this one is completely disjointed and unhinged; at its core, past all the bloat, you can see what a sharper version of this title could have looked like, and that pervasive vision lingers in the foreground of all the games antics. but all the same you can feel the fervent passion of the development team in each minute of its runtime and their unrelenting, inelastic vow to push the bill and expand the scope of what is possible, sometimes unnecessarily. in all the ways that makes yakuza a titan it is fantastic, in all the ways it makes yakuza tiresome it is paramount. still some of the best side content in the series though, understands the core of what makes this franchise endearing with sniper precision
+this game basically presents four mini yakuza games with a finale tying everything up, and it's all the better for it. trying to stretch a single plot over 45 hours of story would be a death sentence
+after putting kiryu at the end of y4 with little relevance to the plot, they made sure to put him front and center here, and he's got one of the better stories of the bunch. his loneliness and listlessness as he attempts to provide for haruka and morning glory from afar is a standout arc for him
+the half-step engine upgrade here (that would be used for ishin, 0, kiwami, and fotns following this) is quite good, and makes this one of the better looking ps3 games in my opinion. all the character models look much less like action figures and the level of detail in each city is staggering
+haruka's dance sequences may be my favorite thing in the whole game, with both her main performance minigame and dance battle minigame being the best rhythm games in the series. her story is an unflinching view at the idol industry, and haruka's timid optimism matches her mentor mirei park's bipolar violent/cold streak that hides a yearning for motherhood. haruka also gets briefly kidnapped, and the scene actually feels important and not like lazy filler!
+the princess league competition and japan dome concert are some of the coolest moments in the series. winning feels like a significant accomplishment (esp since losing has lasting consequences), and the performance preceding the final battle serves as a greek chorus richly laying out the thematic underpinnings that encompass kiryu and the villains. truly amazing sequence
+I've always wondered what a game where you're penalized for disobeying the rules of the road would be like, and the kiryu taxi driving sequences nail it. my only complaint is that there's so few missions!
+saejima's hunting sidestory is an interesting and oddly relaxing mode to play in. the area is just large enough to explore without having to commit too much time to it, and hunting larger creatures feels suitably tense without being frustrating
+the improved batting cage minigame feels like its best incarnation, and shinada's sidestory revolving around it shows off the mode rather well
+substories across the board are on par with yakuza 0, if not in wackiness than certainly in quality of writing and difficulty of the prompts. the ones that come to mind immediately are the magical girl idol that akiyama manages for a day, shinada working at the convenience store, haruka having dinner with her vain classmates, and kiryu's acting one (admittedly basically the same as in yakuza 3). substories are also instantly visible on the map, in a major QoL move for the series (one that would be rolled back a bit for later entires)
+the comedy routine minigame is infamous in this version for its difficulty, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the translation and feeling of getting prompts correct. iirc the team that localized the remaster couldn't improve it and instead just added a meter that indicates when to press the button, which definitely could have been used here... also just lowering the score required to pass would have been useful. none of them took me more than a few tries to get right though
+baka mitai appears for the first time here, and I got a real kick out of kiryu crying into his drink over the morning glory shibu inu. the saejima/akiyama versions are lovely as well, the akiyama VA in particular has a great voice!
+the ramen cooking minigame... I had no idea about this one going in and enjoyed it quite a bit. I honestly would play it sometimes just for the hell of it
+getting to play as akiyama in this engine was an absolute godsend. he's like the rush style from 0/kiwami on crack, especially with his new launcher/aerial rave move he gets. shinada is also pretty fun to play, and I like how he can grab in the middle of a combo to deal with guarding enemies
+the two omi captains watase and katsuya are great, especially katsuya who reminds me a bit of mine from yakuza 3. I wish they got more screen time, though katsuya gets plenty of great moments bumping up against dyna-chair during the haruka/akiyama section.
+this game might qualify for the least amount of random deaths in a yakuza game, surprisingly enough. you can tell that they sort of know what people expect tho, given how many close scares they throw in throughout the story
+the stakes are so damn high in this game... it truly feels like a game worthy of its length, roster, and size. it's also the first entry that really reflects on how far the series has come and the unquestionable legend surrounding kiryu and his exploits
-issues I have with the combat in 0/kiwami begin to appear here, though it's still reliant on a lot of mechanics from 3/4. encounter rates are much higher, and the combat feels less click-y than any in the older games (akiyama being the exception ofc).
-saejima's special throw is virtually useless, considering how many ways there are to deal much higher damage without expending heat gauge. special moves in general feel overly situational especially as bosses are virtually immune to all of them
-the bosses in this game aren't exceptional, especially as this game worsens the yakuza 4 problem where the entire game feels like its at an early-game difficulty thanks to how often you must switch between characters. anyone who's gotten to this point in the series will likely feel disappointed tackling these compared to previous entries
-majima is supposedly a pivotal character in this game but is incredibly underutilized. he literally appears once at the end and clears up little of the mystery surrounding the plot even though he supposedly was a major player behind the scenes
-the story as a whole... yakuza 4 is incomprehensible in a way that makes it feel sloppy. this game, on the other hand, is confusing in a different way that makes it feel unfinished. the main villain has flimsy motivations and the explanations given for his actions fail to account for parts of plot given prior (what the hell did shinada's section have to do with anything?). there are multiple unexplained plot threads, and the whole game ends without the usual "things go back to normal" scenes that yakuza games tend to have (though this isn't necessarily a bad thing). the game sort of implies that there was supposed to be a third omi alliance lieutenant vying for the chairman position, but he's only mentioned briefly and dies off-screen. characters in the finale often routinely discover or figure out things they have absolutely no reason to know, with no explanation on how they figured them out
-saejima's section has two chapters where you're stuck in prison, with brief dream sequences in tsukimino to chop up the otherwise linear gameplay. the third chapter is entirely hunting-based in a mountain village, leaving most of his actual action to the fourth chapter. this makes his section feel unnecessarily long, and his interactions with kitakata feel like a dead-end for the plot. as I've implied earlier, the only sections that matter from a plot perspective are kiryu's and haruka/akiyama's
-the drag racing minigame is stiff, which is confusing to me given sega's racing game pedigree. thankfully they're very easy thanks to heat actions you can pull off right before the finish line that make losing nigh impossible. I also was disappointed at how many of the submissions in kiryu's sidestory were text-based, given how fun the actual taxi missions are
-the snowball fight minigame is laughably bad, what a shockingly poor FPS engine. thank god the trophy requirements are very slim for it
-the final boss fight is an infamously stupid twist, and a big difficulty spike as well. it's nowhere near as hard as jingu, but it's odd to have a boss with over 10 health bars and a goddamn healing ability after the previous bosses rarely exceeded 2 bars.
-performance on ps3 is not that great, especially in kamurocho, fukuoka, and kineicho. not really an issue given the remaster however
this game is absolutely an incomparable opus, and in some ways a manifesto on what a yakuza game should be. it's riddled with some of the series' highest highs and some pretty low lows, but as a package it's undeniably a fantastic game that is worth stomaching even the worst entries in the series to reach. it's an absolute monster too, with my playthrough clocking in around 80 hours just to reach the end (though I did the vast majority of the substories and finished every sidestory). this is also where I feel like the characterization began really taking off for this series, with much less of a focus on devising characters to tell a plot, and more on fleshing out the characters and making them appealing. a titan of a game I'm glad to finally have completed.
