nukillerstar
Infinite Wealth is another wonderful JRPG following from Yakuza 7's/LAD's success. While the stakes are higher than ever in the series, the game delivers very well in some areas, while stumbling in others.
The gameplay, yet again, outshines everything else to offer in the series. The various class affinities, and even the small attention to detail that was paid to adding things like movement, back attacks, and in general, Kiryu's kit -- all deserve massive applause. The game is more interactive than ever, yet remains a turn-based game. Each character has their own unique job, but can branch out into plenty of jobs with abilities being able to be transferred, allowing you to create the ultimate party for dungeons and story missions. Some classes like Sujimancer also deserve massive props - the fact that this game just has a Persona-eque subclass built in is wild, on top of all the other effort they had to put into the other classes. I sometimes wish the gameplay evolved more over the game, as there will be times where fights get a bit drab and boring, but mostly, the gameplay is good enough to see that most people will finish this game.
What will get in the way of finishing the game? The plethora of substories and side content the game has to offer. Most notably are the Sujimon minigame/substory and Dondoko Island. I have pretty positive things to say about Sujimon...not so much about Dondoko. Sujimon is an awesome monster-catcher minigame where you'll be living out your Pokemon dreams in real life. It comes with a good chunk of sidequests, and it's a great way to earn money early in the game before dungeons open up a bit more. Dondoko Island...eesh. I'm very split on that one. The other Nintendo franchise they were all to happy to take inspiration from was Animal Crossing, the zen island-building game that captivated so many especially in 2020. While the charm of greeting guests and effort was put in into Dondoko, it gets stale very, very fast. The island currency is worth jack, questioning why it's even really in the game when it gives you nothing outside of the island. It's less zen, and more micro-management of lackluster action combat when enemies appear. Definietly not star material, especially compared to the business minigame and hilarity of that back in Like A Dragon.
The story, which is always so important for Yakuza fans, is mostly rough. It hurts me so much to say it, especially when the end is impactful as it is -- but the story is rough. There are some high points - meeting the party and going through Ichiban's roughshod introduction to Hawaii is a high point. Unfortunately, the writers from there decided to hem and haw until a very forcastable plot twist, then hem and haw until the conclusion. I've played the game since launch and I'm working on remembering what happened even halfway through this game. There's just a lot of enemy beatdowns with little cutscenes, or a lot of cutscenes of just talking, moreso than other entries in the Yakuza franchise. I really don't know where to put this game, or what to say about its overall theme considering I feel like I only watched 5 or so impactful cutscenes, mostly near the end of the game that really shed light on the theme instead of the game weaving it throughout. For what was marketed as such an epic adventure that could be Kiryu's last stand, there were definetly some things that could have been left on the cutting room floor.
Everything else about it though, is wonderful. Hawaii is a nice, new open location to explore. The OST is great, with a bunch of cool quality of life things like being able to listen to music while strolling around. They cut down on a lot of lackluster content like the Hero missions, instead having them work towards upgrades for Kiryu along with the Drink Links, which will have longtime fans of the series invested for meeting members of Kiryu's past.
Infinite Wealth is infinite with ambition - a noble attempt to make the best RGG game ever. While it's a wonderful game, cutting and polishing the story and content a bit instead of going big could have been advantageous to the developers. I anticipate Ichiban's next adventure more than ever, but in the meantime...a hui hou.
The gameplay, yet again, outshines everything else to offer in the series. The various class affinities, and even the small attention to detail that was paid to adding things like movement, back attacks, and in general, Kiryu's kit -- all deserve massive applause. The game is more interactive than ever, yet remains a turn-based game. Each character has their own unique job, but can branch out into plenty of jobs with abilities being able to be transferred, allowing you to create the ultimate party for dungeons and story missions. Some classes like Sujimancer also deserve massive props - the fact that this game just has a Persona-eque subclass built in is wild, on top of all the other effort they had to put into the other classes. I sometimes wish the gameplay evolved more over the game, as there will be times where fights get a bit drab and boring, but mostly, the gameplay is good enough to see that most people will finish this game.
What will get in the way of finishing the game? The plethora of substories and side content the game has to offer. Most notably are the Sujimon minigame/substory and Dondoko Island. I have pretty positive things to say about Sujimon...not so much about Dondoko. Sujimon is an awesome monster-catcher minigame where you'll be living out your Pokemon dreams in real life. It comes with a good chunk of sidequests, and it's a great way to earn money early in the game before dungeons open up a bit more. Dondoko Island...eesh. I'm very split on that one. The other Nintendo franchise they were all to happy to take inspiration from was Animal Crossing, the zen island-building game that captivated so many especially in 2020. While the charm of greeting guests and effort was put in into Dondoko, it gets stale very, very fast. The island currency is worth jack, questioning why it's even really in the game when it gives you nothing outside of the island. It's less zen, and more micro-management of lackluster action combat when enemies appear. Definietly not star material, especially compared to the business minigame and hilarity of that back in Like A Dragon.
The story, which is always so important for Yakuza fans, is mostly rough. It hurts me so much to say it, especially when the end is impactful as it is -- but the story is rough. There are some high points - meeting the party and going through Ichiban's roughshod introduction to Hawaii is a high point. Unfortunately, the writers from there decided to hem and haw until a very forcastable plot twist, then hem and haw until the conclusion. I've played the game since launch and I'm working on remembering what happened even halfway through this game. There's just a lot of enemy beatdowns with little cutscenes, or a lot of cutscenes of just talking, moreso than other entries in the Yakuza franchise. I really don't know where to put this game, or what to say about its overall theme considering I feel like I only watched 5 or so impactful cutscenes, mostly near the end of the game that really shed light on the theme instead of the game weaving it throughout. For what was marketed as such an epic adventure that could be Kiryu's last stand, there were definetly some things that could have been left on the cutting room floor.
Everything else about it though, is wonderful. Hawaii is a nice, new open location to explore. The OST is great, with a bunch of cool quality of life things like being able to listen to music while strolling around. They cut down on a lot of lackluster content like the Hero missions, instead having them work towards upgrades for Kiryu along with the Drink Links, which will have longtime fans of the series invested for meeting members of Kiryu's past.
Infinite Wealth is infinite with ambition - a noble attempt to make the best RGG game ever. While it's a wonderful game, cutting and polishing the story and content a bit instead of going big could have been advantageous to the developers. I anticipate Ichiban's next adventure more than ever, but in the meantime...a hui hou.
So far, it's the best game I've been able to dig into this current year. An explosive game with no shortage of fun combat, a play-your-way attitude, and an overall awesome story, even if it takes a little bit to spread its wings.
To start with the most important part of a game like this, the gameplay. It's truly phenomenal what they've been able to do with this. Most games do dive into the whole break-bar vs. HP mechanic so many times now, but Stranger of Paradise just does it differently, based on what kind of player you are. You can be the HP-draining goon spamming high-level attacks at a boss and overwhelming them with pure skills. You can be the break-master, using parries and exploiting spell weaknesses to pop their shields quickly, then come in with a satisfying crush. Speaking of crushing enemies - did they grab some YouTube ASMR artist to work sound for these kills? Popping enemies with Jack's crystal-power will NEVER get old as long as you play, and there are plenty of satisfying moments to keep you playing. I didn't even get into the parry mechanic that allows you to steal an enemy attack, stock it, and unleash it on another enemy going forward. If that's not demonstrating how this game is absolutely fire, I don't know what is. This game is already taking insane liberties my brief time with FF7R failed to take, and is nailing down combat to make it less repetitive than something like FF16. It is definitively, the best feeling action-based FF game ever.
To venture more into the awe-inspiring class building of FF Stranger of Paradise, almost every Final Fantasy class is here for long-time fans of the JRPG to enjoy. You'll be spoiled quickly for choice when things really start to unlock, and it's easier to earn job XP. There's maybe 8 base classes that devolve into another 8 advanced classes, with another 8 or so expert-level classes that continue to give players more choices as they enter deeper. It's fun as well because basic does not necessarily mean bad. Job affinities keep the system in check, pairing strategy with job selection.
The story is pretty good. I think there are some times the game really has nothing to say, so it doesn't, and I applaud the game's designers for doing that as it works towards a really satisfying build and conclusion, but it does leave me feeling awkward for about 40-60% of the game as you're really just going level by level. Speaking of which, level design could be a bit better, as most are just three checkpoints in a linear fashion and then a boss battle, but I applaud them for still finding ways to branch paths, and explore ways to hide loot and enemies like the Cactuar and Tonberry for mega-XP and loot.
This amazing game loops in elements from a ton of my favorite franchises: Borderlands, Diablo, strokes of the right stuff from FF15/16, and presents this in a masterful, wonderful game that doesn't take too much time of yours from bloat, as most AAA games seem to do nowadays whenever you hear "RPG".
Stranger of Paradise is the best Final Fantasy game I've played in my life, and it should be a much, much more recognized game amongst the community and game-reviewers as a whole. Give it a shot on a sale if you're curious.
To start with the most important part of a game like this, the gameplay. It's truly phenomenal what they've been able to do with this. Most games do dive into the whole break-bar vs. HP mechanic so many times now, but Stranger of Paradise just does it differently, based on what kind of player you are. You can be the HP-draining goon spamming high-level attacks at a boss and overwhelming them with pure skills. You can be the break-master, using parries and exploiting spell weaknesses to pop their shields quickly, then come in with a satisfying crush. Speaking of crushing enemies - did they grab some YouTube ASMR artist to work sound for these kills? Popping enemies with Jack's crystal-power will NEVER get old as long as you play, and there are plenty of satisfying moments to keep you playing. I didn't even get into the parry mechanic that allows you to steal an enemy attack, stock it, and unleash it on another enemy going forward. If that's not demonstrating how this game is absolutely fire, I don't know what is. This game is already taking insane liberties my brief time with FF7R failed to take, and is nailing down combat to make it less repetitive than something like FF16. It is definitively, the best feeling action-based FF game ever.
