I had always loved JRPGs growing up. I was obsessed with Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy - the classics that defined the genre. Persona wasn't nearly as popular and it had slipped under my radar for years. When I finally caught wind of what these games were, it was honestly the perfect time - I was the same age and in the same year of school as the characters in the game.

It sounds corny, but I had never really connected with a game like this before, or realized that JRPGs could be so versatile. It was the first game I played that tackled the most mundane aspect of growing up - school - but made something fun out of it, and tied it into a frankly touching narrative about living life to its fullest.

Looking back, sure, this game has its flaws. But that first experience was honestly pure magic for me - the soundtrack, the suicidal imagery, the characters - I had never seen a game try anything like it, and it opened up an entire world of related titles for me to get into.

It really takes a lot of dedication and passion to create a game of this caliber that understands everything that makes Yakuza/Like a Dragon as a series work. Through all the many highs and lows I experienced with this franchise, countless hours, days, even months I spent engrossed in the stories, grinding the completion, experiencing every single activity these games has to offer, this game made me reflect on every detail in this journey and cherish them, this was truly something special.

Undoubtedly this is not a perfect game for everyone, its easily one of the longest game in the series and with that brings drawbacks such as pacing issues, not every character having equal screen time, if you dislike the classic Yakuza/LAD wackiness I doubt this game is gonna change your mind, its also most likely going to be one of the harder games to revisit and only time will tell how good this game will age as a whole. Despite all that, if you are a long time fan of the franchise, I'm sure there will be something worthwhile you obtain from this story.

Everything great about 7 is elevated to new heights here, the combat is improved with much needed added depth and fluidity. The music is of course consistently great and the characters introduced such as Tomizawa, Chitose and Yamai are easily some of the best characters this franchise has to offer. Hawaii is an absolutely incredible setting, vibrant, colorful and tons of fun to lose yourself in. Dondoko and Sujimon have enough depth to be considered a whole ass separate game but the madlads incorporated it as a side activity that you could entirely skip. This game triumphs every other game in the series outside 5 and maybe 0 in terms of ambition and scale

"Kiryu Kazuma never walked the easiest path"

This game was of course going to be the Kiryu game and seeing the credits roll to this game, finally witnessing the sendoff of one of my favorite fictional characters of all time is definitely an indescribable feeling, one that makes me emotional and tear up thinking about. This game is everything I wanted coming into this and saying they were well met would be an understatement to how I really feel. I love Like a Dragon and for whatever plans RGG studios do have next, I'll be there no matter what..

3 years ago, i found myself finding Yakuza 0 on steam and i thought it was a cool game to hop on especially how people praised the game to hell but it was only a year after that i geniuely found myself deep in love with this series to death, going recently now after being caught up (and that was after Gaiden) i geniuely don't know what Yakuza 8 had to offer in terms of having the honor and giving the best conclusion for the most Iconic Character ever and feel fitting for him and for the people around him.

Especially after the sudden leave of Nagoshi to the RGG, they had too much in their back to deliver that and on top of that giving a insane amount of dev time more than a usual Yakuza game and for the final one, giving probably for me the most ambitious Yakuza story. I don't even need to say that they delivered in the best way i could've imagined, the amount of care and love for the long time fans of the series who has been supporting it has never felt so reassured in more ways than another.

Of course as am i writting this, i have just beat this game an hour ago so my thought's are all over the place but my most of reviews are just as soon i beat the game and gather my thoughts and i don't think this one will be different, this is the second series that i wholeheartly so glad to be apart of this journey through the end and enjoy and talk with friends as much i did especially going through hard times i always found myself hopping on and having the thought ''Keep Moving, keep trying and figure it out. As corny that sounds and simplistic, it's the most simple way to get through the hard times in life, it's just how it is.

As Gaiden did and especially Yakuza 8, it's just gives a lot of hope to what is to come for this series or any RGG game. My trust for RGG is all the way through to support them especially for how much hardships to get through this year.

Thank you RGG.

What a game. Absolutely incredible experience.

Story
This game manages to be both another step on Ichiban's journey while also being the "last" step on Kiryu's. Seeing their respective experiences and views on the events of the story simultaneously is incredible.

This game feels the most like a sequel more than any other Yakuza/LAD game has, with so much building off of 7 and a bit of Gaiden and 6. And it works well in that respect. Seeing what everyone has been up to since 7 is fun, seeing tbe direct results of this whole 6, 7, Gaiden arc of this universe and how they apply to the events of 8 makes for an amazing overarching journey for this series.

The mystery in this game is incredible, the new characters Tomizawa and Chitose are both amazing additions to the cast, I loved both of their journeys in this game.

Honolulu is a great setting, story wise I love how the real world situations of tourism, pollution, poverty, the economy etc. All tie in to how Hawaii is presented and used in the story. RGG has always been great at openly criticizing the conditions of Japan in their games, so seeing that they're able to branch out and still act with the same criticism is great.

Kiryu and Ichiban work well together as a duo, both standing on their own and supporting each other while having a natural flow and bond. Their respective personality traits and tendencies work well together while also having some contrasting traits that make them distinct.