+after putting kiryu at the end of y4 with little relevance to the plot, they made sure to put him front and center here, and he's got one of the better stories of the bunch. his loneliness and listlessness as he attempts to provide for haruka and morning glory from afar is a standout arc for him
+the half-step engine upgrade here (that would be used for ishin, 0, kiwami, and fotns following this) is quite good, and makes this one of the better looking ps3 games in my opinion. all the character models look much less like action figures and the level of detail in each city is staggering
+haruka's dance sequences may be my favorite thing in the whole game, with both her main performance minigame and dance battle minigame being the best rhythm games in the series. her story is an unflinching view at the idol industry, and haruka's timid optimism matches her mentor mirei park's bipolar violent/cold streak that hides a yearning for motherhood. haruka also gets briefly kidnapped, and the scene actually feels important and not like lazy filler!
+the princess league competition and japan dome concert are some of the coolest moments in the series. winning feels like a significant accomplishment (esp since losing has lasting consequences), and the performance preceding the final battle serves as a greek chorus richly laying out the thematic underpinnings that encompass kiryu and the villains. truly amazing sequence
+I've always wondered what a game where you're penalized for disobeying the rules of the road would be like, and the kiryu taxi driving sequences nail it. my only complaint is that there's so few missions!
+saejima's hunting sidestory is an interesting and oddly relaxing mode to play in. the area is just large enough to explore without having to commit too much time to it, and hunting larger creatures feels suitably tense without being frustrating
+the improved batting cage minigame feels like its best incarnation, and shinada's sidestory revolving around it shows off the mode rather well
+substories across the board are on par with yakuza 0, if not in wackiness than certainly in quality of writing and difficulty of the prompts. the ones that come to mind immediately are the magical girl idol that akiyama manages for a day, shinada working at the convenience store, haruka having dinner with her vain classmates, and kiryu's acting one (admittedly basically the same as in yakuza 3). substories are also instantly visible on the map, in a major QoL move for the series (one that would be rolled back a bit for later entires)
+the comedy routine minigame is infamous in this version for its difficulty, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the translation and feeling of getting prompts correct. iirc the team that localized the remaster couldn't improve it and instead just added a meter that indicates when to press the button, which definitely could have been used here... also just lowering the score required to pass would have been useful. none of them took me more than a few tries to get right though
+baka mitai appears for the first time here, and I got a real kick out of kiryu crying into his drink over the morning glory shibu inu. the saejima/akiyama versions are lovely as well, the akiyama VA in particular has a great voice!
+the ramen cooking minigame... I had no idea about this one going in and enjoyed it quite a bit. I honestly would play it sometimes just for the hell of it
+getting to play as akiyama in this engine was an absolute godsend. he's like the rush style from 0/kiwami on crack, especially with his new launcher/aerial rave move he gets. shinada is also pretty fun to play, and I like how he can grab in the middle of a combo to deal with guarding enemies
+the two omi captains watase and katsuya are great, especially katsuya who reminds me a bit of mine from yakuza 3. I wish they got more screen time, though katsuya gets plenty of great moments bumping up against dyna-chair during the haruka/akiyama section.
+this game might qualify for the least amount of random deaths in a yakuza game, surprisingly enough. you can tell that they sort of know what people expect tho, given how many close scares they throw in throughout the story
+the stakes are so damn high in this game... it truly feels like a game worthy of its length, roster, and size. it's also the first entry that really reflects on how far the series has come and the unquestionable legend surrounding kiryu and his exploits
-issues I have with the combat in 0/kiwami begin to appear here, though it's still reliant on a lot of mechanics from 3/4. encounter rates are much higher, and the combat feels less click-y than any in the older games (akiyama being the exception ofc).
-saejima's special throw is virtually useless, considering how many ways there are to deal much higher damage without expending heat gauge. special moves in general feel overly situational especially as bosses are virtually immune to all of them
-the bosses in this game aren't exceptional, especially as this game worsens the yakuza 4 problem where the entire game feels like its at an early-game difficulty thanks to how often you must switch between characters. anyone who's gotten to this point in the series will likely feel disappointed tackling these compared to previous entries
-majima is supposedly a pivotal character in this game but is incredibly underutilized. he literally appears once at the end and clears up little of the mystery surrounding the plot even though he supposedly was a major player behind the scenes
-the story as a whole... yakuza 4 is incomprehensible in a way that makes it feel sloppy. this game, on the other hand, is confusing in a different way that makes it feel unfinished. the main villain has flimsy motivations and the explanations given for his actions fail to account for parts of plot given prior (what the hell did shinada's section have to do with anything?). there are multiple unexplained plot threads, and the whole game ends without the usual "things go back to normal" scenes that yakuza games tend to have (though this isn't necessarily a bad thing). the game sort of implies that there was supposed to be a third omi alliance lieutenant vying for the chairman position, but he's only mentioned briefly and dies off-screen. characters in the finale often routinely discover or figure out things they have absolutely no reason to know, with no explanation on how they figured them out
-saejima's section has two chapters where you're stuck in prison, with brief dream sequences in tsukimino to chop up the otherwise linear gameplay. the third chapter is entirely hunting-based in a mountain village, leaving most of his actual action to the fourth chapter. this makes his section feel unnecessarily long, and his interactions with kitakata feel like a dead-end for the plot. as I've implied earlier, the only sections that matter from a plot perspective are kiryu's and haruka/akiyama's
-the drag racing minigame is stiff, which is confusing to me given sega's racing game pedigree. thankfully they're very easy thanks to heat actions you can pull off right before the finish line that make losing nigh impossible. I also was disappointed at how many of the submissions in kiryu's sidestory were text-based, given how fun the actual taxi missions are
-the snowball fight minigame is laughably bad, what a shockingly poor FPS engine. thank god the trophy requirements are very slim for it
-the final boss fight is an infamously stupid twist, and a big difficulty spike as well. it's nowhere near as hard as jingu, but it's odd to have a boss with over 10 health bars and a goddamn healing ability after the previous bosses rarely exceeded 2 bars.
-performance on ps3 is not that great, especially in kamurocho, fukuoka, and kineicho. not really an issue given the remaster however
this game is absolutely an incomparable opus, and in some ways a manifesto on what a yakuza game should be. it's riddled with some of the series' highest highs and some pretty low lows, but as a package it's undeniably a fantastic game that is worth stomaching even the worst entries in the series to reach. it's an absolute monster too, with my playthrough clocking in around 80 hours just to reach the end (though I did the vast majority of the substories and finished every sidestory). this is also where I feel like the characterization began really taking off for this series, with much less of a focus on devising characters to tell a plot, and more on fleshing out the characters and making them appealing. a titan of a game I'm glad to finally have completed.
The most "Yakuza" Yakuza game. In its main story, side content, battle animations, etc. they have never made a game before or since that has captured this series' qualities and cranked them up to 11... for better and worse. Everything that is problematic about the series, it's here. Everything that can be tedious about the series, it's here. Everything that makes the series sick, it's here. Everything that you could say about the stories of these games, it's all here. For many reasons I now refrain from calling this "the best", or even that this series is "good" in actuality. However, I know back when I played this as my first Yakuza game, I absolutely had a blast (before and when I got back to it from a 2 year hiatus) and legitimately cried throughout the finale,whether the game actually earned that or not. If you were to play one Yakuza game (and please, for your own sake, do not play every Yakuza game), I'm not truly sure if this should be it, this is the 5th game of a long running series after all, but I do truly believe that this is the definitive Yakuza game in all of its strengths and its faults.
