My apologies for the overwhelming wall-text. I have segmented the review, so you can read only what you want.

Note that my experience with the Yakuza series is limited to Yakuza 7 because I’m a JRPG enthusiast, but if you are a fan of the Yakuza series, I am sure that you will greatly enjoy the game.

After completing the game with all the achievements, I can confidently say that it is not a bad game. However, there are numerous areas where I feel like it could improve.

It is important to consider that this is my opinion, though it is worth mentioning that Famitsu awarded it a perfect score of 40/40, deeming it a FLAWLESS game.

In general, the story is a flat ok, but by no means is it up to the level of Yakuza 7:

The story starts slow… very slow… So take a deep breath and keep playing.

Also Ichiban’s story is chaotic. As you progress, your interest wanes. You will meet interesting characters like Yamai, and you will also witness some great scenes and twists. But, you will soon realize that the main objective loses coherence, with too many elements thrown into the mix.

Early on, the narrative emphasizes the language barrier (Ichiban’s inability to speak English in Hawaii). For unknown reasons, as the game progresses, everyone in Hawaii magically learns Japanese ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Initially, this doesn’t appear like an issue, but it shattered the immersion for me. It could have been easily fixed with anything, such as implanting a language chip in Ichiban’s head that automatically translates English to Japanese…

The combat system has undergone significant improvement and is vastly superior to that of Yakuza 7.

While in most encounters (even on the highest difficulty settings), you may find yourself spamming AoE abilities, you will also enjoy visually stunning combos with your friends.

Additionally, there is a wide variety of new jobs available for your characters, and you can transfer skills from your other jobs to your main one (although you are restricted by a limited number of slots). This feature is particularly appealing as it allows for extensive character customization.

The mini-games are extremely fun:

Among the most noteworthy are the game’s unique take on Animal Crossing (which, personally, I’m not a fan of that genre…) and the Pokémon-style battles (surprisingly entertaining, lol). If only the game included Yakuza 7’s Dragon Kart, it would be flawless…

Furthermore, there is a wide array of mini-games to discover, including a Dating App!

As you explore, you will find enemies with a crown above their heads, indicating that they are mini-bosses. This feature significantly enhances the allure of exploration, as the rewards you usually receive are great.

Besides that, the game introduces several mechanics, that will keep you engrossed for hours. No complaints, the exploration in this game is brilliant.

The post-game content of Yakuza 7 is far superior:

As you know, the base game lacks from post-game content (although it includes Premium Adventure), which is gated behind a DLC Paywall ($EGA?).

Unfortunately, the DLC doesn’t offer much, merely introducing a new, unexciting, and uninspired dungeon (which is essentially a duplicate of the free one) and the option to engage in New Game+.

Is it worth it? Well, if you have come this far and you like the game, yes. Otherwise, you are not missing out too much. However, if you are aiming for the 100% of the achievements, the DLC is necessary…

As mentioned, this feature is locked behind a DLC paywall, but it’s important to understand what carries over from the Normal mode to New Game+. Because it screwed me so hard T_T

Anything outside this list is reset!

• Character/Job Levels
  
• Items/Equipment/Money
  
• Traits/Bonds
  
• Minigame Progress/Currency
  
• Sujimon Team/Levels (but the story progress is reset!)
  
• Dondoko Items and Money (but the island is reset!)

Also, be aware that if you complete New Game+ in Legendary difficulty, you won’t unlock the Hard achievement simultaneously! You will need to save your game before the final boss, then reload it and lower the difficulty to beat the final boss again and obtain the achievement. Alternatively, you can complete the game for a third time… lol

It is a solid game, but the price is extremely high for a game that is not even full (since you are “forced” to buy the DLC if you want to enjoy everything). If you can get it on sale, it is totally worth.

In my opinion: While it excels in certain aspects, it also disappoints in others, ultimately leaving it somewhat uneven compared to Yakuza 7.

