Arcade Fighting Game Update Review: Virtua Fighter 2.1

Updates of video games have been common in video games since the beginning. From the multitude of Pong variations to the dozens of Street Fighter II versions, arcade updates are a fact of life. Sometimes the updates just fix bugs or tweak gameplay, while other times the changes are of the visual sort. Virtua Fighter 2.1 is the latter.

Compared to Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Fighter 2.1 has a higher brightness level by default. The characters also have different colored clothing. Some characters have slightly remodeled clothing items, such as Pai Chan's hat, Sarah Bryant's blouse and bra combo, Jeffry McWild's white athletic shirt, and Jacky Bryant's jacket.

Gameplay wise, 2.1 has better balances for character moves, improved controls and character movement, and improved contact on ground-based moves such as Shun-Di's falling attacks. The biggest change, however, is the fact that the game's metal villainess Dural can now be selected as a playable fighter.

The gameplay changes are actually a very welcome addition, as it makes the game feel a lot tighter than it did in the regular version of Virtua Fighter 2. These changes made it into later versions of the game. They could optionally be used in the ports to home consoles. Later releases of games in the Like a Dragon series even added both Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua Fighter 2.1 cabinets to in-game arcades.

Virtua Fighter 2.1 is a fine update to Virtua Fighter 2. The graphical changes are purely cosmetic, but the real meat comes in the improved gameplay. The improved controls and movement make it feel smoother than ever. The improved contact detection for ground-based moves makes it nearly a necessary update. The best part is the addition of Dural as a playable character. It's one update that is certainly well worth playing.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Puzzle Game Review: Sega Swirl

Sega Swirl was a puzzle game for the Sega Dreamcast developed by Scott Hawkins at Sega of America in collaboration with Tremor Entertainment. It is a variation of SameGame, a genre that began with the release of Kuniaki Moribe's Chain Shot in 1985.

The screen is filled with swirls of different colors. The goal of the game is to clear multiple swirls of the same color. The more of the same color swirls are cleared at once, the better the score. 

There are five modes of play. The practice mode is exactly as it sounds. The level mode moves to the next stage once all of the score and combo goals are met. The timed mode is also self-explanatory, as the goal is to line up as many swirls and gain as many points as possible within a time limit. 

There is also a head-to-head mode, which lets players play for points against each other. This leads into one of the most interesting modes. There is an e-mail mode, which allows for the game state to be sent to another player through e-mail. This player sends their state to the originating player, who picks up the game from there. This is a slow-paced style of game play, but it is an interesting mechanic that got around the latency issues due to the slow speed of modems at the time. This is especially true with the European and early Japanese Dreamcast modems, which were only 33.6 kbps as opposed to the North American and later Japanese modems which were 56 kbps. Those are measured in kilobits per second, which are a far cry from the megabits of broadband connections.

Sega Swirl is a fun take on the SameGame formula. It's plethora of game modes is also a boon considering it was generally included in magazine cover discs or within the discs of Dreamcast web browsers. It was also included in the Sega Smash pack, which is where I first played it. It's not a game that revolutionized gaming history by any means, but it is a fun time waster if you ever come across it.

Final Verdict:

3 out of 5

Arcade Fighting Game Review: Virtua Fighter 2

Virtua Fighter 2 was the sequel to the influential 3D one-on-one fighting game Virtua Fighter. Like the original, it was developed by the famed internal division within Sega known as Sega AM2. It managed to take everything good about the original and expand upon it in many ways.

The character movement was vastly improved from the original, due to motion capture technology that was advanced for its time. It is still stunted compared to Virtua Fighter 3, due to the fact that the full range of movement would not be introduced in fighting games until the release of SoulCalibur four years later.

Like the original, there was no story, just a batch of fighters competing in a tournament. The improvement upon the original tournament is that the game's cast was expanded. The original cast returns, including a man skilled in the Chinese martial art of Bajiquan named Akira Yuki, a jujitsu fighter named Kage-Maru, the American siblings Sarah Bryant and Jacky Bryant from the United States, Pai Chan and her father Lau Chan from Hong Kong, a First Nations fighter from Canada named Wolf Hawkfield, and an Aboriginal Australian named Jeffry McWild. They are joined by an elderly Chinese man who practices drunken fist kung fu named Shun Di and a wealthy French man who has a kung fu style evocative of a prying mantis named Lion Rafale. 

The ten fighters battle each other to rise up the ranks. As before, the final boss of the tournament is a female cyborg with a body made up of reflective chrome. Dural does not need to be defeated, as if she is not downed by the time the timer runs out, the game continues to the credits regardless. Virtua Fighter 2 was one of my favorite arcade games to play with friends when I was young. I played through the story mode several times but I don't believe I ever managed to defeat Dural. It never bothered me, as the game was still enjoyable regardless. Like the original Virtua Fighter, Dural can also be playable in the home ports of the game via cheat code.

The music and sound effects were created by the Sega sound team. The sound effects added to the whole experience with the slams and throws sounding authentic. There is also a voice cast that supplies the voices of the characters in their intro and winning scenes, which was the standard in fighting games around the time of the games release to the arcades.

Virtua Fighter 2 is an excellent fighting game that was highly influential to the genre. It doesn't have the full range of movement of fighting games from the late 1990s onward, but it is much smoother than the original Virtua Fighter. That is one of the primary reasons the game has received ports through emulation to later consoles and in games in the Like a Dragon series up to this day. It's music, voice acting, and sound effects make it a classic that is worth experiencing if only for historical value to see how far 3D fighting games have come.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Boycott

Rock Paper Shotgun has a story about the contents of Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties that is frankly disgusting.

"Kanda, upon discovering he doesn’t have enough cash to buy time with a sex worker, grabs an unsuspecting woman in the street and drags her off to an alley. Mine finds him gripping the terrified woman by the wrists. As part of Kanda and Mine’s arrangement, the former tasks you with leading a PR campaign to boost his reputation in the community, via a minigame dubbed "Kanda Damage Control"."

I was going to delay buying Yakuza 3 Kiwami and play it ten years down the road for Dark Ties. But, I can't even stomach this. Not just as a woman who experienced sexual assault herself, but as a decent human being. 

This is more than tone deaf considering the controversy surrounding Teruyuki Kagawa. He sexually assaulted at least two hostesses. He admitted to the first and was caught on camera for the second. There has been a boycott for this game since Kagawa was announced to be playing Goh Hamazaki in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Dies and Ryu Ga Gotoku and Sega have not handled it well. They have been limiting, filtering, and removing posts protesting the recasting, supporting the hostesses, and carrying the #REMOVEKAGAWA hashtag on social media.

There is a petition on change.org to replace Kagawa, but in light of the blood-curdling sick minigame it is just not enough.

