I feel Kiwami 1 shows Yakuza at both its best and worst. On one hand it does have pacing issues, certain characters acting out of character, the underwhelming and at times infuriating boss fights (I temporarily switched to Easy multiple times); the dragon style being pretty worthless without grinding, that on rails shooting segment, and a lot of uninteresting subplots. It's a game that isn't at its best very often, but when it is it's one of the most compelling stories I've experienced from this series. Nishiki's heart breaking transformation, Kiryu losing so much that he held dear yet still finding a reason to keep going, the bond he forms with Haruka, witnessing all the ways that Kamurocho has changed while still feeling so familiar. This game has so many problems and I understand why people are frustrated by it (I definitely was at points). But despite said problems it's one of the most impactful stories I've experienced in a game and I'm glad that I played it.

A frustrating and at times unfair experience that I could not stop playing. The atmosphere and level design of this game were incredible; making every new location and discovery feel so rewarding. And for all the stupid things that this game has, it also has some of the most satisfying moments of any game I've ever played. Every small bit of progress felt massive. And when I finally got the ending, I was left feeling an amount of catharsis that I have never felt playing a video game before. And despite the exhausting experience this game could be, all I want to do now is play it again and play more of these Souls games. Dark Souls for all the issues I had with it was a genuinely incredible experience, and one that I would easily call one of my new favorites.

I've been wanting to play this game for years and it did not disappoint. The gameplay was incredibly addictive, having so many different options and incredible attention to detail. It makes this game very hard to put down. And the story while it does have its issues, is thematically one of the most relevant stories I've seen. There are parts of this game that make it feel like this could've come out recently, which for a 20 year old game is mind blowing. Although the game’s age can clearly be seen with its controls, which were very difficult for me and made for a lot of frustrating moments (especially the boss fights). I did have some issues that slightly brought the game down for me. But by the time I witnessed that conclusion, I left feeling completely satisfied. The last hour of this game was exciting, shocking, and incredibly moving. Even having it partially spoiled, it was an emotional rollercoaster that I'm going to be thinking about for a while. I'm so glad that I finally got to experience this.

One of the most bizarre yet compelling experiences I've had with a video game. It has so many problems with its technical performance and gameplay, yet there's something so endearing about it. The way it portrays people in the midst of a natural disaster feels melodramatic yet strangely human, and seeing the destruction caused by these disasters could be genuinely affecting at times. I just love how this game is able to balance tragedy, comedy, and moments of peace in a way that feels mostly coherent. But unfortunately I don't like the direction its story takes around the end. The tragedy element is hammered down a bit too much, there's a plot twist that's really dumb (but not in a fun way), and there's a plot point involving SA that I thought was handled very poorly. There were moments of Disaster Report 4 where I thought it could be one of my new favorites, but these issues did sour the experience a little bit. Still a very enjoyable experience that I would like to replay in the future.

Exploring Racoon City Police Station for the first time is one of the best video game experiences I’ve had. The combination of tense atmosphere and intricate level design made this area both terrifying and a joy to explore; giving me a newfound interest in survival horror gaming. But unfortunately I can’t say I enjoyed the rest of the game nearly as much. The level design isn't as strong, but also suffers from some terrible boss fights and sections where you play as other characters. But besides all of that, these sections past the Police Station start placing more emphasis on the story, which I got bored of really quickly. There's nothing bad about it, but everything from the dialogue to the story beats felt so generic. Which could work if the tone of the game wasn't so self serious all the time. And on my second playthrough all these issues I had became much more apparent, slightly souring the overall experience for me. I had a lot fun with the RE2 Remake and I'm interested in playing other games in this series, but I just wish that the rest of this game lived up to those opening hours.

