Yakuza 5 is.... a lot. Most of it good, though a decent chunk of it bad. I'll get my biggest complaint out of the gate: this game is too bloated. Each section of the game drags on for far too long and while Yakuza is infamous for having long cutscenes, I feel they are even worse in this game. Seriously, the characters just talk too much and at some point, I realized I could skip most of the dialogue and I lose nothing of value... and I was right. Most scenes are just the characters waffling around and repeating themselves (kind of like what I'm doing right now).

For the most part, I enjoyed the individual sections. Starting off as Kiryu felt nice, especially since he's in this super depressed stage. Just really sets the tone. His gameplay is also the most fun it's been (at least when he's locked to just one style). The taxi stuff was cool too, I actually did some of the missions.

Saejima's section was frankly awful. I feel bad because I really do like the guy but both of his sections have left bad impressions. The shit was dragging far too long. I didn't mind the hunting stuff like most people, but the city section was rough. Everything was blocked by invisible walls and I had a hunch that Baba couldn't be trusted and lo and behold. I think the game wanted me to like the guy, but I was so over betrayals and hasty redemptions that I just wanted to kick the dude each time he reappeared... sorry.

I really liked the Haruka/Akiyama bits. They made for an interesting duo and I thought the stuff with Park worked well on both sides. I am a bit conflicted on Park for how she blackmailed Kiryu and Haruka... but I don't think she's as bad as some make her out to be. The idol gameplay was a whole lot of fun (and I was not expecting that at all). Akiyama's karaoke was incredible too. I spent the most time doing extra stuff in this part.

Shinada was also a welcome surprise. What a charming, goofy and sweet dude he is. His story was a bit out of place, but that stuff with Daigo was really wholesome. You could certainly tell the writers struggled to fit him in the finale, but I loved his individual part so much that I don't really mind.

But the finale... that was a mess. For starters, there wasn't enough Date. But beyond that, the twists and reveals were ridiculous. I did find a lot of the moments touching though. I really didn't expect to care for Watase or Katsuya, but I quite liked that scene. While Shinada felt pretty hamfisted into the plot (seriously, why is he fighting Baba? I know why but WHY) I felt genuine emotion when he started crying on the phone; it was a sweet way to wrap things up for him. Akiyama getting the entire Omi Alliance to bow down to him was sick. And while yes, Haruka's decision was dumb, it was still powerful as hell. IDK why Aizawa was the final boss, especially when Morigana was built to be the "traitor" and him being the son of Kurosawa came out of left field. I mean, the man himself said he didn't know what he was doing. It was an odd choice, but so are most of the choices in this game.

Overall, this game had so many issues. I love Majima, but half the damn plot was centered around him yet he barely did anything the whole game. And the word "Yume" has become a trigger word at this point. But in spite of the pacing issues and such, I am happy I played this game.