I don't know why anyone would think this is OK. If this game goes out without any real backlash, I'm going to quit playing Ryu Ga Gotoku games altogether. I'm sure everyone here knows how big a fan of the series I am, but this is just beyond creepy and misogynistic - it makes me sick, metaphorically and literally. I'm sitting here with a pit in my stomach just typing this.

Open World Action-Adventure RPG DLC Review: Lost Judgment - School Stories Expansion Pack

The School Stories Expansion Pack was the second bit of downloadable content released for Lost Judgment, with the exception of the Windows version which includes this content built-in. Ironically, even though it expands the options available in the school stories side content, it doesn't actually include any new stories.

The biggest draws of this DLC are the boxing expansions. The most useful of these is Yagami's boxing style which can be used at any point in the game.  The other part of the expansion comes within the gym, as  three additional people can spar against for Yagami.

 
The characters that Yagami can spar with include the partner in the Yagami Detective Agency, Masaharu Kaito, the co-founder of the Yokohama 99 detective agency, Fumiya Sugiura, and the former yakuza and mentee of Kaito, Toru Higashi.

The other additions are items and cosmetic options that can be used in the various school clubs. These include additions to the biker gang with the Maxinator motorcycle and the urban course, the MB5000/Supremacy robot for the robotics club, and a new outfit and special moves for the dancing club

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The School Stories Expansion Pack for Lost Judgment is the type of downloadable content that doesn't add a new story but does add a lot of useful stuff. This is usually not the type of DLC I prefer, but the addition of the boxing fighting style and the three new brawling partners puts this particular piece of downloadable content above others of the same type. That said, this is one to pick up with the season pass, as it doesn't stand on its own otherwise.

Final Verdict:

2½ out of 5

Open World Action-Adventure RPG DLC Review: Lost Judgment - Detective Essentials Pack

The Detective Essentials Pack was the first expansion released for Lost Judgment. It was downloadable content for every supported platform except Windows, as it was included in the base game on that port. It included additional items to help with the game, new aesthetic options, new storylines, and additional Sega Master System Games.

The new storylines come in the form of three new dates for Yagami. The women include Tsukino Satome, a graphic designer, a woman inside of the Kamulop mascot, and Kyoko Hakase, the school nurse.  This is the draw of this pack, in my opinion, as the new dating stories are all a lot of fun.

 

The last two, in particular are extremely memorable. The mascot storyline has a funnier story than any of the substories in the main game. 

The other aspect of this pack that validates its price is the additional Sega Master System games to play at the Yagami Detective Agency.  The games are the cute 'em up Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa, the shoot 'em ups Global Defense and Darius II, and the run and gun Alien Syndrome.

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Most of the remaining pieces of the DLC are helpful items that can be used in the game. These include the six extract recipes for lightning blade, telekinesis, insta-flux, unyielding wave, guardian spirit, and temporal zen. There is also an open air skatepark, a hover drive skateboard, a new drone frame known as the sky spider, a super boss version of Shin Amon to fight in the gauntlet. 

There are also three new colors for the detective dog that sits outside of the Yagami Detective Agency.  These include white, black, and rust coloring.  The fur color is purely cosmetic, but somehow welcome as the Shiba Inu is adorable in any color.

 

The Detective Essentials Pack isn't downloadable content worth paying for on its own, but as part of the season pass, it's a nice addition to Lost Judgment. The new hostess stories and Sega Master System games are the draw of this game, but the rest are helpful additions to the game. Well, the new Shiba Inu colors are an exception. However, because they are an inclusion in a pack with more helpful additions, they are not worth sniffing at.

Final Verdict:

3 out of 5

I Will Only Purchase Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Used and Won't Review Them for 10 Years or Until Teruyuki Kagawa Is Replaced

Teruyuki Kagawa, the new actor for Goh Hamazaki in Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Dies sexually assaulted two hostesses. The first hostess to be known to the public was sexually assaulted by Kagawa in July 2019. He released two apologies for this, the second after he was criticized for the first. He lost roles and sponsorships but his career has bounced back. The hostess, who understandably hasn't released her real name to the public for her own safety, now has post-traumatic stress disorder.

Unfortunately, I know all about sexual assault firsthand and the trauma never goes away. It has been nearly four decades for me now, and I still have to take medication at night to avoid night terrors. 

The second hostess came forward on December 27, 2022 with incriminating photographic evidence of her sexual assault by Kagawa. Despite the photographic proof, not only did he not apologize, but he also sent her a notice stating that she was taking advantage of the report of assault of the first hostess and was overstating the severity of the situation. He also had the gall to state the sexual assault was "past the statute of limitations anyway".

The deeply troubling part of the replacement of George Takahashi with Kagawa as the actor for Goh Hamazaki is that Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have been limiting, filtering, and removing posts protesting the recasting, supporting the hostesses, and carrying the #REMOVEKAGAWA hashtag on social media.

As a big fan of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and the Like a Dragon series, I am especially saddened by this. Japan has always had a misogynistic view towards women, but the studio is usually quite progressive when it comes to portraying hostesses in a good light and showing those who sexually assault these women as sex pests. This apparently doesn't extend into the real world. 

It's doubly galling due to the fact that Pierre Taki was quickly replaced by Miou Tanaka as the actor portraying Kyohei Hamura in Judge Eyes, the Japanese version of Judgment, due to alleged cocaine use. However, Kagawa admitted to sexual assaulting one hostess and was caught on camera sexually abusing another, but the studio and its parent company have remained silent.

As I stated in my other protest posts, I founded WE Computers Museum, which is all about the preservation of all computer software, so it will definitely have the game at some point. However, I have decided to only buy it for the museum used at Goodwill so no profits on my purchase go directly to Sega. 

As I've been linking the museum and this blog together on game pages, I will likely review it at some point as well. However, I have decided to impose a ten-year period after they release before I review it, unless Kagawa is replaced. I'm doing this to limit any impact this site may have, as little as it would be, on the sales of the games.

Please support the women who work in Japan's nightlife industries. It is dangerous work and they deserve to be treated with dignity. Join the #REMOVEKAGAWA movement on social media and sign the petition to replace Kagawa on Change.org.

Arcade Passenger Delivery Racing Game Review: Crazy Taxi

Crazy Taxi was the first title in Sega's long-lived franchise of the same name. It brought a fast-paced rush against the timer style-game that is less of a taxi simulation and more of a racing game with marked stops to pick up and drop off passengers. That style of game worked wonders in the arcade.

The game starts with an attract mode featuring the very 1990s skate punk music of The Offspring and Bad Religion, assuming the venue has attract mode music on. My local Walmart always had the attract mode off, which is understandable, as it would drive the cashiers crazy after a while. After a quarter is inserted, the deep-throated voice of DJ Bryan Burton-Lewis, a tokyo-based disc jockey, tells you to pick a car and driver. 

