Technically finished this on 2/18, but it took me a while to finalize a review.
The pillar of maximalist design in video games, and a shining standard for the RGG studio for years to come. Yakuza 5 feels like an enigma of a title, bizarrely sitting in place of the Yakuza series prior to many other entries and yet standing atop many of these with regards to how imperative this of a moment this is for the series. Even playing a bit of the Judgments, Yakuza 0, other Dragon Engine games, etc. 5 feels like a game changer. It doesn't take long to hear about the insane amount of content and variety that's been sewn throughout Yakuza 5, even compared to other titles, although this begs the question as to how the quality stands. If you saw my Yakuza 4 review you might have an idea that I don't like that game, and you would be correct! However, more than that I felt as though Yakuza 4 trips over many of its ideas- not really knowing where to strike hard and floundering in terribly paced vignettes and a frankly claustrophobic idea for where the franchise should leap to. 4 characters with the same Kamurocho, a plot as shallow as it is nonsensical, and a single handful of neat new ideas that I wanted to interact with. It's known that this project wasn't originally supposed to even involve Kiryu but even so 4 feels like such a troubled title and particularly because over the horizon I knew something else was coming. 5 succeeds so much over the corpse of 4 I'm frankly embarrassed for it. Quality is not sacrificed for quantity in Yakuza 5 and most dips in quality I can brush over. There's a lot to talk about so I figured I'd just divide each portion of thought into the games 5 acts.
Kiryu
Opposite to Yakuza 4, we start out with Kiryu for the game and I think that's an immediate improvement. We also see that he's been placed in a situation much more intriguing than we last saw him, as we've moved to a completely different location, he's taken up a new job, and neither Haruka nor any of the Morning Glory orphans are anywhere to be seen. He's also got an extremely stylish new coat- definitely appreciate the new look. Kiryu's story is overall fine, although I think the biggest boon is just how much Yakuza 5 wants you to know they want to keep you in its embrace, with these fairly long, entirely voiced cutscenes as Kiryu talks with his boss, Nakajima (great character) or other yakuza trying to egg Kiryu out of his hiding. Yakuza 5's plot is... intricate to say the least and it certainly wants you to know it but I can respect how much it wants to feel like its closing its curtains. Lotta cameos and references from the last few game pop up, even in Fukuoka- including a relative to Komaki with Sosuke, Date shows up for a side story questioning what his next steps in life are, and more as the game continues. Despite these returns from the past- Fukuoka still makes for a refreshing vacation from Kamurocho. I don't know if I entirely prefer this or Okinawa with regards to Kiryu locales but it certainly has more side content for people to gorge on. Most of the staples are here, along with a new taxi driving side story with two different playstyles, along with a funky 'trash' collection feature and a whole 'Soba Noodle' minigame, all exclusive to Kiryu's segment here. Kiryu also plays pretty well here, although his ‘Climax Heat Action’ didn't really set in for me until much later in the game (i.e. the Finale).
Saejima
Similar to Yakuza 4 on the other hand, Saejima is our follow up to the first part- and just like last time we have to go through a prison segment. This one isn't nearly as grating as the prior game’s escape but it's probably the slowest paced part of the game, maybe my least favorite segment. That said it's an IMMENSE glow up from his prior appearance; no cop chases in sight, the prison segment doesn’t end in a horrible boss fight, no gross sexual tension with a minor- Saejima just needs to fight bears and have imaging trips of the outside world! Speaking of the latter- I appreciate just how many weird stylistic turns this game takes. There's a whole meditative- inner looking segment in the prison in which we take a trip through Tsukimino and even go on a date with our mental hostess. It's just a bizarre trip to take as it lasts a good 30 minutes and happens twice while you're in the prison, but it's a really neat segment that I don't think the series has done before. We also get quite a bit of insight as to how Saejima plays, and again MAN did they improve upon his moveset. He's still kinda wonky at first but once you upgrade his kit he becomes an immense force, with easily double the health of others with less chance to get staggered. Of course it's also hard not to bring up the whole hunting village and its sidequest, I basically chugged this entire section down when I first arrived but its so astounding. Overall minigame is great, I genuinely can't believe just how much effort all of these sidequests get, with their own side stories and research done to liven up the new locales. I will echo Zapken's point however that the translation doesn't take the opportunity to mention that they’re a Matagi village, which I think would have been a great opportunity to dive in on and talk about this specific section of Japanese human geography.