To venture more into the awe-inspiring class building of FF Stranger of Paradise, almost every Final Fantasy class is here for long-time fans of the JRPG to enjoy. You'll be spoiled quickly for choice when things really start to unlock, and it's easier to earn job XP. There's maybe 8 base classes that devolve into another 8 advanced classes, with another 8 or so expert-level classes that continue to give players more choices as they enter deeper. It's fun as well because basic does not necessarily mean bad. Job affinities keep the system in check, pairing strategy with job selection.
The story is pretty good. I think there are some times the game really has nothing to say, so it doesn't, and I applaud the game's designers for doing that as it works towards a really satisfying build and conclusion, but it does leave me feeling awkward for about 40-60% of the game as you're really just going level by level. Speaking of which, level design could be a bit better, as most are just three checkpoints in a linear fashion and then a boss battle, but I applaud them for still finding ways to branch paths, and explore ways to hide loot and enemies like the Cactuar and Tonberry for mega-XP and loot.
This amazing game loops in elements from a ton of my favorite franchises: Borderlands, Diablo, strokes of the right stuff from FF15/16, and presents this in a masterful, wonderful game that doesn't take too much time of yours from bloat, as most AAA games seem to do nowadays whenever you hear "RPG".
Stranger of Paradise is the best Final Fantasy game I've played in my life, and it should be a much, much more recognized game amongst the community and game-reviewers as a whole. Give it a shot on a sale if you're curious.
2023
I can understand the hatred for this one, but also really struggle to see how this game has gotten so much worse reviews and heapings of hate despite just being an okay-ish open-world game.
Forspoken is a pretty good game, when it feels like being a good game. I think the people who did the storyboarding, setting the lore for the universe, and who did the enemy and character designs should absolutely get a raise, promotion, or whatever you can give them. I've seen a lot of people call this game "bland" or "boring" in design, but when you see the half-dog-zombie monsters, crystallized orcs, and lavish outfits for the royalty and upper-class members of this game, I think it's a lot harder to call Forspoken "boring."
In reality, this game has a good amount of good, settled in with a good amount of bad. It's a game I don't think I can dissect too much outside of listing what I liked and what I didn't.
For what I liked? To start, the gameplay and traversal were pretty fun. I don't think there's a lot of great open-world games that want you to move at the speed of light, dodging through rocks, mountains, craters, and valleys, but Forspoken is totally okay with you skipping around its world as you check off objectives and quests (more on this later). It's fun to feel so free, and I think it gave me a lot of good memories with something like Spider-Man or Infamous coming to mind. It's not just a generic horseback or trodding through the world game, it wants you to rush through it and lessen the limitations you might feel in other open-world games.
On the gameplay side, it's a mostly good game with a few modifications that would have helped it be better. I think the game has overall good gameplay, and most importantly, it's unique. It's a good mix of peppering in spells, assists, and ending your attack with a crushing ultimate attack. It doesn't really go beyond this in any tree - one of my gripes - but it does a good job being this magical fusion of DMC and generic guard-breaking, enemy weakness spamming you'd see in a Ubisoft game.
I'm also generally favorable on the way this game handles upgrades - it's fun and again reminescent of something like Infamous when you're picking up the blue mana pools around the world. These are used to purchase new spells and enhance your abilities, and on top of this, you're able to change challenges at certain markers in the open world to enhance that specific ability better with a challenge, also permanently making Frey stronger. This is one of the best ways I've seen a game do this, outside of some challenges being highly situational and hard to accomplish. There really shouldn't have been a limit of three of these you can obtain at one time (it's three, and sometimes you can be in a story mission, unable to change these from a menu or anywhere else until you are back at at a safehouse).
Getting more into the meh or bad parts of this game, there's really no shortage on where to go. On the world design, I'm sort of in the middle. The strange obelisks, the gothic architecture of certain castles and each bosses domain? Very, very good. On the other side? Yeah, there are a lot of areas in this game that are fields and plains. Fields, and more plains. Did I mention they had fields and plains with some enemies in a generic looking field of rubble from a town? Forspoken does a great job on the main path of the game, but veering off to the side can really ruin the magic of the game and put you in sort of that open-world nausea so many of us face when being bored while playing these games.
The story for the game, again, is mixed. I think the game was written pretty well to start, but once you reach the sort of "isekai" moment for Frey...yeah, we're talking YA fiction levels of dialogue. Generic swearing, Marvel-isms, and just a lot of tell-not-showing. It's something that can sometimes, on occasion, actually land well. Frey's voice-actor does a pretty good job of selling the frustration and anger of being trapped in this other world, but the dialogue choices are pretty often mediocre and not what even a normal person would say in a lot of these scenarios.
Along with that, there is a lot of talking in the open-world segment, but I don't find it any more infurating most JRPGs are with repeated voice lines after combat or while exploring dungeons in games of their own. I kinda hate to see people bring that up and go to see something like Xenoblade or Persona or even games Square Enix has made in their favorites. It's repetitive and annoying but no more annoying than most games that have only thirty to fifty voice lines per character.
I think if there's anything to rag on this game for, it's for the massive lack of side content, fun minigames, or really anything to do other than progress the story. There are fun boss-fights and dungeons to explore, but for one of those, there are three "visit an empty town and kill some enemies". Or even better, sit at a statue while we raise your health or defense by +1. Really nothing engaging to see while you are progressing the story. The townspeople missions are all horrifically bland fetch-quests as well, most of them not even requiring that you leave town, but instead running chores for the townspeople as they spout off about how much they hate you (Frey is pretty much hated for 2/3rds of this game by most of the town). This game really has some of the most lackluster side content that will be making this platinum on PSN much more frustrating than if it just had the dungeons, difficult bosses, and more fun challenge runs left in as side content.
Overall, I think this is a good open world game as a bargain bin game. I got this for $20 and have no regrets in beating it or playing through it, unlike if I had maybe bought this for $70 at launch.
Forspoken is a pretty good game, when it feels like being a good game. I think the people who did the storyboarding, setting the lore for the universe, and who did the enemy and character designs should absolutely get a raise, promotion, or whatever you can give them. I've seen a lot of people call this game "bland" or "boring" in design, but when you see the half-dog-zombie monsters, crystallized orcs, and lavish outfits for the royalty and upper-class members of this game, I think it's a lot harder to call Forspoken "boring."
In reality, this game has a good amount of good, settled in with a good amount of bad. It's a game I don't think I can dissect too much outside of listing what I liked and what I didn't.
For what I liked? To start, the gameplay and traversal were pretty fun. I don't think there's a lot of great open-world games that want you to move at the speed of light, dodging through rocks, mountains, craters, and valleys, but Forspoken is totally okay with you skipping around its world as you check off objectives and quests (more on this later). It's fun to feel so free, and I think it gave me a lot of good memories with something like Spider-Man or Infamous coming to mind. It's not just a generic horseback or trodding through the world game, it wants you to rush through it and lessen the limitations you might feel in other open-world games.
On the gameplay side, it's a mostly good game with a few modifications that would have helped it be better. I think the game has overall good gameplay, and most importantly, it's unique. It's a good mix of peppering in spells, assists, and ending your attack with a crushing ultimate attack. It doesn't really go beyond this in any tree - one of my gripes - but it does a good job being this magical fusion of DMC and generic guard-breaking, enemy weakness spamming you'd see in a Ubisoft game.
I'm also generally favorable on the way this game handles upgrades - it's fun and again reminescent of something like Infamous when you're picking up the blue mana pools around the world. These are used to purchase new spells and enhance your abilities, and on top of this, you're able to change challenges at certain markers in the open world to enhance that specific ability better with a challenge, also permanently making Frey stronger. This is one of the best ways I've seen a game do this, outside of some challenges being highly situational and hard to accomplish. There really shouldn't have been a limit of three of these you can obtain at one time (it's three, and sometimes you can be in a story mission, unable to change these from a menu or anywhere else until you are back at at a safehouse).
Getting more into the meh or bad parts of this game, there's really no shortage on where to go. On the world design, I'm sort of in the middle. The strange obelisks, the gothic architecture of certain castles and each bosses domain? Very, very good. On the other side? Yeah, there are a lot of areas in this game that are fields and plains. Fields, and more plains. Did I mention they had fields and plains with some enemies in a generic looking field of rubble from a town? Forspoken does a great job on the main path of the game, but veering off to the side can really ruin the magic of the game and put you in sort of that open-world nausea so many of us face when being bored while playing these games.
The story for the game, again, is mixed. I think the game was written pretty well to start, but once you reach the sort of "isekai" moment for Frey...yeah, we're talking YA fiction levels of dialogue. Generic swearing, Marvel-isms, and just a lot of tell-not-showing. It's something that can sometimes, on occasion, actually land well. Frey's voice-actor does a pretty good job of selling the frustration and anger of being trapped in this other world, but the dialogue choices are pretty often mediocre and not what even a normal person would say in a lot of these scenarios.
Along with that, there is a lot of talking in the open-world segment, but I don't find it any more infurating most JRPGs are with repeated voice lines after combat or while exploring dungeons in games of their own. I kinda hate to see people bring that up and go to see something like Xenoblade or Persona or even games Square Enix has made in their favorites. It's repetitive and annoying but no more annoying than most games that have only thirty to fifty voice lines per character.
I think if there's anything to rag on this game for, it's for the massive lack of side content, fun minigames, or really anything to do other than progress the story. There are fun boss-fights and dungeons to explore, but for one of those, there are three "visit an empty town and kill some enemies". Or even better, sit at a statue while we raise your health or defense by +1. Really nothing engaging to see while you are progressing the story. The townspeople missions are all horrifically bland fetch-quests as well, most of them not even requiring that you leave town, but instead running chores for the townspeople as they spout off about how much they hate you (Frey is pretty much hated for 2/3rds of this game by most of the town). This game really has some of the most lackluster side content that will be making this platinum on PSN much more frustrating than if it just had the dungeons, difficult bosses, and more fun challenge runs left in as side content.
