STAN LOONA Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review

Overall, decent to solid game, but felt lacking in effort, polish, and attention-to-detail. QOL is fantastic and modern. Graphics are good. Minigames are fun. I did enjoy the Bad Boy Dragon (gal gangs with baddies) and Morning Glory modes quite a lot, but they did get a bit repetitive. The story is a bit contrived, but they worked Okinawa into the plot in the best way they could. I did not like the lack of variety in the fighting styles and progression system, but at least the combat feels fast and free, despite being repetitive. The lack of quantity and variety in Heat actions and sub-stories is very disappointing, but it wasn't a deal-breaker. LaLaLa Lovelies and Photo Rally are obviously ported from Infinite Wealth, but they don't add much to the game, and I would've greatly preferred more sub-stories instead. I only liked the ending scene of Dark Ties, which I would admit makes it worth it. I really don't like Kanda, and he is all over Dark Ties. Mine's fighting style is also not my cup of tea. Only 5 hours, but there is a roguelike / dungeon mode which is nice. Felt like there was way too much padding in both Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties and not enough substance.