Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Reviews
The setting of Onomichi proves that the long-running series still has some tricks, making Yakuza 6 a worthy finale for its main protagonist.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life presents the most detailed virtual chunk of Japan the series has managed to date, and its story provides a satisfying end to the Kizama Kiryu saga. However, as far as gameplay goes, Yakuza 6 doesn't make enough of an effort to break new ground, making it weaker overall than last year's Yakuza Zero.
Perhaps not the greatest Yakuza game, but Kazuma Kiryu's farewell certainly makes for the most human.
A slightly underwhelming end to the legend of Kazuma Kiryu, but the changes in gameplay and graphics do hold a lot of promise for the future.
A touching finale for Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza 6 manages to surprise and delight in equal measure.
Yakuza 6 delivers both quality and quantity, so saying goodbye to Kiryu doesn't feel rushed
Even with my criticisms of the admittedly optional and inconsequential aspects of the game, Yakuza 6 succeeds because its core story is so compelling.
Exciting changes to combat and an endearing narrative see the final chapter in Kazuma Kiryu's decade-long saga refine what has made the series great.
Given the technological advances made here, and its breezier outlook on life with a cast freed from the confines of Yakuza's dense lore, I'd prefer to look at this as the first of a new breed of Yakuza game.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life might be the end of Kazuma Kiryu's story, but it represents a new step in the series.
If you've played Yakuza in the past, I think you'll get a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of this game. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and grab Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami and play through both of them, then grab Yakuza 6 when it comes out
Given more development time, this could have been the definitive entry in the series, but what we're left with is good enough. Hopefully Kiwami 2 can make some necessary improvements, because the groundwork set by the Dragon Engine is just awesome.
Yakuza 6 is a beast of a game, and it sends Kiryu off in style.
We love Yakuza´s story, its locations that seem "alive" and its many minigames (including classic Sega arcades such as Puyo Puyo, Virtua Fighter 5 or Super Hang On). The song of Life is the perfect ending for this saga.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Yakuza 6 sums up its lead character succinctly and emotionally, while shaking up enough to make the return ride feel fresh. Buy it.
The story of Kazuma Kiryu is over.
The Yakuza series is held again in its 3 main pillars in this The Song of Life: many activities and mini-games, deep combats, and a wonderful storytelling that ends the era of Kazuma Kyriu and it serves to draw the new horizon towards where Sega goes to.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Yakuza 6 does not invent anything new compared to the past and the lack of many iconic characters of the saga shouldn't be understimated, but despite this the final chapter of Kazuma Kiryu's adventures remains one of the best Yakuza ever.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Yakuza 6 is a fitting end to a great saga, with fantastic combat and lots to do outside the main story