Overall, I think this is a good open world game as a bargain bin game. I got this for $20 and have no regrets in beating it or playing through it, unlike if I had maybe bought this for $70 at launch.
mi·rage/məˈräZH/noun
an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions; something that appears real or possible but is not in fact so.
Y'know, I hate doing the whole "Webster's defines..." as an intro but it works very well for Assassin's Creed Mirage. A case study in why Ubisoft cannot help itself but crank out more middling, regurgitated slop with nuggets of gold in it. Those nuggets of gold are only building to my definition of insanity: continuing to play these games when they continually disappoint, waste my time, and fill up my backloggd with more mediocrity.
To start with as much good as I can try to mine - if it has been a few years since you have played an Assassin's Creed game, this is a decent entry point gameplay-wise. They have wholeheartedly toned down the open world combat and stomping people's heads in like in Valhalla, to a much more somber, city-adventuring affair similar to those found in games like Assassin's Creed II or Brotherhood. It's a pleasure to feel like most encounters that are entered have to be stealthed out, have numerous routes to make it to the goal, and put stealth back into a franchise that arguably hasn't been that since 2016. Along with this, you get access to tools that put even the peaks of the series to shame. Throwing knives, smoke bombs, and noise-traps are all satisfying gimmicks to throw and manipulate Ubisoft's brain-dead NPCs to their fatal ends.
The only other positive I can elaborate on is the sometimes-okay mission ideas and routing. Most importantly, the assassination missions. These come with an asterisk, as they're light-years away from something even close to Hitman when it comes to variety of assassination and choice of method, but it is a good mechanic to allow players to choose their way into invading a palace or festival. Ubisoft should work on the different kinds of assassination because all of the different paths you use to get in all pretty much narrow down to the same sort of assassination. It's just the method of entry they're using as the illusion of choice.
Now for the negatives, which there is quite a lot. Starting with the story: burn it all down to the fucking ground. I cannot think of anything redeemable and I'm writing this review today so I even just remember what happened in it. I won't cover spoilers but all I can say is...wow, it's bad. The side characters are atrocious, Roshan sounds like a woman out of those old "former smoker" ads and it's grating to hear the whole game. No one else has a name or does a great job at reappearing. Basim is about as interesting as wall paste as Ubisoft only elevates him in the final act to actually being someone important.
Maybe a side-tangent too, but is anyone else really fucking sick of the whole "Order of the Ancients" crap? It's continually thrust in your face, ooh, these "evil characters who are so evil they have to die". Ubisoft was so kind as to even give each of them a 30-60 second FMV before the mission proceeded. However, we're not introduced to any of them before we assassinate them, and all their evils and horrible things are done off-screen or recanted in horrible notes. Can someone at Ubisoft just go to a different company who's decent at writing villains, dear God, I struggle to think of a great Ubisoft villain since Vaas. Part of building up these assassination missions and treating them like a climax is actually finding a way to make me care about what I'm doing, and yet Ubisoft continues to not just miss the mark, but miss the whole target by creating these generic-ass power broker characters who I spend time killing.
This just builds to the dark sides of the game when it comes to gameplay or enjoyment. In favor of Valhalla's gratifying stories to complete in each region, each region of this game has one 3-5 minute side-story, none of which is memorable. Everything else is that annoying collectable gathering you may remember from Valhalla, like Ubisoft thinks they're so smart for creating these houses that are locked in and you have to go to the other side to burst the door open. Wow, so much better than any puzzle game ever. I feel so challenged by something even a 9-year-old could figure out.
Gameplay also, while I did thumb it up earlier, has sore spots. Ubisoft still struggles to program your character to move the right way sometimes. There was at least ten times in the game where Basim jumped opposite of how I pointed, got me spotted, and thrust me into the annoying, pre-2010 action combat they have in this game of parries insta-killing most enemies. The NPCs still sometimes have god-tier acknowledgment of where you are at all times and when you are spotted, will call everyone in the building to meet you. There were plenty of times when I caught myself having fun, only to be caught by some guard through a wall and next thing you know, ten enemies are in a 6-by-6 foot room with me.
On top of all this, the game still leverages some of the biggest complaints of the open-world games. The forced-in crafting system. I will not stop the crusade against that until it is leveraged properly in most AAA games. The generic repeatable side-content missions take all of 5 missions so the game is "replayable".
Going back to the definition, there's a reason I highlighted certain parts. This game was marketed to older AC fans as some sort of return to form, a return to the good ol ACII era of the game, when in fact, it's a mirage. A illusion. This is just Ubisoft's marketing hard at work to make you want to revisit an old friend from high school, when in reality, they're still living with Mom and smell like they soiled themselves. Yeah, there are nuggets you may share and enjoy like chatting about anime and new video games, but you should stay away.
an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions; something that appears real or possible but is not in fact so.
Y'know, I hate doing the whole "Webster's defines..." as an intro but it works very well for Assassin's Creed Mirage. A case study in why Ubisoft cannot help itself but crank out more middling, regurgitated slop with nuggets of gold in it. Those nuggets of gold are only building to my definition of insanity: continuing to play these games when they continually disappoint, waste my time, and fill up my backloggd with more mediocrity.
To start with as much good as I can try to mine - if it has been a few years since you have played an Assassin's Creed game, this is a decent entry point gameplay-wise. They have wholeheartedly toned down the open world combat and stomping people's heads in like in Valhalla, to a much more somber, city-adventuring affair similar to those found in games like Assassin's Creed II or Brotherhood. It's a pleasure to feel like most encounters that are entered have to be stealthed out, have numerous routes to make it to the goal, and put stealth back into a franchise that arguably hasn't been that since 2016. Along with this, you get access to tools that put even the peaks of the series to shame. Throwing knives, smoke bombs, and noise-traps are all satisfying gimmicks to throw and manipulate Ubisoft's brain-dead NPCs to their fatal ends.
The only other positive I can elaborate on is the sometimes-okay mission ideas and routing. Most importantly, the assassination missions. These come with an asterisk, as they're light-years away from something even close to Hitman when it comes to variety of assassination and choice of method, but it is a good mechanic to allow players to choose their way into invading a palace or festival. Ubisoft should work on the different kinds of assassination because all of the different paths you use to get in all pretty much narrow down to the same sort of assassination. It's just the method of entry they're using as the illusion of choice.
Now for the negatives, which there is quite a lot. Starting with the story: burn it all down to the fucking ground. I cannot think of anything redeemable and I'm writing this review today so I even just remember what happened in it. I won't cover spoilers but all I can say is...wow, it's bad. The side characters are atrocious, Roshan sounds like a woman out of those old "former smoker" ads and it's grating to hear the whole game. No one else has a name or does a great job at reappearing. Basim is about as interesting as wall paste as Ubisoft only elevates him in the final act to actually being someone important.
Maybe a side-tangent too, but is anyone else really fucking sick of the whole "Order of the Ancients" crap? It's continually thrust in your face, ooh, these "evil characters who are so evil they have to die". Ubisoft was so kind as to even give each of them a 30-60 second FMV before the mission proceeded. However, we're not introduced to any of them before we assassinate them, and all their evils and horrible things are done off-screen or recanted in horrible notes. Can someone at Ubisoft just go to a different company who's decent at writing villains, dear God, I struggle to think of a great Ubisoft villain since Vaas. Part of building up these assassination missions and treating them like a climax is actually finding a way to make me care about what I'm doing, and yet Ubisoft continues to not just miss the mark, but miss the whole target by creating these generic-ass power broker characters who I spend time killing.
This just builds to the dark sides of the game when it comes to gameplay or enjoyment. In favor of Valhalla's gratifying stories to complete in each region, each region of this game has one 3-5 minute side-story, none of which is memorable. Everything else is that annoying collectable gathering you may remember from Valhalla, like Ubisoft thinks they're so smart for creating these houses that are locked in and you have to go to the other side to burst the door open. Wow, so much better than any puzzle game ever. I feel so challenged by something even a 9-year-old could figure out.
Gameplay also, while I did thumb it up earlier, has sore spots. Ubisoft still struggles to program your character to move the right way sometimes. There was at least ten times in the game where Basim jumped opposite of how I pointed, got me spotted, and thrust me into the annoying, pre-2010 action combat they have in this game of parries insta-killing most enemies. The NPCs still sometimes have god-tier acknowledgment of where you are at all times and when you are spotted, will call everyone in the building to meet you. There were plenty of times when I caught myself having fun, only to be caught by some guard through a wall and next thing you know, ten enemies are in a 6-by-6 foot room with me.
On top of all this, the game still leverages some of the biggest complaints of the open-world games. The forced-in crafting system. I will not stop the crusade against that until it is leveraged properly in most AAA games. The generic repeatable side-content missions take all of 5 missions so the game is "replayable".
Going back to the definition, there's a reason I highlighted certain parts. This game was marketed to older AC fans as some sort of return to form, a return to the good ol ACII era of the game, when in fact, it's a mirage. A illusion. This is just Ubisoft's marketing hard at work to make you want to revisit an old friend from high school, when in reality, they're still living with Mom and smell like they soiled themselves. Yeah, there are nuggets you may share and enjoy like chatting about anime and new video games, but you should stay away.
I'm getting real sick of writing that Like A Dragon/Yakuza games are good. They're all good. LAD: Gaiden is continuing the streak of very good games they've made. It feels weird to review this before LAD 8, as I don't know if this game will feel more like required reading before LAD8, or more just like a spinoff, fun side story of Kiryu's storied life.
For the story, I have mixed emotions. I think the game's ending is one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the series, and it's worth playing through and getting to watch that moment unfold. However, maybe it's just all the Judgment and Yakuza 7 in my mind, but the main party for this game just sucks. Hanawa is about as bone dry as they come, Akame is just there to give you boring substories and plays hero, most of the characters from the Yakuza just seem retreaded rather than new ground. It all somehow comes together as RGG intends, and there are some great moments in the story with fun action-packed sections as well as moments that will drain your tear ducts.
