Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (PS4) Review

The Dragon's final outing.

 

 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is technically the seventh main Yakuza game released back in 2018. Billed as the final game starring protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, it's a much-anticipated game for fans of the Yakuza series. Packing a much more involved story, new setting, and a brand new look, it's by far one of the most exciting entries in the series. So does it deliver a worthy closure to the series' most endearing character? Let's find out.

 After the events of Yakuza 5, Kiryu is fresh out of prison, only to find himself back yet again in a conflict when an all-out war between the Tojo Clan and Chinese Triads terrorizes the streets of Kamurocho. That and his adoptive daughter Haruka has gone missing, with a possible relation to the turf war. Now the ageing legend must rescue Haruka from danger while uncovering the reason behind the feud. As always, there's lots of mystery, conspiracies, and big plot-twists to keep you hooked throughout the ride. Unlike Yakuza 4 and 5's bloated cast, Kiryu is the star in his final game and his journey of reuniting with his family was an emotional one from start to end. The supporting cast were great and the villains were decent for the most part.

The story hooks you in from the start
and Kiryu's still an awesome lead.

 Yakuza 6 carries on the beat 'em up gameplay we've seen in the past seven games, as you'll control Kiryu as he fights goons and explores around town. Kiryu packs his standard punches and kicks while also being resourceful by using nearby objects like bikes, stands, and tables as weapons. Heat mode returns, allowing you to pull of flashy finishers when the blue gauge is full. New in Yakuza 6 is Extreme Heat Mode, where Kiryu gets a brief boost in attack that lets him mow down enemies easily. Also new is the ability to upgrade Kiryu's stats like attack, defence, and heat gauge by getting experience points from doing various tasks in-game.

Pull-off some seriously painful beat-downs!

 Kamurocho and the new Onomichi are two maps that you can explore as each are filled with activities and mini-games to partake in. The likes include multiple restaurants to eat in, an on-rails fishing mini-game where you're catching fish underwater, singing in karaoke clubs, hitting the arcade, and a tower defence-like game with its storyline to name a few. Substories, which see Kiryu helping out various strangers with their often weird problems, are abundant and were both entertaining and emotional. A good chunk of them are voiced as well, which makes it easier to get invested in them. Both towns had their own unique charm and I enjoyed exploring Onomichi as it had the peaceful and relaxing feel of Yakuza 3's Okinawa.

There's fun to be hand on the side.

 There were a few glaring omissions that made the game feel lacking in content. For starters, there's fewer heat finishers than before, no equippable weapons (which is a huge shame), and no Revelation events that unlock new moves for Kiryu. That also extends to mini-games with the absence of bowling and pool. If I had to guess, the move to a new engine and time constraints are likely to blame and it sucks since they make the game feel rushed. With all that taken to account, Yakuza 6 is still a long game, with my playthrough reaching the 45 hour mark. So while the missing content is apparent, the amount here is nothing to scoff at either.

 Yakuza 6 is a stunning game thanks to a new engine dubbed the "Dragon Engine", which is a huge step up over the old one. Colors, lighting, and visual effects are much richer-looking now and that extends to the character models and backgrounds, as both look highly realistic. It's not perfect as there were instances of animations being reused from prior games, long load times, and the game physics being erratic. As expected from the series, the voice-work is top-notch, featuring many great talents such as Takaya Kuroda and Beat Takeshi to name a few. The soundtrack was great, packing many tracks that complimented the game's serious and lighthearted moments. My faves had to be the Karaoke tracks.

Onomichi was a calm and smaller
sight compared to Kamurocho.

 Overall, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life was a fitting conclusion to the Kiryu saga. The new game engine coupled with the drama-filled story and flashy gameplay made for a gripping adventure. Despite the shortcomings, the game remained fresh and entertaining thanks to its new setting. Fans of the series will surely enjoy it the most while newcomers should play the previous games before jumping into Kiryu's final adventure.