Wow. I've thought about how to rate this game, going from 8, 9, and/or 10 and I feel as though my thoughts being all over the place are also a reflection of how much of a beautiful mess this game ultimately was.

Alright, let's get the obvious out of the way. The combat was indeed a step down, especially coming off of 5 and 0, but it's nowhere as bad as it is made out to be. I even managed to have fun with all the wacky stuff you can do.

The story is especially where the beautiful mess is most prominent. It features Kiryu at his best and while the inclusion of the Hirose family feels like an odd choice for a final outing, I especially enjoyed how well he clicked with all of them. Admittedly, there is one story beat that felt noticably underwhelming (you know what I mean), but man, that final sequence of events was something I don't have the words for.

Overall, while it is not as well put together as some of the past entries, it ultimately does what it sets out to do. A bittersweet, but beautiful end to the journey of the Dragon of Dojima.