I'm not sure if I could trust anyone that actually likes this visual novel if I'm being real. I honestly only played this because I had "Saya's Song" stuck in my head for like a week and thought to myself at 1 AM today to finally give the stupid VN a go (knowing I wasn't going to like it). Anyways I did manage to play it through in like 3 sittings since it was short but Jesus Christ was it actually awful. I also got every ending so before any dudebro with nonce particles inside them gets rowdy thinking I only got one ending or something, CALM DOWN.

I liked certain concepts of the game such as Saya being a sort of "idol" to Fuminori, but I genuinely wished the game didn't try cramming down stupid unnecessary sex scenes down our throats like "heh... isn't this EVIL and DARKSIDED? take a glimpse at Urobuchi's DARK and TWISTED mind... heh". Like great, thanks Urobuchi I don't like you. Everyone and their grandma is like nnooo nooo these sexual scenes are supposed to cement how far gone Fuminori is and how he's losing his humanity and like it's to show how he and Saya are the only lonely people in each other's worlds and- BLAH BLAH BLAH I DONT CARE. IT SUCKS. If I'm being real the sex scenes with Fuminori feel like an excuse for men to find a way to feel aroused during these scenes because clearly they were trying to hit some sort of erotic points for the reader. There are so many things that could have been done better to still prove that Fuminori is a horrible human being without it resorting to sex. I had to keep skipping the h scenes and their dialogue because why would any sane person want to see a grown ass man doing all of that to someone who looks like a ten year old. If I had a nickel for how many times I saw the word manhood as a replacement for the word penis I'd have enough money to fly to Japan and drop an anvil on Urobuchi's head.

Anyways, I just don't appreciate how pessimistic and misanthropic this visual novel is, and I guess I'm glad I finally played through this myself so I can mentally throw rocks and strike people with psychic beams anytime I see someone praise this horrendous piece of slop.

Playing this directly after spending an hour on homework after I got back home from watching a 3 hour and 26 minute movie (and also drank 74 grams of sugars worth of soda) was NOT fun dude.

I LOVE the character designs in this and the graphics are really charming. I love the models and whatever but this has to be one of the most frustrating arcade games I've ever played... it's just not fun. My favorite thing about this game though is when you lose full health as Spike, his son? or brother? detaches from Spike's back and hops off and starts mimicking his punches and stuff-- it's just so cute. The OST honestly is pretty mid in this except for the first stage in the Opera thingy or whatever. I literally couldn't take it anymore after the 4th level I just couldn't put up with the boring beat em up move sets and fighting the ten trillionth boss that would kick my ass 3 rounds in a row. Maybe I'm just bad at this game who knows...

Yakuza 7 is easily THE MOST important piece of fiction I have ever consumed and has genuinely moved me like nothing I've ever experienced before.

I beat this game January 2021 so it's been almost 3 years since I've played it, and there seriously hasn't been a day where I haven't thought about it. First of all its a real nice breath of fresh air having a new protagonist for this series. Kiryu passing the baton off to someone who parallels him thematically but personality wise is the complete opposite of him was such a good fucking choice. I think this game EXCELS at showing a man go through the worst shit of his life and coming out from rock bottom while not losing hope in humanity… Yakuza 7 to me is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story of friendship, finding family and forgiveness, and finding your own light in what feels like a dark world.

While Yakuza 7 isn't the most perfect turn based RPG (combat wise) in the world, I think it was the perfect choice for someone like Ichiban Kasuga, because his worldview and comparing certain aspects of life to Dragon Quest helped him become the person he is. I think it's really interesting that the game (whether or intentional or not) hints at him being schizophrenic since everything combat wise is just his imagination amplifying the moment. I just started laughing because imagine fighting some guy and he lets you take turns hitting him back.

