The Yakuza Game Series

Yakuza has not exactly been an obsession of mine, but it has been my go-to video game series/time-waster/work forgetter-abouter for the past two-plus years. Published by SEGA and known in Japan as Ryu ga Gotoku (Like a Dragon), the series encompasses eight main titles dating back to 2005 and a handful of spin-offs. Most are action-RPGs with open world elements: you wander around a city (Kamurocho, a fictionalized version of Tokyo’s Kabukicho red-light district, in every game and other cities later on) helping people solve various personal problems, patronizing bars, clubs, and restaurants, playing sports and games, and beating the daylights out of antagonistic yakuza as well as random street punks dumb enough to pick fights with you.

Your avatar for much of the series is one Kazuma Kiryu. An orphan mentored by an honorable old-school yakuza, Kiryu eventually becomes a feared-yet-principled yakuza enforcer known as the Dragon of Dojima. A prison sentence and a series of tragedies leave him out of the syndicate and looking after Haruka, a young girl, and he eventually tries to leave the gangster life behind in order to run an orphanage in Okinawa. However, intrigue involving his former clan keeps drawing him back into the fold. He’s aided, in most entries, by cynical police detective Makoto Date, by the staff of the local nightclub Stardust, and, in a somewhat antagonistic fashion, by Goro Majima, a shrewd one-eyed yakuza with a crazed “Mad Dog” public persona.

Though a successful series in Japan, Yakuza games have had a somewhat mixed reception in the U.S. The first game was given an English localization with an established voice cast (including Mark Hamill, fittingly, as the Joker-like Majima and Michael Madsen as his thuggish boss Shimano), but the prohibitively high production costs meant that subsequent entries were Japanese-only (with English subtitles). Just over a decade after its release, the first game received an updated remake (Yakuza Kiwami), and the second soon followed suit. The most recent entry, Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon, launched in Japan in January, and it is set to make its U.S. debut later this year. When it does, it will mark a radical change in direction for the series: a character named Ichiban Kasuga will replace Kiryu as the lead protagonist, and the gameplay will be more akin to a turn-based RPG.

The Story (So Far)

Yakuza (2006)/Yakuza Kiwami (2017): In the mid-1990s, Kiryu is on the verge of getting his own family to lead when fate intervenes. His sworn brother Nishikiyama kills their boss Dojima when the latter tries to rape their mutual childhood friend Yumi, and Kiryu takes the fall. After his release from prison, Kiryu finds Yumi missing, Nishiki corrupted by ambition, and the Tojo Clan none too happy to see him free. The sudden disappearance of the clan’s ten billion yen leaves various yakuza factions scrambling, and the equally sudden appearance at a crime scene of a seemingly abandoned Haruka leaves Kiryu and Date determined to find the truth.

Yakuza 2 (2008)/Yakuza Kiwami 2 (2018): Yukio Terada, Kiryu’s handpicked successor as Tojo chairman, attempts to forge peace between the clan and the Osaka-based Omi Alliance but is gunned down. His plans for a truce are shattered by the “Dragon of Kansai” Ryuji Goda, the Omi chairman’s renegade son, who seeks a confrontation with Kiryu. For his part, Kiryu attempts to fill the Tojo leadership void by enlisting another patriarch’s son: Daigo Dojima, who is, thankfully, nothing like his father. Kiryu also receives unexpected help from Karou Sayama, an Osaka detective whose parents’ disappearance may be tied to yakuza intrigue. Meanwhile, the Jingweon mafia, a Korean syndicate thought wiped out in 1980, emerges anew and begins targeting the Tojo clan.

Yakuza 3 (2010): Kiryu has retired to Okinawa to run an orphanage with Haruka, but the orphanage is threatened when a local yakuza outfit starts buying up land in the neighborhood. After making allies out of these would-be foes, Kiryu learns that the pressure to acquire property in Okinawa is coming from high up in Japan’s political structure. When Daigo, the one person with enough juice to protect Kiryu’s interests, is shot, Kiryu reluctantly sets off for Tokyo to unmask the threat. He contends with both competing Tojo factions and presumed-dead enemies alike.