[i]My apologies for the overwhelming wall-text. I have segmented the review, so you can read only what you want.[/i] [h1]Honest review[/h1] [b]Note that my experience with the Yakuza series is limited to Yakuza 7[/b] because I’m a [u]JRPG enthusiast[/u], but [b]if you are a fan of the Yakuza series[/b], I am sure that [b]you will greatly enjoy the game[/b]. After completing the game with all the achievements, [b]I can confidently say that it is not a bad game[/b]. However, there are numerous areas where I feel like [b]it could improve[/b]. [u]It is important to consider that this is my opinion[/u], [b]though it is worth mentioning that Famitsu awarded it a [u]perfect score[/u] of 40/40, deeming it a [u]FLAWLESS[/u] game[/b]. [h1]Story[/h1] [b]In general, the story is a flat ok, but by no means is it up to the level of Yakuza 7[/b]: The story starts slow… very slow… [b]So take a deep breath and keep playing[/b]. Also Ichiban’s story is chaotic. [b]As you progress, your interest wanes[/b]. You will meet interesting characters like Yamai, and you will also witness [b]some great scenes and twists[/b]. But, [b]you will soon realize that the main objective loses coherence, with too many elements thrown into the mix[/b]. Early on, [b]the narrative emphasizes the language barrier[/b] (Ichiban’s [u]inability to speak English[/u] in Hawaii). [b]For unknown reasons, as the game progresses, everyone in Hawaii magically learns Japanese[/b] ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Initially, this doesn’t appear like an issue, [b]but it shattered the immersion for me[/b]. It could have been easily fixed with anything, [b]such as implanting a language chip in Ichiban’s head that automatically translates English to Japanese…[/b] [h1]Combat[/h1] [b]The combat system has undergone significant improvement and is vastly superior to that of Yakuza 7[/b]. While [u]in most encounters[/u] (even on the highest difficulty settings), you may find yourself [b]spamming AoE abilities[/b], you will also enjoy [b]visually stunning combos[/b] with your friends. [b]Additionally, there is a wide variety of new jobs available for your characters[/b], [u]and you can transfer skills from your other jobs to your main one[/u] (although you are restricted by a limited number of slots). [b]This feature is particularly appealing as it allows for extensive character customization[/b]. [h1]Mini-games[/h1] [b]The mini-games are extremely fun[/b]: Among the most noteworthy are [b]the game’s unique take on Animal Crossing[/b] (which, personally, I’m not a fan of that genre…) and [b]the Pokémon-style battles[/b] (surprisingly entertaining, lol). If only the game included Yakuza 7’s [b]Dragon Kart[/b], it would be flawless… [b]Furthermore, there is a wide array of mini-games to discover, including a Dating App![/b] [h1]Exploration and secrets[/h1] As you explore, you will find [b]enemies with a crown above their heads[/b], indicating that they are [b]mini-bosses[/b]. This feature significantly enhances the allure of exploration, as [b]the rewards you usually receive are great[/b]. Besides that, [b]the game introduces several mechanics[/b], [b]that will keep you engrossed for hours[/b]. No complaints, [u]the exploration in this game is brilliant[/u]. [h1]Post-game[/h1] [b]The post-game content of Yakuza 7 is far superior[/b]: As you know, [b]the base game lacks from post-game content[/b] (although it includes Premium Adventure), [b]which is gated behind a DLC Paywall[/b] ($EGA?). [b]Unfortunately, the DLC doesn’t offer much, merely introducing a new, unexciting, and uninspired dungeon ([u]which is essentially a duplicate of the free one[/u]) and the option to engage in New Game+.[/b] [b]Is it worth it?[/b] Well, if you have come this far and you like the game, yes. Otherwise, you are not missing out too much. However, [b]if you are aiming for the 100% of the achievements, the DLC is necessary[/b]… [h1]New Game+[/h1] As mentioned, [b]this feature is locked behind a DLC paywall[/b], but it’s important to understand what carries over from the Normal mode to New Game+. Because it screwed me so hard T_T Anything [b][u]outside [/u][/b]this list is reset! [list] [*] Character/Job Levels [*] Items/Equipment/Money [*] Traits/Bonds [*] Minigame Progress/Currency [*] Sujimon Team/Levels (but the story progress is reset!) [*] Dondoko Items and Money (but the island is reset!) [/list] Also, be aware that [b]if you complete New Game+ in Legendary difficulty[/b], [u]you won’t unlock[/u] the [b]Hard achievement simultaneously![/b] You will need to [b]save your game before the final boss[/b], then reload it and [b]lower the difficulty[/b] to beat the [b]final boss again[/b] and obtain the achievement. Alternatively, you can complete the game for a third time… lol [h1]Conclusion[/h1] It is a [b]solid game[/b], but [b]the price is extremely high[/b] [u]for a game that is not even full[/u] (since you are “[b]forced[/b]” to buy the DLC [u]if you want to enjoy everything[/u]). [b]If you can get it on sale, it is totally worth[/b]. [b][u]In my opinion[/u][/b]: While it excels in certain aspects, it also disappoints in others, ultimately leaving it somewhat uneven compared to Yakuza 7.