Finished the next one on the list and, man this was a long one. I have a lot of complicated feelings on this entry.
If I had to choose one word to describe it: inconsistent. This game has a ton of content to play through - it is VAST, and even more ambitious than I thought 4 was.
Kiryu's segment of gameplay is possibly some of the best Yakuza there is. I played through his entire minigame. Did all of his substories. It begins as a retrospective sort of journey, one that I thought would have been reserved for Yakuza 6.
Not every story was created equal however. This emotional highs of Kiryu's epic contrast greatly with the lows of Saejima's story. It's overall just boring, and I was expecting it to at least have some plot relevance in regard to the ending but for how long it is, it barely even matters. The minigame for Saejima is also absolutely the worst, making his segment of gameplay a hurdle and not an attraction.
Akiyama and Haruka's segment is fantastic. The intrigue and character moments for both, alongside the standout minigame + Akiyama combat makes for a very fun romp through Sotenbori, my personal favorite map in the franchise.
And, lastly, Shinada's segment acts as an middle ground to them all, not standout but still entertaining enough to keep going. His combat is nothing special, nor is his minigame, but they aren't bad.
I was honestly expecting more from the game in terms of wrapping everything up and how everything connects. But honestly, it feels like a lot of the cutscenes in this game are just long to be long. 10+ minute cutscenes are plentiful in this game, and it feels very needless at times. I admit I was distracted many times, not because they were long, but because the information being told was easily inferable or not necessary.
This game is staggering, in story, scope, and overall gamplay. It feels, unfortunately, like a far cry from the focused dramas and epics of Kiwami 1 or 2. The antagonists in this game are so spread thin that there's very few people to root against, and once you know who, it's already too late. It's such a difference from the cartoonish villains of Ryuji Goda day, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it feels poorly executed. I'm hoping above all that, even if 6 doesn't end Kiryu's story well, it is able to tell a focused and real story that actually feels like it matters to the overall canon of the Yakuza story. Because, if I'm honest, I can't tell if this one really does.
If I had to choose one word to describe it: inconsistent. This game has a ton of content to play through - it is VAST, and even more ambitious than I thought 4 was.
Kiryu's segment of gameplay is possibly some of the best Yakuza there is. I played through his entire minigame. Did all of his substories. It begins as a retrospective sort of journey, one that I thought would have been reserved for Yakuza 6.
Not every story was created equal however. This emotional highs of Kiryu's epic contrast greatly with the lows of Saejima's story. It's overall just boring, and I was expecting it to at least have some plot relevance in regard to the ending but for how long it is, it barely even matters. The minigame for Saejima is also absolutely the worst, making his segment of gameplay a hurdle and not an attraction.
Akiyama and Haruka's segment is fantastic. The intrigue and character moments for both, alongside the standout minigame + Akiyama combat makes for a very fun romp through Sotenbori, my personal favorite map in the franchise.
And, lastly, Shinada's segment acts as an middle ground to them all, not standout but still entertaining enough to keep going. His combat is nothing special, nor is his minigame, but they aren't bad.
I was honestly expecting more from the game in terms of wrapping everything up and how everything connects. But honestly, it feels like a lot of the cutscenes in this game are just long to be long. 10+ minute cutscenes are plentiful in this game, and it feels very needless at times. I admit I was distracted many times, not because they were long, but because the information being told was easily inferable or not necessary.
This game is staggering, in story, scope, and overall gamplay. It feels, unfortunately, like a far cry from the focused dramas and epics of Kiwami 1 or 2. The antagonists in this game are so spread thin that there's very few people to root against, and once you know who, it's already too late. It's such a difference from the cartoonish villains of Ryuji Goda day, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it feels poorly executed. I'm hoping above all that, even if 6 doesn't end Kiryu's story well, it is able to tell a focused and real story that actually feels like it matters to the overall canon of the Yakuza story. Because, if I'm honest, I can't tell if this one really does.