There are four drivers to choose from, each with their own convertible-modified taxi. The charaters included the green haired maniac Axel, the funky cool B.D. Joe, the calm and cool Gina, and the slick open-shirted Gus. My friends, family, and I always went with the same characters. My friend would choose Axel, with his New York-city style taxi, my sister would choose B.D. Joe with his taxi with an elongated hood, and I would choose Gina, with her taxi with white paint down the front and back. No one I ever knew chose Gus. He did have a pretty cool car though, with its classic 1950s-style curved hood. 

The characters would pick up passengers, who lines based on your skill at picking them up including "watch it, you nearly killed me", your performance such as "I'm gonna be late", or indicating their destination, such as "take me to the KFC". In regards to the latter, the original arcade version of the game included several real-life American brands including the aforementioned KFC, Levi's, and Pizza Hut.

Each person requesting pick up has a circle at their feet which indicate how far their fare will take them. Red indicates short fares, yellow indicates medium-distance fares, and green indicates the longest fares. The farther the fare, the better the pay, but it will also run out your timer if you aren't careful. If you make it to the destination quickly, you can earn bonus time, so it's smart to pick up a bunch of red fares if time is running short. You can also make more money from your passengers by doing stunts such as drifting.

As this is an arcade game, your money is added up when the timer runs out. Your score indicates your license rank. If you get $0 at the end, you get no license, and the licenses go up from there by every thousand. The ranks range from E to A, then to S, with E being the worst and S being the best. If you do better than that, you will get an "Awesome" rank at fares above $10,000, and a "Crazy" rank at scores above $20,000. Ranks S and above will get you to the rolling credits. After the game is over, or the credits are over in the cases of high ranks, the player will be able to add their three letter name to the leaderboard.

Crazy Taxi has always been a fun game to play in the arcades, as it is another feeling altogether playing with a physical steering wheel, brakes, gas pedal, and a drive to reverse shifter. However, more than a quarter century later, it is a bonefide arcade classic. From the 90s skate punk music, to the deep tones of the announcer, and especially to the smooth and addicting gameplay, Crazy Taxi is a game anyone can enjoy.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Open World Action-Adventure RPG DLC Review: Lost Judgment - The Kaito Files

The Kaito Files downloadable content for Lost Judgment follows Takayashi Yagami's partner in the Yagami Detective Agency, Masaharu Kaito. It was the first piece of downloadable content by Ryu Ga Gotaku Studio that told a new story rather than adding content to an existing one. It also led to the creation of the side story Like a Dragon games, which tell contained stories focusing on characters other than the current protagonist of the series.

In The Kaito Files, Kaito is left as the head of the detective agency when Tak leaves town on a case. Kaito takes a case on his own and has to explore Kamurocho and Sotenbori to find evidence and interrogate supsects. Kaito has his own style distinct to Yagami. While Tak is more refined both in fighting and in his detective style, Kaito is all about brute force. He plows his way through adversaries, and is blunt about his suspicions. Although, Kaito does have his own charms in the friendly jock sort of way. He is also less intelligent than Yagami, but he makes up for it with his amazing charm. This difference in the personalities makes the story feel like a fresh take on the series, even though it takes place in the same cities as the main game.

Kaito has another interesting difference. Rather than using surveillance tools like Yagami would, Kaito uses his senses, which the game describes as primal like an animal. Kaito can look, hear, and smell for clues using his eyes, ears, and nose although the hearing portion still has the fuzz signifying slight interference with the signal that Yagami had with his devices. Although this doesn't make sense narratively, it is easy to overlook when playing the game.

Like Yagami, Kaito is not alone in his detective work, as he gets help from Yokahama 99 in Ijincho. Like the Yagami Detective Agency, the Yokahama 99 detective agency is a partnership. One partner is the shy computer genius. The other is a former criminal. He is Kaito's distorted mirror image, as Moriarty is to Sherlock Holmes. Whereas Kaito is large and bullish, the other is of average build and is quick in his movements. He shines here as he did in both Judgment games. 

The voice actors return, of course, from the main game. They are just as good here, in Japanese and English, as they are in the main game. The new voice actors are great as well, in both languages. Kaito's case involves his ex-girlfriend, who is one of the best new voices in English and Japanese. He is asked, both by her husband and her son, who thinks Kaito is his dad, to search for her. The former is aloof, with the voice actors providing the right performance for his personality. On the other hand, the son is impetuous. The voice actors here do the most heavy lifting, as he follows Kaito on his investigation. This could easily become grating, but it never does because the voice actors don't provide him with an over the top performance as many impetuous teenagers have in many forms of media.

The Kaito Files is a fantastic downloadable addition to Lost Judgment. The story shines, as is usual with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. The returning characters are just as engaging as in the main game, and the new characters fit right in. The voice actors do an excellent job bringing the personalities of the characters to life. This is what DLC should be. If Judgment ever gets a new entry, it would be great for Kaito to be a protagonist, even if only in a side story downloadable content.

Final Verdict:
4½ out of 5

Judgment series

Lost Judgment Review

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's Like a Dragon oeuvre

Lost Judgment Review

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review

Arcade Maze Game Review: Pengo

Pengo is an arcade puzzle video game developed by Coreland and manufactured by Sega. It was released in 1982, which was a stacked year for arcade games. It might not be as remembered as many of the other games released in that time frame, but the game is as approachable as any of those games. 

The game is easy to pick up and play as the premise is simple. Pengo, a little red penguin, pushes ice blocks in order to eliminate fluffy multicolored birds known as sno-bees. Sno-bees will eliminate one of Pengo's lives if the two come in contact. If the block is near another, it breaks when Pengo pushes it, but if the space around it is clear, the ice will slide across the screen until it hits another ice block. This is the way the enemies are defeated, as they will get crushed if they are in the path of the block.

Pengo has to watch out for sno-bees. They can't push blocks, but they have other ways of attacking. They will become fast blobs if the player time on a level goes on for too long. More aggressive variants of these enemies also can break ice, leaving Pengo open to attack. As the game goes on, eggs will hatch from ice blocks, releasing the sno-bee inside. 

The game a fast-paced musical track that fits the game well. Actually, this is one of the cases where multiple versions of the game exist. The original release has Gershon Kingsley's 1969 hit Popcorn as the musical track, while later versions include an original track instead. I prefer Popcorn personally, as that track is popular for a reason. It is entertaining even in loops and sticks in your head long after you hear it. On the other hand, I can understand the licensing issues that would keep it out of most re-releases of the game. This isn't a case of music alteration that poses an issue like the music in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, however. Unlike some of the beta music in Sonic 3, the alternate track in Pengo fits the game just as well as Popcorn. It might not be quite as catchy, but it does sound good looped, which is important for these early games.