It's fucking long and fucking good at the same time, and as a Yakuza fan I couldn't ask for anything more than that.
the real yakuza 5 was the friends we made along the way
There is a lot to do within this game, which makes it one of my favorites. I really enjoy the Yakuza series and I was thoroughly surprised the fifth installment of the main series was this entertaining. I enjoyed the survival hunting sections, along with the taxi driver missions. Honestly, it's hard to describe what makes Yakuza 5 so special compared to the past games. You can really tell how much care they put into this game. The music is very good as well.
This game is so good, it feels like I'm dreaming.
5 protagonists, all of them so much fun to play as and their stories and side stories great in their own ways. 5 whole cities with so much content packed into each one, there is always something else to do in this game.
If I had to find a complaint, I guess the info dumps during the Finale did get a little tiring, even if the Finale itself was amazing.
There is so much soul and passion put into this game, it's hard to find any major fault in it. Incredible Yakuza game and just an incredible game overall.
5 protagonists, all of them so much fun to play as and their stories and side stories great in their own ways. 5 whole cities with so much content packed into each one, there is always something else to do in this game.
If I had to find a complaint, I guess the info dumps during the Finale did get a little tiring, even if the Finale itself was amazing.
There is so much soul and passion put into this game, it's hard to find any major fault in it. Incredible Yakuza game and just an incredible game overall.
short meme review: something like "bro.... kiryu was so depresesd . .. dude........"
actual review: what gave me a lot of doubts about this game for most of my playthrough can really just be reduced to the problems that plague the yakuza series as a whole (at least prior to 0) -- a cluttered, formulaic, and tiring story with too many uninteresting (usually antagonist) characters, exposition dumps and plot twists, repetitive and often unsatisfying combat (this was improved on massively with 0) that can sometimes be torturous rather than challenging, and a general feeling of a lack of finish in a lot of places (the substories are always great content but repeatedly doing them really shows how one-dimensional the game's settings can be; the blindingly white rooms that Haruka frequently performs in are the most prominent example, and the character animations in conjunction with text-based dialogue are a total meme). so i can ignore them --- especially when everything that's left over stands as the most ambitious the series has been with its classic formula.
i'll just put it this way: you could definitely beat the main story of this game in a day if you wanted to. (as i'm making my way through this series, i prefer to get the main story out of the way before i enjoy most of the bonus content, which might not be the most enjoyable way to consume these games but whatever.) once that's out of the way, you could clear out every substory in Kamurocho and already feel impressed by the volume of the game. then you realise there's still more than 60 substories to do with the 4 other characters. once you do all those, you then realise you haven't really done a lot of taxi driving (it's fun, trust me). then you feel like playing a rhythm game. then you realise there are a lot of cool items you could unlock by hunting as saejima, and then you realise you haven't even touched the baseball stuff. then you realise there are 5 different cities and they all have cabaret clubs and their own little minigames, and there's a major incentive to visiting different restaurants, and you can train your character not only to learn new moves but also to get better at using weapons and unlock new ones that you can make with a bunch of weird items you can get in a massive variety of ways, and there's a lottery and coin locker keys and a treasure hunt and i haven't even mentioned the victory road tournament, and then there's more shit i forgot about idk. obviously side content is a staple of the yakuza games but i think this is the shining example. there's so much STUFF to do, and most of it doesn't even suck. in terms of content it's a major step forward for the series, which would only get better afterwards with the victory lap that is Yakuza 0. one of the absolute pinnacles of "it's the little things".
i won't talk about the story much because it's good to avoid spoilers and stuff i guess and no i'm just bullshitting you i had absolutely no idea what was going on a good amount of the time. but there are some cool parts. kiryu's character is explored very well here - he's getting old, man. he's been through some cataclysmic shit and he's made some mistakes. he isn't happy. shinada is himself. haruka also manages to be a little less one dimensional (i like her a lot more than this sentence implies). and saejima and akiyama are still pretty cool. everything else is a mess but i'm used to it. yakuza game. Yes.
the random encounter system seems to be at its most egregious here, but whatever, more leveling for weapons i guess. it'd improve with 0.
actual review: what gave me a lot of doubts about this game for most of my playthrough can really just be reduced to the problems that plague the yakuza series as a whole (at least prior to 0) -- a cluttered, formulaic, and tiring story with too many uninteresting (usually antagonist) characters, exposition dumps and plot twists, repetitive and often unsatisfying combat (this was improved on massively with 0) that can sometimes be torturous rather than challenging, and a general feeling of a lack of finish in a lot of places (the substories are always great content but repeatedly doing them really shows how one-dimensional the game's settings can be; the blindingly white rooms that Haruka frequently performs in are the most prominent example, and the character animations in conjunction with text-based dialogue are a total meme). so i can ignore them --- especially when everything that's left over stands as the most ambitious the series has been with its classic formula.
i'll just put it this way: you could definitely beat the main story of this game in a day if you wanted to. (as i'm making my way through this series, i prefer to get the main story out of the way before i enjoy most of the bonus content, which might not be the most enjoyable way to consume these games but whatever.) once that's out of the way, you could clear out every substory in Kamurocho and already feel impressed by the volume of the game. then you realise there's still more than 60 substories to do with the 4 other characters. once you do all those, you then realise you haven't really done a lot of taxi driving (it's fun, trust me). then you feel like playing a rhythm game. then you realise there are a lot of cool items you could unlock by hunting as saejima, and then you realise you haven't even touched the baseball stuff. then you realise there are 5 different cities and they all have cabaret clubs and their own little minigames, and there's a major incentive to visiting different restaurants, and you can train your character not only to learn new moves but also to get better at using weapons and unlock new ones that you can make with a bunch of weird items you can get in a massive variety of ways, and there's a lottery and coin locker keys and a treasure hunt and i haven't even mentioned the victory road tournament, and then there's more shit i forgot about idk. obviously side content is a staple of the yakuza games but i think this is the shining example. there's so much STUFF to do, and most of it doesn't even suck. in terms of content it's a major step forward for the series, which would only get better afterwards with the victory lap that is Yakuza 0. one of the absolute pinnacles of "it's the little things".
i won't talk about the story much because it's good to avoid spoilers and stuff i guess and no i'm just bullshitting you i had absolutely no idea what was going on a good amount of the time. but there are some cool parts. kiryu's character is explored very well here - he's getting old, man. he's been through some cataclysmic shit and he's made some mistakes. he isn't happy. shinada is himself. haruka also manages to be a little less one dimensional (i like her a lot more than this sentence implies). and saejima and akiyama are still pretty cool. everything else is a mess but i'm used to it. yakuza game. Yes.
the random encounter system seems to be at its most egregious here, but whatever, more leveling for weapons i guess. it'd improve with 0.
I love and hate this game. It is stretched out for no reason, some side activities are a chore. Why did I still rate it 5 stars? Well, the fact that each city is distinct from one another and carry different vibes is one of the few reasons why. The combat has been improved vastly from 3&4 and it is satisfying as HELL. The story is something I feel like you should go through twice to fully appreciate it. The finale of this game is easily the best in the series and will make you glad that you sat down and played it to the end. Thumbsup.
