3.5/5 ★ – ElementaryGaming's review of Yakuza 5.

The best PS3 Yakuza game, and the definition of a slow burn. Starts off somewhat mundane and like a typical Yakuza title, but gets better as its plot and gameplay introduce new elements. Seeing as this is the 6th Yakuza game chronologically (including Zero), the repetition of a series which doesn't seriously alter its gameplay or its usual convoluted storytelling did feel grating at times. The usual quality of Yakuza is here, but the pain of repetition is very real too. One big disappointment with regards to all three PS4 remasters of the PS3 Yakuza games is that they all feature a "Don't Hurt Me" message at the start: A message from the developers which essentially says "This game was made in 2010, so if they say things that offend you, please don't hurt us". It's completely unnecessary, yet it's there to pander to a niche, perpetually-offended audience who believes the world was a morally unenlightened place pre-2020. These warnings are condescending, preemptive apologies for games which have done nothing wrong in the first place. The Yakuza games required no apology or disclaimer when they were released, and they don't need one now. As far as the plot goes, Yakuza 5 starts off like a regular one with Kiryu's part, but improves greatly as it progresses. Though there is also far too much unnecessary text in conversations. The story is at its best when it isn't just unloading exposition via text boxes. The plot is impressively ambitious and it is interesting to watch the multiple different plotlines interweave with each other, and the usual detailed writing present in past titles is here too. Yakuza pacing has always been slow, and this one's pacing is especially slow at times. But it is satisfying to stick with it. This one is truly epic in scale. A big welcome change is the utilization of interesting side characters, and frequent changes to the gameplay environment. Plotting a prison break in Part 2, or following Haruka's path as an idol in Part 3, or learning about the washed-up baseball player in part 4, give a nice reprieve to listening to yet another info dump on yet another convoluted crime family and fighting yet another onslaught of henchmen. It's also cool seeing characters from the previous game have their stories continued here. There is a nice overarching story theme of giving others the courage to pursue their dreams. The classic minigames, such as hostess conversations, were surprising and fun the first time. But this time around, I instead just skipped anything that I had already done before in prior games. There is just too much copy/pasted content here as far as the open world goes, especially for a 5th entry. The random encounter rate has inexplicably been increased as well, anytime the player is running- this choice makes no sense and made exploring the open world more of a chore than necessary. The addition of entirely new gameplay styles, such as driving, hunting, and snowball fights are cool. They bring a much-needed change of pace to the typical Yakuza experience. This game has some of the funniest substories in the entire series. There are also some great PS3-era aesthetics on display. Thanks to a welcome change in settings and characters with some funny substories, Yakuza 5 stands out as the best among the PS3 releases in the series. However, many instances of copy/pasted gameplay, the usual slow-paced cutscenes, frequent random battles, and loads of unnecessary dialogue do bring down the experience. Still, it remains an impressively ambitious game with a deep, if slow, story to tell. It's worth seeing through to the end.