Some of the very best the series has to offer. The full realization of the multiple protagonist idea from 4.
The last game was Kamurocho centric but not this game. This game has 5 WHOLE CITIES with everything that you would expect from one. It's seriously an achievement by itself. Each one has a different feel and atmosphere which is awesome. My personal favorite ended up being Nagasu with Kiryu.
In contrast with the previous entry, this game starts with our main guy Kiryu. In this game he's living as a different person in a new city and the reasons as to why aren't revealed until the end of his part. This was a really great mystery and had me really engaged the entire 20 hours I spent with him. If that time seems long to you it's because I, for the first time, did all the side content. I was shocked too I know. But this game has some genuinely incredible side content and I wasn't gonna miss out on it. Back to Kiryu however, he was a great character in this game and his relationship with Haruka is genuinely becoming one of my favorites in all of fiction. I adore the ending. Amazing part and character overall. 10/10.
Next up is our boy Saejima. He's a great character, but I just think he's not a great protagonist. His combat isn't fun to play as and is pretty basic and mindless. He has a LOT of slow sections that are super linear with no freedom in both this game and the previous game. Thankfully his last chapter really saves it for the story and freedom you're given. I really like Saejima but I hope in future games he remains a side character and not a playable one. 7.5/10.
Part 3 is a special one, it's the normal four chapters for a character, but it's divided for TWO characters. I thought this was pretty neat and a pretty smart way of handling Haruka and Akiyama.
Haruka was a big surprise. She is so much fun to play as. Her story is the best for any character despite her only getting two chapters and it also gets down to the heart of why I love Yakuza. The relationship between its characters, the drama, the themes, the way it makes you feel. It's all here and I absolutely adore it. Her gameplay is also super fun which is another surprise. It's essentially a rhythm game, but it's executed very well. The side content on display here too, is quite amazing and I did most if not all of it. It's been far too long since Haruka got to be in the spotlight and I'm very happy that they rectified this for 5 and 6. 10/10
Now it's time for the swag man himself. Akiyama. Akiyama definitely has the least amount of content or even relevance but he's still an absolute treat here. His gameplay was already quite amazing in 4 but it's been perfected here. He was by far the character I had to most fun playing as. He doesn't play a super major role in the story but his dialogue with the key players in the story is very good and has some iconic moments. Nice to see my boi again. 9/10.
Finally on to our last character, Shinada. A former baseball pro, Shinada is a completely brand new addition to the series. He is a really amazing character. His gameplay is pretty interesting. It's a pretty rough fighting style that's made up of baseball moves. He has an non destructible pipe with him for combat which I thought was really cool. Furthermore, he has specific stats that you can level up, that are different from the normal upgrade system. I never bothered to upgrade it since I was doing just fine combat wise, but it seemed cool. His story is probably the most disconnected from the larger plot, but I still found it pretty fun. Getting to learn about him and how he views things was a nice experience. I also loved the ending he got, it was super satisfying. 9/10.
Now then, onto the finale. Instead of being just one big part by itself, it's divided into another four chapters which was the right move. It's really satisfying to be back in Kamurocho and seeing all the characters meet up and uncover the conspiracy together. Their are just so many amazing scenes that I wish I could talk about and unpack but I wanna keep this spoiler free. The confrontations are just amazing and there are so many scenes that stand out. The one slight I have against this is that the final boss is so lame it's absurd. It's like they finished writing the game and then realized there was no final fight, so they just plucked the one character that wasn't doing anything. Lame boss aside, this is a perfect finale to the game and getting to see everyone's ending is wonderful. The way they left Kiryu at the end was a bold move, but I respect it. 10/10
As I said before, the side content in this game is simply incredible. So much to do and the way it's handled and presented is just awesome. I generally don't do even half of the side content but this game certainly changed that. Best side content in the series that's for sure.
The performances in this game are also top tier with the end of the millenium tower sequence in the finale sticking out. They really didn't need to have that scene but it's so impactful that they did that and I love it. Music wise this game is also pretty great, Machine Gun Kiss is yet another banger Karaoke song.
The Writing for this game is great all the way through and thankfully doesn't have any bullshit twists like its predecessor did. The scene in the Colosseum with Saejima again was very good. The scene on Millenium tower, the ending, and all of Haruka's part are great examples of this.
All in all this is some of the very best this series has. Excels in just about every way and the main message of the game is especially resonant. Awesome video game, go play it.