The gameplay is great, it's a lot like how Kiwami 2 should have felt. Kiryu has two different movements, both of which work in his favor. The agent style is a bit broken and unlike much of what you're used to as Kiryu, especially when fully upgraded, it's very easy to break the game in your favor. The Dragon style probably should have been what stayed more, as it's the classic Yakuza combat with rush combos, etc. I found myself more in this style for bosses, Agent is a great clean-up style with rooms of enemies.
I think my biggest gripe that lowers the score here is what I ran into with Judgment, but even more grave. There is not a single memorable side piece of activity in this game. You get "Akame Requests" in which most are beatdowns of gang goons, sandwiched between some line of dialogue in which they're mistreating homeless people, which Akame seeks to eliminate. I understand Gaiden is not a full game, but if anything, I'd rather them cut the fat on the story and provide even more fun things to do outside of that rather than giving us nothing but Ubisoft-level fetches quests and "go to this spot to beat up a group of guys". It's insulting, and it's the worst Yakuza has ever been on side content. It does make Judgement and the Fist of the North Star spinoff look more flushed out, and this game's been made years after. I want to reiterate - I understand this is a small game that was not to be the same size as a Yakuza game - but I'd much rather have 20 substories and a few more activities they could have taken from 5, 6, 0, you name it; rather than 40 substories that are all mostly single-fight encounters that end with Kiryu spanking them and walking off.
Overall it's a great game, probably best to play it on Game Pass and beat it in a short amount of time rather than dumping $50 on it. Super excited for LAD 8 coming next month!
For the story, I have mixed emotions. I think the game's ending is one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the series, and it's worth playing through and getting to watch that moment unfold. However, maybe it's just all the Judgment and Yakuza 7 in my mind, but the main party for this game just sucks. Hanawa is about as bone dry as they come, Akame is just there to give you boring substories and plays hero, most of the characters from the Yakuza just seem retreaded rather than new ground. It all somehow comes together as RGG intends, and there are some great moments in the story with fun action-packed sections as well as moments that will drain your tear ducts.
The gameplay is great, it's a lot like how Kiwami 2 should have felt. Kiryu has two different movements, both of which work in his favor. The agent style is a bit broken and unlike much of what you're used to as Kiryu, especially when fully upgraded, it's very easy to break the game in your favor. The Dragon style probably should have been what stayed more, as it's the classic Yakuza combat with rush combos, etc. I found myself more in this style for bosses, Agent is a great clean-up style with rooms of enemies.
I think my biggest gripe that lowers the score here is what I ran into with Judgment, but even more grave. There is not a single memorable side piece of activity in this game. You get "Akame Requests" in which most are beatdowns of gang goons, sandwiched between some line of dialogue in which they're mistreating homeless people, which Akame seeks to eliminate. I understand Gaiden is not a full game, but if anything, I'd rather them cut the fat on the story and provide even more fun things to do outside of that rather than giving us nothing but Ubisoft-level fetches quests and "go to this spot to beat up a group of guys". It's insulting, and it's the worst Yakuza has ever been on side content. It does make Judgement and the Fist of the North Star spinoff look more flushed out, and this game's been made years after. I want to reiterate - I understand this is a small game that was not to be the same size as a Yakuza game - but I'd much rather have 20 substories and a few more activities they could have taken from 5, 6, 0, you name it; rather than 40 substories that are all mostly single-fight encounters that end with Kiryu spanking them and walking off.
Overall it's a great game, probably best to play it on Game Pass and beat it in a short amount of time rather than dumping $50 on it. Super excited for LAD 8 coming next month!
2023
Mortal Kombat 1 is serviceable, good even. Kameos add a lot to this game, it's just a shame that it's lacking more replayability and better methods to unlock skins, items, and fatalities.
I started with the story, which was on the weaker side of the recent games. Coming off of MK11, it wasn't perfect but the stakes felt higher than ever, as we've witnessed MK1 as this "reset" of a new timeline. In the new timeline, you're watching as characters develop, change, and encounter foes that have been put into different places as part of Liu Kang's new design. It has a strong start -- but by the end, it nears MCU levels of multiverse slop which leaves me confused about the direction of MK2 in this rebooted universe. MK1 had a golden opportunity to be the best story ever in the sense that the timeline was being reset - it's a shame they have just opted for generic action-movie slop to reset the universe with.
As for other modes and games? They're all serviceable, but most of them give me haste to recommend them. There are the classic MK Towers, where you guide your character through a few levels and end with a cutscene where your character gets to live out their biggest dream. Some are more satisfying than others, admittedly.
The other mode is "Invasions", where they plan for most people to spend time after beating the story. On one hand, it's a pretty cool mode in which you'll comb through an overworld of varying dangers, playing through levels with unique modifiers and character combinations. On the other, it resets about every 60 days, and you'll be playing HUNDREDS of these before you even reach this season's boss. It's a bunch of padded crap to keep WB's player engagement numbers up and keep up a hell of a slog for those who enjoy playing the occasional NPC rather than jumping into multiplayer. It's crummy to have a mode that is so easily able to be seen as a time sink and nothing more.
Additionally, character cosmetics are harder to obtain than ever as every character you play with has an XP bar, along with their Kameo (a side character you can call in to help defeat opponents you face in the game). Many are time-limited and event-limited, so if you're not actively playing the game, enjoy missing out, as we all do in these modern live-service games.
I don't have much more to add. Mechanically the game is fun, the characters are generally fun to play and brutalities/fatalities are as gory and gruesome as they should be. However, it's not a game I'd really demand people get into, unless you're trying to scratch your latest MK itch. MK9 and MKX are still the gold standards as far as keeping track goes. Save your money if you think this is going to be the best fighting game of 2023.
I started with the story, which was on the weaker side of the recent games. Coming off of MK11, it wasn't perfect but the stakes felt higher than ever, as we've witnessed MK1 as this "reset" of a new timeline. In the new timeline, you're watching as characters develop, change, and encounter foes that have been put into different places as part of Liu Kang's new design. It has a strong start -- but by the end, it nears MCU levels of multiverse slop which leaves me confused about the direction of MK2 in this rebooted universe. MK1 had a golden opportunity to be the best story ever in the sense that the timeline was being reset - it's a shame they have just opted for generic action-movie slop to reset the universe with.
As for other modes and games? They're all serviceable, but most of them give me haste to recommend them. There are the classic MK Towers, where you guide your character through a few levels and end with a cutscene where your character gets to live out their biggest dream. Some are more satisfying than others, admittedly.
The other mode is "Invasions", where they plan for most people to spend time after beating the story. On one hand, it's a pretty cool mode in which you'll comb through an overworld of varying dangers, playing through levels with unique modifiers and character combinations. On the other, it resets about every 60 days, and you'll be playing HUNDREDS of these before you even reach this season's boss. It's a bunch of padded crap to keep WB's player engagement numbers up and keep up a hell of a slog for those who enjoy playing the occasional NPC rather than jumping into multiplayer. It's crummy to have a mode that is so easily able to be seen as a time sink and nothing more.
Additionally, character cosmetics are harder to obtain than ever as every character you play with has an XP bar, along with their Kameo (a side character you can call in to help defeat opponents you face in the game). Many are time-limited and event-limited, so if you're not actively playing the game, enjoy missing out, as we all do in these modern live-service games.
I don't have much more to add. Mechanically the game is fun, the characters are generally fun to play and brutalities/fatalities are as gory and gruesome as they should be. However, it's not a game I'd really demand people get into, unless you're trying to scratch your latest MK itch. MK9 and MKX are still the gold standards as far as keeping track goes. Save your money if you think this is going to be the best fighting game of 2023.
Whew, platinum in a weekend didn't allow me to savor the taste of this great game. I always knew this game was going to be amazing - Insomniac does awesome work. Bit sad it didn't have better side activity and there are minor nitpicks, but for people who enjoyed Spider-Man and Miles Morales: bon appetite.
Spider-Man 2 resumes in a perfect place after Miles Morales joins the Spider-Man crew. In this game, you're introduced more to the dynamics around Peter and Harry, while Miles at times can feel like he's taking a backseat to that epic story, but getting awesome moments of his own as he learns how to be a good hero. The story is just as good here as it is in the first. Maybe a bit slow at times and Kraven really is a misplaced and frankly annoying villain who just shows up more than has any meaning, but the way the game fades him out for a true big bad is great and anyone can definitely enjoy where this game is heading for the eventual Spider-Man 3.
The gameplay is probably the biggest improvement. While the original did have some great gameplay, I love the new way both Peter and Miles have four abilities and four slots for spider-gadgets. It simplifies the massive weapons wheel of abilities Peter had in the first game down to just a few, and makes combat simpler, and more brawl-oriented rather than summoning Spider-Bots to do the work for you. The new systems and devil-trigger-esque abilities allow you to unleash carnage on opposing foes and there's never quite a dull fight in the game. In fact, this game has completely killed the dull fights and bosses by giving bosses health bars, meters, and a bunch of other goodies that keep fights original and up to how you want to play them, instead of the linear fights found in Spider-Man and Miles Morales.
Another thing I have to thumb up is the main missions - almost every single one has some iconic setpiece that will stick with your mind much more than other missions in this franchise. From skiing on water, to toppling construction equipment, the game has raised the stakes and has turned cutscenes into playable moments that will have your jaw dropping as you do the impossible.
