This game is sort of a reverse of yakuza 4. Cause while I thought the story of 4 was incredible, I thought the gameplay could be a better. This game is the opposite. The 5 characters are actually fun to play as (except 1), and the side content of this game is actually the best in the series. The 1 character that isn't fun is just lame and doesn't have very much depth to his style. Saejima actually feels good to play as in this game. I'm not sure if they just changed how he felt or I did something wrong in 4 but he's cool now. Akiyama and kiryu are akiyama and kiryu so they're obviously fun. Hakura was vey unexpected. I mean its a rhythm game breaking up an action beat em up game yet honestly it works pretty well. The side story minigames were pretty cool (especially kiryus) and a welcome addition, although I didn't do them much because this game took me FOREVER. I would've liked to do them more but I was growing impatient and just wanted to finish the game. The story in this game is just okay at best. 4 does the split paths crossing into one much better and all the different stories were just kind of tiring me out at that point. There were some really sweet heartfelt moments here and there but it wasn't enough to make me 100% invested like other games. The music also wasn't as strong as the last game, which isn't a dig at this games music it's still good. Just not AS good. So while the story was a little too long and convoluted for my liking, the gameplay was enough to keep me hooked on this series. Another yakuza banger.