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BACK TO GAMING TOPICS... WHAT MADE EMPIRE SO SPECIAL. 

Beat Infinite Fapuza. 

FAPUZA RANKINGS (2/5/24)
0 > Lost Judgment > Judgment > Like a Dragon > Infinite Wealth > 2 > 6 > Gaiden > 1 > Ishin > 5 > 3 > 4

Kiryu Yakuza Games
0 > Infinite Wealth > 2 > 6 > Gaiden > 1 > 5 > 3 > 4

Won't spoil anything, but wanted to get my thoughts in. Loved the game. Hawaii is an amazing setting. Really hope they continue to use it for Judge Eyes. Game takes a gamble with the relationships early on, which you rarely see in JRPGs. Started very strong with working with Kiryu. Lot of very fun new minigames were added. Overall felt substories were a little bit of a step down from 7 with some very good standouts here. They improved the actual gameplay quite a bit with getting less stuck in animations, getting interrupted is no longer a thing. Position actually is very important as well. 

One character that I really wanted to play as in 7 gets a main slot in here as well. The newer characters introduced grew on me as well. The big side activity in Dodoku island was the most fleshed out minigame they have made so far. Very intricate and could easily be its own game. Spent well over 24 hours on this mode alone. It's a decent place to make money mid game as well. LOVE HOW THEY LET YOU STORE MONEY AS WELL IN AN ATM. 

Side characters were pretty good, with one big standout introduced early on who was definitely the standout among the new villains. Don't want to spoil anything with Kiryu, but the new battle he's facing was very tough to see. 

Chapter 9 + Final Boss spoilers + Kiryu Past

Spoiler!

Once the game splits the party, I feel here is where the game starts to stretch itself too thin. A lot of the Ichiban stuff gets put to the wayside and becomes more less interesting than the Kiryu party. Wasn't the biggest fan of Ichiban's final boss, but I liked Kiryu's and how each were opposite images of Ichiban (for Kiryu) and vice versa. Some could argue that Ichiban should have faced Kiryu's. Ending felt a little rushed and flat for me as well. Wish we could have seen a little more with cutscenes. 

I personally enjoyed seeing Kiryu's past people especially the woman from 2 coming back. I guess not having Haruka and Haruto see Kiryu at the end was a creative decision that some were not happy with. If you played the final memoir, I guess you see why that is. 

Gave it a 9.2/10 for me. Story I liked better in 7 as I felt it was more tight as well as the party.