Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth is the 16th Installment in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon/Ryu Ga Gotoku Franchise and is a fantastic experience.

I won't go too long in my review but I can absolutely say this game does an amazing job with having so much too do, along with exploring all of what Hawaii has to offer.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story wise, it's a fine enough story with call backs to previous games. Ichiban's mother being the central focus for the first half was very interesting and really heartwarming when he eventually does meet her. I do think the storyline is a bit convoluted, and if anything I just couldn't take Bryce seriously, especially since in the regular japanese voices, they forced the voice actor to speak English when the guy doesn't know it. If anything they should've done what they did with every other bilingual character and have a japanese and english va whenever they had to switch speaking languages in the regular japanese voices.
Kiryu's story is about his cancer and how he tries to push his way through til the very end, along with cleaning up the remaining remenants and after effects of the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance's past sins.
The final boss for Ichiban, I couldn't take seriously because of how out of place he was, Kiryu's final boss was fantastic as being the embodiment of the Yakuza's Victims.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The new party members introduced are all lovable and you take time to appreciate them as you journey throughout the game with them. I especially love Chitose, with her being this new and really REALLY likable female party member, who outshines Saeko and really makes you question whether Ichiban really should be going after Saeko.
Tomizawa is a great addition as well, being an Japanese-American guy who just got into a bad group, and his sarcastic self always makes scenes with him having to be apart of Ichiban's antics hilarious.

The game does a great job with the Anti-hero Yamai who is voiced by Takehito Koyasu and his amazing voice. The character in general is not 100% good or evil, but he does his own things, that make you question how he is.
Some of the other characters who are either minor antagonists are your run of the mill "evil mustache twirling villians" like Police Chief Roman, or Baraccuda Mafia Leader Dwight (played by Danny Trejo).

I think the way Daigo, Saejima, and Majima were depicted is fine because they're feeling the after effects of the dissolution, I just wish they were playable, if anything there are characters who should've been replaced with Daigo, Saejima, and Majima.
Those characters being: Zhao, Seonhee or Saeko, and Joonji-Han, reason being is because YES JOONJI AND ZHAO WERE IN 7 but they barely do things of value in LAD8, they're there for support but don't really do anything worth while. The only party member who probably wouldn't be worth replacing is Seonhee because her interactions with Kiryu are generally heartwarming and cute when she simps and flirts and fangirls over Kiryu. Saeko had a major downgrade as a character, and is essentially the reason for Ichiban leaving for Hawaii, and not speaking to her for a year over his embarassment of a confession. Saeko really is unlikable in 8, and it's not because she rejected Ichiban, but because she never told him what he messed up on and throughout the game Ichiban has to learn what she wanted, which is just stupid.

Saeko really does become the most unlikable character in the game for no reason, I think the biggest problem as well is she never apologizes either, it's ALWAYS ICHIBAN who has to, except her actions and her overall way of acting in 8 is awful. While the game tries to bring you back to liking her with her interactions with Kiryu, she completely destroys what she tries to rebuild when you play and finish her Substory.

I think the game should've had her not be a party member and save her for the end sort of as a last scene with her and Ichiban, I think if you cut: Saeko, Zhao, and Joonji as party members, and replace them with Saejima, Daigo, and Majima, it would've been more satisfying. Not saying they should be cut from the game, they should be in there as npcs or as secondary characters, with Saeko still being the crux as to Ichiban leaving, but also having Ichiban and her grow seperately and having Saeko seeing she was in the wrong too.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The gameplay retains it's TURN-BASED RPG Style from 7, but has improved it way more in this game, along with introducing new jobs for both the male and female party members, only thing is that we lost 2 jobs, those being:

- Officer Worker (makes sense since this one was connected to the extra character Eri, who is based on Eri Kamataki, a japanese woman who won a contest to be in the game along with 4 other women who appear in 7)

- Dealer (this one is weird because there's no reason why the Dealer should've been removed, my only guess is because of the "ESSENCE OF RUSSIAN ROULETTE" but that's just an assumption, if anything I always joke and say it's a PERSONA 3 reference.

However with Kiryu being a party member, it's so amazing that his own unique Job "DRAGON OF DOJIMA" brings back the style switching from Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 1, allowing you to switch between Brawler, Rush, and Beast Style with each having their own advantages and disadvantages. 1 thing that's disappointing is that they didn't bring back the 4th style of the "DRAGON", imo they should've included it in the final boss fight.
Kiryu also has his "DRAGON RESURGENCE" mode which allows you to break the turn base system temporarily and allows you to annihilate enemies in the classic beat em up style we know and love from Yakuza 0-6, Gaiden, Kenzan, Ishin, Judgment, and Lost Judgment. It is a bit dumbed down as the developers needed to implement a timer for how long you can use it.
It's best used in the Majima, Saejima, & Daigo fight by it having 2 phases, with phase 1 being the standard turn-based style from 7 & 8, and phase 2 having you fight Majima, Saejima, and Daigo in a beat em up part individually as Kiryu, it's fantastic.

I will say, they should've done the same thing with the final boss for Kiryu with the 2 phase system, though for the final boss he does has 2 phases, I would've included a 3rd beat em up phase as a send off to the beat em up style for Kiryu.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Minigames are back and they're fantastic absolutely love the new additions as well as returning favorites, along with Karaoke including new amazing songs and fanfavorites. We even got a "BAKA MITAI" 2 in "BAKA DAROU"

The dondoko island mode is essentially like a beat em up Animal Crossing mixed with Yakuza, having you rebuild and refine the once withered and trashy island into a beautiful paradise that allows you to create your own island along with inviting tourism to increase revenue to make more stuff on it. I will say it's a bit of a time waster, but it's SOOO FUN, you'll have a great time with it if you love games like Animal Crossing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
1 disappointing part that should've been expanded on was Kiryu's bucket list should've feature cutscenes rather than inengine dialogue scenes, and also have Kiryu interact with some of those old characters he met along the journey, especially with Kaoru Sayama.

His moments with Date and AKIYAMA ESPECIALLY were so heartwarming, it just makes you want to cry when you see Kiryu speak with them, especially at the end. But like I said I wish they were actual cutscenes in some of those parts.

Another pet peeve is how they could've featured the cabaret club minigame from 0 and Kiwami 2 again here, along with Pocket Circuit again, I know we got Pocket Circuit in Gaiden but still. The trailers made it seem like 8 was going to reintroduce them again as playable modes, but they were just minievents in Kiryu's bucket list.

Still for what it's worth the substories and memories throughout the cities with Kiryu's bucket list are heartwarming since it makes you remember the journey we as fans have been through.
And this game canonized Kenzan and Ishin which is lit, though they're canon to Japan's history in the Yakuzaverse, Kiryu overexaggerated them because the game makes it so the historical events in the universe really happened but they're also Kiryu's overexaggerated dream. Which is even more funny since it explains that Kiryu also dreamed up Dead Souls.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
1 Final this, the ending is beautiful but I won't go to into it. Only criiticism I have is that it should've been longer and we should've seen what happened to Majima, Saejima, and Daigo after the finale.

I hope for the sake of that little criticism I have they resolve this issue with LIKE A DRAGON 9, doesn't mean Kiryu has to be playable in 9, just a cutscene with him in Okinawa retired. Along with cutscenes showing retired Majima, Saejima, and Daigo living a peaceful life.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall this game is fantastic, it has a bit of hiccups but it's another amazing addition to this franchise that I hold so dear.
The DLC problem is something SEGA messes up alot with in their games especially with YAKUZA and PERSONA, but regardless those aspects didn't influence my score.
I won't give it 5 stars, but my enjoyment with it lasted so long that it makes me happy I put my time into it, really amazing!
Overall I'm giving it a 4.5 out of 5 stars, it's really fantastic. I can't wait for whatever RGG STUDIOS is working on next.

We know so far they're making:

- Judgement 3
- NEW IP GAME
- Potentially Kenzan Kiwami
- Potentially 3 Kiwami

We'll see, regardless this game really makes you feel LIKE A DRAGON, and it endless amounts of fun, it brings you INFINITE WEALTH.

Thanks for reading! :D

Live Alive is a unique RPG that essentially feels like 8 different short RPGS, all intertwined by an outside force of evil.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think for the most part the game works well because some of these chapters/mini rpgs felt like they couldn't been their own fully fledge games instead of chapters.
I will say some are better than others. If i had to rank all the chapters I would say without including the final chapter(from worst to best [8 to 1]):

8. Far Future - You play as a emotionless robot called Cube. This chapter is boring as hell, the whole premise is essentially sort of parody/copy of Alien except the twist it's a rogue A.I. The character of Cube doesn't do anything until the end, the threat is a creature that you can easily outrun and also, isn't even the main threat, as the main threat is the A.I. operating the ship. There's only 1 battle and it's at the end, it's very boring essentially making you go from POINT A TO POINT B and so on. If anything the General is the most interesting character. Literally the entire cast is great, but they chose to focus on Cube for some reason.

7. Present Day - Masaru is just a bit too generic, I mean it's fine because this game came out in the era of the 90s, so essentially it's one of pioneers kind of/ it takes inspiration from the first fighting games to release. The issue is that, the story for present day is kind generic, essentially boiling down to a weird Turnbased fighter, where in order for Masaru to improve he has to get attacked by the opponents special attacks. You fight 8 dudes and then fight the final boss, and the moral of the story is that, if you get to the top achieving greatness after overcoming many opponents, someone will be there to try to take it as soon as you achieve it.

6. Twilight of Edo Japan - Here you play as a Shinobi in training becoming a master named, Oboromaru.
You're tasked with assassinating a imperial evil leader in his castle. The issue with this part is this part is a bit vague as to what to do, like there 3 approaches to it: Pacifist, Neutral, or Mass killer. If you're a Pacifist there a lot of thing you need to do in order to finish the game without killing anyone as well as avoiding specific things in order to not be forced to kill 8 guards later, along with having to grind inside 1 specific storage room killing lost souls in order to level up. Neutral means you tend to mix it up as to who you kill and who you don't, makes it a bit easier, just following pathways and overall traversal can get annoying. Mass Killer, just kill everyone and everything in sight, there's not punishment but you have to go out of your way to slaughter everyone by finding them, really a waste of time, you're not punished but it feels like one by just finding everyone. The story plays out with you meeting SAKAMOTO RYOMA, and essentially helping him defeat the evil leader, and later deciding to help Ryoma change Japan or go back to being a Shinobi in training.
The gameplay here is fantastic when it comes to Oboromaru learning moves cause they pack a punch, just the 3 different ways to play can make you hate, love, or feel neutral when it comes to the overall experience.


