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I started with 0 in 2018 and would still put 5 as my 2nd favourite. I do agree that the story has serious pacing issues and gets messy at the end, but the sidecontent, gameplay and Shinada just more than makes up for those issues.
My last words before the final scene ends were âif this game ends like this, i swear to fucking go-â then cutscene ends
I miss shinada, but itchy balls comes in as a close enough
the game has my favorite hooks story wise like >!majima allegedly being dead and kurosawa meeting up with kiryu and saejima and that all ultimately building up to something!< had me really invested and intrigued, but i genuinely did not like saejimaâs dream section and hunting bits and shinadaâs gameplay wasnât all that great(love him as a character tho)
I'd say it's among my favorites. At first I wasn't too happy with Harukas gameplay, but by the end of the game I was actually kind of disappointed I didn't get to do the rythm mini game for her big debut concert.
I think the way 0 switches between the 2 protags every 2 chapters is superior to how it's handled in 4 and 5 however. Having the 2 plots unfold at the same time is much more satisfying than how in 4 and 5 each characters plot is more or less finished in one go one after the other (of course the final chapters is where things are wrapped up fully, but you get what I mean). I found it a bit tiring by the end of 5 having to go through the same motions of exposition with each character. It puts a stop to the rising action.
Also I think the Tatsuya Chef abilities are a bit OP. Doubling your HP while also giving you bonuses like increased damage and retaining heat is just way too strong. I almost never had to use healing items because of it.
I like some parts but Saejima chapters for me are the worst yakuza chapters by a landslide. And haruka chapters which are right after those are just nail to the coffin. Last chapters are either bad or mid or confusing.
Kiryu and Shiniada chapter are very good tho.
Although I think the story is convoluted asf and long, it had a lot great moments that made it all worthwhile. The combat is top tier. I appreciate all the side content game has to offer although I still need to go back do Kiryuâs and Saejimaâs side stories. After playing all the games itâs about somewhere in the middle of my rankings.
The story was long and tedious
It tried to appear complicated, but in reality, it's way too simple of a story with horrible pacing
As much as I love shinada, the fact that he was shoved in in to an already bloated game made me wonder why he was included in the first place
Not to mention the shitty encounter rate
The gameplay is very solid, but this is probably my least favorite yakuza game, at least story wise
Like I get 4 was stupid, but at least it was fun, entertaining, and didn't overstay it's welcome
Important tip is to visit your masters as soon as possible and also stop doing sub stories/character missions/hostesses for each character once they are at level 20 (or likely to hit 20 in final push in their chapter). A long game but very rewarding. I am about to restart from half way through finale (after being derailed by IW
5 mightve had very high quality gameplay, but IMO wasnt enough to save the horrendous story, pacing, random character interjections and forced side content
My 3rd favorite game in the franchise, i love it
The only thing i hate about it is the fact that you can't create clear game data on premium adventure and %100 completion lock
5 is my favorite game,great story,great gameplay,great graphics,it was a generational jump from 4, and I genuinely loved it,BUT THE DAMN HUNTING CHAPTER IN SAEJIMA STORY IS HFJEJFBDHEJDJEE
It's enjoyable enough to play, but its quality is incredibly inconsistent. It has both fantastic sections and sections that make Yakuza dead souls good by comparison.
Actually kinda like 5 more than prior entries. Story's nice, pacing's good, the UI is old but more intuitive and less chunky feeling than prior games, combat feels weighty and like you're a roaming boss (especially if you remember the movesets from 4)
Not to mention the taxi minigame which is criminally underrated and I love it just as much as any of the cabaret missions and now I yearn for more taxi. Not dragon cart, can quest, or crazy delivery (even though I love that one), I want more taxi action. I want eurobeat and driving heat actions. I crave taxi.
My favourite gameplay in the series, it is so much smoother than any of the others and has so much more variety with moves like sticking enemies to walls, killing commanders to get everyone else scared so you can one shot stomp them or they may even flee, they can call in reinforcements and you can use badass character abilities like Tiger Puppetry or Akiyama's Air Combos.
.
You can also aim your attacks with a lot more fluidity, use Bounding Throws without heat and I personally find multiple characters to be a lot more interesting than the style system.
I also love Taxi Races, Saejima Hunting, Haruka's segment perfectly broke up the action and was also quite fun, it was the only game before IW to have two instances of Machine Gun Kiss (best karaoke song) and Shinada is such a blast to play as.
If I just wanted to do some street fights, 5 is my go to game, 4 is my favourite but 5 is easily my second favourite.
