Like A Dragon Gaiden: Why Would They Do This, Are They Stupid?

[@shin_nasrash]

6:07 barefoot actually cost you money is the funniest shit i ever seen

[@azuresapphire220]

Barefoot? In this economy?!

[@TallTapper]

kiryu feet

[@thehwguy4293]

It's literally like a racing game charging you to reduce weight by taking out everything from the interior except the steering wheel and driver seat.

[@icravedeath.1200]

​@@thehwguy4293I guess at that point it's just there for balancing reasons.

[@manukau5271]

27:57 The reason he didn’t take the original deal was the get the 3 jimas out of prison to avoid war with the Yomei

[@inconemay1441]

I just realized all their names end the same and spit my drink. You made my day.

[@cloverharvest1145]

​@@inconemay1441dude same......

[@tally7478]

Jima brothers

[@Screwy]

"17th episode" if I'm not fucking up my math, implies you have pre-destined slots for the Kurohyo games, and that's kinda based

[@Cvit]

Now that the English patches are out they will be covered. If kenzan gets a patch I will go back and do it too

[@cyber_stealth]

​@@Cvityakuza 3....

[@user-bl6oj1hl8i]

​@@CvitAyy, that's sick. Kurohyou 1 and 2 desperately need coverage. I hope against hope that enough of it will reach RGG and put remakes on the table since Ishin got one.

[@TheExFatal]

​@@user-bl6oj1hl8inot by that hack

[@REDEEMERWOLF]

@@user-bl6oj1hl8i Unless Cvit hates them for stupid nitpick reasons

[@ratt__mann9220]

Why is Kiryu a super spy agent? Is he government?

[@coltonwilkie241]

He's a dumb dumb

[@SomeNewGuy]

9:12 Did you know? The Obatarian has been in more games than Nishki. I hope this ruined your day like it did mine when I first realized it.

[@deadzone4033]

She is literally immortal! How is she still around!? She even keeps the same look! Doctors must hate her!

[@StardustCrusader18]

Nishiki lives on in Ichiban

[@blindeyedblightmain3565]

This comment has made my day lmao

[@AlexZenigata]

>I hope this ruined your day like it did mine when I first realized it. Actually Mine got his day ruined by being the Revolve bartender cushion.

[@deadzone4033]

@@AlexZenigata Mine couldn't actually "Fly" it seems...

[@doonishsan]

9:40 Don't blame the fans too. Blame RGG and the magazines. They spoiled it literally WEEKS before the game's release.

[@AlexZenigata]

SEGA telling fans that this is perfect entry point is so fucking bad.

[@one1nsanity]

I mean they can't say "nah you need to play 8 games before lol"

[@rafabuda0]

Ah yes, the spinoff of the 7th game in the series is the best entry point.

[@mortomultiverse8778]

Even Yakuza: Dead Souls is a better introduction than this game

[@SaberRexZealot]

Yakuza 7 is fine for newcomers but even then…

[@Emrick723]

@@SaberRexZealot i started with 7 and then went back to 0 and played the entire series and i personally enjoied a lot, the only thing was getting spoiled about kiryu being the tojo clan 4th chairman

[@JE3MAN]

To be fair to the Kaito substories, you have to remember, within the timeline, Gaiden takes place between Judgment and Lost Judgment. Kaito hasn't gone through the character arc he went through during the Kaito files yet.

[@Edward3Nigma]

Yeah, but he never was an impulsive dumbass in the first place, unlike in Gaiden. The writer just needed Kiryu to be there to save the day because he's Kiryu, and it just made both Kaito and Higashi look stupid and incompetent.

[@apurpledragon]

@@Edward3Nigma Well Higashi we don't know for sure as he was only on screen for all of like what...3 minutes? But I do agree, the did my gorilla boy so dirty.

[@OneArmedMadman]

@@apurpledragon the real crime is that in that substory, Higashi has his unique moveset but then in the coliseum he has a shitty knife moveset

[@hi.fi.mike4]

They dumbed him down for sure, but there’s at least *some* precedent for his behavior if you think about the small side plot about his old best friend coming back to town leading to him and yagami fighting. He’s gullible, but he was definitely aggressively dumb in LAD:G

[@Calhasnopals]

He also opens in the first Judgment by beating the shit out of that Horseplayer guy. Kaito was definitely still impulsive and aggro in 2019

[@mrflithyslug9891]

Personally, I thought the incompetence of the Daidoji was on purpose. The agents talk down on the Yakuza so much when they're not very different Regarding Shishido's not killing Nishitani, it seemed pretty obvious to me that he was pyschologicly dependent on him, which happens a lot in abuse cases where the victim will still stay by their side and even deny abuse. (Could've been explored more, but I thought there were enough context clues.)

[@hi.fi.mike4]

The only reason the Daidoji put pressure on the orphanage is because of Kiryu breaking out to go save Hanawa. Even then it’s shown that while they’ve been given multiple chances to make due on their promise and kill his family, they give him a second chance. He decides to trust the faction because if they didn’t already assassinate everyone he loves, then he can be sure they will the next time he tries to pull something like that. Which leads to him spending the entirety of IW disagreeing with Date about how he should reconnect with his loved ones (albeit, he still follows). They are barely present in IW which is a big writing problem, but he remembers what will happen to everyone if he falls out of line again.

[@tylertheguy3160]

The Daidoji are basically a bunch of thugs larping as secret agents.

[@redhood444]

He needed nishitanis money and crew to fight vs Watase and Daigo forces

[@JayceCH.]

I found the Daidoji stupid and literally just yakuza thugs like Cvit. I also agree with you a bit on the stockholm, but mostly that its just easier for Nishitani to lead the revolt, and Shishido will off him and take control after.

[@redhood444]

@@JayceCH. daidoji had incompetent members like any organization and also they were kind of shackled in their movement because they are supposed to be a shadowy org so they can’t just move in public. Shishido needed nishitanis money and crew

[@interneteris]

It's funny how the yakuza fanbase can never agree that a game is just good it's either the best in the series or the worst in the series

[@megamike15]

" 0 is the onlly good game in the series." " nothng before lke a dragon matter so skp them" and then the ever wonderful " skip yakuza 3"

[@Quinners-p2d]

Kiryu is not in kamurocho at the start the game says he’s in roppongi you could argue having him in Tokyo is stupid at all but that’s not really that close to kabukicho/kamurocho

[@klaus.sfc01official30]

The fact that it is the only mainline game without kamurocho is kinda funny.

