#i love yakuza substories so much

[kamuro-junrenka]

Tiny daigo is so cute im going to die

[dirt-str1der]

The only time kiryu beat the shit out of a girl is when he thought she was a dude and he kicked her ass so bad she started crying and he was like w-wait...

[friendlymachine]

will now be putting “completed all yakuza 0 substories” on my resume

[square-coconut]

Hanging out with Haruka time! I love her so much!!

Hanging out with Haruka is always a highlight in this games, I don't trust anyone who doesn't like this mechanic

Like look at her! She's my baby I'll do anything for her! (except playing mahjong, sorry but learning how golf was enough. I feel like a middle aged rich man)

She's actually better at bowling than Nishiki lol (let's be honest, anyone is). Can you imagine Kiryu taking 8 kids bowling? I definitely can, what a chaotic night. Throw Daigo and Majima in there and you can call it family night <3

Why are you scared? I did it first try!

This girl is developing a gambling problem and Kiryu doesn't have enough functioning neurons to realize it. He probably thinks it's normal because of his life, even though I don't think he's that much of a gambler.

Quite embarrassing but I had to get the keys that I was missing... Obviously they were the ones in adult places ugh I'm sorry you had to see Kiryu walking into that DVD store Haruka!

I love them so so much! They are both very caring yet both refuse to ask for help until it is completely necessary. This game has a lot of that "I MUST do this alone" Kiryu mentality. I'm not a big fan (neither was majima or date or rikiya or nakahara or any of the children in morning glory or…)

Oh no she's caching Kiryu's furrow. I think they look kind of similar here, that's cute. Kiryu is ready to break legs and crack some skulls and so am I lol

Such a good dad :(((

Let me add a few things here from substories (I'm sick of that couple)

They looove a good gossip they are so funny. Again, very similar reaction, cute.

The way he looks at her!!! I've been using the word love a lot but he really really loves her so so much. She's his light, his reason to live… well maybe not that, Kiryu is pretty self destructing, let's be honest.

She's the reason he keeps trying and that's enough for now

Yakuza 3 has changed my life forever, byeee

Anyway, I adore their relationship, can't wait to see them in the next game <3 At the same time, haruka's growing up so fast… make it stop please :'((

[imustbenuts]

sits down and thinks

Infinite wealth spoilers and half baked analysis and thoughts

Infinite wealth

Ig this comes across easier in Asian culture context but the wealth in infinite wealth doesn't mean money. It means bonds. (EDIT: by which i mean JP and Chinese.)

The short of it, the words used to describe relationships, karma, luck and fate all are rooted in the idea of threads. These words when written in kanji all have the thread 糸 radical in it. 縁 en is the common kanji word here.

And since luck is deeply tied to money, the idea of Infinite Wealth here is absolutely not (strictly) money. Given how the rgg series and their writers or even Japan has been disillusioned with the bubble boom, and ichiban will turn his back on money over bonds, this tracks for me.

And this is constantly reflected in the stories and substories. The "wealth" of a person is reflected in the bonds between people. It's not a coincidence the game throws old characters from previous games and substories along Kiryu's way. That's the wealth he's accumulated, the wealth that actually matters once he's at the end of his life where money can't save him from what sounds like terminal cancer. It's Haruka and Haruto and the orphanage and Four Shine and all the people he's helped who's more than happy to carry him if he asks.

The "payoff" is constantly in the reciprocating of a person's virtues in terms of kindness, compassion and patience.

Fuck it's getting to me again fuckfuckfuck--

Ending scene

Ebina and ichiban not meeting but being set up to mirror Nishiki and Kiryu's brother relationship...

And kiryu going from recognizing the pattern to outright understanding a repeat of something similar and just shutting it down, chefs kiss.

Plus plus the entire ending scene is dripping with symbolism. I'm about to fucking vomit

So, sosososo-

I noticed by late game before the monologue, Ebina is being a hell warden karmic entity by essentially setting up an underground pain prison for a whole group of people deemed trash by society. And then he reveals his irezumi and oooh

I see I see. That's an oni and a pissed off snake. Nele island, the paradise/heaven of the palekanas getting turned into the karmic hell/jigoku is. Holy shit. Who wrote this?? I will kiss them??!

Someone on Reddit also did a more in depth write up on this and wow delicious . check out the top comment which is even more spot on

I also dk if this made it past the tonal barrier but jp kiryu literally begging ebina to let the yakuzas have a second chance is... Ough. as goofy as that scene was with kiryu planking on top of ebina, he was effectively on his hands and knees begging and I'm. Ow. Owowowowowow wow. OW.

Kiryu in that scene seems to be embodying a dragon. Whimsical, powerful fucks who appear whenever they feel like and according to myths are benevolent too. So when kiryu planks above it's signifying a dragon pleading with the hell warden to let a bunch of people go, almost with its last breath... Crying even that his tears falls on ebina's face, and ebina having this look realizing that the dragon is human. It got me. I finished rgg8 days ago and it's still getting me

WAUGH. IT GOT ME GOOD

Then kiryu collapses on top of ebina, almost as if all the weight and regret he's been carrying on his back comes literally crashing into ebina's reality, and ebina is probably so shocked he doesn't do anything for the rest of the ending.

WAUGH!! x2

GOOFY SCENE BUT I UNDERSTOOD THAT, AAAAA

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK

Shout-out to Daigo for being the one with the most 'oh shit' expression and legging it to kiryu first. And Majima for legging it 2nd in the background. Man.

In spite of what kiryu says and believes I don't think he could have changed the Yakuza world that much though. One way or another there's just too many factors at play. Hes absolutely right in his speech about walking the grayest road there is.

Ough.

Ichigang

Love them.

Yu Nanba takes the cake for me here for being the most respectful and compassionate about knowing how to handle kiryu as a person with terminal cancer/disability. Ichiban echoes this too, but the way they are all playing support rather than forcing kiryu to do things makes it 11/10 for me

Older folks who lead rough lives and are fiercely independent like kiryu can be ANNOYING reconciling with their health. Bc of a mix of pride and their own lived era/environment, being seen as weak and disabled is deeply shameful psychologically (idk if this is the same in US/UK but I'm speaking from an Asia specific mentality here). In essence many resign themself to death and refuse treatment, medication, or even walking canes. Like they'd rather die than be burdens.

And kiryu def has echoes of this. I wanted to slap him so many times in his bucket list substory. Lmao

Chitose Fujinomiya

Interesting character. She seems to have gone through a "setting-up" arc in this game for future writing if it makes sense.

Her Fujinomiya name sounds like a shout-out to the Fujiwaras, a clan who had total political control of Japan all the way until 1868. These days their descendants have taken on different family names, branched off, and now control some zaibatsu in some of them.

And her family does indeed sound like a zaibatsu. More than likely with what I know above, she will have some political weight as the chairwoman now.

Chitose will be an incredibly valuable key character for future installments of RGG, especially with the political Daidoji faction running about. I'm stoked. The future installments can def go international if they want to. Current geopolitics in Asia has potential as a rgg backdrop especially when it comes to money and gangs.

We have Thailand with localized gangs calling the shots controlling the tourism there. Ie Thailand Tourist Mafias (Also human trafficking and sex tourism. Siam dius/Thai discos are very similar to cabaret clubs too.)

There's also background money laundering going on, where countries and their bank happily take less than clean money for their economy under tax haven schemes. (COUGH SINGAPORE COUGH). There are also lots of trafficking of people looking for jobs into other asian countries and forcing them to work in scam centers...

Basically lots of potential avenues if they wanted to write about these things. So. LETS GO. LETS GO CHITOSE WOOO

ICHIBAN

So much more to say but I'll end with this one. ICHIBAN.

Ichiban has made more progress in terms of emotional and social development, and turning that into proper positive actions, than kiryu has done at that age.

I don't mean this as a diss either but where kiryu was incredibly flawed in his lone wolf ways and unable to leverage his connections with his circumstances, Ichiban keeps pulling through with it. And kiryu to be fair could not have been able to do the same where the Yakuza environment and politics were as fucked as it is in his time.

Both approaches have their pros and cons though, bc Ichigang is now in a position to get sniped if the environment around them turns for the worse.

