To be honest, this game felt a little too ambitious in terms of the story. Having the game be one with dual protagonists wasn't a bad idea, however Kiryu’s side was far more enjoyable than Ichiban’s side. Although Ichiban’s side was still great, it was clear that this game would be a sendoff for Kiryu as he took in all the sins of the yakuza’s past, while also entrusting the future to Ichiban. They just need to let Kiryu retire and let him enjoy the rest of his years at this point. Still kinda lame that RGG couldnt have shown Kiryu reuniting with his family after all these years, but that might be saved for a future game. Speaking of Ichiban's side, the plot was actually compelling until the plot became convoluted towards the end. Even though I can see the vision with the ending of Ichiban allowing Eji to have a second chance, it wouldve been way better if Eji had more development.

The cast was great tho, I didnt rly have any issues with them.


Another thing is that most of the antagonists felt lackluster, especially Bryce, i did not care for him at all. Ebina was alright, but it was clear that there was more that couldve been expanded upon, like his path towards killing all yakuza and especially his dynamic with Ichiba, considering that they were half siblings. Lastly, Eji felt sidelined for most of the story. Yamai is goated

The gameplay was a huge step-up and so were the events. Even though I still prefer the beat em up style for yakuza, the combat in IW felt more engaging.
There’s so many fun events that they added such as the crazy eats and dondoko island.