Pengo is an video game from the early years of arcades that does not deserve to be forgotten. It has a simple premise that allows anyone to pick it up, but because the enemies get more aggressive and employ new tactics as the game goes on, it takes a while to master. The graphics are also undeniably cute. The music is fast paced and works as a looping background track, whether it's Popcorn or Sega's alternate tune. If you enjoy Bomberman or arcade games like Dig Dug, you will have a fun time playing as the cute little red penguin.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Open World Action RPG Review: Yakuza

Update November 18, 2025: I originally posted this review as a clone of the review for the remake, Yakuza Kiwami. For the past few days I have been playing the wonderful Yakuza Restored patch by Sylwahan for the original PlayStation 2 version of Yakuza. This patch replaces the unfitting English voiceovers with the Japanese ones, removes the curse words that don't match what was originally said in the Japanese subtitles, replaces the weird name changes that were in the original translation to the Japanese names that are used throughout the series, uses the Yakuza font for character introductions, and much more. Because of this excellent version, which I highly recommend using if you want to play the PlayStation 2 version of Yakuza, I have decided to completely rewrite this review. If you want to see the original review, it is available word-for-word in the Yakuza Kiwami review, minus the Kiwami-specific sections.

Yakuza, known as Ryu Ga Gotoku or Like a Dragon in Japan, is the first game in the popular franchise of the same name. It laid the groundwork for the later entries in the series, and contained a great mystery of a storyline that sets itself apart from the rest.

The story starts in 1995 in Kamurocho, a fictionalized version of the real-life Kabukichō red-light district of Tokyo. It centers on Kazuma Kiryu, a yakuza in the Dojima family of the Tojo Clan who is known as the Dragon of Dojima. He is about to become the patriarch of his own family, but is instead expelled from the organization when he takes the blame for the murder of Sohei Dojima, a crime he did not commit.

Kiryu is released from prison ten years later, in 2005. Returning to a Kamurocho that is different from that he remembers, he has to contend with members of the Tojo Clan who seek revenge for Patriarch Dojima's murder. He soon meets a little girl named Haruka Sawamura. She is a target for the Tojo Clan, leaving Kiryu to have to protect her while discovering what makes the yakuza so interested in an eight-year-old girl. This begins a tale of mystery and betrayal, which is engaging from start to finish.

The original release of Yakuza came hot on the heels of Grand Theft Auto III and its follow-ups Vice City and San Andreas, which were a huge success in the West. Because of this, Sega of America localized Ryu Ga Gotoku into something it was not, adding excessive swearing to the script and changing the names of characters in an attempt to better appeal to Western audiences. Kiryu was known by his first name of Kazuma, and Shintaro Kazama became Shintaro Fuma to atempt to avoid confusion over the similar name. The weirdest change is that the Florist of Sai became Kage. This name was not used in any other game, and it negated the meaning of the Florist codename, which is explained by a non-playable character in the game.

Because of the overuse of swearing and awkward line reads, the English version is pretty bad. It's not at the level of the woodenness of Sega's earlier attempts at English voice acting such as Shenmue, but it is bad enough that the original Japanese voices were used in the sequels rather than attempting English dubs again. It's a shame that its voice cast was squandered, as it included such Hollywood greats such as Stat Wars star Mark Hamill as Goro Majima and Bill Farmer as Makoto Date.

The minigames in the PlayStation 2 release include the UFO catcher crane game at Club Sega, baccarat, blackjack, and roulette in the casino, flirting with six hostesses at various cabaret clubs, a batting center where Kiryu can hit baseballs at various levels of difficulty, and pachinko slot machines at Volcano.

The original PlayStation 2 version of Yakuza plays like early 3D games in that it shifts camera direction at load points, with the camera appearing behind or above Kiryu at any given shot. This makes it much different than later games in the series, but, barring a rare errant turn in direction due to the confusing camera changes, the awkwardness is mostly forgotten as the game goes on.

The side stories which became a well known aspect of the series started at the beginning with Yakuza. They are more somber than the off-the-wall humor that would come in substories in later games, but there are some moments of levity. It also contains substories that are not present in the Kiwami remake such as those involving a purse snatcher, an artist near the homeless encampment, and an additional story about a pick pocket. This game also started a series staple, the difficult final boss that is part of an Amon assassin family, which is available after every substory is completed.

Yakuza is a fantastic start to one of Sega's best series. The original English translation is not great, but with Sylwahan's Yakuza Restored patch, the excellent Japanese voiceovers are available to English PlayStation 2 players. The original PlayStation 2 version contained many of the regular minigames in the series, including gambling, baseball, and cabaret hostess flirting. It also started the Club Sega appearances, with the series staple UFO Catcher crane game. The side stories also began here, which were relatively serious here but would become wackier as the series went on. The best part about this game is the story, which allows it to remain as one of the best games in the series.

Final verdict:

4 out of 5

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise Review

Yakuza Kiwami Review

Open World Action RPG Review: Yakuza Kiwami

Before the release of Yakuza 0, Yakuza was the beginning of Kazuma Kiryu's story. Yakuza 0 proved to be one of the best games in the whole series. With the release of Yakuza Kiwami, which brought the game up to modern standards yet kept the core story intact, the original Yakuza actually holds up quite well.

The game begins in 1995, seven years after the events in Yakuza 0. Kazuma Kiryu, a twenty-seven-year-old member of the Dojima family within the Tojo Clan, has climbed the ranks within the clan. He is just about to become the patriarch of his own family when he takes the blame for the murder of Patriarch Shimano, although he was not the one that killed him.

Ten years later, Kiryu is paroled and he is released from prison. He now has to deal with members of the Tojo clan that want him dead, as well as the usual violent thugs that wander around Tokyo's Kamurocho district. A decade in prison has made his skills rusty, so he has to gain experience so that he can regain his former strength.

In the Kiwami remake of the game, Goro Majima, the Mad Dog of Shimano, vows to help him restore his strength so that he can battle him properly. This is called "Majima Everywhere", and the name is apt since the battles take place all around the city. This is simultaneously both the funniest and the most frustrating part of the remake since Majima will pop up from just about anywhere at any time. The best way to handle this is to keep leveling up, especially health and beast style moves. Defeating Majima will add moves to Kiryu's dragon style. and other than learning moves from Master Komaki, is the only way to do so. Like Yakuza 0, Kiryu can use the aforementioned beast and dragon style move set. Kiryu can also use moves in his brawler and rush styles. Each of these styles can be accessed by pressing a direction on the directional pad.

