Recent reviews by ¥ 0 ¥ 0

I played this game on PC (Controller)
Pirate Yakuza is the second Gaiden game in the franchise and the latest entry in the series to date.
For the duration of this review, I will refer to the game as PYIH.
Set 6 months after the events of Infinite Wealth, the story begins with Majima washing up ashore on a remote island with a case of amnesia. A local island boy named Noah rescues him and in return, Majima promises to show Noah the world outside the island, so begins their adventure together.
Pirates sailing the seas around Hawaii is by far the strangest thing we've seen in LAD, but I will give credit to the writers for attempting to explain this and make it seem much more acceptable in-lore.
In comparison with Kiryu Gaiden, I must give credit to the developers for making both fighting styles incredibly useful. I used both equally and did not find one to be better than another in most situations.
Ship combat is simple and straight forward, I enjoyed customizing the ships appearance, gear and especially its crew. I have no experience with AC: Black Flag, so I cannot compare the combat between the two, but from what I have seen, I would not have expected it to be the same or better. In my experience with this franchise, RGG has a very simple design philosophy and does not like to overcomplicate things. Some things I would have liked to see however for ship combat would have been an ability to aim the machine guns while sailing, as they only fire in a straight line. Going over waves can easily make most of your fire either go straight into the water or into the sky. Something else I noticed was that the ship stops moving if you go to deck mode. Often I would boost and go to deck mode to fire a rocket, but discover upon re-entering sail mode that my ship was sat still in the water, some sort of cruise control would have been nice as this makes going to deck mode during battle incredibly dangerous otherwise.
The coliseum this time around was a little disappointing. There are multiple different categories but all of the battles feel more or less the same, in fact all the same enemies are used for the same tiers in each one. This could have been much more interesting and was disappointing to see a step taken back from Kiryu Gaiden.
Another disappointing thing was the cursed instruments, and I don't mean how they work, they are excellent abilities to use during big fights. The problem is that these items were advertised as a significant part of the game, but unfortunately, you can completely miss them if you don't complete a long substory. Now, you will obtain one by default, the cursed violin, but the other 3 are locked behind this entirely optional, multi-hour long substory, this was completely unnecessary and should have been something you obtained by playing the main story.
While on the subject of the Madness Guage (the second guage you fill up allowing you to use Doppleganger in Mad Dog or Cursed Instrument in Sea Dog), I found it to be a very cool addition, but the Heat Guage itself was lacking. It's only one bar, and throughout most of the game, youll find that you may only get to use one heat action per battle if any. There are upgrades that allow you to fill it up faster, but multiple bars, allowing you to use multiple heat actions in a row, has been a staple of this franchise since it began and I find it odd they would make such a drastic change now.
As for the new and returning characters, I found Noah, Jason and Masaru to be incredibly strong characters that I grew attached to in the story, Jason and Masaru are flawed and arguably bad people, but their charisma and clear will to change and become better makes you fall in love with them, I definitely want to see them return in the future. Noah is Majima's Haruka, a kid that I suspect we will see more of and I'm excited to see it. His awe of the world and desire to adventure is nothing short of inspiring.
Saejima is a character I thought would only appear for a short cameo, but ended up being a pretty major character which was great to see. (I would love to have a Gaiden game featuring him in the future). Minami and Nishida seemed like filler characters at first, like RGG struggling to have a character close to Majima be realistically apart of this story, but they ended up being alright. It was a pleasure to see them again.
All in all, this was a fantastic game for what it is. I am loving this Gaiden format inbetween major releases and hope it continues. The story was fantastic, the ending was beautiful and it was definitely a fun adventure.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii gets an 8/10 from me.

