Reivyus
I am convinced Hideo Kojima is not human how tf do you make a game like this in 2001
You see people say how this game is ahead of its time, predicted the future, has some of the most profound ideas in gaming, and after playing it I am pretty much convinced, absolute masterclass
You see people say how this game is ahead of its time, predicted the future, has some of the most profound ideas in gaming, and after playing it I am pretty much convinced, absolute masterclass
2019
Never played my PS4 until now much but this game made me realized having it was a blessing all along. Greatest game of all time. Peak fiction. Hallmark of Media.
- Persona brainrot copium
- Persona brainrot copium
2015
Even though I only finished Y0 for now, it might be a stretch but Kiryu and Majima are already among two of my favorite characters in fiction. Both of them are characterized wonderfully throughout the entire game not only in their heartfelt and emotional journey but also through exploring Kamurocho/Sotenbori through their lens. They are goofballs, dense at times and awkward, yet endearing, passionate and just charismatic in what they do, everything from beating up goons to singing karaoke feels like a man putting everything they have into doing what they love and what they have to do. As someone who loves story with ideas of forging your own path, by the end these two characters are the very embodiment of it and I fucking love them so much.
Yakuza 0 is an absolute masterpiece not just in balancing serious crime drama while embracing its silliness, but also manages to be one of the most fun, thrilling and emotional experience I've ever had with any piece of media. The story is absolutely incredible, a political war between different factions in the family that had me tearing up in some of the latter half of the story, it really shows how good a quality of a story is when I love every single one of the antagonist, from the three lieutenants, Sagawa, Nishitani etc., all of them with their compelling motivations and able to stand on their own as characters through their presence and excellent voice performances, creating some of the most cathartic boss fights in any game for me.
Admittedly some of the minigames had me pulling my hair out and I didn't like some of them (need the catfight shit gone) but the positives outweigh the bad ones easily. As someone who completed all the 100 substories I can also say I absolutely love them. These two cities I spend hundreds of hours exploring are densely packed with things to explore and different people to meet that feels like a living breathing place, and that is my favorite kind of setting tbh
Oh yeah I also 100% the completion list #realfan even though Y0 could be the peak for me I'll still really excited for what is to come for the rest of the games
Yakuza 0 is an absolute masterpiece not just in balancing serious crime drama while embracing its silliness, but also manages to be one of the most fun, thrilling and emotional experience I've ever had with any piece of media. The story is absolutely incredible, a political war between different factions in the family that had me tearing up in some of the latter half of the story, it really shows how good a quality of a story is when I love every single one of the antagonist, from the three lieutenants, Sagawa, Nishitani etc., all of them with their compelling motivations and able to stand on their own as characters through their presence and excellent voice performances, creating some of the most cathartic boss fights in any game for me.
Admittedly some of the minigames had me pulling my hair out and I didn't like some of them (need the catfight shit gone) but the positives outweigh the bad ones easily. As someone who completed all the 100 substories I can also say I absolutely love them. These two cities I spend hundreds of hours exploring are densely packed with things to explore and different people to meet that feels like a living breathing place, and that is my favorite kind of setting tbh
Oh yeah I also 100% the completion list #realfan even though Y0 could be the peak for me I'll still really excited for what is to come for the rest of the games
It really takes a lot of dedication and passion to create a game of this caliber that understands everything that makes Yakuza/Like a Dragon as a series work. Through all the many highs and lows I experienced with this franchise, countless hours, days, even months I spent engrossed in the stories, grinding the completion, experiencing every single activity these games has to offer, this game made me reflect on every detail in this journey and cherish them, this was truly something special.
Undoubtedly this is not a perfect game for everyone, its easily one of the longest game in the series and with that brings drawbacks such as pacing issues, not every character having equal screen time, if you dislike the classic Yakuza/LAD wackiness I doubt this game is gonna change your mind, its also most likely going to be one of the harder games to revisit and only time will tell how good this game will age as a whole. Despite all that, if you are a long time fan of the franchise, I'm sure there will be something worthwhile you obtain from this story.
