Recent reviews by SMGold, Friend

In a retrospective review written after this game's sequel has been completed, Ai still remains one of my favorite visual novel experiences that puts you in the role as detective alongside a charming and captivating cast in a case that goes beyond finding and stopping a killer, but exploring the lives of those this case affects. With an appropriate amount of twist and clues, the player themselves can become a detective and solve the case long before our protagonist does if they can utilize their intuition and analyze the story presented to them. Outside of the main story you'll find a lot of charm, wit, and humor that ties the game all together to be a pleasant and emotional experience.

Worthy successor to the first game. A unique experience and by no means does this discount the original game. Offers some more unique twist and once again puts the player in the role as detective, giving the responsibilities and opportunities to solve the case before the story wraps up

Best Yakuza game I've ever played. A game built upon the strengths and best parts of it's predecessor leading to the peak Yakuza experience. With a larger than life cast, and an even larger amount of content, you aren't playing one Yakuza game, you're playing 5. Each character and city has it's own identity and ways to kill time, making you really feel like you're on a tour through different regions of Japan. This game took me over twice the amount of hours to beat than any previous Yakuza game, and while it's long, it doesn't waste any time. Different substories, side jobs, and character progression challenge you to explore every avenue of 5 different cities. By the time I was finally able to beat Part 1 of the game, I already felt like I had a complete experience, and I was lucky enough to have only scratched the surface by this time. In many ways I see this game as the true ending to the Yakuza series