Other than half the story of this game making so little sense and characters making such stupid decisions that it's funny, there is honestly nothing good about this game.
All the characters including the returning ones are so uncharacteristically fucking stupid that make some of the dumbest decisions ever. It's baffling trying to think of the thought process they get through in this game, there were several points where I was just laughing for several minutes straight because I was in awe of how stupid everything that was going on was.

Don't let that fool you though, this game is mostly cutscenes and is all really boring. You wouldn't think that a visual novel series going to cutscenes would be a bad thing though right? But it kinda is. Kinda just kills the feel of getting immersed in the moment and trying to piece together bit by bit of what is going on, not to mention how little interactivity there is and how fucking awful the cutscenes in this game are anyways. Both on a writing standpoint and the fact this game looks worse than a 2010 Garrys Mod Machinima. Also doesn't help that when you are out of cutscenes, the puzzles in this game are either just whatever, or annoying to do. Felt no shame in using a guide for this game cuz sometimes they just didn't make sense or got me doing some really stupid shit to get the answer.

I predicted the plot twist at the very beginning of the game when I saw how the layout of every campaign was and let alone I was right on the money, sadly didn't guess who the main villain was though because that became an even fucking stupider twist that just, I don't even know what to say about man. Half the shit that they bring up either doesn't get explained or they half ass it. It's such a shame that this is the game that VLR's true ending built up to. This game really just boils down to a really shitty SAW movie written by a completely different set of people who didn't even really watch any of those movies. The snail explanation I know people joke about but that is literally just "if you shat your pants that day instead of pissing then that child wouldn't have had his head blown off with a shotgun". Literally the stupidest thing ever.

Best thing about this game is Carlos. He's my man. Let him be in a better game next time.

This is the most conflicted I've ever been on in a game in my life.

On one hand, this has the least enjoyable gameplay out of any single puzzle//adventure game/visual novel I've experienced, or just any game in general.
Some of the puzzles are genuinely downright fucking retarded. Some shit that nobody would ever even think to guess in their life, or sometimes they will be somewhat easy to understand, but the process to complete the puzzle is annoying and tedious as shit to actually do, because it's constant back and forth out of the menu (I know it's probably better on the DS but I do not care). Admittedly, I am not the smartest person when it comes to puzzle games, I tend to stutter on my thought process a lot, but for 999, I only really had to use a guide once and that was because I had a brainfart at the very final puzzle because it was like, 3 in the morning. In this game I had to constantly look one up because some of them just aren't conveyed to you well at all or just make no sense to actually do. One of the puzzles I thought bugged out entirely, so I reloaded my save from an hour ago, only to fucking learn I had the numbers correct, but the dice weren't facing the correct direction, so I spent an hour thinking my game bugged out four fucking times just to learn I had it, just not well enough.

And due to the story of this game, the pacing is total fucking shit, you are constantly jumping back and forth from path to path so you can see all the routes, get all the answers unlock all the locked routes, and get every single ending done which makes the game feel like it's the longest fucking game ever, which realistically speaking, it's not! This game took me about as long to be as both Somnium 1 and 2, and a little longer to beat than 999. But because of how YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO PLAY THIS GAME, it feels like actually the longest and most exhausting game ever created, it's fucking obnoxious.

On the other hand though, this game has quite literally the most interesting and insane stories I've ever experienced in a game. All the characters from the get-go are more interesting than the ones from 999 (barring Clover since she is from 999), much more development with them in general, much better written dialogue, and in a lot of aspects better writing in general. Playing this remaster and hearing that Sigma DIDN'T have a voice saved a lot of faith for me because I couldn't imagine having to hear Junpei's VA in a game like this. The general story to this game and plot is actual utter fucking insanity, and had me genuinely enthralled with how cool and crazy it got. This had me guessing more than 999 did that's for sure. But the problem is, just when the game is about to get somewhere, just when it's about to get interesting... the TRUE ENDING of this game, of all things, ends on fucking nothing. Looked up to see if I was missing something when I got it, no, that is just how the game ends. Like what the fuck?

There is a lot of parts to this game that are really good, like the writing, some of the puzzles are fun, music is fantastic, and largely most of the story is fantastic. But it's let down by so much shit that just makes it so exhausting and unbearable, and by the end I just didn't get what I wanted, which was simply a satisfying ending. This game feels like a general step down from 999, which sucks because I was hearing beforehand that this game was better. Oh well.

Schrodinger's video game. It's either dogshit, or kino. You decide.

At first I didn't really get it, I was imaging how I would word this out and describe my thoughts of this game and how, while I do like some parts of the game I feel like don't really reach those same heights as when I played Somnium 1 (granted yeah I'm playing these games in reverse I know but still). The puzzles from what I played were fantastic admittedly but there was something about this game that didn't land with me.
And then I kept getting the rest of the endings and this game just kept throwing the fucking hits one after another, and then the true ending route is pure unfiltered kino throwing out twists I literally could not fucking believe.
This game is actually insane, I don't know how you could come up with this, apart of me feels like I should be mad and say it makes no sense but it's so fucking insane and crazy that it loops back to being the most well thought out and kino thing ever. Especially since this game foreshadows the twist in the first frame of the first room.
I get it now. I understand now, I know what kino is like.