Idk if it's going there but. Huhu! :3c

I want more but I'm happy and satisfied for now but also if anyone touches me I fear I'm gonna to explode. Waughghhhhhhggr.

Screams

[badboyportrait]

i don't know if this is too niche or personal, but as someone also from a "doomed" city with a perpetually grim future, i really love how RGG has portrayed kamurocho. in tachibana's penthouse, we're introduced to it as a beautiful glittering cityscape. when kiryu hangs out with nishiki, it's a maze of rundown buildings but the best ramen, if you know where to look. it's got a wide network of homeless people who see all. it's got scumbag billionaires and it's overrun with gang violence. yet every substory shows us NPCs with full lives despite kamurocho always threatening to collapse.

and it always is in danger. the tojo clan is ripping it apart for both kiryu and makoto in Y0. it blows up once in YK2 and almost does it a second time at the end. kiryu always comes back because some motherfucker is like "the tojo clan and kamurocho are in danger, we need your help". that's like, what it feels like? shit will happen on the news and it'll always be personal. no matter how far away you move - for kiryu, okinawa, nagoya, etc - it always holds on. it never leaves. this city and its doom will always be wrapped tightly around your heart.

but everyone's seen a tragic city. it's all over our stories. but kamurocho, despite it all, is still so lovingly rendered. kiryu can duck into alleyways and find a burger joint. he can buy ridiculously specific things at don quiote. he can play pocket circuit, he can go to arcades, he can play pool. it's a shithole of a city overrun with gang violence and poverty but it's still so full of life. despite everything you can still race cars and buy gifts for pretty women and invite your friends to karaoke. despite everything, you can still live.

like yeah, the devs probably didn't mean to appeal to this incredibly specific heartache, but i love kamurocho so much anyway. every time i run around it, it feels like home. it's a fucking disaster but it's my, and so many other characters', disaster.

to conclude, have a quote from daigo at the end of YK2.

[Image ID: A shirtless Daigo Dojima from Yakuza Kiwami 2. He's a young man with dark hair and a toned body, and he looks determined. At the bottom of the screencap, the subtitles read "Some might say I have no right saying it, but I love this city." End ID.]

[fabiansociety]

i started playing yakuza 0 in August last year, and I've been playing my way through the entire series ever since. it's been a wild ride — a lot of nonsense plot has flowed through and out of my brain, a lot of janky combat, a massive amount of characters i've come to love, and hundreds of warmly empathetic substories that have pressed themselves into my brain. it feels like i've crammed an entire found family into my life, speedrunning through decades of character growth, major triumphs and minor failures. what it all means, in retrospect, i couldn't quite say. the series hasn't had a consistent point of view, except for an increasing melancholy of how life's narrative opportunities narrow with age and poor decisions, of the ways that childhood trauma lives with us forever, the ways that young men are brutalized into something useful for the powerful men at the top—but that's all a shadow passing over the true landscapes of the games, the long period hanging out in arcades or pool halls or drinking in a favorite bar, or singing karaoke alone or with someone. of watching kamurocho and sotenbori shift with the years, of the new cities we've visited and the food we've eaten. i remember the takoyaki place on the corner that got replaced with a gelateria much more than i remember any of the yakuza heavies that have driven the plots of these games, and that may actually be the point?

it's so weird to not have another yakuza game to immediately start playing. i've gotten so used to opening the next game as soon as i finish the previous one that it feels wrong to just be… done, for now? like, what am i to do with myself now? these games have been such a major part of my leisure time this last year. i've still got Ishin, but that's not really the same thing. the faces will be familiar, but the people will be strangers.

it feels right that the man who erased his name was the only one of these that i've actually 100% completed, from achievements to in-game trackers. they've lowered the bar for completion substantially with this latest game, and frankly it feels like an act of grace for people who have played through the entire series. i'm never going to get good at virtua fighter 2, no matter how many times it shows up, so it's nice to not have to get good at everything in order to round everything out. i've already taught myself mahjong for this series, is that not enough? LADG says, yes, it's okay, you've done enough, and i appreciate that tremendously, here at the end of this loooong road.

i spent *50 solid days* this last year doing nothing except playing yakuza games, that's ridiculous. i read every single nero wolfe book in significantly less time than that! this is the problem with doing this sort of run-the-board project for a video game series, it just takes so long to get even a basically thorough experience. running through the entire MCU, including all the D+, Netflix, Hulu, Freeform, and ABC shows, only takes 424 hours, by comparison. you could watch all of it in less time than in took me to get from Y0 to Y4. i read all the nero wolfe books a couple of years back, and i was ripping through those at a book a night. video games are massively more decompressed as a medium, which makes them much harder to approach. i've loved doing this, and really valued the experience, but how do i even begin to recommend someone approach this, when so much of the specific pleasure i get is from seeing these characters and locations grow and change over time? how do you even begin to read a work of that scope? what is even meaningful out of that time to convey to another person? and yet it is meaningful, having lived through it, in the way living in another city is meaningful. i can tell you what i did there, and the important things that happened to me, but the only way to really get it is to move there yourself, and that's a lot to ask of someone.

stats under the cut, if you're curious about just how much time i've spent on each individual game

yakuza 0: 115:45 started 8/10/22, completed 9/7/22

yakuza kiwami: 66:24 started 9/9/22, completed 10/10/22

yakuza kiwami 2: 73:20 started 10/10/22, completed 10/30/22

the majima saga: 2:49 started 10/18/22, completed 10/26/22

yakuza 3: 103:20 started 10/31/22, completed 2/20/23 (with a break from november to february)

yakuza 4: 124:14 started 2/20/23, completed 3/17/23

yakuza 5: 168:17 started 3/18/23, completed 4/27/23

yakuza 6: 76:05 started 4/30/23, completed 5/20/23

judgment: 114:29 started 5/22/23, completed 7/16/23

yakuza like a dragon: 131:31 started 7/16/23, completed 9/2/23

lost judgment: 131:10 (shocking how close this is to YLAD) started 9/17/23, completed 11/4/23

the kaito files: 12:59 started 11/5/23, completed 11/10/23

the man who erased his name: 75:17 started 11/11/23, completed 11/27/23

total time, across the entire series: 1195:40

i benchmarked these against the completionist starts on HowLongToBeat, and i was actually under par that way until about yakuza 4, when my times suddenly got much longer than estimated. what changed? mahjong. i learned how to play mahjong, and that was great (mahjong rules), but it's added dozens of hours to my games, easily, and even with that LADG is the only one of the games where i managed to complete the in-game mahjong objectives. y4 has four separate tournaments you can climb your way to the top of, one for each main character, and i never even got close, but i spent a lot of time trying!

[oursidae]

IF YOU INSIST

takes your hands. come on this journey with me. for reference i consider kiryu to be exclusively gay but i feel like a lot of this except one bit also applies when reading him through a bisexual lens also <3 come listen to me talk about the way kiryu touches himself and how it changes throughout his life <3

i think when he was in his 20s he was a hedonist, far less so than nishiki but still, basically a frat boy, a horny 20 yr old. i dont imagine him having any actual sex partners during this time, in fact i think he's a virgin well into his middle age at Least. so he jacked off a lot. usually into his fist. i can see him making a fleshlight with 2 wet sponges and a cup. sometimes he got brave and touched his ass but felt so ashamed of it the days after he would be jumpy around nishiki and any other yakuza. (real yakuza cant like men...camera zooms in on kashiwagi) tldr hes so closeted and has so much internal homophobia it leeches into how he pleasures himself and knowing he might like sex in "unorthodox" ways is frightening in ways he doesnt super understand. ofc over the events of 0 he has bigger things to worry about but 0 is when i think kiryu's attraction to men comes to the forefront, through tachibana. (and also pocket circuit fighter.)

then, he goes to jail for 10 years. i think this period severely stunts him, because we know kiryu loves to just compartmentalize and shove all of the scary feelings down so he can just keep ignoring them, and being an invisible inmate makes that so much easier. any self pleasure he does during and immediately after this time is quick, utilitarian. dry and chafing just getting it over with, you know? any emotion attached to the act is a distant staticky buzz in the back of his mind.

