a genuinely weird, sprawling game even by this franchise’s standards, completely segmented and convoluted in its narrative and still somehow the most emotionally powerful entry this series has been for me since playing Yakuza 0. the extra time afforded to each character and their story (as compared to Yakuza 4) gives the game proper time to let you really settle in with these people and their world before bringing down the hammer hard in Kamurocho, a much better approach to this multiple protagonists conceit even if much of the narrative detail gets lost in the mix. combining this with this game’s genuine dedication to actual personal stakes (no rubber bullets here!) makes the inevitable finale team up feel that much more emotionally rewarding and sincerely saddening. Haruka and Shinada especially get genuinely incredible, accomplished sections about the price of dedication and art in the face of total ruin, could easily have played entire games with them (Shinada Gaiden when?). and not even to mention the minigames this time around, it’s so clear that this is the game they made before 0 because the same truly mind boggling dedication to each side story here is both admirable and bizarre in equal measure, even if not all of it lands (hunting). it’s overwhelming to throw three new cities into the mix this late into the series but to make up for it they all feel actually lived in and detailed (in part due to these minigames filling out the space) in the exact same ways Kamurocho or Osaka are. a genuinely incredible game even when it feels like it shouldn’t be. easily the best of the non Dragon Engine titles, easily my favorite ending of the franchise