5. The Wild West - Here you play as "THE SUNDOWN KID". In this chapter you play as a rogue vigilante cowboy who's being hunted down by another cowboy/hitman named "Mad Dog".
They have a standoff however Sundown scares Mad Dog's horse and runs away into the town of Success. Here a typical cowboy thing happens with the quiet stranger, and pretty much he gets into a brawl with this annoying patron. After that, Mad Dog arrives angry and wants another standoff to the death, but are interrupted by scouts of a crazy mercenary named "O. DIO", Sundown and Mad Dog agree to take out the posse of O.DIO and O.DIO himself, but agree to have a battle to the death at the end when it's all said and done.
With the help of the town and searching through the town of Success within 8 or 9 minutes, you can tell all of them to set up traps with different items you've collected in order to take out O.DIO. If you gave everyone the right item you can go into the battle with O.DIO with him having Zero posse members to attack you, however if you mess up, you'll go into battle against him with a couple of his minions.
After O.DIO is defeated, Sundown and Mad Dog have a final showdown, with Sundown winning, the town thanks him and he runs off into the wind. That's when we learn that Sundown was an ex-sheriff from a town that was successful until it was all destroyed, he rides off like the wind, bringing peace and joy to the land.
Overall this chapter is great, and feels like it could've been expanded upon in a full game, but you could also say the mysterious angle is what makes this chapter great. Only thing is, I think I enjoyed the other chapters more, especially since this one leaves a lot to be desired.

4. Prehistory - Here you play as a Caveman named Pogo with his Gorilla friend Bori. The story is essentially a female cavegirl named Beru is going to be sacrificed by a rival tribe, however Beru escapes to Pogo's tribes cave and hides inside of the food area. Pogo notices Beru and falls in love while giving her food. Beru gives Pogo a kiss and a romance blossoms. Afterwords the rival tribe with their commander named Zaki arrives and essentially hurts many of Pogos tribe including the Cave Elder. Pogo and Zaki get into a fight, with Pogo as the victor, Zaki and his troops drive away in their rock karts. The Cave Elder is angry and throws out Pogo, Beru, and Bori. Afterwords, Zaki and his troops come back and steal Beru, with Pogo and Bori going to go find her. When they sneak to the other tribes camp Bori notices they've captured 6 Female Pink Apes, and goes crazy with Lust and demolishes the tribe. At the ceremonial sacrifice, Pogo fights Zaki 1 final time, defeating him, and saving Beru, however Pogo, Beru, Bori, Zaki, and the CaveKing are plunged into the pit, with the king being killed by the T-REX ODO. Pogo, Beru, Bori, and Zaki defeat the T-REX, with Pogo going back with his new wife Beru, Bori with his 6 wives, and Zaki becoming new king and making a truce with Pogo's Cave Elder.
Overall this chapter is very cute, it's very unique in terms of placement and lack of dialogue, but the creators did a fantastic job of telling the story with visuals instead of through text or voice acting, really amazing. It's sweet and cute, it just doesn't crack top 3 in my opinion. Still Pogo and Beru are really adorable together.

3. Near Future - Here you play as Akira, a young man with psychokinesis. Pretty much this plays out as a Super Sentai/Anime with a nice style reminding me strangely of Earthbound with the city, and also having wacky characters with both robots and regular flamboyant humans.
The story essentially is how there is this gang with skull masks causing a ruckus and stealing people for an evil group making robot/monster hybrids for war, but also to unleash an evil Bird God. Throughout the game Akira visits the orphanage hes raised in. He has a sick sister who he tries to take care of and he helps save her dying turtle by putting him a robot thanks to the help of the doctor. Akira has a friend/mentor "Lawless" Matsu, who helps him on his journey however dies towards the end using all his mental power to activate the giant mech. Akira, founds out that Matsu was the one who killed his father at the docs when Akira was little, and was trying to make amends with the guilt in his heart. Akira forgives Matsu with Akira using all of his power to defeat the false bird god, and destroying the evil doctor, priest, and general.
The game ends with Akira driving in Lawless motorcycle and looking over the docks remembering his father and mentor.
Fantastic Chapter, just this feels like a game that went on too quick, it feels like something that could've been it's own fully-fledge game instead of this chopped up quick sequence of events. really great just wish it was longer, and had a lot more story moments, I think 3 is a good position, since the last 2 are just that amazing.

2. Middle Ages - The culmination of where all the evil in the game spreads starts here. And you will believe how amazing it is that this chapter starts off as a generic Fantasy RPG, only to completely turn 180 on the player. The character of Oersted legit is tragic in the sense he did everything right except the universe told him that he's wrong. Streibough who is a "friend" helps him on his quest to defeat the "Dark Lord" however slowly poisons the well, tricking Oersted into doing several things, which leads to the deaths of Hasshe, the previous hero who defeated the dark lord, and Uranus giving his final energy to save Oersted from being trapped in the castle. Oersted is sent on a quest, only to be tricked by Streibough in 2 ways: 1. making Oersted think Streighbough died in the Dark Lord's chamber, when really Streighbough went to find Princess Alethea, and told her a bunch of lies, which he made true by mindcontroling Oersted. 2. He made Oersted Kill the king and spread a lie that Oersted was the new dark lord because Steighbough was salty he lost the match against Oersted.
After losing literally everything, Oersted confronts Streighbough, and kills him, only for Alethea to show up and act like Oersted is a monster, causing her to commit die, over her stupidity, and instead of hearing out Oersted, she instead took all of Streighboughs words as if they were truth.
Oersted stands at the peak, angry... alone... betrayed... ruined. All he worked for, the reason for his quest, the things he did for the sake of people and not himself. No one there to help him at his worst... the dark lord was dead for a long time... people acted like he was one... so the people who raised the hero... beat him down to the very last of his humanity... they want a dark lord... he'll be the very thing they were fearful of then. The Tragic hero.... becomes the new lord of dark. He becomes ODIO the very evil presence lurking over the different timelines.
This chapter is fantastic, taking a generic rpg and having everything go wrong this is chapter is fantastic, and I understand why the left it second to last in terms of unlocking it.
It does so many things right, and makes you actually stand with Oersted, realizing he's you, and all you've done was out of your control, and the mindless blaming from the Princess and the people would piss anyone off, especially knowing there were 3 people who would've always trusted you: Hasshe, Uranus, and the King of Lucrece.
To be thrown away over misinformation... anyone would turn bad. Which makes this chapter so great.
Thing is I want to be a bit fair, and putting this at number 1 seemed like too much, cause the game saves it towards the end. If it was in the base chapter select and not unlockable after you complete the other 7, this would be number 1.

1. Imperial China - This chapter is absolutely fantastic, you essentially play as the Earthen Heart Shifu who has grown old and knows he will die any day when he fails to break a boulder in 2, so he wishes to train a apprentice in order for his techniques and philosphy not to disappear along with him. He meets 3 unique students each with their own personalities but also issue. Lei Kugo is an assassin/orphan who is skilled in speed but also hard headed not being able to trust anyone. There's Hong Hakka, who's a fat dunce who can't afford to eat, but he's very strong but kind hearted. And finally there's Yun Jou, he's a youngster who is weak yet full of determination, he's self-conscious but motivated to be strong and wise.
The Shifu takes the 3 of them as students, training them to be strong, fast, and know to how to defend. What's really cool here is, depending on who you want to focus on, becomes the primary protagonist of the game at the end. While the game says you can focus on different aspects of training per disciple, it's better to just keep fighting the same one you personally prefer. Either way the story plays out the same, except which disciple you like the most, but what makes it so great is that the story makes you so sad when 2 of the 3 disciples are killed in an ambush. Personally I went with Lei, and her emotions are amazing, especially the actress who voices her, saying that she wants to avenge her friend, because she felt like she let them die.
The Shifu teaches Lei his ultimate technique, and they set off for Ou Di Wan Lee's temple to confront the killer. The Shifu with Lei/Yun/Hong take on a bunch of martial arts masters with Lei/Yun/Hong fighting Ou Di Wan Lee 1 on 1. After Lei/Yun/Hong defeat Ou Di Wan Lee, the Shifu is on his last breaths, giving them words of encouragement, for me since I chose Lei, you could hear the actress for lay really giving her all in emotions, especially when the Shifu... finally dies in peace knowing that Lei will be ok, and become the new master... with Lei screaming and crying at her Shifu's lost.
At the end of the game, we see Lei break the boulder the Shifu failed to at the beginning of the game, with her praying to her 3 lost friends, and her continuing her training to become the Shifu next.
Absolutely fantastic story, amazing emotional moments, and overall a nice experience, that honestly should be a game on it's own. The characters are all unique and have depth. Personally I think Lei is the best disciple and protagonist since she's the only female one, even though the game tries to do the typical, weak hero who will grow into a strong one with Yun, and comedic relief with Hong.
Overall this chapter is the best when it comes to story, and the gameplay as well, it's short, sweet, and spectacular and is my favorite from the game.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Final Chapter - For the final chapter regardless of which ending you're going for in terms of heroes, i recommend you being level 25 or a bove for all characters, except CUBE who is capped and locked at Level 7, only because the first boss against ODIO/OERSTED is pretty difficult.
Essentially the characters are brought to the Kingdom of Lucrece, that's been completely emptied of all life... Barren.
The game here allows you to choose who to play as, and as you go through the Kingdom of Lucrece, you can find the characters from the other chapters, and battle them and letting them join your party.
Depending on whether you find all the characters, will effect your chances of getting the true ending.

If you decide to find 3 other characters, along with the one you chose, you can feel free to confront Oersted/ODIO for 1 final stand. Oersted being killed but the heroes being trapped forever in the lost land of the Kingdom of Lucrece.