I think the only criticism I have of this game, and again, relatively minor, is the general lack and weakness of side content, along with what just feels like less content than Spider-Man or even Miles Morales. There are only 5 different side activities and most of them feel weak. Photo Ops return and those are nearly effortless, as are the Spider-Bots taking the place of traditional collectibles. The only really enjoyable side content are usually only 5-10 minutes in length via the Mysteriums or side missions (FNSM Requests, Brooklyn Visions quests, Flame quests, etc.) In a game where all the stakes are higher and the world is bigger, it feels like it has less to do both in that front and in the progression element. I kind of miss suit-specific powerups, which are just replaced by general strength, health, and focus powerups in this game as well. I'm also slightly annoyed with the length - but it doesn't make it a bad game, however, I'd imagine most playing will be through the game within 20 hours, and could have the platinum by 25 hours. Just something to keep your mind on but I know -- length does not make a game good, and I'm happy to play shorter games from time to time as well.
All in all, this game just scores slightly lower than the original because at times, I don't feel like it developed as much as I'd like from the 5 years since the original, or even from Miles Morales. It just feels like better Miles Morales DLC, putting it between Miles and the original for how much I enjoyed the game. I don't like when reviewers ding a game heavily for being generally the same - they made it the same because the original was so well-loved, duh. At the same time though, Spider-Man 2 is just another great Insomniac open-world game with a different story. Play if you're craving more Spider-Man, maybe a slight sale for those who don't feel a huge affinity to the franchise.
Spider-Man 2 resumes in a perfect place after Miles Morales joins the Spider-Man crew. In this game, you're introduced more to the dynamics around Peter and Harry, while Miles at times can feel like he's taking a backseat to that epic story, but getting awesome moments of his own as he learns how to be a good hero. The story is just as good here as it is in the first. Maybe a bit slow at times and Kraven really is a misplaced and frankly annoying villain who just shows up more than has any meaning, but the way the game fades him out for a true big bad is great and anyone can definitely enjoy where this game is heading for the eventual Spider-Man 3.
The gameplay is probably the biggest improvement. While the original did have some great gameplay, I love the new way both Peter and Miles have four abilities and four slots for spider-gadgets. It simplifies the massive weapons wheel of abilities Peter had in the first game down to just a few, and makes combat simpler, and more brawl-oriented rather than summoning Spider-Bots to do the work for you. The new systems and devil-trigger-esque abilities allow you to unleash carnage on opposing foes and there's never quite a dull fight in the game. In fact, this game has completely killed the dull fights and bosses by giving bosses health bars, meters, and a bunch of other goodies that keep fights original and up to how you want to play them, instead of the linear fights found in Spider-Man and Miles Morales.
Another thing I have to thumb up is the main missions - almost every single one has some iconic setpiece that will stick with your mind much more than other missions in this franchise. From skiing on water, to toppling construction equipment, the game has raised the stakes and has turned cutscenes into playable moments that will have your jaw dropping as you do the impossible.
I think the only criticism I have of this game, and again, relatively minor, is the general lack and weakness of side content, along with what just feels like less content than Spider-Man or even Miles Morales. There are only 5 different side activities and most of them feel weak. Photo Ops return and those are nearly effortless, as are the Spider-Bots taking the place of traditional collectibles. The only really enjoyable side content are usually only 5-10 minutes in length via the Mysteriums or side missions (FNSM Requests, Brooklyn Visions quests, Flame quests, etc.) In a game where all the stakes are higher and the world is bigger, it feels like it has less to do both in that front and in the progression element. I kind of miss suit-specific powerups, which are just replaced by general strength, health, and focus powerups in this game as well. I'm also slightly annoyed with the length - but it doesn't make it a bad game, however, I'd imagine most playing will be through the game within 20 hours, and could have the platinum by 25 hours. Just something to keep your mind on but I know -- length does not make a game good, and I'm happy to play shorter games from time to time as well.
All in all, this game just scores slightly lower than the original because at times, I don't feel like it developed as much as I'd like from the 5 years since the original, or even from Miles Morales. It just feels like better Miles Morales DLC, putting it between Miles and the original for how much I enjoyed the game. I don't like when reviewers ding a game heavily for being generally the same - they made it the same because the original was so well-loved, duh. At the same time though, Spider-Man 2 is just another great Insomniac open-world game with a different story. Play if you're craving more Spider-Man, maybe a slight sale for those who don't feel a huge affinity to the franchise.
2022
BANGER. Another amazing game from the people at Roll7. It's pretty short so I don't have much to say outside its amazingly addictive gameplay in which DMC blends with Tony Hawk. The soundtrack bangs and the gameplay and progression work the same way as Tony Hawk - complete challenges, get large scores, progress, etc.
Even though I know it's a small game, I think the only thing the game needs is a bit more...content. Only about 9 or so stages is fine, but I thought "Out for Blood" was going to be a whole new campaign, not just an additional hard activity.
Regardless, awesome game anyone should grab!
Even though I know it's a small game, I think the only thing the game needs is a bit more...content. Only about 9 or so stages is fine, but I thought "Out for Blood" was going to be a whole new campaign, not just an additional hard activity.
Regardless, awesome game anyone should grab!
2022
As a long-time fan of Saints Row, I was willing to give this remake every chance I could. I didn't mind not seeing old characters return. I didn't mind seeing the new city. I even was willing to sort of overlook this bizarre "humor" so to speak that the game spewed in every trailer. Yet, I still could not glean much out of this game outside of some very basic things they got right.
In a game like this, I'd love to break down how I feel like they totally failed the gameplay and progression of this game. In previous Saints Row games, you were treated to a plethora of side content, side missions, activities, and that sort of thing to fill the void between main quests. They've tried to do that here and absolutely failed. The "side hustles" are all about driving vehicles to their location, outside of the wingsuit ones which feel just as bad, or just defeating an enemy wave at a coffee shop or some shit. The "ventures" which is what they use for the activities are 70% vehicle-based. Return a vehicle. Steal a vehicle. Steal a truck with toxic barrels. Tow a truck. Stealla clothes truck. What in God's name did I do to deserve all vehicle-based side content in this game? I'm not playing Forza here, Volition. I'm playing Saints Row! All of these are just checkboxes waiting to be filled, as are their horrendous collectibles that really offer you no more insight or fun into this world.
But surely, the core gameplay is good, right? The gunplay? Absolutely the fuck not. Outside of a select few new additions for the wacky arsenal these games provide, guns feel terrible and they felt worse on Day 1, least on console. Now, they have this extreme auto-aim which feels...fine, but on day one it was like mouse and keyboard even for console people. And it shows that they just patched that out with how hard it is at this point to NOT get a headshot kill. The skills are nothing special, in fact, they didn't seem to notice how many things they give you to break the game. One of the few good ventures that gives you x-ray vision and the ability to shoot through walls. Needless to say, the game was pathetically easy with no difficulty.
Surely then, something might be okay with the story? Nope. Hard nope. It's not just the cringy dialogue and friends that really get to me, it's just the object lack of strife any character in the game faces. I was mind-boggled myself using the PS5's "Completion meter" when it told me I was 50% through this game and I had just felt like we formed the Saints. There is no setback any of the main party faces, and unlike better games where you meet the party and expand on it, maybe even having a party member making a sudden heel-turn to add interest and drama, this game is just watching four people with different interests all operate and work seamlessly through each mission. You don't feel challenged by any enemy faction. You don't see the brutality earlier factions had in Saint's Row. I'm genuinely curious if you took out the language and if this game would even be rated "M".
The only positives I can say about this game is that the world looks good and is probably the most unique open world I've seen, turning the American Southwest into an amalgamation of a few major cities and lively dunes. The weapons are sometimes good/fun to use, and the same with maybe two ventures in the whole game.
I strongly recommend you don't play this game. I would play every Prototype, Infamous, Saint's Row, Ubisoft, whatever it is open-world game before this garbage. It'll give you way more dopamine than going for the 100%.
P.S: If you want to see the most insulting 100% cutscene of all time, look this game's up on YouTube. Absolutely the worst ending to a game I've seen in a long time.
In a game like this, I'd love to break down how I feel like they totally failed the gameplay and progression of this game. In previous Saints Row games, you were treated to a plethora of side content, side missions, activities, and that sort of thing to fill the void between main quests. They've tried to do that here and absolutely failed. The "side hustles" are all about driving vehicles to their location, outside of the wingsuit ones which feel just as bad, or just defeating an enemy wave at a coffee shop or some shit. The "ventures" which is what they use for the activities are 70% vehicle-based. Return a vehicle. Steal a vehicle. Steal a truck with toxic barrels. Tow a truck. Stealla clothes truck. What in God's name did I do to deserve all vehicle-based side content in this game? I'm not playing Forza here, Volition. I'm playing Saints Row! All of these are just checkboxes waiting to be filled, as are their horrendous collectibles that really offer you no more insight or fun into this world.
But surely, the core gameplay is good, right? The gunplay? Absolutely the fuck not. Outside of a select few new additions for the wacky arsenal these games provide, guns feel terrible and they felt worse on Day 1, least on console. Now, they have this extreme auto-aim which feels...fine, but on day one it was like mouse and keyboard even for console people. And it shows that they just patched that out with how hard it is at this point to NOT get a headshot kill. The skills are nothing special, in fact, they didn't seem to notice how many things they give you to break the game. One of the few good ventures that gives you x-ray vision and the ability to shoot through walls. Needless to say, the game was pathetically easy with no difficulty.
Surely then, something might be okay with the story? Nope. Hard nope. It's not just the cringy dialogue and friends that really get to me, it's just the object lack of strife any character in the game faces. I was mind-boggled myself using the PS5's "Completion meter" when it told me I was 50% through this game and I had just felt like we formed the Saints. There is no setback any of the main party faces, and unlike better games where you meet the party and expand on it, maybe even having a party member making a sudden heel-turn to add interest and drama, this game is just watching four people with different interests all operate and work seamlessly through each mission. You don't feel challenged by any enemy faction. You don't see the brutality earlier factions had in Saint's Row. I'm genuinely curious if you took out the language and if this game would even be rated "M".
