Pach0
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This review contains spoilers
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the best Yakuza game, in my opinion at least. I think it perfectly expands on the combat from Yakuza 7 creating a simple but incredibly rewarding turn-based system. I think it contains the best overworld in the series and one of my favorite overworlds in any game ever. The game is filled with likeable characters that all represent the game's main themes in one way or another. The one shortcoming the game has, and it's a pretty big one, is the 3rd act of the story which fumbles it's way through a rushed conclusion which leaves so many unanswered questions that it makes me wonder if this was meant to be setting up for a direct sequel making a trilogy. But overall this is one of the most enjoyable and memorable JRPGs I have played in a long time.
Let's go back to what I liked. The combat is a major step up from the last game. In Yakuza 7, combat was simple, it mostly consisted of each character doing their one big move over and over and using heals or buffs when you needed to. Combat in Infinite Wealth was revamped to place a heavy emphasis on positioning, of both you and your enemies. The ability to move freely on your turn creates a system of always trying to get the smallest advantage over your enemy at all times, which is incredibly fun for me because I like to do that in RPG's anyway.
They also reverted the strange decision to tie major stat increases to job level. I really love how this game encourages you to switch jobs regularly and get as many useful skills as possible while making it easier for you to do so by adding the ability to switch jobs at multiple locations. I also like the new skill inheritance system where you can only inherit a certain number of skills from different jobs. Not only does this clear up the move list and create more interesting decisions to make while building your characters, it makes it so the jobs themselves can feel more varied and individually powerful. Many jobs in Yakuza 7 were straight up terrible but pretty much every job in 8 has at least one really good move that would make it worth it to switch for a while.
The Honolulu map is my favorite city in the Yakuza series. I've always loved tropical, beach-themed places so I was very excited when I heard this game would take place at least partly in Honolulu and I was not disappointed. It just feels so good to walk around this city, everything is so vibrant and colorful while still having a laid-back, chill vibe. This probably comes more from my personal love of areas like this, but I just adore this map and I hope they use it again.
The characters were once again a home run in this game. The returning characters were just as good as before and their stories continue in a logical and satisfying way. The newcomers were great with Tomizawa and Yamai being two particularly stand out additions. Only complaint I have is that I am absolutely baffled why they waited to add Joon-Gi Han to the party so late especially when they had the perfect opportunity to do so when Zhao joined.
Now on to things I didn't like.
They really really need to retire Kiryu for good at this point. As someone who started with Yakuza 0 and played through every mainline game, I can feel myself starting to get sick of him as much as it pains me to say. This is the 233,409,216,745th time they've done "Kiryu's final stand" and I think it's time to fully pass the franchise over to Ichiban who I think is a perfect successor to Kiryu. The two are complete opposites while still holding the same core values. Granted, Kiryu still had unfinished business because of that frankly idiotic deal he made with the Daidoji faction in Yakuza 6, but at a certain point you have to recognize when a character arc reaches it's natural conclusion which thankfully I think it did here. Kiryu deciding to live for the people who he loves and regaining his name (somehow) is the perfect ending for him. I don't mind him playing a supporting role, maybe a mentor figure or something, but I will be sorely disappointed if Yakuza 9 ends in Kiryu climbing Millennium Tower to fight a corrupt Yakuza boss who wants to destroy that way of life. As a final note on Kiryu in this game, I think the decision to have Tatara reveal Kiryu is alive is the single worst plot point in the story because almost nothing comes from it. Kiryu hiding his identity was already pretty flimsy because it feels like every old Yakuza character besides the kids at the orphanage ran into Kiryu and immediately recognized him which makes you wonder what the point is. But once his identity is revealed, nothing really changes. The Daidoji act like him being alive is still a top level classified secret, none of the old characters ever react to the news, and Kiryu himself still tries to hide the fact that he's clearly alive and running around. I think it's fine we didn't get a scene of Kiryu and Haruka reuniting but at least show us how she and the other kids felt about the news that the guy who is basically their father is not only still alive but has been in hiding for the better part of a decade. It just felt like it went nowhere which makes me question why they even included it in the first place.
The Ichiban side of the story on the other hand felt like it was missing a few cutscenes after the credits. It just leaves so much left unanswered. What happened to Bryce? What happened to Akane? How's Yamai doing? Did Ichiban and the others get their jobs back after Tatara exposed herself? Does Saeko actually love Ichiban? I just wish there was a bit more closure.
