Yakuza 5 Remastered Reviews

What an ending! The payoff of this one in the last chapter was worth powering through some of the longest, most boring section in any Yakuza games (prison/hunting section). Some part are really long and tedious (prison/hunting section) but some are more original and fun to play. Finished the game with 32h at 11% with mostly only the story mission.

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

Well, this was quite the journey. Probably the biggest, most ambitious game in the series until Infinite Wealth, this one has A LOT to do, to the point it can feel a bit too much at times. That said, this is still a great Yakuza game: The plot is a bit insane and maaaaybe tries a bit too hard at times, but it's all for the great scenes and moments, so the inconsistencies and coincidences can be easily forgiven. Gameplay-wise, the series formula was already pretty much perfectioned at this point, too. Good game, if a bit too much at times.

[h1]If I'm the wall you need to scale, I'll let you try. But you may find it so high you never want to try again."[/h1] [h1]Introduction[/h1] Yakuza has been such an extraordinary adventure so far that it almost feels surreal to hit Yakuza 5 at long last, praised as one of the best games in the franchise. With the stage set and improvements across the board with each passing game, It was truly lined up to be just as good as people said, but did it have the will to stand against the Dragon's past, or was it simply set up for failure? [table] [tr] [th][b]🟩 Positives[/b][/th] [th][b]🟥 Negatives[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]🟩A truly iconic Yakuza experience that isn't quite as impactful as Yakuza 4, but delivers a well-written and epic journey regardless. 🟩 The combat is as clean as it has ever been by this point. Fights are fair experiences that force you to learn mechanics and master the techniques to overcome challenges as they arise. 🟩 Mini games consistently dominate most of the Yakuza experience, and this is no exception. Thankfully, Yakuza 5 also delivers a complete plethora of new mini-games to keep you occupied amongst the classics. 🟩 Both the audio and visuals took a giant leap forward in this entry into the franchise, seeing drastic improvements on the previous in terms of auditable clarity and visual acuity. [/td] [td]🟥 This is the first Yakuza game in the series so far that I've noticed has quite a lot of visual bugs, such as texture tearing and disappearing assets. [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr][th]🏆Achievements[/th][/tr] [td]Nowhere near as easy to 100% as Yakuza 4, with a few of the more difficult achievements taking a long time to unlock, the most time-consuming achievements can individually take anywhere from 10 - 40 hours to complete.[/td] [/tr] [/table] [h1]Story[/h1] Yakuza 5 picks up soon after the events of Yakuza 4 taking control of Saejima immediately as he decides to go back to prison to finish his sentence. With that sequence out of the way and the passing of some time, you once again step into the shoes of Kiryu, whose life has been turned upside down since the events of the previous game. Leaving his family behind and starting fresh in a new city, Kiryu has come to a new chapter in his story, one of seclusion and new beginnings. But the life of a Yakuza isn't something you can leave behind as events begin to unfold that once again draw the Fourth Chairman back into the playing field. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3463100333 With that segment dramatically closing, the next chapter seemingly drops us on the other side of the country, with Saejima still serving his sentence. But nothing is ever that simple in the Yakuza franchise, as the plot begins to form around him not only threatening his life but that of his sworn brother and the Tojo Clan itself. With yet another phenomenal breakout staged and the world in a state of unrest, Saejima begins his search for answers. The following chapter begins immediately after, in a familiar city under bizarre circumstances. Taking control of Haruka Sawamura on her idol quest (which is ironically one of my favourite sequences in Yakuza 5), but all is not sunshine and lollipops because not even she can escape her old life under the protection of Kiryu. Within the same chapter, however, we once again also take control of Akiyama, who has decided to set up a second location for Sky Finance in Sotenbori, and his storyline neatly folds into Haruka's as the plot begins to unfurl. This now thrusts us into the final chapter of the game, where you take control of an entirely new protagonist, Tatsuo Shinada. After his life as a pro baseball player is shattered by a series of allegations, he is forced to the streets of Kineicho, where he becomes a writer for an adult magazine called Nighttime Entertainment. But the plot thickens as a stranger arrives at his door asking him to investigate the events that led him to this point. Generally, this is a well written story, but at some points feel a little thin and overstretched. This doesn't shadow the game as a whole for me, but it does make getting through some of the segments become tiresome. All of the characters provide interesting plot points to follow, and some of the better sequences genuinely more than makeup for any of the shortcomings. [h1]Gameplay Analysis[/h1] [h3]"No matter how hard life gets, ya gotta keep livin'."[/h3] I won't spend too long detailing what most, if not all of you already know six games deep into the franchise. Suffice it to say that the combat is just as good as it has ever been, with ways to counter nearly every roadblock you will come across, and items haven't changed that much in what they can do. So I will spend this time talking about the new stuff. Most of the characters have a mini-game specific to them. Kiryu has his driving mini-games, which force him to complete basic missions or compete in high-octane racing, while Saejima becomes a hunter to protect a village, Haruka has her Dance Dance Revolution clone as she attempts to become an idol, and Shinada has the batting cage storyline where he puts an old grievance to rest. Each mini-game offers a thoroughly unique experience and will keep you happily busy for hours as you aim to complete them all. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3463117965 [h3]"I've overcome my share of trials, you'll learn that the hard way"[/h3] With so many protagonists taking to the spotlight in this game, it's only fair that there are so many cities to explore as well. Across the span of Yakuza 5, you'll be able to explore Nagasugai, Tsukimino, Sotenbori, Kineicho and Kamurocho, and each of these cities has an enormous quantity of side missions, mini-games, and collectibles to find. You will spend quite a lot of your time simply coming across random things you hadn't expected to find as you begin exploring the vast open world. [h1]Audio and Visual[/h1] This game vastly improves upon the visuals of the previous entry, providing a lot more textural depth to the world as well as many new effects to greatly improve the realism. The world feels like its truly alive and has been lived in which is an extraordinary thing to capture. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3464840101 The audio is much the same, providing a crisp and detailed atmosphere to the updated visuals of the world. The OST is also an astounding series of scores that as always capture the emotion of each scene flawlessly. [h1]Performance and Specifications[/h1] I ran Yakuza 5 as high as it goes on a 2560 x 1440 monitor and didn't see the game drop below the frame cap at all. I did notice quite a few visual bugs this time around, and for the first time in the Yakuza franchise for me, but these are relatively minor blemishes on the whole. 🟨 Quite a lot of visual bugs across the experience. RAM: Kingston Fury Beast 64GB 6000 MHz DDR5 CPU: Intel Core i9 14900K 24 Core GPU: MSI Gaming X GeForce RTX 4090 24GB [h1]Final Thoughts - Excellent[/h1] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2529084785]Review chart here.[/url] This is the closest thing to the perfect Yakuza game since 0. Everything from the storytelling to the open world expanse of the city exploration and the fine-tuning of the fight mechanics make this experience truly one of the best in the franchise to date. I doubt many people will start with this game, and I wouldn't recommend that you do considering how deeply integrated the plot is, but even with its shortcomings this is about as peak Yakuza as it gets. [quote]As the Dragon returns to his roots once more, the world is put to the sword, so head on over to [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43064204/] Hell, Purgatory and Paradise[/url] to find the power to stand with him on his quest to save it.[/quote]