Kiryu's story picks up steam when he comes across a young girl, Haruka, that is somehow tied to the one billion yen that has been stolen from the Tojo clan. The Kiryu saga of the Yakuza franchise has always been about family, and that is true here as well. Yakuza 0 had Kiryu protecting his adopted father, Shintaro Kazama, and his sworn brother, Akira Nishiyama. Yakuza picks up that trend, as Kiryu does everything he can to protect Haruka, the little girl that ended up in his custody.

In Yakuza Kiwami, the Japanese voices are left in the western versions, but in the original western release of Yakuza for PlayStation 2, the English voices were dubbed by famous voice actors. It pains me to recommend the Japanese voices, as the English cast was amazing. Among others, it included Mark Hamill giving Joker vibes as Majima and Bill Farmer doing his best Sam the Canine Shamus as Detective Date. The English voices are actually really good. It's just the janky script that let them down. Not only is the dialog in the original English PlayStation 2 version clunky. but names of places and people have been shortened or even changed for little reason. To this day, no one but the translator knows why the Florist of Sai was given the name of Kage in English. He certainly never received a given name in the original Japanese version. Thankfully, Yakuza Kiwami has a much less awkward translation with the original names intact.

In the original Yakuza, the minigames were regulated to the UFO catcher, visiting with cabaret club hostesses, hitting baseballs at the batting center, blackjack, pachinko slot, and roulette. Yakuza Kiwami keeps the UFO catcher, batting center, blackjack, and roulette and removes the pachinko slots as well as four of the six hostesses. However, it adds minigames from Yakuza 0, including billiards, bowling. cee-lo, cho-han, darts, a karaoke button-based rhythm game, koi-koi, mahjong, oicho-kabu, Pocket Circuit slot car racing, poker, roulette, and shogi. The Sega game centers in Yakuza Kiwami also contain Battle Bug Beauties: MesuKing,  based on the Catfight Arena from Yakuza 0.

All of the minigames are fun diversions, but the best part of any Yakuza game outside of the main story is the side missions. There are many sidequests, and Yakuza Kiwami thankfully doesn't remove any sidequests from the original. Kiwami also adds a few new ones to tie the game back to Yakuza 0. Like any Yakuza game, some of them can be quite off-the-wall hilarious. There's nothing like the adult baby gangsters seen in later games, but the wackiness the series is known for definitely started here. As with any Yakuza game, the last side mission is an extremely hard fight with a member of the Amon family.

Yakuza is a great game regardless of which game you are playing, even if it is the PlayStation 2 version or the Japan-only Wii U and PlayStation 3 high-definition versions. However, the best way to play is definitely the Kiwami remake. It does remove 2 out of 6 hostesses and the pachislot games, however, it adds 12 minigames, adds three fighting styles, and brings the presentation up to modern standards. In doing so, it restored the original game's status as one of the best games in the series.

Final verdict:

4 out of 5

Yakuza Review

Streets of Kamurocho Review

Open World Action RPG Review: Like a Dragon - Ishin!

Like a Dragon: Ishin! was originally released only in Japan for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in 2014. The original release was never released outside of Japan, however fans with the usernames MajDima, toyotasupra2, and jurxd created an English translation patch for the PlayStation 3 version on February 2, 2025.

The story takes place right before the Restoration period of Japan, hence the Ishin in the title, as Ishin means Restoration in Japanese. The story follows a samurai named Ryōma Sakamoto who takes on the identity of Hajime Saitō and infiltrates the special army for the Shogunate, the Shinsengumi, to discover who murdered his foster father, Tōyō Yoshida.

Ryōma Sakamoto, Hajime Saitō, and Tōyō Yoshida are all historical samurai who had an influence on Japan, but in real life, Ryōma Sakamoto and Hajime Saitō were separate people. The story mixes the lives of both men, as it begins with the life of Ryōma Sakamoto, with his friend Takechi Hanpeita, the head of the Tosa Loyalist Party. It twists things a bit, with Tōyō Yoshida being Ryōma Sakamoto's foster father in the game. This is where it diverges with the life of Hajime Saitō as it details his joining of the Shinsengumi, although in the game it is to find the person who killed Tōyō.

It's a very dramatic story filled with betrayals and bittersweet triumphs mixed in with craziness, especially in the side stories. In other words, it is very much a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio game.

The characters are portrayed by Like a Dragon series staples, as well as those characters who are lesser known. The likeness of Kazuma Kiryu, complete with the marvelous deep voice of Takaya Kuroda, plays Hajime Saitō, aka Ryōma Sakamoto. The likeness of the wonderfully crazy Goro Majima portrays Soji Okita. You'll be glad to know Hidenari Ugaki plays Okita with all of the passion of Majima, complete with taunts of Hajime-chan! Many of the likenesses and voice actors of other characters that were playable in previous games also appear here as historical and fictional characters including Haruka Sawamura, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, and Ryuji Goda. Other series characters are also represented in supporting roles.

In the original version, there are several characters that were replaced in the Kiwami remake from games released after the original release of Ishin!, such as Koichi Adachi from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Keiji Shibusawa from Yakuza 0. They replaced characters that had no counterparts as they were originally characters exclusive to Ishin!

Other characters that were in the original Ishin! but not included in the remake include Hiroshi Hayashi from Yakuza and Yakuza 2, Goh Hamazaki from Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 4, and Minoru Aoyama, Kan Ogita Yahata, Hiroshi Kugihara, and Shigeki Baba from Yakuza 5.

Ishin! is an action RPG, as were most games in the series before it switched to turn-based RPG style combat beginning in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. However, it does represent a change from the usual fare as swords and guns are available to use in addition to the usual fists and kicks.

As usual, side stories are plentiful, and many are just as crazy as you'd expect. The creators also had fun with the time period with some side stories, as there are some here that just wouldn't work in modern Japan. 

Happily, minigames made it into the game despite the pre-Restoration era setting of Japan. The usual Japanese gambling games are present, as is the Western gambling game of Texas hold 'em poker. The latter does make sense within the context of the game, as the era is set when the "black ships" from Britain came to Japan. As expected from a Like a Dragon series game, there are also odd yet fun minigames included such as chicken racing. You can also fish, farm, cook, and then sell the results of your hard work with help from Haruka. 

Interestingly, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise resembles Like a Dragon: Ishin! As the former was released before the latter, it is obvious where Ryu Ga Gotaku Studio got the inspiration to delve into the post-apocalyptic world of Fist of the North Star. As I was playing Ishin!, I noticed the similarity right away due to the rustic feel of the in-game villages between the two games. However, once Haruka's villa was available, it became more apparent. Lin's expressions, comments, and movements are identical to Haruka's here. It works in both games, though, as it gives off a cute vibe that suits both characters.