If you choose to find all the heroes and recruit them, recruiting which involves just saying yes and inviting them into your part, which will make you have to swap characters incase you have a full party, but after you've successfully swapped between all 7 in your party, finally you can finalize what your final party will consist of in order to face ODIO/OERSTED. After you defeat his corrupted Odio form, Oersted asks you to kill him, if you choose to do so, the same ending as previous happens, however to walk away down towards the chamber of statues of previous final bosses from the previous chapters, the other characters who aren't in your party appear. When then here an angry Oersted who states the battle is not over, with the characters being forced to face all of their final bosses one last time with their determination.
After you go through the boss rush of all previous final bosses, Oersted is corrupted and we finally face the true final boss.
TRUE ODIO, who has captured Oersted in his heart. The party you play as fight TRUE ODIO until half way to where he uses a move to trap the part in a force field, this is where the 3 characters you didn't choose for the party show up to help take out the final bit of health, however before the final attack, the 3 are also trapped. Only for Oersted to break free of his mental anguish prison, and do the final blow to true ODIO.

The ending of the game has one of the characters talking to Oersted giving him words of advice about hope, and where he went wrong, and why the world isn't as bad as he thinks it is, even with evil people and evil things within it.
Oersted understands and dies with his mind at peace, with the Kingdom of Lucrece having it's color and beauty restored. The characters returning to their worlds with their lives with new beautiful moments like:

- Lei/Hong/Yun teaching new students the techniques of the shifu so his legacy lives on
- Pogo and Beru having a kid, with Bori having 6 gorilla kids with his 6 wives.
- Akira helping his Takoyaki stand as well as reminiscing about Matsu and his father
- CUBE reuniting with the General and his creator Yoshiyuki Kato
- Oboromaru protecting Sakamoto Ryoma from an assassination attempt
- Sundown Kid looking up towards the beautiful sky without his hat, hoping for better more calm days
- Matsu finishing up his training preparing to move on to new ventures, waiting for the next battle.

With the final shot showing all 7 characters (not including Oersted running towards the screen in heroic fashion).
Beautiful ending tying in everything together allowing someone to learn how to forgive, as well as looking at the positive things in live.

Bad endings:
If the player were to fail during the Boss rush the entire universe is destroyed.

If you chose to play as Oersted, you go to all dimensions/chapters and kill all the heroes and universe with Oersted's hatred consuming all.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gameplay works like a turnbased rpg however in a grid like format, with different attacks or status abilities that can affect singular and multiple enemies, along with you and your party in both positive and negative ways. The grid style makes the game very fun and unique and overall a unique style that games like SOUTH PARK FRACTURED BUT WHOLE would take inspiration from.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What can I say, this remake is absolutely fantastic using the digital styled characters in the beautiful 3d world with beautiful music and esthetics is astounding. Really this version ups the value in terms of it's presentation with it's environments, music, and voice acting. This is not to say you shouldn't play the SNES version, but I think because this version is more accessible and has quality changes, I think this is the definitive way to play LIVE ALIVE. This game is absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend all of you play it. I did have some issues especially with FAR FUTURE, and the game can be a bit of a chore with the grinding, the moments I really love outweighed the issues, this game is fantastic, it deserves a 4.5 out of 5 Stars. The issues keep it from 5, but it's still fantastic none the less.

Live your life to the fullest, absolutely play LIVE ALIVE.

Shin Megami Tensei IV... is a great story-based game, with gameplay issues for me personally.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think fundamentally the story is wayyyy better than SMTV's Story, not to say V's is bad, just I finally understand why people love SMT 4 so much...however.
As cool as the characters of Walter, Isabeau, and Jonathan are, as well as the other supporting characters and antagonists, and as cool as it is to have a massive... MASSIVE COMPENDIUM in comparison to previous SMT Games and Persona games.

I don't care what anyone says, this game was a chore to play through, the biggest problem with this game isn't so much lack of an icon of where to go. More so the biggest issue is TOKYO's map, YOU WILL GET LOST.
And before SMT4 hardcore fans try to cope and say "JUST MEMORIZE OR USE A FANMADE MAP" I did do the latter, however it's ridiculous as hell to navigate Tokyo when it has a bunch barriers, poison areas, blocked paths.
Now it wouldn't be an issue if it had all of that, but why the hell didn't ATLUS label the locations. Now here's my logic with it, if you started the game, the map should be blank, thats fine, however after going to key locations like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ginza etc, the minimap at the bottom screenshot tell you what locations are where after you discover them. I swear half the time you're wondering where the hell you have to go.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I got the neutral ending, and I loved it. However I don't what anyone says, the way of getting the NEUTRAL ENDING is the most convoluted way of getting it. The way you obtain it is by getting neutral affinity/alliance by subscribing to both law and chaos answers, however you really need a guide to let you know which one is which. From there you essentially need to worry about maintaining a neutral stance, and not only that but complete required side missions in order to continue to the neutral route.
After you finally get to the neutral route, and you know you're in it, if you wake up and Isabeau is there with you, the game now doesn't really tell you where the heck you have to go.
After you figure it out via random chance/guess or look at a guide, you then have to go and do 4 more SIDE QUESTS, and then finally you can confront the final bosses.
And as awesome as it to see the ending be a somewhat peaceful ending (considering the neutral ending leads into SMT IV APOCOLYPSE) it's certainly a chore to get through.
I did really enjoy the story though as it's more philosophical about how the world should be ran.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As for gameplay, I don't have much to talk about other than that it essentially plays like every other SMT game, however has that classic SMT BATTLE Design Style I really think is outdated as hell.
What I mean by "DESIGN STYLE" is this game could've been much cooler if they actually had 3D MODELS of all the demons instead of just still images that occasionally move at 4 fps. And before anyone says "It's probably because game couldn't handle that many models since it's a 3DS game", I understand, however if they ever do a remaster, I feel like they should do the switch from 2d art to 3d models personally.
Another weird thing was how Flynn was the only SAMURAI made in 3D, it would've been better/cooler if they made 3D models of Isabeau, Walter, and Jonathan, as well as the Black Samurai and a few others like Nozomi. Only because it's kind of weird to think your character is traversing on his own, even though the game shows you that Jonathan, Walter, and Isabeau are sometimes in your party, just a little critique.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think the story is fantastic and I would love to see a remaster someday for both SWITCH (or Switch 2), and PS4/PS5 and XBOX I really hope ATLUS one day just does a general collection of all games featuring:

- SOUL HACKERS 1
- STRANGE JOURNEY REDUX
- DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA DUOLOGY
- DEVIL SUMMONER RAIDOU DUOLOGY (VS SOULLESS ARMY & 2: VS KING ABADDON)
- DEVIL SURVIVOR DUOLOGY (OVERCLOCKED & 2: RECORD BREAK)
- SMT IF...
- SMT DEVIL SUMMONER 95
- SMT 1 & 2
- MAJIN TENSEI 1 & 2
- Megami Tensei 1 & 2

Kind of like the recent METAL GEAR SOLID COLLECTION VOL 1 except with actual effort (though considering ATLUS halfassed SMT III NOCTURNE when it first released) we'll see if they ever do any other SMT remasters, here's to hoping.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anyway I hope this game does get a remaster so more can experience it's great story, I also hope the remaster has quality of life changes, if adding a map with label is what they need to do, I'm all for it.
I would've given the game a 4.5 out of 5 however, the game being confusing with navigation making the game feel like a chore to play and the randomness that is achieving certain endings by doing convoluted things, made me drop it to a 4.
I think the story is fantastic. I would recommend SMT 4 just make sure to have a a lot... and I mean A LOT of patience with it.

Thanks for reading.

Aquapazza is... a fighting anime game. I think for what it is, it's a fun little fighting game featuring anime characters from shows I've never watched, not to say those shows are bad or anything, just never heard of them.

I don't want to make my points too long so I'll just give a basic run down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The game is a fighter where you select a combat character and a support character, there are a total of 26 characters, 13 that are playable in terms of combat, and 13 that are just supports.
The game has it's own unique super moves and ultimate moves called Splash Arts that make the game fun.
The game also does the cardinal sin most fighting games do in which they make the final boss (or bosses) unfair cheap pieces of annoyance for the sake of extending gameplay time, causing you to have to cheese the boss.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I think it's interesting seeing a fighting game like that of unknown/not as popular IPs as say "DRAGON BALL, ONE PIECE, JOJO, NARUTO, etc" getting fighting games or games that aren't just "visuals novel games" really allows for variety, especially since I'm convinced most of the characters are just from harem animes, or yuri animes which don't involve fighting... for the most part, I know there are some that do.
Overall it's a fine enough fighting game, it's really unique and worth picking up.
It's mostly likely never going to get a port or remaster/remake like say JOJO ALL STAR BATTLE R, so if you're interested in unique fighters like it, I'd say pick it up.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm going to give it 3.5 stars cause I did have fun with it, nearly gave it 4 stars, but the final bosses are really REALLY REALLY cheap and unfair.
Still recommend picking it up if this game ever caught your eye. If you want more unique fighters I would recommend:

- JOJO'S BIZZARE ADVENTURE HERITAGE FOR THE FUTURE (PS1)
- CAPCOM VS SNK (PS2)
- CAPCOM VS SNK 2 (PS2)
- STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN (XBOX 360/PS3)
- TATSUNOKO VS CAPCOM (WII ONLY)
- JOJO'S BIZZARE ADVENTURE ALL STAR BATTLE R (PS4/PS5/XBOX/PC)
- JUMP ULTIMATE STARS (Super Smash Bros with Anime characters)
and many others

Still I would recommend Aquapazza, it tries it's best to match fighting games like CAPCOM and ARC SYSTEMS works but falls short, but for the most part there is some enjoyment to get out of it, so if you're interested, I recommend it!

