8/10 – 15 hours
Review as written on 12/10/2023
The patch of story we’ve all been waiting for, and it hits. Even with trademark silly twists and gameplay annoyances, this is a solid Yakuza game, and further proves that this series is something narratively spectacular. That ending scene man…
(also JID made the theme song for this game??? That wasn’t on my Yakuza bingo card)
With Kiryu being reintroduced into the plotline of modern Yakuza towards the end of Yakuza 7, many wondered what our big man is up to and why he’s still involved despite his apparent exit from the franchise in 6. Said exit was quite awkward since it was buried under an underwhelming game, but Gaiden has swooped in to fix the issue, giving Kiryu a much better closure to his spotlight. Primarily, the shitty gameplay and physics of the Dragon Engine in 6 have since improved in the years succeeding its release, finally allowing Kiryu to have good brawler combat in this engine! Agent style has a variety of tools to subdue waves of enemies easily, and Yakuza style is a refined version of the previous Dragon Engine brawler moveset, better suited for 1v1s. Combat feels a lot more refined and less spammy, allowing me to execute the combos I want without much getting in the way, except for trademark super armor bosses.
Wish those weren’t there.
Outside of combat, despite Gaiden being a short spinoff, there are plenty of activities to tackle, not much less than your normal mainline entry. Karaoke, golf, arenas, mahjong, Pocket Circuit (lets gooooo), substories, the works. Though largely confined to Sotenbori, I had fun kicking back when taking a break from the story. Among new things to do is the enhanced arena in the new mini area, the Castle. A gorgeous new red light district set on an old shipping vessel. In the revamped arena game, you can command a unit of fighters and even play as some of them. Included with the deluxe edition was the ability to play as previous protags Majima and Saijima as well as the debut of playable Daigo. Cool in theory, but playing as anyone but Kiryu is extremely underwhelming, since there’s little moveset variety and no heat actions. WTF is the point?? You can also customize Kiryu’s fit here for the first time in the series (besides premium adventure), allowing you to make him look like an absolute pimp lol. Outside of this, there also exists the Akane network (JORYU!!! OKINIIII). This felt pretty lame as this set of side quests around the city are little else but fetch quests, but they give you points and money to spend on ability upgrades.
Most importantly, the story takes center stage with this entry, and is the main reason the game exists at all. Kiryu is having his true farewell in the upcoming LAD Infinite Wealth game, and we get to see what he was up to after Yakuza 6 after giving up his identity. The game’s short length allowed the story to have better pacing than previous games, since there isn’t much time for Yakuza 3 levels of yapping. As a result, more spotlight is given to the characters, which are some of the most likable in years, especially Tsuruno, Hanawa, and Shishido. Despite Kiryu’s decades of badassery, he faces a new challenge in keeping his identity and ideals in check as a member of the Daidoji secret agency, which has a role in the dissolution of the Tojo and Omi yakuza clans. Kiryu faces threats to his family of orphans as current yakuza members lash out at the prospect of losing their livelihoods. As the story progresses, we watch Kiryu’s story intersect with Ichiban’s as the game runs concurrently to Yakuza Like A Dragon’s plotline, and it’s awesome seeing cutscenes from that game from another perspective. The ending is what hits hardest, as we finally get a glimpse as to what Kiryu’s kids have been up to, and it had me bawling as much as Kiryu himself watching the videos of his grown up kids. Genuinely one of the best endings of any game period.
Gaiden’s small package was honestly to its benefit, allowing the story to be more focused, and allowing you to explore side content at your own pace more so than before, making completion seem less daunting. It’s crazy how RGG can crank out so many games in a year; Game Freak is a real clown posse compared to them.
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