They've managed to make a bite-sized Like a Dragon/Yakuza experience (relatively speaking). Still lots to do for those that want to experience all the extra that this franchise has to offer but with a shorter story and less side quests.
The one real negative to this game is the side quests. Usually a very incredible dynamic to this series, the ones featured in Gaiden feel pretty paint by number.
The main component to this game is doing things for Akame and her network. The main story runs through this for the most part and the side stories do as well. Because of the structure of this, many of the side stories are pretty small tasks lacking a lot of the depth usually found in these stories.
There are still some fun side stories to do in this but with the amount scaled back and not a ton of memorable ones, a lot of these just feel like time killers so you're not completely blitzing through the main story.
With a smaller amount of story in this game it does feel like it freed up room for some fighting improvements. Whether coincidental or not, the groups of enemies you encounter increase across the board.
The general packs found around Sotenbori are larger, with many big sized battles where it feels like you're dealing with 50 guys all at once.
The combos for your fighting styles also feel more in depth. You're able to chain together more attacks within a combo as well. They have scaled down the amount of heat attacks featured in this game (least it certainly feels like that). With these additions, including all the tools added to your Agent fighting style, the general street fights you'll find yourself in constantly still feel good. If this beat em up style isn't for you though, I don't think these new additions will change your opinion.
The story is also pretty great here as well. It definitely gets Like a Dragon weird and over the top still but the ending to this game in general is incredible if you're a fan of the franchise and played the majority of these games. Not sure how well it works for those without the attachment to this franchise though so results may vary.
At the end of the day, Like a Dragon: Gaiden manages to make Kiryu even cooler, a feat I didn't think possible. The tools in battle, the bigger combos, the bigger waves of enemies, even some of the small stuff they've added like a new weapon pickup animation for some weapons just adds so much cooooooolness to a legendary cool dude. That feat alone, mixed with that incredible end makes this one of the better games in this franchise and well worth a play if you're a fan of the franchise.
The one real negative to this game is the side quests. Usually a very incredible dynamic to this series, the ones featured in Gaiden feel pretty paint by number.
The main component to this game is doing things for Akame and her network. The main story runs through this for the most part and the side stories do as well. Because of the structure of this, many of the side stories are pretty small tasks lacking a lot of the depth usually found in these stories.
There are still some fun side stories to do in this but with the amount scaled back and not a ton of memorable ones, a lot of these just feel like time killers so you're not completely blitzing through the main story.
With a smaller amount of story in this game it does feel like it freed up room for some fighting improvements. Whether coincidental or not, the groups of enemies you encounter increase across the board.
The general packs found around Sotenbori are larger, with many big sized battles where it feels like you're dealing with 50 guys all at once.
The combos for your fighting styles also feel more in depth. You're able to chain together more attacks within a combo as well. They have scaled down the amount of heat attacks featured in this game (least it certainly feels like that). With these additions, including all the tools added to your Agent fighting style, the general street fights you'll find yourself in constantly still feel good. If this beat em up style isn't for you though, I don't think these new additions will change your opinion.
The story is also pretty great here as well. It definitely gets Like a Dragon weird and over the top still but the ending to this game in general is incredible if you're a fan of the franchise and played the majority of these games. Not sure how well it works for those without the attachment to this franchise though so results may vary.
At the end of the day, Like a Dragon: Gaiden manages to make Kiryu even cooler, a feat I didn't think possible. The tools in battle, the bigger combos, the bigger waves of enemies, even some of the small stuff they've added like a new weapon pickup animation for some weapons just adds so much cooooooolness to a legendary cool dude. That feat alone, mixed with that incredible end makes this one of the better games in this franchise and well worth a play if you're a fan of the franchise.