An amazingly thought out masterpiece of a trilogy, only matched by two other games made by the same guy. Takumi is a freaking genius. The half-star docked off is caused by its lack of replayability - it is truly a game you can fully experience only once.

Well, that certainly was a Yakuza game.

I don't know, I've got a complicated relationship with these games. They're some of the most repetitive, padded out games out there, but they have this special charm that is irresistible to me. So I keep playing. I keep mashing. I keep running around Kamurocho. I keep beating Majima up. Then I mash some more.

The story this time around wasn't as good as the one in Yakuza 0, but it was pretty good, especially with the added (in 0) context of Kiryu's and Nishiki's relationship prior to the events of Kiwami. A simple story with some nice twists and pretty good character moments, but really not as compelling as its prequel.

I don't engage with side content in Yakuza. Maybe that's a mistake, but the substories I did play are bland and repetitive. And there's too many of them.

Ultimately, when I was not being assaulted by the numerous stupid gun-wielding thugs and bosses, I enjoyed my time with Kiwami. On to Kiwami 2!

I'm gonna be so sick of this series when I'm done with this marathon...

An atmospheric, deep, tense experience. It's absolutely baffling that this game came out only 2 years after its predecessor. The graphical leap is amazing. Everything just falls in place in this game. The environments are detailed, the music is beautiful and atmospheric, the ambience adds so much tention. The implication is sometimes more effective here than the actual scares.
The story is leagues above the first game. It's still lauded as one of the best in the medium and I would have to agree. The one thing holding it back is the sub-par voice acting. There are some standout performances here, but I wasn't impressed. That's basically the only thing I expect to be better in the upcoming remake.
It's a wonderful, thoughtful game that set the standard for its genre that is yet to be matched. Every horror fan should give this one a try.

This review contains spoilers

An extremely safe, bland sequel. Back in the day we would have had to wait for this for like 3 years at most. Now you wait 5 years just to get something like this.

The gameplay is a bit better than in the 2018 game. The traversal is the best part of this game by far and it is admittedly fantastic. The web-wings are a great additon. I was afraid they would be too OP, but they're not. Overall an improvement.
I'm not a fan of the combat, but that's not unique to this game. It's basically the same as in the previous two. You mash square, you use your abilities when they charge, you dodge, you mash square. The bosses are basically the same, they're just more spongey, naturally. The symbiote fury was cool though. It shouldn't take 10 hits from Spider-Man to take down some random thug. I don't know, I just don't feel like the combat offers anything unique here. Just mundane and unexciting.

Why the heck did they keep the universally hated MJ missions? It couldn't be subtle propaganda... could it?

So the gameplay is an improvement over the first game, not by a lot, but... you know. If it ain't broke don't fix it? The qualms I have with the combat come down to personal taste. And so do my problems with the story.

The story is really bad. Has it's moments, but they are few and far between. Mostly just rushed, uninteresting and insulting to Spidey fans. They force Miles as the main Spider-Man, making Peter a fucking joke who is incapable of doing his job without an alien boosting his powers, and yet our little Kid Arachnid has like no business being there. Just pops in once in a while to save Pete's ass. He also has his little plotline with Li, but it's so forced, so devoid of any tension and emotion. And they're gonna add ANOTHER Spider-(Wo)Man in the next game. What a joke. The entire ending is a joke. Such a downgrade compared to the first game's story. Fortunately an upgrade over Miles Morales. And trust me, I wouldn't be complaining about the story if it wasn't such a big focus. I don't care if the story is good as long as the game is not a "cinematic" experience. Spidey 2 is, after all, a modern Sony game. If it focuses so much on the story, at least make the story good.

I won't even mention the ideological narrative woven through the game, as many have done that before.

It's fine. It's a fine game. Nothing more.

One of the first games I remember playing. So much time spent in co-op with my brother. So many fun memories. A truly formative game, it shaped my interests for the rest of my life. Of course these days I just go back to The Complete Saga, but this one is still absolutely special.

It was also released the year I was born.

A really good first outing for Evening Star. I'm a sucker for 3D platformers, so I had a great time with this. The physics and movement feel satisfying and on-point, especially once you get a hang of the moveset. The game is at it's best when you breeze through the level, barely ever stopping, not touching the ground with your feet. Fortunately the level design is great and really compliments the movement. Speed is a reward for skillful play. That's how it's supposed to be.

