As someone who started with Like a Dragon 7, hearing from long-time fans that the series generally didn't focus on being all that interconnected despite having its overarching narrative blew my mind.
You're telling me they knocked it out of the park like this, in a way I've hardly ever seen before on essentially their first try? Holy shit dude. It's incredible.
Not only does it follow up on LaD7 incredibly well, by the time the protagonists split up and form their own parties, it manages to be such a fantastic love letter to Kiryu's entire journey as well.
And sure, this might seem like it doesn't mean much coming from someone who didn't witness any of it; but honestly, that's exactly what makes it so impressive for me.
Without feeling like an overblown or elongated trip down memory lane, it manages to make him reminisce about just about everything he's been through so damn well at such a critical point in his life that it left an impressively emotional impression despite me not having much knowledge of these events, because he's such a ridiculously charismatic character.
That blends into this game in many ways; even newly introduced characters have so much respect for his legacy that it shapes their entire story influence in ways you wouldn't expect, impressing you even further.
It making him this endearing for me already, I can't imagine how it'd be for long-time fans. Gotta be some of the most cathartic fanservice I've ever seen, and it's done so damn well.
Ichiban continues to be the absolute best aswell; the story starts off pretty slow and meticulously, focusing more on the two new party members, Tomizawa and Chitose; and the effect he has on them, much like with the original cast - is yet again colossal. He's the best, man. Nothing but good in his heart, and it makes you fall in love with him all over again.
The impact both of these characters have on the story is phenomenal, and this.. might just be the best implementation of dual protagonists I've ever seen? Genuinely can't think of any examples where it amazed me as much as this game did.
They're both so involved that it doesn't feel like either's ever left out, even when you're ping-ponging between two different parties. The stakes mean so much to both of them, and that's done so damn well. Really impressive stuff.
Much like LaD7 (and previous entries, I'm sure!), this game manages to balance the inherent goofiness this series love to have with an incredibly poignant and emotional story that I absolutely adore.
On a gameplay front, it's also a major improvement from it's predecessor - which is great to see. I didn't mind it's gameplay all that much, but it was definitely a little stiff and janky in some ways.
Adding movement during to turns to allow you to angle AoE attacks or group up with your party to get in range for buffs and healing is SUCH a welcome change. Not only that, it plays around with said movement options in a lot of fun ways - like adding combo attacks if you're close to teammates (both in bond levels and combat range), or back attacks that are guaranteed crits. It allows you to line up your abilities so much better, and gets you thinking what angle's best for your regular attacks too.
You can even knock back enemies towards allies and have them follow-up on it; so yeah, there's a lot to do with it and it adds so many layers to the combat as a whole. Makes for one of the most fun turn-based games I've ever played, honestly.
All that to say - this game is fucking incredible. Genuinely can't think of things that remotely bothered me during my playthrough, it's been such a blast.
As I mentioned, it is a bit on the slow side - but exploring Hawaii as the most endearingly goofy protagonist I've ever seen known as none other than Kasuga Ichiban more than makes up for that, so I didn't mind that at all myself.
I get the feeling there'll be plenty more Like a Dragon games in store for Ichiban even if Kiryu understandably bows out; and I'll be there for them no matter what. But man, I'm gonna be impressed if they ever manage to top this one for me.
It's such a fantastic story that implores you to live on, no matter how deplorable you think you or the world might be - because the only way you can change that is to keep going.
You'll always worry about things you can no longer change - you might regret them or be angry at yourself about them; that's life.
But as long as you keep going, life will always throw a few open doors your way.
And so I'll gladly do just that.
You're telling me they knocked it out of the park like this, in a way I've hardly ever seen before on essentially their first try? Holy shit dude. It's incredible.
Not only does it follow up on LaD7 incredibly well, by the time the protagonists split up and form their own parties, it manages to be such a fantastic love letter to Kiryu's entire journey as well.
And sure, this might seem like it doesn't mean much coming from someone who didn't witness any of it; but honestly, that's exactly what makes it so impressive for me.
Without feeling like an overblown or elongated trip down memory lane, it manages to make him reminisce about just about everything he's been through so damn well at such a critical point in his life that it left an impressively emotional impression despite me not having much knowledge of these events, because he's such a ridiculously charismatic character.
That blends into this game in many ways; even newly introduced characters have so much respect for his legacy that it shapes their entire story influence in ways you wouldn't expect, impressing you even further.
It making him this endearing for me already, I can't imagine how it'd be for long-time fans. Gotta be some of the most cathartic fanservice I've ever seen, and it's done so damn well.
Ichiban continues to be the absolute best aswell; the story starts off pretty slow and meticulously, focusing more on the two new party members, Tomizawa and Chitose; and the effect he has on them, much like with the original cast - is yet again colossal. He's the best, man. Nothing but good in his heart, and it makes you fall in love with him all over again.
The impact both of these characters have on the story is phenomenal, and this.. might just be the best implementation of dual protagonists I've ever seen? Genuinely can't think of any examples where it amazed me as much as this game did.
They're both so involved that it doesn't feel like either's ever left out, even when you're ping-ponging between two different parties. The stakes mean so much to both of them, and that's done so damn well. Really impressive stuff.
Much like LaD7 (and previous entries, I'm sure!), this game manages to balance the inherent goofiness this series love to have with an incredibly poignant and emotional story that I absolutely adore.
On a gameplay front, it's also a major improvement from it's predecessor - which is great to see. I didn't mind it's gameplay all that much, but it was definitely a little stiff and janky in some ways.
Adding movement during to turns to allow you to angle AoE attacks or group up with your party to get in range for buffs and healing is SUCH a welcome change. Not only that, it plays around with said movement options in a lot of fun ways - like adding combo attacks if you're close to teammates (both in bond levels and combat range), or back attacks that are guaranteed crits. It allows you to line up your abilities so much better, and gets you thinking what angle's best for your regular attacks too.
You can even knock back enemies towards allies and have them follow-up on it; so yeah, there's a lot to do with it and it adds so many layers to the combat as a whole. Makes for one of the most fun turn-based games I've ever played, honestly.
All that to say - this game is fucking incredible. Genuinely can't think of things that remotely bothered me during my playthrough, it's been such a blast.
As I mentioned, it is a bit on the slow side - but exploring Hawaii as the most endearingly goofy protagonist I've ever seen known as none other than Kasuga Ichiban more than makes up for that, so I didn't mind that at all myself.
I get the feeling there'll be plenty more Like a Dragon games in store for Ichiban even if Kiryu understandably bows out; and I'll be there for them no matter what. But man, I'm gonna be impressed if they ever manage to top this one for me.
It's such a fantastic story that implores you to live on, no matter how deplorable you think you or the world might be - because the only way you can change that is to keep going.
You'll always worry about things you can no longer change - you might regret them or be angry at yourself about them; that's life.
But as long as you keep going, life will always throw a few open doors your way.
And so I'll gladly do just that.