Ok, story now finished :) Didn't quite know what to expect in the final chapters, but I was certainly not disappointed. As you'd expect from a Yakuza game you get long battles, awesome boss fights and plot twists a plenty!
So, after putting in 66ish hours, got 75% of the game completion list done, here are my thoughts:
Story:
So, still waiting for the English translations to catch up but I picked up most of the story easy. The basic (non spoilery) version is that its an original story that uses several Hokuto characters and there are several plot points that mirror those from the manga, but at least 50% of the story is brand new, there are many new characters so anyone expecting a 1:1 story adaptation of the manga will be disappointed. Basically its Hokuto characters with Yakuza gameplay and an original story. If that sounds enticing then you'll probably enjoy this game!
Spoilers for the story, characters and sequel speculation, don't read until you finish the game
Combat:
Far and away the shining jewel in this game is the combat. It still feels very much like a Yakuza game but the use of the Hokuto secret moves was a brilliant twist, as is the more off the wall (literally) combat - crazy combos where you knock people into the air, off walls and into combo's/secret moves keeps the game feeling very fun and very different from previous Yakuza games. Also, I loved the boss fights in the game, my favourite being the ones that drew heavily from the manga
. The game is also fairly difficult at the beginning which is great, but does get easily the more you level up (just don't let your guard down!). QTE's are masterfully done (the last one is pretty darn long!) and the dynamic intros are also really nice to watch. Basically, while the story isn't the best, and while it is a bit too much on the short side the combat easily elevates the game to the all time greats of the Yakuza series I feel.
Length:
Mentioned above, but the main story is short - both in chapter amount and long fights. For a sequel I'd definitely love the game to be longer, but as it stands there is never a dull moment in this games story, and what is included is fantastic.
Optional side stuff:
So while the game is short, its also pretty darn long to hit that 100% because the series still includes a ton of side stuff to do. I'm sure I'll forget some activities, but here are the ones I enjoyed the most:
Arena - because it means you fight loads. And there is a nice large variety of things to do in the fighting arena so it'll keep me busy for ages.
Hunting for arcade games/retro games - I loved the side story that involved you exploring the wastelands and getting the retro Sega games. The worst of the four games is the Sega MKIII Hokuto no Ken game, mainly by virtue of the other three arcade games (Space Harrier, Super Hang On and the mighty Out Run) being so good. But its HnK that I spent the most time on as I'd never played it before. And I still kinda really like it! As usual this side of things has great ports with scan line and widescreen/original screen options. Now I just need to beata Raoh on HnK...
Also, the crane game is included and is basically its 0/Kiwami version. Toys are fairly hard to get but you'll need a couple of the Raoh themed Bun-Chans if you want to recruit all the hostesses!
Cabaret Club - This was actually my least favourite activity in terms of what I was looking forward to playing since I did so much of it recently in Kiwami 2 and 0, but wait! They've changed a lot here - you have 40 odd missions to clear all with their own specific goals, customers change based on missions so you need to pick your hostesses carefully and you also have a few new moves to deal with rude/problem customers! Its also got a great new soundtrack to it. Definitely one of my surprises of the game, and one of the best bits of the side stuff to do. And I was surprised that clearing the 1,00,000 debt as part of the side content took way less time than I expected.
Bounty Hunting - more combat, with some entertaining encounters. Nice to have this brought back from Kenzan (did Ishin have similar? I forget).
Death Batting - As with the other spinoffs, we get an original baseball game in this - you have to hit mad bikers that charge right at you, and its pretty tough to find that sweet spot for home runs. The final of the four courses took me quite a while to clear with an S rank, but I really enjoyed the unique spin on the mini game. Also, the soundtrack for this rocks!
Clinic healing (rhythm action game) - So instead of Karaoke, you'll be timing your button presses to healing citizens of Eden and smacking about goons trying to get in your way. Its fast paced and really fun, use headphones to make getting those full combo/perfect ranks easier!
Treasure hunting - less an activity and more a feature - but well worth mentioning because the rewards are either car parts, rare crafting materials, Sega music or Sega games. And don't worry, while the rewards are random the game does heavily skew your rewards toward Sega games once you start the side quest so you don't spend 20 hours trying to get them all.
The wasteland/racing - perhaps the least interesting part of the game because... well its hard to make a post apocalyptic wasteland all that interesting. The good is drifting round the wasteland as you get materials, search for treasure and get into huge fights (we are talking 15-20 enemies at a time here). Racing is probably the weakest of the side activities as the handling isn't amazing, I wish they'd have gone for a tighter more Daytona feel to it - I mean, its sorta like this but you have to spend time crafting your way to a decent car and even then I'm still not super satisfied with the end result.
