Yakuza: Like a Dragon is arguably the most Yakuza game since Yakuza 0, but I don't think it managed to surpass that mark.
I won't deny that I started playing the series last year with Like a Dragon in mind, largely because of the sudden boom in popularity. Yakuza 0 was, and still is, the pinnacle of the series. I'm beginning to realize that the reason Like a Dragon became such a fuss is because it showcased the essence of a Yakuza game for people that did not know, rather than being exceptionally high in quality compared to other similars.
The transition from a beat 'em up style to turn-based combat was acceptable, given that it was their first attempt in this genre. However, what bothered me the most was the change in the overall "feel" of the game. Yakuza games have always struck a brilliant balance between a serious and dramatic main storyline and the goofy side content. Unfortunately, the turn-based combat system pushed the goofiness too much into the main story, which didn't work out very well for me.
Surprisingly, the side content turned out to be one of the weakest aspects. The substories were underwhelming, the bond system felt useless, part-time hero is completely garbage, the money-making mini-game was far too easy and quickly became tedious, and I never felt motivated to switch jobs.
In terms of the story, it met the typical Yakuza game expectations, better than average but still pretty ordinary. However, Ichiban is an amazing protagonist, which was a relief after losing Kiryu's spotlight. The party members were okay, not very well developed but charismatic enough.
So, with a lot of mediocre and passable elements, you might wonder why I didn't give it a lower rating. It's because it's a Yakuza game, plain and simple. It delivers what I love most about the series, and after breezing through 60 hours of gameplay, I had fun all the way. I acknowledge that this is not the most objective game review i done from a quality perspective, but I genuinely enjoyed playing it.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon remains an amazing game, and even though I have some concerns about the future of the series, what I've seen of Infinite Wealth shows promising improvements to the issues I had. With better turn-based mechanics and enhanced side content, it seems like we can look forward to a healthy amount of excellent games in the series' future.
I won't deny that I started playing the series last year with Like a Dragon in mind, largely because of the sudden boom in popularity. Yakuza 0 was, and still is, the pinnacle of the series. I'm beginning to realize that the reason Like a Dragon became such a fuss is because it showcased the essence of a Yakuza game for people that did not know, rather than being exceptionally high in quality compared to other similars.
The transition from a beat 'em up style to turn-based combat was acceptable, given that it was their first attempt in this genre. However, what bothered me the most was the change in the overall "feel" of the game. Yakuza games have always struck a brilliant balance between a serious and dramatic main storyline and the goofy side content. Unfortunately, the turn-based combat system pushed the goofiness too much into the main story, which didn't work out very well for me.
Surprisingly, the side content turned out to be one of the weakest aspects. The substories were underwhelming, the bond system felt useless, part-time hero is completely garbage, the money-making mini-game was far too easy and quickly became tedious, and I never felt motivated to switch jobs.
In terms of the story, it met the typical Yakuza game expectations, better than average but still pretty ordinary. However, Ichiban is an amazing protagonist, which was a relief after losing Kiryu's spotlight. The party members were okay, not very well developed but charismatic enough.
So, with a lot of mediocre and passable elements, you might wonder why I didn't give it a lower rating. It's because it's a Yakuza game, plain and simple. It delivers what I love most about the series, and after breezing through 60 hours of gameplay, I had fun all the way. I acknowledge that this is not the most objective game review i done from a quality perspective, but I genuinely enjoyed playing it.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon remains an amazing game, and even though I have some concerns about the future of the series, what I've seen of Infinite Wealth shows promising improvements to the issues I had. With better turn-based mechanics and enhanced side content, it seems like we can look forward to a healthy amount of excellent games in the series' future.