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a fantastic game, with all of the series staples that you would expect from the developers of the Like a Dragon series. The voice actors, as usual, have brought their A-game, delivering fantastic voice performances. The plot is interesting as well, weaving together the stories of two famous historical samurai in a story with both historical and fictional elements. If you are a fan of the Like a Dragon series, or just interested in historical Japan, this game is one that is well worth playing.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Like a Dragon: Ishin Kiwami review

Open World Action RPG Review: Yakuza Kiwami 2

The second Yakuza game was bigger than the first, with the addition of a new district, Shinseicho, based on the real-life Shinsekai, as well as including the usual Yakuza series hangout spot, Kamurocho, based on the real-life Kabukicho. In the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake, the second district was replaced by Sotenbori from Yakuza 0, which is based on the real-life Dotenbori. In the case of both Yakuza 2 and the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake, in many ways, bigger does indeed mean better.

In this game, Kiryu Kazuma is approached by the fifth chairman of the Tojo Clan, Yukio Terada, who wishes to broker an alliance between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance. After Terada is murdered, Kiryu decides to take on this goal himself, as he was the one who appointed Terada as the fifth chairman. Thus, he places his adopted daughter, Haruka, in the care of the orphanage where they both grew up, and sets out on the dangerous task to broker peace between the two biggest yakuza organizations in Japan.

The story of Yakuza 2, which takes place a year after the events of Yakuza, is often praised as being among the best in the series and within the top two with Yakuza 0. That praise is well deserved, as it is an exciting murder mystery with a lot of twists and turns thrown in. On top of that, the female detective, Kaoru Sayama, whom Kiryu first meets in this game is written superbly. The writers are good at writing for interesting female characters, but they usually are relegated to the women at the cabaret clubs. It is fun to interact with these women, who range from ultra-feminine to tomboyish. However, they rarely have a tough, yet feminine woman who can hold their own in a fight. That's a shame because Yakuza 2 showed that they could do it well. It took over a half a decade, with the release of Yakuza 5, for another tough, feminine woman to appear in a Yakuza game, and over another half a decade for a playable strong, feminine female character to become playable with the release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Another awesome character is the Kansai dragon, Ryuji Goda, who is one of the main villains of the game, as he wants to defeat Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, to stake the claim as the only dragon in the yakuza. He is written and performed so well that he became popular with the fans enough to become a playable character in Yakuza: Dead Souls.

As for gameplay, this game is the one that shows its Shenmue lineage the most. Yakuza showed it with quick-time events, fetch quests, and a puzzle near the beginning of the game where Kiryu had to infiltrate the funeral of the third chairman of the Tojo clan. Yakuza 2 has these as well, but it has an actual adventure puzzle near the middle of the game where Kiryu has to interpret clues to open a safe. The puzzle is done very well, and, as a fan of adventure games, I'm happy that it was kept intact in the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake.

Speaking of the remake, compared to Yakuza Kiwami, the controls are still a bit stiff and there is only one fighting style for Kiryu. In addition, some locations with mini-games are no longer accessible in Yakuza Kiwami 2, such as bowling, pool, and the Club Adam host organization. In addition, with the replacement of Shinseicho for Sotenbori, the Shinseicho minigames have been moved to Kamurocho and Sotenbori or removed entirely. Making up for it, however, some mini-games have been added to the Kiwami remake, including the Majima Construction clan creator and cabaret club management. 

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an excellent game with multiple locations to visit, well-written and excellently voiced new and returning characters, and a superb plot. Any version is worth playing, from the PlayStation 2 original, the Japanese-only high-definition versions on PlayStation 3 and Wii U, or the Kiwami remake, although I wholeheartedly recommend playing the Yakuza Kiwami 2 remake. Yakuza 2, and by extension, Yakuza Kiwami 2, absolutely deserves its praise as one of the best games in the series, and the remake cements it there, even when compared to later games in the series.

Final verdict:

5 out of 5

Yakuza 2 (HD) Review

Yakuza Kiwami 2: Majima Saga review

Rhythm Game Review: Space Channel 5: Part 2

Space Channel 5: Part 2 was the sequel to the Seminal musical rhythm game starring Ulala, a reporter of the titular Space Channel 5. It had a lot live up to, as the original game served up a near-perfect blend of button-timing, pop rock dancing, alien shooting, psychedelic 1960's fun.

In the second part, the wonderful wackiness is kicked up a notch. A group of pirate broadcasters known as the Rhythm Rogues are led by a pirate news anchor named Purge. They kidnapped the Space President and inflicted innocent people with dancing madness. Ulala once again has to match the up, down, right, and left motions as well as the chu and hey motions that once again are performed by pressing the A and B buttons.

This time around, however, portions of the broadcast don't just have those dance moves, adding in instrument riffs into the mix. These are still performed with the same buttons, but it becomes a play-off alongside the usual rival station dance-offs.

The package is enhanced beyond the usual game this time around with the addition of the Ulala's Dance mode. This is a difficult one-hundred stage dance battle that becomes progressively harder as it goes on. It is made even more difficult by the fact that Ulala only has a single heart on her life meter. So, one mistake wrecks the whole run. If you do win progressive stages, you will be rewarded with unlocked costumes and accessories for Ulala. Some of the unlocks can also be found by finding hidden moves in the story stages.

As this is a Space Channel 5 game, the swinging sixties is in full force, with Ulala's signature miniskirt and high-heeled thigh-high boot outfit, psychedelic backdrops, and fun 60's pop-flavored music. The signature song, Ken Woodman's 1966 song Mexican Flyer returns. So too, thankfully do Naofumi Hataya and Kenichi Tokoi return, joined by erstwhile composers Tomoya Ohtani and Mariko Nanba. The music is just as groovy as the original, and make you want to get up and dance with Ulala in full Austin Powers mode, saying "Yeah, Baby!" as you chu and hey your way through enemy hordes.

The game presentation is made even more joyful by the return of Ulala actresses Mineko Okamura in the Japanese version and the effervescent Apollo Smile in English. Plus, the game is made even more pop-tastic by the reappearance of Michael Jackson as Space Michael.

Space Channel 5: Part Two outdoes the original in every way possible. Plus, the fact that it was released as a high-definition remaster fourteen years ago means it's available on more than just the original Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 releases. The story is funkier this time, in a good way, the music is just as 60's-flavored as the original with musical instrument sections that give it a new flavor, the voices are once again fantastic and the return of Michael Jackson is goofy fun. The original game was already a treat, but the additions this game provides makes this one a must play for rhythm game fans.

Final Verdict:

5 out of 5

Space Channel 5 Review

Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash Review coming soon

Rhythm Game Review: Space Channel 5

Space Channel 5 is a unique rhythm game that came out in 1999, during the period where Sega was arguably the most experimental. The game was created by Sega Software R&D 9, the team which would become United Game Artists. The same team brought the world the wonderfully psychedelic musical rail shooter Rez, so the team definitely knew what it was doing when it came to music-based gameplay.