I can think of few Yakuza games with as much issues as Yakuza 5. From the messy and convoluted storyline; to the mostly weak antagonists, to its unwillingness to fully explore some of its subject matter. But I can also think of few Yakuza games I enjoyed as much as Yakuza 5. In terms of combat it's my favorite game behind Zero, the variety of its movesets and improved boss design from 4 made for so many enjoyable encounters. And the minigames are some of my favorites in the series. Taxi driving as Kiryu, hunting as Saejima, idol industry work as Haruka, baseball as Shinada; not only being mechanically enjoyable but are able to give some genuinely heartwarming stories that furthered my appreciation of the characters. But as I mentioned earlier I don't feel that positive when it comes to the main plot. Yakuza 5 has one of the most inconsistent plots in the series, having some of Yakuza’s best scenes along with one of its most messy storylines. Kiryu and Saejima’s parts have some great character work, but Saejima’s part suffers from pacing issues and the convoluted storyline. Haruka and Akiyama’s part was really fun to play, but is brought down by inconsistent character writing (Mrs Park and those two cunts from T-Set) and an unwillingness to fully explore the dark side of the idol industry. Shinada’s part was good because of how much I like Shinada and his relationship with Takasugi, but I didn't like a certain plot twist and the home run subplot started to bore me around the end. The final part puts on display a lot of these issues I mentioned, yet when I played that final chapter I left the game feeling really satisfied. It's a touching resolution for the main characters that puts on display what makes each of them so great, and it also includes two of my favorite boss fights of the series so far. This game is such a perfect encapsulation of what Yakuza is, flaws and all. And while I wish some things about it were different, I still had a great time playing through it, and it reminded me yet again what makes these games so special.

Top 10 Anime Betrayals



But for real, I forgot how fun and genuinely hilarious this game is. So much so to the point that I got 100% completion and still kind of wish there was more. Really my only complaints were the occasionally frustrating controls, certain plot points not aging well, and certain requirements to get 100% being very annoying (Nut Shot made me more angry than I care to admit). But even these things seem minor with how much fun I had overall, good game.

Arguably the worst installment of the series so far. It has a lot going for it with 3 new protagonists who are all pretty interesting, additions to the combat system that make it feel fresh, some fun new side content, and a genuine sense of tension and intrigue in its earlier chapters. But unfortunately it's paired with some of Yakuza's worst writing. Gradually piling up more and more stupid reveals that make it nearly impossible to understand or care about anything that happens after the halfway point. It also has these random scenes that make the protagonists look really shitty in ways that are out of character (Saejima’s first scene with Haruka being the worst example by far). The boss fights also are awful, the amount of dodge spam and stun lock combos made for some of my least favorite bosses of any video game. Even if I did enjoy Yakuza 4, I can't deny its an absolute mess of a game.

This didn't really do anything for me. As someone who loved almost everything about Nier:Automata, I was very excited to check out its predecessor (or I guess the remake of it) to hopefully get another experience on that level. But I wouldn't even say I like this game. I struggled to connect with most of the characters, the themes felt pretty one note, I didn't like any of the endings, and the amount of times you have to replay the game to get these endings is ridiculous. Really wish I liked this as much as everyone else seems to.

There was a lot I liked here but a lot that I didn't. I loved the soundtrack, the gambit system was one of the most unique and entertaining combat systems I've played, and I enjoyed exploring the world. That being said I did not care about the story. It's extremely politics heavy and I had trouble keeping track of what was going on; making some of the later moments of the game fall a bit flat for me. I also felt it lacked many compelling characters. Besides Balthier who I loved; most of the characters in the game just don't have much about them I find likable or interesting. The English voice acting also felt hit or miss to me; with performances sounding either pretty good or devoid of emotion (the low audio quality doesn't help). Like I said the gameplay was great, but in a series that can have some really good stories, I felt just a bit let down by 12 even with all the things it does great.

Wow. While I would still consider Sons of Liberty my favorite of the MGS games I've played, Snake Eater comes extremely close. The gameplay for one thing was so much fun. I love how they combined stealth mechanics of the previous games with survival elements, allowing for so many interesting gameplay options. The story was pretty great also. It's fun and at times hilarious; but when it needs to it's absolutely gut wrenching. But just like the previous game I did have issues. While the story is overall good; it didn't quite have me hooked like Sons of Liberty did, and I really didn't like the writing of Volgin’s character. I also felt very mixed by the boss fights. Most of them were good with some genuinely great ones; but there were also ones that really annoyed me like The Fury and The End. These things hold back the game a bit for me, but just like Sons of Liberty it's made up for by how incredible the ending is. Where all the pieces that were set up culminate in a powerful conclusion that brought me to tears. Snake Eater was already great, but the ending being this perfect easily cements it as one of my new favorite games.

Hard to think of much that hasn't been said. Incredible characters, great atmosphere, fun combat, tons of addictive side content, and some of the most powerful moments of any video game I've played. There are genuine issues with the game. Certain plot developments feel a bit contrived and the pacing could've been better at points; but that doesn't stop this game from being a masterpiece in my opinion and completely convinced me that I need to play the rest of these games (which I am still working on 😅).