Anyways, I love how Ichiban is someone who is so optimistic and just so eager to learn more about life even as a full grown middled aged guy; he's always ecstatic to level up (audience laugh track), as horrendously cheesy as that may sound. It's very charming for someone like Ichiban though, because he's just so full of love and life, and everything he tries to do is for the sake of his loved ones. He treats his party like family, an awesome inseparable bond forged from unfortunate circumstances.

Yakuza 7 really touching upon betrayal and NOT making Ichiban an insane revenge seeking lunatic was such a great idea man. I love how anytime Ichiban gets kicked to the ground he just get's back up and tries to find the least harmful solution to every problem. Ichiban as a character is very naive and tries to look at the brightest side of a person, despite their flaws, especially when it's directed at people he's grown up with. He's constantly trying to seek approval and guidance from people like his father figure/Patriarch Masumi Arakawa, and just watching Ichiban learn that not everything is sunshine and rainbows with the people he's grown up with is so god damn heartbreaking man like oh my god

Everything from the party talk, OST, characters, cutscenes, voice acting, combat animations, minigames, YOU NAME IT! was wrapped into a perfect fun package and I just have no complaints. I'm really sitting here scratching my ass trying to think of what to complain about and the ONLY thing I can think of is a story plot point involving that stupid ass guy named mirror face, but it didn't really sour the experience for me. But that's it really

It's a feat that Yakuza 7 has stayed so special to my heart these past few years, and I hope more people experience the wonders of playing as Ichiban and his crew... It honestly makes me so happy that Yakuza 7 is the only media I've ever experienced that had an ending that made me sob my eyes out for an entire hour while doing the dishes. Only a REAL gamer cries more over a video game ending than when her grandma died. Anyways I love this game so bad and I'd do anything to like dump my brain out to experience it all over again

This game has been haunting me since the day I beat it December 2021, and I just have to seriously sit down and pour out some of my thoughts...

It's really unfortunate how a game seemingly full of so much passion has the most god awful story ever. It feels like one giant sick joke with no pay off. The whole alignment system is a last minute shit droplet and the only saving grace of this game is the combat, exploration (for the most part), demon side quests and OST.

I wouldn't say I regret playing this game, because I don't know what I would've done without such an incredible soundtrack to listen to while doing the dishes or school work... but it really left a sour taste in my mouth knowing that none of the characters were fleshed out and how poorly written everything was.

Aogami and the MC Naho's relationship were the best thing story wise that this game had to offer. I see their relationship as something familial, almost father and son-like and I would've loved it if they touched more upon Aogami learning about humanity as a whole...

Honestly it really makes me scratch my head knowing that the people reviewing the story for this game thought it was GOOD ENOUGH to get released to the public... who knows maybe the story was a last minute effort in the development?? I don't even know man... I don't think anyone in their office chairs were clapping their hands from joy when writing this crap.

Also... one last complaint I have is that the dungeons in this game suck major ass and I feel sorry for the poor souls that have to sit through them. There's no soul or love put out in those dungeon designs it's like a pure rage fest at how boring they are.

At the end of the day I'm glad this game came out, but I couldn't help but want more... from EVERYTHING... It had so much potential and it genuinely breaks my heart at how it lays out the foundation for something awesome and fails at developing anything.

I’m not even gonna lie, I was so hyped for this game, but I really think overall this was such a mid experience. It literally took me like 45 hours (chapter 10) to realize that this game wasn’t fun.

There were some really awesome moments and it was so sweet seeing old faces like Mine and Nishiki again but that alone isn’t enough to make up for how annoying the combat was and how boring the story was…

Also man oh man changing some important character models to people from Yakuza 0 and 7 was such a lame move. This game made me feel sour towards the series for some reason… which is awful because I LOVE this franchise. I think it’s just because I went in with high expectations… but I hope my love will explode (in the good way) again once I play Lost Judgment, and hopefully whenever Yakuza Gaiden and Yakuza 8 come out.

Also hearing “For Whose Sake” in the game made me cry real bad