Azumarrill
2021
Another amazing story that is slightly weaker than the original game's, but is made up for by one of the series best antagonists. A truly perfect opposite to Yagami, an amazing clash of ideals. Gameplay is also by far the most polished and satisfying in the series, all 4 styles are so much fun to use, The school stories and substories are also much more enjoyable than its predecessors. It seriously is one of the best games Ryu Ga Gotoku have made thus far and I cannot wait to play Kaito Files while we wait for Like A Dragon: Gaiden. Highly recommend for veterans of the series.
9/10
9/10
2018
Amazing story, one of my favorites in video games. A standout cast of characters who all serve their role excellently. Pretty good combat but it's a little unpolished. Tailing missions are truly awful and one of them led to me experiencing an infinite loading glitch but thankfully people have uploaded their save files to avoid that. Overall, this is still a great game and I would highly recommend for RGG fans.
8/10
8/10
2022
You can be too poor to play a free game if you have a prepaid phone plan
Activision Blizzard the goats for this
Activision Blizzard the goats for this
This is a super late review but I still remember my experience with this game quite well. And to carry on from how I opened the previous review, my friends were right yet again, this game was even better than the original.
The gameplay is more or less the same but there's a clear difference to people who played the previous game. Things have been polished and made to feel better as a whole. It's improved upon in a big way. Slight nitpicks is the level design is really irritating sometimes and the levels also feel a bit more linear compared to the first game or even some of the other levels in this game. I really liked the concept of playing as multiple characters with a large variety of weapons. It kept everything really fresh and engaging. As I expected going into this game, it's not exactly easy. It's inevitable it'll take you a decent amount of tries before you finally get it right. I never minded because it was really fun to experiment and the gameplay loop is just so much fun.It was satisfying to finally beat the level each and every time.
I'm not gonna talk too much about the story cuz I want to keep this spoiler free but, it's a big step up from the first game (which I still liked) and the ending especially is insane. Going back to the multiple playable characters, it was really cool to see all their storylines tie into the larger narrative.
This is an amazing indie game and I think it's a little underrated and underappreciated going off the average rating. I highly recommend this to everyone but only after you've played the first game because the story will make much more sense after playing that game.
9/10
The gameplay is more or less the same but there's a clear difference to people who played the previous game. Things have been polished and made to feel better as a whole. It's improved upon in a big way. Slight nitpicks is the level design is really irritating sometimes and the levels also feel a bit more linear compared to the first game or even some of the other levels in this game. I really liked the concept of playing as multiple characters with a large variety of weapons. It kept everything really fresh and engaging. As I expected going into this game, it's not exactly easy. It's inevitable it'll take you a decent amount of tries before you finally get it right. I never minded because it was really fun to experiment and the gameplay loop is just so much fun.It was satisfying to finally beat the level each and every time.
I'm not gonna talk too much about the story cuz I want to keep this spoiler free but, it's a big step up from the first game (which I still liked) and the ending especially is insane. Going back to the multiple playable characters, it was really cool to see all their storylines tie into the larger narrative.
This is an amazing indie game and I think it's a little underrated and underappreciated going off the average rating. I highly recommend this to everyone but only after you've played the first game because the story will make much more sense after playing that game.
9/10
It's really just the definitive package for this series. It includes the main campaigns for the first two games along with a TON of DLC to go through. It's got hours and hours of fun and argument between friends (that may ruin friendships). I can really only recommend if you have 4 friends to play it in couch co-op. It obviously supports 1-3 players but I think 4 is easily the most fun. It also helps if they're ok at video games (and slicing the damn lettuce) but it's really not necessary as I've played this with family members who don't play video games. Anyways a great game with tons of content.
9/10
9/10
2016
4th time beating this game now and it's still awesome. Highly recommend for anyone that has people to play this in couch co-op.
8/10
8/10
2012
Friends have recommended me this game for about a year before I decided to give it a go and well, they were absolutely right about it. It's a great top down shooter that can be completed in 8 hours or less depending on your skill.
Even if it's very basic I really like the visual style of the game it's very flashy and really fits the tone. I also really like that it's set in the 80s since I can't think of many games in this setting. Some good music as well with further helps establish the tone and atmosphere of the game. Just great presentation all round.