Everything great about 7 is elevated to new heights here, the combat is improved with much needed added depth and fluidity. The music is of course consistently great and the characters introduced such as Tomizawa, Chitose and Yamai are easily some of the best characters this franchise has to offer. Hawaii is an absolutely incredible setting, vibrant, colorful and tons of fun to lose yourself in. Dondoko and Sujimon have enough depth to be considered a whole ass separate game but the madlads incorporated it as a side activity that you could entirely skip. This game triumphs every other game in the series outside 5 and maybe 0 in terms of ambition and scale
"Kiryu Kazuma never walked the easiest path"
This game was of course going to be the Kiryu game and seeing the credits roll to this game, finally witnessing the sendoff of one of my favorite fictional characters of all time is definitely an indescribable feeling, one that makes me emotional and tear up thinking about. This game is everything I wanted coming into this and saying they were well met would be an understatement to how I really feel. I love Like a Dragon and for whatever plans RGG studios do have next, I'll be there no matter what..
Undoubtedly this is not a perfect game for everyone, its easily one of the longest game in the series and with that brings drawbacks such as pacing issues, not every character having equal screen time, if you dislike the classic Yakuza/LAD wackiness I doubt this game is gonna change your mind, its also most likely going to be one of the harder games to revisit and only time will tell how good this game will age as a whole. Despite all that, if you are a long time fan of the franchise, I'm sure there will be something worthwhile you obtain from this story.
Everything great about 7 is elevated to new heights here, the combat is improved with much needed added depth and fluidity. The music is of course consistently great and the characters introduced such as Tomizawa, Chitose and Yamai are easily some of the best characters this franchise has to offer. Hawaii is an absolutely incredible setting, vibrant, colorful and tons of fun to lose yourself in. Dondoko and Sujimon have enough depth to be considered a whole ass separate game but the madlads incorporated it as a side activity that you could entirely skip. This game triumphs every other game in the series outside 5 and maybe 0 in terms of ambition and scale
"Kiryu Kazuma never walked the easiest path"
This game was of course going to be the Kiryu game and seeing the credits roll to this game, finally witnessing the sendoff of one of my favorite fictional characters of all time is definitely an indescribable feeling, one that makes me emotional and tear up thinking about. This game is everything I wanted coming into this and saying they were well met would be an understatement to how I really feel. I love Like a Dragon and for whatever plans RGG studios do have next, I'll be there no matter what..
1998
I'm not really a stealth game enjoyer but damn the narrative of this game is cool af, I can understand when people talk about how groundbreaking and beloved this game is
I did not expect this to be live happily the video game but here we are
I did not expect this to be live happily the video game but here we are
Rean....
I kneel
I kneel
2019
This review contains spoilers
Flawed but this is undeniably the most epic game of all time
I was excited but also skeptical of the direction of the series coming into Gaiden, the first continuation of the mainline story after Nagoshi left and one that is following up Y6, to what I think is an amazing conclusion to one of my favorite characters of all time, they could have very easily fumbled the bag. This game not only exceeded those expectations, but also became one of the best stories I ever experienced, any prior doubts I had are now absolutely gone, they know what they are doing man
I think one of the most impressive thing about this game is how it integrates itself into the overarching story between Y6 and Like a Dragon. There are many fanservice-y and callbacks to previous games but are all interwoven and executed perfectly into the story. The major characters in this game are amazing, some even near the top of my favorite characters in this series. The ending absolutely broke me, I didn't think they could follow up the ending of Y6 this well to the point it brought me to tears. People say the story is too short (around 10-15 hours max) which is understandable, but the content we got is absolute quality.
The substance for a game supposedly only made in 6 months is incredible. The side activities are classic but done well. The substories are once again amazing. The combat is incredible, we really came a long way from 6, Kiwami 2 and even Judgment.