It's the only game to have Shinada so it's automatically the best one because of that glorious motherfucker
This review contains spoilers
alright i'm sick of explaining my thoughts on this game over and over so let's do this one last time. i think yakuza 5 is a really overrated yakuza game. i don't think it's a bad game, but i don't think it's the magnum opus many seem to believe it is. most of this stems to my opinions on the story, but before i break down why i dislike that, i will quickly shoot off some rapid-fire opinions on the gameplay/side content.
-i think kiryu is a little too good and it entirely stems from his bounding throws. it is fun but it does somewhat remove any thinking when you can just brainlessly do sstc. dragon heat is the same way.
-saejima is also fun. he's a bit slow but it would be weird for him to be fast.
-haruka's dancing is so fucking boring. it would have been better if they did literally any other rhythm game.
-akiyama is a straight-up downgrade from 4. his red heat move is more detrimental than anything, and the engine change makes his bounding a lot worse.
-i don't really fw shinada's combat. i don't find his one combo very fun. it's not abysmal or anything, but i think he needs something like the komaki parry.
-the encounter rate is WAY too high. every two steps and you're in a fight.
-graphically the game is mostly ok, it's a ps3 game so i won't be too harsh, but kiryu's suit is kinda weird and kamurocho looks really washed out.
-the taxi driving is fine. i don't hate it, but i don't love it either.
-the hunting blows.
-haruka's side story is 💤.
-baseball chill af.
-the substories are pretty average. there are some funny ones, but a lot are boring, and i end up not remembering most of them.
-why the hell can you not make clear data from premium adventure. that's a really minor nitpick but why do you have to complete everything before the finale if you want it in ng+.
-game has fantastic music. i really like it
alright, now let's talk about the meat and potatoes: the story. i think this is one of the worst yakuza stories i've ever played. to preface, yes i love shinada's part, and if that was all i was judging the game on, the game would be a+ or s tier. but 25% of a story being good is not a good story.
starting with kiryu's section, i really think kiryu running out on his family AGAIN is just stupid. entire thing in 3 is oh i love my family which is great. he begrudgingly leaves in 4 after practically being dragged back. and then you're telling me he just runs out? i get he's trying to make haruka look like she doesn't have a checkered past but that doesn't even work because anyone digging would go to the orphanage and tell them about kiryu anyway. besides that, i actually think the first part of the game is fine enough. it's paced well, has good action set pieces, and the story is (mostly) pretty interesting. i think that woman who i genuinely can't remember the name of(she's on the box, not park) should be more important, but i suppose if we're being fair that's not this part's fault. also daigo running away from the tojo clan kinda makes his fight in 4 feel pointless, since that's what he's supposed to have learned, but i guess it's fine because shinada.
i really don't like saejima's part. first, it's really narratively unsatisfying for him to go to prison AGAIN(not the last time!), and it feels kinda weird considering how he(and fans/defenders of the scene) make a big deal about how "25 years breaks a man". you'd think they'd let him off the hook for proving himself innocent but i guess not. this part is overall just way too fucking slow. i think baba is a loser and his only good trait is that he fights shinada. but anyway he breaks out of prison again, you're in the boring village part, and then you get dumped in the worst city in the game. i generally don't like the new cities because they feel kinda empty compared to kamurocho and sotenbori, but this one is by far the worst because of how they limit where you can walk and how you constantly get ambushed. it's also a testament to the pacing that they have to dump all of his substories at once instead of gradually like every other character. another thing i hate is what saejima says about majima. "if he died, he was weak" i'm sorry what? your brother died and that's all you say? the majima dying subplot everyone knew was a fake-out, but the character that should've reacted the most(besides kiryu who also kinda doesn't care but whatever) shrugs it off. fucking pathetic. saejima's heist plan thing leads to a fine long battle and boss, but they're so stupid that i kinda don't care, and i'm just glad it's finally over.
i really don't like haruka's part. the pacing is a smidge better, not much, but i really do not like how wishi-washi it is on the idol industry. sometimes it feels like it's trying to critique the industry, showing how it takes people's dreams and spits them out, but other times it acts like the idol industry is beautiful and worth throwing your life away for. i find it crazy how haruka is like "no i want to stay with kiryu", kiryu agrees, and then park is like but she wouldn't want to miss out on this dream you literally stopped in yakuza 2, and kiryu is convinced and haruka does not object. what? all haruka has wanted the past two games was to live with kiryu and her family and she just leaves? i get she realises she was wrong but why did she make the choice in the first place? this then leads to some super boring stuff that's basically unrelated to main mystery. i honestly just don't care for park very much because her establishing scene makes her look like an asshole who only wants to shove her dream onto haruka which is exactly what she does. she even admits it. again haruka does eventually decide to not do this, but it then becomes weird because you're supposed to like park because of how she's kinda noble i guess? and how she matters to majima(we will get to that), but i end up just not caring. her death is a great twist though, super out of nowhere. this leads to akiyama being introduced, and if his part being only half the length of everyone else's and still split with haruka doesn't tell you everything, i don't know what will. i think it's generally agreed upon that akiyama is the worst part of 5, so i will be brief: akiyama does not need to be in this game. his inclusion feels tacked on, because i bet it was, and his plot relevance is stumbling into the main story. his part is mostly used to set up more of the mystery, katsuya, but it ends up just feeling kinda slow and having a comically evil villain try to kidnap a child. i really wish akiyama got to fight katsuya, given their fun earlier scene, but no. i really don't have much more to say.
shinada's part is fantastic. again, daigo being here is kinda stupid, but shinada's part is full of so many good characters that i don't mind. it is telling how the best part of the game is almost entirely unrelated to the rest of it, but whatever. i think it's a great small story for one of the best characters in the series, and i'd love to see him again. it's paced really well too.
the finale is a mess. it feels really bloated being the longest part of the game, and the first half is really just kinda boring. eventually, you get to kamurocho hills, a really great long battle + bosses where the game blatantly admits "yeah we just need to fight because that will make the villain appear". what do i even say to that. why does he appear. shouldn't he realise this is a trap? it feels like the plot sidestepping being the plot so it can have cool bosses. but the main villain is revealed to be that old cop. alright, makes sense(/gen). he wants to give his son a good yakuza life and not have to struggle like he has in that world. alright, makes sense again(/gen). HE'S THE FUCKING CHAIRMAN OF THE OMI? AND NOBODY RECOGNISED HIM? jesus christ. it's a really hard pill to swallow that the chairman of this major major group in the games just casually walks around and nobody notices him. before we get to the final bosses, let's take a quick detour to talk about how fucking stupid majima's part in this game is. majima had been behind the scenes for nearly all of this, and he wed, beat, and divorced park off screen. i think saejima and akiyama should've been cut to make majima a protagonist so we see these actions. showing his backstory with park from his eyes would actually be so much more interesting than it being dumped by a no-name at the end of the game. also, i refuse to believe majima, of all people, would ever beat his wife. i think everyone agrees this is stupid, so i won't go any longer.
i'm making a new paragraph for the final bosses because i really really don't like this part except for the gameplay of three of the bosses(majima, baba, and aizawa). the long battles suck, but they're mostly just to get everyone in position for their bosses. i think it's kinda silly that haruka is unwilling to cancel the concert, even if it will get her assassinated, but it does lead to another fantastic shinada part, so it's fine. having shinada fight baba considering that their arcs mirror each other is great, and almost makes baba in the rest of the game worth it. to majima, him fighting for haruka makes sense, and the fight is fun. i wish saejima was more responsive to seeing his brother alive, but considering how he didn't care before, why care now. it would be nice to have a fight with the real villain, even if he would get whooped, just to get to punch him. the real show-stealer is aizawa, though, who even admits he doesn't know why he's there. aside from this being a really fun fight, it kinda makes no sense. aizawa wants to be recognized for his own actions even though he's only in the position he's in right now because of his father. i don't really see why even have this line be here. it makes almost no difference to have him be in on his father's plan, and take power with his help because he loves his father. it's a cool idea in concept that this guy from the beginning is actually the final boss, but kiryu so handily beat him then that he needs to have been shot for aizawa to have been any semblance of a challenge. the final scene with haruka running out is good, but ruined by 6, which again isn't this game's fault, but i also can't not think about. i love how haruka comes to kiryu in the snow. it's a beautiful ending, even if it was set up on some things happening that i don't think should have.
there. now you know how i feel about this game. i don't really care if you agree or not, but now you know.