The gameplay is just a top down shooter with some really challenging levels that are near impossible to beat on your first or even fifth run through them. You'll have to experiment a bit to really get to know the ins and outs of the level before you beat it and it's really satisfying when you beat it. Some of these levels are just so brutal, especially chapter 15 where you have to be very precise in your movement and aim for 3-5 quick consecutive shots. While it was VERY satisfying when I did it, it's also the single mission that will prevent me from playing this game again lol.
Overall this is a pretty great indie game and I highly recommend it for 8 or so hours of fun. It regularly goes on sale for around 2 dollars along with its sequel which I hope to play sometime in the next few months.
8/10
Even if it's very basic I really like the visual style of the game it's very flashy and really fits the tone. I also really like that it's set in the 80s since I can't think of many games in this setting. Some good music as well with further helps establish the tone and atmosphere of the game. Just great presentation all round.
The gameplay is just a top down shooter with some really challenging levels that are near impossible to beat on your first or even fifth run through them. You'll have to experiment a bit to really get to know the ins and outs of the level before you beat it and it's really satisfying when you beat it. Some of these levels are just so brutal, especially chapter 15 where you have to be very precise in your movement and aim for 3-5 quick consecutive shots. While it was VERY satisfying when I did it, it's also the single mission that will prevent me from playing this game again lol.
Overall this is a pretty great indie game and I highly recommend it for 8 or so hours of fun. It regularly goes on sale for around 2 dollars along with its sequel which I hope to play sometime in the next few months.
8/10
2016
Where is Titanfall 3 guys
The return to form we've been waiting for. This is a MASSIVE upgrade over Super.
Potentially the most important thing is that you can play this game with a Pro controller. It was absolute hell playing Super with just a single joycon. Your joycon could drift, be uncomfortable as hell, only two people can play unless you buy more of that 70 dollar scam. Seriously I really appreciate the Pro controller support.
This game also doesn't have any gimmicks like MP9 or MP10. It's simply a collection of the first 3 Mario Party's and is really good. It has 5 boards which I'll admit isn't a ton but it's still more than Super. Plus these maps are pretty cool and won't get boring quickly thanks to how well made they are. Minigame selection is also pretty great with there being a ton of them. It's also been optimized well so the minigames are actually fun to play this time around.
In another great move, the game lets you play the board game online instead of just minigames by themselves like Super did. It will also save the game after each turn if you have to go and wanna pick up the game later. This was a surprising but all in all fantastic choice. This is going to be very useful that's for sure.
The only thing I can confidently say that Super does better than this however, is the roster. The roster for this game is pretty bare bones with only the essential characters. This game is rumored to get DLC so I hope that happens so it could not only expand the roster but increase the amount of boards as well.
The hub world isn't important but I just really liked it so I'm gonna mention it. The hub world has a good amount of options. It has your Mario Party, Mt. Minigames (Minigames only), the shop to buy stickers, music, and other Mario Party Legacy stuff which I thought was quite cool. It also lets you play online, offline, or even local which I think was a nice addition to have all their bases covered.
Again, not important but I love this addition, that being the Stickers. Stickers are just little emotes you can use in game or buy from the shop. I just really like the art and thought they were another great addition.
This is a return to form for the Mario Party franchise. It doesn't have any annoying gimmicks, has proper controller support, VERY good online support out the box with consistent connections, and is just a really fun time. If you've been disappointed by the last few games in this series than this is a game you need to pick up. I'm gonna be playing this game for a while. Mario Party is finally back.
9/10
Potentially the most important thing is that you can play this game with a Pro controller. It was absolute hell playing Super with just a single joycon. Your joycon could drift, be uncomfortable as hell, only two people can play unless you buy more of that 70 dollar scam. Seriously I really appreciate the Pro controller support.
This game also doesn't have any gimmicks like MP9 or MP10. It's simply a collection of the first 3 Mario Party's and is really good. It has 5 boards which I'll admit isn't a ton but it's still more than Super. Plus these maps are pretty cool and won't get boring quickly thanks to how well made they are. Minigame selection is also pretty great with there being a ton of them. It's also been optimized well so the minigames are actually fun to play this time around.
In another great move, the game lets you play the board game online instead of just minigames by themselves like Super did. It will also save the game after each turn if you have to go and wanna pick up the game later. This was a surprising but all in all fantastic choice. This is going to be very useful that's for sure.
The only thing I can confidently say that Super does better than this however, is the roster. The roster for this game is pretty bare bones with only the essential characters. This game is rumored to get DLC so I hope that happens so it could not only expand the roster but increase the amount of boards as well.