So ModNation Racers, what a fun game game.
I'm just going to say this game is a hidden gem Kart racer that 100% deserved a sequel or atleast a spiritual successor for the amount of unique things it did.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The game has a lot... and I mean A LOT OF CUSTOMIZATION when it comes to character creation, so much so I was able to make chibi/mod versions of characters like:

- Cabba (DRAGON BALL SUPER)
- Kale (DRAGON BALL SUPER)
- Caulifla (DRAGON BALL SUPER)
- Naoya Toudou (PERSONA 1)
- Tatsuya Suou (PERSONA 2 ETERNAL PUNISHMENT Version)
- Maya Amano (PERSONA 2 DUOLOGY)
- Makoto Yuki (PERSONA 3 Male Protagonist)
- Kotone Shiomi (PERSONA 3 Female Protagonist)
- Yu Narukami (PERSONA 4)
- BEAT (JET SET RADIO)
- Juri Han (Street Fighter 6 version)
- Kiryu Kazuma (Yakuza/Like a Dragon)
- Goro Majima (Yakuza/Like a Dragon)

And many more. There's so much customization, you're bound to make a character look somewhat or accurate to a character you like, or just go ham and make your own wacky character.
Same applies with Kart creation, allowing patterns and stickers to create awesome designs.

The biggest thing is the custom track creation as you can make these crazy awesome tracks that even has an auto finish in order to make it so your track is compatible!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
When it comes to gameplay, the game itself is very VERY COMPETITIVE which is amazing, if you ever complained about Mario Kart A.I. being "too easy", Modnation Racers A.I. are like playing other players, and it's not like you have to worry about 1 or 2 hard A.I., all of the CPUs are difficult.

There's a career mode and a splitscreen mode (wrote this as of 2023, cause the servers have long been offline), with career mode you race in 29 different races, 3 laps each.
In each race you have 3 side objects, along with winning the race, sometimes its just drifting, or performing tricks. Other times it's needing to take out 5 opponents.
Sometimes it's doing nearly impossible things while having to deal with the tough CPUS... but man does it feel great to overcome and accomplish those achievements!

Each level also has 5 hidden tokens all around the map, which can later be used to buy more unlockable parts for your characters or karts or custom tracks!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Really this game has an endless play factor that makes you wish it got a sequel or was ported to modern platforms or had at the very least it's servers still turned on. Regardless though I think Modnation Racers Is a fantastic hidden gem Kart racer, that if you have a PS3, I highly recommend picking up, as honestly it's a joy to play!

Thanks for reading😎👍

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his name is another amazing sequel/entry to the amazing YAKUZA/LIKE A DRAGON/ RYU GA GOTOKU series.

The game is essentially an amazing send off to the classic beat-em up style of all previous games before YAKUZA 7: LIKE A DRAGON that instead took an TURN-BASE RPG approach in reference to the character Ichiban Kasuga being a fan of DRAGON QUEST. Of course there is the JUDGEMENT SERIES, however until they announce a third entry post the debacle of LOST JUDGEMENT PC RELEASE.

Anyway the crux is that this essentially the FINAL KIRYU BEAT-EM UP YAKUZA GAME... and it's a spectacular send off to the beat-em style. Everything that people criticize from YAKUZA Kiwami 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6: the Song of Life in terms of story and gameplay.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gameplay [Battle]:
The game retains the style of combat from YAKUZA 6: THE SONG OF LIFE & KIWAMI 2, however this is essentially the perfected version of those 2 games. A lot of people like to say "Judgement/Lost Judgement Perfected the Beat em up style" in my opinion, while I agree, this perfects it for the LIKE A DRAGON SERIES specifically. 1 thing that does return... kind of... is Styles, however instead of the "Brawler, Rush, Crusher, and Dragon Style", Kiryu has 2 different styles: DAIDOJI/AGENT STYLE & DRAGON STYLE.

Agent Style:
The Agent Style is focused on gadgets that help take out mass enemies while focusing on Speed with Gadgets like:
- Hornet Drones: can attack in mass
- Serpent Shoes: Boosting Rocket Shoes
- Firefly Cigarettes: Cigarettes bombs that take out mass groups
- Spider Web Line: ties and throws enemies.

Yakuza/the Dragon Style:
The Dragon Style is self explanatory in the sense it combines ALL of Kiryu's previous abilities from all previous entries, with fan favorites including:

- Essence of Double Crush
- Essence of the Dragon God
- Tiger Drop
and many more!

RGG Studios did an amazing job on making sure you could focus on using both styles, even if you do come out preferring one over the other, the point is that the game balances out both styles well to where you'll like using both!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Gameplay [Minigames]: Like a Dragon Gaiden takes the best versions of all minigames into a great package. In my opinion this has the best and most fun ways to play Billards/Pool, an easy/focused and precised Darts, and Precise yet Simple Golf with regular and Bingo Golf.
You have the random RNG style of Poker and BLACK JACK that really depends on luck as to whether you win more chips or not.
You also have Shogi, Koi-Koi, Mahjong, but those are more so focused on skill and knowing about those games, so regardless if there's "improvement involved" unless you're already know the fundamentals of each, you'll probably avoid these.

Gameplay [Cabaret Clubs]:
Cabaret Clubs took a major downgrade in my opinion, in the sense that they attempted to upgraded by using real girl footage like in 6. A lot of people might call it creepy to use real women, but considering most of the women featured are both fans of the Yakuza Series/Like a Dragon Series, I think its fine and cute for these girls to be permanently part of the series, only thing is would've been more respectable if they featured actual 3D models instead of relegating them to just pre-filmed footage. The girls themselves are all really nice, adorable, and cool to... "interact" with. The girls include:

- Kei [Real Life Vtuber Kson & Kiryu Coco]
- Ayu [Beauty Salon Woman, 10/10 Sexy Bunny]
- Kaname [Gravure model with sweet personality]
- Kokoro [Personally my Favorite because while some might accuse her of "overacting" she's just so adorable and actually funny. I think she's bringing an edge of uniqueness to the game, that honestly even though I know KSON, I personally loved Kokoro for her personality and acting]
- Ai [ Female MovieStar but people where Wrestle naked - 1 thing I have to point out, you'll probably notice it, but those "points" on her dress are not from the dress...those are her... yeah]

I think in general the update is nice in terms of including these girls to be part of this amazing series, just would've been nicer if they were also modeled in the game. I know that Kei/Kson/Kiryu Coco is getting a model for Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth since she's appearing there again, however incase the other girls return too, I hope they get 3d Models as well.
Also to anyone who might say "it's creepy" it's just a video of attractive women, with text options occasionally and an erotic video at the end, but remember this is an M RATED series, so either be mature or don't play.

Gameplay [Karaoke Bar]:
The game features a lot of returning songs from previous Yakuza games, both fan favorites, and references to Kiryu's Past, and one there for the meme.
Songs include:
- Bakamitai [DAME DA NE]
- TONIGHT [Nishiki Memories]
- Hands [Haruto Memories]
- Silent Night [Kiryu Onomichi gets sad on Christmas and sees Santa Claus flying]
- Shin Ichizu Samurai [Returning from Ishin featuring famous... girls: Yui Hatano, Kana Momonogi, and Yuna Ogura as Courtesans - try not to get distracted]
- Like a Butterfly [Song where Kiryu screams/shouts in Engrish, 2 ways to listen 1 without a partner and 2 with Akame singing]

All of them are amazing and emotional, especially Hands.

Gameplay [The Castle Outfit Store: The Boutique]:
This store opens up to the player allowing for the 2nd time in Yakuza history, to customize the style Kiryu/Joryu wears. The first time being in Kurohyou 2: Asura Saga with Ukyo Tatsuya.
Here you can dress Kiryu in different styles whether it's to make him look cool, or ridiculous. What's cool is that you're able to create 6 reference suits:
- Kuze type Style [Rugged Suit Grey, Cobra Shoes Black, Rimless Glasses, and Tojo Clan pin]
- Majima type suit [Yellow Cobra Shirtless Blazer, Black Gloves, Metal Toes Black Shoes, Snake Eye-Patch, Eye Scar, and Construction Helmet]
- Kiryu Yakuza 6 style: [Short Sleeved Button Up, Red/Burgundy, White Cobra Shoes and that's it]
- Kiryu Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth Style [Long-Sleeved Button-up Black, Black Cobra shoes, and thats it]
- Takaya Kuroda style (voice of Kiryu) [Blackish/Darkish Grey Rugged Suit, Fedora, Cuff Earring and that's it]
- Ichiban Kasuga Style [Rugged Burgundy Suit, and Black Cobra Shoes]
Also there are a lot of accessories that allows you to customize Kiryu whether you want him to wear earrings, gloves, etc.

And before you ask, no you can't wear Kiryu's DRAGON OF DOJIMA SUIT, story wise it makes sense because he's suppose to be a "DEADMAN," there's only 1 part that lets you wear it, but it doesn't become unlockable later. As much as this sucks, however it makes sense.



Gameplay [The Coliseum]:
In the Castle there's this cage match area called "The Coliseum" that essentially is a battle mode that features 4 styles of battle.
The 4 different styles have different gameplay styles. In 1 you either fighting as Kiryu or another character 1 on 1 in a singular or separate rounds. The other has you fighting individually against a group of enemies. The 3rd style has you fight in special matches that are available occasionally however after completing all other matches and side stories the last 2 battles become available. The final mode has you use a group of characters (some made only for this game, some fan favorites returning from previous games like Mr Masochist, Gary Buster Holmes, Yasuo Sodachi, Goda Ryuji [Imposter/Look-Alike called Lil' Goda Ryuji, etc) as well as featuring characters from Judgement [except Yagami]: Kaito, Higashi, and Sugiura. You pretty much make a team that all fight against other strong opponents.

What's really cool about this mode is that you can play for the first time as any other character that aren't Kiryu, Majima, Daigo, Saejima, & Kaito, you CAN play as them, but this is the first time a character like GARY BUSTER HOLMES is playable which is really cool. Sucks RGG decided to relegate Daigo, Saejima, and Majima to DLC instead of just having them in the game.