Space Channel 5 follows a space reporter for the titular Space Channel 5 news station. The reporter in question is Ulala, pronounced Ooh-La-La or You-La-La if you are Michael Jackson. The latter is actually part of the game, as the King of Pop was a fan of Sega and voiced himself in this game. Ulala's aesthetic is very 1960s, as she dons miniskirts and high heeled thigh-high platform boots in a sheen akin to rubber and latex. 

The music is also decidedly psychedelic 60's, with songs that sound like they came straight out of Mike Myer's then-recently released spy spoof film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. This is especially true of Ken Woodman's 1966 song Mexican Flyer, which serves as the game's theme tune. The other songs in the game, composed by Naofumi Hataya and Kenichi Tokoi, fit right in with the 60s theme the game is espousing.

The plot is suitably silly for such an outlandish presentation. Ulala reports all across space fighting aliens known as Morolians, which attack her and kidnap humans should she fail to stop them. Fittingly for a game such as this, she fights by dancing. She has to match the movements of the aliens and other enemies which shout commands such as "up, down, left, right", which have to be pressed accordingly with the corresponding controller buttons. Occasionally, Ulala has to match the "chu" or "hey" shouted by the enemies, which correspond to the A and B buttons on the controller.

The characters are in the early 3D of the era, but with the plastic aesthetic of the clothing, the limitations actually worked in their favor, much like the plastic 3D of the time worked well for Pixar's Toy Story a mere four years earlier. Most of the game uses the same polygonal look for the backgrounds, which worked well with retro TV-inspired backdrops. However, when the backgrounds moved, they used pre-rendered 3D in compressed videos. This looked nice on the CRT TVs of the Dreamcast era, but has unfortunately kept the game from being remade in high definition like its sequel.

The game can be upscaled on emulators of course, and the game looks fantastic when done so, but the pre-rendered videos still look a bit muddled as there isn't much to be done with those, at least until AI video upscaling improves to a point where the videos can be converted convincingly. This obviously wasn't even an option when Space Channel 5: Part 2 was released as part of the Dreamcast Collection for consoles fourteen years ago.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Space Channel 5: Part 2 Review

Platform Game Review: Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Sonic CD was the Sonic the Hedgehog game that was released for the Sega CD and Mega CD. It was a very different game from any of the others, making it a bit of the black sheep in the 16-bit Sonic canon. It doesn’t deserve that reputation as it is one of the best, if not the best, games for Sega’s ill-fated CD attachment for the Genesis and Mega Drive. Even outside of the Sega CD and Mega CD ecosystem, it is a very enjoyable game. 

In Sonic CD, Sonic needs to save the past to save the future. This is what gives the game its uniqueness. Sonic still has his speed and quills when he rolls in a ball to take out enemies and break open item boxes. However, this game also has past and future signs which change the setting of the game when Sonic gains enough speed. This is shown with sparkles emanating from Sonic when he runs followed by a sequence showing the passage of time. 

Once Sonic has changed years, the scenery reflects the change. In the past, the game is like a regular Sonic the Hedgehog game, with levels ranging from lush green to metallic. However, in the future things have become more dystopian as the scenery shows the destruction of the game world with ruined structures. This change also applies to the game world, as passages that are not available in the past become available in the future, and vice-versa. 

The game was in development between Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, so the spin dash works differently than other games. Sonic can be hit while spinning before he blasts off. The jump button also must be held down for a good amount of time or Sonic will just stand up. This is rectified in the mobile remake by Christian Whitehead. The remake also includes Tails as a playable character, which changes things up a bit with his hovering ability. The remake also is included in the Sonic Origins compilation. Sonic Origins Plus goes further, completing the trio of Sonic’s 16-bit friends by adding Knuckles and Amy Rose as playable characters as well. Speaking of Amy Rose, she makes her first appearance in this game along with the villain metal doppelganger Metal Sonic.

The presentation is where Sonic CD shines, as it uses the increased storage capacity of the Sega CD and Mega CD by including incredibly well animated story sequences at the beginning and ending of the game. Sonic doesn’t talk, but his expressions do the work of conveying the danger and surprise of the situations into which Sonic finds himself. The soundtrack behind this is excellent in all regions, but I’m partial to the North American version. The Japanese version and most of the international versions include an instrumental to the action in the videos, but a new song was composed for the North American release. This is Sonic Boom, a catchy pop song with lyrics that are precisely Sonic in a nutshell. The Sonic CD remakes by Christian Whitehead include the video with much less compression than the original release. They also have the option to play either the Japanese or North American soundtrack over the videos regardless of the region in which the game is being played. 

Sonic CD is an underappreciated gem that made the Sega CD and Mega CD a worthwhile purchase and continues to be a worthwhile experience to this day. It changes up the formula by adding in time travel, which makes it remain a unique entry in the Sonic series. It has the fantastic score and sound design of the other Sonic games, but the addition of animation to the beginning and ending of the game make it an extremely memorable experience. The weirdness of the spin dash brings it down a little compared to Sonic 2 and the later games in the series, but this is negated in recent releases as it is optionally rectified in Christian Whitehead’s remakes. 

Final Verdict: 

4½ out of 5

Platform Game Compilation Review: Sonic Origins

Sonic Origins is a compilation of enhanced remakes of four Sonic the Hedgehog games from the 16-bit era, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The latter is Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles combined as one game, as would have been done with the Sonic & Knuckles lock-on cartridge on the Sega Genesis or Mega Drive. It also includes the Blue Spheres game that was playable by locking in any game onto Sonic & Knuckles other than Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or 3. In addition, it includes a sequel with modes from Sonic Mania titled New Blue Spheres.

Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD are enhanced ports of the Android and iOS remakes by Christian Whitehead. These remakes are completely faithful, with the same music, sound effects, level layouts, background art, character design, animations, bonus stages, and boss battles as the original 16-bit games. These remakes also contain everything from the mobile versions including a playable Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic 2, but not Sonic CD. The latter does include a playable Tails, however. The best remake, in my opinion, is Sonic 2, as it contains a hidden secret passage which leads to a realized version of a partly-completed level from the beta versions of the game. 

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a new remake using the same engine as the others. Like the other remakes faithfully recreates the 16-bit game, including the level layouts, graphics, and boss battles. However, while it has the same sound effects as the original game, the music is taken from the beta version of the game due to rights issues with the music from the final versions. This change has had mixed reception. Intellectually, it is understandable due to forces outside of Sega's hands. However, it may be a deal breaker for some people. especially those who played the original game so much that they know the original music inside and out. That said, the original music can be restored with fan patches which are easy to install, especially on Windows. There is also a fan patch available that separates Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles into two games, bringing these games as close to the 16-bit originals as possible.