The hub world isn't important but I just really liked it so I'm gonna mention it. The hub world has a good amount of options. It has your Mario Party, Mt. Minigames (Minigames only), the shop to buy stickers, music, and other Mario Party Legacy stuff which I thought was quite cool. It also lets you play online, offline, or even local which I think was a nice addition to have all their bases covered.
Again, not important but I love this addition, that being the Stickers. Stickers are just little emotes you can use in game or buy from the shop. I just really like the art and thought they were another great addition.
This is a return to form for the Mario Party franchise. It doesn't have any annoying gimmicks, has proper controller support, VERY good online support out the box with consistent connections, and is just a really fun time. If you've been disappointed by the last few games in this series than this is a game you need to pick up. I'm gonna be playing this game for a while. Mario Party is finally back.
9/10
The perfect finale to such a legendary protagonist. This game cemented Kiryu as my favorite character all time and Yakuza as my second favorite franchise. This game is the first game to make me actually cry. Yeah, it's damn good.
This game moves past the multiple character idea in favor of going back to how it all began. Kiryu and Kamurocho. I liked this a lot because while the last two games executed the protagonists quite well, I just thought it was time to back to solo Kiryu. As a result, this game is much shorter in comparison to 5, but I frankly don't mind it. I would much rather it tells its story at a good pace rather than bloat it for no real reason. Besides, the side content in this game is also pretty good so there's no reason to skip out on it. Ideally, you're gonna wanna do the majority of however much side content you want to do prior to chapter 8, because chapter 8 is when things REALLY start heating up and you will not wanna put the controller down.
This game starts immediately following the stunning ending of Yakuza 5 and I really like that as I don't believe another game in the series has done that before. The entire prologue is very very good. Made me tear up a little bit at some moments and is a great set up to the events of this game.
I don't wanna get into story specifics because that would spoil 5 and also this game. Additionally I want people to enjoy it and take it in for themselves. All I will say is that it's VERY good and it will make you shed some tears that's for sure. The last third or so of the game is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and I loved every single second of it. The Villains are quite good, although the main villain is someone who is formidable but I can't take him seriously sometimes when I see his face lmao. Haruka also has a big role in this game but I won't discuss it due to major spoilers. If you're a fan of her like I am, then you're emotions are gonna be all over the place.
This was the first version of the Dragon Engine so it does have a few issues but for a first attempt this is still quite good. One issue is the weighty feel of your character. It's great when you're running and have momentum but trying to quickly evade or make a turn is kinda rough, so for combat you gotta have a good read on you're opponent. Didn't bother me personally that much but I can see it being a bigger issue for others. They also for some reason changed the heat system for this game for no real reason. Instead of dedicated bar for Heat it's not orbs for some reason. Heat actions have also been decreased by a decent amount. This is to incentivize you to use the new "Extreme Heat Mode", which is basically just a mode where you take damage but there is no stun so you can just unleash a big combo, and if you do it well enough then it will finish with a cool finisher. I didn't like this change honestly, I already loved the previous system so this felt pretty unnecessary, it's not bad just not what I would've wanted. Other than those two issues I have no issues at all with the Dragon Engine. If you want a little bit more insight for the Dragon Engine then you can go back to my Kiwami 2 review.
Both Cities in this game, Kamurocho and Onomichi, are very good. Kamurocho still has everything we love from previous entries so that was great to explore again in this engine. Onomichi is a district in Hiroshima that isn't occupied by the Tojo or the Omi, so seeing another yakuza group here was pretty cool. The yakuza group Kiryu becomes friends with here are really good and a contender for best sidekicks. Nagumo and Yuta were my favorites and I hope we get to see them in another game down the line. This city has a cool layout and is fun to explore but man there isn't much to do here in terms of entertainment. Which I suppose does make sense thematically but I would've like at least a bar for Karaoke. Regardless Onomichi is a pretty cool city and I really appreciate it.
Now onto the side content. The substories in this game are stellar. The writing is top notch and I love to see how an aging Kiryu handles and reacts to these situations now after years of them. The Karaoke in this game is just amazing. Some absolute gems like "Today is a Diamond" or "Hands". Don't be fooled by the latter, it will mess you up emotionally. The other minigames in the Sega Club are also great as usual.
