.
When came the Shinada chapter I was desperately hoping the end credits would finally begin to roll, which is a shame because he and Koichi's dynamic is probably my favourite spark of character chemistry in the entire series.

I in complete honesty couldn't tell you a single thing that happened in the final hours. This was a game I had started months ago and it rather hilariously demanded for me to recall with perfect clarity a cloak and dagger conspiracy that happened in the initial chapters. The overarching story was a wash for me but I much preferred when the leading cast were locked in their own little bubbles, & exploring their own vignettes about dreams lost & worth aspiring 4. Truly believe that in another world, this would have been a younger me's One Playstation 3 Game For The Month and I'd have completely melted into it - but sadly, I had to play this in incredibly granular sessions that largely felt like clocking in for community service.