A game that's impossible to truly rank. It's a prime example of what happens when every single person working on something goes berserk, simultaneously.
Among all of the truly baffling decisions with this (really fun to play) game, the two that stick out the most in my mind, all these years later:
- Why does every single new protagonist have at least one scene where they come across as a total scumbag that feels almost contradictory to their ultimate portrayal, whereas Kiryu is now completely shonenpilled and comes across as a 15-year old JRPG protagonist?
- There's one scene where one of the many, many antagonists show up and talks with Saejima, and in this one scene the antagonist is wearing a suit that is a clear mirror of Kiryu's iconic dumbass white suit and maroon shirt ensemble look. The antagonist is clearly being portrayed as someone who's trying to rise up in estimation and become a new Kiryu (a thematic thread that runs through the whole game), but then the antagonist wears his usual clothes for the rest of the game. The whole scene basically just sets up a boss fight for much later in the game. They made a completely new model for him with the suit and everything and used it once. I have never stopped thinking about this scene.
Among all of the truly baffling decisions with this (really fun to play) game, the two that stick out the most in my mind, all these years later:
- Why does every single new protagonist have at least one scene where they come across as a total scumbag that feels almost contradictory to their ultimate portrayal, whereas Kiryu is now completely shonenpilled and comes across as a 15-year old JRPG protagonist?
- There's one scene where one of the many, many antagonists show up and talks with Saejima, and in this one scene the antagonist is wearing a suit that is a clear mirror of Kiryu's iconic dumbass white suit and maroon shirt ensemble look. The antagonist is clearly being portrayed as someone who's trying to rise up in estimation and become a new Kiryu (a thematic thread that runs through the whole game), but then the antagonist wears his usual clothes for the rest of the game. The whole scene basically just sets up a boss fight for much later in the game. They made a completely new model for him with the suit and everything and used it once. I have never stopped thinking about this scene.