Haruka/Akiyama
Time and time again we come across the same argument in gaming about 'non-violent' approaches to combat or progression and I do applaud such efforts, even though I generally prefer some kinds of action/combat systems in my games. SMT might have you talking with demons however those systems are a nice compliment to a phenomenal battle system, while Undertale takes a simplistic but effective combat system to contrast the very specific and puzzling ways to converse and befriend your opponents. Non-combat can be quite fun when done in a manner that feels suitable and engaging. So listen, as cool or funny as it might sound to have Haruka take on Yakuza and big swarms of baddies, I genuinely think her main gameplay be these dance battles is such a nice break in the game.
By this point I'm maybe 30-40 hours deep into a game that's known for pretty frequent enemy encounters/pop-ups. It was so goddamn nice to play as a character that could walk around Sotenbori and not be interrupted at ALL, with dance battles just being an optional encounter in fixed locations. Hell, a good bit of Haruka's gameplay is pretty optional, as you can quit at the last minute of the Princess League and the story progresses as normal.
This part also merges with Akiyama's section so the two share Sotenbori and it's actually really neat! It would have been easier for Kiryu and Haruka to have shared a part and maybe have the narrative be like "Haruka and Kiryu move from Kamurocho to Sotenbori, but Kiryu has to distance himself so blah, blah." and "Akiyama travels to Fukuoka to open a new branch of Sky Finance!" but I think Akiyama being the one to meet up and connect with Haruka is actually really neat and connects the two considering their relation to Mirei Park and overall philosophies. The two didn't share but so much screen time (if any i dunno) in Y4, so it's pretty cool when Akiyama's segment just so happens to bump into Haruka's and we can start swapping between multiple characters for the first time. The one thing I'll say about Akiyama is that because his section is merged into another it kinda feels like he gets less overall content comparatively. Each character gets an insane amount of content to go along with each of their parts, and Haruka is different enough to feel like a different game. Akiyama doesn't have much else to fall on for unique minigames or sidequests. I guess if you lump new features into parts rather than character then each part feels fulfilling in that sense bar the Finale, but personally I would have liked each character to have had at least one side game to tinker around with. It doesn't matter too much by the end of the game, although there was a noticeable difference in levels between every other character and Akiyama.
Shinada
Ah. The odd one of this collective. Like Tanimura in the prior game, 5 contains a character with no other appearance outside of this collection and as such I wasn't sure what to expect going into his section. Not only is he the odd one out of the bunch, but he's not Yakuza, he doesn't seem all that influential and he's the last segment until the finale. While I'm not entirely sure I'd call this my favorite part, I might just say Shinada might be my favorite addition to this game as a whole. I really didn't get Tanimura and I'm not certain I ever will. Meanwhile, Shinada immediately piqued my interest- he's a sad sap brought down by forces outside his control despite his clear talent. He's an earnest and almost childlike man, working in the sex industry as a journalist. His ass is broke as fuck and his stomach empty, but his heart is as big as ever. He...was classmates with Daigo? Huh.
Shinada's a weird ass character and his whole arc feels very bizarre considering its placement here at the end. But once his part gets going I think its placement makes a little more sense. I do wonder whether switching Parts 3 and 4 would have made more sense but I don't have any major issue with Shinada being so late in the game. His part's incredibly weird, starting off with very little money and seemingly having little to do with the plot- it really feels like you just transitioned into a whole different game. After some baseball side stories and other sidequests- it becomes really funny to see broke boy Shinada suddenly carrying around 20,000 dollars in his back pocket. Shinada's moveset is fine overall, and I think his weapon specialty in theory is neat, but not really something I engaged with too much. I did enjoy getting the pole charging move and running around in circles to stunlock enemies though.
