When you beat Yakuza 5, you have a big decision ahead of you. Is it time for a Premium New Game or a Premium Adventure? It’s a daunting question, to be sure. After all, both of them have “premium” in the title, which is pretty darn enticing. But at that point in the game, both sound a lot like a new game plus sort of thing. Each one has a different purpose.
We’ll start with Premium Adventure, since it’s a little more straightforward. Think of it as a free-roaming mode. You can be anyone, change time, and wear different costumes. It’s a way to enjoy all of the activities and additional sidequests outside of the main storyline. If you rushed through Yakuza 5, this is a way to enjoy some leisure time. You’ll also have all of the money and experience you earned during your initial playthrough. Keep its own save file for it, since you can’t create a Clear Data save with Premium Adventure.
My favorite part of Premium Adventure is making Kazuma spend time with Haruka. If he talks to her, she’ll tag along with him. Since this mode lets you do anything, you can visit any of the other cities together. Think of it as a way for the two of them to bond and make up for any lost time.
The other option is Premium New Game. This is the route you should take if you want to 100% complete Yakuza 5 by getting all of the treasure hunt items, picking up garbage, maxing character levels, and all those other, little things. Completion percentage carries over in a Clear save, as well as Revelations, levels, weapon levels, heat extensions, money, and items. With a Premium New Game, you can keep going through Yakuza 5’s main story, hopefully coming closer to getting the Platinum trophy each time.
As far as content, nothing really changes in a Premium New Game run. The story remains the same. The Substories and Side Stories are still there. It’s a means of getting a second chance to do time-sensitive things within the context of the main storyline. I haven’t gone further than Kazuma’s third chapter in my Premium New Game run, mainly because I prefer Premium Adventure, but having all of that extra money and experience really helps.
Yakuza 5 is a huge game. Once you get through the main story, you’ll find that there’s still so much to do. You may have even missed unlockable items or extras the first time around. I highly recommend sticking around for a Premium Adventure or Premium New Game.
Yakuza 5 is immediately available on the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3.
Published: Jan 12, 2016 01:30 pm