My favourite Yakuza game and one of my favourite games in general. This one seems to cop some flak from people for perhaps overstepping its bounds a bit, but for me, it’s precisely because of that ambition that it’s my favourite in the series. It probably is too much, it is fairly messy, but there’s so much love oozing out of this thing, I can’t not get swept up in it. There’s also a nice little meta aspect to its ambition seeing as the story is all about dreams and aspirations. You can truly feel the passion that went into Yakuza 5.

I’m also really hoping that the new maps in this one make a return someday. I love them. Please RGG, pleeeaaaaassseeee.

Whilst full of interesting choices from story to gameplay, that pushed the franchise even further, Y5 unfortunately falls flat as one of the most underwhelming Yakuza experiences thus far. Dragged out with side content that distracts you from the more intriguing narrative, though even when confronting said story, still feels convoluted and padded, Y5 is a total bore from start to finish. This was the moment that I started to lose interest, which is why I think highly of more engaging and experimental later entries.

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.

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.

so i do not like this game. i also dont like typing long about things i dont like, gives me Dars Souls 2 coniptions...
Game is split into 4 (technically 5) routes, all each with their own story and mini games attached to them. Before you have much time you want to invest or care much into the characters story/ minigame, you are either burnt out from its monotnous routine or the characters story is already over. For instance, the worst story in this game belongs to act ., which really sucks bc that character itself is very sick and his combat is insane! Its just that his story and forced minigame are so goddamn boring and longwinded that you get really burnt out from Y5 by the end of his campaign. Also on a side note, this game does not respect your time. You cannot skip a lot of the filler dialouge that doesnt matter nor does it allow you to skip said cutscene, you have to mash your way to the end of it. Also im glad we're out of the era of yakuza games where u have to save at a phone booth and no where else. you cannot save into 4th story until an hour into that segment. By far, yakuza has some of the most bullshit bosses ive played. It is not fun fighting a boss that constantly blocks after the 1st initial hit that does 5 damage. And if your retort to that is use specific heat actions or breakable weapons, your game philosophy is stupid. There is plenty more id like to get into, but remembering gives me a headache. The story was very all over the place and finale was a mess save for two characters lol. Y4 still stands as my favorite.

J’ai adoré le gameplay de chaque personnage qui se complète très très bien. Je préfère peut-être ce gameplay à celui du 4 d’ailleurs, et je trouve ça positif car ça montre qu’avec le temps, les développeurs ont réussi à créer une réelle identité et à retravailler chaque jeu pour l’améliorer.
L’histoire ne m’a pas trop convaincue, même si j’aime beaucoup tous les plot-twists, ça ne suffit pas à en faire un bon jeu. Le fait de séparer le jeu en 4 parties, rend le récit compliqué à suivre, et il en perd peut-être un peu en qualité. Mais globalement le jeu est super cool, très bien optimisé, et très joli.