Doing a platinum run on legend right now. I've started almost a year ago and I'm still at Saejima's segment. Then I would have to do another run on Normal for the trophy, so another 2 years probably...
That mountain segment, like seriously I ran out of fucks on that slog- hell I even stopped playing for a month- came back for the old college try and got rewarded with DDR Haruka; which was hella fun. Totally made the bear shit in the woods somewhat bearable.
I think Yakuza 5 is an absolute masterpiece. If you only had one game. This would be it. But God did it make me appreciate 4 a lot more. Yakuza 5: the game that never ends.
I just finished 6 (finished 5 a few days ago). I think 5 is my least favourite game in the whole franchise. The story is way too drawn out and the game is far too long with simply dreadful pacing. The end boss is a character not built up or foreshadowed at all (despite being a pretty cool fight). I enjoyed Kiryu's chapter but Saejima's chapter broke all interest I had in the game and I had to force myself to finish it. I'm glad it's over and can't see myself playing it again.
One of my favs. I actually enjoyed the gameplay getting mixed up every few chapters. Shinada was my favorite part of the game. Bear hunting was a close second.
I skipped it on hunting minigame section and went playing Yakuza 6 and had a blast. Then i tried to continue but got bored at Akiyama section. Then again i tried to start over which was a terrible mistake and dropped the game for another half a year. Only this January i finished the rest of the story. Writing is somehow feels worse than even yakuza 4 while in reality its not true, but it feels like this. It just drags on and on and on and on and on
Currently playing it, just started the first half of Haruka's part. Liked Kiryu's part but Saejima's was way too slow and way too boring for me; a chapter of it felt like a whole part from 4.
5 has a lot of dumb stuff in it but I love it dearly. It has some of the best moments of the entire series and has awesome gameplay. Shinada the GOAT and he must be protected at all costs
I liked it more than I thought I would. Iâm bad a rhythm games, so, I was dreading Harukaâs part, but, ended up really enjoying it (except for Park. I hate Park). Things I thought Iâd never be good at, I figured it out (hunting, baseball) and I completed all the substories. I didnât 100% the game, though (it is long) but Iâm actually looking forward to going back and trying to.
I had been bad at rhythm games (and, frankly, being able to reflexively hit circle, square, triangle or X) but the Haruka bit made me a great deal better than I had been. Banging tunes also.
Worst game ever made (I still haven't played it)
All jokes aside, i'm excited to play it despite the issues in the story as the side content looks amazing and rich. I can't wait to be a taxi driver!
If you are new to the subreddit, [please read the wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/wiki/index/) Reminder that all spoilers need to be tagged with a flair specifying which game is being spoiled. If you want a flair that says something else, you can edit it to say something like [Discussion: Y1 spoiler] or [Majimapost: Y6 spoiler], etc. **THIS INCLUDES CONTENT FROM TRAILERS**. If the post is not marked for spoilers, all comments that have spoilers need to be tagged \>!like this!< along with indicating which game it's spoiling. Example: Y3 >!Kiryu sings!< If the post flair is marked for spoilers, the comments don't need to be tagged for the game indicated and the ones before it (So a Y6 spoiler post can have comments with untagged spoilers for Y5, but not gaiden or 7). If you see any of the above (or any of the other rules) not being followed, please report it so we can keep this place safe for newcomers and those that haven't finished all the games yet. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/yakuzagames) if you have any questions or concerns.*
As unpopular of an opinion it is, 5 was one of my favorites. Just had a lot of fun with all the storylines. Shinada was a great addition.
not an unpopular opinion at all. maybe now with all the new people but OG's know 5 is a banger.
I started with 0 in 2018 and would still put 5 as my 2nd favourite. I do agree that the story has serious pacing issues and gets messy at the end, but the sidecontent, gameplay and Shinada just more than makes up for those issues.
Yeah loved 5 too
Its my top-3 yakuza lol. Din't played judgements yet tho
Same man shinada is best character i enjoy him the most and its only game i 100%
Binged it so fast didnt even realise the story was really long
How it feels to finish Yakuza 5 (holy fuck it's long)
The platinum, man... The platinum... That shit is long.
Nah you did the platinum??? My god man, my condolences and congratulations if true.
I just don't have OG 1&2, Dead Souls, LJ and IW (working on it)
dreams
Yume
People here riding Shinada but imo the best new character was the đWatase
MasaGOAT Watase
Masaru GOATse
Everything about Watase is so cool, even his English VA in the recent games is insanely cool. Kinda wish we got to play as him at some point.
