Followup from my last review.
Bumping this one up a bit because, in hindsight, I do honestly think the finale is worth it and in fact would've preferred Gaiden to consist of nothing but the first hour and last two hours.
A lot of the reactionary praise I've seen for IW talks about that game's respect for the series' legacy and... Even putting aside that it's so observably wrong that reappraisals of IW in a few months will say the same thing, I think Gaiden's Important Bits and 6 ultimately do a better job of addressing the franchise's history.
Gaiden, ignoring the faff in the middle, really stands out upon reflection (and in light of IW) because it's perhaps the first and only title in this series to admit that a lot of the past plots were ridiculous. The last hour says it upfront: The dreams of the Yakuza - arrogant, egotistical maniacs playing at modern Shogun - don't mean a damn thing.
There's no real celebration of the Yakuza here. Even compared to Judgment's dimmer view on them, everyone in Gaiden who enjoys being a Yakuza is either pathetic or insane. Yeah it's kinda cringe and on the nose that Nishitani III is a sadistic rapist and Shishido is such a pathetic little man that his final phase is easier than some trash mobs, but what do you expect? Who else would covet the power of the Yakuza? They're reduced to beating up old men and hiding away on a boat.
The final boss especially is great, there's a lot of excellent visual storytelling going on which is unusual for this franchise. Kiryu taking one last scar to keep the Yakuza away from hurting innocents, Shishido's bulk being what destroys the Omi iconography, Kiryu's Daidoji gadgets being useless against Shishido which forces him to rely on good ol' tactics, Shishido standing against the Omi logo but looking tiny... It's just so good, dude.
Don't get me wrong, I'm ignoring a lot of shit. Agent style still feels awful and gimmicky to use, the Daidoji stuff is nonsense, after IW it's so obvious this was written after that game wrapped, the endless callbacks are embarassing, and the soundtrack is wimply.
But, after IW? I'm willing to give it a pass, because at least the awfulness isn't padded out. In-out, 8 hour game. Nice and clean.
Also god First Summer Uika is inhumanely beautiful. What's up with that?
Bumping this one up a bit because, in hindsight, I do honestly think the finale is worth it and in fact would've preferred Gaiden to consist of nothing but the first hour and last two hours.
A lot of the reactionary praise I've seen for IW talks about that game's respect for the series' legacy and... Even putting aside that it's so observably wrong that reappraisals of IW in a few months will say the same thing, I think Gaiden's Important Bits and 6 ultimately do a better job of addressing the franchise's history.
Gaiden, ignoring the faff in the middle, really stands out upon reflection (and in light of IW) because it's perhaps the first and only title in this series to admit that a lot of the past plots were ridiculous. The last hour says it upfront: The dreams of the Yakuza - arrogant, egotistical maniacs playing at modern Shogun - don't mean a damn thing.
There's no real celebration of the Yakuza here. Even compared to Judgment's dimmer view on them, everyone in Gaiden who enjoys being a Yakuza is either pathetic or insane. Yeah it's kinda cringe and on the nose that Nishitani III is a sadistic rapist and Shishido is such a pathetic little man that his final phase is easier than some trash mobs, but what do you expect? Who else would covet the power of the Yakuza? They're reduced to beating up old men and hiding away on a boat.
The final boss especially is great, there's a lot of excellent visual storytelling going on which is unusual for this franchise. Kiryu taking one last scar to keep the Yakuza away from hurting innocents, Shishido's bulk being what destroys the Omi iconography, Kiryu's Daidoji gadgets being useless against Shishido which forces him to rely on good ol' tactics, Shishido standing against the Omi logo but looking tiny... It's just so good, dude.
Don't get me wrong, I'm ignoring a lot of shit. Agent style still feels awful and gimmicky to use, the Daidoji stuff is nonsense, after IW it's so obvious this was written after that game wrapped, the endless callbacks are embarassing, and the soundtrack is wimply.
But, after IW? I'm willing to give it a pass, because at least the awfulness isn't padded out. In-out, 8 hour game. Nice and clean.
Also god First Summer Uika is inhumanely beautiful. What's up with that?
3 Comments
Have not touched IW yet but, this makes me wanna see the good shit in Gaiden again and really appreciate it. I just don't actually want to replay the game or anything that's a bit much, and that's for this little game. Shame that every one of these from now on is going to be 200 hours long freakin RIP. We used to have something, as a people, and that something was games that aren't so freakin long
@MeowPewterMeow
I'm a very strong advocate for "games should be as long as the creators want to be", and with that in mind: I think IW is far, far too long for its own good. It has this game's exact plot format [10% intro, 70% faffing about and callbacks, 20% finale] but stretched to 80 hours rather than 8.
I'm a very strong advocate for "games should be as long as the creators want to be", and with that in mind: I think IW is far, far too long for its own good. It has this game's exact plot format [10% intro, 70% faffing about and callbacks, 20% finale] but stretched to 80 hours rather than 8.
MiraMiraOTW
1 month ago