The characters are all pretty great. Kiryu is simply wonderful and I'll let the game speak for itself. The Onomichi gang is pretty awesome and I really loved them by the end. Someya, Lo, Iwami, Sugai, Kurusu, and a few others I won't mention due to spoilers, were all simply fantastic villains. Someya and Lo are all timers for me. Haruka is great, our old buddy Akiyama is also nice to see periodically through the game, as is Date. A really great cast of characters all round.
Voice Acting is just wow. Left me speechless a lot of the time due to the sheer passion from Takaya Kuroda and co. The music is just on a whole nother level man. Banger after banger, this is definitely the best OST in the series and that's not an easy achievement either, especially with 0 and 2 being so good. "Destiny" is also my favorite track in the series now. The violinist was having the time of his life on that track man. Plus the events that take place afterwards also hit so incredibly hard. This is an OST I haven't been able to get out of my head for a week and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Now critically this game is a 9/10 in my eyes, but the last third of the game is so incredibly impactful that I had to make this a 10/10. The raw emotion this game and this franchise as a whole has got out of me is a surprise I never saw coming. Getting into Yakuza because of the Baka Mitai meme a year ago was one of the best choices I've made. These games have taught me so much but at the same time just given me so many laughs along the way as well. This is a franchise I will not soon forget, because Yakuza truly, is one of a kind.
10/10
PS. If you wanna get into the games I'd recommend this order 0 > Kiwami > Kiwami 2 > 3 >4 > 5 > 6. All the games can be found on Gamepass and are regularly on sale on PSN and Steam. Hope you enjoy the journey as I did!
This game moves past the multiple character idea in favor of going back to how it all began. Kiryu and Kamurocho. I liked this a lot because while the last two games executed the protagonists quite well, I just thought it was time to back to solo Kiryu. As a result, this game is much shorter in comparison to 5, but I frankly don't mind it. I would much rather it tells its story at a good pace rather than bloat it for no real reason. Besides, the side content in this game is also pretty good so there's no reason to skip out on it. Ideally, you're gonna wanna do the majority of however much side content you want to do prior to chapter 8, because chapter 8 is when things REALLY start heating up and you will not wanna put the controller down.
This game starts immediately following the stunning ending of Yakuza 5 and I really like that as I don't believe another game in the series has done that before. The entire prologue is very very good. Made me tear up a little bit at some moments and is a great set up to the events of this game.
I don't wanna get into story specifics because that would spoil 5 and also this game. Additionally I want people to enjoy it and take it in for themselves. All I will say is that it's VERY good and it will make you shed some tears that's for sure. The last third or so of the game is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and I loved every single second of it. The Villains are quite good, although the main villain is someone who is formidable but I can't take him seriously sometimes when I see his face lmao. Haruka also has a big role in this game but I won't discuss it due to major spoilers. If you're a fan of her like I am, then you're emotions are gonna be all over the place.
This was the first version of the Dragon Engine so it does have a few issues but for a first attempt this is still quite good. One issue is the weighty feel of your character. It's great when you're running and have momentum but trying to quickly evade or make a turn is kinda rough, so for combat you gotta have a good read on you're opponent. Didn't bother me personally that much but I can see it being a bigger issue for others. They also for some reason changed the heat system for this game for no real reason. Instead of dedicated bar for Heat it's not orbs for some reason. Heat actions have also been decreased by a decent amount. This is to incentivize you to use the new "Extreme Heat Mode", which is basically just a mode where you take damage but there is no stun so you can just unleash a big combo, and if you do it well enough then it will finish with a cool finisher. I didn't like this change honestly, I already loved the previous system so this felt pretty unnecessary, it's not bad just not what I would've wanted. Other than those two issues I have no issues at all with the Dragon Engine. If you want a little bit more insight for the Dragon Engine then you can go back to my Kiwami 2 review.
Both Cities in this game, Kamurocho and Onomichi, are very good. Kamurocho still has everything we love from previous entries so that was great to explore again in this engine. Onomichi is a district in Hiroshima that isn't occupied by the Tojo or the Omi, so seeing another yakuza group here was pretty cool. The yakuza group Kiryu becomes friends with here are really good and a contender for best sidekicks. Nagumo and Yuta were my favorites and I hope we get to see them in another game down the line. This city has a cool layout and is fun to explore but man there isn't much to do here in terms of entertainment. Which I suppose does make sense thematically but I would've like at least a bar for Karaoke. Regardless Onomichi is a pretty cool city and I really appreciate it.