P.s., what the hell was that Minato Girls substory lmao

I played this game on PC (Controller)
Infinite Wealth was everything it was hyped up to be. After playing the previous title, I was slightly hesitant to play this one. In my last review, I mentioned several instances in the game where I reached walls that required repetitive and time consuming grinding to surpass. This entry, though it does have some grinding that's necessary, was nowhere near the same amount and was much more approachable and diverse.
My first praise for this game comes from it's combat. I loved the combat so much in this game, that I genuinely think I'm going to miss it going into Pirate Yakuza, this coming from someone who typically despises turn based combat should say something about the mechanics of this game. I would highly recommend completing Bingo Boards and levelling up friendships with your party members for Drink Links to get extra combo attacks and damage output in your battles, it genuinely makes a huge difference and was my main priority once I discovered it.
The jobs have been expanded as well, not all return from Y7, but many new ones make up for it. Most of the new ones are very Hawaiian or American in nature to fit the location of the game (half of the time anyway)
I handicapped myself a little bit while playing since I didn't want any two characters to have the same job, even across 2 different parties, so my main party had the really good jobs that I grinded up for, while my second party was left with some not amazing options. I still ended up having a pretty easy time getting through the game though. I did not have to repeat a single boss fight even once.
In terms of side content, I enjoyed Crazy Delivery and Sicko Snap, but didnt put much time into them. The dating app minigame was really fun, but I honestly could not figure out how to access it after the first round and was too lazy to look it up, so sadly didnt experience much from it. (Is it not an app on the phone? I looked everywhere..) Dondoko Island was my least favorite of them all, I actually hated being forced to do 3 days of it before being able to progress through the story. Ive heard it gets good after the grind fest of the first few days but I genuinely had no interest in it. My favorite of the side content however was Sujimon! Sujimon is greatly expanded in LAD8, not only do you have your Sujidex to catalogue enemies you battle across the game, but you can now catch Sujimon either from battles on the street, obtaining them from Gacha machines or from defeating other Suji Trainers in new Sujimon Battles. I loved this little Pokemon League minigame so much that I ended up beating all the Gym Leaders and completing this whole side game's story. It was just great and I hope it returns in the next LAD game.
I won;t say much for story other than this: It's pretty damn good.
If I could give this game a higher rating than 10/10, I would, it's my favorite in the series so far and deserves all the praise it gets.

I played this game on Steam Deck.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (or Yakuza 7 as ill refer to it as) is a refreshing new take on the Yakuza gameplay formula.
After 7 other Yakuza games, I was getting quite decent at the combat mechanics, especially in the previous entry, and typically I am not a huge fan of RPGs or turn-based combat, so safe to say I was hesitant entering this game.
The mechanics are not difficult to grasp. Many people complain that this game lacks depth and complexity for an RPG, but as someone who struggles with these types of games, i found the simplicity very welcoming.
The moves are well animated and have lots of personality, it reminded me a lot of how satisfying the attacks were during my Final Fantasy VII playthrough, you really feel the punches and the addition of the perfect block mechanic keeps you engaged during the fights, especially those with lots of enemies.
This is definitely one of the better RPGs that I have played and I would even say its one of the better Yakuza games. Our main protagonist, Ichiban, has a deep love for Dragon Quest and wants to be a Hero, so he envisions the battles very imaginatively with wacky moves and enemies (this also explains the turn based combat in-lore as being part of his wild imagination), taking the silliness of Yakuza to a whole new level which is very welcome in my opinion.
But this is far from a perfect game, it struggles with Walls, impassable obstacles that require you to either have the right gear, the right job or the right level in order to continue.
The absolute worst parts during my playthrough were 3 specific battles, I will describe why and give some tips to help you if youre curious. (Small spoilers ahead)
Chapter 9 has a boss that uses a gun. if you're playing the game casually (not grinding) he will likely be able to one shot you if youre not at full health, this made the fight incredibly annoying and relied on RNG of hoping he used the pistol attack as little as possible.
Chapter 12 has 2 strong bosses in one battle. You MUST be around level 46-48 to succeed. If youre like me, you were around level 38 by the time you arrive there. Do not take the Taxi until youve grinded out the battle arena nearby. You will level up faster than random encounters but it will still take some time.
Finally, in Chapter 15, you will face your toughest opponent. He features a one hit KO attack he will use consistently after reaching 50% health. Spam Peerless Resolve as Ichiban each turn to prevent an instant game over, stock up on heals and MP items and you should be able to tough it through.
These 3 battles lowered my opinion of the game during my playthrough, its the sort of thing I felt no enjoyment in overcoming. Perhaps others will disagree, but I found them needlessly annoying and unfair.
The story however was excellent, Ichiban is incredibly lovable as a character and his ragtag team is one youll fall in love with. This story features a few characters and plot references to previous games, so it may be confusing as a starting point for new players in my opinion.
All in all, I give the game a 9/10. My only complaint is some questionable boss battle designs, but otherwise, an incredible and addicting game from intro to credits.

