Gameplay-wise, this makes Y7 look like a half-assed prototype. Not much to say there, this is simply one of the most fun turn-based combat systems I've played and it actually has some semblance of balance compared to 7. Bosses are massively improved, too, which is fun because I thought they were fucking abysmal in 7 for the most part. They don't make you waste turns waiting for their phase changes this time around, either!
I kinda wish it was harder to become overleveled/overgeared though, but the series has never been particularly hard so whatever. In the later half I just accepted the power fantasy and made myself bullshit strong to style on the endgame bosses with ease, which is just a different type of fun to getting wrecked by overleveled street encounters when I was exploring in the early game.
On the other hand, I also plan to go back do the NG+ Legend run (cuz I got that DLC with my pre-order) and then do the Big Swell, which I hear ramps shit up quite a lot in Legend. It's gonna be fun to see how tough shit gets there, or if I'll just break the game over my knee.
Side-content is way better and this game too, so the entire game took me around 145 hours to beat. The completion list shows how much more actual content this has since it took me so long to get 100% and very little of it was grinding, compared to 7 where I think at least 30% of my playtime was grinding.
My only disappointment gameplay-wise is that they didn't bring back Dragon Kart and that Sujimon battles are overly simplistic, but I still enjoyed the Sujimon content overall. Dondoko Island didn't disappoint at all, though, and I'm glad to see that the boring ass slogs that were the Business Management and Movie Theater minigames didn't come back.
Though I admit I didn't 100% both completion lists, only Ichiban's (I got 92% on the other but I can't be assed playing SpikeOut, Batting Cages, or the Golf Center right now).
Personally, I liked the story way more in this, even if it's overly optimistic and idealistic at times (just like Ichiban). Though the antagonists weren't as strong as 7's, but I'm not a very antagonist-focused guy. In this case, I care infinitely more about what the main characters go through than anything related to the antagonists, and I think Ichiban, Kiryu, and the gang all do great. I had my doubts about Kiryu's returning as a (secondary) protagonist when the game was first announced, but... man, no complaints. Love the new characters, particularly Yamai.
The finale might not be as strong as 7's, but Infinite Wealth was more consistently awesome and had higher highs during its runtime than 7's story (I still think 7's first 6 or so chapters are lame and everything about Nonomiya was a huge fucking mistake, but this isn't the place to rant about 7...)
My only somewhat big gripes with story and stuff are Bryce's abysmal English voice acting (what were they thinking?) and that being in Hawaii doesn't really come into play that much (99% of characters speak primarily Japanese or are bilinguals with perfect Japanese... never been to Hawaii, though, but it seems unrealistic and makes Hawaii not stand out as much as it should). There's also a couple dumb events in the latter half that could've been handled a lot better, but it is what it is...
Also, the fucking soundtrack? I think it might be the best soundtrack in the entire series, or at least in my top 3. Banger after banger after banger, ngl.
Anyway, basically, Infinite Wealth solos 7 so hard it's not even funny. But Lost Judgment's still peak!
I kinda wish it was harder to become overleveled/overgeared though, but the series has never been particularly hard so whatever. In the later half I just accepted the power fantasy and made myself bullshit strong to style on the endgame bosses with ease, which is just a different type of fun to getting wrecked by overleveled street encounters when I was exploring in the early game.
On the other hand, I also plan to go back do the NG+ Legend run (cuz I got that DLC with my pre-order) and then do the Big Swell, which I hear ramps shit up quite a lot in Legend. It's gonna be fun to see how tough shit gets there, or if I'll just break the game over my knee.
Side-content is way better and this game too, so the entire game took me around 145 hours to beat. The completion list shows how much more actual content this has since it took me so long to get 100% and very little of it was grinding, compared to 7 where I think at least 30% of my playtime was grinding.
My only disappointment gameplay-wise is that they didn't bring back Dragon Kart and that Sujimon battles are overly simplistic, but I still enjoyed the Sujimon content overall. Dondoko Island didn't disappoint at all, though, and I'm glad to see that the boring ass slogs that were the Business Management and Movie Theater minigames didn't come back.
Though I admit I didn't 100% both completion lists, only Ichiban's (I got 92% on the other but I can't be assed playing SpikeOut, Batting Cages, or the Golf Center right now).
Personally, I liked the story way more in this, even if it's overly optimistic and idealistic at times (just like Ichiban). Though the antagonists weren't as strong as 7's, but I'm not a very antagonist-focused guy. In this case, I care infinitely more about what the main characters go through than anything related to the antagonists, and I think Ichiban, Kiryu, and the gang all do great. I had my doubts about Kiryu's returning as a (secondary) protagonist when the game was first announced, but... man, no complaints. Love the new characters, particularly Yamai.
The finale might not be as strong as 7's, but Infinite Wealth was more consistently awesome and had higher highs during its runtime than 7's story (I still think 7's first 6 or so chapters are lame and everything about Nonomiya was a huge fucking mistake, but this isn't the place to rant about 7...)
My only somewhat big gripes with story and stuff are Bryce's abysmal English voice acting (what were they thinking?) and that being in Hawaii doesn't really come into play that much (99% of characters speak primarily Japanese or are bilinguals with perfect Japanese... never been to Hawaii, though, but it seems unrealistic and makes Hawaii not stand out as much as it should). There's also a couple dumb events in the latter half that could've been handled a lot better, but it is what it is...
Also, the fucking soundtrack? I think it might be the best soundtrack in the entire series, or at least in my top 3. Banger after banger after banger, ngl.
Anyway, basically, Infinite Wealth solos 7 so hard it's not even funny. But Lost Judgment's still peak!