I will prob go and Platinum this game later on since it looks a lot easier than other RGG games but yeah tdlr I did not expect this to be probably my top 2 media of the year lol (Lost Judgment still better)
I think one of the most impressive thing about this game is how it integrates itself into the overarching story between Y6 and Like a Dragon. There are many fanservice-y and callbacks to previous games but are all interwoven and executed perfectly into the story. The major characters in this game are amazing, some even near the top of my favorite characters in this series. The ending absolutely broke me, I didn't think they could follow up the ending of Y6 this well to the point it brought me to tears. People say the story is too short (around 10-15 hours max) which is understandable, but the content we got is absolute quality.
The substance for a game supposedly only made in 6 months is incredible. The side activities are classic but done well. The substories are once again amazing. The combat is incredible, we really came a long way from 6, Kiwami 2 and even Judgment.
I will prob go and Platinum this game later on since it looks a lot easier than other RGG games but yeah tdlr I did not expect this to be probably my top 2 media of the year lol (Lost Judgment still better)
2017
This review contains spoilers
A game with incredible highs and some pretty obvious lows, but overall Kiwami 2 was a blast to play through, now this is how you make a Yakuza sequel
Getting into the things I didn't like first, the Dragon Engine definitely felt a bit underwhelming and I can easily see why people hated it. Considering how much I love 0 and Kiwami 1 four style system, it was definitely a bummer, along with the upgrade system which made it the first of the three games which I did not fully upgrade every single skill due to the five orb system, something about the combat just felt very unsatisfying especially when you break a combo after two hits due to guards and every non boss fight feels like you are in a bounce house. Kiryu feels stronger but also a lot more sluggish, I know I'm complaining a lot about the gameplay considering the next few games from 3 to 6 are probably worse (6 especially being the Dragon Engine first game) but if the story is this good I can honestly still go through with it. The game can look absolutely gorgeous most of the time but some of the things like the green filter also did bothered me. Story wise it's definitely an improvement from Kiwami 1 but there are still parts where I think less is more. Some of the new minigames were also like uhhhhh we did not needed this shit. These are really the only things holding it back from me giving it a higher score because everything else basically hits that Yakuza action sweet spot for me.
We finally moved on directly to a grander scale and higher stakes from just the internal Tojo clan conflicts, setting up confrontations and all-out war between Omi and the Tojo Clan, with the Jingweon Mafia being a third party who's true intentions remain undefined until the end having me on the edge of my seat constanty. One thing I was worried was how the story would go forward considering Tojo Clan is washed af at the start and a lot of the investment holding it for me like Nishiki, Kazama and Shimano are gone but Daigo definitely fills that hole for me and I'm excited to see where he will go from here, he's a charismatic character and I love that him and Kiryu has this rebellious son and father/uncle dynamic throughout the game.
Easily the best part of the game though, of course I can't forget to mention the man, Ryuji Goda, what a fucking amazing antagonist he is. He steals the show in every scene he is in and acts as a perfect foil for Kiryu at this point in time. Kiwami 2 explores themes of parenthood and how it shaped Ryuji into the broken man he is, under different circumstances he could have ended up on a different path just like Nishiki and is a reflection of Kiryu if he never had someone like Kazama in his life. Hence another perfection of a final boss, a battle between two dragons and only through winning will Ryuji is able to create meaning in his life. Damn from Shibusawa to Nishiki to Ryuji, Yakuza just can't stop making peak fiction final bosses, the final fight is probably one of my favorite so far in the series as well, A Scattered Moment went so hard. I doubted whether I would like someone as arrogant as him at first but at the end it was him and Kiryu, two broken man beating each other up and wanting to the respect of the other, this shit fucking broke me man, seeing his final words to his sister was just ahhhhhhhhhh painnnn
Speaking of Kiryu he's great as well, in this game he starts having to shoulder the responsibilities and burden of the Tojo clan caused by him in Kiwami 1 and the weight of sins Kazama left behind, further enhancing some of the events back in 0 and Kiwami 1 where we learned more about Kazama, his relationship with Sayama is also great here, I wished she wasn't written out in the next game from what I know later on, bro and Nishiki could never get over Yumi it seems.