I've heard a lot of people say they don't think Ichiban should have forgiven Eiji but I thought that was fine. Ichiban didn't even really forgive him he gave him a chance to atone which is what he was doing at Hello Work at the beginning of the game. I think it made sense for him.
The last couple of chapters felt strange, almost padding but not quite. I don't really know how to explain it but it felt like a lot of what you're doing feels inconsequential.
Overall I enjoyed the story, I just think the party split made the whole thing pretty wonky and we ended up with a lackluster but not terrible 3rd act and a decent ending.
I am big fan of this game, I had a great time playing it and I think it serves as a good conclusion to Kiryu's character. I hope the next game is more Ichiban focused and the story is a bit more smooth. I'm definitely looking forward to the next project from RGG.
Let's go back to what I liked. The combat is a major step up from the last game. In Yakuza 7, combat was simple, it mostly consisted of each character doing their one big move over and over and using heals or buffs when you needed to. Combat in Infinite Wealth was revamped to place a heavy emphasis on positioning, of both you and your enemies. The ability to move freely on your turn creates a system of always trying to get the smallest advantage over your enemy at all times, which is incredibly fun for me because I like to do that in RPG's anyway.
They also reverted the strange decision to tie major stat increases to job level. I really love how this game encourages you to switch jobs regularly and get as many useful skills as possible while making it easier for you to do so by adding the ability to switch jobs at multiple locations. I also like the new skill inheritance system where you can only inherit a certain number of skills from different jobs. Not only does this clear up the move list and create more interesting decisions to make while building your characters, it makes it so the jobs themselves can feel more varied and individually powerful. Many jobs in Yakuza 7 were straight up terrible but pretty much every job in 8 has at least one really good move that would make it worth it to switch for a while.
The Honolulu map is my favorite city in the Yakuza series. I've always loved tropical, beach-themed places so I was very excited when I heard this game would take place at least partly in Honolulu and I was not disappointed. It just feels so good to walk around this city, everything is so vibrant and colorful while still having a laid-back, chill vibe. This probably comes more from my personal love of areas like this, but I just adore this map and I hope they use it again.
The characters were once again a home run in this game. The returning characters were just as good as before and their stories continue in a logical and satisfying way. The newcomers were great with Tomizawa and Yamai being two particularly stand out additions. Only complaint I have is that I am absolutely baffled why they waited to add Joon-Gi Han to the party so late especially when they had the perfect opportunity to do so when Zhao joined.
Now on to things I didn't like.
They really really need to retire Kiryu for good at this point. As someone who started with Yakuza 0 and played through every mainline game, I can feel myself starting to get sick of him as much as it pains me to say. This is the 233,409,216,745th time they've done "Kiryu's final stand" and I think it's time to fully pass the franchise over to Ichiban who I think is a perfect successor to Kiryu. The two are complete opposites while still holding the same core values. Granted, Kiryu still had unfinished business because of that frankly idiotic deal he made with the Daidoji faction in Yakuza 6, but at a certain point you have to recognize when a character arc reaches it's natural conclusion which thankfully I think it did here. Kiryu deciding to live for the people who he loves and regaining his name (somehow) is the perfect ending for him. I don't mind him playing a supporting role, maybe a mentor figure or something, but I will be sorely disappointed if Yakuza 9 ends in Kiryu climbing Millennium Tower to fight a corrupt Yakuza boss who wants to destroy that way of life. As a final note on Kiryu in this game, I think the decision to have Tatara reveal Kiryu is alive is the single worst plot point in the story because almost nothing comes from it. Kiryu hiding his identity was already pretty flimsy because it feels like every old Yakuza character besides the kids at the orphanage ran into Kiryu and immediately recognized him which makes you wonder what the point is. But once his identity is revealed, nothing really changes. The Daidoji act like him being alive is still a top level classified secret, none of the old characters ever react to the news, and Kiryu himself still tries to hide the fact that he's clearly alive and running around. I think it's fine we didn't get a scene of Kiryu and Haruka reuniting but at least show us how she and the other kids felt about the news that the guy who is basically their father is not only still alive but has been in hiding for the better part of a decade. It just felt like it went nowhere which makes me question why they even included it in the first place.