Now onto the side content. The substories in this game are stellar. The writing is top notch and I love to see how an aging Kiryu handles and reacts to these situations now after years of them. The Karaoke in this game is just amazing. Some absolute gems like "Today is a Diamond" or "Hands". Don't be fooled by the latter, it will mess you up emotionally. The other minigames in the Sega Club are also great as usual.
The characters are all pretty great. Kiryu is simply wonderful and I'll let the game speak for itself. The Onomichi gang is pretty awesome and I really loved them by the end. Someya, Lo, Iwami, Sugai, Kurusu, and a few others I won't mention due to spoilers, were all simply fantastic villains. Someya and Lo are all timers for me. Haruka is great, our old buddy Akiyama is also nice to see periodically through the game, as is Date. A really great cast of characters all round.
Voice Acting is just wow. Left me speechless a lot of the time due to the sheer passion from Takaya Kuroda and co. The music is just on a whole nother level man. Banger after banger, this is definitely the best OST in the series and that's not an easy achievement either, especially with 0 and 2 being so good. "Destiny" is also my favorite track in the series now. The violinist was having the time of his life on that track man. Plus the events that take place afterwards also hit so incredibly hard. This is an OST I haven't been able to get out of my head for a week and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Now critically this game is a 9/10 in my eyes, but the last third of the game is so incredibly impactful that I had to make this a 10/10. The raw emotion this game and this franchise as a whole has got out of me is a surprise I never saw coming. Getting into Yakuza because of the Baka Mitai meme a year ago was one of the best choices I've made. These games have taught me so much but at the same time just given me so many laughs along the way as well. This is a franchise I will not soon forget, because Yakuza truly, is one of a kind.
10/10
PS. If you wanna get into the games I'd recommend this order 0 > Kiwami > Kiwami 2 > 3 >4 > 5 > 6. All the games can be found on Gamepass and are regularly on sale on PSN and Steam. Hope you enjoy the journey as I did!
2019
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
Great collection. In the technical sense it's perfect. A couple games are better than others but this is still essential for any Yakuza fan.
One of the greatest games ever made. Sakurai and co. have created something that will stand the test of time, a crossover like this will never be topped in our lifetime. I will remember Smash's Golden Age for the rest of my life. This game had a profound impact on me and is a game I will cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you Sakurai, you did the impossible.
2019
Heard this game was a major improvement over 3 and once again the Yakuza fandom was not wrong at all. This game is really cool because they have 4 protagonists and the game (mostly) handles them well.
The game is centered in a fully explorable Kamurocho and takes place very briefly in Okinawa but Okinawa isn't explorable at all, which I'm fine with since I didn't really enjoy it. The game has 21 chapters with each character taking 4 and then 1 big one for the finale. I actually really enjoyed this format.
First up is a loan shark named Akiyama. I instantly loved this guy just off the first cutscene alone. He has a great view on life and is just really fucking cool. He was the only character that I did all the side content possible for. Having a new view on Kamurocho was just great even more so since Akiyama is a great character. Being a loan shark with an interesting style of doing things led to some very intriguing and cool scenarios that simply aren't possible with Kiryu. Not a whole ton happens in terms of plot progression but it is laying the foundation after all. Even so I didn't mind at all and really enjoyed my time with Akiyama.
Next up is Saejima and oh boy I've been looking forward to meeting him ever since we got a glimpse of him all the way back in 0. Saejima has been in Jail for 25 years after being charged with murdering 18 men of an opposing clan. He mostly lived up to the hype even if a certain twist diminishes his character somewhat for me. We start off with a bang and get to the good stuff right away. From a story perspective this part is very rich in it, which is in complete contrast to the previous part. However the side content does take a little bit of a dip, I don't mind too much since the story stuff here is pretty good for the most part. I was also really happy that Saejima meets Kiryu and Majima in this part, big stuff happened during those encounters so I won't go into them but they were very good. The scene at the Colosseum with Saejima was also just brilliant.
Tanimura the detective is up next. I don't get the hate for him, I think he's pretty damn good and might even be the best character in the game. Only thing I don't like is that the original voice actor for Tanimura got caught using cocaine and so RGG couldn't really use Tanimura as a character in future games. They did get a new actor for the remaster and imo he sounds and looks way better. Getting back on topic though, Tanimura has a really good arc and fittingly gets to fight the final boss. Although the boss is literally Jingu from Kiwami 1 but 100x worse. Again I really liked the change in perspective here, playing as a less than perfect detective was really fun and I also really enjoyed getting to go back to Little Asia considering we haven't been there since Yakuza 0. Overall very fun part and great character.