My only notable issues with the story is that one character should have been in it more, but from what I understand they originally weren't going to be at all so I guess it's good we got what we did.

Also the climax overall is good, but definitely not my favorite and I found 7's was a lot more emotional and better executed. Similarly with the main villains, again they're good, just not up with the best in the series.

Characters
Mostly going to focus on the new additions here, Chitose and Tomizawa were great additions to Ichiban's party, I love Tomizawa as a "normal guy" perspective looking at the insane things Ichiban and Kiryu do regularly, he gives the audience someone to relate to if they need it. And his own story was great. Chitose I was surprised as she's like, nearly the third protagonist of this game with how important she is. Both her and Tomizawa work incredibly well with Ichiban and his established patterns as a character. And Seonhee, a welcome addition as well, making her playable was a great decision as she is a fun member of the cast, all of her interactions are so entertaining and I found her interesting quickly. I hope all these new characters stick around for the next game.

Other new characters not playable, were great too. Yamai and Eiji especially I enjoyed their stories a lot.

The returning cast of 7 remained good even if they didn't have as much to do in this game. They're just a great group to follow.

Gameplay
As the second turn based game in the series, the improvement to the depth of the combat is astounding. There is so much going on in every action you take now that takes full advantage of how unique LAD's approach to turn based combat is. The positioning of your party and enemies, the environment around you, the physics engine, so many things influence even just one basic attack, it's possibly the best turn based combat system I've ever played. And that's not even mentioning all the new jobs, old jobs, skills, weapons, items etc. That all have their own contributions as well.

Overall the gameplay outside of combat has just unbelievable amounts of content to it. There's essentially a pokemon and animal crossing game inside of this one. Those are the two larger minigames but there's a ton of smaller ones as well. There's so much to do always on the map that you will always feel like you're keeping busy. Whether it's the main story, substories, Sujimon, Dondoko Island, smaller minigames, bond conversations, collectibles etc. There's so much content packed in here I'm genuinely baffled.

A few things I don't like would be not having Skill Shortcuts, I kinda get why they were removed but I really feel like thy could have stayed. They were appreciated in 7 as starting fights with one move you want is always nice, not having to scroll 12 skills down for the one you want is nice.

I feel like crafting materials for endgame weapons should be more available without grinding minigames/the dungeons. I didn't need everyone to have maxed out weapons, but it would have been cool.

I feel like I have to end this soon, there's legitimately so much I could talk about STILL. But will leave for another time. Yakuza/LAD has never failed to make a game I will like at the bare minimum and love to death at the maximum, and this is in the "love to death" end. I think for now at least it's certainly my favorite in the series even if other games do some things better like the villains and climax.

I'm still I'm awe at what this game pulled off, and am looking forward to the future of the series as always. I'm with you till the end of the line, Ichiban Kasuga.

Hey uh....Mr. Jinpachi, could you pretty pwease not use that move that wins the game? I think that'd be really nice of you...

"Okay."

stuns me in place for five hours and proceeds to shoot me in the face with a fireball

---

Imagine keeping a human-shaped natural disaster in your basement, that's what Heihachi did apparently. Then Heihachi fake died, and then his dad who's been dead gets resurrected by an unexplained devil that isn't actually anything related to the devil gene despite being addressed as "devil" constantly, at least according to Harada, because he ain't pushing Tekken 5 anymore. Feel bad for him, Jinpachi is the only unambiguously good Mishima family member, and in his debut game you have to put him down otherwise his bout of food poisoning will destroy civilization after it ascends past making a rad stage to fight him in.

He's not subtle or an emotional cinematic masterpiece in fighting game boss form like T2 Devil Kazuya, he's a seven foot tall slab of aged beef that has a literal "I win" move at his disposal. Perhaps it plays into his inner conflict with his Not Devil gene, where he's struggling to not use his "I win" move against you, because he actually wants to lose and not just hit you with his "I win" move and kill you with his fireball attack right afterwards. He could easily play to win, but that's against his wishes. A man of honor, until he isn't. A true being of chaos.....

I don't have much else to say about Tekken 5, but it's pretty cool they included the arcade versions of the first three games with the PS2 release, as well as the one and only re-release of the original arcade version of StarBlade in North America that isn't on a discontinued mobile platform or cut down to FMV form for early CD-based consoles, suffice to say I booted up Tekken 5 after playing StarBlade Alpha a while back just to compare. Strange how that ended up happening. A nice little way to celebrate a decade of Tekken two decades ago. adjusts bandages, because I'm actually an ancient mummy

Jinpachi loved StarBlade, that's why it was in here. RIP old man. Hopefully Tag 3 comes in 2033 so I can use you again.