of course im a kazumaji truther so during yakuza 1/kiwami, majima introduces to him a new level of sexual frustration that leads to him exploring pain and masochism by himself. majima doesnt *give* him this fetish, so much as he just opened the locked door to it. he digs his fingers into the cuts and bruises majima leaves on him and turns the shower water up until its scalding because if he didnt do this in the shower he'd pass out after with dried cum on himself. i think his feelings toward majima during this time are frightening spaghetti to him - something im sure irritates majima to no end, majima in my mind is far more assured of himself and who he is and his own sexuality and attraction to other men - and i dont think that kiryu does much in the way of exploration around this time aside from the odd burst of confidence (we were robbed by the banana bar substory.) he might try to touch his ass again here and there but theres still that twist of shame that he cant quite shake. i dont know when exactly i hc him entering a relationship with majima, if at All (i love the angst), but if he is having sex with majima at this time i think that relationship kicks his Growth into overdrive and he overcomes those hurdles a lot easier.

shame, i think, holds kiryu back a lot, because if he is this way, he isnt what is expected of him. if that makes sense. kiryu is supposed to shoulder it all alone and keep the tojo clan from sinking and there isnt room in that power fantasy for taking it up the ass and finding comfort in another mans arms, because this series is rife with toxic masculinity and commentary on it here and there.

on theme with burying his feelings and how peoples expectations of him affect him, kiryu in 2/kiwami 2 is DEEPLY SUICIDAL. like the whole game. if you havent noticed. kiwami 2 is one of my least favorite games of the series so this may color my judgment here a little. i think both kiryu and kaoru were experiencing comphet as their relationship progressed, especially the weird makeout next to her brothers corpse. you do weird things under stress, adrenaline, and trauma, and thats what i chalk this part of the game up to. i dont see him engaging in much, if any, self loving around this time period because of his severe depression, ptsd, and deep desire to end it all. if he does its in the "i might as well" way, or just to make time pass. he might even engage in it in a compulsory way, because he knows he'll feel a little better by the end bc orgasming does that, but its literally just for that purpose, not to Feel Good in a sexual way. just to hurry up and crank one out in the shower so he can get it together enough to get haruka to school.

kiryu has growing to do when he starts raising children and does his best to let go of any predjudices he has, but i think he still struggles with his own attraction to men. he never ever would teach his kids anything but to be kind, even if they find something odd. but he cant afford that kindness to himself. when i was in elementary school, i came home one day and told my mom "today i learned from my friend that gay is when boys like boys and that lesbian is when girls like girls :)" and then...that was that. she was like. "ah. okay... who said that to you? i see. did he say anything else about it?" and she didnt really push me to one conclusion about those facts. thats kind of how i see kiryu navigating some of these conversations. he'd steer them toward the kind option, if they needed it, but sometimes "yeah thats right. gay men are men who like men. lesbians are women who like women." is all you need, the confirmation that its real, and the neutrality that means yeah its fine.

and i think haruka is the most perceptive of kiryu bc of how they have grown together so like She Knows. if anyone puts the pieces together besides majima itd have to be her. and i think the conversation they one day (probably not around 3-era, unsure where i'd place this) have kind of also touches on harukas own bisexuality bc nothing abt what she did w that one girl she was friends with in 5 was hetero. 2 me. i wish I could be more coherent about this scene in my head, but i feel like its a conversation where a lot remains unsaid but is innately understood. they dance around the topic because saying it outright teeters on too much, but they know what theyre talking about. the love between them is unconditional.

anyway he doesnt have much time to masturbate when running the orphanage, but because he's busy with chores and taking care of a bunch of kids who he loves. plus thin walls. but hes gentler with himself when he does. maybe he starts foraying into men strictly in pornography, he's got magazines under the futon or looks up crusty jpegs on his phone or something. he lets go of some of the shame because he's found somewhere else where it feels right for him to be. he is so happy in okinawa it drives me crazy.

skipping over 4 bc he's still in okinawa for the majority of that game until saejima and company wash up on his beach and then he has to go back to kamurocho, during the events of 5 he is NOT touching himself. he hates himself so much in that game. he hardly showers. he lives with a woman and covers up her naked body when she strips in front of him. his boss is pointing out how gay everyone at his job thinks he is but insisting its okay but being clocked like that is a super specific punch to the gut that he wasnt really prepared for and really flusters him. for the most part i dont think his dick exists to him. he's sitting to pee. he hasnt gotten it up in months.

i blocked 6 from my memory for the most part except how kiryu in a baseball uniform makes my dick hard. haruka and yuta i think r bi4bis my girl deserves it.

post 6, he is not Kiryu Kazuma anymore, and despite the pain that comes from forced separation from his family, being a different person is so freeing. he gets to explore things. he gets to let his shoulders drop and relax for the first time since 2005. im playing thru gaiden right now and already dont remember all of the daidoji restrictions on him but by now he's pretty much fully realized himself and embraced his sexuality. he lets himself have his fantasies. he's become a bit of a hedonist like he was in his 20s with far more easy access to gay porn and sex toys. i know my man has a butt plug in his gay ass!!! i love bottom kiryu. have i ever said how much i love bottom kiryu. i think he has nights where he puts on a porn video and treats himself. i think he has some drinks and a cigarette and fingers himself and plays with his balls and teases himself until his orgasm sneaks up on him. and then he takes a shower and goes to sleep in his underwear. is he completely healthy? absolutely not. his self sacrificial streak and need to bear all of the pain by himself is why he's here. he still has unaddressed severe trauma and depression. but he can fingerfuck himself and watch gay porn without his stomach churning over the fact that he actually wants this, so progress is progress.

i need to stress. i started thinking about all this. because i put kiryu in this outfit

and thought about him putting on dark plum colored lipstick and looking at himself in the mirror and smudging it a little and getting so hard that he gets lightheaded and immediately needing to jack off about it. i would say im going to write that fic but i know i wont.

[ymiwritesstuff]

Watchful Eye

Dude I had to write for Majima again the brainrot is real LMAO this one I was inspired by one of the substories in 0, the one with the doll girl because AAA that one is so cute and wholesome I love dadjima. Anyway I hope you enjoy!

Yakuza 0

Goro Majima x Single Mom!Reader

Summary: It was but a mere coincidence, he had been at the right place at the right time, and soon he found himself silently watching over a small child who got attached to him quite quickly.

Notes: Fluff, mentions of bullying, DADJIMA

Also posted on AO3!

It had started out as another of Sotenbori’s random encounters, the ones you’d see on the side of the road, or in secluded alleyways. Mundane and standard for the city. That’s how he would describe it. Majima had seen his fair share of these incidental and banal meetings with the locals, but none had stuck to him as much as this one.

He did not exactly intend to venture to the area next to the small park for a smoke that day, it had just happened while he was buried in his thoughts. Something had weighed heavy in his mind, though he had long forgotten what it was. The only significant thing he remembered from that day was that peculiar encounter.

The little girl had bumped into him suddenly and the collision pulled him away from his thoughts. It had startled him slightly and despite the child obviously not noticing this, she was quick to apologize.

“I’m sorry, Mister.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, kiddo.”

He had expected the girl to run along and continue with whatever she was doing but soon noticed her looking up at him, shifting her weight between her feet. That prompted Majima to look around the park, only to find it rather empty.

“Where’s yer mom?”

The girl’s company hadn’t made him uncomfortable per se, he could even say that it alleviated some of the load on his shoulders and mind, but he had also been painfully aware of how he and his rough appearance might have earned him some dirty looks from possible onlookers. A man who looked like a yakuza hanging out with a girl who seemed barely ten years of age? Yeah, he would rather play it safe and avoid conflict.

She hadn’t seemed scared though.

“She’s at work,” She chirped and glanced behind her. “But she should be back soon!”

Majima had given her a hum at that. It was not a terribly unusual occurrence. One could see children by their lonesomes all over the city. Parents worked hard to maintain a stable life and income for the sake of their kids. Still, the sun was steadily disappearing behind the horizon, it would be dark soon.

“Ya got friends around here or somethin’?”

The girl shook her head, eyes falling to the ground beneath her small feet. “All my friends went home after school and I came here to wait for mommy.” Her eyes shifted towards the empty swings and benches, her smile vanishing the tiniest amount. “Usually there are other kids here too...”

