4.5/5 ★ – vr_'s review of Yakuza 5 Remastered.

The Resident Evil 6 of Yakuza (Except actually good) Feels like I'm finally playing the yakuza I know and love again. All parts of substories appear on map made me not feel like I had to do them immediately so I wouldn't forget what was going on The UI is miles better than 3 and 4, and much closer to 0, which I personally loved This game to me was absolutely amazing. I have read some criticisms that the plot was messy and stupid, but I’d realistically argue none of the Yakuza games (0-5) have had a “good” plot outside of 0. That's not to say that the overall stories aren’t good, rather that the enjoyment comes from the small moments of interaction between characters and the crazy setpieces, rather than looking at the story as a whole. Like the other Yakuza games, I’d argue that if you read the plot summary of these games on a wiki, you’d probably be left thinking “huh that seems kinda silly, why was that the final boss and what was the point.” The point is not the overarching plot, but rather the narrative and themes that the plot is a vehicle to explore. Every character’s part was so engaging, and I was so engrossed in the mini-stories occurring that the overarching plot almost felt secondary to the stories occurring with side characters. Yes the final chapter with 4 people on the roof was ridiculous, and didn't really make much sense, but damn did I love it. This game had some straight up soap opera dramatics and I was so engaged. Unlike some previous games, 4 had side characters who I truly will remember, even with their lack of screentime. Seeing characters return in the final chapter was a joy, even if it is somewhat silly. Even with me essentially guessing what the ending was going to be given knowledge of Yakuza 6, I still found myself getting slightly teary during the final dialogue. Truly did not feel too long to me, and it took me 65 hours to roll credits (the longest I’ve spent on a Yakuza game before premium adventure).