Crazy how much the second game in the series pretty much traced the course of the franchise's next 9 years. Kiryu finally handles like the man dubbed Dragon of Dojima ought to be, a force of nature.
When I first started my RGG journey with 0 and the middling-to-abysmal Kiwamis, 2's story was 'merely' cool and enjoyable. Now that I'm caught up on the "Kiryu Saga", 2's tale stands out in its comparative straightforwardness, a quality the series too often lacks. All-time antagonist Ryuji Goda is a big reason as to why that is, but the overall essential cast, combined with the emotional rawness of the events shown, those are the real key ingredients.
Maybe it's the season, maybe it's the fading adrenaline from a shirtless fight on top of Kamurocho Hills ended with the angriest, most brutal Heat Action in the game, maybe I'm just tired... yet it doesn't feel like a proper year has passed if I don't finish a Like A Dragon title. Knowing the series still has so much to give fills me with trepidation as well as warmth. Despite the turmoil we live in, it's nice to do some virtual tourism, to immerse yourself in a different time and space. At this point, beating thugs senseless in the streets is just a nice bonus.
When I first started my RGG journey with 0 and the middling-to-abysmal Kiwamis, 2's story was 'merely' cool and enjoyable. Now that I'm caught up on the "Kiryu Saga", 2's tale stands out in its comparative straightforwardness, a quality the series too often lacks. All-time antagonist Ryuji Goda is a big reason as to why that is, but the overall essential cast, combined with the emotional rawness of the events shown, those are the real key ingredients.
Maybe it's the season, maybe it's the fading adrenaline from a shirtless fight on top of Kamurocho Hills ended with the angriest, most brutal Heat Action in the game, maybe I'm just tired... yet it doesn't feel like a proper year has passed if I don't finish a Like A Dragon title. Knowing the series still has so much to give fills me with trepidation as well as warmth. Despite the turmoil we live in, it's nice to do some virtual tourism, to immerse yourself in a different time and space. At this point, beating thugs senseless in the streets is just a nice bonus.