Reload is not only my favorite version of Persona 3 but to me it's also without question the definitive version of this game to me and I'm so glad I can say that with a remake of all things. Everything I've loved about P3 since FES is not only improved on beautifully but it adds a ton of new things to both the gameplay and characters that I wasn't expecting to see added but boy am I glad that's the case cause god damn I had a hard time trying to put this game down, yeah it was that addicting to me. I'll always have a soft spot for FES but Reload is 100% what I think about when it comes to Persona 3 and I doubt that'll change anytime soon.
PS. Also love the fact all the Social Links are fully voiced and this's something I hope future Persona games going forward have.

We are forever cursed to wonder what a definitive version of Persona 3 would look like. To echo the sentiment of everyone: the decision to not include the female protagonist from P3P or other additional content from P3 FES was bizarre, and it's a decision that haunts an otherwise incredible remake.

I finished Persona 3 FES on PS2 a few years ago, and warts and all, I found it to be a really profound experience. I'm really happy more people will get to experience this narrative, and I hope they find it to be even half as cathartic as I did.

It's a game centered around death that makes the case our lives are beautiful because they end, and that the day-to-day moments where we find small joys and connections amount to something in total we have no words for.

If you enjoyed P4G or P5R, definitely give this one a chance. And while you're at it, maybe play FES and P3P too. Perhaps it's fitting we now have three versions of 3.

I don't have much to say that's new about this game or the original, this is a remake that lives up to the original- and even surpasses it. Something I was hopeful for yet didn't quite expect with how most remakes turn out.

The team that made this clearly holds love for the original and took tons of care to preserve its essence in as many ways possible. While it does miss some of the ludo-narrative poignance of the original and certain charms or scenes the original had, it makes up for it fully in reimagining Persona 3 in such a fresh, vivid and more satisfying manner by delving deeper into characters they couldn't do the same for in the original.

My few gripes are with the audiovisual aspects, I like the OST a lot but it's certainly not as iconic as the original which is fine but in certain songs it's a little too off. And for the visuals, on most fronts this is one of the prettiest games I've ever played yet the lighting can be completely out of sync in certain areas. Besides the things I've mentioned, this game is essentially perfect.

Now for a little personal footnote, this game came into my life when I started questioning the meaning of life and why I was alive at a very tender time of my pre-teen years, still unaware of how to deal with a loss. Back then, this game was a guiding light to me, it helped me sit with my fear of death despite how much it posessed me. Death is something I fear even to this day, this moment. But unlike 10 years ago, this time I know the meaning of my life is mine and the people I surround myself by to find. It's alright if I can't find it as long as I'm alive, my life already means something to the people that love me.

And that's fine enough, no matter when or how I pass. This realization only came to me then due to this game and today it comes back into my life in a further fully realized manner to pat me on my back and remind me of the same, to keep walking on and adore the burning glimmer and brilliance in life even if it means enduring all the suffering I have to face or that it'll all come to an end.

And as the game says, "Nothing's a waste...my life will have meaning."

Having finally finished the game, I will say this is the best persona game. Takes all the gameplay innovations of 5 and adds it to the best story.

The story is even better this time around and is improved greatly. So many characters have been expanded upon. Persona 3'd biggest issue used to be pacing and in this game the pacing was rectified to the best they could do.

Theragy is such a great addition to combat I'm shocked at how well implemented it is. It reminds me a lot of the s-crafts in the trails series and those were super fun to use. I'd love to see this concept expanded further because this game showed a useful implementation of the idea.

Moving around has never felt better in the series, and makes traversing tarturus a lot more fun. Congrats Atlus, you finally figured out how to make your characters feel good to move.

This game shows that atlus still has it in them to create genre defining jrpgs and I am very excited for persona 6.

Thank you Yakuza, Thank you Like a Dragon. For everything. For whatever may come, for whatever passed. This series has left a mark of the highest significance in my heart after this despite being an immense fan for quite a few years.

I'll probably make a more deep-diving review someday but this is all I can write in the flooding tears and emotions I have right now.

I wrote about it a little, spoiler-free on here
https://twitter.com/ldealAndTheReal/status/1752357474663903677

I guess I had better write an actual review this time as I wrote one before the game came out.

Simply put, far and away THE BEST game RGG have ever put out. Yakuza 7 left a little to be desired in certain areas (especially music and the janky combat) but they’ve nearly perfected their own RPG formula here with the additions of movement and chain attacks, which are both integral and important to the combat. The music is much improved from 7 as well, and while the story isn’t perfect in any way, the huge payoff you get from playing the series beforehand is massive. It has been an incredible journey and all of the fanservice and the sendoff for Kiryu cannot be matched.

I honestly have no idea where they go from here but every game RGG makes just gets better and better in the quality department and they really are in a league of their own with the maturity of stories they put out.

On a side note, if you don’t play all the games prior to this you are a coward. If you only play 7 before this you are an idiot. And RGG please never include another vtuber in your games ever again.

If you’re curious, this was the original review:
“If RGG has million number of fans i am one of them . if RGG has ten fans i am one of them. if RGG have only one fan and that is me . if RGG has no fans, that means i am no more on the earth . if world against the RGG, i am against the world. i love #RGG till my last breath.. .. Die Hard fan of RGG . Hit Like If you Think RGG Best developer & Smart In the world”