Reviews

Review: Yakuza 5 Remastered on PS4

Posted on: 2019-12-05

“An an enjoyable game - just get ready for some longwinded dialogue.”

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To conclude the remastered set of games of my favourite Japanese crime drama, my last stop is Yakuza 5 - which has an interesting history. Originally released in Japan in 2012 for the PlayStation 3, Yakuza 5 struggled to get a western release because the series didn't perform that well on western shores. It wasn't until 2015 when the PlayStation 4 was in full swing did the game get a western release on the PS3. Disappointingly, it was digital-only. However, now we have a shinier edition in the form of this remaster, and yes, it comes on a disc. Is it any good? Let's find out.

For the first time in the series, you don't start in the familiar streets of Kamurocho, but instead, you start on the streets of Nagoya. As before, though, you step back into the disco-stomping shoes of Kazuma Kiryu, where he is hiding out as a taxi driver in the city. However, Kazuma Kiryu's friend and former Tojo Clan associate, Daigo Dojima, has disappeared. The Tojo Clan are now in a panic as they are trying to make peace with a rival family. Kiryu has to come out of hiding to try and find his old friend, so he can bring peace between the two families. The story once again is interesting; however, compared to the other games in the series, it is incredibly dialogue-heavy. There were chapters where I was watching more than playing.

 

This time, you don't play as one character, but as five; as Kazuma Kiryu, then convicted felon Taiga Saejima, the stylish money lender Shun Akiyama, disgraced baseball player Tatsuo Shinada and for the first time, Kiryu's adopted daughter Haruka Sawamura. Each adopts different fighting styles, and they can range in speed and strength. Although Haruka doesn't solve her differences with violence - instead, she has dance-offs. Yes, really! This is a thing; Haruka will have dance-offs and sing to people, as this ties into her backstory - she's trying to be a successful pop star. It creates a jarring and bizarre tone: there are some really dark and tense moments in this game, where suddenly, you then jump to the character of a happy-go-lucky little girl. I know this is the norm for the Yakuza series, but it seems to stand out more in this game.

As I said at the start of the review, you don't begin the story in Kamurocho. This time, you get to explore five different locations. They all have a unique look and of course, carry various side activities to get lost in. As usual, these can range from crane games, darts, Sega arcade games and of course, the best side activity: karaoke. Visually this is the best looking game in the remastered collection, but honestly, it should be considering it came out so late in the PS3's life cycle. Character models hold up exceptionally well; they are expertly animated with superb motion capture throughout each scene in the story.

 

Each locale looks amazing because it's not just your standard rain and sunshine - you also get snow, as it's set in December. This is a nice change of pace with the weather effects in the series. It also runs at a buttery smooth 60 frames per second. However, the frame rate will revert to 30 frames per second during the pre-rendered cinematics, which can be jarring at times.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Yakuza 5 remastered. However, the wordier story put me off a little. Now, I know the series tends to have a lot of dialogue, but I felt this game had too of it compared to gameplay. I have never had an issue with the other games as there was a good ratio between gameplay and dialogue. Still, here, there were chapters where I was watching more than playing. However it was still an enjoyable game, just get ready for some longwinded dialogue. 

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