I. FINALLY. DID. IT.

3 months of not finishing a proper game and I'm finally out of that rut so now I can talk about how this game genuinely surprassed all my expectations while also still having the Kodaka-isms I expected (mishandled stuff such as Servan's... honestly kinda racist design choices and stuff like that, though thats definitely the worst thing here and it isnt as bad as i dreaded)

With exception to Chapter 0 (yes I still hate it), I genuinely don't think this game has a bad case in it. And part of that is due to the characters.

I think this main case is the best main cast Kodaka has put together. I love Yuma's development, I love Shinigami's insanity, I love Halara in general, I kinda just tolerate Desuhiko, Fubuki reminds me a lot of Sonia and I can't wait to have to deal with another wave of hate like Sonia gets every time she's brought up because I love them both, and finally Vivia is my baby boy and I want nothing bad to happen to him. Oh and Wendy is great too, and I am fully on the "Give her a sequel" train.

NOTHING HOWEVER MATCHES MY LOVE FOR MAKOTO

I WONT EVEN GO INTO DETAIL

BEST. CHARACTER.

And also honestly the best character Kodaka has ever written.

The second stop on my Fuga train (yes this totally counts, it's made by the same people as Solatorobo and Fuga, what's the issue?) and it's for a series I love.

I'll admit, I didn't actually finish Story Mode for this. The game is surprisingly kinda long, and not easy to just binge through fast like I kinda wanted to. And since I have a lot of other games I want to get around to, and I don't think my opinion will change much, I'm leaving it now and I'll come back at times to play it again.

The story is fanservice. That's all. There's not really any kind of depth to it, and it's... decent.

The gameplay is fun. Basic, but fun. There's not really anything else to say.

...yeah I have nothing to say here, game good.

alright, im incredibly close to finishing this now so i think its time to get my thoughts out. because i have a lot. spoiler warning after the read more, though i'll be focusing on the game itself first.

makes sense that this is the game i'd have the most to say about, it's the one that changed the entire gameplay of the series and the one i wasnt sure if id like actually playing. so here's the majority of my thoughts on the game:

Gameplay stuff

- i think the RPG combat works. it's not as good, just due to personal preference, however i've still loved going through it and most of the fights have been very good

- it's rough though. this feels like a first attempt which i mean. it is, but theres a lot of stuff that just feels wrong sometimes.

- like the fact that i feel like i'm missing some quick easy way to get rich in this game. because everything costs SO MUCH by endgame. and the closest thing you have to being able to afford it is constant management spam.

- also, FUCK the chapter 12 level jump. actively one of the worst difficulty spikes in a game i've seen. adding a battle arena does not fucking fix the issue.

Side Content

- management is fun. it's basically a better version of real estate from 0, and i'm glad it's here. finding out Eri was a party member was also fun, even if she is Just Some Woman compared to every other playable character's designs

- dragon kart.... its fun i suppose. i havent played it much and customisation doesnt seem too good here. why are there 6 substories for this.

- speaking of the substories
they're bad.
i may have started skipping halfway through, but if half of the fucking substories in the game make me want to SKIP then its not a good sign. there's barely any i find that good.

Characters And Story:

- so yeah this has probably sounded like 90% bashing on this game. but genuinely? all the characters and the story (mostly) save this game for me. it's not bad to play, just would be kinda eh if not for how much i love all these dumbfucks

- i already loved Joon Gi Han in 6, one of the only good new characters there, but yeonsu/joon gi's body double beats him out by a lot. he's so fun

- zhao is babygirl

- saeko is like, exactly what this series needed in terms of a good female lead after kiyomi, mayumi if you can even count her, and the one we don't name ever from 4. i love her.

- nanba... i liked him at first but hes just okay. will get into a reason why after the rest of the characters.

- eri is kinda fun, not much to say since she's not really relevant at all

- adachi... dadd-

- ichiban is a better protag than Kiryu. i dont think kiryu can carry a game however ichiban absolutely could, i love this fucking old man dork so much

(also seong hui is amazing and another great girlboss for this series)

- the story in general has a really nice slow feel to it. it's one of the biggest things that makes you realise how far the writing in the series has come since Yakuza 1, because that game imo didn't introduce things well enough, meanwhile this game does it near perfectly, building up to when the tojo clan and kiryu are finally brought back into the picture in ch12

- speaking of kiryu. negatives time. there's 3 main negatives, one minor, one not so minor but not major, and one kiiinda major one.

- i dont like kiryu here. or at least i dont know how to feel about him. im hoping gaiden and 8 do more with him because here he feels so... forced in.

- nanba's arc is messy. while i think it's an okay arc in terms of the writing, the actual execution in game is really bad. losing a party member and having nobody to replace them severely handicaps you, and alongside the fact that no new substories unlock for the entire arc, you end up just rushing through the story with nothing else to really do. i didn't like it much tbh. maybe with the job system, it could've been better, but i dont like the job system either so there's literally no way for me to win here.

- the biggest negative of all though.

i don't really care about ryo aoki. i couldnt tell you why, hes just not that interesting to me.


and yet even with all this i still love this game. it's not my favorite, but i've loved going through it.

EDIT AFTER FINISHING THE GAME:

i didn't finish this game. I watched the end of it online.

to be blunt i'm sick of the bullshit parts of it. tendo's fight was the last straw. spending 15 minutes on a fight, only for the first time he uses his instakill attack to be on Ichiban made me so pissed.

all my problems with this game still stand. i STILL don't care about aoki, im sorry.

i love the characters of this game. i want to love it as a whole. i want to love the ending. but i dont unfortunately

im lowering my score slightly for now. it'll probably change looking back, but i honestly cant think of the game as positively at the moment.

still, it's a good start to the new story of the series. looking forward to gaiden and 8 still.