-i think kiryu is a little too good and it entirely stems from his bounding throws. it is fun but it does somewhat remove any thinking when you can just brainlessly do sstc. dragon heat is the same way.
-saejima is also fun. he's a bit slow but it would be weird for him to be fast.
-haruka's dancing is so fucking boring. it would have been better if they did literally any other rhythm game.
-akiyama is a straight-up downgrade from 4. his red heat move is more detrimental than anything, and the engine change makes his bounding a lot worse.
-i don't really fw shinada's combat. i don't find his one combo very fun. it's not abysmal or anything, but i think he needs something like the komaki parry.
-the encounter rate is WAY too high. every two steps and you're in a fight.
-graphically the game is mostly ok, it's a ps3 game so i won't be too harsh, but kiryu's suit is kinda weird and kamurocho looks really washed out.
-the taxi driving is fine. i don't hate it, but i don't love it either.
-the hunting blows.
-haruka's side story is 💤.
-baseball chill af.
-the substories are pretty average. there are some funny ones, but a lot are boring, and i end up not remembering most of them.
-why the hell can you not make clear data from premium adventure. that's a really minor nitpick but why do you have to complete everything before the finale if you want it in ng+.
-game has fantastic music. i really like it
alright, now let's talk about the meat and potatoes: the story. i think this is one of the worst yakuza stories i've ever played. to preface, yes i love shinada's part, and if that was all i was judging the game on, the game would be a+ or s tier. but 25% of a story being good is not a good story.
starting with kiryu's section, i really think kiryu running out on his family AGAIN is just stupid. entire thing in 3 is oh i love my family which is great. he begrudgingly leaves in 4 after practically being dragged back. and then you're telling me he just runs out? i get he's trying to make haruka look like she doesn't have a checkered past but that doesn't even work because anyone digging would go to the orphanage and tell them about kiryu anyway. besides that, i actually think the first part of the game is fine enough. it's paced well, has good action set pieces, and the story is (mostly) pretty interesting. i think that woman who i genuinely can't remember the name of(she's on the box, not park) should be more important, but i suppose if we're being fair that's not this part's fault. also daigo running away from the tojo clan kinda makes his fight in 4 feel pointless, since that's what he's supposed to have learned, but i guess it's fine because shinada.
i really don't like saejima's part. first, it's really narratively unsatisfying for him to go to prison AGAIN(not the last time!), and it feels kinda weird considering how he(and fans/defenders of the scene) make a big deal about how "25 years breaks a man". you'd think they'd let him off the hook for proving himself innocent but i guess not. this part is overall just way too fucking slow. i think baba is a loser and his only good trait is that he fights shinada. but anyway he breaks out of prison again, you're in the boring village part, and then you get dumped in the worst city in the game. i generally don't like the new cities because they feel kinda empty compared to kamurocho and sotenbori, but this one is by far the worst because of how they limit where you can walk and how you constantly get ambushed. it's also a testament to the pacing that they have to dump all of his substories at once instead of gradually like every other character. another thing i hate is what saejima says about majima. "if he died, he was weak" i'm sorry what? your brother died and that's all you say? the majima dying subplot everyone knew was a fake-out, but the character that should've reacted the most(besides kiryu who also kinda doesn't care but whatever) shrugs it off. fucking pathetic. saejima's heist plan thing leads to a fine long battle and boss, but they're so stupid that i kinda don't care, and i'm just glad it's finally over.
i really don't like haruka's part. the pacing is a smidge better, not much, but i really do not like how wishi-washi it is on the idol industry. sometimes it feels like it's trying to critique the industry, showing how it takes people's dreams and spits them out, but other times it acts like the idol industry is beautiful and worth throwing your life away for. i find it crazy how haruka is like "no i want to stay with kiryu", kiryu agrees, and then park is like but she wouldn't want to miss out on this dream you literally stopped in yakuza 2, and kiryu is convinced and haruka does not object. what? all haruka has wanted the past two games was to live with kiryu and her family and she just leaves? i get she realises she was wrong but why did she make the choice in the first place? this then leads to some super boring stuff that's basically unrelated to main mystery. i honestly just don't care for park very much because her establishing scene makes her look like an asshole who only wants to shove her dream onto haruka which is exactly what she does. she even admits it. again haruka does eventually decide to not do this, but it then becomes weird because you're supposed to like park because of how she's kinda noble i guess? and how she matters to majima(we will get to that), but i end up just not caring. her death is a great twist though, super out of nowhere. this leads to akiyama being introduced, and if his part being only half the length of everyone else's and still split with haruka doesn't tell you everything, i don't know what will. i think it's generally agreed upon that akiyama is the worst part of 5, so i will be brief: akiyama does not need to be in this game. his inclusion feels tacked on, because i bet it was, and his plot relevance is stumbling into the main story. his part is mostly used to set up more of the mystery, katsuya, but it ends up just feeling kinda slow and having a comically evil villain try to kidnap a child. i really wish akiyama got to fight katsuya, given their fun earlier scene, but no. i really don't have much more to say.
shinada's part is fantastic. again, daigo being here is kinda stupid, but shinada's part is full of so many good characters that i don't mind. it is telling how the best part of the game is almost entirely unrelated to the rest of it, but whatever. i think it's a great small story for one of the best characters in the series, and i'd love to see him again. it's paced really well too.
the finale is a mess. it feels really bloated being the longest part of the game, and the first half is really just kinda boring. eventually, you get to kamurocho hills, a really great long battle + bosses where the game blatantly admits "yeah we just need to fight because that will make the villain appear". what do i even say to that. why does he appear. shouldn't he realise this is a trap? it feels like the plot sidestepping being the plot so it can have cool bosses. but the main villain is revealed to be that old cop. alright, makes sense(/gen). he wants to give his son a good yakuza life and not have to struggle like he has in that world. alright, makes sense again(/gen). HE'S THE FUCKING CHAIRMAN OF THE OMI? AND NOBODY RECOGNISED HIM? jesus christ. it's a really hard pill to swallow that the chairman of this major major group in the games just casually walks around and nobody notices him. before we get to the final bosses, let's take a quick detour to talk about how fucking stupid majima's part in this game is. majima had been behind the scenes for nearly all of this, and he wed, beat, and divorced park off screen. i think saejima and akiyama should've been cut to make majima a protagonist so we see these actions. showing his backstory with park from his eyes would actually be so much more interesting than it being dumped by a no-name at the end of the game. also, i refuse to believe majima, of all people, would ever beat his wife. i think everyone agrees this is stupid, so i won't go any longer.