Back to our main man Kiryu. By this point he's still in Okinawa and has had one visit (soon to be two) that inevitably drag him back to Kamurocho. Now I won't spoil who the second visit is from but all I'm gonna say is that I really liked their redemption arc following 3 where they weren't a great character. This story is completely the opposite from Yakuza 3. That game was centered around Kiryu as a character for better or for worse. This story however, Kiryu is feels more of a side character. The other 3 characters have much larger roles and it feels like they get more screentime too since at the beginning of Kiryu's chapters you see little snippets of them putting their plan together ahead of the finale. Overall Kiryu is fine here but not as great as our protagonists.
The gameplay balancing is much improved from its predecessor. Akiyama was the most fun to play as personally with his assortment of kicks, combos were just so much fun to pull off. Saejima was pretty brainless. You start up a normal combo but then for his heavy attack you gotta charge it up which I don't like for a number of reasons. It feels really off in a brawler game imo and it gets very boring. Tanimura was really cool at first since he doesn't have a normal block button. If the enemy is about to land a hit on you then he will parry it, but if you hold it for a second then it acts like a normal block. The AI and the sections with Tanimura make hard to exploit the parry so it would take a little while to get through some tougher fights. Kiryu has the same moveset but he's been buffed a bit so he's much more fun to use. Overall the gameplay is a big step up from the depths of 3.
The Writing in this game (for the most part) is REALLY good. Especially Saejima at the Colosseum, Sugiuchi at the docks, and Akiyama and Yasuko at the rooftop. But the one major misstep is the twist you find out 70% into the game. It completely defies logic in every sense of the world and I have no idea why they decided to keep it in. Hell, a character in the game lightly touches on the holes in the plan. It's the games one moment of weakness in an otherwise fantastic game. As I've played/playing through Yakuza 3,4, and 5 I've learned that in this era of Yakuza you really gotta suspend your disbelief more, compared to 0/K1/K2. It can be really frustrating sometimes, but it doesn't ruin the whole game.
Voice Acting is absolutely stellar by all the main characters. Akiyama was my favorite performance personally. The music is also great, with the main theme being mixed up 4 different times for the final fights with each character, which I thought was cool.
The side characters are pretty good overall even if at the end they make some pretty stupid decisions. Sugiuchi became a favorite by the end of it, as was the returning character from 3, I thought Arai was decent, and Kido was mediocre. Much better side characters coming from 3 where they were practically non existent or just bad.
This is a really good game and shouldn't be at the bottom of Yakuza rankings with 3. This game corrects much of 3's shortcomings while also being bold and trying a very different and fun approach. The Characters were memorable and the gameplay was very fun for the most part. Good game but I'm looking forward to completing 5 which I hear is peak Yakuza.
8/10
The game is centered in a fully explorable Kamurocho and takes place very briefly in Okinawa but Okinawa isn't explorable at all, which I'm fine with since I didn't really enjoy it. The game has 21 chapters with each character taking 4 and then 1 big one for the finale. I actually really enjoyed this format.
First up is a loan shark named Akiyama. I instantly loved this guy just off the first cutscene alone. He has a great view on life and is just really fucking cool. He was the only character that I did all the side content possible for. Having a new view on Kamurocho was just great even more so since Akiyama is a great character. Being a loan shark with an interesting style of doing things led to some very intriguing and cool scenarios that simply aren't possible with Kiryu. Not a whole ton happens in terms of plot progression but it is laying the foundation after all. Even so I didn't mind at all and really enjoyed my time with Akiyama.
Next up is Saejima and oh boy I've been looking forward to meeting him ever since we got a glimpse of him all the way back in 0. Saejima has been in Jail for 25 years after being charged with murdering 18 men of an opposing clan. He mostly lived up to the hype even if a certain twist diminishes his character somewhat for me. We start off with a bang and get to the good stuff right away. From a story perspective this part is very rich in it, which is in complete contrast to the previous part. However the side content does take a little bit of a dip, I don't mind too much since the story stuff here is pretty good for the most part. I was also really happy that Saejima meets Kiryu and Majima in this part, big stuff happened during those encounters so I won't go into them but they were very good. The scene at the Colosseum with Saejima was also just brilliant.