[@HeathenRenegade]

I actually think I noticed it wasn't Kamurocho the first time I saw the opening bit, but then when I actually tried to play through I was SURE he was just across the street from the iconic gate. I think they just show a familiar angle across from the place where you do the tutorial fight, so I thought he was literally just hanging out basically a minute walk from New Serena. I felt extra stupid reading this comment because I realized I'd actually stood basically in the exact spot I thought that scene took place, because it's just like the outer wall of Shinjuku station and doesn't actually look like that alley. I even took a picture of the gate from there. (Starts singing Baka Mitai)

[@trashpittv287]

On the bright side with the drones and cigarrette bombs is that you can hold both buttons down to use them in tandem. Having enemies distracted and standing around bombs so they can detonate makes for a decent crowd control option

[@PokeHeadroom]

to me the last two chapters of the game was like if RGG men in black showed up to my house, flashed me with their mind erasing pen and said "you like this game, shishido is awesome and you want to kiss him" i kept thinking how fucking stupid the boat was, how dumb hanawa and the daidoji were for letting kiryu choose "joryu" as his fake name. anyways this game is perfect

[@Midnight7Marauder]

Gay

[@imprezovremizhe432]

About Akame points: I didn't have any shortage of them and by the end of the 4th chapter I was fully maxed out.There was not a single point in the entire playthrough where I had to purposefully grind them for upgrades. More so, I haven't completed even a half of the requests that you may get from town's folk. Substories and Coliseum give you enogh currency to be maxed out. Of course, you still have to complete those as well, but I doubt that you could call it a grind. And really there is no point in upgrading all of the abilities since then the game becomes a cakewalk even on the Agent difficulty. I guess we just had different experience with this aspect of the game, the system is indeed not perfect, however it is in no way as terrible as you make it sound like.

[@wymanrtaylor]

Agree. I more or less ignored the the random people across town and still had so much money and so many Akame points that I ended up significantly overleveling; final boss was a joke as a result

[@funnynamelol3156]

I was really baffled at this because this isn’t Yakuza 0 anymore. You don’t need to do every little thing anymore to 100% a Yakuza game now.

[@MilkJugA_]

i agree, they were nice tasks to do between walking to substories. you dont need to grind for it that much really unless you want to max out your character in my experience. Which you dont even need to do. I even did the amon fight without having all my hp/atk stats maxed

[@DaryllAsh]

for real, akame points were pretty easy to gain for me without grinding. i can understand that he doesn't the story but calling gaiden a shit game is just wild imo.

[@CanadianAdam]

I was drowning in cash and Akame points by the end, but I did complete the arena. I was able to buy the best gear and all the upgrades. I don't even think I needed to use a healing item during the final boss fight because you get so OP.

[@Lyandrig]

I'm not sure how you can call Shishido undercooked as character but then praise Aizawa when Shishido is just Aizawa with the same screentime in a shorter game, but maybe they just didn't say yume enough in Gaiden for his dreams and ambitions to count.

[@delk1299]

Aizawa was the consequence of the ''main'' villain of the game, his father. Who went above and beyond due to his terminal cancer to give his son everything But Aizawa himself rejects and resent this idea of getting his dream without working and earning it. Why do you think Kiryu tells Aizawa to work his way up the right way when he defeats him? Shishido is not ''just aizawa''. Shishido literally backtracks on one of his two main drives which is his utter hatred for Nishitani, and wants to go to the top only on the excuse of outing a traitor. It is not about chasing a dream, but about being unable to let go of the one thing he's familiar with

[@Yanramich]

​@@delk1299i thought the point was that despite all the shit he's done he feels like he has no future *outside* of the yakuza and is willing to put up with him?

[@bigbodytonka1924]

I thought that too. he was at the bottom for most of his upbringing and all he wanted was to gain power and wealth to live comfortably and dissolving the yakuza was gonna ruin all that. Yea he hates nishitani but he’d rather keep nishitani alive than to go back down to the slave status he once had. That’s why his conclusion sucks bad for him. Hes not yakuza anymore he’s a slave to the daidoji and he’s stuck with nishitani.

[@kainhighwind2]

Okay but counter point: Akane's really hot

[@ridleyroid9060]

Meh...she's mid.

[@jpkurihara]

AND she has the best Like a Butterfly version too

[@vonb8984]

JORYU

[@mr.marvin]

The actress who plays is pretty attractive.

[@hjblacdes61]

She also has a great personality

[@Blue_Shad_Brandon42]

While I enjoyed both games there’s no denying how they did Hanawa was so odd and infuriating bro ☠️

[@UNSTABLE111]

they did him dirty but i still love like a dragon inifnite wealth..

[@REDEEMERWOLF]

Oh no! They killed off my favorite character Hanawa!

[@nabe-sensei]

Here on another episode of not letting dead men rest. At this point I don't even think writing Kiryu to die outright with a Metal Gear Solid 4 like 50 hour long cutscene packed with meaning is going to stop RGG from reviving him and putting him in the next game.

[@tropicturtle9021]

Infinite wealth really felt like it was finally putting him out of business for good with how weak and decrepit he looked in the games closing cutscene, but I guess we’ll see if that sticks.

[@squirtbrainz1219]

@@tropicturtle9021He’s definitely not being written out entirely, but I can see him being written out of the protagonist role for good

[@ktrn6713]

After his death at age 70 in Like a dragon 10 unlimited heat, kiryu comes back in Like a dragon Infinite Health as a synth kiryu, he was created in a lab and his consciousness was transfered from his old body.

[@pigmuffin3581]

@@tropicturtle9021 we all know he's going to come back

[@JayceCH.]

Completely fine with him being Daidoji blackmail and coming back every game, but the execution for explaining it was rather dumb.

[@retro.7673]

I’d like to personally thank DLC Majima’s special cyclone move for carrying me through the arena and money grinding 💜

[@deadzone4033]

Same here... And that "HI-YAAH!" At the end of his spin is the cherry on top.

[@kannyboy1847]

I did that too, but the moment I got Sugiura I didn't look back, he is literally invincible as long as you are dodging and dodge attacking, and has infinite dodges, he is so busted lol.