I played this game on Steam Deck.
My journey across the story of Yakuza has never been more in-depth, diverse and satisfying since I first played Yakuza 0. After playing Yakuza 4, I was nearly dreading the thought of having to go through another game with not just 4 separate converging stories, but a fifth to boot. However, RGG's storytelling from 4 to 5 has an incredible jump in quality and engagement that I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.
The story is full of twists and turns as you would expect from this franchise. A slough of mysteries and antagonists, making you wonder how everything is connected, what brings all of these characters together.
Kiryu and Saejima have the bulk of your introduction to the story. The game is aware of the fact that your characters need quick time to level up as to not drag the story, since you have 5 characters to play with, so don;t worry about having to spend hours grinding up each character, there isnt much need for that, but it is rewarding if you put in the extra effort of course.
Haruka is the outlier of the group since she is the only character who does not fight (well, unless you count dancing as fighting), her chapter is somewhat shared with Akiyama to keep you in the habit of fighting instead of having an entire chapter allowing you to forget. Shinada finishes greetings off with perhaps the fastest chapter in the game before the story begins to converge.
Each character resides in their own city to explore, some familiar, some brand new.
Kiryu in Fukuoka, Saejima in Tsukimino, Akiyama and Haruka in Kamurocho and Sotenbori, and finally Shinada in Nagoya. Each have side stories you can progress in optionally for additional story content, personally, my favorite was Saejima's in the mountains. Theres an entire multi-hour side story there with a monstrous bear antagonizing a small village and it has a really satisfying ending if you're willing to complete it.
If I had to name one critique of the story, it would be that it tries to hard with some of its twists. Every time you think you know the true villain, someone new pops up who was seemingly behind it all (again.. and again). This does take away a bit of satisfaction from the conclusion as figuring out who the villain is is nigh impossible for the player, its something the story has to show you and explain why everything it told you previously was wrong. Dont get me wrong, the story is good, its emotional, its enticing, the climax is incredible and the final battle is unforgettable, but it would have been nice to have had less misdirection. You wont know whos behind it all until the very end, and thats unfortunate in my opinion.
All in all, I give Yakuza 5 a 9/10. Combat is the best so far, the characters are as engaging as ever, and the story, even with my nitpicks, is one youll remember.

I played this game on Steam Deck.
Continuing my journey through the world of Yakuza after 0 and the Kiwami games, my path has led me to Yakuza 3. This is the first game I'm playing in the series in it's 'original' form. Safe to say, it's a major shock going from Kiwami 2 to Y3, but that's not the game's fault by any means considering it came out many many years before those remakes (and has yet to receive a remake of it's own, hopefully someday?).
Yakuza 3 starts out very differently from the others, for starters, Kiryu is far weaker and has far less abilities in the beginning, making early fights such as Tamashiro incredibly difficult. The game's combat definitely becomes more tolerable as you enhance your abilities and unlock new ones (I recommend doing all of the Revelations you can since they're the easiest way to unlock new moves and finishers). One problem with Y3's combat compared to the others I've played however is that enemies have an incredible habit of blocking 80% of your attacks, making it hard to fight anybody without attacking from behind. Even grabbing is mostly useless in this game since basically all of the enemies who aren't punks will just push your grabs away instantly. I found myself relying almost entirely on doing chip damage during the major fights, which can make them take quite a while to defeat.
Y3's story is far shorter than the previous games (at least seemingly), I was expecting it to be much longer, at least 10 more hours to match my playtime of the other titles, but i managed to beat this in 20, even while doing lots of side quests and bonus content. But what is here is quality over quantity. I found myself completely invested in the characters and the mystery. Though I do think it could have been longer and I would have liked to see more from Okinawa, I did love the game and I hope I get to see it again in the next game. (Please let this wish age well).
I give Y3 a 7/10. What's here is good, like I said, but I didn't find it to be an entirely complete experience compared to the previous titles. Hopefully, a Kiwami 3 can bring that score higher, I would gladly replay this gem.

I played this game on Steam Deck.
Yet another incredible story in the Yakuza saga! Booting up Yakuza 2, I was thrown right back into our home sweet homes of Kamurocho and Sotenbori. The more time I spent in these districts, the more I love them. This time, the developers really outdid themselves. The cities are so highly detailed and lively, with so many buildings you can freely enter and explore the businesses of. I spent much of my time just basking in it, taking selfies with Kiryu's cell phone and having a blast. I shared my experience with my girlfriend who visited the real life Dotenbori recently and confirmed to me just how amazingly accurate and beautiful it was. I can't wait to visit it myself next year!
The story of Yakuza 2 is such a great one, I'm consistently surprised at how great the writing of these games are. Yakuza 2 has one of the greatest written villains of any story I've seen in a game and I loved it so so much. Each twist and turn surprised me and I was in for the ride. I much preferred the levelling up system of Yakuza 2 and it's fighting mechanics compared to the previous entries, it wasn't too confusing and had plenty of depth to improve and master. (I also appreciated how guns were nerfed in this entry making some fights much more manageable than previous games).
The hostess club side story was great and though I did not put much effort into going all the way, I very much enjoyed what it had to offer. The Majima Construction side story didn't quite catch my attention however as I found the gameplay of it to be frustrating at worst, boring at best, so I did not get very far in it.
Majima's solo side story was simple and short, but a fun and heartwarming little sequel to his story in Yakuza Zero.
I give Yakuza Kiwami 2 a 9/10!