Tanimura the detective is up next. I don't get the hate for him, I think he's pretty damn good and might even be the best character in the game. Only thing I don't like is that the original voice actor for Tanimura got caught using cocaine and so RGG couldn't really use Tanimura as a character in future games. They did get a new actor for the remaster and imo he sounds and looks way better. Getting back on topic though, Tanimura has a really good arc and fittingly gets to fight the final boss. Although the boss is literally Jingu from Kiwami 1 but 100x worse. Again I really liked the change in perspective here, playing as a less than perfect detective was really fun and I also really enjoyed getting to go back to Little Asia considering we haven't been there since Yakuza 0. Overall very fun part and great character.
Back to our main man Kiryu. By this point he's still in Okinawa and has had one visit (soon to be two) that inevitably drag him back to Kamurocho. Now I won't spoil who the second visit is from but all I'm gonna say is that I really liked their redemption arc following 3 where they weren't a great character. This story is completely the opposite from Yakuza 3. That game was centered around Kiryu as a character for better or for worse. This story however, Kiryu is feels more of a side character. The other 3 characters have much larger roles and it feels like they get more screentime too since at the beginning of Kiryu's chapters you see little snippets of them putting their plan together ahead of the finale. Overall Kiryu is fine here but not as great as our protagonists.
The gameplay balancing is much improved from its predecessor. Akiyama was the most fun to play as personally with his assortment of kicks, combos were just so much fun to pull off. Saejima was pretty brainless. You start up a normal combo but then for his heavy attack you gotta charge it up which I don't like for a number of reasons. It feels really off in a brawler game imo and it gets very boring. Tanimura was really cool at first since he doesn't have a normal block button. If the enemy is about to land a hit on you then he will parry it, but if you hold it for a second then it acts like a normal block. The AI and the sections with Tanimura make hard to exploit the parry so it would take a little while to get through some tougher fights. Kiryu has the same moveset but he's been buffed a bit so he's much more fun to use. Overall the gameplay is a big step up from the depths of 3.
The Writing in this game (for the most part) is REALLY good. Especially Saejima at the Colosseum, Sugiuchi at the docks, and Akiyama and Yasuko at the rooftop. But the one major misstep is the twist you find out 70% into the game. It completely defies logic in every sense of the world and I have no idea why they decided to keep it in. Hell, a character in the game lightly touches on the holes in the plan. It's the games one moment of weakness in an otherwise fantastic game. As I've played/playing through Yakuza 3,4, and 5 I've learned that in this era of Yakuza you really gotta suspend your disbelief more, compared to 0/K1/K2. It can be really frustrating sometimes, but it doesn't ruin the whole game.
Voice Acting is absolutely stellar by all the main characters. Akiyama was my favorite performance personally. The music is also great, with the main theme being mixed up 4 different times for the final fights with each character, which I thought was cool.
The side characters are pretty good overall even if at the end they make some pretty stupid decisions. Sugiuchi became a favorite by the end of it, as was the returning character from 3, I thought Arai was decent, and Kido was mediocre. Much better side characters coming from 3 where they were practically non existent or just bad.
This is a really good game and shouldn't be at the bottom of Yakuza rankings with 3. This game corrects much of 3's shortcomings while also being bold and trying a very different and fun approach. The Characters were memorable and the gameplay was very fun for the most part. Good game but I'm looking forward to completing 5 which I hear is peak Yakuza.
8/10
2018
I've heard this is the weakest game by many and they were not wrong at all. This is very mediocre and in some places straight up bad.
The story isn't very good at all and the pacing is awful. You start off with a bang, but then you have 3 chapters that are leading up to present day and it feels like stuff is happening for no rhyme or reason. You'll go around helping the kids out with their problems which just feels so boring and doesn't move the plot along at all. However from a character standpoint it makes sense. Kiryu is very caring and wants these kids to feel loved and appreciated like how Kazama did for him.
Then the middle part of the game is actually quite fun. You're given more freedom to go around and do stuff and the plot gets much better in this section. Then they screw up the ending pretty badly. Characters die for no reason or do just the stupidest things imaginable. There is literally a chapter of the game fittingly called "The Plot", where you sit down with some dude and you ask questions about the yet to be revealed mysteries. It's so lazy and boring. Not to mention that is the ENTIRE chapter. The ending cutscene is also so bizarre. You'll know when you get there but yeah it so odd. The twists in the game are also extremely predictable it's not even funny.
