This is an excellent Yakuza game. The pacing is a mess and the main story is so convoluted that only a great ending could save it. But the ending is… not much better than the rest of the main story. I would still say that it’s one of the best games that I’ve played all year. Why? Because this is one of the finest short story compilations ever put into game form. Just about every playable character has a side gig, each with its own mechanics, from street racing to bear hunting to an idol career. These deepen the characters and the game and, to quote one of Haruka Sawamura’s songs, give it “So Much More.” So what if the overarching narrative doesn’t hold together? It’s more of a framing device, anyway. There are so many stories in this game, and many of them so good (Saejima’s story in Sapporo in particular), that this game was absolutely worth the 65 hours I put into completing nearly every side mission and substory.