One of the Coliseum matches called Minamida Grand Prix is straight up amazing... kind of, it features a 6 round 1 on 1 against strong opponents specifically robots, however the robots are based upon all previous final bosses Kiryu has fought in his life (Yakuza 0 not included sadly) the rounds go as follows:

ROUND 1 - M-IWM - Robot Based on Tsuneo Iwami (FINAL BOSS OF YAKUZA 6: THE SONG OF LIFE)
ROUND 2 - M-AIZ - Robot Based on Masato Aizawa
(FINAL BOSS OF YAKUZA 5)
ROUND 3 - M-DAI - Robot based on Daigo Dojima (FINAL BOSS OF YAKUZA 4 for Kiryu)
ROUND 4 - M-MIN - Robot based on Yoshitaka Mine (FINAL BOOSS OF YAKUZA 3)
ROUND 5 - RYG - Robot based on Goda Ryugi (FINAL BOSS OF YAKUZA 2/KIWAMI 2)
ROUND 6 - NSK - Robot based on Akira Nishikiyama (FINAL BOSS OF YAKUZA 1/KIWAMI)

Have a couple of criticisms though with this specific tournament Grand Prix:

1. Have the robots start as robots but they should've had a holographic projection of the previous bosses. Getting actual models of IWAMI, AIZAWA, MINE, GODA RYUJI, NISHIKI in the game.
2. Goda Ryuji's fighting style is based off the Ryuji Impersonator in the game instead of Ryuji's moveset from Kiwami 2
3. They should've featured a 7th round with Shibusawa or Kuze Robot

Like I said, the Grand Prix is cool, but could've been cooler.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Quick summary of Story:

Kiryu now called agent Joryu, works for the Daidoji post Yakuza 6, now he has to essentially pay his debts to the Daidoji, in order to keep Haruka and his kids in Okinawa safe. However in turn, Kiryu has been classified as dead, and would compromise himself if people found out the DRAGON OF DOJIMA is alive.

While on a mission he meets a Omni Alliance Lieutenant named Tsuruno that tells him about Watase's plan, and how Watase wants to help Kiryu in his situation by paying off the Daidoji, however Kiryu insists he's called Joryu.
Kiryu/Joryu has a friend named "Hanawa" at the Daidoji who is a fellow agent who helps Kiryu throughout the adventure.

After Tsuruno attempts to capture Hanawa inorder to get Kiryu's attention, Kiryu fights a strange Yakuza wearing a Hannya mask they battle with Kiryu using his Dragon of Dojima style.

Kiryu learns from Tsuruno later about Watase and Daigo's plan, in order to dissolve the OMNI ALLIANCE AND TOJO CLAN in order to save the future members of not being pawns to the corrupt government.

Tsuruno/Watase have requested of Kiryu to beat up Omni Alliance patriach called "NISHITANI the III" who lives on a giant boat called "The Castle"

Kiryu does so, however in order for Kiryu to lure him out to beat him fully into submission he takes over the giant boat called "the Castle" pissing off Nishitani.

Kiryu/Joryu and Shishido, go to a secret storage facility, to finish off Nishitani, however Kiryu sees Shishido stab and "kill" Nishitani. Kiryu asks why and learns that NISHITANI abused a young man before, a young boy that Tsuruno had saved, however the boy tried to leave the Omni Alliance so Nishitani the III tortured the boy... that boy being Shishido.

Before the events at the Omni Alliance Headquarters in Yakuza 7, Kiryu meets up with Tsuruno and Shishido to greet Watase (who's wearing a Peter Griffin outfit). Here we learn Shishido betrays Tsuruno and Watase when Watase says he has the official manuscript of dissolving the Omni Alliance, and showing on video Kiryu is still alive.
Another big thing revealed is that Shishido never killed Nishitani the III and just pretended to.
Shishido reveals that all the history of the YAKUZA to be dissolved is unfair and won't be accepted, and that if the old members can't be trusted, then he must rise and become the new leader. A giant battle insues where Kiryu, Watase, and Tsuruno all fight against Shishido, Nishitani, and the Omni Alliance, with Kiryu defeating Nishitani, and later Kiryu punching Shishido into a dark pit in the construction sight.

We get to the section in Yakuza 7 with the giant fight at the Omni Headquarters, however here you take control of Kiryu who fights to protect Watase, Daigo, Majima, Saejima, Ichiban, etc with scenes playing out the same. However post this section Kiryu acts cold to the other members in order to protect them because of his situation, with Watase telling Daigo what's going on with Kiryu in a vague way. However outside, Shishido returns, bloody and angry.

Shishido shouts to the beat up Omni Members and tells them to keep fighting til the end and that the age of the Old Yakuza will never end. With Shishido finally revealing his back tattoo of the Mystic Lion representing his power and pride, with the flowers on the tattoo representing his goals.
Here we get an epic team battle with Kiryu, Daigo, Majima, and Saejima revealing their tattoos for a final remnants of the Yakuza. After defeating them, Kiryu heads back inside to face Shishido, the last breath of the Yakuza of old. Kiryu fights Shishido in an epic battle, similar to the battle at the TOJO CLAN HEADQUARTERS against Aizawa in 5.

After defeating Shishido, the Daidoji take the unconsious Shishido and essentially force him to join, while stating that he is now considered a dead man.

After this amazing final fight, we get a beautiful scene at the end with the Daidoji rewarding Kiryu in 2 ways, the first is giving Kiryu a video message of his kids in Okinawa knowing he's alive as well as showing a picture of Haruto's drawing... making Kiryu and viewers... cry.
Afterwords, Kiryu/Joryu is told by Hanawa that he's been given a new name and identity and is being sent to Hawaii for a long vacation with no end date. He recieves the name "TACHI SUZUKI" (same named used from Yakuza 5) with Hanawa wishing Kiryu to be safe, as the game ends spectacularly... leading into LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN INFINITE WEALTH. Releasing JANUARY 26TH, 2024 (as of writing).

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Final Boss and What makes it great]:

Credit to Devilleon7 on youtube with his: Like a Dragon Gaiden - FINAL BOSS (PROFESSIONAL) video on youtube [Link will be in the comments section] but I found this great comment that sums up Shishido as a culmination of all of Kiryu's previous fights, for an epic send off to the Beat-em-up style.

CREDIT TO Iheardyouhavenicefeets on Youtube [gross name btw lol]

who made this great point:
"Shishido is the culmination of all YAKUZA final bosses that kiryu has encountered. He has the treacherous side of Shibusawa, The inferiority complex of Nishiki, Lust for power of Ryuji, Cynical view on life of Mine, the same desperation of holding the yakuza intact that Daigo felled, the dreams of Aizawa and the scumbaggery of Iwami. And the Takechi callbacks with the katanas.
It doesn't end there. Shishido serves as again another dark version of Kiryu but this time completely the opposite of Kiryu. Shishido is Kiryu if he never had nishiki and kazama. Instead of having romanticised views of the Yakuza and choosing this lifestyle like Kiryu. Shishido's views were enforced by the environment he lived in. Kiryu's strength came from determination to do the right thing but also of survival. Shishido came from only of survival.
Another interesting aspect between them. Their names. Both of them has the same names of their tattoos. Ki RYU being his dragon. And SHISHI do being of his tattoo on the Shishi. Shishi is the symbol of Sucess, Prosperity, Pride and Strength. Things Shishido always wanted. But also Guardianship (As how his final boss is pretty much protecting the Omi alliance).

Unlike Kiryu tattoo which covers his back. (Symbolising how the yakuza life is always part of him but he can leave it behind and move on). Shishido tattoo covers almost on his entire body. Symbolizing how the Yakuza life will be always with him and he can never move on from it.
Both of their fighting stances are very similar. Kiryu has an a open stance. Shishido is closed stanced.
Shishido was a beautifully created character. He is the most "complete" character aside from Kiryu. Ironically. Hope he come backs."

Once again credit to devilleon7 on youtube for the video, and direct comment/quote credit to Iheardyouhavenicefeets [again gross name] for these amazing points raised.

One thing I'd like to add is how the battle feels like combonation of the battle with Ryuji and Aizawa.
Shishido feels like a fully realized Aizawa, since the final battle of this game has similar beats and even style as AIZAWA's final fight. Unlike in 5 where Kiryu fights stops Aizawa from taking over and changing the Tojo Clan and Omni Alliance by becoming the head of both and fusing them with Kiryu fighting Aizawa at the Tojo Clan Headquarters. Instead here its here Kiryu fighting the final breath of the Yakuza of Old, with Shishido representing that wanting to continue to have the Yakuza exist instead of dissolving it, and here they fight in the Omni Alliance headquarters. Thought that was a nice reference/mirror if it was done on purpose.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

To sort of end my review... this game is the columniation of what fans wanted as a proper send off to the BEAT-EM-UP YAKUZA STYLE. Sending off the beat-em up style with amazing combat, awesome music, an amazing well-written final boss, and a more satisfying conclusion in comparison to YAKUZA 6: THE SONG OF LIFE.
If you had issues with 6, GAIDEN rectifies all of those issues. This game is a joy to play, and I hope all of you choose to play it. I hope Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth has a great story, and gives KIRYU a proper conclusion and send off (that doesn't involve death).

Thanks yall for reading, play LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN: THE MAN WHO ERASED HIS NAME!

I'm just gonna keep this review short and simple, the game is a fun simulator of power washing and at first it is very relaxing cleaning houses, car's, driveway's, etc. The game does have a satisfying feeling, however I'm going to recommend something to everybody. do not play this game for long time, only when you need a break from other games, give it atleast 3 hours a day if you're going to play it for a long time.

Especially if you're Somebody who's never experienced existential dread.
This game gave me a feeling of existential dread with the repetition, it feels like relaxing but then you realize you're doing the same thing over and over it feels like an actual job... the escapism games gives is lost when you play this for a long period of time.

You can start off the game playing with the regular sound, or playing with your Sound muted and listening to music in the background while cleaning...

The only thing is after hour 4...I started to feel exhausted and... not bored but... neutral and sort of entranced or hypnotized. Games usually give you a sense of a goal to reach, however usually the goal is satisfying. And while many might say that the satisfaction comes from cleaning it's after you finish cleaning you see you after clean more and it repeats over and over and over and over and over and over.... Maybe it's because I didn't take a break in between even though I did give myself spaces and intervals of relaxation to not play it all at once but even then this feeling started after the 2nd day of playing.

You start to notice it especially when let's say you decide to not listen to music with headphones, let's say you just don't want to listen to anything... You just Want To Listen to the sounds of the game the sounds of the game the sounds themselves it's not that they're annoying it's that the repetition of the sound of the water gets unbearable.