Yakuza 4 (2011): Shun Akiyama is a jovial, unorthodox Tokyo moneylender who grants interest-free loans to anyone who passes one of his character tests. He has a stake in a low-tier Tojo subsidiary and a local nightclub but otherwise stays out of trouble. That changes when Lilly, a mysterious woman, approaches Akiyama for a large loan for reasons unknown and a yakuza hothead who picked a fight with Akiyama turns up dead soon after. Taiga Saejima is an infamous though repentant yakuza hitman, convicted of killing eighteen rivals in a single incident. He is serving out his time in an off-the-books private prison where he is brutalized by sadistic guards. Hamazaki, a fellow prisoner and Tojo member, enlists Saejima in a plan to escape and expose the prison. The plan is contingent upon reaching the one person who can help them: Kazuma Kiryu, who is again brought out of retirement. Lastly, Masa Tanimura is a young, multilingual Tokyo detective with a penchant for gambling and taking petty bribes. In exchange, he acts as a protector of Kamurocho’s Little Asia immigrant community. He investigates the murder of Ihara, the thug who had the run-in with Akiyama, finds Lilly, and stumbles across a conspiracy involving yakuza and police brass alike.

Yakuza 5 (2015): To keep Haruka and the orphanage children out of harm’s way, Kiryu has distanced himself from them. He’s living in Fukuoka disguised as the cab driver Suzuki. Daigo arrives in town to forge an alliance with a local yakuza outfit, seeks counsel from a reluctant “Suzuki,” and disappears shortly thereafter, once again drawing Kiryu into Tojo-related schemes. Meanwhile, Saejima has been imprisoned in a (legitimate) facility in Sapporo to finish the rest of his sentence, but a prison gang and shadowy forces conspire to give him a hard time. When he hears that Majima, his sworn brother, has been killed and that he is about to be assassinated, Saejima and his protégé, Baba, aim to bust out and find out what happened. Haruka has moved to Osaka to begin training as a pop idol under the tutelage of ex-idol turned talent agent Mirei Park. When tragedy strikes her agency, Akiyama, Park’s financial backer, steps in to investigate. Finally, in Nagoya, disgraced former baseball player Tatsuo Shinada is given a chance at redemption (and some relief from his debts) if he investigates the circumstances of his expulsion on behalf of a mysterious client. The more digging that Shinada does, the more that the locals he thought he’d befriended treat him with hostility. Every character’s path seems to lead back to Tokyo where someone with immense influence is pulling the strings, but who?

Yakuza 0 (2017): Set in 1988, this prequel finds a hot-headed young Kiryu set up to take the fall when a man he collected a debt from is found dead in the Empty Lot, a valuable piece of real estate. Kiryu’s boss, Dojima, offers a promotion to whoever can obtain the deed for the lot, and Kiryu, on the outs with the family, joins forces with the real estate shark Tachibana to find out more about it. Meanwhile, Majima, exiled from Tokyo and working as a cabaret manager in Osaka, is given a chance to get back into the clan’s good graces if he tracks down and kills one Makoto Makimura. The closer Majima gets to his target, however, the more reluctant he feels about performing the hit. Makoto, as it turns out, also has a connection to the lot at the center of Kiryu’s quest.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (2018): Kiryu emerges from a short prison sentence to find that Haruka has disappeared and his Tojo allies have been arrested. After scouring Kamurocho, Kiryu discovers Haruka in a coma following a seemingly deliberate hit-and-run and also learns that she has an infant son, Haruto. With the baby in tow, Kiryu heads to Onomishi, Hiroshima, to find out who was targeting his surrogate daughter. A local yakuza dust-up and encroachment by a Chinese triad await, but they prove to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Rankings

1. Yakuza Kiwami 2

Pros: Remastered using Yakuza 6’s Dragon Engine in-game physics, Kiwami 2 is aesthetically impressive and benefits from smooth, seamless combat. Plotting and character development are arguably at their peak here. Ryuji Goda is a worthy foe and far more complex than he initially appears to be, and Karou, a talented and tenacious investigator, is a welcome antidote to the series’ tendency to marginalize female characters. Robust side content lets you manage Majima’s construction company and take on (real-life) Japanese wrestling legends.