One last note: There was a tiny moment, and it's not hard to notice or encounter naturally where you can just pick up a baseball bat with the intent to use it as a weapon; however, Shinada- as a former baseball player, disgraced and barred from his dream career- simply picks it up, inspects it and lays it down and can't be picked up again. I'm an absolute sucker for tiny details like this, and I feel like I miss them so often but just seeing this small interaction with Shinada and his past during a combat section was just one of the several shining moments from Y5 that'll stick in my mind as I look back at the series. I think his arc at least ends on a solid note, as Ill get to later, so I can't be too hopeful in him returning to another game. But if he ever does a cameo in a later title I'll pop off. Very glad to finally understand who Shinada is.
Finale
Finally, all the pieces come together...kinda. All throughout this mass of a game I gotta be real honest, the story has not been the major strength so far- at least when it comes to conciseness or any kind of... it's not the hardest to follow or the most absurd, it's just a lot to take in and by the time it reaches the final few hours there's a lot of stuff that feels REAL loose. I was really uncertain as to how much of it would actually tie in or matter as much as other throughlines. Maybe there would be a massive epilogue to help? Maybe the finale would be some Metal Gear Solid 4 mass of cutscenes? I wasn't too sure, all I could do was press forward into Kamurocho for the first real time in the game (You start Saejima in Kamurocho but I didn't bother exploring tbh). Most of these finale chapters act to provide a final few stretches with each character before the grand finale, but there's still some stuff to explore and tinker around with. Firstly, I must say bravo to RGG for instilling a deep sense of fear within me in a way I didn't expect. As I was doing the rounds in Kamurocho, I decided to use a taxi and head up towards E. Shichifuku St. I was half paying attention but instinctually marched forward, only to notice someone by Kamurocho Hills run off screen. I had only just noticed that for a half second but his pathing looped back around that small park area in the front to start chasing me from behind and this random guy's encounter procs. This wouldn't have frightened me if it wasn't for the fact this dude is jacked, has a really intimidating face and as I described, will chase you once he notices you. All the dude does is fight you as part of the Victory Road storyline but from then on this guy continues to patrol Kamurocho but unlike say, Mr. Shakedowns there's no way to really track this guy. For the most part this guy appeared whenever I had just gotten out of a taxi so there's just this sense of keeping a guard up for whenever I fast travel and the guy loading into crowds right behind whichever character I'm using. Yakuza 5, continuing to surprise me even to its last few hours!
This finale is dumb, a few reveals that are either too obvious or kinda just too stupid, the usual endgame dungeon fighting segments- the Yakuza norm for most of the final chapter. However, the literal FINAL chapter is something to write home about. Easily my favorite finale in the series. Just a great collection of action and character moments, the only fumble maybe being the final boss. It's alright but not the most insane fight in the series. Otherwise every other character has a fantastic final cutscene to conclude the game with, with equal parts sincere, heartfelt moments like Takasugi letting Shinada know people truly miss him, and equal parts absurd GAS like a large crowd of Omi Alliance, Yamagasa, and Kitakita family members kneeling to Akiyama for felling Kanai. The only thing more absurd is knowing this isn't really the end of Kiryu's story, which does make me hesitant to what direction Y6 and eventually Yakuza Gaiden take.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this entry. It's not unheard of in this industry that a series can ping pong from one of its worst entries to one of its best (DMC2 to 3 more notably so), but I'm so glad that it was the case here.
It’s nowhere near perfect, far from it. However with how big of title this is it’s got one hell of a batting average with only a few segments or elements I really ‘dislike’. Hell, there’s a lot of stuff I still hadn’t sunk my teeth into like any of the cabaret games, chicken racing or snowball fights.I'll have to take a break from playing more of the games with how heavy this one felt but man is it great to have it off my back now. 80 hours of playtime and only ~50% completion, baby!