Majima sighed softly. So this was a part of her regular daily routine. Poor kid, he had thought. He could only hope that her mother would return soon.

Upon taking another drag on his cigarette, the girl looked up at him again with furrowed brows and a pout upon her lips.

“Mommy says smoking is bad for you…”

Her words had been unexpected, and the bluntness of them caught him off guard as he found himself looking down at the child.

“Ya better listen to your mom then, kid.” He gave the cigarette between his fingers a glance. “She’s right, ya know.”

“Then why do you do it, Mister?”

He turned to the girl once more, her innocent question floating in his head for a bit as he tried to look for an answer that would make sense for a youngster her age. He found none.

“I dunno. Guess it’s just a habit…” Majima twirled the cigarette between his fingers, keeping his attentive eye on it.

His bland reply earned him a huff from the kid who quickly crossed her arms. “You should stop doing that, Mister. It’ll make your lungs as dark as your hair!”

Majima could not help but chuckle, the amusement caused by her scolding lifting his spirits far more than expected. He flicked the half-burnt cigarette away, to which the girl in front of him smiled brightly.

The Lord of the Night quickly dawned an exaggerated expression of shock, one that the child could latch onto and hopefully shift the tone of the conversation to something more lighthearted.

“Say whaaat? But my hair’s kinda cool, don’t ya think?” He ran his palms pompously over his head and neatly tied locks as he spoke. “Would be even cooler if my airbags matched.”

He was fully aware of how ridiculous he must have seemed, but hearing the giggles that flew out of the little girl’s mouth more than made up for that. It was but a small expression of joy, but Majima was happy to see it.

“You are so silly, Mister.”

Majima had been quite surprised at the girl’s friendly nature towards him. He had never expected anyone, let alone children to interact with him so casually. There was no fear or uncertainty in her shining eyes, only curiosity in its purest form one would expect from a child. She wasn’t wary of him, nor did she judge him with her gaze or her words. She must have been raised right.

“Hinami-chan!”

Both of them looked toward the direction where the unknown voice came from, though it did not take long for either of them to realize the identity of the person standing a few feet away from them.

“Mommy!”

The girl had begun running towards her mother, only to stop after a few steps to turn back to Majima with the widest smile on her face.

“Bye bye, Mister!!”

She had waved at him and continued her journey into her mother’s welcoming arms. The two adults exchanged brief glances, and Majima was surprised to meet with a neutral gaze, rather than a suspicious one. He had given a nod before leaving the park behind.

“Who was that, sweetie?” You had asked your daughter as she hugged you, the image of the man freshly planted in your mind. His appearance was striking, but he did not seem threatening and your daughter certainly didn’t seem to be frightened by him.

Hinami giggled playfully and looked up at you. “A friend.”

And that’s how it began. Majima found himself returning to the park, or at least the area relatively close to it. It was not completely intentional, the first few times had been a mere coincidence, something work-related, and every time he would catch a glimpse of the girl, sometimes accompanied by her mother. Sometimes the child noticed and waved, other times she was too occupied with playing.

Majima did not go out of his way to talk to her though, despite his short visits to the park becoming somewhat frequent. He still played by his own unwritten rule, one of them being don’t get innocents involved. Majima was constantly watched, and his stay in Sotenbori was so heavily monitored that he did not want to befriend too many locals, lest they get tangled in the predicament he was in.

That however changed one day when the park had been a bit more lively.

Majima had initially thought Hinami had been playing with friends from school, but mere seconds of listening to the harsh voices and laughs was more than enough to tell him what it actually was. The poor girl was getting bullied by her peers.

He had been quick to step in, his stern scowl being all it took for the boys surrounding the defenseless girl to go running off, fearful exclamations flying from their mouths. After muttering something under his breath, he turned to Hinami.

“Ya okay, kiddo?”

“I am. Thank you, Mister!”

After that, he returned often, even telling you about the bullying incident when he got the chance. You had been grateful that he had intervened and given him your thanks. You worked late and often worried for your daughter. Hinami was smart and independent for her age, but at the cost of you not being able to be there for her when she might have needed it. In that regard, someone like him was a blessing.

You began seeing him more and more often when you went to pick up your girl. He sat on one of the benches, keeping his watchful eye on Hinami. It brought you relief, knowing that someone was watching over her whilst you were gone, and as time went on, you got to know him a bit better.

Despite what his outward appearance would suggest, you soon found out just how gentle of a man lay behind it. From his eye that was softly framed whenever he looked out for your daughter to the way he would kindly greet you when you arrived and promptly excuse himself soon after, all of it told gave you a good idea of what kind of a person he was. 

He never stayed for too much chitchat, you knew his name, but not much else. You were sure he had his reasons, but a part of you could not help but be curious. He got along with Hinami unbelievably well, and she seemed to like him. It warmed your heart.

“Can I really have this???” Hinami asked, eyes sparkling in awe as she held the stuffed toy in her hands.

“Of course, ya can. I got it for you specifically,” Majima replied, recalling his haphazard visit to the arcade. He had wanted to try his luck with one of those cursed claw machines and managed to win a plushie after a few dozen tries. His wallet was scarred, but the girl was smiling.

“I hope your mom don’t mind the new friend ya got, though,” he muttered as Hinami sat next to him on the bench, holding the stuffed animal in a firm embrace. Truthfully, ever since he had won the silly game he wondered if he was close to stepping over a line that would get himself too involved in their life.

“Don’t worry, Mister.” Hinami turned to him, that bright smile of hers more apparent than ever. “I got it from you!”

Majima quirked an eyebrow at that.

“Hey, hey. What’s that s’posed to mean, Hinami-chan?”

His inquiry was not a serious one, but once he heard the impish giggles that bubbled from her and the way she excitedly kicked her feet, he felt something on his side. Now he was curious.

“Well… Don’t tell mommy I told you this but,” With her hand, she motioned for him to bring his head lower so he could hear her secretive whispers.

“She thinks you’re really handsome.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Majima’s chest tightened and his remaining eye widened. For a brief second, he wasn’t certain he had heard the girl correctly. 

“Huuh?? Whaddya mean, Hinami-chan??”

She giggled once more and hopped off the bench, strutting in front of the slightly flustered man, clutching her new toy. “She said so! I heard her! Mommy has also been smiling a lot recently.”

Majima could only blink silently as he listened to her, still somewhat shocked at the words he was hearing. Even a damn idiot could understand the meaning behind them, and immediately some logical part of him wondered if the line of privacy he had been so careful of had been rudely crossed, but that thought did not linger for long. Not when he looked at the overjoyed girl in front of him. He let out a laugh.

“That so?” Hinami nodded enthusiastically.

“Yep!” Her expression quickly abandoned all of its brightness and became deadly serious, it was almost frightening. “But you absolutely cannot tell her that I told you!!”

The young girl's stare was so intense that the pledge left his mouth almost too fast.

“Alright, alright. I won’t tell a soul, okay?”

Hinami, seemingly not satisfied with mere words, then lifted her pinky up and brought her hand to him. After a moment of silence, she spoke:

“You have to promise, Mister. Otherwise, it doesn’t count!” She announced curtly.

Shaking his head out of sheer amusement, he chuckled and leaned forward, gingerly wrapping his pinky around her tiny one.

“I promise ya, Hinami-chan. It’ll be our secret, all right?”

The girl gave him a single nod as she retreated her hand, before running off to the swings with her plush toy. Majima kept his eye on her and leaned back lazily, lightly smiling to himself as the routine that he had gotten fairly used to continued its course.

Majima’s sharp ears caught the approaching footsteps when you finally arrived, but your daughter was too occupied with playing to notice you stepping behind the bench on which the man that had kept your child company these past weeks sat. Your eyes met, and you gave him a smile.

“She looks quite busy,” you commented, pointing to the direction of your daughter with your gaze, which made Majima let out a short chuckle.

“That she is. Hope ya don’t mind the little present I gave her.” He turned his head to look at you, only to be met with an expression that to him looked peaceful, content with the present moment.

