Broken Star

Tag: jrpg

  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon Review – Heartfelt RPG Experience

    Few RPGs have ever made me laugh and tear up in equal measure, but Yakuza: Like a Dragon pulled it off.I recently finished Yakuza: Like a Dragon and wasn’t surprised to see it land among my favorite games of all time. I had heard it get a lot of praise as being an interesting story with a unexpected amount of heart, so I wasn’t entirely surprised to have enjoyed it so much.

    Yakuza: Like a Dragon follows Ichiban Kasuga, a low-ranking yakuza member who takes the fall for a crime he didn’t commit. After serving 18 years in prison, he’s betrayed by his former boss and left for dead in Yokohama. Determined to uncover the truth and rebuild his life, Ichiban gathers a band of misfits and fights to expose corruption while chasing his dream of becoming a hero. What surprised me most was how earnest Ichiban is—he’s a goofy, big-hearted mess of a character, and that’s exactly what makes him so lovable. Most of the side quests and the main story largely consists of Ichiban trying to help people. 

    The game is a turn-based RPG, which was a shift for the Yakuza series. I haven’t played any of the previous games, so I can’t comment on the how it compares to the beat-em-up games that preceded it, but I found the turn-based combat to be pretty enjoyable. It’s relatively basic RPG fare with the usual buffs/de-buffs, special skills, and upgradable weapons. The job system, which lets characters switch between quirky roles like chef or breakdancer, adds personality—even if I mostly stuck to defaults.

    The overall story could be broadly described as a redemption arc that sees Ichiban left-for-dead in a homeless camp and sees him uncover the mystery around how he ended up there. It intersects with his life story and he learns a lot about who he is and where he came from. It feels a bit like a soap opera with lots of twists and turns, but for the most part, it’s engaging and I was invested in it. 

    The biggest drawback for me was the difficulty spikes—they dragged the pacing down and forced me into hours of grinding I didn’t enjoy. In Chapter 12, the game basically prompts you to start grinding levels via the 30-story Sotenbori Battle Arena. You get some good gear, but it feels like padding. There are other similar dungeons — Yokohama Underground and Kamurocho Underground — that exist primarily for grinding. They are dull and felt very tedious. Near the end of the game, I basically had to spend several hours grinding to level up my character for the rather difficult final section. I generally don’t mind grinding when it’s something I decide to do, but this felt mandatory.

    Grinding aside, Yakuza: Like a Dragon reminded me why I love games that balance heart with humor. If Infinite Wealth builds on this foundation, I can’t wait to see where Ichiban’s journey goes next.

  • WitchSpring R Review: A Cozy RPG Adventure

    I recently finished WitchSpring R, and it turned out to be a short, breezy RPG that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

    Originally a mobile game from 2015, WitchSpring has been reimagined here as a full remake. While developed by a South Korean studio, it shares plenty of DNA with classic JRPGs—turn-based combat, dungeon crawling, quirky characters, and the familiar sense of leveling and progression.

    You play as Pieberry, a young witch living in exile deep in a forest, cut off from the outside world where witches are hunted. The narrative gradually unfolds as you explore, uncover more about the world, and learn where Pieberry fits within it. The story isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s told in a charming way that kept me engaged.

    Combat is relatively straightforward turn-based fare, but it introduces some neat wrinkles—like turn bonuses, which reward you with extra actions for defeating enemies with physical attacks. The game also discourages grinding by limiting experience gains to an enemy’s first defeat. Instead, progress comes from training Pieberry’s skills through mini-games, collecting pets that can fight alongside you, and dabbling in some light crafting. (I didn’t spend much time on crafting and still managed fine.)

    On the presentation side, the game shines. Its art direction is colorful and whimsical, and it looked great running on my PlayStation 5.

    Overall: WitchSpring R is a cozy, compact RPG that doesn’t overstay its welcome. If you’re looking for something light, charming, and relatively short, I’d recommend giving it a try.