Another good entry in the Yakuza series and the biggest one so far, in my run through the series from its start. Like the 4th chapter, it has more characters to play beside Kiryu, but it handles this better. While I felt that the second half of the 4th chapter rushes too much and blandly unites them in the end, this is also has its hickups but in general it works better.
The story in general is more interesting and there are many locations with some nice new ones to the series. Beside the usual minigames, there are "major" ones for each character which are quite deep for being (almost) side activities.
Its gigantic ambition is its strength but also its weakness. Some of these major minigames may not be enjoyable for everyone but they have to be played at least a bit to progress the story. Plus there are so many side activities and this hurts a bit the pace of the narrative: to pause the intricate plot to play a couple of hours of hunting or rythm game feels a bit weird, plus it requires a moment to recall people's name and facts.
In a few things the game tries to do simply to much, even in small things, like, for example, pedestrian. Streets are full of people and look lively, but there are so many pedestrian that they often are in the way of the player running around. There are many substories, but some of them are not so interesting or feels just rushed, so maybe it would have been better off to offer less of them but more refined. Random fights happen just too often, unless you wear specific equipment to lower their frequency.
Anyway, this is a very solid Yakuza entry, with its unique feeling able to blend random stupid and funny elements with big drama. Also a very good one after 3&4 that, while being decent Yakuza games, were a bit of a letdown compared to the first chapters.
The story in general is more interesting and there are many locations with some nice new ones to the series. Beside the usual minigames, there are "major" ones for each character which are quite deep for being (almost) side activities.
Its gigantic ambition is its strength but also its weakness. Some of these major minigames may not be enjoyable for everyone but they have to be played at least a bit to progress the story. Plus there are so many side activities and this hurts a bit the pace of the narrative: to pause the intricate plot to play a couple of hours of hunting or rythm game feels a bit weird, plus it requires a moment to recall people's name and facts.
In a few things the game tries to do simply to much, even in small things, like, for example, pedestrian. Streets are full of people and look lively, but there are so many pedestrian that they often are in the way of the player running around. There are many substories, but some of them are not so interesting or feels just rushed, so maybe it would have been better off to offer less of them but more refined. Random fights happen just too often, unless you wear specific equipment to lower their frequency.
Anyway, this is a very solid Yakuza entry, with its unique feeling able to blend random stupid and funny elements with big drama. Also a very good one after 3&4 that, while being decent Yakuza games, were a bit of a letdown compared to the first chapters.