“Not at all. She clearly loves her new friend.” Majima hummed in agreement. Even from far away, he could see the cheerful grin on her face and it coated his insides in a warm radiance he rarely felt. She resembled you, something he had noticed the more time had gone by. He was certain Hinami had inherited your smile.

Your eyes wandered to the mysterious man you know so little about, and once again, curiosity poked at you. He did so much for you only by keeping your young child company when you couldn’t. It was out of the goodness of his heart, something you never would have guessed had you met under different circumstances. 

You recalled the times Hinami would ask if the nice man with the eyepatch would be waiting for her after school, and each time you replied that you didn’t know. Yet he had been there, every time since the bullying incident. 

And you had never managed to thank him properly.

“I better get goin’,” he suddenly said and stood up. You immediately knew what it meant, it was all too familiar. This time though, you stopped him from leaving prematurely, not before giving him your gratitude.

“Majima-san,” you called out, which stopped him in his tracks. He turned to you, a puzzled look upon his tired face for you had never delayed his departure. In truth, you had never been fast or brave enough.

“I… I just wanted to thank you. For everything.” The way your words came out was far from effortless, they almost got stuck in your throat. Had you been more astute, you may have noticed your increasing heart rate.

Majima turned to you fully, staying silent as you continued.

“Hinami talks about you every day, and to be completely honest,” you gave your precious daughter a glance, your heart fluttering at the sight of her, lost in her own little world. With a sigh, you looked at Majima once more.

“She needs someone like you.”

Majima’s eye softened. He immediately understood what your words were insinuating. Perhaps he had subconsciously always known it. You were always the one to pick her up, and Hinami only ever talked about ‘mommy’, it did not take a genius to put the pieces together. Though Majima himself never saw himself as the fatherly type, he was glad he was able to bring some joy into your daughter’s life.

“She’s a joy to be around,” he admitted in a low voice while turning his head toward her. “A real ray of sunshine, that one.” His words warmed your heart, but his gaze hardened and his eyebrows frowned.

“But I can’t be doin’ this forever, as fun as it is.” Majima hated to say those words, but he also could not deny the fact that he would not be staying in Sotenbori any longer than he had to. The city was his cage, a reminder of his mistakes, and anyone who got too close to him could be in danger. It was the last thing he wanted.

You gave him an understanding nod, noting the way his tense shoulders seemed to relax at your gesture. “And I won’t ask you to. I just wanted to let you know how much this all means to her and me. So, truly,” you bowed down slightly.

“Thank you, Majima-san.”

Majima noticed how soft your voice had become as you expressed your gratitude. It gave him an uncomfortable tingle in his core. He hadn’t expected his actions to be this meaningful to someone. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“It’s nothin’, really. Your little girl’s been great company, ya raised her well.”

You muttered a quick thank you once more as you straightened yourself. Majima looked at you fondly, his kind stare washing away all the stress you may have felt from work. There was a comfortable silence as the two of you silently looked at each other. For the first time, you noticed the small details of his face, from his faint dark circles to his cleanly shaved chin.

You wondered how he lost his eye, where he worked, and how he managed to keep his raven locks in such a neat ponytail. The mystery surrounding the man was killing you and the thoughts that roamed in your head gave you the courage to open your mouth.

“Still, I want to thank you properly, Majima-san,” you began, taking a few steps toward him. You took a breath to calm your nerves.

“Would you join me for dinner sometime?” Once the question was launched into the air, you immediately felt like a weight had disappeared from your shoulders, though you would still need to wait for his answer.

The proposal drifted in his mind for a moment and he thought back to the words spoken to him earlier by Hinami. Ones he had sworn to keep a secret. Though he had initially thought they were a product of her imagination, the way you carefully voiced your question made him doubt it. Whether it was only a way for you to express your appreciation, or something more, he was intrigued and found it difficult to refuse.

“Sure thing. That sure seems like good compensation for lookin’ out for the little rascal,” he joked, which eased some of the tension in your being and prompted you to laugh slightly.

“Sounds great.”

Your smile lingered as Hinami finally noticed you and began to run toward you as she always did, eager to show off her new toy given to him by the kind one-eyed man.

~

Support me on ko-fi!❤️

[athenaholmesartistsguild]

Sometimes I wonder how intentional the neurodivergent coding of certain Yakuza characters is.

With Kiryu I don't think it was intentional at first. I think he started as a stone-faced guy who was also just a little clueless (Because that's a pretty silly juxtaposition, writing-wise), but I've noticed as the series progresses there's little quirks or jokes that seem to intentionally code him as autistic-- and not in a mean way (which I love).

Like. When you're talking to one of the hostesses in the cabaret minigame in K2, she mentions wanting to be a mangaka, and Kiryu offers to help.

If you select the 'be an expression model' option Kiryu 'auditions' by making little noises for the different emotions he's trying to do and it's really obvious that he's not really changing his face much. Because he's just not an expressive guy. Because he's autistic!!!

There's the pizza substory from 0 which if you know, you know (and if you don't know, here you go).

If you select all the wrong answers in the producer substory (also in 0), the entire scene feels like an autistic person trying to understand obtuse industry lingo and everyone else getting angry at him for not speaking this hidden language (a reality for many autistic people).

And there's countless other examples that I can't name off the top of my head, but trust me, they're there.

And then there's Ichiban who is so ADHD it brings me joy. And I would just chalk his behaviors to just being a juxtaposition to Kiryu (Ichi's big, loud, and intense while Kiryu's quiet, reserved, and keeps to himself), but there are so many little things that are way too specific for me to ignore.

Firstly, when Ichi wants something he wants it NOW. The Peking Duck scene with Arakawa comes to mind, but also, when he's trying to get Masato’s 'girlfriend' to come to their table, and he resorts to like. Shouting at the guy after her client's like. "Nah. I'm talking to her for a bit." He's feelin' his feelings and good god are those feelings intense.

He seems to struggle with working memory issues such as the scene where he's talking about being Masato's caretaker and then Jo calls him like, immediately after, goes 'hey, you were supposed to take the young master out tonight' and Ichi's like 'oh my god? It completely slipped my mind!'

Ichiban's super creative and clever, but that out-of-the-box thinking is occasionally hampered by him missing little details. Like when he just takes a civilian's wallet, instead of the money they owed because 'Jo only said to bring back the wallet'. But then when he tries to use the money Masato gave him, it doesn't occur to him to take off the band indicating that the money came from Masato’s bank.

He's also pretty impulsive!! The scene where he jumps right into the Korean Mafia's line of fire is a big standout. He literally thought of the first thing that came to mind and did it.

There's also him gameifying his entire life. This example could be argued to be more of an autistic trait (especially the turn-based combat aspect), but ADHDers can also have those super intense interests that you never quite let go of. And gamification of certain tasks is often recommended for ADHDers.

and then there's so many small things that I can't quite explain that just stand out as ADHD behavior.

I honestly don't think Ichiban was ever written to be neurotypical. His character just feels so, authentically ADHD in such a kind way that just can't be accidental.

Although there could've been a writer who was just 'basing Ichiban off their own experiences' and 'their own experiences' just happened to be ADHD. I wouldn't know anything about that.

One more character before I go: Majima's actions in 0 (specifically throwing away the bag of murder goodies Lee gave him) makes way more sense if he has ADHD. He's got this bag of shit he does not want and he needs to get rid of it now. He was feelin' his feelings, okay?!

[dynamite-derek]

Like a Dragon and how video games can tell stories in a different way than other visual mediums

NOTE: This is best read after playing Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. I do not mark spoilers, so if you want to experience the end to the game yourself, I suggest you go play.

When you sit down with a television show or movie, you give a commitment of time to it. For a movie, let's say two-and-a-half hours. For a series of 10 movies, that's 25 hours of time. For a television show, this expands a fair deal. The running time for a drama that most of you reading knows about, Breaking Bad, clocks in at around 60 hours. For a series like the Simpsons, that has been going on for basically forever, that running time is 200 hours.

This is where video games set themselves apart. For a long time, I considered a 'long' playtime of a game to clock in at around 60 hours. I'm just talking about single player RPGs here, for an MMO this is basically baby stuff. In my playthrough of Persona 5 Royal, I think I spent around 100 hours with that cast of characters. 100 hours with Joker and Makoto, 60 hours with Walter White.