[@C-xn1dw]

Imagine paying 8 dollars for that

[@retro.7673]

@@C-xn1dw pre order bonus lmao

[@nesswardstar2880]

28:04 That's Roppongi, not Kamurocho. This is a pretty huge oversight in your review because it makes your point irrelevant about Yuya and Kazuki seeing him. Even if you'd argue both are in Tokyo, It's still almost 6 km away from Kamurocho so there's no way people who actually knew him would spot him there.

[@Neogears1312]

No. It doesn’t. Seeing how yuya bumped into him in 5. Meaning that’s a pretty huge oversight in your bitching.

[@disgaealikerasapOG]

Why did Kiryu not wear an actually good disguise? That's what I wondered. I'm sure they have the technology of at least a 2000s movie like white chicks...

[@ezenatiello2017]

Superman with glasess logic

[@JPG.01]

Sega is much like the Tojo in the Yakuza series. Whenever Kiryu tries to get out, or gets kicked out, they bring him back. Every. Single. Time.

[@mrultima9466]

You got hit by a car while getting Infinite Wealth? Man, I know some games go all in on their difficulty, but this is ridiculous!

[@Calhasnopals]

The whole point of “Everyone else fell for this games tricks” is really moot and honestly kinda rude, imo. It contradicts your point that we can enjoy this game in spite of your criticisms and makes it look like you’re playing ‘Pick-me’ cos you didn’t ‘fall for it’. There’s a lot of passive aggressive talk in this review and it’s not a good way to try and present your arguments

[@bubblesofsoapy]

Agreed. I actually agree with a lot of his points, as grumpy and bitter as he sounds. But the more of a jerk you are, the less people are going to want to listen to your opinion. Seems like the RGG community is trashing this video and I get why.

[@xiopia3940]

Womp womp

[@C-xn1dw]

He's right about everything tho

[@jranimations5955]

First off, his argument starts off with how he does not like the game and why that is the case. Without that I feel like his whole video would have no identity. I do not believe this is a review as it is more of a retrospective, thus the more emotional touch. I do believe that anybody can enjoy any game, but there has GOT to be a line… like Sonic Forces.

[@dopey473]

SPIT YOUR SHIT BOSS

[@amrgames_shorbah]

Still waiting for yakuza 3's retrospective

[@Billb0418]

Rikiya....

[@bllover1684]

MINEEEEE!

[@deadzone4033]

Ruff

[@saadabdullah3225]

Us

[@amberhernandez]

Cvit's waiting for Kiwami 3 to get announced for the 20th anniversary

[@name_used1473]

gaiden is one of my top yakuza games, the only point i agree with is that the daidoji is pretty stupid and incompetent. Edit: 59:30 marketed as a missing piece between 6* and 7* not 7 to 8

[@tomoaries]

"A slog of busywork and some of the worst writing in the series." Thank god someone said it. This is exactly how I feel about Infinite Wealth too. They just feel like they lost track of what makes these games special in the first place.

[@makito106]

44:45 I'm praying Shishidō comes back in another game. The Oni or Tojo clan trying to make a back would be great.

[@AntonioRedgrave]

I still REALLY enjoyed Gaiden, but I also agree that the events of IW make it worse on the narrative side. I also played this before LJ and in hindsight, it's unfortunate that Gaiden's combat isn't as good as it is in LJ, but i still had fun with it. I'm also very conflicted on IWs ending, and I'm curious to hear your full thoughts when the retrospective comes out in 2047

[@bendreier1593]

2087

[@funnywes]

i feel so vindicated hearing someone bring up kiryu's totally but totally not for real daidoji pact. over the two weeks or so in which the main plot stuff in infinite wealth is happening it felt like kiryu had 5 different "the world now knows that the legendary dragon of dojima is alive!" moments that more or less went nowhere and ended with nameless grunt number 8 walking up to kiryu and go "yeahhhh, sorry about that man, you're free to go, go nuts" massive letdown, piss story, GREAT video

[@REDEEMERWOLF]

don't feel so good about that, this video is embarrassingly nitpicky and childish. is that how you are too?

[@Lato_Deszcz]

What’s with the nonchalant bayo 3 spoiler? Makes the point about Kaito feel a little mute.

[@Maloolz]

He had a handful of spoilers in here that just come out of nowhere. I haven't played Lost Judgement yet, why show me a spoiler for the ending, after ranting earlier about how Yakuza fans have so little restraint when it comes to blurting out spoilers? I like the video, but I have my criticisms.

[@Lato_Deszcz]

@@Maloolz yeah I was willing to chalk judgement spoilers up to it being "basically Yakuza" but it was equally off. Some parts of this video feel like they were designed for entirely different scripts but got stitched together with little regard as to how they meshed. Overall fine, but you could really feel him not having any fun making this.

[@Maloolz]

@@Lato_DeszczHe should take a break from new Yakuza IMO. There's nothing wrong with falling out of love with a franchise. I wouldn't mind if the script read like he had more interesting critiques for it, but the script just reads like he's fatigued and doesn't even have too much worth saying other than "this sucks, I'm tired of it sucking." I was the same way and took a break from the series for awhile, now, while I share a lot of his criticisms, I'm still looking forward to more of the series because I've allowed myself that break.

[@delk1299]

@@MaloolzBayo 3 should not be spoiled but the video warns for spoilers on ALL yakuza games. LJ is part of that

[@Maloolz]

@@delk1299 Judgement ain't a fucking Yakuza game. That's like calling Hokuto no Ken a Yakuza game. Give proper spoiler warnings, especially if in the SAME EXACT VIDEO you moan about people being loose with spoilers.

[@RageaholicCensorsPeople]

Had to stop watching the video 9 mins in. I don't love this game, but you whine too much and aren't funny. The comments even warned that you randomly spoiled judgement.

[@catasplurge1000]

not to hate but a lot of gaiden complaints ive seen really feel like people just figuring out they dont like the series cause i really dont think a lot of the elements have any much difference or better justification in any of the other games

[@system3217]

Honestly Gaiden is higher up in my RGG tier list, a lot of the points made in the video are valid, they just didn't negatively effect me. After Infinite Wealth though, this game definitely did not need to exist and the daidoji stuff is the source of the more baffling plot points.

