GLAZING:
This is genuinely the perfect Yakuza experience, it improves upon almost everything from like a dragon, the combat feels so much more interactive and immersive thanks to adding the ability to move freely, I also think it was a great idea to restrict how many moves you can carry over from other jobs as in LAD I felt too overpowered and the combat got post game/ng+ but it also allows for experimentation that wasn't in LAD since u can choose any 5 skills from different jobs to carry over meaning u can have actual builds now instead of spamming Megaton Throw on every character, this is probably the best implemented turn based combat in any game, it's easy to understand, immersive and active and it's all complimented by the animations' creativity, there's also so much content in this game with 4 whole maps and so many returning and new minigames such as a detailed Animal Crossing minigame, a pokemon minigame which ties into the AC minigame and into the actual combat with a whole job dedicated to it and taking pictures of pervs while riding a trolly. The story is one of the better Yakuza stories imo, the start is one of the best intros in gaming and instantly gets you hooked, the middle section is also a lot better than LAD's which was very forgettable, this game manages to keep you interested all the way through this time, the second half of the mid section of the game also begins some of the most emotional moments in the series for Kiryu as he's faced with death, I love how the Kiryu's side quests (Date's especially) add onto Kiryu's character and help you understand his current mindset, the Hawaii side quests are also equally as good, to be honest these are probably the best list of side quests in the series, there's not as many but they hit as hard if not harder than most of the best side quests from previous games and gets rid of all the filler side quests. I couldn't of asked for better new party members either. The new Hawaii party has really good chemistry with each other and manages to avoid feeling like a copy of LAD's initial party, Tomi and Chitose are both well written, fleshed out characters too, this could be also said for seonhee who's finally a party member (I've waited 4 years for her to join), this is thanks to the walk n talk feature which gives small details about each party members' personality and how they interact with the other members, making them feel like a real group of friends and people, I think the party split between Japan and Hawaii also worked very well and made dynamics you'd think be weird but actually work really well, the final third of the game is PEAK especially the finale I dont really get why people don’t like it as I thought it was obvious Kiryu wouldn’t die tbh and Kiryu’s journey in finding his will to live again was so good especially in those final scenes after the Ebina boss fight, speaking of, Ebina was a great villain probably one of the best in series although it takes until the finale for him to really come through, Bryce mid tho, the Tojo boys inclusion was also so good and I love how it mirrored Daigo and Kiryu’s dynamic from 4 as now it’s Kiryu trying to get Daigo to step and take responsibility for not doing enough to help the ex-yakuza, the scene and fight with the Tojo boys in the finale is also peak Yakuza and had me creaming my pants, I really liked Ichican and Eiji in the finale as it shows Ichiban’s growth by having him properly save the Ryo Aoki counterpart this time around, I think Chitose and Tomi’s arcs wrap up pretty well too although it does feel like they’re one game characters. Overall, this game is peak and easily the best Yakuza and I'm saying all this while feeling burnt out from the series after playing almost every game beforehand, also i would've said more but i'm glazing too hard already. JUST REMEMBERED, YAMAI IS GOATED, BRO IS SO SLICK AND COLD STYLL, PLEAAAASE BRING HIM BACK