Majima is cool as always, his substory felt a bit tact on but seeing Makoto again and their scenes/karaoke made me bawled my eyes out so I will forgive it. He's also such a fun wild card in this game and I'm glad they toned down his crazy psycho shit a bit, Majima Construction Clan Creator is the best thing of all time and as someone who finished all levels, if it ain't peak gaming then idk what is. It was also nice seeing him reunited with Yuki again in the cabaret minigame though yeah the cabaret minigame in Kiwami 2 is pretty bad compared to back in 0.
Overall, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives for me and being a story over gameplay guy I can overlook some of the flaws with it I love the direction of the story too much to not be invested in it and at the end of the day I still found the Dragon Engine fun to play, just a few gripes but otherwise I do welcome the change and looking at how good Judgment is as the third dragon engine game I'm definitely in support of it, the next few games will definitely be an interesting direction from here.
Getting into the things I didn't like first, the Dragon Engine definitely felt a bit underwhelming and I can easily see why people hated it. Considering how much I love 0 and Kiwami 1 four style system, it was definitely a bummer, along with the upgrade system which made it the first of the three games which I did not fully upgrade every single skill due to the five orb system, something about the combat just felt very unsatisfying especially when you break a combo after two hits due to guards and every non boss fight feels like you are in a bounce house. Kiryu feels stronger but also a lot more sluggish, I know I'm complaining a lot about the gameplay considering the next few games from 3 to 6 are probably worse (6 especially being the Dragon Engine first game) but if the story is this good I can honestly still go through with it. The game can look absolutely gorgeous most of the time but some of the things like the green filter also did bothered me. Story wise it's definitely an improvement from Kiwami 1 but there are still parts where I think less is more. Some of the new minigames were also like uhhhhh we did not needed this shit. These are really the only things holding it back from me giving it a higher score because everything else basically hits that Yakuza action sweet spot for me.
We finally moved on directly to a grander scale and higher stakes from just the internal Tojo clan conflicts, setting up confrontations and all-out war between Omi and the Tojo Clan, with the Jingweon Mafia being a third party who's true intentions remain undefined until the end having me on the edge of my seat constanty. One thing I was worried was how the story would go forward considering Tojo Clan is washed af at the start and a lot of the investment holding it for me like Nishiki, Kazama and Shimano are gone but Daigo definitely fills that hole for me and I'm excited to see where he will go from here, he's a charismatic character and I love that him and Kiryu has this rebellious son and father/uncle dynamic throughout the game.
Easily the best part of the game though, of course I can't forget to mention the man, Ryuji Goda, what a fucking amazing antagonist he is. He steals the show in every scene he is in and acts as a perfect foil for Kiryu at this point in time. Kiwami 2 explores themes of parenthood and how it shaped Ryuji into the broken man he is, under different circumstances he could have ended up on a different path just like Nishiki and is a reflection of Kiryu if he never had someone like Kazama in his life. Hence another perfection of a final boss, a battle between two dragons and only through winning will Ryuji is able to create meaning in his life. Damn from Shibusawa to Nishiki to Ryuji, Yakuza just can't stop making peak fiction final bosses, the final fight is probably one of my favorite so far in the series as well, A Scattered Moment went so hard. I doubted whether I would like someone as arrogant as him at first but at the end it was him and Kiryu, two broken man beating each other up and wanting to the respect of the other, this shit fucking broke me man, seeing his final words to his sister was just ahhhhhhhhhh painnnn
Speaking of Kiryu he's great as well, in this game he starts having to shoulder the responsibilities and burden of the Tojo clan caused by him in Kiwami 1 and the weight of sins Kazama left behind, further enhancing some of the events back in 0 and Kiwami 1 where we learned more about Kazama, his relationship with Sayama is also great here, I wished she wasn't written out in the next game from what I know later on, bro and Nishiki could never get over Yumi it seems.