[@NeoReoxis]

“What if yuya saw him” ur so funny dawg, 7 whole times u've run around Kamurocho and u can’t recognize the immediate difference in location I’m cryin ☠️☠️☠️

[@VirtuousAezon]

Hypothetical

[@NeoReoxis]

@@VirtuousAezon The hypothetical doesn’t make sense

[@VirtuousAezon]

@NeoReoxis I'm like 100% he's referring to how if Joryu was in Kamurocho he could be easily spotted by anyone there who knows him which happened multiple times in Infinite Wealth

[@NeoReoxis]

@@VirtuousAezon but he’s not in Kamurocho so why bring it up? That’s a criticism for 8 not Gaiden 😭

[@Yanramich]

​@@NeoReoxisto be fair to kiryu, until the end he at least tries to hide his normal look

[@DaDungeonNCR]

I’m not done yet but your combat gripes give me pause. The random expert blocking and countering has been in yakuza games for ages. This is why you can step cancel out of most moves and reposition yourself . The fighting engine is a simulation with respect to directional damage similar to virtua fighter . It’s a best of class fighting engine and I don’t doubt that the enemy density and other factors make it seem janky but I really think you should’ve dug deeper into the character action aspect and found more reliable methods to dominate combat

[@tonyc3142]

I usually like to hear out people opinions and criticisms but this comes off as to knick picking and complaining. It does have its bad sides, the akame network was easy to level up I maxed it without trying to. Some side stories are a nob to past games if you played the sub stories for the past games. I feel like you went into this game ready to shit on it.

[@xylose848]

Couldn't agree with you more buddy, this mf came outta nowhere 😂.

[@MatDurrant777]

I'm glad you've recovered from your car accident, I was very surprised to hear it mid video. Amazing video as per, regardless the subject, you always make it enjoyable!

[@JacobTheCroc]

In an interview it was proven that Gaiden was supposed to be part of Kiryu's story in 8 but it was so long that they had to scrap it to a smaller game. This game could've suffered from bad writing solely because it wasn't the priority. But now other question is how this game would even work in 8? Considering they made an entire Kiryu list section only to have the bucket list option, could suggest that they planned more. But... It feels like RGG shouldn't really be splitting their games in half as in 6 months they really did not make this game seem that good.

[@Maloolz]

I'm glad you mentioned this, this would explain at least partially to me, why Kiryu's half of Infinite Wealth felt so rushed and like it suffered rewrites... It's because it probably did, and Gaiden is the proof.

[@WebbedManiac]

Which interview was that?

[@REDEEMERWOLF]

source of the interview?

[@JacobTheCroc]

@@REDEEMERWOLF look it up

[@Rabbitlord108]

Oof. Sorry to hear about you getting in a car accident. I hope you're doing okay.

[@jasonfitt7049]

24:24 wel at least your honest about being wrong cause omg its like you are trying to actively search for things you can nit pick because you are acting like a child who just wants to be different

[@pyrobowser158]

So butthurt you left 2 comments. It's ok to say the game is mid compared to other yakuza games :).

[@jasonfitt7049]

@@pyrobowser158 it’s not the fact he’s saying it’s mid it’s the fact that very little of his criticism is valid

[@Hymn_]

@@jasonfitt7049reminds me of his disastrous persona 5 review 💀

[@Skeleton20133]

@@jasonfitt7049 Except it is valid.

[@christophersmith5996]

The daidoji constantly sending Kiryu on missions without altering his appearance and expecting him to not be recognized and then constantly threatening him with the orphanage when he does get recognized is so damn stupid. Also the whole plot point of Kiryu having to constantly deny who he is to his friends even tho his cover is blown the instant they see him pissed me off.

[@jakejutras5420]

Wtf is with the Judgment spoilers with no warning? That was a fucked up thing to do man.

[@disgaealikerasapOG]

Glad I played both before this so i wasnt spoiled.

[@MrAjking808]

The game came out years ago lol 😂 you aren’t being spoiled

[@ApHap5713]

@mrajking808 not everyone is a NEET who plays every video game right as they come out.

[@CoD7Vietnam]

There’s a spoiler warning at the beginning of the video?

[@Kessekom]

@@CoD7Vietnamthe spoiler says YAKUZA series, not JUDGMENT series.

[@SuzuNoUtaTX]

Hope you’re doing good Cvit. Just watching your intro (and knowing your other Yakuza opinions) I think we agree on most points but I think a lot of the extra stuff was a call from outside the studio to make the game worth it and accessible to new comers when it absolutely the hell shouldn’t have been. Any story accessibility was pandering even to newbies. Looking forward to watching the rest of this while I job hunt.

[@EzraLeoGomez]

It only takes like 20hrs to get the platinum trophy in this game. A lot of the “grinding” is extremely generous compared to 0,1,3,5,judgement and ishin. It’s pretty negligible. The only issue is the game being a full priced game.

[@lefthand9672]

Literally was just looking for a in-depth review/discussion dor Yakuza 8 after just beating it. This works perfectly.

[@frogglen6350]

>in depth Boy this video is just 1 hour of random spoilers and basic opinions

[@cronch9716]

​@@frogglen6350????

[@funnynamelol3156]

22:50 it’s not gacha btw where the hell you’d get this info from. You made leveling up your fighters a lot harder than it needed to be by like… a lot.

[@abqxillia2044]

54:03 I always thought the ending of 6 was so wacky that 6 was just the hallucinations of a dying kiryu as he bleeds out. But I didn’t like 6 at all and thought the secret reveal was enough to completely break the suspension of disbelief.

[@AlexZenigata]

I also feel you 100% on the Yakuza burnout. Infinite Wealth has burned me out severely. I've played it on and off for a few weeks, reaching the ending with a good, "not rushing it" pace (grinding a little bit after Yakuza 7 difficulty spike I decided it would be wise to be overleveled a little bit) but my God, Yakuza 8 is quite rough. The whole last part of it all feels rushed. And I really hope RGG reels it back a little bit with this writing style and waits a bit before making a new one.

[@Edward3Nigma]

Would you actually recommend playing IW? I'm literally here only for the story by this point and I'm wondering if it's even worth playing the game itself or if I should just watch a playthrough.