This time, think about a long running video game franchise. Earlier we established for a series of 10 movies, you'd have around 25 hours of run time. Let's expound on this and think about the James Bond movie franchise. 53 and a half hours for all 25 movies. A pretty solid amount of time to understand one character I would say. That's still shorter than your average long video game. But what about a series of long video games?

The Yakuza franchise has been running since December 8, 2005 and encompasses seven (soon to be eight) mainline titles and several spinoff games. The franchise, up until Yakuza: Like a Dragon, focused primarily on the exploits of Kazuma Kiryu. If you focus primarily on the main story of every game that has been released in the West, you're probably looking at well over 200 hours of gametime. Roughly as many hours as one would put into watching every episode of The Simpsons. If you do every substory and try to experience as much of the story of every game as possible? Your playtime is going to eclipse 500 hours and that is probably being conservative. 200 hours for 34 years of watching Simpsons. 500+ for 18 years of Yakuza where you get to live through the exploits of a fictional character.

That's 500 hours of getting to know Kazuma Kiryu. There are people who have spent more time with this virtual former Yakuza than they have with their own real life friends. As one of those people who has sunk 500+ hours into the franchise, I feel like I have gotten to know Kiryu very well. He is a stoic man. He has a kind side and will help basically anybody who is down on their luck, but he doesn't seem overly sentimental about it. He does show a love and fondness for people he considers 'family' (A young girl/woman as of Y6 named Haruka that's essentially his adopted daughter, her son Haruto and a crew of orphans) but I don't think he is outwardly sappy about it. You just know he cares.

Not only have we sunken a lot of time into playing as Kiryu, but we have also got to experience him in various stages of life. This is one of the big benefits video gaming has in terms of storytelling. In Breaking Bad, if you wanted to show a 17 year old Walter White, you would need to hire an actor to play him. In Yakuza, no matter what, Kiryu is going to look like and be the same Kiryu. Through playing those 500 hours we have seen Kiryu in various stages of life. We have seen him take the fall for a murder he didn't commit, we have seen him basically adopt a young girl, we have seen him fall in and out of love, we have seen him become the patriarch of the Dojima clan only to vacate it, we have seen him 'retire' into life as a taxi driver and we have gotten to see him be a lovable ol' grandpa. There is no 'other' Kiryu actor. Kiryu is Kiryu.

The latest game in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise (Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name) enters us into another phase of his life. He is a man who must pretend he is dead in order to protect his loved ones. He has basically no interactions with familiar faces from those 500+ hours of gametime. There are only small little parts in the story for series mainstays like Haruka Sawamura, Goro Majima, Taiga Saejima and Daigo Dojima. We only know how Kiryu feels about these people because we have played previous games where he is the star.

Taking him away from those he loves makes for a very isolating experience. The game takes place in familiar territory, but everything feels so foreign. We know this is the guy we've spent so much time with because the game explicitly tells us that he is Kiryu, but he spends most of the game's runtime being referred to as Joryu. Kiryu is supposed to be a dead man, so we have this new identity. Most of that time as Joryu is spent around characters the player probably won't be familiar with. You're playing as someone familiar yet someone different.

Yet at the end of the game, we experience something that feels so much deeper because of how much time we've spent with Kiryu. As I've said, we know he is a stoic man with a heart, but he isn't usually put into situations where he can't interact with his loved ones. This game saves the first interactions with his 'family' for the very end. A camera spies the orphans that he cares about visiting his fake grave. A pair of those orphans notice the camera and start talking to it. They never bought that their 'Uncle Kaz' was dead and take this as a sign that he's still kicking. They proceed to tell him about their life.

As the player, you know this is the one area Kiryu cares deeply about. He loves those damn kids. So you are aware that what you are watching has weight. Your mind might flashback to Yakuza 3 where you experience a great deal of playtime hanging around these orphans. You might remember Kiryu putting on a wrestling match to cheer one of these kids up, you might remember Kiryu trying to find out who stole some money from one of the kids, heck you might even remember having to make donations back to the orphanage during Kiryu's time as a taxi driver in Yakuza 5.

But what really sells that weight is Kiryu's reaction. He openly sobs. And not just silently crying as he watches something, he does what I can best describe as 'ugly crying.' As the orphans talk into the camera about their lives since the death of 'Uncle Kaz,' you hear as his breathing gets more and more shallow. You hear everytime he starts to choke up. You hear him sob. You see tears drop onto the screen. Because you spent so much time living as Kiryu and getting to know him through the franchise, this moment feels exceptionally powerful. You've seen Kiryu cry. You've never seen this.

His voice actor gives such an amazing performance here that I sincerely worry about how the English dub patch will convey this. Kiryu has been voiced by the same man (Takaya Kuroda) since the inception. So when you hear Kiryu break down, you hear the same voice you've heard for years doing it. It's like a dear friend finally can't deal with it anymore. Will his new English voice actor YongYea be able to get across these same complex feelings in a different language? Doubtful.

The conversation ends with the orphans saying they were gonna bring everyone back 'tomorrow' so they could talk with Kiryu too. They even promise to bring a present! Unfortunately, since Kiryu is supposed to be dead and since the orphans weren't actually supposed to spot the camera, there is no second video. The camera got removed. However, the gift still comes. You don't get to physically have it because how can a dead man take something? You get a picture of it instead. It's a drawing made by what is the equivalent to Kiryu's grandchild. Haruka's son. It even has Kiryu in it.

When the player sees this, their mind might flash back to Yakuza 6. The feeling of shock when you discover Haruka now has a child and all the missions spent walking around and comforting this kid. You don't know much about this kid's personality now, but you were there from the beginning. You spent probably 50 hours with that little kid. You had to move the controller up and down to comfort him when he cried. He's Kiryu's 'grandson' but you are aware of him too. You spent time with him.

And Kiryu's tears and reactions to this young boy are every bit as gut wrenching as you might expect. You want nothing more for him to go back to his old life in Kamurocho. You want him and Majima to have one more fight. You want Daigo to show up and be like "Look dude, I need ONE more thing from you." But that time has passed. That Kiryu is gone. And in that moment you feel it. Life has continued without him there and the kids are doing well and he did all he could for them while he was 'alive.' He accomplished something great and as a person who played 500+ hours, you feel a piece of that too.

The feelings you get here are feelings that are exclusive to video games. You simply watch Walter White build his meth empire. You simply watch James Bond race around really shitty CGI icebergs. You got to experience these moments Kiryu went through because for 500+ hours you were there too. You were playing pocket circuit like an idiot, you were training up that number one hostess. You put in the time and you got rewarded for it.

In short, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name is everything that is right about storytelling in video games. It is an experience that can mean something if you merely watch it on youtube, but if you truly put in those 500+ hours it feels a lot more impactful. I can't wait to see where we go from here.

[squishylemonbubbles]

i guess the thing that annoys me most about people calling goromi outrightly transmisogynistic is like... when the focus is put on how goromi looks, rather than her admittedly shitty initial character framing.

it's shitty to put her under these horrible lights to highlight everything wrong with her, it's shitty to pan the camera around her body with cartoony sound effects, it's shitty that she introduces herself with a cracking voice just to emphasise her "pretend" nature.

what i don't think is inherently shitty is that she's in a wig and makeup (messy as it might be - that aspect can be shitty, but its presence isn't), that she still sits like a man, or that she keeps the goatee.

people are going to look and feel comfortable in a wide variety of ways. and while characters aren't people that make choices, unlike... well, people, i think it does more harm than good to focus on looks as the main factor of a trans, gnc, or other such "unspecified MtF" depiction being harmful.

it makes real people feel like they're doing something wrong being themselves, for one thing. it shuts out those real people from being represented by others and even themselves, out of fear it will be seen as caricature and shunned. in worst cases, it continues to present this idea there is a "good trans" image - the people who are really actually trying - and a "bad trans" one - the ones who aren't, and don't deserve to call themselves what they are.

like i'm not saying you can never bring looks into these things, but i think it's more important to focus on how those looks - alongside the character as a whole - are being framed. not "she has huge muscles, which is on its own invalidating" but "her huge muscles are used as a joke to invalidate her" y'know what i mean?