Oh boy. It has a lot of flaws. I despise Shinada's combat style (and his coliseum). The 100% was a complete slog. Tsukimino has streets so cramped, you bump into combat every 5 seconds. But boy do I love this game. Akiyama's 100 coliseum on legend was the most exhilarating fight in the whole series. Kiryu and Saejima are SO broken here, and yet so fun to play. The taxi missions are just wonderful (with the Eurobeat music no less). Dance battles and rhythm minigames? Sign me up! On that note, the music is absolutely amazing. It's that feeling of "I get why this game can sometimes be hated, but I love it". Definitely not for everyone, but still worth at least checking out.

This is the last Yakuza game to use the old engine, so after this one you will go back to the Kiwami 2 type gameplay. Overall, the story in this game is probably one of the best in the franchise, except for one thing: it's paced pretty horribly. Some chapters feel like they just drag on when you want to progress. I completed the game on normal at about 42 hours. That's without doing much side content. I still recommend it though, do not skip it if you're going through all the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games.

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.

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.

Great game. Loved the story, heartwarming ending, and refreshing coming from Y4. However, this game is really long, maybe too long. I spent so much time doing side stuff, even if I ignored that it still would've taken around 40 hours just to finish the game, and yet I finished with more than twice that. Just like in Y4, you get to play as other characters. This time you can play as Haruka. Tanimura is gone and replaced by a new character who is pretty neat. The game is pretty cinematic, you'll have a handful of lengthy cutscenes to view (I loved it). Overall this has been an amazing experience for me, I'd say even more so than Y4 for me personally. This game really does suffer from its length though, it's too big for its own good. Despite that, it's a fantastic sequel and is easily one of the best in the series. I am deep fried as of writing this but I think I might be onto something big here.