[@ExplodingFruitOne]

@@Edward3Nigmafrom yakuza 7 to IW, it’s honestly such a huge leap in gameplay, I mean that in a good way

[@Edward3Nigma]

@@ExplodingFruitOne Yeah I don't like turn based combat in general. I'm just asking if the story is good enough to warrant 70 bucks

[@ExplodingFruitOne]

@@Edward3Nigma I’ll say this, imo it’s a much better closure story for kiryu in IW than 6, I think a big problem the story does is how some of the villains are portrayed, one of the villains you encounter is made to be this big bad guy who’s just a deplorable person but then is made a muck of when the actual real big time villain is introduced, also the game still has the moments in the other rgg games where there’s like 10 minutes of characters having to sit down and explain things to the player

[@Edward3Nigma]

@@ExplodingFruitOne I'm just gonna ask for the real deal breaker. Does Kiryu ACTUALLY get closure? As in "is never going to come back outside of possible refrences and minor cameos" and is the build up worth the pay off for his ultimate closure?

[@Qrinity]

Points are valid but come on youre too harsh. Its messy in story but the combat gameplay is so well refined where the last chapter single-handedly the best chapters rgg has made.

[@JosephJoeseph]

Kaito being incompetent for the protagonist's sake is especially egregious considering that a massive part of why his character was so fantastic in the Judgments is that he had so much agency. Side characters feeling like they exist for the protagonist and have absolutely nothing in their lives beside the player character is an issue with almost every video game and Yakuza couldn't really escape it until Judgment either which is why it's such a big deal that Kaito felt like a real person with an actual life and goals separate from the protagonist. He was a friend to Yagami and not his obedient servant inferior to him in every aspect, only existing to aid him and not doing anything on his own. He DID do lots of shit on his own, he was integral to Yagami's success and they were actually equals and partners. It felt like a real friendship and Kaito felt like a real person. Sometimes he wouldn't be in a quest just because Yagami called him for help and he said he has other stuff planned for that time. Sometime he's solve something offscreen on his own without any involvement from Yagami because he's a competent person who'd act on his own if involving Yagami wasn't necessary. He had an unprecedented level of agency for a video game NPC and it made him into such a well-rounded character who you could believe and get invested into as a real person. I'd bet that's why he's so beloved and why he's the only character beside Haruka to turn from a side character into a playable one. So turning him into a tool to show off how cool and sexy Kiryu is is especially offensive compared to any other character in the series.

[@dieisongoulart8974]

Agree about Kaito, but Majima was also a side character that became playable after getting popular.

[@cloudsavage]

I think the problems with the writing and content comes down to the changes in management at RGG, which is sad to see. I felt the same way with how ishin was treated

[@kflemonice]

All of the games were written by the same head writer, Yokoyama.

[@cloudsavage]

@@kflemonice this is true but I personally think it might have to do with structural changes at RGG as they seem to want to be much more efficient in how quickly they can pump these games out. Therefore less time is spent writing the games as production needs to kick into high speed much earlier.

[@fugutamasuoable]

@@kflemoniceYokoyama is not always the main writer. Furuta is the guy who usually does better stories.

[@REDEEMERWOLF]

@@cloudsavage what was wrong with ishin? That's not a new game the story wasn't even new. You're so dumb.

[@makito106]

5:35 lol that's the 1st thing I did when I got the jet boots. I wish they were usable outside of combat tho.

[@tonyc3142]

Just get in to combat then use the jets to escape and cross half the map with no repercussions. My favorite way to travel in the game.

[@wymanrtaylor]

I didn’t DISlike this game, but certainly thought it was aggressively mediocre. For it to be the highest rated of the series is insane

[@TheNuts1225]

Most people probably wrote their reviews right after the ending.

[@thegrumpyman7158]

I never had a problem with the gaiden combat, i can easily combo in people in the air, the best way to get enemies in the air is to use spider

[@KJWY]

Why did you spoil Bayonetta out of the blue like that? Was it really necessary to give that example? I don't think it really added anything to the video, It seems to me that you just spoiled it for the sake of it.

[@endervertanranger]

Lol get rekt

[@DEPORT_nonWhites_or_KILL_them]

@@endervertanranger incel

[@nek729]

Bayonetta is more than a decade old , holy shit.

[@KJWY]

@@nek729 Bayonetta 3 is not.

[@saschaberger3212]

​@@KJWYif you were interested in it then you would have already played it. It's been 2 years.

[@SaberRexZealot]

I think Yakuza 6 was leagues better than this game. Stronger theme, fun side characters, detestable villains and an open ending. I loved it - its only flaw is the wonky combat honestly. They really didn’t need to keep Kiryu after that; should’ve just gone full hog with Ichiban and his friends. RGG Studio are so good at creating new and compelling characters so it’s genuinely baffling why they can’t let go of Kiryu. Also, Gaiden has an insane amount of filler. Thought I was playing a Kingdom Hearts game with how little presence the story had until the end of the game.

[@GunGun-cf3ss]

Deadass, this game makes Yakuza 6 look like a masterpiece

[@sinisis_sinisis]

i liked gaiden because of it being a small/ straight to the point story compared to the rest of the series. however i think if it were attached as a DLC to lad8, id probably enjoy it more as it would be like kaito files but with (hopefully) some new side content. It would've been a neat way to hint towards a yakuza 9 with shishido making an appearance because it seems gaiden was written after lad8. i hope they make more gaiden games but with better campaign pacing as i didnt like doing side content during my main campaign.

[@Eugene_TEC]

He's not the main lead or anything but complaining about Shishido's lack of screentime is odd, he basically gets more than any other final boss besides Aoki and Ryuji. The Yakuza series has always kept its final bosses at arms length.

[@Sorrelhas]

The Aslume spreads THE ASLUME SPREADS

[@ags8507]

baman

[@prettieboiswag6659]

Officer balls

[@jovif.spemudaindonesia1841]

Jonkler

[@Sorrelhas]

@@prettieboiswag6659 BWAAHAHA

[@bonbob9512]

Officer balls

[@WeebGawd]

Aizawa is the best finale boss? Dawg what… how….? I generally respect your opinion on most takes regarding the yakuza series but this is a wild one, love the content tho keep up the great work and thank you 47:54

[@Stefano.C]

Story wise, Aizawa sucked ass, but it was hilarious when I first experienced him saying he didn't know why he was the villain 😂 Gameplay/combat wise, he's one of the best. I'm a 3 and 5 fan, but I get why people hate those two games a lot, and that's ok

[@naaboom8276]

how long ago did you make this video 1:59? in the middle of watching of it but curious if your opinion has changed now if you've played 8

[@Cvit]

just keep watching it will make sense

[@naaboom8276]

​@@Cvit yea i had the same issues with both stories. i remedied gaiden with mods which made gameplay so much better and cut the slog. i was always wondering how the daidoji were so incompetent but i loved both games nonetheless. super devisive but thorough review. awesome work

[@Roughness]

I definitely enjoyed the game but I actually find it refreshing to hear a different perspective!