...as an aside, i feel like it's weird i don't see people mention any of the sketchy substories across the series near as much as goromi. michiru is probably the next most well known, given the removal from 3's remaster stirred some shit with a certain brand of annoying dickhead, but like...

ruby? ruby from yakuza kiwami, the same game goromi is introduced in? ruby who lures kiryu to a love hotel, "surprising", sexually assaulting, and robbing him if he agrees to join her inside? i guess she doesn't matter cause she visually passes. (i am so angry about this.)

[dirt-str1der]

I like the paranormal elements in the yakuza games so much. Throughout the series there will just be a ghost or a yokai for absolutely no reason. Kiryus “pirate ghosts huh” [y6] (and the lady in the tape [yk2]), akiyamas “i caught the prankster” “that guy died three years ago” [y5], saejimas hunt for kappa [y4] and the yeti [y5] and tendo [y5] who randomly had for real magic powers (summon avalanche, turn invisible , teleport .. levitate ? And shoot beams ..?) , majimas pale lady entity [y0]. Almost every protag had a run in with the supernatural and the inexplicable and theyre always like huh. That was weird. Anyway ...

[xuanelle]

i love saejima so much like he's freshly out of 25 years in jail for killing 18 people but he has a whole substory where he goes out of his way to help take care of these cats. and he can meow at them <3

[id: screenshot from Yakuza 4 of Saejima leaning down and looking at two cats as he says, "...Meow." /end id]

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

LAD GAIDEN: Gathered Thoughts

Before I get into this proper, I just want to say that I’m not a professional reviewer or anything. And I’ve never really done a ‘write up’ for any of the RGG games before this. I’m just a dude with some very emotional thoughts. Yadda-Yadda. The best TL’DR of everything I can give? Gaiden is absolutely amazing. It has quickly become one of my favourite RGG games of all time, and I’d like to do a replay when less emotional overall, and Plat it.

Short Sweet: No Spoilers Version

Gaiden was touted (from what I recall) as a little bit of side content to give Kiryu some more context, or possibly something else to do. Instead, we got a short, but incredible game with stellar acting, amazing characters, fantastic writing (some of my favourite RGG writing since 0) and fun mini games, the best version of the Coliseum they’ve managed to do; wonderful sound track, two new styles (Agent Style is an absolute blast) and a finale that left me so emotionally distraught my mum came into my room to hug me when she heard me crying.

If Gaiden has any cons (and again, please keep in mind this is all just my personal opinion) it’s that the side content in regard to substories are mostly tied to content to build up the Joryu Clan in the Coliseum, including a somewhat tiresome gang mechanic. It’s nothing like the slog fest of annoyance Judgment’s was, but I have never been a fan of the gangs in these games and this one was more contained and shorter. Thanks to the game itself being much shorter.

The pacing in the beginning is a little bit odd too. But once the game itself picks up, it hits very well and doesn’t slow itself down.

My only other ‘gripe’ if you can call it that, is that the live action cabaret is uncanny in a way I really did not enjoy. This is not the first time that RGG has done live-action (the intro is live action briefly too, and has a beautiful, seamless transition to Kiryu that I really liked) but the hostesses have a strange stiffness to them as they talk at a camera (Or well, Joryu since it switches out to first person) and I just never adjusted to it. No disrespect to the actresses, or Kson, but I just couldn’t get myself to mesh with it.

Oh, and I found the Karaoke really hard for some reason in this one. Go figure.

And you can dress Kiryu up, which renders fully in game and in cutscenes. Greatest. Mechanic. Ever. And I’m just going to put a special shout out to Akame here. One of the most fun characters they’ve done yet. 10/10. Love her.

That’s about as spoiler-free as can be. So, I’ll wrap up this fast summary with ‘highly recommend, check it out if you get a chance’.

Everything below the cut is going to include spoilers, and lots of them. Screenshots too, as well as links. (Including for Yakuza 5, 6 and 7 in particular) so if you want to read me rambling for far too long, keep going. Otherwise, take care!

--

Extensive Thoughts Version

I’ve been trying best to think about how to put down everything I want to say, but I can never quite agree (mentally) on the best way to put it. The summary version up top does say it all, in a way, but Gaiden was so much more than it promised. And in a good way.

I’m one of those people who came out of playing Yakuza 6 feeling a weird mix of hollow and annoyed. For a supposed ending to Kiryu, so much just felt utterly unsatisfying and I was irritated (again a personal thing) with how Yakuza 6 felt like some weird Haruka punishment. I realize completely that this is all a personal interpretation; but 6 just did not sit well with me.

It remains the only Yakuza game I have yet to replay.

I guess one could ask ‘did we need Gaiden’? And honestly? I’d say yes, we did. If you’re one of those people who felt as annoyed with 6 as I did, and (let’s be honest) a little thrilled but also somewhat stumped by Kiryu diving into 7 to have his cameo and ‘day saving’ appearance and vanish again.

But I don’t want to ramble too much, this is already going to be longer than something anyone wants to read on Tumblr. So let me conclude by saying this game completely patched up the ‘meh’ feeling 6 left with me, and mentally wrecked me in the process.

In a good way.

Gaiden’s real strength is it’s writing. The characters have that grittiness and desperation that drew me in so hard to Yakuza 0. They feel like the Yakuza I know from these games, and that energy carries through every scene. There’s a greyness to them that is extremely well done, and anyone who follows me knows how much I love my morally grey characters.

(For those who do not know jack shite all about me; I love them. I love my grit and grey morality a lot). Anyway!

On the title screen, you’re presented with four characters. Kiryu (ahem, Joryu). Nishitani III, Tsuruno and Shishido.

It’s sleek, elegant and draws you right in. Also gives you a good clue as to what lies ahead (in a way). But I’m going to be coming back to that, so let me move on for a moment.

To keep this as contained as I can, I’m going to link to a post write up I did for a scene in chapter two. That summarizes to a degree what I really loved about this writing. Like 0, you are never 100% sure who is on Kiryu’s side. Or. More accurately, who is going to stay there. Tsuruno starts out the same way the others do. Kiryu can cooperate, or they can attack Morning Glory. Or he can kill Hanawa. Kiryu is often presented in Gaiden with choices that aren’t exactly choices. But that’s hardly new.

Same is true of Hanawa. But as it pans out, both of them stay firmly on Kiryu’s side after certain points. Hanawa’s loyalty is secured when Kiryu saves his life; and Tsuruno gives up fighting the stubborn wall that is Kiryu’s loyalty (if loyalty by complete necessity) to the Daidoji.

The Daidoji are something else that is done better here than in 6 as well. In 6, they kind of had this boogeyman in the shadows element that made so little sense until they have their reveal in the ending and take over Kiryu’s uh..non life? After he is forced to fake his death and go under their control. (They are also funding Morning Glory, a fact they remind him of any chance they get, and the hit squad on it remains until chapter 2 and Kiryu makes the deal with the Boss). The observation itself doesn’t cease completely, however.

As we’ll see in the ending.

But one of Gaiden’s real strengths, IMO anyway, is the characters. Gaiden’s story is built around them the same way any RGG game is, but in a way that is representative of the story itself too. Kiryu’s job in this game is to assist Watase in the dissolution of the Yakuza. Watase (from prison) is fully aware this is not going to go well, and rallying assistance is the only way they can even hope for it going off without too much of a body count.

One of the biggest hurdles in achieving this is the existence of Nishitani III. An ex-Jingweon mafia member who eventually revitalized the Kijin clan and became its patriarch. As well as taking up the Homare Nishitani mantle. In previous games, I’ve found they sort of shoehorn in the Jingweon when it seems convenient, but I think it works well enough here. It isn’t dwelled upon all that long, and it’s decently believable for a backstory.

Is giving Nishitani III a personal grudge against Kiryu necessary for the role he serves here? No clue to be honest. But it’s no gripe and it doesn’t impact the story all that much. The issue at hand is that Nishitani III is (in Watase’s eyes) one of the people who won’t accept a dissolution, and they want him out of the way. Eliminate Nishitani and the biggest dissenter is out of the picture.

I touched on it in this post here, but the TL’DR of all this, is that they are not at all correct in this assessment.