The only positives I can say about this game is that the world looks good and is probably the most unique open world I've seen, turning the American Southwest into an amalgamation of a few major cities and lively dunes. The weapons are sometimes good/fun to use, and the same with maybe two ventures in the whole game.
I strongly recommend you don't play this game. I would play every Prototype, Infamous, Saint's Row, Ubisoft, whatever it is open-world game before this garbage. It'll give you way more dopamine than going for the 100%.
P.S: If you want to see the most insulting 100% cutscene of all time, look this game's up on YouTube. Absolutely the worst ending to a game I've seen in a long time.
2023
Short version:
This game is awesome because it was made by the people who made Final Fantasy XIV.
This game also needs improvements and falls short of perfect because it was made by the people who made Final Fantasy XIV.
Long version: When this game was announced, I was absolutely, positively floored and hyped for this game. In 2020, it was probably my most hyped game, Elden Ring, Starfield, or whatever the fuck else be damned. XVI has been in my head for a long ass time ever since I knew who was working on it. Putting the effort of Final Fantasy XIV's story and design with people like Naoki Yoshida, and genius musician Masayoshi Soken, who cements his legacy as probably one of the greatest composers ever with this varied and harmonious soundtrack.
This game's demo solidified even more for me as I absolutely geeked over the Eikon combat, grimdark world design, and high fantasy shenanigans that I'd have to watch unfold for the next forty hours. In all that hype, I found the game great. It needs some work, and I was let down that the game didn't always continue the amazing, near-perfect introduction of the game, but it persisted strongly enough to end up as a great game to me.
Starting with the strongest feature of XVI, we get into the gameplay. Ho-ly shit. I remember fearing the game a bit just because I had played XV, which I am due to return to eventually, but the gameplay in that just felt...bizarre. This strange game that wanted to soar high but also keep most main characters on the ground just felt wrong to me. I'm happy to say that gameplay has improved in every which way in XVI. Nothing stays too dry for too long -- of course, some Eikons do outweigh others in utility and use, but it'll be fun switching and mastering so you can mix and match each one's powers. Just when you think you're not going to really get another Eikon you're interested in, you do, down to the very last one you collect. The gameplay soars to the sky as you hurdle over enemy heads to spike them back into the ground, dashing into enemies or pulling them right back into you to create the wet dreams of every Devil May Cry fan who's reading this. I think any action game fan should play this game, like it or not, just out of the pure skill that is flying through maps and using your Eicons to create absolute wreckage. Very much gives me the same feel as one of my all-time favorite franchises, God of War (and I mean the old ones in case anyone was confused.)
Strong-ish is the story. It's great for Final Fantasy, I think the ending is so perfect I wouldn't change a thing, the main cast is likable enough to the point where you really do feel that rare bond forming with a bunch of pixels on your screen. I think the biggest improvement XVI could make in this regard though is what they decide to tell, not show, if that makes sense. This game is cutscene heavy. If you go more than five minutes without a cutscene in this game you are absolutely in some one-in-a-million portion of the game. Levels are broken up with cutscenes of mostly talking or an enemy descending on the party. Not all are bad, per se, just most are unnecessary and not needed. I don't mind a bit of fluff, it just seems like XVI was piling on mountains of extra scenes that weren't relevant, did nothing for the characters, or manifested itself later.
Along with the story-telling issues is the often daft idea of these missions that comprise the main story in which you'll be walking around the hideout talking to various NPCs, watching those 5-minute cutscenes that add nothing about anything outside of just lore-splaining why a character is how they behave, or trying to immerse you in the lore which, while not bad, is just too much to really dive into while also just being this semi-bland retelling that will harken you back to Bible study more than immerse you in XVI's world.
I'd also say the game takes a pretty steep decrease in quality entering the third act as they finally make Clive fight a villain who knows what they're doing and stretches it a good five hours longer than it needs to be, while threats early in the game are dispatched sometimes in the same mission they are introduced.
Lastly, before I cap off, everything else - the worlds are designed great for exploration and there is a lot to find going down every rabbit hole. I do wish, however, and this is a major issue I have with XIV as well, is the lack of sidequests of substance and more generic quests that give you no lore, no XP, and no reason to really complete them outside of the 100%, and just give you generic Gil which you'll have nothing to spend it on. Often in those dry story beats, I was looking for something to do on the side, only to be met with an even dryer subquest with less reward than indulging in the good story this game already has. Just pathetic, honestly, that most of the game's substories lack any real features, but right before you finish the game, almost every character gets some heartfelt backstory mission that had me thinking the last quest of the game was going to be Mass Effect 2's "Suicide Mission". Why couldn't it just be like that all the way through? How did I just go from collecting random items to actually learning who this character is, what he stands for, and how he/she reflects themselves in Clive? Just a missed opportunity for a game that shines in so many other places.
While I haven't played much for the FF Series, XVI is already a tough act to follow with its rousing characters, charming narrative, and incredible action combat. I think there should have maybe been a few tweaks to how they handled side content and story beats, but overall, this is a total contender for Game of the Year and I'd say my hype was moderately tempered. Well, at least better than the hype I had for Cyberpunk.
This game is awesome because it was made by the people who made Final Fantasy XIV.
This game also needs improvements and falls short of perfect because it was made by the people who made Final Fantasy XIV.
Long version: When this game was announced, I was absolutely, positively floored and hyped for this game. In 2020, it was probably my most hyped game, Elden Ring, Starfield, or whatever the fuck else be damned. XVI has been in my head for a long ass time ever since I knew who was working on it. Putting the effort of Final Fantasy XIV's story and design with people like Naoki Yoshida, and genius musician Masayoshi Soken, who cements his legacy as probably one of the greatest composers ever with this varied and harmonious soundtrack.
This game's demo solidified even more for me as I absolutely geeked over the Eikon combat, grimdark world design, and high fantasy shenanigans that I'd have to watch unfold for the next forty hours. In all that hype, I found the game great. It needs some work, and I was let down that the game didn't always continue the amazing, near-perfect introduction of the game, but it persisted strongly enough to end up as a great game to me.
Starting with the strongest feature of XVI, we get into the gameplay. Ho-ly shit. I remember fearing the game a bit just because I had played XV, which I am due to return to eventually, but the gameplay in that just felt...bizarre. This strange game that wanted to soar high but also keep most main characters on the ground just felt wrong to me. I'm happy to say that gameplay has improved in every which way in XVI. Nothing stays too dry for too long -- of course, some Eikons do outweigh others in utility and use, but it'll be fun switching and mastering so you can mix and match each one's powers. Just when you think you're not going to really get another Eikon you're interested in, you do, down to the very last one you collect. The gameplay soars to the sky as you hurdle over enemy heads to spike them back into the ground, dashing into enemies or pulling them right back into you to create the wet dreams of every Devil May Cry fan who's reading this. I think any action game fan should play this game, like it or not, just out of the pure skill that is flying through maps and using your Eicons to create absolute wreckage. Very much gives me the same feel as one of my all-time favorite franchises, God of War (and I mean the old ones in case anyone was confused.)
Strong-ish is the story. It's great for Final Fantasy, I think the ending is so perfect I wouldn't change a thing, the main cast is likable enough to the point where you really do feel that rare bond forming with a bunch of pixels on your screen. I think the biggest improvement XVI could make in this regard though is what they decide to tell, not show, if that makes sense. This game is cutscene heavy. If you go more than five minutes without a cutscene in this game you are absolutely in some one-in-a-million portion of the game. Levels are broken up with cutscenes of mostly talking or an enemy descending on the party. Not all are bad, per se, just most are unnecessary and not needed. I don't mind a bit of fluff, it just seems like XVI was piling on mountains of extra scenes that weren't relevant, did nothing for the characters, or manifested itself later.
Along with the story-telling issues is the often daft idea of these missions that comprise the main story in which you'll be walking around the hideout talking to various NPCs, watching those 5-minute cutscenes that add nothing about anything outside of just lore-splaining why a character is how they behave, or trying to immerse you in the lore which, while not bad, is just too much to really dive into while also just being this semi-bland retelling that will harken you back to Bible study more than immerse you in XVI's world.
I'd also say the game takes a pretty steep decrease in quality entering the third act as they finally make Clive fight a villain who knows what they're doing and stretches it a good five hours longer than it needs to be, while threats early in the game are dispatched sometimes in the same mission they are introduced.
Lastly, before I cap off, everything else - the worlds are designed great for exploration and there is a lot to find going down every rabbit hole. I do wish, however, and this is a major issue I have with XIV as well, is the lack of sidequests of substance and more generic quests that give you no lore, no XP, and no reason to really complete them outside of the 100%, and just give you generic Gil which you'll have nothing to spend it on. Often in those dry story beats, I was looking for something to do on the side, only to be met with an even dryer subquest with less reward than indulging in the good story this game already has. Just pathetic, honestly, that most of the game's substories lack any real features, but right before you finish the game, almost every character gets some heartfelt backstory mission that had me thinking the last quest of the game was going to be Mass Effect 2's "Suicide Mission". Why couldn't it just be like that all the way through? How did I just go from collecting random items to actually learning who this character is, what he stands for, and how he/she reflects themselves in Clive? Just a missed opportunity for a game that shines in so many other places.
While I haven't played much for the FF Series, XVI is already a tough act to follow with its rousing characters, charming narrative, and incredible action combat. I think there should have maybe been a few tweaks to how they handled side content and story beats, but overall, this is a total contender for Game of the Year and I'd say my hype was moderately tempered. Well, at least better than the hype I had for Cyberpunk.
I find it really hard to talk about Lost Paradise. In one view, it's probably the most original and "out there" RGG game. In a sequence of every damn game taking place at a major city in the Tokyo region, it's a harkening to a world in which there is little left outside of the apocalypse. On the other side -- this is without a doubt a budgeted, cut-short, effort-lacking game that doesn't deserve the RGG label it gets. I'd rarely recommend this to a Yakuza fan unless they really have nothing else.
