So many main story moments in this game could've easily been side quests.. I think that's the biggest issue in this game coming from 0. (aside from the questionable balancing at times) 0's story was a lot more tight and made going from a wacky sidequest->intense story->wacky sidequest a great gameplay loop. Kiwami is like: wacky sidequest -> main "story" filler that gets you nowhere -> more sidequest. Making the game feel like a slog at times
The pacing of this and '0' bother me more than the tonal shifts (which generally I'm all for in media; here... dunno! it's hit or miss.) and combat. I want to get into this series because it's such a unique beast and because Kiryu is such an fun character to inhabit, then I get hung up on how the game flows from moment to moment.
Whoever said this was a lazy remake is a fuckin dumbass lmao, they added SO much shit to this game that wasn't in the OG it isnt even FUNNY. The voice acting is WAY better, gameplay is smoother, writing is clunky but it's not bad to the point where you don't enjoy the game (and that's what actually matters)
however, the "press any button" menu song is so good