So, the shitshow is finally over.
I must admit I went a little too hard on this game. It's not as terrible as it first seemed, but that doesn't mean it's all roses and perfume about it now.
I'll go over my issues I had with this game and see if they were addressed by the ending.
Pacing
It's still god damn weird. The game starts off like a life sim and it ends up being this whole gosh dang conspiracy involving the CIA and secret weapon dealing societies making deals with the Japanese diet and getting the Tojo clan chairman shot. Not to mention this mysterious figure that looks like Kazama-san popping up out of nowhere right at the beginning of the game and only being addressed at the very end.
It's not a very well paced out game, buuuut...
The ending was nice.
Gameplay
As many fans have said, the gameplay on this is the worst in the franchise, and so far I agree.
I've played 0, Kiwami 1, Kiwami 2 and 7 (which is a turn-based JRPG) and 3 felt so... awful. Combat didn't feel like fights, it felt like a borefest. I just had to whittle down my opponent's HP until they dropped.
Even after studying with Komaki and learning tons of new moves, things remained stale.
I was really hoping that it would pick up just like the story, but even the final fight was a bit... shitty.
Side content
The substories were really lame when compared to the other Yakuza games I've played so far and there was no clear indication of when you started one or finished one, it felt disjointed and disconnected, same goes for the mini-games, which there weren't a whole lot of.
Graphics and Jankiness
Alright, I must say, WIDE Kiryu grew on me. It really felt like an early PS3 game (because it is) but that's not a bad thing. I'm a retro gaming enthusiast, so getting to play older titles isn't something bad at all. And having played the first game on the PS2, I can definitely see how much of an upgrade this was in 2009.
No running, or rather, running by default, wasn't really that big of an issue. Kiryu walked fast enough for me.
And finally, I get to the ending.
It was exhilarating, definitely the best part of the game.
Whilst everything revolves around Kiryu maintaining control of his orphanage, he still gets involved in a bunch of shit to make sure that damn orphanage stays open, and it's quite admirable.
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
But I really have to talk about the ending sequence here.
It was pure action through and through and I actually felt at the edge of my seat, even if I didn't die even once.
Fighting against the funny foreigners with their "no-accent English" was really cool and the final fight against Mine was the best fight in the entire game. It felt difficult enough to be fun and the cutscenes surrounding it made it totally worth it.
Getting his health down
Heading for the final blows.
Then Daigo wakes up, saves the day from the funny foreigner, and Mine does something that almost put my eyes to sweating (manly tears).
Okay, it was a stupid fucking death. Daigo could've just shot the guy again, but the heroism displayed here and the self-sacrifice made Mine seem like a way better character and I really liked him after that. His devotion to the sixth chairman was unbreakable, and I'd say that this simpler ending might've even been better than the clusterfuck that was the ending of Yakuza Kiwami 2.
Once more, Haruka on a chopper just chilling.
Classic Yakuza ending trope by now.
And then they go to chill in Kamurocho one last time, meeting Yuya and Kazuki!
But oh wait, oh no!
this motherfucker... that gets entirely forgotten in the story...
stabs Kiryu.
Oh no! He's dead! How will protagonism save him?
The same way it saved him in Kiwami 2, that's how. Guess the blade must've missed some vital organs or whatever. But he's fine you guys, we need a sequel, which I'm already downloading.
それなら、そして終わりですよね。
(Then, it's over right?)
It'll definitely be an interesting 続く (Tsuzuku, continue), but we'll see what the writers can do after an ending like that. I just want to see my main man Kazuma Kiryu happy and taking care of his orphanage's kid and the sweet bunny roll that's Haruka.
After seeing the 5th Yakuza thank you achievement, I knew it was time to go to bed, but before that I remembered Mack's words.
And had to come here post about it!
Thanks for reading you guys! This wasn't the best game out there, but I still had a good time all around. Don't skip this one if you're playing through the Series, it's short (14 hours~) and a little bit sweet at least.
Have a good one, my kyoudais!