(Sidenote: I had plans to discuss how much of a ‘Dream’ game this felt- thinking my acknowledgment on how often the game uses ‘dream’ was solely my own idea. Little did I realize much of the fanbase already beat me to the punch- and the subtitle of the game is even called ‘Fulfiller of Dreams’ in Japan! Here I thought I was clever…regardless I enjoy how that's the theme of the game, some people are just haters)
The pillar of maximalist design in video games, and a shining standard for the RGG studio for years to come. Yakuza 5 feels like an enigma of a title, bizarrely sitting in place of the Yakuza series prior to many other entries and yet standing atop many of these with regards to how imperative this of a moment this is for the series. Even playing a bit of the Judgments, Yakuza 0, other Dragon Engine games, etc. 5 feels like a game changer. It doesn't take long to hear about the insane amount of content and variety that's been sewn throughout Yakuza 5, even compared to other titles, although this begs the question as to how the quality stands. If you saw my Yakuza 4 review you might have an idea that I don't like that game, and you would be correct! However, more than that I felt as though Yakuza 4 trips over many of its ideas- not really knowing where to strike hard and floundering in terribly paced vignettes and a frankly claustrophobic idea for where the franchise should leap to. 4 characters with the same Kamurocho, a plot as shallow as it is nonsensical, and a single handful of neat new ideas that I wanted to interact with. It's known that this project wasn't originally supposed to even involve Kiryu but even so 4 feels like such a troubled title and particularly because over the horizon I knew something else was coming. 5 succeeds so much over the corpse of 4 I'm frankly embarrassed for it. Quality is not sacrificed for quantity in Yakuza 5 and most dips in quality I can brush over. There's a lot to talk about so I figured I'd just divide each portion of thought into the games 5 acts.
Kiryu
Opposite to Yakuza 4, we start out with Kiryu for the game and I think that's an immediate improvement. We also see that he's been placed in a situation much more intriguing than we last saw him, as we've moved to a completely different location, he's taken up a new job, and neither Haruka nor any of the Morning Glory orphans are anywhere to be seen. He's also got an extremely stylish new coat- definitely appreciate the new look. Kiryu's story is overall fine, although I think the biggest boon is just how much Yakuza 5 wants you to know they want to keep you in its embrace, with these fairly long, entirely voiced cutscenes as Kiryu talks with his boss, Nakajima (great character) or other yakuza trying to egg Kiryu out of his hiding. Yakuza 5's plot is... intricate to say the least and it certainly wants you to know it but I can respect how much it wants to feel like its closing its curtains. Lotta cameos and references from the last few game pop up, even in Fukuoka- including a relative to Komaki with Sosuke, Date shows up for a side story questioning what his next steps in life are, and more as the game continues. Despite these returns from the past- Fukuoka still makes for a refreshing vacation from Kamurocho. I don't know if I entirely prefer this or Okinawa with regards to Kiryu locales but it certainly has more side content for people to gorge on. Most of the staples are here, along with a new taxi driving side story with two different playstyles, along with a funky 'trash' collection feature and a whole 'Soba Noodle' minigame, all exclusive to Kiryu's segment here. Kiryu also plays pretty well here, although his ‘Climax Heat Action’ didn't really set in for me until much later in the game (i.e. the Finale).
Saejima
Similar to Yakuza 4 on the other hand, Saejima is our follow up to the first part- and just like last time we have to go through a prison segment. This one isn't nearly as grating as the prior game’s escape but it's probably the slowest paced part of the game, maybe my least favorite segment. That said it's an IMMENSE glow up from his prior appearance; no cop chases in sight, the prison segment doesn’t end in a horrible boss fight, no gross sexual tension with a minor- Saejima just needs to fight bears and have imaging trips of the outside world! Speaking of the latter- I appreciate just how many weird stylistic turns this game takes. There's a whole meditative- inner looking segment in the prison in which we take a trip through Tsukimino and even go on a date with our mental hostess. It's just a bizarre trip to take as it lasts a good 30 minutes and happens twice while you're in the prison, but it's a really neat segment that I don't think the series has done before. We also get quite a bit of insight as to how Saejima plays, and again MAN did they improve upon his moveset. He's still kinda wonky at first but once you upgrade his kit he becomes an immense force, with easily double the health of others with less chance to get staggered. Of course it's also hard not to bring up the whole hunting village and its sidequest, I basically chugged this entire section down when I first arrived but its so astounding. Overall minigame is great, I genuinely can't believe just how much effort all of these sidequests get, with their own side stories and research done to liven up the new locales. I will echo Zapken's point however that the translation doesn't take the opportunity to mention that they’re a Matagi village, which I think would have been a great opportunity to dive in on and talk about this specific section of Japanese human geography.
