loose thoughts, don't really care for much of a coherent review this time around.
maybe doesn't have as many cool "moments" as other games in the series but probably the most thematically compelling all around (other than maybe 0) and definitely my favorite rgg game now. feels like it has the same vibes as earlier entries where the stories weren't great but cool shit happened and i liked seeing the characters interact and beat the shit out of each other, but having a lot less of a struggle to manage tone whatsoever than 7 did (mostly because it did not go for many deeply emotional moments) and having themes that come across more coherently and less clumsily than dreams in 5.
gameplay is also improved compared to 7 and i think at this point (at least with kiryu's party) that infinite wealth has gameplay i enjoy more than any of the beat em up style rgg titles. kinda sucks how lopsided some of the cool and interesting mechanics are onto being just part of kiryu's kit when ichiban does not get anything remotely as interesting but oh well
the party dynamics are also so much better in 8. ichi/nanba/saeko/adachi in 7 is definitely good but ichi/tomi/chi/adachi and kiryu/seonhee/nanba/zhao just does so much more for me. felt way more invested in the party in 8 than i did in 7 and i already was pretty invested in 7's party. i'm sad that tomizawa is tied to hawaii because an ichiban group without him is going to feel super hollow afterwards.
speaking of new characters i like, yamai is probably one of the best characters this series has introduced in years and my biggest gripe with the story is that his backstory is hinted at and then just kinda ran through at the end. really hope they continue to use him since he's really a great presence. his second dynamic intro is also like the best one in the entire series
despite the fact that the misconception that 6 was designed and intended to be an ending for kazuma kiryu as a character plagues this fanbase so we need to pretend that it's bad when kiryu takes up screen time after that game ended or whatever, kiryu is the highlight of this game and it is not even a competition. maybe a lot of the "the game should've been more about ichiban!" crowd are just people who started with 7 and/or did not play through the kiryu games but i still think he was absolutely worth including in this game and i think this could've ended up being one of the weaker entries in the series without him. sorry ichiban, but you are kind of yakuza 4 kiryu in this game where you are dragged into the story because you are the Like a Dragon Guy and need to be there. even if your final boss basically gets a better version of the munakata intro (with a worse song because even if the music is better in 8 the ichiban games have a terminal case of Ichiban Gaming Intro HD 720p) i did not find your part of the game as compelling as kiryu's outside of strong character writing. character writing in general is probably some of the strongest the series gets in this entry though so it's definitely not a waste of time.
infinite wealth in general honestly feels like it is setting up for a third ichiban game to really tie it all together, more of a middle point for ichiban while progressing kiryu's story to a point where it actually feels reasonable to start ending his, so despite not actually being excited for 8 until much later into the prerelease cycle i'm very excited to see what rgg studios does for like a dragon 9: lost in new york
maybe doesn't have as many cool "moments" as other games in the series but probably the most thematically compelling all around (other than maybe 0) and definitely my favorite rgg game now. feels like it has the same vibes as earlier entries where the stories weren't great but cool shit happened and i liked seeing the characters interact and beat the shit out of each other, but having a lot less of a struggle to manage tone whatsoever than 7 did (mostly because it did not go for many deeply emotional moments) and having themes that come across more coherently and less clumsily than dreams in 5.
gameplay is also improved compared to 7 and i think at this point (at least with kiryu's party) that infinite wealth has gameplay i enjoy more than any of the beat em up style rgg titles. kinda sucks how lopsided some of the cool and interesting mechanics are onto being just part of kiryu's kit when ichiban does not get anything remotely as interesting but oh well
the party dynamics are also so much better in 8. ichi/nanba/saeko/adachi in 7 is definitely good but ichi/tomi/chi/adachi and kiryu/seonhee/nanba/zhao just does so much more for me. felt way more invested in the party in 8 than i did in 7 and i already was pretty invested in 7's party. i'm sad that tomizawa is tied to hawaii because an ichiban group without him is going to feel super hollow afterwards.
speaking of new characters i like, yamai is probably one of the best characters this series has introduced in years and my biggest gripe with the story is that his backstory is hinted at and then just kinda ran through at the end. really hope they continue to use him since he's really a great presence. his second dynamic intro is also like the best one in the entire series
despite the fact that the misconception that 6 was designed and intended to be an ending for kazuma kiryu as a character plagues this fanbase so we need to pretend that it's bad when kiryu takes up screen time after that game ended or whatever, kiryu is the highlight of this game and it is not even a competition. maybe a lot of the "the game should've been more about ichiban!" crowd are just people who started with 7 and/or did not play through the kiryu games but i still think he was absolutely worth including in this game and i think this could've ended up being one of the weaker entries in the series without him. sorry ichiban, but you are kind of yakuza 4 kiryu in this game where you are dragged into the story because you are the Like a Dragon Guy and need to be there. even if your final boss basically gets a better version of the munakata intro (with a worse song because even if the music is better in 8 the ichiban games have a terminal case of Ichiban Gaming Intro HD 720p) i did not find your part of the game as compelling as kiryu's outside of strong character writing. character writing in general is probably some of the strongest the series gets in this entry though so it's definitely not a waste of time.
infinite wealth in general honestly feels like it is setting up for a third ichiban game to really tie it all together, more of a middle point for ichiban while progressing kiryu's story to a point where it actually feels reasonable to start ending his, so despite not actually being excited for 8 until much later into the prerelease cycle i'm very excited to see what rgg studios does for like a dragon 9: lost in new york