A fantastic second chapter for one protagonist, and a perfect final chapter for another protagonist
Another RGG game releases and of course it becomes a new favourite of mine, however this one in particular feels really special. Back when this was first revealed, I was hyped to see Ichiban’s next game but also wasn’t sure about how I felt about Kiryu returning as a main character, and I know I was far from the only one. Before Infinite Wealth, my favourite Yakuza game was 6, which I thought was the best conclusion for his saga, as well as his scenes in 7. Although along with this, Gaiden was also revealed, showing that there was still more to be shown. Now that both of them are here… I can easily say that this is the new perfect ending for the Kiryu saga
Seeing how much the gameplay improved here was really insane. The switch to turn based RPG was a huge move from RGG back in Y7, and yet it still managed to be great, though did have its issues that stopped it from being perfect, but man did they improve on it a ton here. I’d even say this is my new favourite JRPG combat, to the point where I can’t imagine going back to Y7’s gameplay. They made it so much more fun here in so many ways, with my favourite new mechanic being able to move around during your turn, which adds even more. It was good to see the same jobs return, and the new ones were some of the best. A big issue I had with 7 were the sudden difficulty spikes at certain bosses, forcing you to spend hours grinding with no warning. But that barely felt like a problem here, for me anyway since I’d usually be around the recommended level anyway… except for the final boss, of course the one time where they didn’t give a recommended level for it (no spoilers, but if you’re reading this and not there yet, I’d recommend getting to level 50 first). But speaking of bosses, each one here felt really great, a huge step up from 7. The last thing I’ll say about the gameplay kinda ties back into the jobs, but the way they handled Kiryu’s Dragon of Dojima job was way too good. I didn’t even want to change it because it felt so perfect, and shows just how close the new turn based combat feels to the combat of the other games
It’s difficult to talk about the story without spoiling so I won’t say as much as I’d want to to avoid that, but it was everything I was hoping for. In many ways, RGG took risks with this one, and in my opinion it all paid off perfectly. It was really nice to see the main party return, and the new characters were also great too. It made me realise that the Y7/8 crew are one of my favourite casts ever. That ending… I’m still not over it even now, I just know it’ll stick with me. I’ll keep this part short and end it by talking about the side content. Of course this franchise is known for how ridiculous the side content is, and it’s been some of my favourite in Infinite Wealth. It was cool to see them expand on Sujimon, and the new/returning mini games were really fun. I still have yet to do Dondoko Island, so I’m prepared to sell my life to that. Of course the biggest highlight here was the memoirs and life links. I won’t say any more about those but god… that’s just what I wanted from this game. It really knew exactly where to hit
I just had to get my thoughts on this game down, this all probably sounded kinda messy and not everything I want to say is here but this game has made me feel emotionally exhausted, and even with my extremely high expectations it still managed to end up going beyond that. Playing through this reminded me why this franchise is so special to me and what makes it my favourite of all time. This long journey with Kiryu throughout these years is one that I’ll never forget, since there are very few characters that I feel as connected to as I had with him. And there aren’t enough words to describe how much I’m looking forward to seeing the future of Ichiban’s saga
Another RGG game releases and of course it becomes a new favourite of mine, however this one in particular feels really special. Back when this was first revealed, I was hyped to see Ichiban’s next game but also wasn’t sure about how I felt about Kiryu returning as a main character, and I know I was far from the only one. Before Infinite Wealth, my favourite Yakuza game was 6, which I thought was the best conclusion for his saga, as well as his scenes in 7. Although along with this, Gaiden was also revealed, showing that there was still more to be shown. Now that both of them are here… I can easily say that this is the new perfect ending for the Kiryu saga
Seeing how much the gameplay improved here was really insane. The switch to turn based RPG was a huge move from RGG back in Y7, and yet it still managed to be great, though did have its issues that stopped it from being perfect, but man did they improve on it a ton here. I’d even say this is my new favourite JRPG combat, to the point where I can’t imagine going back to Y7’s gameplay. They made it so much more fun here in so many ways, with my favourite new mechanic being able to move around during your turn, which adds even more. It was good to see the same jobs return, and the new ones were some of the best. A big issue I had with 7 were the sudden difficulty spikes at certain bosses, forcing you to spend hours grinding with no warning. But that barely felt like a problem here, for me anyway since I’d usually be around the recommended level anyway… except for the final boss, of course the one time where they didn’t give a recommended level for it (no spoilers, but if you’re reading this and not there yet, I’d recommend getting to level 50 first). But speaking of bosses, each one here felt really great, a huge step up from 7. The last thing I’ll say about the gameplay kinda ties back into the jobs, but the way they handled Kiryu’s Dragon of Dojima job was way too good. I didn’t even want to change it because it felt so perfect, and shows just how close the new turn based combat feels to the combat of the other games
It’s difficult to talk about the story without spoiling so I won’t say as much as I’d want to to avoid that, but it was everything I was hoping for. In many ways, RGG took risks with this one, and in my opinion it all paid off perfectly. It was really nice to see the main party return, and the new characters were also great too. It made me realise that the Y7/8 crew are one of my favourite casts ever. That ending… I’m still not over it even now, I just know it’ll stick with me. I’ll keep this part short and end it by talking about the side content. Of course this franchise is known for how ridiculous the side content is, and it’s been some of my favourite in Infinite Wealth. It was cool to see them expand on Sujimon, and the new/returning mini games were really fun. I still have yet to do Dondoko Island, so I’m prepared to sell my life to that. Of course the biggest highlight here was the memoirs and life links. I won’t say any more about those but god… that’s just what I wanted from this game. It really knew exactly where to hit
I just had to get my thoughts on this game down, this all probably sounded kinda messy and not everything I want to say is here but this game has made me feel emotionally exhausted, and even with my extremely high expectations it still managed to end up going beyond that. Playing through this reminded me why this franchise is so special to me and what makes it my favourite of all time. This long journey with Kiryu throughout these years is one that I’ll never forget, since there are very few characters that I feel as connected to as I had with him. And there aren’t enough words to describe how much I’m looking forward to seeing the future of Ichiban’s saga