It's incredible that this game was released ten years ago already as it has aged particularly well and remains the best instalment in the Japanese action-adventure game franchise. This game offers more than one hundred hours of entertainment with five playable characters and five gigantic locations.
The main character remains Kiryu Kazuma, a taxi driver who gets involved in organized crime but convinces with intellect and a heart of gold. Akiyama Shun has been introduced in the previous instalment and is a former homeless person who has become a clever businessman. Saejima Taiga was also present in the immediate predecessor and is a former gangster serving a prison sentence for the murders of eighteen people that he didn't commit. A new playable character is Sawamura Haruka, who has appeared as non-playable character in previous instalments, and has become a teenage girl who dreams of becoming a pop idol. Lastly, we have a completely new character called Shinada Tatsuo, a former baseball player who had to abandon his career when he got wrongfully accused of game-rigging and match-fixing.
The settings are in good old Kamurocho in downtown Tokyo, in Osaka's fictional district of Sotenbori that was used once before and in three completely new locations in Nagasugai, Fukuoka, as well as Tsukimino, Sapporo and Kin'eicho, Nagoya. These different locations offer numerous different atmospheres, cultural elements and unique stylistics.
The plot is also the most complex to date and comes around with numerous conspiracies, turns and twists as the stories of the five different characters slowly intertwine and lead to a spectacular showdown in Millenium Tower in Kamurocho. The game's ending has a profoundly emotional touch and will leave a lasting impression that is continued appropriately in its chronological successor that concludes the story of Kiryu Kazuma.
While the game includes numerous highlights, I have to point out two particular elements. First of all, the story of Saejima Taiga is absolutely incredible. It starts in a secluded prison where he makes multiple intriguing friends and foes and ultimately attempts to escape with a purpose in a most dramatic manner. His story then continues in an isolated mountain village where Saejima Taiga goes into hiding and has to set traps and go hunting to provide some food and material to the villagers and himself. This part of the story oozes with atmosphere and hunting animals such as hares, foxes and bears in the snow is even intriguing for people who love animals like myself. It's certainly much better to do it here in this game than in real life. The story then continues in Sapporo that prepares for a magnificent snow festival recalling a marvellous winter wonderland.
The second story that impresses me very much revolves around Sawamura Haruka. She has recently been moving to the busy city of Osaka where she is working extremely hard to become an idol. She has to perform dance choreographies, meet and greet with all sorts of strange fans, face some ferocious opponents who try to bully her, participate in numerous competitions and deal with some personal issues as her scout with whom she has bonded has apparently committed suicide. Her story points out the challenges and downsides but also the dedication and excitement of the unique Japanese idol industry and should therefore also appeal to younger players in particular.
This game genuinely is as perfect as it can get in the action-adventure genre and easily outclasses not only some other great instalments in its own franchise but also similar international concurrents such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise. In addition to the numerous aforementioned elements, let's point out the different and diversified challenges in numerous intriguing side stories, the easy and fluid controls that make you want to play for hours and hours, the excellent game flow that never gets boring, the outstandingly detailed graphics that have aged particularly well, the excellent sound engineering that adds to the game's different atmospheres and the wonderful soundtrack, including multiple songs that can be performed by Sawamura Haruka or by other characters in different karaoke bars.
Yakuza 5 is a must-have for fans of old date, occasional fans and new fans to the franchise. Even if you didn't know the franchise at all, I would wholeheartedly recommend this game that is more entertaining than six seasons of any action-thriller television series combined. This might be the first video game that truly outclasses the creativity, depth and details of the greatest movies, television series and theater plays as it shows the unlimited potential of video games that combine so many different forms of arts in one. I would recommend to purchase the remastered boxed set that combines this game with its two chronological predecessors that come very close to the quality of this franchise highlight.