Majima is cool as always, his substory felt a bit tact on but seeing Makoto again and their scenes/karaoke made me bawled my eyes out so I will forgive it. He's also such a fun wild card in this game and I'm glad they toned down his crazy psycho shit a bit, Majima Construction Clan Creator is the best thing of all time and as someone who finished all levels, if it ain't peak gaming then idk what is. It was also nice seeing him reunited with Yuki again in the cabaret minigame though yeah the cabaret minigame in Kiwami 2 is pretty bad compared to back in 0.
Overall, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives for me and being a story over gameplay guy I can overlook some of the flaws with it I love the direction of the story too much to not be invested in it and at the end of the day I still found the Dragon Engine fun to play, just a few gripes but otherwise I do welcome the change and looking at how good Judgment is as the third dragon engine game I'm definitely in support of it, the next few games will definitely be an interesting direction from here.
2020
Tbh I think y'all just didn't get it
as a certain guy once said
top 1 in fiction.... I'm done
top 1 in fiction.... I'm done
2006
changed my life vn....I lost
2021
uuohhhhhh
2022
This review was written before the game released
I hope PS5 and gaming pc bros suffer
Amazing conclusion to now one of my favorite character of all time. Kiryu's journey has been an unforgettable one and I'm glad I saw it till the end (for now at least)
There were parts of the game that I definitely hoped were better, the middle act was quite weak and gameplay/mechanic wise it is the worst of all the Yakuza games I played, coming of Yakuza 5 which had some of the best side activities this one also felt the most lacking in side content. But I absolutely love the entire first half the last chapter to bits. From start to end the game looks as good as a movie and is packed with raw, hard hitting moments that left me an emotional wreck. There's boss fights but the ones that are in this game are really memorable. Someya and Iwami were two amazing antagonists and are once again perfect foils to Kiryu in this ending. There are so many things brought up like the themes of parenthood the overarching legacy of the Yakuza and you really get to feel the weight and consequence behind it, really makes me reflect on the past games and a lot of the characters with different ideologies and resolves throughout the series.
I really like Onomichi as a city, usually not a big fan of countryside settings but it's a interesting city to explore and has its charm, especially love most of the substories set there. I think its also because I really love Yuta, Nagumo and the gang, it feels for the first time Kiryu truly found a group of people he belongs with not tied to any of his Tojo past. Seeing Kiryu finally getting the accept a new family was heartwarming, not to mention the ending is absolutely phenomenal and I cried like a real man.
This game is short for a Yakuza finale, but in the time it had it made me feel so much. As the swan song of resolving Kiryu Kazuma, the legendary Dragon of Dojima as a character, I was definitely left satisfied.
There were parts of the game that I definitely hoped were better, the middle act was quite weak and gameplay/mechanic wise it is the worst of all the Yakuza games I played, coming of Yakuza 5 which had some of the best side activities this one also felt the most lacking in side content. But I absolutely love the entire first half the last chapter to bits. From start to end the game looks as good as a movie and is packed with raw, hard hitting moments that left me an emotional wreck. There's boss fights but the ones that are in this game are really memorable. Someya and Iwami were two amazing antagonists and are once again perfect foils to Kiryu in this ending. There are so many things brought up like the themes of parenthood the overarching legacy of the Yakuza and you really get to feel the weight and consequence behind it, really makes me reflect on the past games and a lot of the characters with different ideologies and resolves throughout the series.
I really like Onomichi as a city, usually not a big fan of countryside settings but it's a interesting city to explore and has its charm, especially love most of the substories set there. I think its also because I really love Yuta, Nagumo and the gang, it feels for the first time Kiryu truly found a group of people he belongs with not tied to any of his Tojo past. Seeing Kiryu finally getting the accept a new family was heartwarming, not to mention the ending is absolutely phenomenal and I cried like a real man.
This game is short for a Yakuza finale, but in the time it had it made me feel so much. As the swan song of resolving Kiryu Kazuma, the legendary Dragon of Dojima as a character, I was definitely left satisfied.