Yakuza 5 Remastered Reviews

good story. Saejima, part had some filler unnecessary parts but other than that it was an enjoyable game

Gameplay is better than 3 and 4, but people weren't kidding when they called it a slog. Godawful pacing. I liked the Kiryu section, but the rest is just kinda boring. After this and the previous game, it's clear to me they can't make four playable protags and have the game make sense and be compelling. I've been playing through the games in order and the quality of 0 and even the two Kiwami games seems like a distant memory. Really hoping Yakuza 6 is better because this is another miss for me.

5 Cities 5 Protagonists 5 Stars One of the best in the series. This game is insanely huge and can feel overwhelming but is a experience that shouldn't be missed by anyone that enjoys rgg games. I will surely come back to achieve 100% completion to this title, it's that good.

5 playable characters would be too much for any other game franchise... not Yakuza!

I've played every yakuza game from 0 to 5, and after 0, this one is probably the best. It's also the longest, along with 0. This can be seen as a virtue or a flaw, depending; but what's also important is whether it feels tedious, and in my opinion, it's varied enough to avoid that feeling. For example, Yakuza 4 is shorter, but the desire to include so many characters, subplots, intertwined stories, and continuous plot twists makes it a more tedious game with a feeling of never ending. At the end Yakuza 5 is Yakuza 4 improved in almost everything and the step towards the best entry: Yakuza 0. I think it's also the only video game I've seriously attempted to platinum and failed. I've platinum every yakuza game up to this one, but unfortunately, I'm leaving this one on the verge of completion, with 99.75% completion, missing only two Arena challenges from Shinada and one from Akiyama. Shinada's combat uselessness in the Arena is incredible. No matter how hard I try, I'm unable to complete the coliseum with him. [b]8/10[/b]

After taking my time & fully completing it, I can confidently say this was the first Yakuza game to really show off how good the series could be with complex writing, fun substories, and unique side content. It has some pacing issues in gameplay chapters, the story can be overly complex & messy in areas, and different aspects of the game can be bloated, but there’s a whole lot to enjoy. Pros: - Act 1 & Act 3 Story - Gameplay - Main + Side Characters - Music - Side Content - Multiple city locales that each give a unique atmosphere Mixed: - Act 2 & 4 Story - Story Pacing (especially near the end) Cons: - Finale Story - Way too many street battles - Completion Hell (a ton to do and a few horrendous mini-games that make it worse than it should be) Yakuza 5 is best summed up as the individual stories being stronger than the ultimate endpoint. This is seen with the general storytelling and activities for each of the 5 characters. Each character feels unique due to a variety of factors like their specific minigame, their city, fighting style, etc.. Some substories, similar to Yakuza 4, are a bit specific per character as well (such as a substory focused on loans with Akiyama as this substory would be out of place if it was with any of the other 4 characters). Out of each character’s main story, some are much better told than others. Still, I enjoyed the overall storytelling for the most part as it’s generally a step-up from Yakuza 1-4. The combat and cutscene direction is also a clear step up from previous entries. Heat actions feel better, characters play similarly to previous games but with improvements, and leveling up is still fairly satisfying, if overly familiar. The boss fights, particularly in the finale, were fun with the QTE’s as well. The final boss? From a gameplay perspective, it might be my favorite in the series. The humor that the series is known for is in here as well although I think the sequel, Yakuza 0, is really when RGG knew how to consistently nail it. Lastly, it was a smart decision to break up the middle portion of the game by turning it into effectively a dancing game with catchy music as this helps break up the beat’em up gameplay. As for issues, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword with having 5 characters. The nature of having multiple characters with their own storyline and motivations can lead to a confusing story when there has to be a reason for all the protagonists to meet up in the end. One big issue in the storytelling is that sometimes, there are just too many twists for the sake of twists. This is made fully apparent in 2 sections of the game to me. There’s also pacing issues (some chapters really drag on) & some plot elements that make hardly any logical sense. The enemy encounter rates in this game are noticeably high so it’s kind’ve a pain to run around in the cities at times without a certain item equipped. Additionally, if you’re going for 100%, there’s a ton of content to get through, some of it superfluous and downright rage-inducing. Chicken Racing, Golf, Fishing, and Pool all come to mind as ‘bottom of the barrel’ minigames in the entire series and they’re all in this game, made much worse due to what you need to do in order to 100% the game. Lastly, the ending to Yakuza 4 is largely ignored and so it’s strange that 5, a direct sequel, took such a different direction with characters. Ultimately, it’s probably for the better decision as 5’s story, even with its faults, is much more engaging and captivating with what it does to returning characters. Criticisms aside, it’s great to play Yakuza 5 even a decade after it officially came out because it holds up. It really set the stage for not just it’s sequel, Yakuza 0, to shine but the series moving forward due to the captivating writing, interesting side characters, wide variety of side content, and wacky ideas. 8.5/10.