i'm making a new paragraph for the final bosses because i really really don't like this part except for the gameplay of three of the bosses(majima, baba, and aizawa). the long battles suck, but they're mostly just to get everyone in position for their bosses. i think it's kinda silly that haruka is unwilling to cancel the concert, even if it will get her assassinated, but it does lead to another fantastic shinada part, so it's fine. having shinada fight baba considering that their arcs mirror each other is great, and almost makes baba in the rest of the game worth it. to majima, him fighting for haruka makes sense, and the fight is fun. i wish saejima was more responsive to seeing his brother alive, but considering how he didn't care before, why care now. it would be nice to have a fight with the real villain, even if he would get whooped, just to get to punch him. the real show-stealer is aizawa, though, who even admits he doesn't know why he's there. aside from this being a really fun fight, it kinda makes no sense. aizawa wants to be recognized for his own actions even though he's only in the position he's in right now because of his father. i don't really see why even have this line be here. it makes almost no difference to have him be in on his father's plan, and take power with his help because he loves his father. it's a cool idea in concept that this guy from the beginning is actually the final boss, but kiryu so handily beat him then that he needs to have been shot for aizawa to have been any semblance of a challenge. the final scene with haruka running out is good, but ruined by 6, which again isn't this game's fault, but i also can't not think about. i love how haruka comes to kiryu in the snow. it's a beautiful ending, even if it was set up on some things happening that i don't think should have.
there. now you know how i feel about this game. i don't really care if you agree or not, but now you know.
shoulda called this game "shinada 5: battle for the baseball"
Why is Reggie Fils-Aimé the final boss?
YOU CAN FIGHT A FUCKING BEAR!
One of the best entries in the Yakuza series and a great way to close out the PS3 releases. Just like 4, Yakuza 5 offers different stories via different characters all while adding a couple of new locations compared to previous titles which is great for variety.
Story-wise, the game has some ups and downs but overall this game is yet another great entry in the Yakuza series.
Story-wise, the game has some ups and downs but overall this game is yet another great entry in the Yakuza series.
https://i.imgur.com/AbGZYCb.png
Game's heavier than a honey baked ham!!!
For every moment in Yakuza 5 that lead me into thinking I was playing an untamed vortex of passion and uncompromised vision, there were two-to-five other uncomplimentary moments that felt like spinning plates and taking the meandering narrative for walkies. Spreads its roots far & wide across so many ideas and gameplay concepts that, on paper, scans as a maximalist daydream I'd love to lose myself in, but all of it feels so perfunctory and checklisty. Fifty different minigames to micromanage and level up in individually to access Harder Levels of said minigames - - - Vidcon Gospel since time immemoria but my patience has limits :(
Haruka's chapter was probably my personal standout, if only with thanks to how vastly different her story played to any character to come before. The rhythm battles were so fun albeit with the game's slim tracklist, and her substories took on a refreshing dynamic too. The combat in these games has never impressed me but I'd much rather play an unimpressive rhythm game than a brawler I've lost heart in. From a narrative perspective, it is infuriatingly complacent with the practices Japanese idol industry in a way I find legitimately toothless in a series that tends to dedicate fisticuffs to rooting out corruption and it makes Haruka's characterisation weaker as a result.
When came the Shinada chapter I was desperately hoping the end credits would finally begin to roll, which is a shame because he and Koichi's dynamic is probably my favourite spark of character chemistry in the entire series.
I in complete honesty couldn't tell you a single thing that happened in the final hours. This was a game I had started months ago and it rather hilariously demanded for me to recall with perfect clarity a cloak and dagger conspiracy that happened in the initial chapters. The overarching story was a wash for me but I much preferred when the leading cast were locked in their own little bubbles, & exploring their own vignettes about dreams lost & worth aspiring 4. Truly believe that in another world, this would have been a younger me's One Playstation 3 Game For The Month and I'd have completely melted into it - but sadly, I had to play this in incredibly granular sessions that largely felt like clocking in for community service.
Game's heavier than a honey baked ham!!!
For every moment in Yakuza 5 that lead me into thinking I was playing an untamed vortex of passion and uncompromised vision, there were two-to-five other uncomplimentary moments that felt like spinning plates and taking the meandering narrative for walkies. Spreads its roots far & wide across so many ideas and gameplay concepts that, on paper, scans as a maximalist daydream I'd love to lose myself in, but all of it feels so perfunctory and checklisty. Fifty different minigames to micromanage and level up in individually to access Harder Levels of said minigames - - - Vidcon Gospel since time immemoria but my patience has limits :(
Haruka's chapter was probably my personal standout, if only with thanks to how vastly different her story played to any character to come before. The rhythm battles were so fun albeit with the game's slim tracklist, and her substories took on a refreshing dynamic too. The combat in these games has never impressed me but I'd much rather play an unimpressive rhythm game than a brawler I've lost heart in. From a narrative perspective, it is infuriatingly complacent with the practices Japanese idol industry in a way I find legitimately toothless in a series that tends to dedicate fisticuffs to rooting out corruption and it makes Haruka's characterisation weaker as a result.
When came the Shinada chapter I was desperately hoping the end credits would finally begin to roll, which is a shame because he and Koichi's dynamic is probably my favourite spark of character chemistry in the entire series.
I in complete honesty couldn't tell you a single thing that happened in the final hours. This was a game I had started months ago and it rather hilariously demanded for me to recall with perfect clarity a cloak and dagger conspiracy that happened in the initial chapters. The overarching story was a wash for me but I much preferred when the leading cast were locked in their own little bubbles, & exploring their own vignettes about dreams lost & worth aspiring 4. Truly believe that in another world, this would have been a younger me's One Playstation 3 Game For The Month and I'd have completely melted into it - but sadly, I had to play this in incredibly granular sessions that largely felt like clocking in for community service.
Ppl be like "story dumb" but dude. This is a GAME that's got a bunch of games inside. The whole GAME is practically a playground. Just as much game (or even more) than story.
these are just early thoughts from a replay, but i'm really starting to get yakuza 5 this time around. having to unlock block breaking is annoying and i still think the saejima segment is incredibly shoehorned and pointless, and that rgg studios in general has not known how to meaningfully utilize saejima at all since 4, but by skipping his cutscenes that don't immediately tie into the larger plot on a replay it just becomes about as mild of an annoyance as the incessant tutorials at the start of 0. the game beating you over the head with dreams as a theme is also a little annoying and certainly heavy handed, but when the game has stories like kiryu's and shinada's (and even akiyama's and haruka's!) in it why would i even care? shinada's segment is literally the best part of this entire franchise, and other than 0 and 8 i feel like kiryu's chapter in 5 is maybe the flat out most interesting look into the man's life, and the way his fighting style becoming more brutal gives a look into his psyche at the time of 5 is some of the coolest shit ever.
yakuza 5 is also maybe the game in the series that follows the "a real man... oughta be a little stupid" mantra ryuji posited in 2 the most, and to that end it really feels like one of the most "yakuza" yakuza games we've gotten. maybe not as strong a story as its follow up, but absolutely a game that embodies the strengths of the series better.
yakuza 5 is also maybe the game in the series that follows the "a real man... oughta be a little stupid" mantra ryuji posited in 2 the most, and to that end it really feels like one of the most "yakuza" yakuza games we've gotten. maybe not as strong a story as its follow up, but absolutely a game that embodies the strengths of the series better.
