Taking place a few years after its prequel, Yakuza 6 starts with a small timeskip as Kiryu goes to jail due to the events that transpired in the finale of Y5. Coming back to Morning Glory, he finds Haruka missing, having left to avoid drawing negative attention to the other kids in the orphanage. Kiryu immediately sets out to find his daughter, and to his surprise, finds out that she now has a son of her own, a young boy that's tied to a decades-old underworld conspiracy.
Yakuza 6 was a very positive surprise. After the CIA, rubber bullets and... whatever the heck went on in the fever dream that was Yakuza 5, Y6 feels refreshing, with a plot that's incredibly convoluted, as per series standards, but where the pieces nevertheless fall beautifully into place, each part of the conspiracy leading into the other in a way that feels almost inevitable. Plus, it features a large and incredibly well-realized cast, each character having layered personalities and motivations: Nagumo, Kiyomi, Hirose, Someya, Yuuta, Han-Joon-Gi and more are some of the best the series has seen. Overall, I would risk saying this is the best Yakuza storyline since 0 (series' chronology wise).
One aspect that's often brought up as a criticism is that RGG went back to having only one character, down from the whopping five in Yakuza 5, but it's clear that, for the story they wanted to tell, and the conclusion they wanted to have, paving the way for Yagami and Ichiban to take over as series' leads, there was no way to not have the story focus on Kiryu. That intent is clear from the game's cover: like previous entries, Yakuza 6 establishes its themes right from the game's subtitle, which the Western localization was kind enough to keep this time around: The Song of Life. The old being replaced by the new. Younger generations taking over and doing things their own way. Parents, their children and their grandchildren. Focusing the story on Kiryu and his family allowed the writers to amplify this message in a way that the multiple protagonist setup would just not have been able to.
And it's not only the characters of Kiryu, Haruka and Haruto reflect that cycle at the core of the game's storytelling: so does the city of Kamurocho, which feels exceptionally hostile this time around. For one, people now walk around with all sorts of gadgets that our nearly 50-year-old protagonist struggles to wrap his head around. But more than the people, the city itself has transformed, more of it having been swallowed by large companies and criminal enterprises, large hotels, gyms, food chains and whatnot now standing where once stood familiar locations. Of note is that Little Asia is entirely gone, and one can't help but wonder what happened to all those people from Y4. The game never explains, of course, because that's just how it is: folks are pushed out and the city moves on, cold and unfeeling.
Kamurocho is contrasted with Onomichi, the countryside town in Hiroshima that Kiryu is eventually led by the story, which presents a much more traditional Japanese town, where life is simpler and time moves more slowly. Both locations feel even better in the Dragon Engine, which allows for more detail and makes the urban landscapes shine at night. As per the series' standards, both areas also feature a myriad side activities, many of the latter being unique to Yakuza 6, like the Cat Café, Spearfishing, the Snack Bar, the baseball team, and so on. Not to mention, the substories are top-notch, as per usual -- I mentioned Kiryu's struggles with technology, as that's a focus of some of my favorite substories. Most of the other quests have that wholesome flavor to them that's a trademark of the series and that feels intensely satisfying.
What might feel lackluster at first is the game's combat, which, like in Kiwami 2, was a bit dialed down compared to the previous game (again, chronology-wise). Indeed, Kiryu has a much leaner moveset in this entry, but I'd use that exact word to describe Y6's combat: lean. It limits itself to the more fundamental aspects of the franchise gameplay, which means it's less flashy, but still very functional. The game feels great in the moment-to-moment action, so long as you can let go of expecting the exact systems from previous games. In fact, in some cases, this reset feels better: I actually had fun fighting Amon this time around, whereas his gimmicky Y5 incarnation made me want to eat my controller.
Saying goodbye to Kiryu, Haruka and so many others feels bittersweet after hundreds of hours spent with them over the last few years, but I'm glad their farewell has done justice to them. More than that, the way Yakuza 6 is an embodiment of so many of the franchise's qualities makes me incredibly excited for Yakuza 7, Judgment and all the other games I have yet to play.
Yakuza 6 was a very positive surprise. After the CIA, rubber bullets and... whatever the heck went on in the fever dream that was Yakuza 5, Y6 feels refreshing, with a plot that's incredibly convoluted, as per series standards, but where the pieces nevertheless fall beautifully into place, each part of the conspiracy leading into the other in a way that feels almost inevitable. Plus, it features a large and incredibly well-realized cast, each character having layered personalities and motivations: Nagumo, Kiyomi, Hirose, Someya, Yuuta, Han-Joon-Gi and more are some of the best the series has seen. Overall, I would risk saying this is the best Yakuza storyline since 0 (series' chronology wise).
One aspect that's often brought up as a criticism is that RGG went back to having only one character, down from the whopping five in Yakuza 5, but it's clear that, for the story they wanted to tell, and the conclusion they wanted to have, paving the way for Yagami and Ichiban to take over as series' leads, there was no way to not have the story focus on Kiryu. That intent is clear from the game's cover: like previous entries, Yakuza 6 establishes its themes right from the game's subtitle, which the Western localization was kind enough to keep this time around: The Song of Life. The old being replaced by the new. Younger generations taking over and doing things their own way. Parents, their children and their grandchildren. Focusing the story on Kiryu and his family allowed the writers to amplify this message in a way that the multiple protagonist setup would just not have been able to.
And it's not only the characters of Kiryu, Haruka and Haruto reflect that cycle at the core of the game's storytelling: so does the city of Kamurocho, which feels exceptionally hostile this time around. For one, people now walk around with all sorts of gadgets that our nearly 50-year-old protagonist struggles to wrap his head around. But more than the people, the city itself has transformed, more of it having been swallowed by large companies and criminal enterprises, large hotels, gyms, food chains and whatnot now standing where once stood familiar locations. Of note is that Little Asia is entirely gone, and one can't help but wonder what happened to all those people from Y4. The game never explains, of course, because that's just how it is: folks are pushed out and the city moves on, cold and unfeeling.
Kamurocho is contrasted with Onomichi, the countryside town in Hiroshima that Kiryu is eventually led by the story, which presents a much more traditional Japanese town, where life is simpler and time moves more slowly. Both locations feel even better in the Dragon Engine, which allows for more detail and makes the urban landscapes shine at night. As per the series' standards, both areas also feature a myriad side activities, many of the latter being unique to Yakuza 6, like the Cat Café, Spearfishing, the Snack Bar, the baseball team, and so on. Not to mention, the substories are top-notch, as per usual -- I mentioned Kiryu's struggles with technology, as that's a focus of some of my favorite substories. Most of the other quests have that wholesome flavor to them that's a trademark of the series and that feels intensely satisfying.
What might feel lackluster at first is the game's combat, which, like in Kiwami 2, was a bit dialed down compared to the previous game (again, chronology-wise). Indeed, Kiryu has a much leaner moveset in this entry, but I'd use that exact word to describe Y6's combat: lean. It limits itself to the more fundamental aspects of the franchise gameplay, which means it's less flashy, but still very functional. The game feels great in the moment-to-moment action, so long as you can let go of expecting the exact systems from previous games. In fact, in some cases, this reset feels better: I actually had fun fighting Amon this time around, whereas his gimmicky Y5 incarnation made me want to eat my controller.
Saying goodbye to Kiryu, Haruka and so many others feels bittersweet after hundreds of hours spent with them over the last few years, but I'm glad their farewell has done justice to them. More than that, the way Yakuza 6 is an embodiment of so many of the franchise's qualities makes me incredibly excited for Yakuza 7, Judgment and all the other games I have yet to play.
Deathix
1 year ago