GAME CLEAR No. 91 -- Yakuza 5 Remastered

Yakuza 5 Remastered (2019, Multiplatform)

Remaster of: Yakuza 5 (2012, PS3)
Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: SEGA
Clear Platform: PlayStation 5
Clear Date: 5/28/22

There’s no need for me to waste any more keystrokes singing Yakuza’s praises, but that doesn’t mean I won’t expend a few.

Like all the other RGG games I’ve played, I really had a good time with Yakuza 5. Part of me dreaded it a bit going in because I knew it was the longest entry by far, but I ended up really enjoying spending a long while with the game, and it’s now one of my favorites in the series.

But again, saying all this isn’t breaking much new ground for this blog. I love Yakuza. I’m sure I’ll play Yakuza 6 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon and love them too.

But.

This game had a baseball side story that ruled. That may set it apart from the entire rest of the series in my mind. It centers on a baseball-related feud from the high school days of one of the protagonists, and I think it’s the most fun I’ve had with any of the many diversions in the series. The batting system in the game is completely unique even to systems I’ve seen used in games like MLB The Show, and it works quite well! It has lit a yearning in my heart that can only be satisfied by the release of a full, dramatic, over-the-top baseball RPG.

Country club sporting RPGs are old hat. Give me baseball.