Yakuza 5 Remastered (PS4) Review

Five times the trouble.

Yakuza 5 is follow-up to Yakuza 4 released back in 2012 in Japan and three years later worldwide in 2015 for the PS3. It follows a bigger cast of characters as they're caught up in new yakuza conspiracy. The game received a remaster last year alongside Yakuza 3 and 4 for modern systems, so that's the version I'll be reviewing. Having been playing the Yakuza series for years now, I've been excited in checking out Yakuza 5 for a while now. Does it live up to expectations? Let's find out.

 After the events of Yakuza 4, retired yakuza Kazuma Kiryu is living peacefully as a taxi driver, after leaving his orphanage and Tojo Clan behind. However, he finds himself back into the fray to stop an all-out war between the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance when the leader of the Tojo mysteriously vanishes. Joining the adventure are Tojo Clan legend Taiga Saejima, who returns to prison to make amends with the clan, only to find out that his sworn brother is dead and a conspiracy that plans on extending his sentence; Kiryu's adopted daughter Haruka Sawamura, who leaves her family behind to purse her idol career while dealing with the challenges and drama of a pop star's life; loan shark Shun Akiyama who searches for his missing money that he lent only to get swept up with Harkua's struggles; and lastly, disgraced baseball player Tatsuo Shinada who aims to find out the truth behind his ban form the national league.

 As always, the story's not short on criminal conspiracies, plot-twists, shocking betrayals, and a grand finale that ties up all characters' stories together. Without delving into much spoilers, Yakuza 5 is by far the most ambitious story-wise, introducing many new characters while also not coming short on the heavy emotional moments and a bad-ass final showdown. The themes of following your dreams and passing them down was also a highlight of the narrative. 

The story was an entertaining and thrilling one
from start to end.

 In terms of gameplay, it's the standard beat 'em up affair as you pound enemies to a pulp by using your fists and other objects laying on the street. Each character has his own fighting style with Kiryu's punches and kicks being the most balanced, Saejima being the tank of the group focusing on heavy and charged attacks, Akiyama has his light but fast kick attacks, and Shinada busting skulls using a wide range of melee weapons. Additionally, you can pull off neat finishers in the form of "Heat Moves" when the blue gauge under the health bar fills up. These range from finishing off enemies with your bare fists or brutally smashing a bicycle or a sledgehammer down their faces, which never got old.

The gameplay is solid and each characters'
play-style felt unique.

 Battles transition more seamlessly compared to previous games and this time around, fights are more over-the-top as you get to fight an army of armed goons, fighting a giant bear with your bear fists, and pulling off some "He's definitely not alive after this one" quick time events, all of which were a blast. Admittedly, the game is clunky when it comes to invisible walls and characters clipping through objects here and there. Though thankfully, the camera system is much more better this time around.

 Outside of combat, you'll be exploring the game's five cities, as each is packed with side content to indulge in. These range from throwing darts at bars, playing games at the arcade, eating food at restaurants, singing karaoke, playing baseball, visiting clubs, and my personal favorite, going bowling. Substories are ever present and see you interacting with some oddball characters as you get to help them with their troubles. I loved checking them out as they often place the leads in weird and funny situations, which made for a good laugh and neat rewards as well. Better yet, they show up in your map now, making it easier to find them than just aimlessly scouting for them previously. 

Lay down a beating in all sorts of flashy ways.

 In addition to each character having their own play-style, they even have their own side-stories too. Kiryu has a taxi side game where must drive customers all over town while racing street punks. Saejima will be hunting in the mountains in exchange for loot while also hunt for a legendary bear, in third-person shooter fashion. Haruka's side game is a rhythm game where she challenges dancers from all over town to improve her abilities as an idol. Lastly, Shinada's side game has him challenging baseball players to improve his batting skills and settle a 20-year-old grudge with his team mate. I enjoyed the side stories as they're engaging and fleshed out the characters even more. Being a fan of cars and racing games, Kiryu's taxi missions were my favorite. 

Have some fun on the side.

 Yakuza 5 is by far the most jam-packed game in the series when it comes to content. It took me close to 82 hours to beat the main story along with completing almost all side stories and substories, which resulted in a 50% completion rate. So it's safe to say that the game will last you a while if you're planning on fully 100% it or just casually enjoying and exploring the locales like I did. 

Yakuza 5 packs a noticeable bump in visuals over past games thanks to a new game engine. As a result, the character models are much more sharper and detailed, which also extends to the environments. The brightly lighted cities, moving cars, abundant NPCs and sound effects made the locations feel more alive and interesting too. Being a remaster, the game gets a boosted frame-rate to 60PFS and 1080p resolution, making things much more cleaner. It also runs well on the PS4 with little in terms of slow-downs. That said, there were constant pop-in textures, reused character models, and invisible walls that made the game feel older than it looks. The voice-work is top-notch despite it being entirely in Japanese, though the performances from the main cast were all equally terrific. It's also the same with the soundtrack, which packs some neat tracks as well. 

Yakuza 5 still looks good years later. 

 Overall, Yakuza 5 is one of my favorite entries in the series after Yakuza 0 and Kiwami. The fantastic story coupled with the memorable characters made for an awesome experience and one of the series' highlights. The gameplay was fun to play and added a much needed dose of variety with its huge amount of content. The presentation is top-notch-- cut-scenes and voice-work being standouts-- and has held up really well years later. All in all, Yakuza 5 is a must-play for series fans though doesn't come as a recommendation for newcomers as they won't get what's going on given its the fifth game.