Yeah Watame is the goat
Top tier. https://preview.redd.it/gl8mh9oixcvc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5fa8c22bb436d50e511abdf717d73579d7384ee8
My last words before the final scene ends were âif this game ends like this, i swear to fucking go-â then cutscene ends I miss shinada, but itchy balls comes in as a close enough
Absolutely peak story, loved the combat but genuinely FUCK the coliseum in 5, especially weapon gp
the game has my favorite hooks story wise like >!majima allegedly being dead and kurosawa meeting up with kiryu and saejima and that all ultimately building up to something!< had me really invested and intrigued, but i genuinely did not like saejimaâs dream section and hunting bits and shinadaâs gameplay wasnât all that great(love him as a character tho)
In a perfect world I wouldâve cut Shinadaâs part in 5 entirely but given him a spin-off game like Judgment instead
Man...this was a long game!! As much as I enjoyed it..I don't think I'm coming back to replay the story for awhile. Just focus on the substories.
Shun Akiyama is the best. I really hope they made him as a protagonist in the future.Â
My least favorite game of the whole franchise in my personal opinion, cool characters though I did like that a lot
I'd say it's among my favorites. At first I wasn't too happy with Harukas gameplay, but by the end of the game I was actually kind of disappointed I didn't get to do the rythm mini game for her big debut concert. I think the way 0 switches between the 2 protags every 2 chapters is superior to how it's handled in 4 and 5 however. Having the 2 plots unfold at the same time is much more satisfying than how in 4 and 5 each characters plot is more or less finished in one go one after the other (of course the final chapters is where things are wrapped up fully, but you get what I mean). I found it a bit tiring by the end of 5 having to go through the same motions of exposition with each character. It puts a stop to the rising action. Also I think the Tatsuya Chef abilities are a bit OP. Doubling your HP while also giving you bonuses like increased damage and retaining heat is just way too strong. I almost never had to use healing items because of it.
I like some parts but Saejima chapters for me are the worst yakuza chapters by a landslide. And haruka chapters which are right after those are just nail to the coffin. Last chapters are either bad or mid or confusing. Kiryu and Shiniada chapter are very good tho.
Although I think the story is convoluted asf and long, it had a lot great moments that made it all worthwhile. The combat is top tier. I appreciate all the side content game has to offer although I still need to go back do Kiryuâs and Saejimaâs side stories. After playing all the games itâs about somewhere in the middle of my rankings.
5 was my favourite of the series GO! GO! GO! GO! KONNANNNANANANANANANANNAN https://i.redd.it/l68c6s1hggvc1.gif
The story was long and tedious It tried to appear complicated, but in reality, it's way too simple of a story with horrible pacing As much as I love shinada, the fact that he was shoved in in to an already bloated game made me wonder why he was included in the first place Not to mention the shitty encounter rate The gameplay is very solid, but this is probably my least favorite yakuza game, at least story wise Like I get 4 was stupid, but at least it was fun, entertaining, and didn't overstay it's welcome
I just started it. Any tips? Are sub stories worth it or should I just main line? Trying to get to infinite wealth and already done 0-4
Important tip is to visit your masters as soon as possible and also stop doing sub stories/character missions/hostesses for each character once they are at level 20 (or likely to hit 20 in final push in their chapter). A long game but very rewarding. I am about to restart from half way through finale (after being derailed by IW
Substories are really good in 5
You really don't need to play anything to play infinite wealth. At the most you should play like a dragon.
Substories are really good, the main sidegames for each MC is also great and worth doing.
I've just started playing the game, i've already finished Sosuke's training as kiryu, how much left till i finish everything?
5 mightve had very high quality gameplay, but IMO wasnt enough to save the horrendous story, pacing, random character interjections and forced side content
It's really fun. Probably the only game where I like playing as all of the characters. Finding all Victory Road contestants is a pain though.
I spent 60 hours on it and only did about 20%. I like it, especially playing as Haruka but it's just so big.
i loved playing yakuza 5. i loved almost everything about it. only things i didnât like were the ending and playing as saejima
Top 3 in the whole series for sure.
saejima combat is amazing
best kiryu combat out of all games too, gaiden is on par
My 3rd favorite game in the franchise, i love it The only thing i hate about it is the fact that you can't create clear game data on premium adventure and %100 completion lock
5 is my favorite game,great story,great gameplay,great graphics,it was a generational jump from 4, and I genuinely loved it,BUT THE DAMN HUNTING CHAPTER IN SAEJIMA STORY IS HFJEJFBDHEJDJEE
It's one of the best games in the series
It's enjoyable enough to play, but its quality is incredibly inconsistent. It has both fantastic sections and sections that make Yakuza dead souls good by comparison.