Last but not least - Bartender Ken - I really enjoyed this mode as it was a nice quick mini game and had a few nice side stories attached to it. Plus the drink names/cutscenes were really funny. Also, its well worth doing for the car parts and shop upgrades you get when serving the various customers.
Also in is stuff like the Casino, side stories (80 of them) and more than one special secret bosses. Basically all the stuff you'd expect from a Yakuza game.
100% completion: For the completionists like me out there - this is apparently one of the grindier. There are definitely parts of the completion list where that rings true - healing 100 random people is bizarrely tedious as they barely spawn. Pro tip - do this on chapter 8? I think as its a linear level that has one section where healable people pop up frequently. You can grind for the trophy here. Wish I'd have done that! Also grindy is the 7 star Zodiac Amulets. As they require lots of rare materials which can't be brought, so I'll be grinding the arena/races for some for sure.
Still, I've not actually felt bored doing the grinding (bar the healing), guess it helps that I enjoy the game immensely!
So all in all I absolutely loved the game, and I'm glad I still have a couple more awesome things to go before I'm done with the game. It would have been nice if some of the arcade games were new, and the game could have been a bit longer with maybe a few more familiar faces appearing (Not getting a Heart boss fight was rather sad :( ) but really the combat goes such a long way to making this game feel fresh. Now I just hope it gets translated, because its still the best FOTNS game I've played (Its better than the Ken's Rage games solely because of the combat, even if it doesn't follow the manga as close).
So, after putting in 66ish hours, got 75% of the game completion list done, here are my thoughts:
Story:
So, still waiting for the English translations to catch up but I picked up most of the story easy. The basic (non spoilery) version is that its an original story that uses several Hokuto characters and there are several plot points that mirror those from the manga, but at least 50% of the story is brand new, there are many new characters so anyone expecting a 1:1 story adaptation of the manga will be disappointed. Basically its Hokuto characters with Yakuza gameplay and an original story. If that sounds enticing then you'll probably enjoy this game!
Spoilers for the story, characters and sequel speculation, don't read until you finish the game
Perhaps my biggest surprise was that they didn't use Raoh as the final boss. However I did like the final couple of boss fights, plot twist and ending so I'm not bothered that they went a different direction.
What I did find interesting for a potential sequel is that several characters lived through the ending that did not in the manga so a sequel doesn't feel off the table - mainly because both Souther and Raoh live - either of these two could easily be huge baddies for the sequel, so it pleases me that a bad plot twist didn't finish them off. Also surprising was Toki - again I'm glad they kept him alive as his death in the manga was too good to be ruined in the game by doing it any other way. So I'd rather if they do kill him off in a sequel, it sticks to the manga plot in that regard.
Set piece wise I definitely would love the finale of a sequel to be one heck of a badass brawl through Raoh's army before fighting a tough as nails final boss. Also, for Souther I'd definitely want his fight to take place on his great pyramid, and I definitely hope they use Shu heavily in the sequel, as that plot point with him, Kenshiro and Souther was fantastic in the manga.
Plus, with Rei living, they totally either need to make him playable next time, or at least have Juuda pop up. He's definitely my most wanted new baddie to turn up in a sequel.
What I did find interesting for a potential sequel is that several characters lived through the ending that did not in the manga so a sequel doesn't feel off the table - mainly because both Souther and Raoh live - either of these two could easily be huge baddies for the sequel, so it pleases me that a bad plot twist didn't finish them off. Also surprising was Toki - again I'm glad they kept him alive as his death in the manga was too good to be ruined in the game by doing it any other way. So I'd rather if they do kill him off in a sequel, it sticks to the manga plot in that regard.
Set piece wise I definitely would love the finale of a sequel to be one heck of a badass brawl through Raoh's army before fighting a tough as nails final boss. Also, for Souther I'd definitely want his fight to take place on his great pyramid, and I definitely hope they use Shu heavily in the sequel, as that plot point with him, Kenshiro and Souther was fantastic in the manga.
Plus, with Rei living, they totally either need to make him playable next time, or at least have Juuda pop up. He's definitely my most wanted new baddie to turn up in a sequel.
Combat:
Far and away the shining jewel in this game is the combat. It still feels very much like a Yakuza game but the use of the Hokuto secret moves was a brilliant twist, as is the more off the wall (literally) combat - crazy combos where you knock people into the air, off walls and into combo's/secret moves keeps the game feeling very fun and very different from previous Yakuza games. Also, I loved the boss fights in the game, my favourite being the ones that drew heavily from the manga
basically Raoh, Souther, Rei and Jagi are all fantastic, and the new characters and Shin aren't any slouch either
Length:
Mentioned above, but the main story is short - both in chapter amount and long fights. For a sequel I'd definitely love the game to be longer, but as it stands there is never a dull moment in this games story, and what is included is fantastic.
