wrote a longer review for this so check that out if you’re truly interested in hearing my thoughts on this one. TLDR; has a very strong story with mysteries and character moments that all fit in with one another like puzzle pieces, along with some awesome combat that flows unbelievably smooth. in regards to specifics about the story, the final twists are insanely stupid but they don’t lessen the quality or impact of the rest of the narrative so it doesn’t bother me too much.

i’m kinda lazy so i’m just putting the review here instead of typing up something new. it’s peak.

still debating whether i like this more than 2 or 5 but i think those two games slightly edge it out for catering to my game tastes a tad more. i adore how kansai and kamurocho differ here from their predecessors by emphasizing the unescapable eclectic atmosphere during a time of economic prosperity. majima steals the show combat wise, and kiryu’s combat doesn’t shine as bright as his previous incarnations but i suppose that’s the point? he’s younger and less experienced, would make sense that he isn’t capable of doing actions as robust in the other games. anyway storywise this is most definitely the best paced one for me (directed too!). carries its themes with elegance and makes sure they maintain their weight.

i’ve written abt this before so i’ll keep this minimal and say the story still holds up, tackling familial bonds and baggage more than the others in a very heartfelt way. the stuff related to jingu being the main villain felt pretty unnecessary and his moments in the final chapter sour the mood a bit, but we still get the climactic battle between blood brothers that ties everything up thematically well enough. i appreciate this one for how much they did actually get right on their first try. still has my favorite iteration of kamurocho.

paced horribly throughout but i don’t think i would say the story is flat out bad. has some interesting aspects but the writers ultimately shot themselves in the foot by forcing kanda and hamazaki to take backseats way too early on. mine is good but only in his final moments with kiryu in ch12. story can also be quite infodumpy at times, an obvious repercussion of time constraints lol. aside from the political side of the plot, i absolutely love the orphanage w kiryu’s and the kids’ relationship. probably kiryu’s most expressive outing. love okinawa’s vibe as well.
all the additions to 2’s combat are welcome and in general the combat is super well designed. once you reach the halfway point-ish, the bosses become much more manageable and can provide a good amount of fun.

part 1 & 2 are genuinely some of my favorite stuff from this franchise, but unfortunately their quality isn’t evenly dispersed throughout the entire game. part 3 i sorta liked but it shares the same pacing issues with everything that comes after it; events happen way too quickly compared to what was set up early on. p4ch4 + the finale are genuinely some of my least favorite stuff in this franchise. cliche after cliche and twist after twist are dogpiled one after the other which ultimately hinders emotional impact in the long run.
combat is great & gives you a lot of freedom but i was left with a lot to be desired in part 3 onward due to the pacing issues i specified. the story unfolds too quickly where we don’t get a whole lot of time to play around with the combat. admittedly you do with kiryu in his final climb up kamurocho hills but that’s coupled with the most tedious final section in the series.

not rly sure where i’d rank this ngl. the story carries a lot of the experience for me since the gameplay is just flatout not engaging in the slightest. i do really appreciate the theming of parent-child relationships and how it compares/contrasts different types of them. the supporting cast of onomichi is great and it’s refreshing to have a group of characters that are simply fun to be around, and kiryu seems to agree with this sentiment.
there’s much missed potential tho. handful of ideas and aspects of the story that are introduced with expectations of their development throughout the plot but then they just… don’t develop. still interesting but left me with much to be desired.

lol