The characters aside from Kiryu are not very good at all. Rikiya is fine but he is not anywhere near as great as the fandom makes him out to be. Daigo is pretty stupid and now that I'm on Yakuza 5, I understand why people hate him even if I personally think he's fine. The villain is thrown together out of nowhere and is just Nishiki 2.0 but gone way over the edge (pun intended). Also the Villain is incredibly stupid and contradictory it's really quite insane.
Moving from Kiwami 2 the second most recent game to be released all the way back to the second use of the ps3 engine is REALLY rough. You've lost all the QoL of saving from your phone, the exp system has been changed yet again, and fights are physically painful to play through. Every enemy blocks an absurd amount or straight up dodges a lot. You just have to bide your time for any encounter even on the streets so I avoided battles like the plague. It just takes so long to get through and is not fun at all until the endgame when you have all the good upgrades.
Side content is also very poor in this game because it was their first shot at much of it. I tried most of them out but they were all just no fun at all so I just ran through the game, ignoring it.
The one thing I can say that I truly love about this game is the final boss fight. For starters, the boss ignores all the absurd balancing the main game has and fights like a normal opponent in a yakuza game. He doesn't spam block or dodge, not to say he won't but it's much more reasonable and doesn't take up 10 minutes of your life. The theme for this fight is also a remix of the main theme and I just love it when games do that. Especially so here because it was so good to begin with and then they made it literally perfect. It's honestly my favorite song in the series so far (Ichiban Ka is already a banger and with the emotional payoff it could very well top it).
Overall a very poor game by Yakuza standards but it was developed in just 8 months and this was their second shot at using this engine. However, I do think this game is very skippable, it really just feels like it's there in service for Kiryu and Haruka's character, to set them up for future games. It's not all bad with the final boss and the middle part of the game being quite enjoyable.
4/10
The story isn't very good at all and the pacing is awful. You start off with a bang, but then you have 3 chapters that are leading up to present day and it feels like stuff is happening for no rhyme or reason. You'll go around helping the kids out with their problems which just feels so boring and doesn't move the plot along at all. However from a character standpoint it makes sense. Kiryu is very caring and wants these kids to feel loved and appreciated like how Kazama did for him.
Then the middle part of the game is actually quite fun. You're given more freedom to go around and do stuff and the plot gets much better in this section. Then they screw up the ending pretty badly. Characters die for no reason or do just the stupidest things imaginable. There is literally a chapter of the game fittingly called "The Plot", where you sit down with some dude and you ask questions about the yet to be revealed mysteries. It's so lazy and boring. Not to mention that is the ENTIRE chapter. The ending cutscene is also so bizarre. You'll know when you get there but yeah it so odd. The twists in the game are also extremely predictable it's not even funny.
The characters aside from Kiryu are not very good at all. Rikiya is fine but he is not anywhere near as great as the fandom makes him out to be. Daigo is pretty stupid and now that I'm on Yakuza 5, I understand why people hate him even if I personally think he's fine. The villain is thrown together out of nowhere and is just Nishiki 2.0 but gone way over the edge (pun intended). Also the Villain is incredibly stupid and contradictory it's really quite insane.
Moving from Kiwami 2 the second most recent game to be released all the way back to the second use of the ps3 engine is REALLY rough. You've lost all the QoL of saving from your phone, the exp system has been changed yet again, and fights are physically painful to play through. Every enemy blocks an absurd amount or straight up dodges a lot. You just have to bide your time for any encounter even on the streets so I avoided battles like the plague. It just takes so long to get through and is not fun at all until the endgame when you have all the good upgrades.
Side content is also very poor in this game because it was their first shot at much of it. I tried most of them out but they were all just no fun at all so I just ran through the game, ignoring it.
The one thing I can say that I truly love about this game is the final boss fight. For starters, the boss ignores all the absurd balancing the main game has and fights like a normal opponent in a yakuza game. He doesn't spam block or dodge, not to say he won't but it's much more reasonable and doesn't take up 10 minutes of your life. The theme for this fight is also a remix of the main theme and I just love it when games do that. Especially so here because it was so good to begin with and then they made it literally perfect. It's honestly my favorite song in the series so far (Ichiban Ka is already a banger and with the emotional payoff it could very well top it).
Overall a very poor game by Yakuza standards but it was developed in just 8 months and this was their second shot at using this engine. However, I do think this game is very skippable, it really just feels like it's there in service for Kiryu and Haruka's character, to set them up for future games. It's not all bad with the final boss and the middle part of the game being quite enjoyable.
4/10