10/10
The last game was Kamurocho centric but not this game. This game has 5 WHOLE CITIES with everything that you would expect from one. It's seriously an achievement by itself. Each one has a different feel and atmosphere which is awesome. My personal favorite ended up being Nagasu with Kiryu.
In contrast with the previous entry, this game starts with our main guy Kiryu. In this game he's living as a different person in a new city and the reasons as to why aren't revealed until the end of his part. This was a really great mystery and had me really engaged the entire 20 hours I spent with him. If that time seems long to you it's because I, for the first time, did all the side content. I was shocked too I know. But this game has some genuinely incredible side content and I wasn't gonna miss out on it. Back to Kiryu however, he was a great character in this game and his relationship with Haruka is genuinely becoming one of my favorites in all of fiction. I adore the ending. Amazing part and character overall. 10/10.
Next up is our boy Saejima. He's a great character, but I just think he's not a great protagonist. His combat isn't fun to play as and is pretty basic and mindless. He has a LOT of slow sections that are super linear with no freedom in both this game and the previous game. Thankfully his last chapter really saves it for the story and freedom you're given. I really like Saejima but I hope in future games he remains a side character and not a playable one. 7.5/10.
Part 3 is a special one, it's the normal four chapters for a character, but it's divided for TWO characters. I thought this was pretty neat and a pretty smart way of handling Haruka and Akiyama.
Haruka was a big surprise. She is so much fun to play as. Her story is the best for any character despite her only getting two chapters and it also gets down to the heart of why I love Yakuza. The relationship between its characters, the drama, the themes, the way it makes you feel. It's all here and I absolutely adore it. Her gameplay is also super fun which is another surprise. It's essentially a rhythm game, but it's executed very well. The side content on display here too, is quite amazing and I did most if not all of it. It's been far too long since Haruka got to be in the spotlight and I'm very happy that they rectified this for 5 and 6. 10/10
Now it's time for the swag man himself. Akiyama. Akiyama definitely has the least amount of content or even relevance but he's still an absolute treat here. His gameplay was already quite amazing in 4 but it's been perfected here. He was by far the character I had to most fun playing as. He doesn't play a super major role in the story but his dialogue with the key players in the story is very good and has some iconic moments. Nice to see my boi again. 9/10.
Finally on to our last character, Shinada. A former baseball pro, Shinada is a completely brand new addition to the series. He is a really amazing character. His gameplay is pretty interesting. It's a pretty rough fighting style that's made up of baseball moves. He has an non destructible pipe with him for combat which I thought was really cool. Furthermore, he has specific stats that you can level up, that are different from the normal upgrade system. I never bothered to upgrade it since I was doing just fine combat wise, but it seemed cool. His story is probably the most disconnected from the larger plot, but I still found it pretty fun. Getting to learn about him and how he views things was a nice experience. I also loved the ending he got, it was super satisfying. 9/10.
Now then, onto the finale. Instead of being just one big part by itself, it's divided into another four chapters which was the right move. It's really satisfying to be back in Kamurocho and seeing all the characters meet up and uncover the conspiracy together. Their are just so many amazing scenes that I wish I could talk about and unpack but I wanna keep this spoiler free. The confrontations are just amazing and there are so many scenes that stand out. The one slight I have against this is that the final boss is so lame it's absurd. It's like they finished writing the game and then realized there was no final fight, so they just plucked the one character that wasn't doing anything. Lame boss aside, this is a perfect finale to the game and getting to see everyone's ending is wonderful. The way they left Kiryu at the end was a bold move, but I respect it. 10/10
As I said before, the side content in this game is simply incredible. So much to do and the way it's handled and presented is just awesome. I generally don't do even half of the side content but this game certainly changed that. Best side content in the series that's for sure.
The performances in this game are also top tier with the end of the millenium tower sequence in the finale sticking out. They really didn't need to have that scene but it's so impactful that they did that and I love it. Music wise this game is also pretty great, Machine Gun Kiss is yet another banger Karaoke song.
The Writing for this game is great all the way through and thankfully doesn't have any bullshit twists like its predecessor did. The scene in the Colosseum with Saejima again was very good. The scene on Millenium tower, the ending, and all of Haruka's part are great examples of this.
All in all this is some of the very best this series has. Excels in just about every way and the main message of the game is especially resonant. Awesome video game, go play it.
10/10