Yakuza 5 (2012)

so im playing the remaster of this. the ps3 one was my entry into the series, and now ive played all the mainline games and am looping back around to playing 5 again, but on the ps4. im on the saejima part right now. i love this game so much. this is probably the most generous game out there. its so loaded with stuff. i'll say this. i know that 0 is a perfect starting point for the series. it makes sense. its super fun, the story is the best story in the franchise, the combat is amazing... yes. but 5 is, strangely, another phenomenal starting point. i see again and again people going through the franchise complaining that the stories in the games that aren't 0 are disappointing, lackluster, etc.

starting with 5 helped me understand that the joy of yakuza games is in the substories, the minigames, learning to play koi koi and mahjong, the bouyant details, and that the story is fine, has dramatic beats, but its not the whole thing... to love the world they provide is to love yakuza.

anyhow i love this game and here are my NOTES on the remaster so far:

1. love the texture improvements. my god.. the original had so many blurry textures in the city, much worse than in 3 and 4.. even though it was a ps3 exclusive, it felt like the game was designed waiting for this remaster in mind. other than textures of posters, the graphics are basically the same though, other than that. what looked good before looks the same now.
2. they dont translate the guys starting fights with you's dialogue. i really miss the line 'what's that old man smell' before some doofuses get their clocks cleaned. thats basically my only complaint so far.
3. they added baccarat!! there was an empty table where baccarat felt strangely vacant on the ps3 version. it's back now. i know that oicho kabu is basically baccarat, but still. nice to have it there.
4. i was worried that the second pass at the translation would change 'rich bastard' to 'nouveau riche' to make it consistent with 0 and kiwami 1. they didnt do that and i am grateful.
5. ok bye

I really like the Yakuza series, but at times it feels too Grindy. Whether you’re grinding for exp, money, or points from the side activities.

For Yakuza 5 in particular, I completed a lot less than I expected to because it was too daunting. I nearly finished the completion list for Kiwami and 4, but 5 is the first one where I wasn’t even close. Maybe it’s the burnout from playing 3 Yakuza games in a row, but I just beat the main story and I’m content with calling the game finished for now.