The Ichiban side of the story on the other hand felt like it was missing a few cutscenes after the credits. It just leaves so much left unanswered. What happened to Bryce? What happened to Akane? How's Yamai doing? Did Ichiban and the others get their jobs back after Tatara exposed herself? Does Saeko actually love Ichiban? I just wish there was a bit more closure.
I've heard a lot of people say they don't think Ichiban should have forgiven Eiji but I thought that was fine. Ichiban didn't even really forgive him he gave him a chance to atone which is what he was doing at Hello Work at the beginning of the game. I think it made sense for him.
The last couple of chapters felt strange, almost padding but not quite. I don't really know how to explain it but it felt like a lot of what you're doing feels inconsequential.
Overall I enjoyed the story, I just think the party split made the whole thing pretty wonky and we ended up with a lackluster but not terrible 3rd act and a decent ending.
I am big fan of this game, I had a great time playing it and I think it serves as a good conclusion to Kiryu's character. I hope the next game is more Ichiban focused and the story is a bit more smooth. I'm definitely looking forward to the next project from RGG.
To me, this is and will always be the best Touhou game without any doubt about it. It's just simple, no frills bullet hell, and so well-crafted at that. Honestly, no matter your skill level, I think everyone should play this at least once.
By the way, anyone who tells you that "hitboxes are necessary" are fucking liars and you shouldn't listen to them.
By the way, anyone who tells you that "hitboxes are necessary" are fucking liars and you shouldn't listen to them.
favorite game of all time
I am a huge fan of this game, actually. Which was a bit of a surprise considering I'm not the biggest fan of the other two split-screen style touhou games. Now that the initial excitement of a brand new Touhou game coming into existence has worn off, I can't say it's my favorite. But it's definitely up there!
I really enjoy how this game feels to play, and it has a very fun roster of characters. The dialogue is really good too, and the stories are very well connected by everyone's different perspectives on what's going on. Easily some of the best writing in a touhou game as a whole.
I will say, not all characters are created equal. Some story modes are much, much easier than others. Some are also much, much harder [Nazrin. I'm talking about Nazrin holy shit Nazrin's Yachie fight is actually inhumane.]
Playing with people is also very lovely, although if you're not playing in person I've personally been unable to actually get the game to be in a playable state with online matchmaking. Hopefully there'll be either a fanmade or official fix for this in the future, though. As there is for PoFV irrc.
Also it's good to keep in mind that there are. Some weird bugs in this game in particular. I've passingly heard about bugs in other touhou games but this is the only game where I've actually experienced any [or noted that I was experiencing them, at the very least.]
All-in-all, easily one of my favorite Touhou games. It's super fun, and if you're able to, a great way to spend some time with friends as well! There are a few downsides, but for the most part are easily overlooked.
I really enjoy how this game feels to play, and it has a very fun roster of characters. The dialogue is really good too, and the stories are very well connected by everyone's different perspectives on what's going on. Easily some of the best writing in a touhou game as a whole.
I will say, not all characters are created equal. Some story modes are much, much easier than others. Some are also much, much harder [Nazrin. I'm talking about Nazrin holy shit Nazrin's Yachie fight is actually inhumane.]
Playing with people is also very lovely, although if you're not playing in person I've personally been unable to actually get the game to be in a playable state with online matchmaking. Hopefully there'll be either a fanmade or official fix for this in the future, though. As there is for PoFV irrc.
Also it's good to keep in mind that there are. Some weird bugs in this game in particular. I've passingly heard about bugs in other touhou games but this is the only game where I've actually experienced any [or noted that I was experiencing them, at the very least.]
All-in-all, easily one of my favorite Touhou games. It's super fun, and if you're able to, a great way to spend some time with friends as well! There are a few downsides, but for the most part are easily overlooked.
The balancing is so awful but that makes it so much better I think. Playing as Nazrin is an unique experience.
ES EL TRECEAVO TOUHOU QUE JUGUE 5 ESTRELLAS
i love touhou project!!
