Yakuza 5 - A Gaming Masterpiece From Sega

 

Back again with another Yakuza blog! Now, since I've been getting into the Yakuza series lately and love it just as much as I love the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, I'm currently playing one of the best games in the Yakuza series and the best game in the series' "Kiryu Saga", Yakuza 5 (notably the Remastered version released on PS4, Windows, and Xbox One). Even though I haven't even reached halfway through the game, I wanna do an early review on it to say how much I enjoy it.

The Review

I gotta admit, I haven't really gotten far into the game yet, since I'm still in Kiryu's part of the game. Now, about the start of the plot, it's kind of slow, since it primarily focuses on Kiryu's new life as a taxi driver in Fukuoka. But the main focus of the plot, in general, is that Daigo Dojima is missing and that the Omi Alliance is riding on it to start a war with the Tojo Clan. I don't have a verdict on the plot yet, since it would take me a very long time to finish the game since the game is split into 5 parts.

Now about those 5 parts, you get to play as 5 different characters:

Kazuma Kiryu - The former 4th Chairman of the Tojo Clan, now living a peaceful life as a taxi driver in Fukuoka (until fate decided to catch up with him and get him entangled in the Tojo Clan's affairs once more).

Taiga Saejima - An ex-con who is willing to clear his name for the sake of the Tojo Clan by living out the rest of his prison sentence.

Tatsuo Shinada - A former baseball player now working as a writer for the adult entertainment industry.

Shun Akiyama - A kind loan shark who helps out anyone in need. He is known as The Lifeline of Kamurocho

Haruka Sawamura - She is the adoptive daughter of one of Kiryu's best friends and his former love interest, the late Yumi Sawamura. In order to support her family in Morning Glory Orphanage, she is currently working as a famous teen idol in the entertainment industry.

Out of those 5 parts, only 4 of them have combat, while Haruka's part doesn't have any combat elements, so I'm pretty sure I'm gonna hate Haruka's part (unless you make me change my mind about it, of course). Anyway, I'm pretty much excited to play as the overpowered Saejima and one of the fan-favorite characters, Shun Akiyama. And yes, Akiyama is the reason why I started playing Yakuza 5 in the first place.

Now, let's talk about the combat system. Most notably Kiryu's and Saejima's. From what I heard about Saejima's combat style, he's overpowered. I'll just have to see that for myself when I reach his part, hehe. 

But what about Kiryu's? Well, from what I've experienced, Yakuza 5 has the most overpowered moveset for the iconic Dragon of Dojima style (No, 0nlies and Kiwami 1 fans, you cannot change styles in this game). You got Bounding Throw, which lets you grab an enemy shortly after dealing a finishing blow to them (which is also the most overpowered move in the game). You got the Komaki Tiger Drop, the second most overpowered move in the game. It's a counterattack that requires you to act quick when an enemy attacks. Successfully pulling it off would deal tons of damage to your enemy. And lastly, the Komaki Parry. Like the Tiger Drop, this move requires you to time it right when an enemy attacks. It doesn't deal as much damage as the Tiger Drop, but it's still satisfying to pull off.

And lastly, one of the prime Essences (pun intended), the minigames and substories. Firstly, let's talk about the minigames. Unlike Yakuza Kiwami, this game is PACKED with a chockful of minigames. There's taxi racing, taxi driving, ramen cooking, fishing, the infamous karaoke, and lastly the idol minigames (which are part of Haruka's arc). If you want to take a break from doing the story and doing substories, there's always the minigames. Oh, and before I forget, for those fighting game fans out there, there's a playable version of Virtua Fighter 2 in this game! You can play it in any of the Club Sega branches scattered throughout the game.

Now, for the substories, they're just as wacky as ever. And like Yakuza 4, the Revelations system makes a return. This system enables you to unlock hidden moves for the characters! Just be sure to find a situation that allows you to get a Revelation!

Now, here's my verdict. The game lives up to my fellow kyoudais' thoughts on the game. It is, in fact, the best game in Kazuma Kiryu's story. I can't wait to delve deeper through this game and see what else it has to offer for me! I give this a 9/10 (-1 for Haruka's part, I guess) for being such a kickass game!

Anyway, that's all I have right now for this entry. See you next entry, y'all! -JJ