To start with the good, and maybe the only full-out good thing in this game is the story, for the most part. I feel like it's pretty interesting in the way they develop Kenshiro and the side cast. It honestly made me want to read the manga to get better reads on the various villains of this game too, considering some of them enter and are killed off by Ken in seconds, despite them having a much more needed presence. Combine this with one of RGG's better end-game twists and you have a good-decent story. It's nothing to turn up to, just something that does sweeten the pot.
Everything else I say from this point onward just comes with a massive caveat. The gameplay is good until it's not. Some combat interactions are these satisfying beatdowns where you dart between thugs as you send them to hell with head-explosions. The next encounter you'll just accidentally beat someone up to an unsatisfying thud as they explode and you forget to do your heat moves. Speaking of heat moves, this game is ultra-prolonged in combat due to that. Heat moves can sometimes be 20 seconds when fully fleshed out and still barely put a dent in the "giant" enemies. Or worse, actually unlocking the body upgrades and having a jab kill most enemies in the game in one shot. it just feels like a less weighty combat system with infinite heat moves in a way with their stagger system. It's really the worst RGG has felt since 3 & 4 for combat, and this game came out in 2018.
The side content? What content? Don't be fooled by 80 or so substories -- a good 50 of them are what can only be described as cutscenes or playing into the side content. 15 are basically headhunter missions building to an "epic" showdown with some D-list character, in which the only saving grace is the insane amount of money you get. How about 15 missions where you make someone a drink and they talk about life? How about a substory in which you have to grind 100 million dollars -- and the best way to grind it is doing a mission in the hostess club which gives you about 1.2 million dollars a run. After you've already done 40 hostess missions to get to that one. This is objectively the worst RGG game for side content. The substories suck, there are really no minigames outside of Bartender Ken that are "new" in the franchise. There's no good way to respite from the main story as there is in every other damn RGG game.
The music is fine, the open world is...fine, and the grind for all of the damn Talismans is enough to render even the most veteran trophy hunter a suicidal mess.
Even though this is probably one of the worst RGG games, I don't hate it. I just think no one should play this outside of someone who really is a RGG completionist or really damn bored. It looks cool, but it's really just a middling Yakuza game with an okay story. Probably just better keeping on reading the manga.
To start with the good, and maybe the only full-out good thing in this game is the story, for the most part. I feel like it's pretty interesting in the way they develop Kenshiro and the side cast. It honestly made me want to read the manga to get better reads on the various villains of this game too, considering some of them enter and are killed off by Ken in seconds, despite them having a much more needed presence. Combine this with one of RGG's better end-game twists and you have a good-decent story. It's nothing to turn up to, just something that does sweeten the pot.
Everything else I say from this point onward just comes with a massive caveat. The gameplay is good until it's not. Some combat interactions are these satisfying beatdowns where you dart between thugs as you send them to hell with head-explosions. The next encounter you'll just accidentally beat someone up to an unsatisfying thud as they explode and you forget to do your heat moves. Speaking of heat moves, this game is ultra-prolonged in combat due to that. Heat moves can sometimes be 20 seconds when fully fleshed out and still barely put a dent in the "giant" enemies. Or worse, actually unlocking the body upgrades and having a jab kill most enemies in the game in one shot. it just feels like a less weighty combat system with infinite heat moves in a way with their stagger system. It's really the worst RGG has felt since 3 & 4 for combat, and this game came out in 2018.
The side content? What content? Don't be fooled by 80 or so substories -- a good 50 of them are what can only be described as cutscenes or playing into the side content. 15 are basically headhunter missions building to an "epic" showdown with some D-list character, in which the only saving grace is the insane amount of money you get. How about 15 missions where you make someone a drink and they talk about life? How about a substory in which you have to grind 100 million dollars -- and the best way to grind it is doing a mission in the hostess club which gives you about 1.2 million dollars a run. After you've already done 40 hostess missions to get to that one. This is objectively the worst RGG game for side content. The substories suck, there are really no minigames outside of Bartender Ken that are "new" in the franchise. There's no good way to respite from the main story as there is in every other damn RGG game.
The music is fine, the open world is...fine, and the grind for all of the damn Talismans is enough to render even the most veteran trophy hunter a suicidal mess.
Even though this is probably one of the worst RGG games, I don't hate it. I just think no one should play this outside of someone who really is a RGG completionist or really damn bored. It looks cool, but it's really just a middling Yakuza game with an okay story. Probably just better keeping on reading the manga.
2017
Horizon is a bizarre feel for me -- something that should just be so right but comes out so wrong as I continued to play. It took effort to finish this game even though fast-tracking it would probably lower your completion time to a mere 15 hours. This game isn't really as much as a PS must-play as I thought, and many elements of the game were poorly thought out, leading to both myself and most reviewers of this game finding it boring to play, at least in the current year.
To start with the good: I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, world-design, world-building, enemy-design, and thought poured into the story. Again, not some great new form of storytelling but Aloy is just the right amount of likeable without being some perfect badass, and learns to challenge her flaws and failings while she learns of what her origins are. The story can struggle at times, most of it is just Aloy and Lance Reddick talking back and forth about the plot and "the Old Ones". You'll be taking shots for every time the game introduces a new term they expect you to remember and care about. To put it bluntly though -- the people who made this came cared about it enough in this regard, it's beautiful, bold, and unique in fighting weird robo-dinosaurs and picking their limbs apart.
That's about all I can say being confident -- the rest of this game comes with major caveats to enjoy them, mostly gameplay and progression just falling apart at the seams despite it being built on a solid base.
The gameplay is foundationally good -- skillful shots blow apart mechs and shatter them into tens of pieces tripping the right trigger. This is a fun, "david-and-goliath" impact the game has. Most games have to have that so it doesn't feel like you're smashing pixels for 100 hours straight. However, everything else just feels off and unnecessary.
-There are about 7 elements, none of which are really
necessary outside of fire.
-Some enemies just barely even have weak points, while others will just fall over with a single shot.
-Battles are frustrating as the robots basically throw themselves at you with huge damage impact for the first 30, fuck, 40 levels to the point you feel like this game is unexpectedly hard.
-Human fights are so dry and dull, and about 1/3rd of the time and mostly in story missions, that's who you're facing.
-The side content can barely be called side content, it's just the "radio tower" system yet again with the occasional tomb to trek through or area where you can challenge yourself with enemies, but don't bother unless you have the god-tier OP armor that gives you a second health bar and enough shards to buy Meridian with.
I'm sure I'm missing more but progression, game-testing, and level designing were all missed. You'll be getting your ass kicked by corrupted zones even when you're 15 levels above it unless you play the game wants you to. And there's nothing that makes me more frustrated when games that claim they're about lots of choice and different gameplay strategies fall exactly on the face of that: I'd like to meet someone who played this game without using fire and precision arrows the entire time like I did.
End of the day, it's a fine game, but it's the ultimate "Sony" game with less quality than most of their other established titles. Here's to hoping when I play the sequel, it'll be better, but in the meantime, I'll take some time off with objectively better and playtested games.
To start with the good: I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, world-design, world-building, enemy-design, and thought poured into the story. Again, not some great new form of storytelling but Aloy is just the right amount of likeable without being some perfect badass, and learns to challenge her flaws and failings while she learns of what her origins are. The story can struggle at times, most of it is just Aloy and Lance Reddick talking back and forth about the plot and "the Old Ones". You'll be taking shots for every time the game introduces a new term they expect you to remember and care about. To put it bluntly though -- the people who made this came cared about it enough in this regard, it's beautiful, bold, and unique in fighting weird robo-dinosaurs and picking their limbs apart.
That's about all I can say being confident -- the rest of this game comes with major caveats to enjoy them, mostly gameplay and progression just falling apart at the seams despite it being built on a solid base.
The gameplay is foundationally good -- skillful shots blow apart mechs and shatter them into tens of pieces tripping the right trigger. This is a fun, "david-and-goliath" impact the game has. Most games have to have that so it doesn't feel like you're smashing pixels for 100 hours straight. However, everything else just feels off and unnecessary.
-There are about 7 elements, none of which are really
necessary outside of fire.
-Some enemies just barely even have weak points, while others will just fall over with a single shot.
-Battles are frustrating as the robots basically throw themselves at you with huge damage impact for the first 30, fuck, 40 levels to the point you feel like this game is unexpectedly hard.
-Human fights are so dry and dull, and about 1/3rd of the time and mostly in story missions, that's who you're facing.
-The side content can barely be called side content, it's just the "radio tower" system yet again with the occasional tomb to trek through or area where you can challenge yourself with enemies, but don't bother unless you have the god-tier OP armor that gives you a second health bar and enough shards to buy Meridian with.
I'm sure I'm missing more but progression, game-testing, and level designing were all missed. You'll be getting your ass kicked by corrupted zones even when you're 15 levels above it unless you play the game wants you to. And there's nothing that makes me more frustrated when games that claim they're about lots of choice and different gameplay strategies fall exactly on the face of that: I'd like to meet someone who played this game without using fire and precision arrows the entire time like I did.
End of the day, it's a fine game, but it's the ultimate "Sony" game with less quality than most of their other established titles. Here's to hoping when I play the sequel, it'll be better, but in the meantime, I'll take some time off with objectively better and playtested games.
2022
Extremely mediocre like all other 2K sports games -- I have no idea why I played this as much as I did despite its offensive amount of grinding it expects you to do, with the most repetitive unfun "career" mode that can barely be called a career. Everything about this game is magical the first time through until you realize the announcers say the same 5 things for each course. Yawnfest.
I've technically "rolled credits" on this one by beating most of the songs in the Theatrhythm section of the game. I like the game a lot overall, and it's by far one of the more unique rhythm games out there, but if you're not an ultra-fan of FF, this one may leave you in the dust.
The gameplay is divided into two different levels: Battle Music Stages (BMS) and Field Music Stages (FMS). Field Music Stages already leave a lot to be desired as they're annoying side-scrollers that occasionally have your party stumble upon combat. BMS's are great and it's your party versus some of Final Fantasy's greatest foes. Props to the development team for making so many models as well, there's almost every boss from the series in the game.