This definitely is not the worst Grasshopper game I've played, I'll say that much.

This game like epitome of 2012 era culture where it was like nonstop pop culture references and random humor. Every joke that they try to land in this game is either not funny or just weird creepy and gross. Juliet I think as a character is really good and she's got some great moments but the game is just fucking weird about her all the time it just comes of as uncomfortable to me, the constant gooner jokes being made towards her when the game takes place the very day of her 18th birthday, so it's like "heh... dude she's just barely legal!" I'm not a fan personally I just think that's weird. Other than that though in the mindset of a 2012 landscape she is a pretty good and strong protagonist so there's that. But none of that really matters because this game kinda just isn't fun to play. Every zombie takes 3 business days to kill and you start off with no moves at all, so it's just a constant grind for money so you can actually do damage to them. Late game when you do get more moves it is a much more enjoyable time, but not by much, this game felt like a slog from start to finish to play. Doesn't help that every single bossfight sucks and isn't that interesting, aesthetics and music aside, which that part I think the game excels at.

From Grasshoppers 7th gen output I think this is easily the weakest, only reason people know of this game is because it's that "wacky japanese game where you play as a cheerleader killing zombies with a chainsaw." It's cool to look at from a pov of how Grasshopper did things back then, but even then I still can't wrap my head around the fact this game was made by some of the same core developers and writers as 25th Ward and Killer7, fuck even No More Heroes 1. This game baffles me honestly.

This game as I continued playing quickly grew more and more to becoming one of my favorite games ever.
Part immaculate crime drama, thriller, and also just a game that's just insane and is probably what it feels like to get an ice pick lodged in your skull.

Basically every single thing has been improved upon from the first TSC game and FSR. Pacing is much better and all the stories are much more interesting all with insights on how everyone perceives the 25th Ward showing how much worse it's gotten compared to the 24th. Music is fantastic aswell and the visuals are some of the best ever in a game especially for a visual novel.

This game is dictionary definition of kino, I could not fucking tell you what it's about though.

This should've been the best Yakuza game.

Ever since I started my marathon of these games, one thing I've noticed, even with the games that I hate, that there is a consistency with this series. Every single game, for one reason or another, none of them are genuinely bad games, at worst they can be a 6/10. For a series that's been going on for this long with a lot of games and a lot of ideas being passed around, it's a miracle that that is the case.

Infinite Wealth is a game that's in that middle ground for me. This game isn't a 6/10, it shouldn't be.

This game has some of the best gameplay and QOL features in any Yakuza game. The core gameplay from 7 has been greatly improved on and expanded, with new moves features and the ability to move around in battle, which makes combat flow so much faster and so much smoother. Almost all the characters are great and all the jobs have been improved upon, and with skill inheritance you can have a truly really powerful build, no job in this game is genuinely bad. All the side content is great, the substories were consistently good and a lot of the jokes landed, this game is honestly really funny a good chunk of the time. There is just about as much side content to do in this game as Yakuza 5. Just about every issue I had with Y7 has been fixed, including the dungeons being, in my opinion, much better to explore, especially with the addition of the on-foot radio which is just a perfect thing to add, it should be in every RGG game going forward. On a gameplay front, this is a 10/10 game, honestly.

So saying all of this, why am I not giving this game a perfect score? Simple, this is the worst story ever told in any Yakuza game bar fucking none.

The game makes just about 0 sense and you are aimlessly wandering around trying to figure out what you're doing and what you are actually accomplishing, and you don't figure out until chapter 10 or 12, which no matter what is just awful. This game has about 10 different plot beats that could be the main story but they try to put all of them in the same game and none of it works. They never properly expand upon their ideas, they NEVER give any of the newer characters development, and they never explain or give the player a reason to care about anything that's happened. Tell me, did you remember Wong-To's son until Chitose just randomly asked some Palekana mook in the very last chapter of the game? I didn't, and the game stopped caring afterwards since you don't see him again. The first 6 chapters of this game I think are the best part, honestly. You aren't really doing much but it's still enjoyable to sit through because all it is is Ichiban trying to find answers where his mother could be and who to talk to, then the game keeps going and just shits itself.

One thing that pissed me off a lot is that all the characters from 7 just don't act like themselves, Saeko especially but MOSTLY ICHIBAN. Ichiban in 7 was just some guy, down on his luck starting from rock bottom ever since he had to take the fall for something he didn't do. Trying to find Arakawa the entire game truly believing he would never betray him, to find out that he is his father and his connection with him grows, he finds purpose again in what he's doing and he feels like he's found his footing in the world, only for Arakawa to die the same night they get together again after 20 years and he breaks down, being at his lowest just senselessly beating the shit out of some random goon for information. Some people complained that scene was out of character for Ichi, but that's the point. It's to show how one of the nicest people ever, can still hit below rock botton. Ichi was at his lowest there, confused and pissed off at whoever did it. Ichiban wasn't this paragon of niceness, or the greatest person ever, he was a nice and forgiving guy but not to a comical extent. He forgave Nanba for betraying him because Nanba's motivation to betray him was understandable, he wanted to find his brother again. Ichiban knows how he feels because he's in the same boat, he's known him for a while at that point to so he just can't see himself being mad at what he considered a friend for so long. Aoki is another example. Why did Ichiban forgive him? He's known him for years, he's been his guardian for years, literal decades. Not only recently until he found him again exposing his plans for what he wants to do, reconnecting with him after everything has happened, be basically bond brothers. Ichiban didn't forgive Aoki because he knew deep down he was a nice guy, he forgave him because he's had this connection with him, feels bad for him because he see's the same thing that happened to him, happen to Aoki.

