And here we are, the end of the Kiryu saga!
This game seems really back to basics in comparison to the last few games. It's just Kiryu this time, with one fighting style, and half the major characters either go into hiding or get arrested after the events of the last game. It's easy to think that this game has less going on gameplay wise compared to what came before it, and that's because it has less going on gameplay wise compared to what came before it. But to be honest, I was fine with that. Yeah, multiple protagonists was cool and led to a lot of interesting ideas being explored, but it was hard to deny 4 and 5 feeling convoluted and bloated at times. This game in comparison, I could tell you the plot without checking a wiki beforehand, which is great! So does Yakuza 6 come in close compared to Yakuza 0, one of the most beloved games of the last decade?
Not even close.
To be honest, I wasn't vibing with Yakuza 6 for a lot of the game. A lot of it takes place in a new Hiroshima setting out in the country, and the new area just doesn't have much to do in it. There's a clan making RTS minigame that's kind of fun if super easy, and a spear fishing minigame that's super easy to miss. The vibes are pretty comparable to Yakuza's 3 Okinawa setting at first, with it's cast of enjoyable bro lower Yakuza characters, who don't feel as impactful as the Y4 or Y5 characters, but that's probably due to not having to play as any of them. But the story is enjoyable and fresh, but then the next issue with this game comes, which is that I really didn't vibe with the combat that much.
This game is the first to showcase the new Dragon Engine, and it is GORGEOUS. The movement is lifelike, the characters animate really well outside of combat, and the lighting is really well done. Especially since it's no more loading screens, just walk into a building (or kick a guy into it and get berated by minimum wage staff)
But I don't know if it's just me, but combat in this game felt really floaty in comparison to 4, 5 and 0. Nothing really had the same brutal impact of landing a combo or well timed heat attack in those games did. Not to mention enemies simply despawning now instead of meekly walking away after you inflict 18 fatal looking moves on them. As well as the weird glitches like enemies staying suspended in midair if you beat them which happened to me multiple times. From what I've seen of Gaiden and Judgment, they seemed to have fixed this, so I'm optimistic. But as it stands, it's probably my least favorite combat after 1k and 3.
But overall, I was vibing with this game thinking it was gonna be on the lower end of my Yakuza ranking. Yeah, I was having fun and the story is interesting, but nothing was really jumping out at me.
Then the ending hit me like every heat action I've inflicted on a random thug colliding on me at once. Because HOLY SHIT, the finale chapter is amazing! Everything comes back for a series of climactic fights, all the main characters get a moment to shine, and it's tapped off with a series of post credits cutscenes that got me dangerously close to crying. No joke, this game would have been sitting at a high 6-low 7 if not for how well executed the ending was.
And so, I move on to Gaiden, and the Kiryu saga ends. And then I get to replay LIKE A DRAGON BABY I LOVE ICHIBAN KASUGA WHAT THE FUCK IS A SHAREHOLDER?!?!?!?!?!
This game seems really back to basics in comparison to the last few games. It's just Kiryu this time, with one fighting style, and half the major characters either go into hiding or get arrested after the events of the last game. It's easy to think that this game has less going on gameplay wise compared to what came before it, and that's because it has less going on gameplay wise compared to what came before it. But to be honest, I was fine with that. Yeah, multiple protagonists was cool and led to a lot of interesting ideas being explored, but it was hard to deny 4 and 5 feeling convoluted and bloated at times. This game in comparison, I could tell you the plot without checking a wiki beforehand, which is great! So does Yakuza 6 come in close compared to Yakuza 0, one of the most beloved games of the last decade?
Not even close.
To be honest, I wasn't vibing with Yakuza 6 for a lot of the game. A lot of it takes place in a new Hiroshima setting out in the country, and the new area just doesn't have much to do in it. There's a clan making RTS minigame that's kind of fun if super easy, and a spear fishing minigame that's super easy to miss. The vibes are pretty comparable to Yakuza's 3 Okinawa setting at first, with it's cast of enjoyable bro lower Yakuza characters, who don't feel as impactful as the Y4 or Y5 characters, but that's probably due to not having to play as any of them. But the story is enjoyable and fresh, but then the next issue with this game comes, which is that I really didn't vibe with the combat that much.
This game is the first to showcase the new Dragon Engine, and it is GORGEOUS. The movement is lifelike, the characters animate really well outside of combat, and the lighting is really well done. Especially since it's no more loading screens, just walk into a building (or kick a guy into it and get berated by minimum wage staff)
But I don't know if it's just me, but combat in this game felt really floaty in comparison to 4, 5 and 0. Nothing really had the same brutal impact of landing a combo or well timed heat attack in those games did. Not to mention enemies simply despawning now instead of meekly walking away after you inflict 18 fatal looking moves on them. As well as the weird glitches like enemies staying suspended in midair if you beat them which happened to me multiple times. From what I've seen of Gaiden and Judgment, they seemed to have fixed this, so I'm optimistic. But as it stands, it's probably my least favorite combat after 1k and 3.
But overall, I was vibing with this game thinking it was gonna be on the lower end of my Yakuza ranking. Yeah, I was having fun and the story is interesting, but nothing was really jumping out at me.
Then the ending hit me like every heat action I've inflicted on a random thug colliding on me at once. Because HOLY SHIT, the finale chapter is amazing! Everything comes back for a series of climactic fights, all the main characters get a moment to shine, and it's tapped off with a series of post credits cutscenes that got me dangerously close to crying. No joke, this game would have been sitting at a high 6-low 7 if not for how well executed the ending was.
And so, I move on to Gaiden, and the Kiryu saga ends. And then I get to replay LIKE A DRAGON BABY I LOVE ICHIBAN KASUGA WHAT THE FUCK IS A SHAREHOLDER?!?!?!?!?!
Lemonstrade
20 days ago