A decent story albeit with more than a few problems. One big issue is that the latter half of the game is full of cheap and predictable plot twists. Additionally, the finale is terribly written and executed, making the ending very unsatisfying. I wish the game would stop trying to shove its lackluster main story arc and instead focus on Ryuji and Kiryu’s rivalry. Another big pain point was the use of extraneous drama and random conspiracies which really detracts from the main conflict.

Kaoru as a love interest was also a big letdown. She initially feels independent and strong but becomes a token damsel in distress once she’s introduced as a love interest. As mentioned before, Ryuji also felt way too absent in the story. His motivations are simple and flaky, which wouldn't have been a problem if the writers had explored or created the main story arc revolving around him more. Regardless, the few times we do experience the clash between the two dragons, it was great.

Overall, a step up from the previous Yakuza game and honestly a decent soap opera—not great but not terrible either.

Mediocre to bad at best with PS2 era story writing, for better or worse. To start off with the good, I actually do like the idea and some of the execution in the writing of Nishiki, assuming one has played through Yakuza 0. The theme of parenthood is also quite cool coming from a remake of a years-old game, but it felt quite unrealized. The message it is trying to convey doesn’t come off as strong or relevant as I hoped for. Between the main story and substories, the game balances comedy and serious aspects quite well, similar to the other games in the Yakuza franchise that I have played, so that's always a welcome change from other games.

Now onto the bad. Starting off with the main plot, I hated the way the story handles the romance plotline in this game. It just felt so tacky and added on as an afterthought. I'm a firm believer that for romance, you either subtly hint at it or you do your best to develop the love between two characters. This just felt like romance for the sake of moving the plot forward, ticking a box in the “soap opera” to-do list. Other than that, there was a bit too much filler in the main chapters which led to nothing of substance down the line.

In terms of characters, Nishiki in the story could have been something great. But somehow he is given the most absurd motivations, making him seem very abrupt and nonsensical even with a backstory provided. Honestly, I think they should have given him more screen time and let his personality and story develop more. The antagonist also seems so comically bad, with motives that are questionable and very shallow characterization.

In general, the story felt like a typical soap opera full of questionable romance sequences, cartoon villains, and just fillers to lengthen the series.