I'm honestly sad and disappointed with this title. After great games such as: "Yakuza 0" and "Yakuza Kiwami 2"; and good games such as: "Yakuza Kiwami", "Yakuza 3" and "Yakuza 4", we get "Yakuza 5 Remastered". A boring game, part of this series, that I recommend to skip. Don't waste time playing it, nor waste money buying it. It is a pain to get through it, from start to finish. Five boring archs and several empty cities, a pointless story with a terrible pacing, cheap and forced betrayals and plot twists, boring side-content that you can not skip (like the hunt part with Saejima and the dance stuff with Haruka), repetitive combat, long and boring fights, along with chapters that are extended unnecessarily, are just a few examples of all the negative points of this game. There are a bunch more, let me tell you. The weakest "Yakuza" game so far. A massive disappointment after loving every entry before this. Just skip it and move straight from "Yakuza 4 Remastered" into "Yakuza 6 Remastered".

Se existe uma epopeia moderna nos videogames, esse game é Yakuza 5. As ideias que não deram certo no quarto game voltam aqui com um aprimoramento massivo, são cinco protagonistas jogáveis, cinco narrativas que se interlaçam no decorrer de 70 horas de jogo. A qualidade aqui é impressionante: cada protagonista tem seus arcos secundários, coadjuvantes memoráveis, substories intrigantes e minigames variados. É espantosa a profundidade que encontramos em Y5, e fica bem evidente como esse jogo é o responsável por criar as fundações que tornaram Yakuza 0 tão popular. A narrativa é a mais impactante desde o segundo jogo, principalmente porque ela realmente avança o status quo das organizações e desenvolve os personagens e suas motivações; ninguém termina Y5 da mesma forma que começa, e isso vale para praticamente todo mundo relevante. Saejima tem muito tempo para brilhar e mostrar as suas qualidades, Akiyama segue brilhando após sua estreia em Y4, Haruka passa por um grande arco e até mesmo o novato, Shinada, se destaca. Mas em especial, preciso dizer: Kiryu é MONSTRUOSO em Yakuza 5. De longe é uma das melhores performances de um protagonista na história dos videogames, e não afirmo isso de forma leviana. O Dragão de Dojima entrega tudo nesse jogo, seus ideiais, suas inseguranças, seus sacrifícios e esperanças estão todos escancarados, e a história vai revelando isso de forma muito natural com o desenrolar dos eventos. É algo muito impressionante. Apesar disso,o conflito principal está longe de ser perfeito, é muito dependente de plot twists e eventos convenientes para prosseguir, sem falar em algumas coisas extremamente dramáticas que ocorrem - bem pastelão, estilo novela - mas tudo fica aceitável se você não questionar muito. Nesse sentido, acho que Y0 continua a melhor história da franquia, ao menos é a melhor contada, mas não se deixe enganar, Y5 figura no Top 3 da série. Agora, rumo ao Yakuza 6 e o encerramento do arco de Kiryu.

I bid my farewell to another great part of Yakuza series. Took some time and effort to master the completion list but in the end you got this marvellous relief and splendid feeling of completion.

this game is an absolute slog to get through. the plot was painfully mediocre until the finale where it just completely falls apart. Feels like there was no solid direction with this game whatsoever, like the devs where just taking suggestions from anyone and where throwing things in without understanding how it might affect the pace of the game. I really didn't like the structure of this and 4 and im glad they dropped it after this game.