[@braigybraig]

I enjoyed Gaiden for what it was but you're unfortunately on point about the pacing/padding issues and the fact that 8 essentially makes Gaiden's story pointless. $50 filler arc with a fantastic ending.

[@ThatGuy-gv8ye]

Good video. Regarding launchers its mostly the same as in lost judgement. Use a launch attack and immediately swap to consistently keep enemies in the air. I wont act like i know what kind of black magic they use to make this work but it is what it is.

[@gsifdgsgs]

No. Only small enemies can juggled normally. For Boss characters juggles nerfed pretty hard and you can't juggle more than 10 hits, only way to do it is from what I have seen, timing an another launcher when the enemy falls to ground but that resets your juggle unlike lost judgment

[@wonderfultaco7853]

@@gsifdgsgs Look up a final boss no-hit run and you'll see how hard you can juggle bosses

[@gsifdgsgs]

@@wonderfultaco7853 if you read my comment I already explained how do they do that

[@tequilafeline6552]

I don't care what they do with him anymore. They don't know how to write happy endings for most of the main cast besides the people in onomichi. From 7 its been a downhill of progression for everyone which is crazy because i really believed everything was gonna be okay after 7.

[@inconemay1441]

My breaking point is bringing Koyuki and Yuki for some reason and they're the exact same as in K2.

[@caeluskami]

As soon as I saw the notification my day got so much better. I'm always looking forward to your uploads

[@AxelWedstar411]

Buying at least one of every item that looks like it might be needed for a substory is the first thing I do in every new LAD I play. Premium Sushi Set? Gee, I wonder if some nice homeless fellow would be willing to part with something for one of those...

[@Maggerama]

Who'd ever call anyone "Brother Conflict".

[@Flutterdark_]

22:50 correction its not gacha as the fighter recruiters are not rng tho it feels like rng when there are only a handful good fighters in the later zones like the top of the casino.

[@shizuwolf]

I relate to your statement about people having negative opinions on the series being viewed as crazy. Some of my hot takes like “Judgment is boring” or “Lost Paradise has the best combat” makes me feel like people are going to put me in a straight jacket

[@maxwellpaynewell5305]

As a major Yakuza fan, there is so much toxic positivity in this fanbase and series that it's ridiculous. Basically nobody is willing to criticize any of the games unless it's one of the predetermined safe jokes (blockuza 3, schizo ichiban, rubber bullets, etc), and if you make any observations that arent "PEAK PEAK PEAK" you're just a hater. I almost wish that IW was outright shit just so people would stop glazing every entry like they're gospel.

[@nineteenseventyfive6709]

@@maxwellpaynewell5305honestly I agree. People love shitting on the older games when I find everything after Judgement to be much less compelling, with the exception of 7 and the Kaito files… Not to mention things like the rise of microtransactions and beating the dead horse that is Kiryu lmao

[@jialin7]

“Your stupid and your opinion is objectively wrong” 🤓🤓🤓

[@BlehhhXP]

I love every single one of these games except kiwami 2, and I can agree yea, people are crazy, personally Gaiden is one of my favorite games and I believe these points are pretty stupid, but you shouldn’t be shamed for having other opinions.

[@LuizGustavo-nj4ph]

I could be wrong, but this game was a DLC of the 7th game before becoming its own thing, and the weird missions and arena was for the game to be long enough to justify the full price.

[@sinisis_sinisis]

46:11 hey man,... sawa sensei was pretty redundant but it was the only flaw in kuwanas whole le batman vigilante angle. Its the one glaring flaw to kuwanas entire philosophy.

[@JosephJoeseph]

I feel like this series tackling something as morally complex as Kuwana's philosophy was just getting in over their heads. Don't get me wrong, the games can be complex, but they were always complex from an emotional perspective. They delved into their characters and their emotional depths, but philosophy wasn't something they ever deeply ventured into. It's not a strenght or even much of a component of the series. And they fumbled horribly trying to talk about it come Lost Judgment. Vigilante justice is a belief that's incredibly difficult to approach and takes a massive depth of philosophical knowledge to discuss, and convincing someone who believes in it that they're wrong would take surgical accuracy, extremely convincing rhetoric and many interlinking points supporting your layered argument. And it really highlights how badly RGG fumbled that there's such a massive layer of people whose takeaway was that Kuwana is right. Sure, that's an angle some people would always take, but if there was a compelling argument to the contrary the sentiment still wouldn't be so popular. And it doesn't help how many other unrelated things LJ was also about simaltaneously either.

[@Cvit]

My issues is less about kuwana “being right” and more so that literally anything said to yagami is just hit with sawa sensei thrown in their face as if they killed her. He’s more mad at people who didn’t kill her than the dude who actually did

[@sinisis_sinisis]

@@JosephJoeseph well i cant really speak for RGG, but i think they were successful with their philosphy question in lost judgment. yeah sure people are going to root for kuwana based on their perception on the justice system and how unreliable it can be. Even yagami recognizes that, however its important to try to uphold it rather than letting one guy just do whatever they want because (inevitably) innocents will die (sawa sensei lol), its a system that has seen change and refinement for hundreds of years, a system created by all types of people. IIRC in the end of LJ, yagami lets kuwana escape and hope that he would reconsider his beliefs. Unlike the other yakuza games, it wasnt totally black and white, and kuwana was given the freedom of choice. Im not surprised that a lot of people end up agreeeing with kuwana, rather i think his support in the audience show how successful the LJ philosophy question was, as that question ended up dividing the fanbase rather than everyone thinking “yagami=right xd”

[@sinisis_sinisis]

@@Cvit maybe i gotta replay LJ, (which i would do constantly if you could skip investigation missions) but i think sawa sensei’s death was meant to be that one thorn to all their internal moral reasoning for their killings. If it werent for cases like hers, there wouldnt almost be ANY reason to side with the law as the people who died were really bad people. But because of sawa sensei, she acts like a thorn to that shield of morality the “antagonists” have wrapped around themselves. Every single wall of text reason that they could give defending their killings would just fall apart once she was mentioned. (i know i basically repeated the same point 3 times in this comment, but im trying to emphasize her importance in the game)

[@JosephJoeseph]

@@sinisis_sinisis Well yeah, that's what Sawa's death exemplifies but the game doesn't delve into it at all. If you don't make that connection on your own it kinda just feels like the whole 'oh no, our antagonist is too correct, let's make them eat babies or something' trope. Sure, that's not what it actually is but when it's up to the fans to explain what the actual thesis of the narrative is, then the narrative didn't do a good job of telling it.