The game is relaxing at first just don't overspend your time with it, play it in intervals between other games and play It during intervals where you know you're at the very least fully relaxed. Or else the game starts to Feel like a chore and You start to get this feeling of existential dread. I enjoyed the Game I recommend it but please I recommend You all take the time to take a break Once In a While and Don't just Rush into every level...

If you want sort of an example of what I'm talking about with existential dread, I recommend watching an old Markiplier video where he played PC Building Simulator, he just stopped playing because of the reptitiveness and dread the game gave off... like it broke something in him and gave off a feeling of existential dread of doing something that can be done in real life, that normally would be boring, in a game... a painful contradiction, and that's what I felt here.

Please play when you're in a relax state of mind.
I have never done a review like this, but I needed to state what I felt with it.

It's a fine game, play it I intervals, and play anytime you're in a relaxed state, but don't play it for too long.

Thank you.

Wario Land 2, sequel to WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3, is a sequel that feels bigger in terms of a step forward and backwards for the franchise.

The steps it takes forwards are in terms of overall it's total length of time to complete, as well as the different branching paths that can be found depending on certain levels having different ending for different circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The game in general is fun however way too repetitive with it kind of having unique objects in certain levels, but all usually are:

- Get from Point A to Point B
- Defeat this Miniboss which is just an overgrown pirate enemy
- Defeat 4 Ducks
- Hit this Random Lever or Anchor


A big issue is treasure collecting and puzzle piece gathering.

TREASURE COLLECTING
Treasure collecting has Wario enter random entrances that may lead you into a minigame room with the entire minigame being a matching game all the time, the idea is you spend 50, 100, or 150 coins to allow you to see what the pictures are in which area for a little longer. If you choose 50 that's hard mode, meaning you get to see the images for 1 second, Medium 100 3 seconds, Easy 150 5 seconds. The treasure chest will have an image of the enemy and you will have to pick the matching enemy based on muscle memory of it's location, it's really simple to do, though if you don't pay attention you're on your own. The issue with this is it just seems like Nintendo missed the point of what a TREASURE should be, something hidden that has a lot of value and while these Treasures are found in chests, there was more grandiose in WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3 because they were in secluded rooms where all Wario had to do is smash the chest and collect the item.

PUZZLE COLLECTING
The puzzle pieces are worse, the way the puzzle piece mini games work is through your adventure you'll collect a coins that add up, towards the end of every level you need to guess a number from 3 by 3 number tile based upon revealing tiles to make it easier to guess which number it is, the selection is 1-9, and while you can reveal more tiles to give you hints, you could still mess up, and if you mess up, unlike the treasures where you can go back and attempt to match the correct image, you would have to go back and play through the entire level again to try again, luckily I'm playing on my 2DS so I had save states when I messed up on guessing, but still doing it 50 times is a hassle, and it doesn't help that the minigame switches up when you go through a branching path.

In the branching path version, your total coins will start to reduce revealing more and more tiles, while causing you to lose coins, while it doesn't make it easier to see what the numbers might be, the cavoite is you're losing 50 coin per tile as it goes down in increasing increments.

Like I said, I played on my 2DS so my save states helped get through this so I can experience the full game and all it had to offer, but it can seriously be demoralizing if you were playing on a Gameboy, I assume this was done so it could extent the game lengths for little kids. All I know is I doubt kids were able to get to the TRUE FINAL LEVEL of Wario Land 2.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"POWER UPS"

I put quotes over that because they aren't power up, more like power occurrences that happen when you touch certain enemies:

- Baker with Cake -> Obese Wario -> Allows Wario to barely jump but can destroy strong platforms

- Hammer Pirate -> Spring Wario -> Causes Wario to become a spring and jump like crazy, takes 10 seconds to wear off.

- Penguin with Bomb -> Drunk Wario -> Makes Wario get drunk and cause him to stumble like an idiot with no benefit other than he guess a breath attack, however when drunk he's uncontrollable.

- Fire Hedgehog -> Burning Wario -> Wario gets put on fire and runs around crazy until he burns in a great ball of fire, and during this he can destroy fire objects next to him or below him (fire platforms/obstacles) are marked with fire symbol)

- Zombie/Ghost -> Zombie Wario -> Infects and turns Wario into an actual putrid corpse, he can't jump and when he falls from heights he actually crumbles into pieces before regenerating a second later, sometimes in situations where there are no platforms below a floating platform, if Zombie Wario falls he will fall through said floating platform to the platform below that, not really beneficial more a hindrance that you have to use the sunlight to break free of.

- Bat with Anvil -> Smushed Wario -> Wario gets smushed by an anvil which reduces his jump but allows him to float down from far drops in a swaying motion to reach hidden/tight areas, can be finicky though.

- Magic Wizard Pirate -> Turns Wario into Mini Wario (looks like what Wario looks like when he's defeated in SUPER MARIO LAND 2: 6 GOLDEN COINS and when he takes damage and becomes small in WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3.) Allows Wario to jump higher but he can't pick up and throw enemies.

All "POWER-UPS"/ POWER OCCURANCES can be removed by jumping in Water, or for some, waiting around 10 seconds for the powers to deactivate.

Really a step back when it comes to comparing it to it's predecessor, it's WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3 had only 3 power ups but they were still unique and fun to use, sucks that they gave up on that in WARIO LAND 2 that occasionally benefit you, but in general hinder the player.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The game doesn't really have a punishment system in terms of losing lives, but instead losing coins, which can stop you from accessing treasures and puzzle pieces. Though I guess an aspect you could find repetitive is the format of some of the levels, as well as some music straight up being painful to listen to, though for the most part I was playing with video game music from my phone with headphones to ignore the ingame music.

The problem with repetitiveness in a game is it can start to feel like a chore doing the same thing over and over to complete said level, and in my opinion a big issue is while certain levels did introduce unique enemies/obstacles I feel like seeing the same pirate enemy in all levels was annoying, along with some minibosses amounting to: small enemy... BUT NOW BIG AND MULTIPLE HITS!


The final true level is a punishment as it's a time trial which wants the player to use tricks and tight navigation for getting to the end, and you can still mess up at the end since the final enemy is on a platform and you need to attack it with out it dropping to the second platform, just getting there is a pain in the ass, and I was lucky I was playing on my 2DS so it made reloads more bearable instead of having to go to the beginning of certain level segments.

For some reason, as great and fun yet repetitive this game is, it somehow still does something bad games do and that's putting all it's egg in 1 basket, all the difficult from the game is encapsulated within 1 level made to induce rage and piss the player off, I don't know why Nintendo thinks 1 level should represent difficulty instead of having harder yet reasonable to complete levels, they've done it so many times now, the most recent examples I can give are:

- DONKEY KONG COUNTRY TROPICAL FREEZE DELUXE
- SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD + BOWSER'S FURY
- SUPER MARIO BROS WONDER

Please understand I AM NOT CALLING THESE GAMES BAD, THEY ARE FANTASTIC, I just find it stupid they decide to make 1 hard as hell level only experts/adults can get through, instead of having reasonably difficult levels in their base games.


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think the different ending branching paths are nice as it adds a reason to continue to replay old levels that have secret exits to reach these alternate endings as well as the normal ending, and True Ending:

- Normal Ending: Wario fights Captain Syrup with her floating in her mini ship and throws enemies and bombs at Wario, Wario uses the flame beneath him to defeat the Greedy Gold-digging Pirate and obtains all his money/treasure back.

- Alternate Path 1 - Wario sleeps over alarm and Captain Syrup takes over his Castle

- Alternate Path 2 - Wario goes to a sky temple or fortress and "saves" Captain Syrup from the Bubble monster but still kicks her ass sky high and takes back his money.

- Alternate Path 3 - Wario remains in the Haunted Mansion and "saves" Captain Syrup from the Stretchy Ghost but still kicks her ass out of the mansion sky high and takes back his money.

- Alternate Path 4 - Wario remains in the dangerous factory and fights Captain Syrup controlling a Giant Robot Pirate you use to take her down.

True Ending - After Collecting all 50 treasures (25 normal, 25 differing branches) and all 50 puzzle pieces, you get a map to Captain Syrup's grand treasure, in the final level Wario has a time trial to get to the treasure as fast as possible, at the end defeating a giant Pirate enemy and taking Syrups giant treaure... Wario is happy to be greedy and wealthy as ever... as he returns home... only to be followed by said Giant Pirate Enemy, as the game ends.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I think it does a lot of positives with featuring more levels and branching paths and different endings. It has a fun minigame when you 100% it that's essentially "SIMON SAYS" but it's a pirate duck giving the indication. I think the different final bosses are unique especially the one against the Bunny playing Basket Ball. The game does so many thing to make the WARIO LAND franchise it's own, but took away so many things/did them worse in this sequel. While it is cool having 50 levels, you need to essentially guess where the secret exits are if you're not using walkthrough. Another issue is that while WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3 had linearity there was freedom to tackle certain areas early depending on if you found certain secret exits. Power ups are more so occurrences that sometimes will benefit you, but other times won't. I think the main bosses are great, the minibosses are a joke especially because they're copy and paste.

I had fun with Wario Land 2 within the time I beat it, I think modern platforms for this game with Save States helps it be a great game, because it is. However I can see someone losing their patience with this game because of Trial and Error, and sometimes it being a chore to get through. More levels is fine, but you need to make the levels have quality as well so they don't feel repetitive and while adding a different objective can be seen as mixing it up. It can still feel like a lazy way of trying to mix things up instead of coming up with unique things.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had a fun time with WARIO LAND 2 I think it has some flaws, but I think the positive thing to take from it is that it feels like Nintendo now know what they wanted the franchise to be, which is nice. I only hope that WARIO LAND 3 and 4 improve upon the issues I had with 2.

Overall I don't want to say it's better than WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3, I think honestly WARIO LAND 2 is either equal or slightly below the first game, still for what it does, it's a good game, that at the very least had nice esthetics to it.

I'm giving WARIO LAND 2 a 3.5 out of 5 STARS, i recommend it but I would recommend playing it on a device that has save states to truly enjoy it.

Thanks for reading. :D

For context:

I reviewed WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3 (original version) so to keep things simple I'm going to restate what I said in my review of the original game:

The DX version of Wario Land is fundamentally the same, so really it's preference as they're both the same game, just the original is in black and white, and the DX is in color.

