LAD Gaiden: First Impressions
4/25/2024
So. Finally, after many, many months after its release, I'm actually playing "Like a Dragon: Gaiden"! (count how many times I mention the title of the game in this blogpost) Since I've only played about ~2 hours of the game, I'm calling this my "First Impression" review...I may do more of these in the future with series I'm already familiar with. Before I begin: I just want to make it clear, that since this is a review, there will probably be spoilers. I'll do my best to keep it to a minimum, though. (Besides, I'm like, the last person to actually get to this game =w= )
As a self proclaimed "mega fan" of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, I was very excited to get back into the world of buff Japanese men. I was so happy to hear that they would expound on Kiryu's story after Yakuza 6, since it wasn't touched on much in Like a Dragon. 6's ending is still one of the more emotional ones, at least for myself, as it's basically Kiryu's final goodbye to Haruka and his extended family. Speaking of Yakuza 6, I can definitely tell I should have replayed it before getting into this one, as I literally have no idea who the "Daidoji" faction is, lol. Because of this, I basically spent the first couple cutscenes a bit confused.
To start this off, I'll begin with my favorite aspect of the game so far: the combat. I am soooo happy that they implemented Lost Judgment's style of combat- it's so fluid and super fun to use. The addition of the "spider wire" is pretty cool too; I like that you can use it to actually juggle opponents (Tekken who?) and it's hilarious seeing enemies fly off screen. Kiryu's- or should I say, Joryu's, new spy fighting style is very nice to look at...I almost feel like I'm playing Judgment, rather than LAD. One thing I wish they didn't include from LJ is the status ailments. If you've played through the first chapter of the game, then you know what I'm talking about; the group of enemies before the chapter boss were SUPER annoying to fight. One minute you're bleeding, the next you're getting shocked, then you're getting blasted with fire...like geez, way to enter with a bang, I suppose. All is not lost though- they brought the special counter back, which genuinely makes fights SO much easier to win.
Beyond the combat, the game visually looks good. Now, mind you, I am on a PS4...which means it doesn't look as good as it probably does on the PS5. Starting off in Yokohama was nice, and the little easter egg about Kasuga in the homeless camp was a nice little touch. Now that I'm on to the second chapter of the game, the location changes to Osaka/Sotenbori, which opens up with a lil' sneak peak of Haruka (please please I'm begging for more idol gameplay). I can't remember the last game that used this location- but walking past Club Sunshine gives me nostalgia TwT Speaking of clubs, the new hostess club being live action is...kinda weird? It felt very awkward staring at an actual woman (I have no game)
As a final touch to my "first impression" of LAD: Gaiden, I'd like to talk a little bit about the story so far. As I mentioned, I'm only 2 chapters in, so it's really hard for me to get a full grasp of the storyline and characters yet. I will say though, I was a little underwhelmed. In the beginning of chapter 1, you are introduced to a new character named "Hanawa", who is Kiryu's handler. By chapter 2, he gets kidnapped, and I gotta say...I really don't care, lmao. Maybe I will get a better appreciation for the character later on, but the one thing I don't particularly like about some Yakuza games, is how they sort of force you to feel for characters that are...kind of one dimensional. I felt this way about certain characters in 6 (cough Yuta cough), so I'm truly hoping that we get some better characterization. Kind of feel like it would have been a better decision to allow us to get to know Hanawa a bit more first, and then introduce risk. But hey, maybe I'm just asking for another Yakuza 3 :')
All in all, I'm just happy to be back into a Yakuza game again. The last game I played from the series was "Ishin", and while I liked that one, it didn't scratch the Yakuza itch. This one, while I did say I was a bit underwhelmed, is definitely putting me back in that zone once more. (As a side note, I find it really funny that instead of taking his shirt off, Kiryu now just takes his sunglasses off) I will one hundred percent post an updated review once I complete the game- though I cannot guarantee I will finish each and every sidestory, I can at least give my perspective on the main storyline. So, until then, this was Nana's "First Impression" review of Like a Dragon: Gaiden!
