MsDolphin
2003
2005
This game is an improvement on Yakuza: Like A Dragon in so many ways. The combat is improved, progression is smoother, the writing is good, you can ride on a Segway while blasting the song from Daytona USA where they shout "DDDAAAAAAYYYYYYYTTTTOOOOOOONNNNNAAAAAA." They even made the platinum trophy relatively easy to get, though the trophy for getting Ichiban to level 70 is a big ask, so it's still got a bit of the usual Yakuza grind. I guess nothing's perfect. This game gets pretty close for me, though.
2024
This game is really good for hanging out with some friends, but it's got so many bugs. Also the grind for the different currencies is slower than I'd like. At least the game isn't full prive and you don't really need to do the microtransactions they have. If you've got some friends, I think this game is worth trying.
2017
1996
2022
2023
This game has a lot of small-to-medium issues with its story and gameplay, but it's willing to unequivocally say that slavery is bad and not actively fighting slavery is aiding and abetting it. Also there's a ton of sick tricks you can do in gameplay. There's definitely missed potential, but the game is, at bottom, solid, and I'm glad I got the chance to play it.
This is what Star Ocean 2 should have always been. My biggest complaint is that the English voice acting was lifted straight from the PSP version, and I think this remake could have been even better with a new dub that's less, ah... 2010-ish. Also, the soundtrack could have used a bit more variety. Every town uses the same music, which gets a bit annoying.
1998