Great game. Shinada alone makes this game all worth it. Then this game goes the extra mile and has great music, great combat, all the protagonists are great (even Haruka), and a legitimately good main antagonist (no, the final boss of the game is not the main antagonist, get that through your head)
Any criticism I've seen directed towards this game is almost always applicable to Yakuza 0 as well, which people curiously don't criticise even though it has the same problems
It's better than 0 anyway
Any criticism I've seen directed towards this game is almost always applicable to Yakuza 0 as well, which people curiously don't criticise even though it has the same problems
It's better than 0 anyway
This review contains spoilers
Algum dia ainda quero escrever um texto sobre esse jogo, não é todo dia que você encontra algo tão grandioso, grandioso em uma direção de arte absurda, grandioso em quão ambicioso e corajoso ele é por trazer uma história com 5 protagonistas, grandioso em todos os temas que ele toca e aborda, grandioso em criar um combate tão profundo e bem polido e divertido, grandioso na vastidão de possibilidades e objetivos secundários que ele dispõem nas suas várias cidades para o jogador, grandioso em disponibilizar para nós o grande Shrimpnada.
É sério meu caro leitor, o que esse jogo fez e faz até o hoje deveria servir de exemplo para influenciar outros a seguir o mesmo caminho. Porém não estou aqui para trazer um texto complexo e apaixonado sobre Yakuza 5, mas sim contar sobre duas cenas do jogo que me fizeram cair me lágrimas.
A primeira acontece após Baba revelar que estava a mando de alguém para eliminar Saejima, depois de Saejima indagar sobre a relação que os dois possuiam como irmãos de juramento, Baba, confuso, por um momento considera retirar sua própria vida, Saejima então desfere um soco no rosto de Baba para desarmá-lo, logo diz para seu amigo: ''Não importa o quão dura fique a vida, você nunca deve desistir''. O sentimento de ver um personagem, para mim, tão querido, querer por um fim na própria vida, é angustiante, para no momento seguinte, ouvir de um homem que passou pelo pior dos infernos e perdeu anos de sua vida por algo que não havia realmente cometido, que nunca devemos desistir, é emocionante, para dizer o minímo.
O segundo momento que tocou meu coração, acontece depois da luta entre Shinada e Baba, onde Shinada está sentado assistindo à apresentação de Haruka, indagando que aquele era o palco onde os sonhos se concretizavam, quase com lágrimas em seus olhos. Depois disso, Shinada percebe que o estojo onde a arma que Baba havia trazido estava a aberto, Baba confuso mais uma vez, dizia que já era tarde para ele, Shinada desesperado corre para tirar a arma de Baba, a cena fica em câmera lenta e quando o disparo parece ter sido efetuado, uma explosão de fogos no palco também acontece. Por um instante, não sabemos o que aconteceu, até que vemos que a arma não está mais nas mãos de Baba, essa que foi retirada por seus amigos que conviverá na prisão, esses que estavam ali, bem em sua frente, com eles dizendo que ainda haviam pessoas esperando por ele. Uma cena muito linda, mas ainda não acabou. Shinada fica sozinho e começa a pensar sobre qual era seu plano, o que ele faria quando voltasse para casa, seu celular então toca, era Takasugi, ele não havia ligado para discutir sobre dívidas ou empréstimos, mas para dizer que todos estavam sentindo sua falta, Shinada que momentos antes quase havia chorado, agora quebra completamente. Acho que eu e você concordamos em uma coisa, é sempre bom quando alguém se sente acolhido por ter outros por perto.
Poderia citar outros momentos tão incríveis quanto, mas esses foram os dois que com certeza mais me marcaram durante minhas 35 horas de campanha. Obrigado Mestre Nagoshi, por essa série maravilhosa. E um bom Natal para quem estiver lendo.
É sério meu caro leitor, o que esse jogo fez e faz até o hoje deveria servir de exemplo para influenciar outros a seguir o mesmo caminho. Porém não estou aqui para trazer um texto complexo e apaixonado sobre Yakuza 5, mas sim contar sobre duas cenas do jogo que me fizeram cair me lágrimas.
A primeira acontece após Baba revelar que estava a mando de alguém para eliminar Saejima, depois de Saejima indagar sobre a relação que os dois possuiam como irmãos de juramento, Baba, confuso, por um momento considera retirar sua própria vida, Saejima então desfere um soco no rosto de Baba para desarmá-lo, logo diz para seu amigo: ''Não importa o quão dura fique a vida, você nunca deve desistir''. O sentimento de ver um personagem, para mim, tão querido, querer por um fim na própria vida, é angustiante, para no momento seguinte, ouvir de um homem que passou pelo pior dos infernos e perdeu anos de sua vida por algo que não havia realmente cometido, que nunca devemos desistir, é emocionante, para dizer o minímo.
O segundo momento que tocou meu coração, acontece depois da luta entre Shinada e Baba, onde Shinada está sentado assistindo à apresentação de Haruka, indagando que aquele era o palco onde os sonhos se concretizavam, quase com lágrimas em seus olhos. Depois disso, Shinada percebe que o estojo onde a arma que Baba havia trazido estava a aberto, Baba confuso mais uma vez, dizia que já era tarde para ele, Shinada desesperado corre para tirar a arma de Baba, a cena fica em câmera lenta e quando o disparo parece ter sido efetuado, uma explosão de fogos no palco também acontece. Por um instante, não sabemos o que aconteceu, até que vemos que a arma não está mais nas mãos de Baba, essa que foi retirada por seus amigos que conviverá na prisão, esses que estavam ali, bem em sua frente, com eles dizendo que ainda haviam pessoas esperando por ele. Uma cena muito linda, mas ainda não acabou. Shinada fica sozinho e começa a pensar sobre qual era seu plano, o que ele faria quando voltasse para casa, seu celular então toca, era Takasugi, ele não havia ligado para discutir sobre dívidas ou empréstimos, mas para dizer que todos estavam sentindo sua falta, Shinada que momentos antes quase havia chorado, agora quebra completamente. Acho que eu e você concordamos em uma coisa, é sempre bom quando alguém se sente acolhido por ter outros por perto.
Poderia citar outros momentos tão incríveis quanto, mas esses foram os dois que com certeza mais me marcaram durante minhas 35 horas de campanha. Obrigado Mestre Nagoshi, por essa série maravilhosa. E um bom Natal para quem estiver lendo.
Everything I love is in this game.
Undoubtedly the Yakuza game that was most ambitious in scope. Five playable characters and five full-sized maps to run around it. While the story is a little bit too all over the place for this reason, it was a solid entry as the penultimate game in the Kiryu saga.
I really did not enjoy playing the other characters in this game as much as I did 4 tbh. Kiryu's chapters feel like the most well paced part of the game with a really fun minigame storyline. Unfortunately, I can't really say the same about the rest. Saejima, while more fun to play now, just repeats beats from his 4 story with a kinda tedious hunting game that only comes up in his last chapter. Akiyama now has his section joined with Haruka's and this is probably the lamest section of the game. Haruka's rhythm game just isn't very fun especially compared to actual rhythm games I've played and Akiyama's presence feels very obligatory. Shinada, the new guy, is pretty fun at first and I think I like his section of the game the most after Kiryu's. However, his is the most tenuously connected with a lot of rope needing to be given to even connect him to the story and his movelist is super limited focusing heavily on weapon use.