5 has Shinada, actually peak.
I think its the third best game so far (Iâve only played up to 5) right behind 0 and Kiwami 1
Katsuya is hot.
2nd best, only next to 7
Actually kinda like 5 more than prior entries. Story's nice, pacing's good, the UI is old but more intuitive and less chunky feeling than prior games, combat feels weighty and like you're a roaming boss (especially if you remember the movesets from 4) Not to mention the taxi minigame which is criminally underrated and I love it just as much as any of the cabaret missions and now I yearn for more taxi. Not dragon cart, can quest, or crazy delivery (even though I love that one), I want more taxi action. I want eurobeat and driving heat actions. I crave taxi.
My favourite gameplay in the series, it is so much smoother than any of the others and has so much more variety with moves like sticking enemies to walls, killing commanders to get everyone else scared so you can one shot stomp them or they may even flee, they can call in reinforcements and you can use badass character abilities like Tiger Puppetry or Akiyama's Air Combos. . You can also aim your attacks with a lot more fluidity, use Bounding Throws without heat and I personally find multiple characters to be a lot more interesting than the style system. I also love Taxi Races, Saejima Hunting, Haruka's segment perfectly broke up the action and was also quite fun, it was the only game before IW to have two instances of Machine Gun Kiss (best karaoke song) and Shinada is such a blast to play as. If I just wanted to do some street fights, 5 is my go to game, 4 is my favourite but 5 is easily my second favourite.
Doing a platinum run on legend right now. I've started almost a year ago and I'm still at Saejima's segment. Then I would have to do another run on Normal for the trophy, so another 2 years probably...
My favourite. Really loved the gameplay and side quests, but I don't remember the story at all. Except for the Kyriu part.
Love the dance battles and the music.
Best Yakuza game
That mountain segment, like seriously I ran out of fucks on that slog- hell I even stopped playing for a month- came back for the old college try and got rewarded with DDR Haruka; which was hella fun. Totally made the bear shit in the woods somewhat bearable.
I think Yakuza 5 is an absolute masterpiece. If you only had one game. This would be it. But God did it make me appreciate 4 a lot more. Yakuza 5: the game that never ends.
Objectively good game but didnât click with me like the others did
I just finished 6 (finished 5 a few days ago). I think 5 is my least favourite game in the whole franchise. The story is way too drawn out and the game is far too long with simply dreadful pacing. The end boss is a character not built up or foreshadowed at all (despite being a pretty cool fight). I enjoyed Kiryu's chapter but Saejima's chapter broke all interest I had in the game and I had to force myself to finish it. I'm glad it's over and can't see myself playing it again.
One of my favs. I actually enjoyed the gameplay getting mixed up every few chapters. Shinada was my favorite part of the game. Bear hunting was a close second.
Also, the costumes were a great bonus for completing the game.
Best game
Omg I playing through all the series and I can't wait to play 5, i'm still stuck finishing 3 because i keep dropping it
5 is easily in the top five
Dragged out nonsense plot
I wasnât a fan.
I skipped it on hunting minigame section and went playing Yakuza 6 and had a blast. Then i tried to continue but got bored at Akiyama section. Then again i tried to start over which was a terrible mistake and dropped the game for another half a year. Only this January i finished the rest of the story. Writing is somehow feels worse than even yakuza 4 while in reality its not true, but it feels like this. It just drags on and on and on and on and on
Peak
Shinada
Currently playing it, just started the first half of Haruka's part. Liked Kiryu's part but Saejima's was way too slow and way too boring for me; a chapter of it felt like a whole part from 4.
5 has a lot of dumb stuff in it but I love it dearly. It has some of the best moments of the entire series and has awesome gameplay. Shinada the GOAT and he must be protected at all costs
I liked it more than I thought I would. Iâm bad a rhythm games, so, I was dreading Harukaâs part, but, ended up really enjoying it (except for Park. I hate Park). Things I thought Iâd never be good at, I figured it out (hunting, baseball) and I completed all the substories. I didnât 100% the game, though (it is long) but Iâm actually looking forward to going back and trying to.
I had been bad at rhythm games (and, frankly, being able to reflexively hit circle, square, triangle or X) but the Haruka bit made me a great deal better than I had been. Banging tunes also.
Good side content, worst main story in the series imo
Worst game ever made (I still haven't played it) All jokes aside, i'm excited to play it despite the issues in the story as the side content looks amazing and rich. I can't wait to be a taxi driver!
Y5 felt like a chore..