A step up in gameplay compared to the last main entry, but the overall story was a let down, especially after the masterpiece that was LAD: Gaiden. With that said, it was worth playing through thanks to the insane amount of interesting side content, including funny and heartwarming substories, diverse minigames, and entire side games emulating Animal Crossing and Pokemon, all of which kept me thoroughly entertained throughout the campaign. The entirely new open map in Hawaii, the first in the series outside of Japan, is a breath of fresh air for a series that usually sticks to reusing maps and assets from previous games. I love the party member chemistry in this game; most returning party members fit surprisingly well, and best of all is having Kiryu have so much more interactions with everyone.

Despite my misgivings about the story and some of the character writing in the game, this game is still heavily recommended for JRPG fans, Yakuza/Like a Dragon fans, and anyone looking to sink ~100 hours into the most unique JRPG franchise.