LeoNick85
2019
A very delightful puzzle game, that lasts 3-4 hours. It is not going to kill your brain, since the avarage difficulty of the puzzle is on the easy side. Most of the time they just require you to explore a bit the surrounding and have a few try to understand the right perspective "trick" to solve them. Everything is connected by a nice narrative based on the main theme of Superliminal: as you need to use unsual perspectives to solve the puzzle, so you can to face your problem. I felt the influence of games like Portal is strong, but neither the puzzles or the narrative is near that level. Still it's a nice experience and it entertains for its duration.
The end of the "classic" era of the Kiryu saga, a journey I enjoyed a lot. This chapter embrace the new engine and makes a step back in terms of magnitude of content, especially if compared with the previous enourmous Yakuza 5. Honestly I appreciated the more focused scope of this chapter, where the attention of the player stays always on Kiryu on the last adventure of the "classic" saga.
The new location is not so big and doesn't offer too much side content, but it is something different compared to the big cities neighborhood and it's pretty to walk around its street.
I also enjoyed the narrative, even if with the typical over the top moments of the series (sometimes a bit too much "over", like a certain scene "mimicking" american football). A bit cheesy sometime, but I was glued to the screen and it really highlighted Kiryu as the legendary Yakuza.
Also the supporting cast is great, with the new people from Hiroshima that are well charachterized and led me to care about them as much as older entries of the series.
Even if I liked it a lot, I cannot ignore that being published right after Yakuza 0, that offers more content, variety, a better story and a bit more courage in innovating and therefore I cannot give it 5 stars. Still, I can hardly imagine a better ending for this narrative arc for Kiryu.
The new location is not so big and doesn't offer too much side content, but it is something different compared to the big cities neighborhood and it's pretty to walk around its street.
I also enjoyed the narrative, even if with the typical over the top moments of the series (sometimes a bit too much "over", like a certain scene "mimicking" american football). A bit cheesy sometime, but I was glued to the screen and it really highlighted Kiryu as the legendary Yakuza.
Also the supporting cast is great, with the new people from Hiroshima that are well charachterized and led me to care about them as much as older entries of the series.
Even if I liked it a lot, I cannot ignore that being published right after Yakuza 0, that offers more content, variety, a better story and a bit more courage in innovating and therefore I cannot give it 5 stars. Still, I can hardly imagine a better ending for this narrative arc for Kiryu.
2019
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.
2023
A wonderful travel in nostalgia lane. Many reference to classic Jrpgs, a nice story, nice musics and nice pixel art. No grinding and no random encounter, as the aim of the game is to give you only the best parts of the Jrpg formula.
It is not flawless. While the character cast has some nice entries, some are a bit disappointing, like the two protagonists that are a bit too generic good guys. The story has some elements that could have been explored more. In general the game offers many very good things, but not so many of them are memorable. Plus, there is a requirement to reach the true ending that is a bit annoying.
Anyway, it is almost always very enjoyable. The game world is great and offers so many different environments. The combat system, while not too sophisticated, it feels always lively with the request of player input to be more effective.
It is not flawless. While the character cast has some nice entries, some are a bit disappointing, like the two protagonists that are a bit too generic good guys. The story has some elements that could have been explored more. In general the game offers many very good things, but not so many of them are memorable. Plus, there is a requirement to reach the true ending that is a bit annoying.
Anyway, it is almost always very enjoyable. The game world is great and offers so many different environments. The combat system, while not too sophisticated, it feels always lively with the request of player input to be more effective.