The neat part about the compilation is that it adds animations with silent characters ala the Sonic CD intro. These were created in the style of the Sonic Mania shorts, and serve to connect all four games together into a continuous storyline. These work really well, and are just as well animated and lively as the introduction of Sonic CD, if not quite as memorable. In fact, the animations are used together with those from the aforementioned game in its storytelling and actually work well in concert with each other.

One of the main draws of Sonic Origins, other than its games of course, is the museum content. There are two modes. One lets you play the games as they were on their respective consoles. The other version allows you to play through the story of all four games. Through play, you will collect tokens, which can then be used to purchase art, music, and background content on the games from their origins up to their release. It's actually quite well done, making it worthwhile to play through the games multiple times in order to unlock all the content.

Sonic Origins is not a perfect remake collection. All of the games are painstakingly accurate to the originals, however the replacement of the Sonic 3 songs for its beta versions is a let down. Whether this makes or breaks the compilation is up to you, but I personally think it is the best way to play these games, especially in light of the various fan patches that are available.

Final Verdict:

4 out of 5

Open World Turn-Based Role-Playing Game Review: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth brings Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu together as protagonists for the first time. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has also brought in multiple move sets and the occasional freedom of motion for Kiryu from his action role playing games. It blended them into the turn-based RPG style of Ichiban Kasuga's games. Ryu Ga Gotoku  Studio manages to pull this off, despite the odds.

Infinite Wealth has dual storylines that merge into each other, in a similar fashion of other multi-protagonist games in the series. Ichiban Kasuga discovers his birth mother lives in Hawaii and travels there to meet her. While there, he gets swindled and ends up naked on the beaches of Honolulu. Meanwhile, Kiryu is still trying to be incognito as a spy while he is in Hawaii on a mission for the Daidoji, a faction that was explored in Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name.

This is the first game in the series that retains all of the playable characters from the previous game, save for Eri as she was modeled and named after the actor who protrayed the character as a result of a contest. The returning characters are split between the two leads. Kasuga's team has Koichi Adachi the former detective and Tianyou Zhao, the chef and former head of a criminal organization named the Yokohama Liumang. Kiryu's team has Saeko Mukoda, the owner of a cabaret club, Joon-gi Han, the man who had surgery to look like the former leader of the Liumang, and Yu Namba the former nurse.

Both teams also contain characters that are new to the series or playable for the first time. Kasuga's team has Eric Tomizawa the taxi driver and Chitose Fujinomiya the housekeeper. Kiryu's team has Seonhee, the leader of the Geomijul and Yokohama Liumang. She is a character who had a minor role in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The total number of playable characters is eight, the number of the game in Japan (Ryu Ga Gotoku 8). It is also the number which is reflected by the infinity sign, which resembles the number 8. This lines up with other games in the series as Yakuza 4 had four playable characters, Yakuza 5 had five, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Ryu Ga Gotoku 7) had seven.

Infinite Wealth continues the theme of Kasuga imagining enemies to be characters in an RPG, and this quirk is also now given to Kiryu in his chapters of the game. The game sets up a plausible reason for Kiryu to experience these hallucinations, and continues showcasing Kasuga's naivety and childishness which explains his.

The role-playing mechanics continue to be enjoyable. One new feature of the game improves the mechanics so much that I greatly missed them when I started replaying Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The playable characters now can move freely within the circle around them and can also now pick up items such as bicycles to use as weapons. The latter occurred in the previous game automatically only when the character was right next to an object. Kiryu also gets two playing styles, his Dragon of Dojima and beast styles from previous games. This does a lot to better connect these games to its action-RPG predecessors.

Kasuga and Kiryu also gain a bar which allows them to pull off a special move that deals heavy damage on an enemy. Kasuga uses his entire team to land a hard hit against every enemy, while Kiryu gets a limited-time ability to be free moving where he can land hits just like he would in an action-RPG game.

The music is fantastic, as usual. This game is also chock full of karaoke songs, including returning songs from Like a Dragon as well as new songs sung by both Kiryu and Kasuga as well as their teammates. The amazing thing is just how many Kiryu songs we get here, with tunes from games all across Kiryu's appearances, from Yakuza 0 to Yakuza 6: The Song of Life.

The game also includes compact discs that can be purchased or won from many of the locations and minigames. These can be played in bar jukeboxes, as usual. However, this game also includes a music player which can be sorted into a playlist in bars and on the smartphone menu. They then can be played at any time by activating them with the play button. It is great to hear Yakuza 0 songs playing while running across Honolulu or Ijincho, at least until they are cut off by substories or street fights. Thankfully, after these events end, the music player starts up right where it stopped. 

Sega arcade games return, including the UFO Catcher 8 Second crane machine, Virtua Fighter 3tb, and Get Bass: Sega Bass Fishing. It also includes games developed by Sega AM11, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's first form. The first is Virtua Fighter 3tb. The second, and final, Sega AM11 game is SpikeOut: Final Edition. This marks the first time it was released on a platform other than the original arcade release.

The substories are as bonkers as ever, especially two involving parodies of popular Nintendo games. Sugimon, which is an index of enemies encountered in whacked-out forms as supposedly imagined by the protagonists, is expanded from the last game into a full turn-based fighting game. The second is the most ambitious minigame Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has ever created, Dondoko Island. It is a full-fledged Animal Crossing style game, complete upgradable houses and places for the visitors to sleep. The objects that can be placed around the island contain the usual tables and chairs as well as, surprisingly, buildings from Kamurocho and other locations across the world of the series. 

Dondoko Island also includes famous green and red Japanese mascots, Gachapin and Mukku, as the mascots for the resort on the island. They are included in the game for the fiftieth anniversary of their initial appearance. The were initially characters on the 1973 children's television series which aired for 20 years, Hirake! Ponkikki, or Begin! Ponkikki as a literal translation into English. These characters appeared in later Fuji TV television series and radio programs, making them instantly recognizable to Japanese audiences. However, even though I knew nothing about them before the release of this game, I found that they worked as characters in the usually weird substories. Their announcements over the loudspeaker were not translated and their repetition became tiresome after a while. Thankfully, these announcements can be muted.

The above parodies are among the best minigames the series creators have ever produced, and can easily provide hours of play when not experiencing the stories of the main game and substories.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is arguably the best game in the entire series, although some of its story beats don't hit as hard if you haven't played Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. Some of Kiryu's substories also are better experienced if you played the games from the Kiryu Saga, which runs from Yakuza 0 to Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. However, even if you haven't played these games, it could still be enjoyable. The story is engaging, and if veering off from the main game, enjoyment can be had in the Nintendo parody substories alone.

Final Verdict:

5 out of 5

Like a Dragon series

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Review

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Review

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's Like a Dragon ouevre

Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files Review

Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Review