Recent reviews by Mirewolf

Short, sweet, and very fun. I will say, the brute robots getting double hits on you for free if you stepped too close for even a second was irritating, but the rest of the experience was solid for a free indie title. Would love to see this concept expanded with a little more depth to it.

Very cool idea, not so great execution. The concept rocks, being followed relentlessly by a creature no one else can see in the crowd, but you can constantly hear the creature and tell exactly how far it is even if you can't directly see it, and it's too easy to juke once you do. I get the addition of the asthma mechanic to make It more of a potential threat to the player, but all that I feel like was achieved was making it into more of a game of resource management rather than ratcheting up tension. I was more annoyed to get caught than actually startled or anything. Imo, this needed the actual mechanics to be more fleshed out, to actually lean more into the "It could be anyone" vibe, but I also get development limitations and such come into play too. For what it is, it does a good job of building an atmosphere, especially love the nightclub. Horror is usually quiet and solitary, but horror being found in the presence of a crowd, who does their best to ignore you because society has deemed you a pariah while you are ruthlessly stalked and possibly killed? That rules. It's a solid piece and not bad for $6, but didn't really do it for me.

Looking to try the Yakuza franchise? Start here - this one is a prequel, but provides some extra context for Kiwami and who all of the characters are in relation to Kiryu, which I personally found helpful when starting out.

Beyond that, the gameplay itself is insanely good; controlling your two main characters feels great, every attack feels like it has actual power and weight to it, and movement is fluid, even in the slowest of combat styles. The way both Kiryu and Majima fight differs enough that they don't have too much crossover, despite each of the three styles you can switch between for each character occupying the same role of Power (Slugger and Beast), Speed (Breaker and Rush), and Balanced (Thug and Brawler). There's a bunch of skill unlocks you can get for each style, and you can basically pick your favorite and pour as much into it as you want. There's also a bunch of different objects you can pick up during combat - from katanas to tea kettles, and of course the fan favorite bicycles, if it's got object physics, you can probably beat someone with it. A lot of these random objects have unique Heat Actions, which are basically super OP and often times ridiculous finishing moves, and it's always a blast trying to find all of them. The fights themselves never really feel unfair (though I recommend grinding a little once you have free roam in Ch 1, just saying), and if anything, they're a testament to the immense power the player possesses. The one man army trope is in full effect in the best possible way here, and if that's your thing then you'll probably like the combat. It's over the top, but it feels good, fluid, balanced, and makes the player feel like they can solo body 100 dudes no problem.

In addition, while you can't directly control when you switch between Kiryu and Majima, the pacing is sound and I never felt like I was getting too much of just one of the characters, nor did I ever feel like it was a slog trying to grind either character up to be on par with the other. Since the switch happens regularly, you can very easily moderate the amount of experience going into both and how long you dawdle on substories and side missions.

Speaking of substories, they're part of what makes this series what it is. To date, my favorite description of this series is a Scorsese gangster movie but every 30 minutes is interrupted by an episode of The Simpsons. My only amendment is you directly influence just how much Simpsons you want, and when. The story itself is this gritty, serious, emotional crime drama that follows two yakuza getting caught up in this crazy tangle of murder, trickery, and betrayal, with a 1988 bubble economy Tokyo for a backdrop. The substories, however, offer the player (and the characters) a reprieve from all the tension of the main story, often opting for silly shenanigans - such as teaching a dominatrix how to better humiliate her customers, or helping a man wearing a jacket that basically says "come at me bro" walk safely across a bridge without getting beaten up. The substories know how to have a good time, and never shy away from being goofy, but aren't afraid to have touching moments either. They're a good vehicle for getting more insight into who both of the characters are outside of the turmoil of the main story. The long and short of it is that the substories know what their purpose is, what they're supposed to be here for, and they deliver on that front tenfold. On top of the substories, there's also a bunch of minigames; darts, bowling, pocket circuit, pool, disco, karaoke, ports of both Out-Run and Space Harrier, claw machines, a casino, mahjong, shogi, various other gambling games like cee-lo and koi-koi, and a telephone club to help keep you entertained when you're out of substories to do. And that's on top of both characters' unique side businesses, Real Estate Royale for Kiryu and Cabaret Club Czar for Majima, that help earn the player even more money, a vital asset for leveling up in this game.

The music also hits in this game. Sega never really falls flat in the music department, and the Yakuza franchise is no different. Each of the 6 combat styles has its own theme, plus different boss battle tracks that help make combat feel even more badass than it already is. Then, of course, there's the disco and karaoke songs. With 6 karaoke tracks and 5 disco tracks, you'll find an earworm while you're busy tearing up the dance floor or serenading the karaoke bar. If all you've heard from this series is Baka Mitai, brace your butts for 24 Hour Cinderella.

All in all, it's highly likely you'll be spending upwards of 50 hours in this game - my first playthrough took me a good 90+ of doing all of the substories, Real Estate Royale, Cabaret Club Czar, and just general screwing around. If you're a fan of beat 'em ups and a good story that also knows how to have a good time, this is the game for you. It's a wild ride, but a good one. After spending 300+ hours of my life in this franchise across 6 out of the 8 main games, I can't recommend trying out this series enough.