Where has this franchise been all my life? Yakuza 7 is a very solid game all around, with a refreshing blend of levity and sincerity. The organized crime drama thriller and the comedy work to create a memorable experience. The combat system is tight, flexible, and generally balanced. The game’s side content feeds nicely into the main experience and provides cohesion as a whole. The writing and acting performances of the main cast are stunning. The ending especially was incredibly well-executed and rewarding without being unrealistically happy.
The business side-game was really fun, if a little easy (Which i was happy about). Most of the other side content has some replayability but are mostly there as distractions, which I actually like. It’s there to engage with if you want to, and not if you don’t. I hated the kart racer and the can collector, so I skipped those. I loved the business mode, so I did that. I played a few rounds of golf and used the batting cages. I completed every single vocational certificate.
I have only a few gripes about the game which unfortunately seriously damaged its rating in my eyes.
1. The ridiculous 15-level jump in midgame. While doing most side content and not running from any random encounters, I entered chapter 12 at level 38. The boss of Chapter 12 was level 50. I had no intention of grinding 12-15 levels. This was the most egregious error the game makes, bar none.
2. Bosses were complete sponges with very little to offer in terms of strategic depth after an initial learning curve. After learning their attack patterns, which weaknesses they have, and what debuffs to apply, the game is resolved and all you can do is dump your SP into them and refresh your mana endlessly with items. This was irritating but not more than I could handle.
Excited to play Yakuza 0. That’ll be fun.
The business side-game was really fun, if a little easy (Which i was happy about). Most of the other side content has some replayability but are mostly there as distractions, which I actually like. It’s there to engage with if you want to, and not if you don’t. I hated the kart racer and the can collector, so I skipped those. I loved the business mode, so I did that. I played a few rounds of golf and used the batting cages. I completed every single vocational certificate.
I have only a few gripes about the game which unfortunately seriously damaged its rating in my eyes.
1. The ridiculous 15-level jump in midgame. While doing most side content and not running from any random encounters, I entered chapter 12 at level 38. The boss of Chapter 12 was level 50. I had no intention of grinding 12-15 levels. This was the most egregious error the game makes, bar none.
2. Bosses were complete sponges with very little to offer in terms of strategic depth after an initial learning curve. After learning their attack patterns, which weaknesses they have, and what debuffs to apply, the game is resolved and all you can do is dump your SP into them and refresh your mana endlessly with items. This was irritating but not more than I could handle.
Excited to play Yakuza 0. That’ll be fun.