I played this game on Steam Deck.
I originally hesitated playing this game due to its new gameplay style and aesthetic. I watched the trailer and thought the game had a bizarre take on the Sonic formula, but then I went to go see Sonic Symphony Live earlier this year and there was lots of Frontiers music matched with gameplay music videos to match, so much so that it intrigued me enough to give the game a chance. I do not regret my choice!
Throughout Sonic Frontiers, I found a lot to like. The music is phenomenal, the zones were creative and fun, the fishing was addicting, and the puzzles had me mesmerized for hours. Not to mention the story was incredible and had so many nods to previous games with a cool new character front and center for the adventure.
At first, I made it my goal to beat the game, but as I played, I loved it so much I went back and collected everything I missed, I fished every fish, collected every memory token, music note and koko, completed every map and so much more. I haven't dedicated my time to completing a game like this since Super Mario Odyssey, and personally I would say Frontiers is the Odyssey of Sonic. There's much to build on, to improve, but the basics are ones I hope follow through into the next big Sonic title. I give Sonic Frontiers a 9/10. I highly recommend you give it a chance!

I played this game on Steam Deck.
After many struggles and grind sessions, I was able to beat this game, though I would recommend Final Fantasy VII, I'm NOT certain I can recommend it in this form. This is a poorly done PC port. The controls were wrongly indicated and required me to manually customize my controller setup through Steam Deck. FF7 released in 1997, but to play this singleplayer classic, you'll need an internet connection and a Square Enix account, which I found to be extremely ridiculous.
A lot of people recommend playing this game with mods, I personally did not entertain the idea as I wanted to experience the game through the developers' original design, in it's truest form. (Without dusting off a PSX of course). So this review is mod-less.
Many people reported reoccurring crashes in this port but I personally did not experience any during my playthrough.
PC port aside, Final Fantasy VII is an incredibly charming game. I found the graphics incredibly likable, the characters engaging, the world beautiful, and the enemies and gameplay very creative.
As someone with little experience in the JRPG genre, I struggled hard during this game, if you've never played a JRPG before, you will probably end up doing a LOT of googling and reading Steam Guides. It felt like cheating to me, but I would never have beaten this game without much of the information I had to learn.
Some bosses can feel cheap and unfair, you most certainly will not beat a handful of them during a first attempt. Even with knowledge on how to beat them, I still found many difficult. ironically enough, the final phase of the final boss fight was quite easy for me and I beat it in one try.
If you're interested in this game and want to get some first hand experience on the classic, give it a shot! Maybe not THIS version of the game, but that's up to you to decide. I would give FF7 an 8/10 for my playthrough, ignoring port issues of course.

I played this on Steam Deck.
After playing Yakuza 0, I delved into Yakuza Kiwami excited for more of the game I loved before it, and I was not disappointed. Yakuza Kiwami plays nearly identically to Yakuza 0, with only minor changes to some mechanics, making this extremely simple to begin playing if you've already beat Yakuza 0. I've never played the original Yakuza release, so my review of this is merely face value. The game features the same map of Kamurocho from the prequel, with minor alterations. Some might find that annoying, but personally I found it charming. The story has a bizarre 10-year time jump at the beginning of the game, which feels a bit awkward, but overall did not negatively impact my experience of the game, since it plays a very big role in the story. The fighting is much like that of Yakuza 0 with minor additions and changes, feeling easy to pickup but also refreshing at the same time.
Many people complain about the Majima Everywhere mechanic, basically, Majima will roam the map and chase you down to fight you if he sees you, or he'll even pop out of hiding spots when you least expect him to. I was dreading this entering the game after hearing about it, but personally found it very acceptable. You can run away from Majima in most cases, but either way, fighting him is extremely easy and helps you obtain new fighting moves. It never became "annoying" during my playthrough.
All in all, I give Yakuza Kiwami a 10/10, just like it's prequel. I absolutely loved it from start to finish!

I played this game on Steam Deck.
This game deserves it's overwhelmingly positive score. From start to finish, this game is non-stop adrenaline pumping excitement. MGRR makes it very easy for you to pull off insane combos and moves and in such a cinematic and satisfying way, but it also leaves plenty of room to improve and master those moves with time. The story is very much something you'd expect from Metal Gear, plenty of political commentary, real-world comparisons and over-the-top cybernetic madness. The final boss fight is like nothing else I've ever played. Every time you think it's over, it just keeps going, but it's never frustrating, it feels right and the incredible soundtrack makes you feel like a complete badass at every moment, eager to slice people to shreds.
Overall, I give MGRR a 9/10. My ONLY complaint with this game is that it is far too short. I completed MGRR in only 5 hours of gameplay, and nearly 1 hour of this was the final boss fight. If you're someone who yearns to perfect the game and complete it at every unlockable difficulty. It's worth the full price, if not, I would wait for the next Steam Sale.