This review contains spoilers
[COMPLETED 2/7/24, APPROXIMATELY 1 AM]
The Dragon's End --
LaD8 ended up being the first game i beat this year, and it left me puzzled, happy, and with a newfound sense of joy and will to keep on keepin' on. yakuza games, and endings, tend to have that effect on you.
LaD8 is arguably the most ambitious game in the entire damn franchise; from the amount of content and completely unique minigames, to the map size. RGG manages to impress again, but, unfortunately, misses in a lot of aspects as well. I love Yakuza, and loved this entry but i'm not ready to shlobber all over it just yet--
A. STORY!!!! This was definitely a Kiryu game. From the start, I think everyone was wondering how the hell they were gonna manage Kiryu's finale with an Ichiban story, and it's clear where they drew their priorities, which isn't a bad thing. unfortunately, the combination of these stories leaves the entire thing getting tangled and convulsed in some places. LaD8 suffers from a lot of story elements holding it back from letting me praise it; such as some characters getting shafted from the story, questionable pacing and padding at some points, desperately trying to link Kiryu and Ichiban's stories together, and overall; just a VERY abrupt ending. Not bad by any means, and an excellent narrative overall; but ultimately it feels like a messy lasagna. You can't complain about the overall taste, but damn you can note the presentation coulda' been a lot cleaner.
B. GAMEPLAY!!! it was fun. no comment. there was definitely some grind at some point; and grinding out ichi's personality was not fun in the slightest but like, whatever. base combat was fun and i love the extra bits they added like combos and kiryu's dragon rage. however, it still maintains some of its weirdness from 7, such as characters getting stuck in a running cycle if near a wall, weird animations, etc.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: this game had no reason to be called infinite wealth. it has nothing to do with the story. there's not even any business or financing minigames its just easy to make money if you do the side content. lmfao
ACTUAL OVERALL THOUGHTS: i liked it a lot, i don't want to say i loved it to the same degree i did 0, LJ or 7 on my first playthrough but it's an easy top 5 yakuza; and RGG did a damn good job on a damn ambitious and risky venture. i am not a fan of the vague ending, and i have a LOT of questions; such as why the entirety of gaiden's events are just ignored, amongst other things. but overall, a great package.
bon voyage, kiryu.
[8.7/10]
The Dragon's End --
LaD8 ended up being the first game i beat this year, and it left me puzzled, happy, and with a newfound sense of joy and will to keep on keepin' on. yakuza games, and endings, tend to have that effect on you.
LaD8 is arguably the most ambitious game in the entire damn franchise; from the amount of content and completely unique minigames, to the map size. RGG manages to impress again, but, unfortunately, misses in a lot of aspects as well. I love Yakuza, and loved this entry but i'm not ready to shlobber all over it just yet--
A. STORY!!!! This was definitely a Kiryu game. From the start, I think everyone was wondering how the hell they were gonna manage Kiryu's finale with an Ichiban story, and it's clear where they drew their priorities, which isn't a bad thing. unfortunately, the combination of these stories leaves the entire thing getting tangled and convulsed in some places. LaD8 suffers from a lot of story elements holding it back from letting me praise it; such as some characters getting shafted from the story, questionable pacing and padding at some points, desperately trying to link Kiryu and Ichiban's stories together, and overall; just a VERY abrupt ending. Not bad by any means, and an excellent narrative overall; but ultimately it feels like a messy lasagna. You can't complain about the overall taste, but damn you can note the presentation coulda' been a lot cleaner.
B. GAMEPLAY!!! it was fun. no comment. there was definitely some grind at some point; and grinding out ichi's personality was not fun in the slightest but like, whatever. base combat was fun and i love the extra bits they added like combos and kiryu's dragon rage. however, it still maintains some of its weirdness from 7, such as characters getting stuck in a running cycle if near a wall, weird animations, etc.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: this game had no reason to be called infinite wealth. it has nothing to do with the story. there's not even any business or financing minigames its just easy to make money if you do the side content. lmfao
ACTUAL OVERALL THOUGHTS: i liked it a lot, i don't want to say i loved it to the same degree i did 0, LJ or 7 on my first playthrough but it's an easy top 5 yakuza; and RGG did a damn good job on a damn ambitious and risky venture. i am not a fan of the vague ending, and i have a LOT of questions; such as why the entirety of gaiden's events are just ignored, amongst other things. but overall, a great package.
bon voyage, kiryu.
[8.7/10]