Haruka/Akiyama
Time and time again we come across the same argument in gaming about 'non-violent' approaches to combat or progression and I do applaud such efforts, even though I generally prefer some kinds of action/combat systems in my games. SMT might have you talking with demons however those systems are a nice compliment to a phenomenal battle system, while Undertale takes a simplistic but effective combat system to contrast the very specific and puzzling ways to converse and befriend your opponents. Non-combat can be quite fun when done in a manner that feels suitable and engaging. So listen, as cool or funny as it might sound to have Haruka take on Yakuza and big swarms of baddies, I genuinely think her main gameplay be these dance battles is such a nice break in the game.
By this point I'm maybe 30-40 hours deep into a game that's known for pretty frequent enemy encounters/pop-ups. It was so goddamn nice to play as a character that could walk around Sotenbori and not be interrupted at ALL, with dance battles just being an optional encounter in fixed locations. Hell, a good bit of Haruka's gameplay is pretty optional, as you can quit at the last minute of the Princess League and the story progresses as normal.
This part also merges with Akiyama's section so the two share Sotenbori and it's actually really neat! It would have been easier for Kiryu and Haruka to have shared a part and maybe have the narrative be like "Haruka and Kiryu move from Kamurocho to Sotenbori, but Kiryu has to distance himself so blah, blah." and "Akiyama travels to Fukuoka to open a new branch of Sky Finance!" but I think Akiyama being the one to meet up and connect with Haruka is actually really neat and connects the two considering their relation to Mirei Park and overall philosophies. The two didn't share but so much screen time (if any i dunno) in Y4, so it's pretty cool when Akiyama's segment just so happens to bump into Haruka's and we can start swapping between multiple characters for the first time. The one thing I'll say about Akiyama is that because his section is merged into another it kinda feels like he gets less overall content comparatively. Each character gets an insane amount of content to go along with each of their parts, and Haruka is different enough to feel like a different game. Akiyama doesn't have much else to fall on for unique minigames or sidequests. I guess if you lump new features into parts rather than character then each part feels fulfilling in that sense bar the Finale, but personally I would have liked each character to have had at least one side game to tinker around with. It doesn't matter too much by the end of the game, although there was a noticeable difference in levels between every other character and Akiyama.
Shinada
Ah. The odd one of this collective. Like Tanimura in the prior game, 5 contains a character with no other appearance outside of this collection and as such I wasn't sure what to expect going into his section. Not only is he the odd one out of the bunch, but he's not Yakuza, he doesn't seem all that influential and he's the last segment until the finale. While I'm not entirely sure I'd call this my favorite part, I might just say Shinada might be my favorite addition to this game as a whole. I really didn't get Tanimura and I'm not certain I ever will. Meanwhile, Shinada immediately piqued my interest- he's a sad sap brought down by forces outside his control despite his clear talent. He's an earnest and almost childlike man, working in the sex industry as a journalist. His ass is broke as fuck and his stomach empty, but his heart is as big as ever. He...was classmates with Daigo? Huh.
Shinada's a weird ass character and his whole arc feels very bizarre considering its placement here at the end. But once his part gets going I think its placement makes a little more sense. I do wonder whether switching Parts 3 and 4 would have made more sense but I don't have any major issue with Shinada being so late in the game. His part's incredibly weird, starting off with very little money and seemingly having little to do with the plot- it really feels like you just transitioned into a whole different game. After some baseball side stories and other sidequests- it becomes really funny to see broke boy Shinada suddenly carrying around 20,000 dollars in his back pocket. Shinada's moveset is fine overall, and I think his weapon specialty in theory is neat, but not really something I engaged with too much. I did enjoy getting the pole charging move and running around in circles to stunlock enemies though.