[@inconemay1441]

The florist talk just reminds me of Tehsnakerer bringing this up in his Y5 video, they really want to write a mystery drama but the existence of the Florist in the very first game would just make things too easy so they just do stuff like this. Clothes being so expensive in a game with slow ways to earn money, what is this, Pokemon?

[@fidgetf.2470]

I feel like RGG studio has been spending to much budget of every entry into the series on more new side content which nearly always is underbaked with bad characters while they could be spending it on bettering the main content instead of perpetuating the ``WOW this serious game has so much goofy side content`` shtick which misses the point of these games.

[@fidgetf.2470]

sidestorys are essential (not counting fetch quests) but in infinite wealth alone there is dondoko island and sujimon battles, both of which have very generic characters and sujimon battles having the same face these 5 bosses of the big evil league thing that has been recycled for so long and the actual gamplay of both is simple monotonous grind, RGG should atleast make less side content which is more polished than a ton of slop which most people skip anyways.

[@JosephJoeseph]

For sure, watching Infinite Wealth's trailers really made me feel like the game is just trying way too hard, and the whole reason the whackiness of the games was endearing in the first place was that it felt so earnest. I haven't played IF yet so I can't speak much on whether or not this feeling is right but in general more and more of the side content has been feeling like they're just doing it to satisfy the expectation that Yakuza games are silly, and it's progressively more difficult to stomach especially when I can see how much resources it's taking away from improving the presentation of the main story. The overly verbose nature of these games wouldn't get on my nerves if the long dialogue scenes had engaging direction. I was never annoyed by the long cutscenes of MGS because even though codec calls were the same cost-cutting boring way to present dialogue as the in-engine shot-reverse shot of LAD, they were much better balanced alongside real cutscenes with real direction and performances from characters that actually emoted properly because they weren't constrained to reused, cheap animations when they weren't just standing still. The codec was also way less jarring because the facial animations were still on point and it was properly framed in-universe for why it looks the way it does. But most importantly, there really were just way more actual cutscenes aside from MGS1, where it's easily excused by the fact that PS1 graphics wouldn't really let characters emote in cutscenes, so the 2D headshots of the codec served way more of a functional purpose. Of course more cutscenes would be expensive but if all that money wasn't spent on subpar side content that still ends up underbaked, it would serve the quality of these games immensely. And hell, if they focused on much less, but higher quality side content maybe we'd get some actually well-written side stories with their very own cutscenes again. Wouldn't that be something.

[@bentleywittman4617]

​@@fidgetf.2470So you didn't enjoy dondoko and sujimons then ?

[@fidgetf.2470]

@@bentleywittman4617 not really, I found them too monotonous and boring.

[@bentleywittman4617]

@@fidgetf.2470 What about sidestories and gameplay itself then ?

[@l_unaSy]

I still feel like Gaiden (+the Ishin remake) is taking up a slot in their dev cycle that was supposed to be for something else that didn't pan out (like Judgment 3, or some other spinoff idk)

[@zerorush912]

While I do disagree on a lot of what you have to say ab 8, I feel like this is something that people do need to hear. I love this franchise to death and it’s incredibly personal to me. I’m still going to keep playing the games and 8 left me super satisfied. But I still can’t ignore the botched messes that were Ishin Kiwami and Gaiden. It’s totally fine if people like these games but there are a lot of things that they need to work on so we don’t get messes like that. I really appreciate that you’re so passionate about the series because I only want the franchise to move in a positive direction and if we keep letting messes like Gaiden happen things are only going to get worse. EDIT: No you're right this quite possibly the worst entry in this series. I've gone back to re evaluate it and it is a joke that this one of the most praised entries in the series.

[@klaus.sfc01official30]

As someone who liked the game i get your points. I can see why you would find the side quests and leveling annoying. I enjoyed them cuz i in general like helping people doing busy work to help etc. The leveling kinda felt rewarding because it was difficult to achieve upgrades. Also i am someone who hates grinding and i disagree with what you said. I only did the sidequest-esque request missions and some smaller ones i passed while walking to sidequests or story encounters and easily managed to get all the upgrades. Money i mostly got from the arena which i somewhat grinded cuz i wanted to fight amon. That didn't take longer than 3-4 hours though There absolutely are grindier games. (cough yakuza like a dragon) still i enjoyed my time with the little grind i had to do. I can see though that if you are not focused on doing everything in the game (or atleast the mayor stuff) that can get annoying. But the original judgment aswell as lost judgment also have that kind of issue in my eyes. The encounter rate isn't that bad after you experienced yakuza 5 lol I actually enjoyed running into enemies only to fight because i found the fighting alot of fun. I agree that the story is meh and at points is stupid (why the fuck did they kidnap hanawa instead of just yknow accepting kiryu's request!? Or listening to him?) but i have to say shishido is a fucking savings grace. The part of why he would help with the disbanding makes no sense but him encapturing a man that has lost everything i just really liked. I probably would hate the game if it weren't for him. In the end i would say the game is what happens if you have half a year and a really tight budget to fix alot of mayor plotholes + having to write yourself out of a corner your wrote yourself into and you can really see that. Why the fuck kiryu is in his normal attire and not his joryu attire in 7 is still nonsensical. They kinda wrote themselves into a corner after 6 and realised that like 5 minutes after release. I'd still give this game a solid 8-9/10 i still enjoyed my time and enjoyed the story for the most part. As long as you get the game for a discount i would recommend it aswell. It by far isn't the worst yakuza game story wise and absolutely isn't a bad game. That is just my view though i still can absolutely understand your points :) If you or anyone has anything to remark please do i'd love to hear your opinions :)

[@kanjobazooie3809]

Very much enjoy the video, well edited, entertaining, and you explain your position and thoughts well. It's very telling how good you are at these that I loved the vid while disagreeing with almost all of it, lol. I loved Gaiden, especially coming from 6 being the last Kiryu game I played, which I thought was a horrible ending for Kiryu, both narratively and in terms of an overall game. For Gaiden, I thought the characters were great, combat was excellent, though a step down from the Judgment games, and the story it had to tell was sick, getting to see the dissolution from another perspective and how Kiryu was doing after 6. Though the Daidoji as a whole aren't great in terms of writing, and like you said, Nishitani felt a bit undercooked (I did really enjoy Shishido, myself). It's clear with this and your other Yakuza vids that you're really passionate about this series, and it's genuinely saddening that you'd consider Gaiden actively bad, especially when I'd probably put it in my top 5 games in the series. Hope that the series can improve for you soon, as it sounds like you didn't enjoy Infinite Wealth too much either. Thanks for the vid

[@Reikosamaa]

54:20 feels like they try to kill off Kiryu for years but can't go through with it fearing the series won't survive without him. Kinda sad but that's sadly how it is over such long times xd.