Optional side stuff:
So while the game is short, its also pretty darn long to hit that 100% because the series still includes a ton of side stuff to do. I'm sure I'll forget some activities, but here are the ones I enjoyed the most:
Arena - because it means you fight loads. And there is a nice large variety of things to do in the fighting arena so it'll keep me busy for ages.
Hunting for arcade games/retro games - I loved the side story that involved you exploring the wastelands and getting the retro Sega games. The worst of the four games is the Sega MKIII Hokuto no Ken game, mainly by virtue of the other three arcade games (Space Harrier, Super Hang On and the mighty Out Run) being so good. But its HnK that I spent the most time on as I'd never played it before. And I still kinda really like it! As usual this side of things has great ports with scan line and widescreen/original screen options. Now I just need to beata Raoh on HnK...
Also, the crane game is included and is basically its 0/Kiwami version. Toys are fairly hard to get but you'll need a couple of the Raoh themed Bun-Chans if you want to recruit all the hostesses!
Cabaret Club - This was actually my least favourite activity in terms of what I was looking forward to playing since I did so much of it recently in Kiwami 2 and 0, but wait! They've changed a lot here - you have 40 odd missions to clear all with their own specific goals, customers change based on missions so you need to pick your hostesses carefully and you also have a few new moves to deal with rude/problem customers! Its also got a great new soundtrack to it. Definitely one of my surprises of the game, and one of the best bits of the side stuff to do. And I was surprised that clearing the 1,00,000 debt as part of the side content took way less time than I expected.
Bounty Hunting - more combat, with some entertaining encounters. Nice to have this brought back from Kenzan (did Ishin have similar? I forget).
Death Batting - As with the other spinoffs, we get an original baseball game in this - you have to hit mad bikers that charge right at you, and its pretty tough to find that sweet spot for home runs. The final of the four courses took me quite a while to clear with an S rank, but I really enjoyed the unique spin on the mini game. Also, the soundtrack for this rocks!
Clinic healing (rhythm action game) - So instead of Karaoke, you'll be timing your button presses to healing citizens of Eden and smacking about goons trying to get in your way. Its fast paced and really fun, use headphones to make getting those full combo/perfect ranks easier!
Treasure hunting - less an activity and more a feature - but well worth mentioning because the rewards are either car parts, rare crafting materials, Sega music or Sega games. And don't worry, while the rewards are random the game does heavily skew your rewards toward Sega games once you start the side quest so you don't spend 20 hours trying to get them all.
The wasteland/racing - perhaps the least interesting part of the game because... well its hard to make a post apocalyptic wasteland all that interesting. The good is drifting round the wasteland as you get materials, search for treasure and get into huge fights (we are talking 15-20 enemies at a time here). Racing is probably the weakest of the side activities as the handling isn't amazing, I wish they'd have gone for a tighter more Daytona feel to it - I mean, its sorta like this but you have to spend time crafting your way to a decent car and even then I'm still not super satisfied with the end result.
Last but not least - Bartender Ken - I really enjoyed this mode as it was a nice quick mini game and had a few nice side stories attached to it. Plus the drink names/cutscenes were really funny. Also, its well worth doing for the car parts and shop upgrades you get when serving the various customers.
Also in is stuff like the Casino, side stories (80 of them) and more than one special secret bosses. Basically all the stuff you'd expect from a Yakuza game.
100% completion: For the completionists like me out there - this is apparently one of the grindier. There are definitely parts of the completion list where that rings true - healing 100 random people is bizarrely tedious as they barely spawn. Pro tip - do this on chapter 8? I think as its a linear level that has one section where healable people pop up frequently. You can grind for the trophy here. Wish I'd have done that! Also grindy is the 7 star Zodiac Amulets. As they require lots of rare materials which can't be brought, so I'll be grinding the arena/races for some for sure.
Still, I've not actually felt bored doing the grinding (bar the healing), guess it helps that I enjoy the game immensely!
So all in all I absolutely loved the game, and I'm glad I still have a couple more awesome things to go before I'm done with the game. It would have been nice if some of the arcade games were new, and the game could have been a bit longer with maybe a few more familiar faces appearing (Not getting a Heart boss fight was rather sad :( ) but really the combat goes such a long way to making this game feel fresh. Now I just hope it gets translated, because its still the best FOTNS game I've played (Its better than the Ken's Rage games solely because of the combat, even if it doesn't follow the manga as close).