One last note: There was a tiny moment, and it's not hard to notice or encounter naturally where you can just pick up a baseball bat with the intent to use it as a weapon; however, Shinada- as a former baseball player, disgraced and barred from his dream career- simply picks it up, inspects it and lays it down and can't be picked up again. I'm an absolute sucker for tiny details like this, and I feel like I miss them so often but just seeing this small interaction with Shinada and his past during a combat section was just one of the several shining moments from Y5 that'll stick in my mind as I look back at the series. I think his arc at least ends on a solid note, as Ill get to later, so I can't be too hopeful in him returning to another game. But if he ever does a cameo in a later title I'll pop off. Very glad to finally understand who Shinada is.
Finale
Finally, all the pieces come together...kinda. All throughout this mass of a game I gotta be real honest, the story has not been the major strength so far- at least when it comes to conciseness or any kind of... it's not the hardest to follow or the most absurd, it's just a lot to take in and by the time it reaches the final few hours there's a lot of stuff that feels REAL loose. I was really uncertain as to how much of it would actually tie in or matter as much as other throughlines. Maybe there would be a massive epilogue to help? Maybe the finale would be some Metal Gear Solid 4 mass of cutscenes? I wasn't too sure, all I could do was press forward into Kamurocho for the first real time in the game (You start Saejima in Kamurocho but I didn't bother exploring tbh). Most of these finale chapters act to provide a final few stretches with each character before the grand finale, but there's still some stuff to explore and tinker around with. Firstly, I must say bravo to RGG for instilling a deep sense of fear within me in a way I didn't expect. As I was doing the rounds in Kamurocho, I decided to use a taxi and head up towards E. Shichifuku St. I was half paying attention but instinctually marched forward, only to notice someone by Kamurocho Hills run off screen. I had only just noticed that for a half second but his pathing looped back around that small park area in the front to start chasing me from behind and this random guy's encounter procs. This wouldn't have frightened me if it wasn't for the fact this dude is jacked, has a really intimidating face and as I described, will chase you once he notices you. All the dude does is fight you as part of the Victory Road storyline but from then on this guy continues to patrol Kamurocho but unlike say, Mr. Shakedowns there's no way to really track this guy. For the most part this guy appeared whenever I had just gotten out of a taxi so there's just this sense of keeping a guard up for whenever I fast travel and the guy loading into crowds right behind whichever character I'm using. Yakuza 5, continuing to surprise me even to its last few hours!
This finale is dumb, a few reveals that are either too obvious or kinda just too stupid, the usual endgame dungeon fighting segments- the Yakuza norm for most of the final chapter. However, the literal FINAL chapter is something to write home about. Easily my favorite finale in the series. Just a great collection of action and character moments, the only fumble maybe being the final boss. It's alright but not the most insane fight in the series. Otherwise every other character has a fantastic final cutscene to conclude the game with, with equal parts sincere, heartfelt moments like Takasugi letting Shinada know people truly miss him, and equal parts absurd GAS like a large crowd of Omi Alliance, Yamagasa, and Kitakita family members kneeling to Akiyama for felling Kanai. The only thing more absurd is knowing this isn't really the end of Kiryu's story, which does make me hesitant to what direction Y6 and eventually Yakuza Gaiden take.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this entry. It's not unheard of in this industry that a series can ping pong from one of its worst entries to one of its best (DMC2 to 3 more notably so), but I'm so glad that it was the case here.
It’s nowhere near perfect, far from it. However with how big of title this is it’s got one hell of a batting average with only a few segments or elements I really ‘dislike’. Hell, there’s a lot of stuff I still hadn’t sunk my teeth into like any of the cabaret games, chicken racing or snowball fights.I'll have to take a break from playing more of the games with how heavy this one felt but man is it great to have it off my back now. 80 hours of playtime and only ~50% completion, baby!
(Sidenote: I had plans to discuss how much of a ‘Dream’ game this felt- thinking my acknowledgment on how often the game uses ‘dream’ was solely my own idea. Little did I realize much of the fanbase already beat me to the punch- and the subtitle of the game is even called ‘Fulfiller of Dreams’ in Japan! Here I thought I was clever…regardless I enjoy how that's the theme of the game, some people are just haters)
Zapken
1 year ago