They did what they could with their budget when it comes to presentation. The game certainly is vibrant and creative. I like the whole crayon look they've got going on. The music is great, as expected from Tee Lopes. The cutscenes are where the lack of budget shows, but I'd rather they spend the money on the stuff that really matters. The story in this game is just background noise.

My only problems are the underwhelming bosses (figures) and the occasional clipping issues. Other than that, I'm not disappointed.

That was SOLID.

Sorry. But really, the original MGS did not disappoint. It's an extremely impressive game with a strong character, great setting and a gripping, although a bit overwritten story. Great voice acting and music, fantastic atmosphere, solid gameplay. It is a hard game and I am a bad player, so it did frustrate me at times and took me much longer than it should have to complete, but that made it all the more satisfying when I did succeed. It doesn't really live up to the "tactical espionage action" title. It's more of a boss rush with some stealth sections in between. But the bosses are decent fun, each is pretty unique... great stuff.

This is my kind of movie game.

Simply fantastic. The leap between the PS1 and the PS2 is always baffling to me. In my opinon MGS2 is better than it's predecessor in almost every way - the graphics are breathtaking for 2001, if I saw that rain back then my head would explode. The gameplay - the most important aspect - is TIGHT. MGS2 gives you so many more options, so much more freedom, everything feels so responsive and smooth, in no small part thanks to the 60 fps, and you finally get to engane in Tactical Espionage Action, with it taking center stage instead of the bosses this time around. A good call in my opinion. The combat is also much better though, with the addition of new weapons and first-person aiming.

I have already touched on presentation before, but let me emphasize - the jump from 1 to 2 is astonishing, not only graphically but also in terms of cutscene direction, animation and basically everything surrounding it, including music and voice acting.

While I appreciate the simplicity of MGS1's story, I must say I enjoyed 2's way more. Without getting into details - it's a fantastic conspiracy plot that surprised me and kept me intrigued throughout, asking difficult questions and leaving me off with a beautiful, if a bit obvious, message from Kojima. Also, Raiden really grew on me during the course of the story. I like him.
Although I did get a bit annoyed at all the cutscenes at a certain point. Felt like a damn movie sometimes.

The one thing that MGS1 did better was the atmosphere. Shadow Moses was such a fantastic setting and comparing the Shell to it feels almost unfair.

"We are the Yakuza 4!" - Kiryu, Akiyama, Saejima and Tanimura

Alright, this one's gonna be a bit shorter. I liked Yakuza 4. In fact - I liked it very much.

Gameplay wise - very similar to Yakuza 3, but just... better. The combat feels smoother (no more blockuza) and gives you a lot more options. The four characters don't really feel that different (don't expect DMC5 level variety) but they're all enjoyable in their own right. I just need to say, they made Kiryu feel like a beast in this game and I love it. Oh, and they made the chase sections better. They're kinda fun now.

They added underground and rooftop sections to Kamurocho (TOTK?), but they really aren't that interesting. Not much to say here.

The game looks a bit better than 3. Animations are definitely improved and there is some added detail here and there, but it's still a PS3 game.

Story-wise... well. The game does feel a bit unfocused, thanks to the campaign being split between 4 different characters, but they make it work. It feels like there's a lot happening, but when you think about the story is actually kinda simple? There's a big conspiracy in the background, sure, but in terms of what actually happens in-game - not much. I do like the new characters, especially Akiyama, voiced by Koichi Yamadera. As a Cowboy Bebop enjoyer I was very happy to hear him. In general the story was fun, definitely had it's fair share of hype moments towards the end.

Coming up, Yakuza 5. There sure is a lot of people on the cover.



This review contains spoilers

It's really impressive that such a big, artistic game was released all the way back on the PS1. The rich atmosphere is created through it's ambitious, detailed and yet stylised environments, great music and ambience and some wonderful camera angles, especially in that first alley scene, you know which one I mean. I love the PS1 graphics, and here they are at their best. It's no coincidence that so many indie horror games are now created in this visual style. It complements the atmosphere very well. The story is intriguing, kind of let down by the cheesy voice acting. There were some touching moments though, in particular Lisa's transformation or whatever that was. An additional bonus for me is the lack of overbearing metroidvania mechanics. There wasn't really that much backtracking in this one, especially compared to something like the original RE. It is a big game though. The map is big and the use of fog allows for that, while also creating a unique atmosphere. The environments are detailed. There are multiple endings to the game. i missed the whole Kauffman side-quest and got the bad ending. Just the fact that there is an optional side-quest that changes the ending in a game from '99 is impressive. Overall, I recommend giving the original SH a try. Don't be discouraged by it's age.