I was mainly centered on the story-quest side of things, which is where a lot of love for the game grew, but also decayed. The extra challenges on each level varied significantly in difficulty - some would involve just playing with a character from the game itself, others would demand pure perfection, and even worse, maxed-out characters.
So much of my hatred goes there. This game is absolutely huge, with over 350 songs and I'd wager nearly 100 FF characters to play, mix and match with, etc. The antithesis to this whole game and wanting to have fun while mixing and matching is the fact that past level 99, characters can take tens of hours to level up their "Star Level", which in turn grants them even more power. The payoff doesn't feel earned after you reach 99 with Cloud in an hour or two, just to realize a Star Level 9 Could take a good 30 hours of straight gameplay, maybe 20 if you have a good grind party setup.
I never felt encouraged to mix and match or try other characters in the game. I feared that if I switched my party, I'd then be behind for all future BMS encounters as my Noctis was dealing a majority of most of my damage. In general, characters in this game are hit-and-miss as well. Some are essential to the party, while other classes like the Support classes or Tank/Gladiator classes feel absolutely useless as the best players will just FC the song and enjoy their mega damage output.
This review may have harped on some sore spots, but I think they could have done a lot more with progression to make this game cohesive, especially because the game is a genius idea and a wonderful idea of a rhythm game to have combat effected by it. But at full price, it's pure-blood, all games played FF fans only. At half off? I think anyone would be stupid not to pick it up, it's damn enjoyable for what it is.
The gameplay is divided into two different levels: Battle Music Stages (BMS) and Field Music Stages (FMS). Field Music Stages already leave a lot to be desired as they're annoying side-scrollers that occasionally have your party stumble upon combat. BMS's are great and it's your party versus some of Final Fantasy's greatest foes. Props to the development team for making so many models as well, there's almost every boss from the series in the game.
I was mainly centered on the story-quest side of things, which is where a lot of love for the game grew, but also decayed. The extra challenges on each level varied significantly in difficulty - some would involve just playing with a character from the game itself, others would demand pure perfection, and even worse, maxed-out characters.
So much of my hatred goes there. This game is absolutely huge, with over 350 songs and I'd wager nearly 100 FF characters to play, mix and match with, etc. The antithesis to this whole game and wanting to have fun while mixing and matching is the fact that past level 99, characters can take tens of hours to level up their "Star Level", which in turn grants them even more power. The payoff doesn't feel earned after you reach 99 with Cloud in an hour or two, just to realize a Star Level 9 Could take a good 30 hours of straight gameplay, maybe 20 if you have a good grind party setup.
I never felt encouraged to mix and match or try other characters in the game. I feared that if I switched my party, I'd then be behind for all future BMS encounters as my Noctis was dealing a majority of most of my damage. In general, characters in this game are hit-and-miss as well. Some are essential to the party, while other classes like the Support classes or Tank/Gladiator classes feel absolutely useless as the best players will just FC the song and enjoy their mega damage output.
This review may have harped on some sore spots, but I think they could have done a lot more with progression to make this game cohesive, especially because the game is a genius idea and a wonderful idea of a rhythm game to have combat effected by it. But at full price, it's pure-blood, all games played FF fans only. At half off? I think anyone would be stupid not to pick it up, it's damn enjoyable for what it is.
2021
Lost Judgment is a worthy sequel to its predecessor, Judgment. However, with all the leaps and bounds forward in gameplay, there are still many gaps needing to be filled before it enters the pantheon of the best RGG has to offer.
To start, as most important in any Yakuza game, the gameplay. LJ is absolutely, positively, the best feeling Yakuza game they've ever made. The style switching is seamless and allows for juggling, a masterful mix of feeling like you're swapping between Devil May Cry and the original Judgment. It's no question that the gameplay is addicting -- although, I wish they actually used it more (I'll bring this up again later). Along with the gameplay being the best RGG game in feel alone, they also take steps forward by eliminating most of the annoying blocks in the first Judgment. There's about only 1/4th the number of tailing sequences than in Judgment, a few decent running sequences, and a lot less "iSpy" or whatever those detective sequences are. It contributes to the game a lot more and provides the player with a better enjoyment factor when the game picks up pace.
Speaking of pace though, that and the story is what ended up grinding my gears. The story is a mixed bag, at least to me. It's a wonderful story that made me weep at the end about how bullying takes from some people -- a price some are also all too eager to avenge. It's on the amazingly creative ground, my issue is that most of the pieces don't fall into play until very late in the game. It's sort of asking you to enjoy playing 30 hours of unrelated hodgepodge and trying to find out who some mastermind is, only to find out they aren't there and you're beating up lame-ass grunts anyways. Or, even better, talking to Sawa for 6 chapters straight, having to walk into Seiryo just to get some small glimpse of the story instead of any investigation really being done.
It feels very AAA, mostly reminiscent of what Ubisoft or other studios do to pad out their open-world games, sending you to A, to B, to C, to D to finally get a single, small reveal that might just get taken away later as a twist. Cutscenes are long, jarring, and exposition dumps.
In all, the game's story reminds me of Yakuza 4. A game whose story is built on a great foundation, despite its sort of crashing down in horrendous ways due to the insane amounts of factions to keep track of, polished off with a mediocre ending (But LJ's ending is really good, and saved me from giving it a 3.5 or lower).
This is a mix of gameplay and story, but my issue with the pacing as well is how little there is of fighting in this game. In this game, with possibly the greatest gameplay of the series, I feel like you couldn't fight less. Not counting the finale, there's barely anything you could call a "level". Y'know, levels? Remember those in Yakuza games? Plowing through the palace in 2 to fight tigers? The sheer amount of times you've climbed the Millenium Tower to face the big bad? I feel as if the only time the game really hits that on the head is with the finale. Everything else could barely be considered a level, usually, it's plenty of shit-talking, a stealth scene, and then a small fight that wouldn't even be 1/20th of a Yakuza 0 or Yakuza 2 fight.
Ranting aside, I go back to positive to end the review -- this is the densest game RGG has ever put out as well when it comes to activities. All the Judgment activities are in here, but add all sorts of fun new ones. The best, to me, is boxing, skateboarding, and dance club (similar to the rhythm games of the karaoke in previous games.) Not all can be great, I'd love for them to cut some in the next game, like esports just playing the Virtua Fighter game in Club Sega, or the Biker Gang which just has jank controls. However, the massive amount of new content being added is to be applauded.
Lost Judgment takes plenty of steps forward where it counts, and is better than its predecessor. But copy the amazing gameplay forward, and just fix up the story (if it has to be shorter, that's okay!), and you have a perfect RGG game on your hands.
To start, as most important in any Yakuza game, the gameplay. LJ is absolutely, positively, the best feeling Yakuza game they've ever made. The style switching is seamless and allows for juggling, a masterful mix of feeling like you're swapping between Devil May Cry and the original Judgment. It's no question that the gameplay is addicting -- although, I wish they actually used it more (I'll bring this up again later). Along with the gameplay being the best RGG game in feel alone, they also take steps forward by eliminating most of the annoying blocks in the first Judgment. There's about only 1/4th the number of tailing sequences than in Judgment, a few decent running sequences, and a lot less "iSpy" or whatever those detective sequences are. It contributes to the game a lot more and provides the player with a better enjoyment factor when the game picks up pace.
Speaking of pace though, that and the story is what ended up grinding my gears. The story is a mixed bag, at least to me. It's a wonderful story that made me weep at the end about how bullying takes from some people -- a price some are also all too eager to avenge. It's on the amazingly creative ground, my issue is that most of the pieces don't fall into play until very late in the game. It's sort of asking you to enjoy playing 30 hours of unrelated hodgepodge and trying to find out who some mastermind is, only to find out they aren't there and you're beating up lame-ass grunts anyways. Or, even better, talking to Sawa for 6 chapters straight, having to walk into Seiryo just to get some small glimpse of the story instead of any investigation really being done.
It feels very AAA, mostly reminiscent of what Ubisoft or other studios do to pad out their open-world games, sending you to A, to B, to C, to D to finally get a single, small reveal that might just get taken away later as a twist. Cutscenes are long, jarring, and exposition dumps.
In all, the game's story reminds me of Yakuza 4. A game whose story is built on a great foundation, despite its sort of crashing down in horrendous ways due to the insane amounts of factions to keep track of, polished off with a mediocre ending (But LJ's ending is really good, and saved me from giving it a 3.5 or lower).
This is a mix of gameplay and story, but my issue with the pacing as well is how little there is of fighting in this game. In this game, with possibly the greatest gameplay of the series, I feel like you couldn't fight less. Not counting the finale, there's barely anything you could call a "level". Y'know, levels? Remember those in Yakuza games? Plowing through the palace in 2 to fight tigers? The sheer amount of times you've climbed the Millenium Tower to face the big bad? I feel as if the only time the game really hits that on the head is with the finale. Everything else could barely be considered a level, usually, it's plenty of shit-talking, a stealth scene, and then a small fight that wouldn't even be 1/20th of a Yakuza 0 or Yakuza 2 fight.
Ranting aside, I go back to positive to end the review -- this is the densest game RGG has ever put out as well when it comes to activities. All the Judgment activities are in here, but add all sorts of fun new ones. The best, to me, is boxing, skateboarding, and dance club (similar to the rhythm games of the karaoke in previous games.) Not all can be great, I'd love for them to cut some in the next game, like esports just playing the Virtua Fighter game in Club Sega, or the Biker Gang which just has jank controls. However, the massive amount of new content being added is to be applauded.
Lost Judgment takes plenty of steps forward where it counts, and is better than its predecessor. But copy the amazing gameplay forward, and just fix up the story (if it has to be shorter, that's okay!), and you have a perfect RGG game on your hands.