Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio tried something really different with this entry in the Yakuza series, and it definitely paid off. Sure, there are some growing pains, but given how much new stuff there is in here I am more than willing to overlook some flaws.
The turn-based combat works pretty well, there is some depth to it but at points it almost feels like it's stuffed to the brim with too much stuff. Let's call it a first draft. But the combat isn't why I absolutely adore this game.
The Yakuza series has always hooked me with its characters, its detailed locations and the tonal whiplash between soapy melodrama in the main story and the goofy ass shit happening in the side content. This time around, it feels like both of those have been amped up. The main story packs a real emotional punch, and with the new protagonist (Kasuga Ichiban) it feels like the silliness has reached new peaks.
Kiryu has always been a brooding, stoic character with a heart of gold. Kasuga, similarly, always tries to do the right thing, but the characters couldn't be more different. Kasuga is what you get when you take a typical shonen anime protagonist and put him in a (semi-)realistic setting. Of course, all pretense of realism goes out the door a few hours into the game when Kasuga starts seeing his adventure as him playing real life Dragon Quest (which is only really in effect during combat).
There is also a staggering amount of side content in this game. The everpresent substories, while fewer in number, are significantly beefed up. There's a longer story arc in each of them, and most of the substories require you going back to a location a few times to see the story progress.
I only really have on complaint with the game, and that is a pacing issue that occurred in the late game. Combat had been fairly breezy up until that point, with me keeping up with the enemies' levels pretty evenly. And then, out of nowhere, I hit a boss that was 15 levels higher and the game recommending me to just grind it out, so I had to spend a few hours just mindnumbingly grinding enemies in a battle arena.
On the whole though, I really love this game and I'm super excited to see where the story goes in the coming installments.
The turn-based combat works pretty well, there is some depth to it but at points it almost feels like it's stuffed to the brim with too much stuff. Let's call it a first draft. But the combat isn't why I absolutely adore this game.
The Yakuza series has always hooked me with its characters, its detailed locations and the tonal whiplash between soapy melodrama in the main story and the goofy ass shit happening in the side content. This time around, it feels like both of those have been amped up. The main story packs a real emotional punch, and with the new protagonist (Kasuga Ichiban) it feels like the silliness has reached new peaks.
Kiryu has always been a brooding, stoic character with a heart of gold. Kasuga, similarly, always tries to do the right thing, but the characters couldn't be more different. Kasuga is what you get when you take a typical shonen anime protagonist and put him in a (semi-)realistic setting. Of course, all pretense of realism goes out the door a few hours into the game when Kasuga starts seeing his adventure as him playing real life Dragon Quest (which is only really in effect during combat).
There is also a staggering amount of side content in this game. The everpresent substories, while fewer in number, are significantly beefed up. There's a longer story arc in each of them, and most of the substories require you going back to a location a few times to see the story progress.
I only really have on complaint with the game, and that is a pacing issue that occurred in the late game. Combat had been fairly breezy up until that point, with me keeping up with the enemies' levels pretty evenly. And then, out of nowhere, I hit a boss that was 15 levels higher and the game recommending me to just grind it out, so I had to spend a few hours just mindnumbingly grinding enemies in a battle arena.
On the whole though, I really love this game and I'm super excited to see where the story goes in the coming installments.