[@JoshGolus]

One step closer to the time we all Fly, my friend

[@sadiqabduljalil7067]

I adore this game. It’s a nice good bye to one of the most iconic characters of all time, the dragon of Dojima, Kiryu. I enjoyed every thing this game offers, story wise and gameplay wise. The last scene in which Kiryu cries after seeing the kids was very emotional and genius at same time. Thank you Goraryue

[@Mythril_YT]

Except it's not a goodbye as it seems

[@makito106]

56:00 This is why your Yakuza videos are my favorite in this fandom

[@GnosisZX]

Actually kiryu mentions in yakuza 4 that very same thing of the weight of being a legend to one of gangs leaders saying so what if you beat me all that says is you’re a good fighter something of damn near no use to society

[@NapoleonBlownapartMMA]

I still haven't finished this game. The combat was fun but yeah, I kinda had the same feeling about the story/writing as you did. And i don't think i found any decent sidequests. I'm not a fan of when a series gives a character a good send off, and then brings them back. Makes the entirety of Y6 essentially pointless.

[@dirty2287]

holy shit napoleon i love you

[@UNSTABLE111]

RGG is eating very well these days..points you made are valid but honestly, I never hated an RGG game..and it probably wont change no matter how ludicrous it gets..games are just too damn fun

[@descendantofartorias2067]

I agree with most of your criticisms of this game but finally having Kiryu actually be fun to play in Dragon engine and having my favorite final boss in series on it's own is enough to make me like this game. For me personally a lot of this games issues would've been solved with new game plus, I would be a lot more accepting of the grind if I only had to do it once. Also the Nagumo joke here 27:02 killed me when I got it.

[@TheFivegoodemperors]

Yakuza 6 pretty much wrapped up Kiryu’s story. Bringing him back (as the main playable character in a game) was obviously going to be a soulless cash-grab. For that reason I never took it seriously, I think it can be fun but I had no real expectations of something great.

[@GomerJ]

The substories not just appearing on the street (y'know, like literally every other game in the series) is probably the worst time waster in the game, for me at least. Going through and activating them 1 by 1 was insane.

[@jarodk1294]

As much as I like Yakuza series, even I think that series should take few years break(that includes Yakuza like games like Judgment), for its own good. When it comes back they should leave Kiryu be, maybe include him as cameo in side mission and concentrate on totally new character or at least one of the previously playable character that isn’t Kiryu, like let’s say Akiyama. In mean time SEGA could try and bring back some other series like Shinobi, Skies of Arcadia or Sakura Wars etc. RGG could help if not straight up develop one of these themselves.

[@jacobnaylor3377]

It really says something that this is one of my least favorite games in the series and yet it still was more impactful to me than half the games I thought were good last year.

[@JacobDecker-u4i]

dang bro, thanks for spoiling bayonetta 2 for me in a unrelated video.

[@barrel3193]

That’s what I’m fucking saying

[@Skeleton20133]

Bayonetta 2 is not a recent game.

[@Jamik96]

I had my issues with the game, but some of the issues you brought up feel exaggerated. The economy with the upgrades i got most of through chapter 3. I played this game right after 7 and still liked the game. Biggest issue is the asking price for 5 chapters of content but the game was fun to play and explore and easy

[@walderoni9865]

He isnt in kamurocho in Gaiden, thats roppongi....

[@Eugene_TEC]

That said this definitely feels like a DLC-length campaign they stretched to fill a full game.

[@xvct2661]

Once again I’m here to say i shall return when i finish the game and also show my support

[@jkidcrazy24]

Damn bro how you give a spoiler warning for Infinite Wealth then spoil Bayonetta 2??

[@ads1854]

It's funny how he bitches about Yakuza fans spoiling kaito for being in a substory for five minutes, then casually spoils a huge moment in a completely different game. I guess it's okay when he does it for some reason.

[@Skeleton20133]

Bayonetta 3 was released a year ago. Not a spoiler.

[@JosephJoeseph]

@@Skeleton20133 It doesn't matter when something is released, it's still a spoiler. Especially when it's only been a year, people don't just immediately chew through every single new piece of media that ever comes out. If it was a 10-year-old game that argument would hold some weight at least but 1 year? Really? Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset about the spoiler or your comment or anything like that, hell, I'm of the belief that spoilers rarely matter anyway, because if a story is well-written then knowing won't take away from the impact, but other people do care, and this is a really flawed argument for why they shouldn't be annoyed when they get spoiled to out of nowhere.

[@Skeleton20133]

@@JosephJoeseph Yes it does matter. It's your fault.

[@JosephJoeseph]

@@Skeleton20133 BRO, WHAT'S MY FAULT? WHAT'D I DO?

[@REDEEMERWOLF]

Sorry Bro, but Gaiden was good. How can you have such an L take Also saying the kiryu crying scene should have been in 7 is the stupidest thing they could have done. 7 was a soft reboot, why in the hell would the crying scene be put into that game with no context surrounding it? Stop making videos dude, take a break from being so negative and full of hate and touch some grass. For your health. Respectfully.

[@mr.slipboi2700]

I agree with a lot of what you say in this video but still for some reason all this makes me want to do is play through it again

[@RyuHousen]

As a previous big fan of the series, I was extremely hesitant to get this game because of how poorly the Ishin remake (in my eyes) did as an actual game and not just a reskin. I ended up trying to speedrun this game as a joke, getting through the game as quickly as possible with zero cutscenes and zero context about each story fight. I think I was actually better off not watching back everything I skipped because holy shit the story was just so poorly done. And having finished IW and heard your thoughts on it, I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels the same way about this series as a whole.