Cons: Entertaining as it is, Kiryu's fight against tigers and ninjas in a castle is a poor fit for the game's tone. The final boss battle also isn’t as challenging as the build-up suggests that it should be. It may also be a chore at times to keep up with who is betraying whom and why at any given moment.

2. Yakuza 0

Pros: Kiryu and Majima each have multiple fighting styles, which add variety and complexity to gameplay. The game is also packed with memorable characters, from the three Tojo lieutenants scrambling for the lot (all voiced by veteran actors) to colorful side characters (including a chicken!) to Majima and Nishiki’s sympathetic portrayals. Speaking of Majima, he has a wealth of boss battles here, which give him a chance to take on some of Kiryu’s future allies.

Cons: Kiryu, on the other hand, tends to face off against the same two foes for most of the game. And while Majima’s deeper characterization is appreciated, his late-game transformation into the Mad Dog seems rushed.

3. Yakuza Kiwami

Pros: Fighting styles from 0 were adopted for this re-master (though the Dragon style requires a lot of upgrades to be effective), but unlike 0, Kiryu gets a chance to test them on a plethora of opponents. The plot is a bit less convoluted than some of the later games’ grand conspiracies, and the first appearances of recurring characters (Haruka, Date, etc.) are iconic.

Cons: While the final boss battle ranks favorably, the penultimate one is a massive annoyance. The Majima Everywhere system – Goro pops up randomly in different disguises to challenge you to a fight – loses its novelty quickly.

4. TIE: Yakuza 5

Pros: There is a massive amount of content, but enough of it is optional to make you feel like you’re not trapped performing unwanted tasks. Saejima’s section lets you fight a bear, Haruka’s section is a rhythm game, which makes for a nice change of pace (as does being able to explore different cities), and Shinada injects a bit of levity and combat diversity (his fighting style uses a lot of weapons). Though the game’s final opponent seems unworthy, the actual battle itself is memorable.

Cons: Even if you bypass a lot of the side content, the game is a massive time sink, and it will feel slow in places. The ending is so much of a re-hash of Yakuza 3’s that any potential shock value it might have delivered is lost.

Yakuza 6

Pros: Combat is smooth thanks to the then-new Dragon Engine, and the back-to-basics approach makes this game less of a slog. Onomichi keeps the setting fresh while Takeshi Kitano offers a memorable turn voicing the laid back, trollish clan boss. Sidequests continue to amuse as well: this game lets you supply a cat café.

Cons: Despite the more streamlined plotting and pacing, going from five playable characters back down to one is a bit unfulfilling as are the absences of Majima and Saejima for most of the game. The final opponent seems unworthy here as well, and he doesn’t put up a particularly memorable fight, either.

6. Yakuza 4

Pros: Multiple player characters allow for multiple fighting styles (Akiyama = speed, Saejima = strength, Tanimura = parry/counter, and Kiryu = balance), and their contrasting personalities lend the game diversity as does being able to explore sewers and rooftops of Kamurocho. Hana, Akiyama’s beleaguered, hypercompetent office manager (who has to goad him into making his collections and taking care of himself), is a great foil for her boss. 

Cons: The game’s plotting is convoluted and inane at times: there are arguably more betrayals and overlapping conspiracies here than in 2, and that’s saying something. Of the four characters’ final boss fights, two are against opponents there is little reason for you to fight, and one is a throwback to the first game’s miserable near-end melee.

7. Yakuza 3

Pros: Okinawa is, at the very least, a change of scenery, and seeing Kiryu’s softer side (caring for the kids, serving as a mentor to the young local yakuza, etc.) adds complexity to his normally stoic character. This game also introduces Revelations, a recurring feature that lets you learn new combat techniques by observing them accidentally — and humorously — demonstrated by random civilians. Yoshitaka Mine, an orphan turned successful but cold-hearted and lonely businessman who bought his way into the yakuza, is a stand-out antagonist.

Cons: The combat feels stiff, and opponents will try to block everything. Whether it is the cackling, gun-toting Tamashiro or the Albert Wesker rip-off American agent in black (replete with terrible Resident Evil 1-caliber voice acting), several of the game’s non-Mine foes are truly annoying. Narratively, the plot relies on almost as many contrivances as 4 does. One chapter effectively turns the game into a parenting simulator and slows the pacing to a crawl.