I like the idea and concept behind the themes of the game's story, but Yakuza as of this game feels really fucking bloated. I love this series and a lot of its characters, but being asked to care about any of the new characters they introduce sometimes is so fucking annoying, especially the new lady they introduce who is pivotal to the plot, but is so thoroughly awful.
I like the idea and concept behind the themes of the game's story, but Yakuza as of this game feels really fucking bloated. I love this series and a lot of its characters, but being asked to care about any of the new characters they introduce sometimes is so fucking annoying, especially the new lady they introduce who is pivotal to the plot, but is so thoroughly awful.
There's maybe too much content in this game for any reasonable completionist. It's also sorely lacking in Majima. Most of the stories are fun and interesting but some like Akiyama got the shaft. The side stories were also good as well.
Quite possibly the most complete, feature rich and quality game in the series, and one of the most complete games in all of gaming.
I do not believe there's a game out there with the same level of content and quality of this one. It's almost endless.
I do not believe there's a game out there with the same level of content and quality of this one. It's almost endless.
Unlike Yakuza 4, i dont think Yakuza 5 is a "bad game". It is a substancial improvement on 4 in terms of writing a multi layered narrative.
The individual stories of all 5 characters are actually quite good.
But once they meet. It becomes an absolute mess akin to an mcu ensemble. Actually thats the best description of Yakuza 5: its a mcu cramped into a game.
Coupled with extremly tedious gameplay sections (looking at you Saejima). A 35 hour runtime for a minimalist run. You got a game that feels like an absolute chore to get through. Even there are excellent moments, especially in the Haruka storyline suprisingly enough.
So as someone who's quite fond of Yakuza, i did actually enjoy my time quite a bit. But i struggle to say i enjoyed "Yakuza 5" so much as I enjoy "Yakuza". If that makes any sense.
If you're into yakuza already, stay away from it. If you're a 0nly, then stay away from it. If you like Yakuza, then you dont need me to tell you to play it. You'll likely enjoy it more than I did, people seem to rank it pretty high. I probably would too if not for that mess of a final chapter.
I will say through, when this game has high points. There are high, and that is what makes me think that, despite the clunkyness, this was worth it.
The individual stories of all 5 characters are actually quite good.
But once they meet. It becomes an absolute mess akin to an mcu ensemble. Actually thats the best description of Yakuza 5: its a mcu cramped into a game.
Coupled with extremly tedious gameplay sections (looking at you Saejima). A 35 hour runtime for a minimalist run. You got a game that feels like an absolute chore to get through. Even there are excellent moments, especially in the Haruka storyline suprisingly enough.
So as someone who's quite fond of Yakuza, i did actually enjoy my time quite a bit. But i struggle to say i enjoyed "Yakuza 5" so much as I enjoy "Yakuza". If that makes any sense.
If you're into yakuza already, stay away from it. If you're a 0nly, then stay away from it. If you like Yakuza, then you dont need me to tell you to play it. You'll likely enjoy it more than I did, people seem to rank it pretty high. I probably would too if not for that mess of a final chapter.
I will say through, when this game has high points. There are high, and that is what makes me think that, despite the clunkyness, this was worth it.
So the game has its flaws but it is Yakuza at its most Yakuza. The plot is convoluted but the actual character writing is some of the best in the series. The combat is probably the easiest one but it is fun being that OP. The new cities need a bit of work but the game has some of the funniest substories in the series (such as Santa Saejima). Music is amazing in general and this game has the most side content in the series.
soco soco porradaria soco karaoke testosterona nego pelado se socando momentos bostas e momentos emocionantes obrigado gta 5
Yakuza 5 for me, will always be the height of this series, just for how big it is and how everything about it is just perfect. The finale is also the best thing ever like holy fuck.
I rated all these games mostly so I could get to this one and say it sucks.
Alright "sucks" is too strong. The thing about being the most bloated mess ever made is that there's so much stuff in here and a lot of it is really good! I could go on for pages describing things in Yakuza 5 that kick ass and still not love the game on the other end because it's infinite. In fact literally yesterday I was talking to some friends who'd only played 7 and was like listen in 5 there's a guy who's a baseball guy and if you go to the batting cage with him the minigame is way more complex because he actually knows how to play baseball good. That rules!! If you are going to play it I would recommend not being too completionist, and I think that you could come out on the other end feeling a lot better about it if you do. I beat Amon in this one too and DO NOT! DO THAT!
But okay, other than just crossing over the barrier into too big, what are my complaints? One is the pacing. Y4 had multiple playable characters but it also felt like the main story was advancing throughout them and the stakes of each character were escalating. Y5 does not have this quality even a little. Each story goes until you're ready for a big climax back in Kamurocho and then it hits a brick wall and you're doing something cute and mundane again. Individually they're all good but fatigue sets in hard. Also Saejima's story was kinda eeeeh to me but he does get to punch multiple bears so I'm not going to go too hard on the guy.
Secondly the plot in this one is dumb in a way that did not elevate it for me. It felt a lot more like we got to the end with no plan as to how these stories should be connected at all, since none of them felt related at that point. The bad guy's big plan sits squarely in the "3. ???" before "4. profit" and makes not even the slightest bit of sense. It also just isn't thematically that interesting. There's good stuff in the Haruka Idol stuff but her suddenly wanting to be a famous idol and everyone talking about shooting for your dreams is like god shut up.
Alright I could talk a lot more about this one but since it's been so long I might as well keep it out of major spoilers I know some people who have yet to beat this one see ya once I beat LAD.
Alright "sucks" is too strong. The thing about being the most bloated mess ever made is that there's so much stuff in here and a lot of it is really good! I could go on for pages describing things in Yakuza 5 that kick ass and still not love the game on the other end because it's infinite. In fact literally yesterday I was talking to some friends who'd only played 7 and was like listen in 5 there's a guy who's a baseball guy and if you go to the batting cage with him the minigame is way more complex because he actually knows how to play baseball good. That rules!! If you are going to play it I would recommend not being too completionist, and I think that you could come out on the other end feeling a lot better about it if you do. I beat Amon in this one too and DO NOT! DO THAT!
But okay, other than just crossing over the barrier into too big, what are my complaints? One is the pacing. Y4 had multiple playable characters but it also felt like the main story was advancing throughout them and the stakes of each character were escalating. Y5 does not have this quality even a little. Each story goes until you're ready for a big climax back in Kamurocho and then it hits a brick wall and you're doing something cute and mundane again. Individually they're all good but fatigue sets in hard. Also Saejima's story was kinda eeeeh to me but he does get to punch multiple bears so I'm not going to go too hard on the guy.
Secondly the plot in this one is dumb in a way that did not elevate it for me. It felt a lot more like we got to the end with no plan as to how these stories should be connected at all, since none of them felt related at that point. The bad guy's big plan sits squarely in the "3. ???" before "4. profit" and makes not even the slightest bit of sense. It also just isn't thematically that interesting. There's good stuff in the Haruka Idol stuff but her suddenly wanting to be a famous idol and everyone talking about shooting for your dreams is like god shut up.
Alright I could talk a lot more about this one but since it's been so long I might as well keep it out of major spoilers I know some people who have yet to beat this one see ya once I beat LAD.