Touhou 19: Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost is the product of grand ambition from someone looking to show that something grand can be produced by a single person, with sparse help from others. When asked about the development of Touhou 19 around its release date, ZUN had taken notice of the amount of attention AI has been given recently. ZUN set out his goal for this game to be jam packed with content to counteract that notion. From that, Touhou 19 has materialized as an experience of being jam packed, but is missing some elements that fans have expected. I think the scale of this game might have exceeded ZUNs capabilities a bit, maybe due to his own method of game making or due to a schedule. This game is in the style of a competitive shooting game, similar to Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream, Phantasmagoria of Flower View, or even going back further to Twinkle Star Sprites. This style of danmaku game is fitting for the goal of the most amount of content possible without getting repetitive. These games have historically always had more playable characters, and that amount of characters is seemingly required for the story ZUN was trying to tell in this game. UDoALG wraps up the interconnected story of Touhou since Hidden Star in Four Seasons. This “arc” of the story, if you will, is similar in structure to how Touhou 10-14 were interconnected, with the plot of a proceeding game affecting the one that comes after in some fashion. Touhou 16-19 are interconnected with Okina mentions, the beast leaders, the character cards from Unconnected Marketeers, etc. I think the story is done extremely well in 19, with each characters’ scenario giving a hint to eventually uncover the whole truth of what is going on in Gensokyo this time. However I do feel that the character list is a bit bloated. I don’t mind their inclusions as characters, but I do wish that some characters in this game, Orin and Seiran for example, had a bigger role in the overall plot to make their inclusion feel more valid. On the topic of the amount of characters in this game, this game is by far the lengthiest in mainline Touhou games when it comes to time to see the story through. Getting a 1CC for all characters on normal took me just around 10 hours, which adds to the feeling of the game being jam packed. Touching on the gameplay and difficulty of this game is hard because ZUN isn’t known for his polish on games OR his balancing. So expecting the game to be balanced and bug free from him is in a sense unfair, but some of the balancing and user experience is so out of whack it needs to be addressed in some way. Chiyari is obviously a busted character, breaking even the CPU, but the more damning thing to me is the features of the game that simply don’t work. It is no secret that the online mode of this game is dead and bad. I think the online was a big selling point on this game, the variety of characters, the format of the game, lack of extra stage, and online being an option supports that, but it is so laggy and prone to desyncs that it is basically unusable. ZUN desperately needed to get someone else to work on this part of the game, giving him more time to polish some of the balance perhaps. It isn’t even as if he is afraid to give the work to others either, as the boss sprites and card art are done by people that aren’t ZUN. It felt as if the feature was put in just to say it was in the game and was left at that. Maybe a patch will come in the future and fix the netcode at least but I have extreme doubts about that. It has been nearly 6 months since the game came out and as far as I am aware, no efforts have been made to fix it. I do like this game however despite the rough patches it has. The game is visually the best looking the mainline series has ever been, with textures and environments that look crisper, ZUN portraits being the best that they ever have been, the boss pixel art being so beautiful and full of life, this game looks amazing. The music is amazing too, with new instruments being experimented with by ZUN, most notably to me on Biten’s theme. And this game is full credit to ZUN, jammed with stuff in it. It feels like it takes elements of the past 4 games and combines them into a melting pot of danmaku, it is quite lovely in terms of theming and story. I do hope the cards are done away with after this entry though, 18, 18.5 and now 19 have all had them as a prominent game mechanic. I think they are getting a bit stale at this point. This game, which was born out of a passion to make something ambitious, the most ambitious Touhou Project game in nearly 20 years, will always be a hard sell to the series I think. With the unorthodox difficulty and game style, and lack of (working) built in online support, I think this game will be passed over a lot when looking back on the series, but it is important. There is an essence here, but it feels only achieved to about 85% of what it could be.
goes hard
18.5 is easily one of the most fun touhou games I have had the pleasure to play through. This one is far different than most, focusing on randomly generated stages and a random boss at the end of each. In these stages you earn two types of currency, which are used for ability cards, each granting a special buff, passive, or move to use in that run. There is also the addition of the Magic Circle, which will freeze bullets for a period of time, allowing you to attack patterns in special ways.
18.5 is an absolute blast, its super fun to just hop on and play a few rounds, hop off, and then come back a bit later. I do think it suffers from being a bit bare in content, there could def be a few more enemy patterns and bosses, but other than that super fun.
18.5 is an absolute blast, its super fun to just hop on and play a few rounds, hop off, and then come back a bit later. I do think it suffers from being a bit bare in content, there could def be a few more enemy patterns and bosses, but other than that super fun.
