To begin, let me make it clear that the game is good, and even brilliant at times! Unfortunately however, this game's writing suffers at times and just does not know how to use Ichiban to his fullest.
Presentation
Visually, zero complaints; this game looks good, the cinematography is good in all the dramatic scenes, and the effects and all that are neat. The sound design and music and all that is also solid, though I wasn't particularly blown away by the music in this one, save for a few stand out tracks.
Dubbing
So, I played this game with the dub, meaning I will address the voice work from that perspective, and on that note, the main cast is all pretty good with some great performances too. I know its a trend to complain about Yong Yea's performance, but I actually think as the game went along, I softened up to his performance and he had some of the standout moments performance wise.
Combat
So, the actual JRPG combat systems at play here I would say have a pretty solid foundation, with the many jobs giving you a lot of ways to play the game. My problem here is not so much the foundations, but rather the fact that the game is too easy if you do side content. It would've been nice if there was a hard mode, but you're stuck with what you get for your first run, DLC or not.
Side Content
So, on one hand, the game has a lot of side content, and I mean, a lot. On the other end though, I don't find the side content to really have a lot of substance. So, first off, there's a food delivery mode, which is funny and all, introduced on the premise that Ichiban needs money; fair enough I guess, though you already did this with the can mode in the previous game and it made more sense there. Then there's a mode where you take photos of guys in tights for some reason, one where you just explore some random dungeon, hell one that takes place on some distant island completely isolated from Hawaii called Dondoko Island?! There's a lot of random side content, but that's just what it is: random. Just compare it to Yakuza 5 where each character's extended minigame was thought out and related to the story that's being told, expanding on things that they've gone through as a person. With these numerous minigames, these all just feel like things Kasuga couldn't have gone through, compared to minigames of the past, with Dondoko island being the most egregiously offensive. Then there's the Sujimon stuff, which while also ridiculous, has a lot more meaningful character work than these minigames, leaving me pleasantly surprised, even if that character work wasn't necessarily for Ichiban. So basically, game has a lot of side stuff, that can be fun, but isn't that meaningful.
Substories
As of writing, I haven't done every substory for Ichiban, but I have done all the Kiryu ones. On the topic of the Kiryu ones, they are fascinating dives into the character and his history, with some funny moments; more reminiscent of the kinda stuff you'd find in older games of the series. On the other end of things, Ichiban's substories while they do have some sincere elements, we don't really get dives into who Ichiban is the same way Kiryu's substories get. A real disappointment given how good this character was in the last game.
Main Narrative
So, remember how I said Kiryu's substories get deeper into the character and provide more substance? Apply that to the narrative, but tenfold. Ichiban has almost no interpersonal drama, at least, not any interpersonal drama that is not immediately resolved. Any conflicts that he should have with a group member are immediately resolved, cause he's Ichiban, and Ichiban forgives everyone, he's just a good guy! And look, I love a loveable idiot, but if you're going this route, force him to disagree with his friends, make something interesting happen, not just whatever happens here. This is doubly frustrating because on the Kiryu side of things, he goes through things and angles we've never seen before for the character, and the amount of games he's in is in the double digits! Never has the character felt this vulnerable and forced to depend on people as this game, and it makes those sections all the more stronger and substantive, and Ichiban's sections all the more frustrating to get through. I don't know what happened, but there was just something deeply missing in the writing of this one. Its the first time in the series where I really went, "Wow, is this the series I fell in love with?" for the first time.
Conclusion
Assuming Kiryu is actually out of the spotlight after this one, I hope Ichiban is treated better in future games. He deserves more substantive writing than what he got here. The work done with Kiryu was good, but he is not the entire game.
Presentation
Visually, zero complaints; this game looks good, the cinematography is good in all the dramatic scenes, and the effects and all that are neat. The sound design and music and all that is also solid, though I wasn't particularly blown away by the music in this one, save for a few stand out tracks.
Dubbing
So, I played this game with the dub, meaning I will address the voice work from that perspective, and on that note, the main cast is all pretty good with some great performances too. I know its a trend to complain about Yong Yea's performance, but I actually think as the game went along, I softened up to his performance and he had some of the standout moments performance wise.
Combat
So, the actual JRPG combat systems at play here I would say have a pretty solid foundation, with the many jobs giving you a lot of ways to play the game. My problem here is not so much the foundations, but rather the fact that the game is too easy if you do side content. It would've been nice if there was a hard mode, but you're stuck with what you get for your first run, DLC or not.
Side Content
So, on one hand, the game has a lot of side content, and I mean, a lot. On the other end though, I don't find the side content to really have a lot of substance. So, first off, there's a food delivery mode, which is funny and all, introduced on the premise that Ichiban needs money; fair enough I guess, though you already did this with the can mode in the previous game and it made more sense there. Then there's a mode where you take photos of guys in tights for some reason, one where you just explore some random dungeon, hell one that takes place on some distant island completely isolated from Hawaii called Dondoko Island?! There's a lot of random side content, but that's just what it is: random. Just compare it to Yakuza 5 where each character's extended minigame was thought out and related to the story that's being told, expanding on things that they've gone through as a person. With these numerous minigames, these all just feel like things Kasuga couldn't have gone through, compared to minigames of the past, with Dondoko island being the most egregiously offensive. Then there's the Sujimon stuff, which while also ridiculous, has a lot more meaningful character work than these minigames, leaving me pleasantly surprised, even if that character work wasn't necessarily for Ichiban. So basically, game has a lot of side stuff, that can be fun, but isn't that meaningful.
Substories
As of writing, I haven't done every substory for Ichiban, but I have done all the Kiryu ones. On the topic of the Kiryu ones, they are fascinating dives into the character and his history, with some funny moments; more reminiscent of the kinda stuff you'd find in older games of the series. On the other end of things, Ichiban's substories while they do have some sincere elements, we don't really get dives into who Ichiban is the same way Kiryu's substories get. A real disappointment given how good this character was in the last game.
Main Narrative
So, remember how I said Kiryu's substories get deeper into the character and provide more substance? Apply that to the narrative, but tenfold. Ichiban has almost no interpersonal drama, at least, not any interpersonal drama that is not immediately resolved. Any conflicts that he should have with a group member are immediately resolved, cause he's Ichiban, and Ichiban forgives everyone, he's just a good guy! And look, I love a loveable idiot, but if you're going this route, force him to disagree with his friends, make something interesting happen, not just whatever happens here. This is doubly frustrating because on the Kiryu side of things, he goes through things and angles we've never seen before for the character, and the amount of games he's in is in the double digits! Never has the character felt this vulnerable and forced to depend on people as this game, and it makes those sections all the more stronger and substantive, and Ichiban's sections all the more frustrating to get through. I don't know what happened, but there was just something deeply missing in the writing of this one. Its the first time in the series where I really went, "Wow, is this the series I fell in love with?" for the first time.
Conclusion
Assuming Kiryu is actually out of the spotlight after this one, I hope Ichiban is treated better in future games. He deserves more substantive writing than what he got here. The work done with Kiryu was good, but he is not the entire game.