Huh. Color me surprised.

The talk surrounding this game is... mixed and therefore I was expecting to be disappointed. I thought the combat would be unbearable, it did, after all, earn the "blockuza" title. Well... it kinda wasn't bad.

First off - if you, like me, buy all the Yakuza games on a modern platform to play them chronologically you will be faced with a jarring jump from Kiwami 2 to Yakuza 3. After beating a full remake released in 2016 you immediately get thrown into an early PS3 title with a bumped resolution and framerate. It's not like it deeply disturbed me - it has a certain charm and the game definitely didn't age too bad, but it is nonetheless a noticeable downgrade.

But, as to not be too negative, I have to admit the game looks and feels pretty good. Definitely not ugly, although the faces on some of the background characters and some of the animations (goodness, the walking animation of the children...) are so bad that they kinda crack me up. I think the new locations, especially the beach in front of Morning Glory, look pretty great.

In terms of combat... I heard that it's messed up because of the increased framerate, the AI is not used to twice the original speed and the heat meter goes down too fast. I'm certainly willing to believe that, but I will not verify it. What I can verify is that the enemies certainly block a lot. It's not too bad when you're fighting groups of weaker enemies, the game is actually a lot of fun in those moments, but some of the bosses are really nerve-racking. By the end of the game you should have combos long enough to break through the block and get some hits in, but that doesn't really mitigate the issue. It's just annoying and time-wasting. Overall the combat feels fine, I saw no point in the weapon system that they seemed to be pushing. I didn't feel like engaging with the whole upgrade stuff so I was running around with the starting stick and it didn't deal a whole lot of damage outside of heat actions, but hey, I managed. The game is overall much easier than it's predecessors.

When it comes to wasting time, this game offers you a lot of occasions to walk around the city aimlessly until you finally bump into the person you were looking for or to chase people around the very same city. Those sequences were actually the only times that I got to see the game over screen. Also the random combat encounters are much harder to dodge because they're really not well signified. Annoying stuff.

Finally, the story. I actually think it's fantastic. Right behind 0's. A well put together conspiracy with high stakes coupled with a cast of characters that I actually cared about? And a great villain to boot? AND multiple fatherhood themes? I actually almost teared up at times. These Japanese fellas know how to get to me.

All in all, probably my 2nd favorite in the series. Hope they follow it up well with... Yakuza 4! Coming soon.

It's spring-break so I'm gonna have a lot more time to spend in Kamurocho. Expect the next review very soon.


My Yakuza marathon continues with Kiwami 2. I quite liked this one.

The new engine, I believe it's called the Dragon Engine, is great. The game looks and feels great. The new combat felt much more satisfying to me, every punch had it's impact. It is a much simpler system though, far less upgrades, less combos, less special moves. It got pretty repetitive after a while. In that regard 0 and Kiwami are better, offering robust skill trees and different battle styles. One more thing I appreciate about Kiwami 2's combat is the lack of stagger after getting shot. The armed enemies were much more bearable here.

So while the game looks great and the combat feels great, one downside of the engine is the accursed 30 FPS cap. The bane of the 8th generation. Going from the silky smooth 0 and Kiwami, that was a major disappointment. I'm the annoying kind of guy who really cares about getting his 60 FPS.

The story is mediocre. Filled with plot-twist, conspiracies stacked upon conspiracies, secret Koreans left and right. Some threads got too little attention in my opinion. I have heard that the later games are even more convoluted and bloated, so that's gonna be tough. There are characters I do like here, there are some kinda emotional moments, but it's not as strong as in the previous two games, and Kiwami was already siginificantly worse than 0.

Gonna take a short break from Yakuza to play through Penny's Big Breakaway now. Then it's time for Yakuza 3 or "blockuza" as it seems to be named by the community.

Such a darn shame they struck this game down, just when it was getting really good. And for what? Battlefield 2042?
Damn you, EA.
Seriously though, one of my favourite shooters of all time. No other game feels quite like it. Playing the Clone Wars era maps as a clone trooper... man...
Still hoping for a third one.

They don't make them like they used to.
What happened to racing games?

Arguably (!) better than BOTW simply thanks to more content, but it lacks the impact. Most of the stuff feels like... it has been done before. Because it was. What I'm trying to say is BOTW truly impressed and captivated me. TOTK didn't really do that. I had my fun, I like some of the new ideas, I dislike a few of them.
It's good.