Mediocre to bad at best with PS2 era story writing, for better or worse. To start off with the good, I actually do like the idea and some of the execution in the writing of Nishiki, assuming one has played through Yakuza 0. The theme of parenthood is also quite cool coming from a remake of a years-old game, but it felt quite unrealized. The message it is trying to convey doesn’t come off as strong or relevant as I hoped for. Between the main story and substories, the game balances comedy and serious aspects quite well, similar to the other games in the Yakuza franchise that I have played, so that's always a welcome change from other games.

Now onto the bad. Starting off with the main plot, I hated the way the story handles the romance plotline in this game. It just felt so tacky and added on as an afterthought. I'm a firm believer that for romance, you either subtly hint at it or you do your best to develop the love between two characters. This just felt like romance for the sake of moving the plot forward, ticking a box in the “soap opera” to-do list. Other than that, there was a bit too much filler in the main chapters which led to nothing of substance down the line.

In terms of characters, Nishiki in the story could have been something great. But somehow he is given the most absurd motivations, making him seem very abrupt and nonsensical even with a backstory provided. Honestly, I think they should have given him more screen time and let his personality and story develop more. The antagonist also seems so comically bad, with motives that are questionable and very shallow characterization.

In general, the story felt like a typical soap opera full of questionable romance sequences, cartoon villains, and just fillers to lengthen the series.