In this game Ichiban forgives a literal fucking murderer who tried killing him, his friends, and lead the charge on kidnapping his mother and a child 4 different times because he found out what they were gonna use the kid for and called it off. Ichiban does shit like this several times, another time with Chitose where she lies and betrays him 3 different times, one of them being the fact she's the reason every single person in Yokohama knows of him as a criminal who started a company to steal shit from people. Basically ruining his reputation. But no it's fine because she didn't actually wanna do it in the end, see how fucking dumb that sounds? This game at all times is 2 steps away from a fantastic plot beat that it just shits itself on and gives up, like this game is scared of actually having focus, because that's what it feels like.

One other reason for why I think that, remember Gaiden? Remember the whole idea of Gaiden being that it's an inbetween game before Y8 so you know the context of what Kiryu is doing and what role the Daidoji are gonna play? Y8 basically spits in your face if you played Gaiden and kills Hanawa after he was in maybe 3 cutscenes with his runtime being 10 minutes total where he gets shot by some random fucking goon. Gaiden meant literally nothing to this game, you did not need to fucking play it AT ALL because it never comes up. All you need to know from Gaiden is that Kiryu is still infact with the Daidoji and Hanawa is infact a character.

I've never played a game with a truly irredeemable story until I played this game, but I can't say I truly, genuinely hate it, because what this game does do good it does fucking amazingly. But I just can't help but while playing this game noticing how it's trying to not only do so much without giving development, it's trying to be other Yakuza games. Mostly 5 I feel in it's identity with being the BIGGEST EVER, and I feel it shares some plot points, and 7 with the fact they basically nullify everything that happened in that game by making offhand comments on what happened. All the 'Jima's starting a security firm after Y7? They got cancelled by some VTuber and now they're out of the job so they had to move away to some fishing shack in the middle of nowhere. The great dissolution? Doesn't matter, Seiryu clan is bringing all the Yakuza together to basically erase the first one to only start a new great dissolution so they can use the Yakuza as slave workers to move toxic waste to some bumfuck Little Saint James-esque waste dump ran by the Palekana. Why did Ebina do this? Because he hates Yakuza! Just like Aoki, like ashes in my fucking mouth.

This game just doesn't respect its own plot, or the player. Game doesn't really have a single plot, it has like 10 different ones that it doesn't know what to choose. This game is messy, unfocused, underdeveloped, and feels insanely rushed towards the end. It's such a shame because again, everything else about this game is perfect, I just can't imagine myself playing through the game again and looking back on the story thinking "Maybe I was too harsh on this game?" like some other Yakuza games I've played.

I desperately wanted to love this game, I wanted this to be my favorite Yakuza game, but I just can't bring myself to like it. Maybe next time will be better. If Judgment 3 sucks though I'm never buying a single RGG game ever again.
EDIT: i knocked this game down to 2 stars because thinking about it pisses me off

this game used to be my Go-To multiplayer shooter. Back when I still played it, it had some of the most fun gameplay and moments in any shooter that would honestly put all of them to shame. The mix of proper strategizing with your teammates, picking the best operators and gear using their abilities to your teams advantage, while at the same time still requiring good timing and reaction time to get good shots off. There was one time it was a 1v5 and I managed to pull the best fucking clutch-ace that I don't think I'll ever be able to replicate in a video game ever. Every operator was balanced, fun, and played to eachothers strengths.

So what the fuck happened to this game?
Like really, I don't fucking know what happened. I tried playing this game again and it felt like a fake mobile knockoff of itself. The UI is atrocious, there's insane bloat, the artstyle looks like dogshit now, teamplay is basically fucking gone and every new operator looks goofy and plays like a valorant operator.

If this game was in better hands than Ubisoft, or if instead they just made a Siege 2 instead of continuing to update this game, that would've been for the best, but here we are.

Fuck this game.

I'm genuinely so mad that this game ends as good as it does because the combat in it can be really fucking unbearable at times. Every enemy can you start attacking you again mid combo and have hyper armor, so they won't give a shit about half the time. Agent sucks, if you play with the Yakuza playstyle you will have a MUCH better time with the game.
All the side content just sucks, anyone who says pocket circuit is fun is a fake human being created by sora ai.

It's such a shame because the final chapter of this game is actually written really well and is one of the best endings to any Yakuza game, every everything else about it is just mediocre or bad.