yakuza 7 is a phenomenal game in every way, and really re-integrated me back into the series.

like a dragon 8 significantly improves on nearly aspect of that game - though i will say, i found that the plot was much less simple in this game and found it a little hard to follow sometimes. the trade off though is a brilliant spectacle that far outweighs the sum of its parts.

infinite wealth is an emotional tour de force that provides memorable characters and interactions alongside the best turn based rpg combat i have seen this decade. love it. a staple of my favorite games for years to come.

this game is fuckin awesome

lets start with what sucks so we can get it out the way
the pacing's a little wacky and it does feel kiryu is kinda just here cus his names on the game, i find that he's much too saintly in this game. big "legacy character beecoming the mentor" but kiryus not rly at that point yet IMO.
haruka saejima scene...
rubber bullets is peak but also very annoyingly stupid
WAY TOO MANY "I WALK AWAY FROM THE GUN BUT THE ENEMY PICKED IT UP AND SHOT ME"

other than that everythings goated

combat is clean, everything feels like it has exactly the right movement and feeling, i love it. every character controls like a dream and has a unique niche to fill

the story is REALLY fun and kind of mixes a lot of serious issues in with the yakuza story bullshit we've come to expect. i'm a big fan of how this game isn't about some foreign power coming to fuck with japan, it's about how japans got something wrong with it. felt like a very notable reflection on the series so far, almost like an apology for dubious portrayals in previous games

introducing three series mainstay protagonists who outshine the series protagonist kiryu is a feat in and of itself

i dunno dude this game is just awesome, it captures the weird microcosm of fist of the northstar hyper-masculine dudes punching while talking about why love is badass in a way only this franchise could - and it never felt like it was compromising it, i guess.

i genuinely enjoyed this quite a lot
kiryu as a dad is very memorable and fun, thought these moments were the most enjoyable in the game
the story was a bit mid but mine was cool. liked how the dad kiryu bits ended up tying to the big crime story even if the big crime story was kind of in one ear and out the other
combat was great, after kiwami 2 i'm just glad i had to think to win and actually outplay the ai. felt like it actually mattered if i was just mashing due to the strong block. a pretty good start for the early ps3 yakuza era

while i found that yakuza kiwami 2 was able to overcome the feeling of being a repainted ps2 game like kiwami 1 was not - it comes at the cost of a lot of charm, and the introduction of more new stuff than i'd deem necessary. it is unclear to me why this game changes so much. i thought the story was a serious highlight with a massive improvement on yakuza 1 - but other than that? i really don't think that this game has that weird "Secret Sauce." if anything, it feels like the complete opposite of kiwami 1! they changed so much, that the game now feels stiff and sterile despite, on the face of it, doing a lot of things right.

i didn't hate this, and i enjoyed it overall - but the combat, the strange changes to an otherwise great story, the reintroduction of cabaret exclusive substories (the bane of my existence) and just the lackluster optimisation for PC users all come together to make a remaster that achieves the complete opposite of kiwami 1's inexplicable charm.

first game of the year

kiwami is like kind of a fucking weird game, yakuza 1 is such a relic of a game that seeing it with a shiny paint on it like this, with the occasional interjections of new-era translation and content (like majima everywhere) ends up leading to a very strange frankenstein that, somehow, does not lose the appeal of the original game and only reinforces it by injecting new weird shit in there

i ended up only going back to this out of obligation, after doing all the side content in 0 - but i ended up doing the same for this game, and thoroughly enjoyed my time. strange experience.

i have no words

most satisfied i've been with a game since the first game i ever truly loved

blew me away in every way a game should, and in some ways i didn't know that one could

i do not think this game is a 10/10
i do not think it is even close actually, it is pretty close to just pure trash
but there is something special here
this is my 100th review on backloggd
i've played smash brothers competitively now for nearly 24 months and it has absolutely changed my life for the better
so many brilliant people i've met through this game
the way this game has wormed its way into my brain chemistry and continues to evolve in front of me has let me live out the dreams of a young william swift (me) who desperately wanted to be the best at something
now, i get to be a part of it
what an experience. im deeply privileged.

my girlfriend likes this game so i played it while she watched
great for my ego cus she said i was kinda good at it
bad for my hands cus i was kinda going crazy
really fucking good music outside of one song which was mad mid tbh
very good tutorial and learning curve that rewards skill
great aesthetics and characters - wasnt expecting some heartwarming exposition in a demo but here we are
very good stuff

i had a lot of fun with this game :)

preserved a lot of what i thought was great about xenoblade 3's gameplay and condensed into a shorter format that i thought really left an impact. everything felt quite busy and that it had a lot to dissect - from the combat to the story to the environment, there is a lot of stuff happening in not a lot of time

i liked that though, it was nice to feel like stuff was moving and that i was a part of a real world in-universe

the story was wonderful too, lots of very memorable moments of small dialogue that really tie together a project that could have cynically been called a fan-service addendum to xenoblade 3. instead, i think future redeemed is a genuine attempt to enrich the lore of xenoblade 3 and the franchise in general. which is pretty admirable.

i only had two major issues - the a ai kept using vision when i didnt want them to, and i think the difficulty isn't fine tuned. normal is too easy, and hard can be a little too ridiculous.

other than that, a great addition and bow-on-top of the magnificient xenoblade 3. loved it!

A really good popcorn flick of a single player campaign. Fun and creative design that utilises memorable aesthetics and gimmicks to keep things fresh without ever overstaying it's welcome. There are enough ways to keep varying up how you play and a decent amount of replay value here to keep any player occupied for some time. I didn't like the over-reliance on hidden collectibles, but they were inoffensive. The music was pretty good this time around, too. Splatoon 3's campaign isn't like mind blowing or anything - not even close. However, it does feel like Splatoon has finally managed to find an aesthetic identity + sense of cohesion that is truly unique and fun.

i first played xenoblade chronicles 1 when i was about 14. it was the first game i think i ever truly loved. i remember the feeling of beating it, and missing it so much - i didn't want that cast to leave. i didn't want to leave such an amazing experience behind.

now i'm 20, and i've just beaten xenoblade chronicles 3. i did cry at the ending again, but i'm not sad at all. i'm happy. 7 years later, i think i've gotten a little bit of closure. this game is fantastic - but i'm not sad to see it end.

who would want to live in the endless now?

A dramatic improvement in some ways, and a notable disappointment in others. I am in love but I am repulsed. I am uplifted but I am confused. I am happy with this, but I am also not.

So much here is so compelling, but so much is equally as ridiculous and stupid and borderline indicative of incompetence in writing a compelling sequel.

One could even say my opinion is cut straight down the middle...?

No number rating. I can't even begin to put my feelings on this game into words just yet.