izigame.me

finished the game, my original opinion stands, its really fun.
the new UI is really good, although in my opinion i kind of miss that "jrpg schizo" feel that LAD had, but i dont think that really matters considering the many other upgrades. the sound of the new UI is really nice as well, i wouldnt call it better than LAD, id call it on par.
i miss some of the old minigames from LAD, such as the theatre, dragon kart, or even property management, but IW does its own thing and i personally think it came out really good either way. dragon kart shouldve stayed in IW, thats all im saying.
really love the new system for the turn based, its no longer wait for AI to move out of enemys way and do a skill to murder half everyone, its more engaging now which i personally really love. kiryu breaking the turn based system skill is also really dope, but i wouldve really liked it if the hype meter would fill up quicker for Kiryu than everyone else considering that skill, but its fine, I hope in yakuza 9 Ichiban gains a similar skill, if a yakuza 9 happens.
a few things i dont like about IW though is the fact you cannot go back to yokohama or kamuro as Ichiban period. Ichiban can only explore hawaii, Kiryu yokohama and kamuro, and thats it. whilst it makes sense considering the story, limiting the use of my goat Ichi Bum in yokohama just kinda sucks. im aware you play as him for a bit in yokohama before leaving for hawaii, but you cannot EVER do that again unless you buy the dlc and start new game +. oh right, and also the fact new game + and difficulties are locked behind a damn DLC, like, come on sega. that just kinda sucks. also jobs feel kind of "useless" in this game, with the exception of a few skills to inherit to the main jobs. i never had this feeling of just wanting to stay as the main job everyone had in LAD, i was always switching, but IW makes the main jobs so damn powerful and actually good, i feel like its just straight up worthless to switch unless you want an electric skill on Nanba or something similar.
a few things i do like is the fact you arent getting repeats of the same skill, but just more powerful. like with Ichi Bhums first hero bat skill, it just grows more powerful and you arent gonna get it again but with an EXTREME tag. also, the fact those "LOW, MEDIUM, HARD, EXTREME" tags sometimes just straight up lie is hilarious to me. you can use IchachBumms lowest MP skill and still kill a guy if you are strong enough and have a high level bat equipped, which if you dont, youre probably not finishing the game.
although, the ending is kind of weak on ichibans side, really wished they had him to something more important, rather than what he actually does, as lets be real, what does happen is kind of stupid. it couldve been a thing he does AFTER doing something actually a bit more important. kiryus ending and finale is great, though, i wish kiryu did a bit more but considering the story and his situation i guess there just wants a lot he couldve done. just because the ending is not as good as previous games, it wont take away from the enjoyment i had.
- SPOILERS -
about what ichibum does, its about eiji and his traitory to ichi. ichi decides its a good idea to bring eiji to the police station whilst being assaulted by trash and such, i think its really stupid, but the game tries to make it as a noble act, and i admit it kind of is but it doesnt change the fact its just kind of a weak finale. eiji was such a prick to ichi, i dont think he honestly deserved a spot in the finale, and how did ichi appear that fast there just as soon as kiryu was being transported out of the tower? makes no sense. really wish it was something heartfelt similar to the finale of LAD. personally? i am treating the ending with Bryce as the true ichi final stand or whatever. i mean, it makes a whole lot more sense as his final noble act and stuff, and the whole eiji stuff as just a side thing he did to at least try and save him from the hell of the public. yknow, to whoevers reading this, sorry, and also i really hoped that both ichi and kiryu would team up to fight enaba, as i personally think itd make more sense and enaba ruined both kiryus erasure and ichibans life, whilst the others stayed and tried to buy time for them. similar to the squid fight, where if a party member gets eaten, and they are in their own arena or whatever, its a 2(ichi kiryu) v 1(ebina) and a 4 v ??? and a 4 v ???, this might be a nitpick but i dunno, woulda made the finale more impactful as you were fighting alongside the man who once erased his name and the rising rpg fan of a legend, BUUTT whilst the finale we got is kind of weak i wouldnt actually call it terrible nor bad, its just weak. this goes for ichis eiji finake part only, by the way. not counting Bryce ending, obviously, or the saeko love failure part 2, as i count that as just a funny little thing that wont matter in the long run. kiryus ending is good, the fight with ebina the serious talk and everything is just good, great even, but the finale is fantastic, on the other hand. he didnt need to fake his death anymore and put on a name and was able to become himself again, and get treatment for cancer, and even maybe meet haruka and haruto again after many years!!! also this might mean he returns for yakuza 9. and he probably will, i mean, its kiryu, he defo will. this is more of a nitpick but the fact kume doesnt appear at ALL is HORRIBLE let me kill that guy !!
oh, and to the folk that reacted my original review with clown emojis, thanks for calling sega clowns as well!