biggiedubs

Looks like a stepladder to me.

I beat the Baseball side story, and if you didn't enjoy the start don't bother slogging through to the end. I liked it for what it was, but you don't really get anything for it and the characters and dialogue are astoundingly generic. For those who are planning on seeing it though, make sure you get the pitcher from the Fishing side story. Put him as starting pitcher and just re-do games over and over again until he can crush everyone.

Clan Creator was fine, though mainly just to see the wrestlers do their wrestling things. The hostess stuff is actually pretty good, though without the mini-game from Yakuza 0 it feels a bit pointless. Glad that thing is coming back for Kiwami 2.

The local bar scene sidestory, however, is great and I highly recommend it. It's pretty easy to miss but it's just good, cheesy slice-of-life fun. It's in Onomichi on the far right, not far from the Yakuza office.

I finished it today and was really happy with my experience. It's a much more streamlined game compared to the 0 and 5, but I think I'm personally fine with it. It's cool that they can make both the convoluted and the simple intriguing. This is very much a Kiryu game, and there really is not much else besides him. Those who enjoyed the sheer size and scope of 5 and 0 might be a little disappointed by the 'lack' of content, though there's probably still 40 hours or so of stuff to do.

My game clock says 32 hours, and that's with quite a lot of the side stuff. I've yet to finish the baseball and the local bar scene sidestories, and I've still got cats to find and hostesses to talk to, but I've done pretty much everything else (Though apparently there's a darts storyline? I completely missed it to be honest).

I do feel like Kamurocho is a little quieter than usual and could do with an extra side activity or two. I don't think you can even play Shogi or gamble, which I've always spent a bit of time doing. That said, the main story is a big driving force and you do feel more awkward than ever spending time away from it.

Combat is okay, though I would confirm that it does feel a little streamlined compared to the last few games. It definitely feels faster though, which is very welcome.

@xanadu: I for one am definitely liking it a lot more.

@blackblade500: The red is for the Women's rumble, it seems. The names for each are under the spreadsheet. Probably due to the Women's Rumble going on before the men's.

@achillesforever: Cool story bro.

I am absolutely loving this game. It's really scratching that Metal Gear Ac!d itch.

I do think the character design for Zirschoff is awful though. Apart from him the design and looks are actually pretty good, but you cannot get me to take sunglasses and spiky hair seriously.

@kingpk: @hunkulese: Thanks for the six monthly snarky check-in guys. See you after Wrestlemania.

I thought the Rumble was a bit naff, but to their credit at one point I actually couldn't work out who was going to be next out as all of the twelve or so guys in the ring were pretty strong characters. And then Apollo Crews came in. Poor guy.

I think the main tip I have is do not underestimate just how powerful Crushshrooms and Shieldshrooms are, especially the Crushshrooms. Eat it when you see the incredibly obvious looking boss area and chances are you'll just chew through the boss.

I have a question for those a bit further though: is everyone just a glass cannon in this game? I feel like at the floors I'm on, things can kill me in two shots and I can kill them in two or three shots too. It's really coming down to whoever hits who first, which can be incredibly frustrating sometimes.

Is the trick just to take multiple sets of armour and swap them as soon as they degrade? Or do you need to farm until you've got some decent stuff?