Unlike say SUPER MARIO LAND 1 DX and Super Mario Land 2 DX where they changed the color palette to fit more in line with Say SUPER MARIO WORLD color palette, WARIO LAND COLOR EDITION adds colors to make the game look more appealing and giving it a nice coat of paint to raise it's quality to that of it's sequels with their colors.

I will say I am disappointed that while the coloring is appealing, whether due to lack of time, or due to lack of ability to do so since the team was working with a Gameboy game, but it's disappoint Wario looks off in color. Wario's skin comes across more orange than yellow, I feel like they should've looked at how SUPER MARIO LAND 2 DX made Wario's color palette, and while yes he does have his yellow shirt and hat, he lack his purple suspenders and green shoes. Another thing is how Wario looks apart from his orange skin, is his lack of a pink nose which is specific to him. I assume this is because of the Original Gameboy's limitation, so it's fine with what color we got on Wario.

While the color for the power ups work well, I feel like the team should've changed the shape of the dragon pot to look less phallic, reason I mention this is because in SUPER MARIO LAND 1and 2 DX, the team changed the 1-UP HEARTS to regular green 1 up mushrooms. Along with this they changed Mario's fire flower appearance completely for Super Mario Land 2, in the original to indicate he had the fire flower they put a feather on his hat to show he does (Reason being the gameboy was black and white/vomit green on grass green so they couldn't change/swap Mario's colors, while in the DX version they just changed it to his classic red and white style to show Mario has the fire flower to fit more inline with the console version.

I feel like the team here should've changed the phallic shape of the Dragon Pot, yes they did give the dragon ability a green texture which works, but since they're making the game in color, they should've changed the sprite a bit to indicate "this turns Wario into a dragon because it's dragon shapped" or something.

Still though the overall color palette chosen fits really well, just those small critiques would make this the definitive version of WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3.

The DX versions of 1 and 2 are the definitive versions in my opinion, however for WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3 it's really just a preference of "do you want to play the game in black and white or in color.

I'd still take this over the original since it adds vibrancy and color, but doesn't make the original worthless, I think it's a pick and choose in this case of a fantastic game.

I highly recommend both versions of WARIO LAND SUPER MARIO LAND 3, however the color version does a great job of adding color, thanks for reading!

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is a spinoff starting SML2's villain Wario who's essentially hijacked the Super Mario Land series from this point on, and boy does he deserve to.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wario Land is a fun collectathon that has Wario traverse through 7 different Areas on an island to search for a magic lamp in order to summon a Genie so he can wish himself a castle bigger than that of Mario.
Wario goes around collecting different treasures throughout the different levels hidden in specific ones, as well as taking on enemies like a Spiked Koopa, a Ghost, and other wacky enemies. Whether or not you playing as Wario have collected alot of coins and have gotten all treasures will vary but you have a confrontation with CAPTAIN SYRUP (pirate counterpart or long lost sister of Pauline [never confirmed but they look similar]) who summons the Genie to essentially kick Wario's butt, after Wario successfully defeats the Genie, her lair is destroyed with her blowing it up herself revealing a Giant Peach Statue, which Mario shows up at the end of the game to... surprisingly enough, thank Wario for defeating Captain Syrup and essentially steals the statue with Wario shrugging in confusion.
Wario then takes the genie lamp and asks the genie, who is now friendly to Wario, for a nice house as the Genie only grants 1 wish. After asking for a nice house, the genie tells Wario he'll need Wario to pay up, and depending on how many coins you collected, and if you got the treasure, will essentially result in Wario being Wario PLANET RULER, or Wario the Bird House owner.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The game is fun and unique, Wario retains the "bounce on enemies" head ability Mario and Luigi tend to have however he mixes it up by have a should thrust that allows him to stun and defeat enemies. This game also features unique abilities specific only to Wario:

- Bull Pot - turns Wario into Bull Wario allowing him to hit enemies from below because of his spiked Helmet and gives Wario a butt ground pound ability.

- Jet Pot - Gives Wario a Jet cap that allows him to thrust forward both on ground in and in the air temporarily while doing a arm thrust.

- Dragon Pot - Gives Wario a Dragon Cap that breathes fire, however takes away the arm thrust ability. (Does look too phallic shaped though)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The game features levels with hidden exits that require you sometimes to complete the area via defeating the bosses and returning to them at a different time, post boss defeat.
After you beat every level you have a deciding option of either to play a Heart Minigame for more lives, or a minigame featuring Coins where you test your luck to see if you can get more coins, maximum 3 chances for maximum payout, that is if you get the money bags, if you get hit with the anvil, you lose half of the money you have. 3 chances that allow you to double up every time, that later feeds into your total number of coins, so test your luck wisely.
Also throughout specific levels there are hidden treasures that will benefit you toward what ending you plan on getting.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The game features a total of 6 endings depending on if you have collected all 15 treasures, and cleared all stages:

300 - 10,071 coins - Birdhouse -Wario the Bird House Owner - Genie creates a Birdhouse for Wario to live in, Wario's logo falls off causing Wario to Cry

10,072 - 40,007 coins - Tree Stump - Wariolax Speaks for the Trees - Genie creates a Tree Stump for Wario to live in, Wario's logo falls off causing Wario to be Sad and disappointed.

40,008 - 70,007 coins - Cabin/House - Wario the Middle Class Worker - Genie creates a Cabin/House for Wario, Wario's Logo stays on and Wario is contempt and happy.

70,008 - 90,007 coins - Japanese Fortress/Castle - Wario the Warrior - Genie creates a Japanese Fortress for Wario, Wario's logo stays on and Wario is more than happy.

90,008 - 99,999 Coins (without Treasures) - King Wario, Rule of Wario Castle - Genie Creates a Castle bigger than Castle Mario for Wario, Wario is ecstatic and happy that he has his own castle.

99,999 Coins (all Treasures collected) - WARIO PLANET RULER - Genie uses all the money a treasures Wario collected to create something to suit Wario's greed and Ego, the GENIE CREATES AN ENTIRE PLANET FOR WARIO FOR HIM TO LIFE ON, WARIO EGO KNOWS NO BOUNDS AND IS HAPPY TO OWN SOMETHING BEYOND THAT OF WHAT MARIO EVER COULD (well until Super Mario Galaxy 2 with Planet Mario) SO HAPPY HE BOUNCES AROUND THANKING THE PLAYER FOR A PERFECT END!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall this game is an amazing addition to the Super Mario Land Series and if anything was a great risk take from Nintendo of giving a spinoff... to a villain no less. It's fantastic that Nintendo took this chance, you can see they were still worried about it flopping since they still have the subtitle "SUPER MARIO LAND 3" but that risked work and it gave us a great first game in a great franchise.

There is a DX color remix of this game, however unlike with my other reviews for Super Mario Land DX and Super Mario Land 2 DX where they fundamentally change things to fit more in line with the Mario NES games, the DX version of Wario Land is fundamentally the same, so really it's preference as they're both the same game, just the original is in black and white, and the DX is in color.

However overall WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3 is a great game, it has issues with getting too repetitive but the music is great, the gameplay is fun, and it's a great first game in the WARIO FRANCHISE, highly recommend this along with SUPER MARIO LAND 1 and 2.

Thanks for reading! :)

I won't go into detail as much as I did with Super Mario Land 2 original, but I will say this game is the definitive version of Super Mario Land 2.

The creators of this color palette remix really did their research when it came to adding a nice accurate color palette to the bosses keeping them consistent with the comic adaption colors.

The game also fixes the "1-UP Hearts" back to the Green Mushrooms, since now that the game has been remade in color, the creators of this remix DX version now allows for the Mushrooms to be distinct.
Another thing the game does is fix Fire Mario so that he doesn't have a weird flower on his head when he becomes Fire Mario (though in the original they did this because original Gameboy was Black and White/Vomit Green on Grass Green, so there was no way of changing Mario's color palette to indicate when he obtained the fire flower, so instead they put a feather on his hat to represent that)

They added a nice color palette to the new power ups as well as adding reasonable and corresponding color palettes to the different Zones, like the Turtle Zone consisting of Blues because of underwater, or Pumpkin Zone Featuring Dark Blues, Yellow, and Black to indicate a Haunted house.
While using bright colors for Macro Zone, Mario Zone, and Tree Zone. Also for Space Zone, just using White and Black with little bits of color was perfect since it was generally in space and seeing Space Suit Mario wearing a white astronaut suit with his red hat was funny. Tatanga also retained his accurate weird purple imp colors which is cool to see.
Wario here is obviously in color however he retains his modern color palette of Purple suspenders and green shoes as opposed to his classic "MARIO VS WARIO COMIC" color palette, which is actually Wario Wearing Pinkish suspenders with Black/Grey shoes. 1 thing to note about Classic Wario and Modern Wario, while they are both egotistical, Classic Wario seemed to have a more wacky demeanor since he has a lazy eye, however the modern iteration makes him more confident and big headed.

Overall this DX version is in my opinion the definitive version to play Super Mario Land 2 since it gives a nice color palette that allows for relation with that of the NES and SUPER NES GAMES. If you feel like you could never really get into the idea of playing Super Mario Land 1, 2, and Wario Land: SUPER MARIO LAND 3 because of the lack of colors, I highly recommend these DX remixes, though if colors aren't your style play the original black and white versions.

Anyway I gave the original 4 stars, I'm giving DX 4.5 because it's really appealing to the eyes. I highly recommend SUPER MARIO LAND 2: 6 GOLDEN COINS DX! Thanks for reading!

