Yakuza 7 is easily THE MOST important piece of fiction I have ever consumed and has genuinely moved me like nothing I've ever experienced before.
I beat this game January 2021 so it's been almost 3 years since I've played it, and there seriously hasn't been a day where I haven't thought about it. First of all its a real nice breath of fresh air having a new protagonist for this series. Kiryu passing the baton off to someone who parallels him thematically but personality wise is the complete opposite of him was such a good fucking choice. I think this game EXCELS at showing a man go through the worst shit of his life and coming out from rock bottom while not losing hope in humanity… Yakuza 7 to me is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story of friendship, finding family and forgiveness, and finding your own light in what feels like a dark world.
While Yakuza 7 isn't the most perfect turn based RPG (combat wise) in the world, I think it was the perfect choice for someone like Ichiban Kasuga, because his worldview and comparing certain aspects of life to Dragon Quest helped him become the person he is. I think it's really interesting that the game (whether or intentional or not) hints at him being schizophrenic since everything combat wise is just his imagination amplifying the moment. I just started laughing because imagine fighting some guy and he lets you take turns hitting him back.
Anyways, I love how Ichiban is someone who is so optimistic and just so eager to learn more about life even as a full grown middled aged guy; he's always ecstatic to level up (audience laugh track), as horrendously cheesy as that may sound. It's very charming for someone like Ichiban though, because he's just so full of love and life, and everything he tries to do is for the sake of his loved ones. He treats his party like family, an awesome inseparable bond forged from unfortunate circumstances.
Yakuza 7 really touching upon betrayal and NOT making Ichiban an insane revenge seeking lunatic was such a great idea man. I love how anytime Ichiban gets kicked to the ground he just get's back up and tries to find the least harmful solution to every problem. Ichiban as a character is very naive and tries to look at the brightest side of a person, despite their flaws, especially when it's directed at people he's grown up with. He's constantly trying to seek approval and guidance from people like his father figure/Patriarch Masumi Arakawa, and just watching Ichiban learn that not everything is sunshine and rainbows with the people he's grown up with is so god damn heartbreaking man like oh my god
Everything from the party talk, OST, characters, cutscenes, voice acting, combat animations, minigames, YOU NAME IT! was wrapped into a perfect fun package and I just have no complaints. I'm really sitting here scratching my ass trying to think of what to complain about and the ONLY thing I can think of is a story plot point involving that stupid ass guy named mirror face, but it didn't really sour the experience for me. But that's it really
It's a feat that Yakuza 7 has stayed so special to my heart these past few years, and I hope more people experience the wonders of playing as Ichiban and his crew... It honestly makes me so happy that Yakuza 7 is the only media I've ever experienced that had an ending that made me sob my eyes out for an entire hour while doing the dishes. Only a REAL gamer cries more over a video game ending than when her grandma died. Anyways I love this game so bad and I'd do anything to like dump my brain out to experience it all over again
I beat this game January 2021 so it's been almost 3 years since I've played it, and there seriously hasn't been a day where I haven't thought about it. First of all its a real nice breath of fresh air having a new protagonist for this series. Kiryu passing the baton off to someone who parallels him thematically but personality wise is the complete opposite of him was such a good fucking choice. I think this game EXCELS at showing a man go through the worst shit of his life and coming out from rock bottom while not losing hope in humanity… Yakuza 7 to me is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story of friendship, finding family and forgiveness, and finding your own light in what feels like a dark world.
While Yakuza 7 isn't the most perfect turn based RPG (combat wise) in the world, I think it was the perfect choice for someone like Ichiban Kasuga, because his worldview and comparing certain aspects of life to Dragon Quest helped him become the person he is. I think it's really interesting that the game (whether or intentional or not) hints at him being schizophrenic since everything combat wise is just his imagination amplifying the moment. I just started laughing because imagine fighting some guy and he lets you take turns hitting him back.
Anyways, I love how Ichiban is someone who is so optimistic and just so eager to learn more about life even as a full grown middled aged guy; he's always ecstatic to level up (audience laugh track), as horrendously cheesy as that may sound. It's very charming for someone like Ichiban though, because he's just so full of love and life, and everything he tries to do is for the sake of his loved ones. He treats his party like family, an awesome inseparable bond forged from unfortunate circumstances.
Yakuza 7 really touching upon betrayal and NOT making Ichiban an insane revenge seeking lunatic was such a great idea man. I love how anytime Ichiban gets kicked to the ground he just get's back up and tries to find the least harmful solution to every problem. Ichiban as a character is very naive and tries to look at the brightest side of a person, despite their flaws, especially when it's directed at people he's grown up with. He's constantly trying to seek approval and guidance from people like his father figure/Patriarch Masumi Arakawa, and just watching Ichiban learn that not everything is sunshine and rainbows with the people he's grown up with is so god damn heartbreaking man like oh my god
Everything from the party talk, OST, characters, cutscenes, voice acting, combat animations, minigames, YOU NAME IT! was wrapped into a perfect fun package and I just have no complaints. I'm really sitting here scratching my ass trying to think of what to complain about and the ONLY thing I can think of is a story plot point involving that stupid ass guy named mirror face, but it didn't really sour the experience for me. But that's it really
It's a feat that Yakuza 7 has stayed so special to my heart these past few years, and I hope more people experience the wonders of playing as Ichiban and his crew... It honestly makes me so happy that Yakuza 7 is the only media I've ever experienced that had an ending that made me sob my eyes out for an entire hour while doing the dishes. Only a REAL gamer cries more over a video game ending than when her grandma died. Anyways I love this game so bad and I'd do anything to like dump my brain out to experience it all over again