The final chapter is packed with combat, for all the characters. Which I really appreciate. Its really fun. Its a pity actually they didn't have one further bit with Shinada and Saejima so I could have used all four characters prior to their boss battles. Oh well!
Saejima might have my favourite boss in terms of hype - I mean a Majima fight is always gonna make me sit up and pay attention, and this one is the craziest of the bunch (he can summon clones now?). Plus the intro, heat moves and dialogue are all absolutely fantastic. I really do love Saejima and Majima's rivalry.
Shinada's is actually better on replay for me, as I thought his phonecall after fighting Baba was Milky, not Takasugi which was way more impactful for me. I love that he has a place that he belongs, I really do hope he got a happy ending, he went through so much the last 15 years... Also, the fight with Baba itself rocks, and seeing Kosaka and his cellmates show up just in the nick of time was cool.
Akiyama gets the best ending that deserved to be followed up on. The guy saves Kamurocho basically. "The only money lender to stand above the Yakuza". Yeah, I want Akiyama playable again after Ichiban is an established character please. And bring Hana back dammit. I really liked Kanai as a boss/villain in this game. He's a tank, a monster, and seemingly pretty damn invincible as long as you don't stub out a cigerette in his eye. He gets right back up after you beat him and only gives up when he realises he's very out matched!
Special mention to Daigo, who actually gets to do something cool. Between this game and 3 it turns out he's a bloody good shot. Pity he didn't take that shot sooner, could have prevented a lot of pain. Also, Watase is low key the other best character in the game. He's my favourite villain for sure, and he gets a brilliant speech with Katsuya when he almost dies.
And the end with Kiryu... yeah, Aizawa himself barely cares about the plan, he just wants to brawl with Kiryu. I love how he's completely outmatched - this is a dying Kiryu who still manages to beat the crap out of him. Now while the boss choice is no Ryuuji, Nishiki, Mine etc. he is the best fight in the series from a gameplay standpoint, only rivaled by Ishin's boss. And both are fantastic for the same basic reason - rather than staying in one place this entire fight takes place through all of Tojo HQ - now between the previous games (1-3 especially) you should be very familiar with this place, and using it as the end of the game? Pure genius. And ending the fight itself in the front area, pitch black night, snow starting to set on the ground. Its fucking brilliant. The QTE's are all great as well, very brutal and raw, this isn't like Yagami in JE where he's using proper martial arts, or Ryo in Shenmue (same thing), this is just two powerhouses beating the shit out of each other. Only thing I wish this game did like Ishin was music transitions per area, as a more somber tone at the tail end of the fight would have been perfect. Tiger Drops, counters and red heat mode are order of the day against Aizawa, it really lets you use everything you have against him and the fight feels so. damn. good.
The end bit with Haruka is great, and ironically actually makes Kiryu's choice in 6 make all the more sense - people complain that based on the events of 6 Kiryu's choice at the end of the game made no sense, and to a point they are right, but 5 is basically mostly Kiryu's (and Daigo's) fault. So him staying would only cause more hurt. He puts it best after Daigo gets shot in finale chapter 3 - "why? Why do people around me always get hurt when I get involved?".
As for the overall plot itself, I like it. Its taken 3 playthroughs to get it though. For example, I finally get what basically happened to Morinaga, and I do like how the plan is basically just a brutal Tojo/Omi war. In many ways this should have really been the last game, I love the characters in 6 but the stakes in 5 just make more sense in terms of a finale game. Though I suppose you could argue that Kiryu getting involved in 6 shows how his time has passed, the Yakuza have moved on and he has no place there anymore. I loved 6 though, so I'm not exactly sad it exists.
