Had to let this one simmer a bit before dotting down my thoughts. Played nearly half of the 40hr game in two days which I would not recommend doing as some of the more meaty story nuances could be overlooked. Regardless this is a high quality Yakuza/Like a Dragon spin off and there is no denying that.
Bumping up the score half a star because honestly there is very little to complain about here and while I can't say with a straight face that I've enjoyed this game more than some of the Yakuza entries looking at it purely from a mechanical and objective stand point it is a pristine example of what makes RGG games so goddamn good.
Revised and improved combat from previous dragon engine games is certainly a highlight here. Pulling off the fissure release and the GOAT that is the Tiger drop hasn't felt so good before, also the much smoother integration of heat actions into your combos made each encounter not only more stylish and enjoyable to look at but also more satisfying to pull off. The overall balance of the fights were on the easier side with occasional high damage grab or a boss move putting you in the red. The mortal wound mechanic were you lose max HP if you get hit by guns or boss super moves is kinda pointless and an annoyance to deal with. You either use a medkit from a menu which takes a second to get it all back or go to a specific NPC for a check up which is neither that expensive nor does it happen often enough (I guess it depends on your dodging abilities) so it ends up feeling under baked.
Now the story is in a classic RGG fashion a rollercoaster to go through. A detective mystery involving court room drama, serial killings, conspiracy, betrayals and shocking revelations you know what you signed up for if you played any previous RGG games. Honestly it was really interesting to go through as more evidence is revealed and characters shift, perspective on previous facts change until it is all laid out on the table in the last third of the game with a finale waiting to wrap it all up. Saw someone say something along the lines of "this is the best RGG written story" and I would struggle to argue against that in terms of quality for sure.
The new cast is fantastic. Yagami, Kaito and Hamura being the clear highlights no surprise there since they get the most spotlight but even supporting cast like Sagiura, Saori and the merry band of Genda law office have some great scenes. It also feels like they turned up the dial a bit in terms of witty dialogue and humor in sub stories and in the main story as well even incorporating some modern slang which got more than a few chuckles out of me. The two main minigames, drone racing and VR gauntlet were quite interesting but even with a banger track playing for the VR minigame I didn't spend too much time with either.
The final fight was pretty rad as is the standard for these games a shame that the boss OST was a bit on the generic side, the goddamn baby face cane killer had an absolute fire of a track and the guy just shows up twice, refuses to elaborate and disappears. What's up with that? I was spoiled on the Lost Judgment final boss theme which is a shame in a way, but it only made me more pumped up to get to it in game.
So to recap awesome detective mystery story in Yakuza/LaD universe, great band of genuine, likeable and funny characters. Much improved combat with a discount DMC feel - yes the only reason I say that is because you can juggle enemies in the air and a sizeable quantity of entertaining side content.
Bumping up the score half a star because honestly there is very little to complain about here and while I can't say with a straight face that I've enjoyed this game more than some of the Yakuza entries looking at it purely from a mechanical and objective stand point it is a pristine example of what makes RGG games so goddamn good.
Revised and improved combat from previous dragon engine games is certainly a highlight here. Pulling off the fissure release and the GOAT that is the Tiger drop hasn't felt so good before, also the much smoother integration of heat actions into your combos made each encounter not only more stylish and enjoyable to look at but also more satisfying to pull off. The overall balance of the fights were on the easier side with occasional high damage grab or a boss move putting you in the red. The mortal wound mechanic were you lose max HP if you get hit by guns or boss super moves is kinda pointless and an annoyance to deal with. You either use a medkit from a menu which takes a second to get it all back or go to a specific NPC for a check up which is neither that expensive nor does it happen often enough (I guess it depends on your dodging abilities) so it ends up feeling under baked.
Now the story is in a classic RGG fashion a rollercoaster to go through. A detective mystery involving court room drama, serial killings, conspiracy, betrayals and shocking revelations you know what you signed up for if you played any previous RGG games. Honestly it was really interesting to go through as more evidence is revealed and characters shift, perspective on previous facts change until it is all laid out on the table in the last third of the game with a finale waiting to wrap it all up. Saw someone say something along the lines of "this is the best RGG written story" and I would struggle to argue against that in terms of quality for sure.
The new cast is fantastic. Yagami, Kaito and Hamura being the clear highlights no surprise there since they get the most spotlight but even supporting cast like Sagiura, Saori and the merry band of Genda law office have some great scenes. It also feels like they turned up the dial a bit in terms of witty dialogue and humor in sub stories and in the main story as well even incorporating some modern slang which got more than a few chuckles out of me. The two main minigames, drone racing and VR gauntlet were quite interesting but even with a banger track playing for the VR minigame I didn't spend too much time with either.
The final fight was pretty rad as is the standard for these games a shame that the boss OST was a bit on the generic side, the goddamn baby face cane killer had an absolute fire of a track and the guy just shows up twice, refuses to elaborate and disappears. What's up with that? I was spoiled on the Lost Judgment final boss theme which is a shame in a way, but it only made me more pumped up to get to it in game.
So to recap awesome detective mystery story in Yakuza/LaD universe, great band of genuine, likeable and funny characters. Much improved combat with a discount DMC feel - yes the only reason I say that is because you can juggle enemies in the air and a sizeable quantity of entertaining side content.