Easily the jankest of the mainline games with way too many instances of ending up in a "dead game". I still enjoy it a lot.

Don't change for anyone baby

This was....ok?
Level design was mostly great and the area themes were all fun but the boss fights were the absolute worst and majorly dragged the game down.

Also multiplayer just does not work, it is so messy when every character is so fast, the camera struggles and no one can keep up.

A game that has no right being as good as it is honestly.
It's mainly a Paper Mario clone but the kids playing LOTR theme works so well.
If you like the first 10 seasons of South Park and just want a short charming RPG to play then this does the job perfectly, the story is just as fun as that era of South Park and most of the humour lands with only a joke or two feeling kinda outdated.

I fell for the propaganda and ended up fully drinking the Kool-Aid.
This game really is just the most harrowing and fun thing to play especially with a group of buds.

Every time I think RGG can't outdo themselves they just go ahead and prove me wrong, some of their best character writing they've done and any gameplay issues I may have had with Yakuza 7 are just completely fixed or replaced here all for the better.

I love Ichiban so much, my heart is so full.

Impeccable remake, pretty much a complete replacement for the original 2008 game.

A much better DLC than part 1 but still kind of lacking anything to make it a must play other than the added context and fleshing out of the main game's plot.
Still I got what I wanted from the the two parter DLC.

A kind of ok DLC, better stealth mechanics than the base game but bigger down by having no real combat to speak of.
It does a decent job fleshing out Kidman and giving some more context to the main game's plot.

A solid first entry but not without its jank, the story was very interesting to piece together however it felt very back ended, the opening half of the game leaves way too much unsaid for too long.
The mechanics are fine but very fun, they definitely needed some more polish, especially the stealth options.
The real star of the show is the overall aesthetics and tone of the game though, every area is interesting, every enemy design is solid and the horror hits all the right marks for me.

Masterpiece

Apex fiction

Damn near perfect, easily my new favourite 2D Mario game.
Not a single bad level.

A perfect story, the smaller scale and tight focus made for an intimate, impactful and emotional reunion with Kiryu.
Combat was damn near flawless, RGG have clearly perfected the brawer mechanics in the Dragon Engine, we've come a long way from Yakuza 6's block heavy ragdoll jank.

Peak fiction
Positively enthralling start to finish, one of RGG's finest stories and a solid cast of characters to back it up.
Ample and entertaining side content as you'd expect from this studio by now and some very welcome combat changes.

I went in fairly blind and came away massively impressed.
A fantastic metroidvania with impressive combat, a hauntingly beautiful artstyle and a map that begged to be explored to the fullest.