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is the sequel to Super Mario Land which fits more inline with say Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario World with certain abilities and gameplay appearing from those games, appearing here.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Super Mario Land 2's plot is essentially, Mario's childhood friend Wario has become jealous that Mario has become famous for saving the princess and the Mushroom Kingdom. Wario became so jealous that during the events of the first game, Wario put a spell over "Mario Land" which is Mario's own island, and turned it into Wario Land.
Wario has taken refuge in Mario's Castle, and Mario has to go through 7 different areas with 4 each in order to obtain the 6 Golden Coin keys in order to unlock access to Mario's Castle for a final confrontation with Wario.
The first Zone is Tree Zone which consists of a giant tree with Giant Ants and Bees Mario must traverse and fight through inorder to defeat the Giant Bird/Crow in order to obtain the Golden Tree Coin. Then Mario goes to Turtle Zone which consists of underwater areas and Mario fighting a Giant Octopus to obtain the Turtle Coin. Then there's "Mario Zone" which is a giant mechanical Mario where Mario must enter the robot in order to obtain the Mario Coin from... the 3 little pigs for some reason? After that there's Pumpkin Zone which consists of haunted locations featuring Zombies, Mimic Doors, and Boos, here Mario must defeat the Witch in order to obtain the Witch Coin. Next We have Macro-Zone which is a topsy-turvy House that either has Mario reduce his size to be really tiny, or the house is SUPER MASSIVE, here Mario must traverse the house in order to defeat... a Giant Sewer Rat... Gross, after doing so he obtains the House Coin. Finally we have Space Zone which has Mario jump through space in a space suit, where he must defeat returning Alien Villain from Super Mario Land 1 Tatanga (I guess we can assume after he was defeated in the first game he blasted off into space), after having a rematch with him, Mario obtains the final coin the Crescent Moon Coin.

After Mario has successfully obtained all 6 Golden Coins, he heads to his castle, and traverses his corrupted Castle's booby-traps, to have a final confrontation with Wario in the thrown room. Wario fights Mario head on, but when pushed into a corner uses the Magic Carrot to become Rabbit Wario, and finally uses a Fire Flower to become Fire Wario (first and only appeareance since) for a last stand which he ultimately loses.
Wario then becomes tiny and bald and cries at his defeat, only for him to throw his shoe at Mario and escaping through the castle window, Mario instantly chases after him.
The game ends with Mario Land being restored to it's rightful owner, Mario as the game ends.


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The gameplay of the game is very inspired by Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario world in the sense Mario is more defined in his appearance, with us actually being able to see his face and his eye whites. The game features the ability to carry shells to throw upward or sideways to help get rid of enemies. It also features the spin ability Super Mario Land originally had made for destroying destructible blocks under Mario.

The game features 2 returning power up that appears in all Mario Games, and 1 Exclusive Power up that only appears in this game:

- Mushroom: Turns Mario into Super Mario, just makes him bigger and allows for a second hit.

- Fire Flower: Mario throws fire however instead of changing to White and Red, the Gameboy only presented games in Black and White (Or to be more accurate Puke Green on Grass Green), so in order to show Mario Obtained the Fire ability, Mario gains a Feather on his hat to signify to the player he has the fire flower.

- Magic Carrot/ Fly Rabbit Carrot: Carrot that gives Mario Rabbit ears he can use to glide with an remain the air for a long period of time.

The game once again like in Super Mario Land 1, uses Hearts as opposed to Mushrooms of a different color to indicate 1-UPs.


The game features a total of 7 Zones with Varying levels for some:

- Tree Zone - Total Levels: 4, Main enemy: Giant Crow that flies in a downward arc motion. Golden Coin type: Tree Coin

- Turtle Zone - Total Levels: 4, Main Enemy: Giant Octopus that launches mini Octopus. Golden Coin Type: Turtle Coin

- Macro Zone - Total Levels: 4, Main enemy: Sewer Rat that climbs walls and pipes. Golden Coin type: House Coin

- Pumpkin Zone - Total Levels: 4, Main enemy: Witch who shoots magic and has cauldrons. Golden Coin type: Pumpkin Coin

- Mario Zone - Total levels: 4, Main enemy: 3 Little Pigs who do distinct things: Sticks - Rolls around, Wood - bounces up and down, Brick - bounces up and down... higher. Golden Coin type: Mario Coin

- Space Zone - Total Levels: 2, Main enemy: Tatanga, alien villain imp from Super Mario Land who fights in his space ship again. Golden Coin Type: Cresent Moon Coin

- Mario Castle - Total Levels: 1 long level. Main Enemy: Wario who has 3 phases: Normal where he runs left to right and bounce bumps to stun Mario to cause a ceiling light to fall. Phase 2 Wario uses the bunny carrot to bounce high to do a massive bounce bump stun. Phase 3 Fire Wario, throws a bunch of fire balls. Each phase is relatively easy and takes 3 hits each to defeat Wario with breaks in-between, total 9 Hits
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall this sequel is a massive improvement and step ahead from the first, if the first game was more so a mini-remix of Super Mario Bros (NES) with a touch of originality in terms of story, villain, princess, and location, but sticking with the same gameplay with half the levels of the NES Game. This sequel is essentially a remix of SUPER MARIO BROS 3 and SUPER MARIO LAND with an original story and villain, with similar gameplay, a new ability, and a connected story to the first.
In general if someone was dissatisfied with Super Mario Land 1, they won't be here, as this is a complete package with new things to experience if you're tired of the Mushroom Kingdom. Also if you're someone who hates Mario having to constantly save [INSERT PRINCESS NAME HERE], here you're not saving a princess, you're saving Mario's property from an envious ex-friend of Mario.

Overall the game is fantastic, only thing making me give it 4.5 or 5 stars is because I think the definitive version of this game is the DX color version since it adds color and is essentially the definitive way to play Super Mario Land 2.
If you prefer the black and white (vomit green on Grass green) color, then play the original. If you want a nice accurate color palette, play Super Mario Land 2 DX.

This game is a fantastic addition to the Mario Franchise I highly recommend, and because of it introducing the world to Wario, it allowed Nintendo to experiment and have the villain/anti-hero Wario to star in his own spinoff franchise Wario Land and Wario Ware!

100% play this Mario game if you want a nice unique yet nostalgic original experience of Mario, though play the definitive version of SUPER MARIO LAND 2 DX.

Thanks for reading! :)

Super Mario Land DX is the color remake of Super Mario Land which in general improves the quality of the sprites of Mario, leaving him more defined and accurate to his regular look, along with adding more color and accuracy to both the environments, enemies, Tatanga, and Daisy by giving them unique and specific color palettes.

I think Sarasaland looks amazing with the new color pallette as it makes it easier to distinguish what is and isn't in the background and foreground. Another thing is it adds more flavor to an already great game. I think genuinely the color remake is the definitive way to play SUPER MARIO LAND as it improves and adds alot to an already amazing Mario game, and makes it looks even nicer with this new coding of relaxing paint.
I'm not going to give Super Mario Land DX 5 stars because while I do love Super Mario Land (both the original and DX Versions) and while I do love the unique things it does in terms of having unique power ups, locations, and even level design, the experience is still short, which is fine because it's a Gameboy Game, but I'll be honest and give it 4 stars since it's fantastic. I gave the original GB colorless version 3.5 stars, but with this fresh new coat of paint, SUPER MARIO LAND DX is the definitive way to play SUPER MARIO LAND.

Highly recommend you all play this great mini-mario adventure along with it's sequel SUPER MARIO LAND 2: 6 Golden Coins (either original or DX)

Super Mario Land is essentially a Mario game that was made specifically for players who demanded for it. Super Mario Land takes place in Sarasaland where the evil...Tatanga? Yeah Tatanga a small purple impish creature has taken over and has captured Princess Daisy.

The game is basically Super Mario Bros if things were cut in half:
Instead of 8 worlds, Super Mario Land has 4 worlds. Instead of 4 levels per world, Super Mario Land has 3 levels per world.

Super Mario Bros has a total of 32 levels with fluctuating difficulty, while Super Mario Land has 12 which has reasonable difficulty in terms of consistent progression.

What makes Super Mario Land unique is the way it handles power ups and levels.

The game features the Super-Ball Flower which is exclusive only to Super Mario Land 1 and 2, which works like the Fire flower except instead Mario throws a black ball that bounces all over the the walls until it hits an enemy or disappears.

The superstar works the same giving Mario invincibility however instead of playing the typical "SUPER STAR THEME" it plays a 8-bit rendition of Offenbach - CAN CAN, which is weird and surreal to hear, but fun non the less.

The 1 Up is different as instead of it being a mushroom it is instead just a heart, my assumption is that for the Gameboy, since it didn't have color, they couldn't make the mushroom distinguished enough to be different from a regular mushroom so they changed it to a heart to signify 1-UP.

The game takes several leaps forward when it comes to Mario games as it does a lot of improvements compared to SUPER MARIO BROS. As it decides to mix up the levels by having Mario Travel via submarine in one of the levels, along with Mario fighting in a jet plane during the final level to defeat Tatanga.


I think as an experience it's a great addition to the franchise and while not as big as say SUPER MARIO BROS, I think it does a lot of refreshing and original things enough to make it stand on it's own. That and it features things that are unique to it's own like taking place in Sarasaland, SUPER-BALL FLOWER, 🗿 enemies, TATANGA as the villain, and having Daisy as the primary princess of saving.

Highly recommend playing SUPER MARIO LAND, however I will give it 3.5 stars only because I would highly recommend playing the DX COLOR remake instead. But if you want to experience the original GB version, play this black and white version.

Fantastic Mario game with unique power ups, fantastic music, the use of bowser jr as the only other boss was a bit lazy however the game itself is a great addition to the Mario franchise. The new Elephant Fruit, Drill Mushroom, and Bubble Flower are great power ups that make the game feel new and unique even if the Drill Mushroom is a bit situational.

The levels are all unique not being too linear and also having unique challenge levels making each levels unique even if some are easier and less annoying than others. The difficulty over all is pretty easy for every level, while having some trial and error moments. however this game suffers from what some bad games do and thats:

"Putting all your eggs in 1 Basket" which essentially means they shoved all the difficulty in the final extra level that while some teenagers and adults will be able to complete there is no way a child will be able to.

Still this game just brings me and everyone who plays it joy, while the final level has issues, and while I do take issue with not including Wario, Waluigi, Princess Rosalina, and Pauline in the roster, it doesn't take away from the overall amazing experience of the game. Also great job to the new Mario and Luigi VA, he'll never be CHARLES MARTINET, but he's a great emulator of Charles, and I wish him the best with the future of the Mario.

Overall Mario Wonder is a fantastic addition to the Mario franchise I highly recommend, thanks for reading!