(I should mention Hanawa’s arc here, but I’m going to save it for a bit later). Instead, I want to get my thoughts out on the final boss of the game. As the real issue is not just Nishitani III, but Shishido.

Shishido’s story is that, at the age of 15 his father sold him to the Kijin clan as a slave to amend his own massive debts. A fact that is shown in a flashback where he’s collared and chained up, forced into playing Russian Roulette, amongst whatever other established horrors Nishitani III can come up with. (Nishtiani’s thing is the beautiful, ostentatious Castle. A boat of every element of sin, debauchery, and pleasure you can think of. Including gambling, human slaves, the coliseum and of all things, the place you can dress Kiryu up in his funky outfits).

Shishido is an amazing fucking character.

(I ran out of image space but his character design absolutely fucks too)

He has fast become one of my favourites, and it’s no surprise. His set-up for being the final boss isn’t made immediately obvious but over the game you notice him following the general formula for it, (see this ask I got here for more details if you’re so inclined) and boy is the payoff so worth it.

Shishido climbed his way up and up in the pursuit of survival. Anything the man has to his name he earned through very literal blood, sweat and tears. Shishido is young, but he is very much a Yakuza of the old. A fact that is commented on by Kiryu in game. It’s no mean feat either to from slave to Watase Family Lieutenant, with the man’s physical history is written all over his face.

(And I adore him. But that’s hardly important for a review eh 😉)

In the games final chapter, we learn that Shishido is against the dissolution of the Yakuza, and considers Watase, Tsuruno, Kiryu and any other traitors. Shishido is the embodiment of what Watase was so concerned about in the first place; a Yakuza who has known no other life and has no way assimilating into the world without it. Not to mention, Shishido feels he earned his place in this world. Why should he have the rug he worked so hard to install ripped out from under him?

He’s not wrong to believe this; and the others around him don’t think that he is either. The issue is that the world is moving on without them. Everything Shishido worked for doesn’t matter when that ending is coming; and there is so little they can do to change or stop it. Shishido might’ve thrived in the old days; but the modern world doesn’t have a place for him.

With this being a tie-in game, we know this is a foregone conclusion. We know the days of the Yakuza as they once were are well and truly over. But that doesn’t lessen the impact Shishido has at all. I made a comment to myself in the recorded playthrough (I recorded the finale but it’s a blubbering disaster, so I doubt I’ll post it) that “Shishido fights like a dying man”, in the endgame.

Or, as Saejima more accurately puts it “He’s like a cornered animal right now.” But having a little bit of time on my hands to reflect (well somewhat, I just finished the game yesterday after all, at the time of posting this). I think Kiryu does in a way to.

The final boss battle is a recreation of the Aizawa fight in Yakuza 5. Shishido has 4 phases and 12 health bars. And just like Yakuza 5, it’s amazing. With Kiryu fighting him through the Omi Headquarters until he’s kicked right out of the building. My words don’t’ do it justice, and it’s absolutely the kind of thing one has to play (or watch) for themselves.

When Shishido is defeated, he is grabbed and choked unconscious by the Daidoji Agent Yoshimura (who I took to calling ‘diet Jingu’ because he fights with a gun and runs away from you like a lil bitch-and was the one who left Hanawa to die and tried to kill Kiryu for trying to save him). Who then throws Shishido in his trunk to be a future “Daidoji Agent on a very short leash.” To bunk with Nishitani…his old Master. And the one Shishido worked so hard to get his life away from. I have no idea if this is going to be touched upon in future games like Infinite Wealth, but it hit me like a train.

The Yakuza is over, but Shishido isn’t. And this leads us right into the finale. Which.

This mother fucking goddamned sob fest finale.

I touched upon it here. But I just. Can’t do it justice with words. I don’t think that I ever will. Kuroda’s acting in this is unlike anything I’ve witnessed, and it’s amazing. He’s not just sobbing; he is breaking down completely and heaving over a tablet of his kids visiting his grave. With Ayako and Taichi noticing they’re being monitored and assuming their Uncle Kaz (who none of the kids believe to be dead, btw) is watching them. So, they begin talking. Updating him on their lives, where they are now etc.

Taichi is a firefighter, for example. Yuta is still around. Haruto is an adorable handful, and overall, they assure him that they’re all doing really well. They promise to come back tomorrow with a gift. Hanawa explains they had to remove the camera after that..but they did take photo of the gift the kids left behind.

Kiryu has been vulnerable in the past, but this is something completely unique. He’s broken, alone, and in all respects, a dead man who can’t have the one thing he cares about more than anything in the world. His kids are growing up, and trying to maintain their lives without him, but they feel the big gaping hole left behind by his larger-than-life and fatherly presence more than ever. And god I’m going to tear up writing this.

A drawing Haruto did of the family.

A drawing Kiryu (amidst his utter flood of tears-and mine) turns to show off to Hanawa to brag like the proud, sad grandpa he is. Hanawa questions if this ‘gift’ was just cruelty, but Kiryu promises him that it wasn't. It’s agonizing. It’s through all this that Kiryu admits, possibly for the first time in his entire life, that he is lonely, and that he realizes he needed his kids more than they needed him.

And we know, of course, that by Yakuza 8, Kiryu is deathly ill, and still for all circumstances; alone. Away from the kids eternally. Unless they make some change to that. I cannot stress enough how little justice my words do here. I really can’t. Kiryu may not have been the perfect father, or grandfather. He has made a lot of mistakes in his life, and his tendency to run off to solve problems on his own unfortunately translated to his daughter, Haruka.

Bu goddamnit I can’t say that he didn’t try.

It is clear as day how much he loves these kids. And misses them. No, he wasn’t perfect. Yes, he made a lot of mistakes, but he tried. And he can never see them again even though they know he is out there somewhere and ho man ho boy I can’t.

Remember how I mentioned above that I’d touch on Hanawa? I’ve chosen the finale to do so, because Hanawa and the Head Priest are the only ones who can share this moment with Kiryu. Kiryu also reveals to Hanawa that he kept Yumi’s ring and admits that his inability to be honest with his feelings kept him from confessing and proposing to her.

“Until she was dying in my arms.”

Man, I need tissues. Again. Hanawa is Kiryu’s handler (for lack of a better term) but he very much becomes a friend throughout the game. He’s ruthless. He’s dangerous, but their relationship is an interesting one and I found myself appreciating it a lot.  He doesn’t seem like all that much from the beginning, but their bond is a good one; and over the course of the game Hanawa opens up in small ways and throws Kiryu bones where they are the least expected.

He's eternally loyal to the Daidoji and makes very difficult choices (and threatens Morning Glory in Chapter 2, only backing down when Kiryu submits again) but like I said in the link above, I actually believe him when he says he really doesn’t want to be doing this.

Doesn’t change the fact that he’s doing it, mind. But it’s good writing. It’s really good writing. I love this game. And then as Kiryu sets out for his (much needed vacation) Hanawa gives him a new temporary identity.

Taichi Suzuki. To which Kiryu is like "Oh. I've used that before. Didn't tell any of you though..?"

Now, I’d like to point out here that Hanawa shares the same VA as Yu Morinaga from Yakuza 5; Hiroki Tochi. This on its own really wouldn’t mean much. RGG has done this sort of thing many times before. Shared VAs throughout the series is normal.

BUT.

There are some heavy context clues that seem to heavily imply that this is, indeed, Morinaga.

I cannot possibly confirm this 100% of course, but there’s other clues dropped in the ending that really make you wonder.

I think it works.

Which is such a fascinating little idea. The kind of thing that could really feel ham-fisted; but if it is indeed the case here?

But we’ll see.

This is already way too long a write up, but I want to make a final note on Kiryu here. Kiryu in this game is something to behold. He’s miserable, he’s tired, and he’s truly a dead man walking. “The Man Who Erased His Name.” indeed. Sure, everyone sees through his fake identity in seconds, but that doesn’t change the fact that Kiryu is locked into this role for good.

Who he is who he might want to be. The people he cares about. He can’t touch them. He can’t do any of that. Kiryu is sassy and ‘done with everyone’s shit’ in Yakuza 5, and that same energy is carried over into this. He has some truly biting ‘IDGAF’ moments, and in the most ‘gangster’ we ever see him (taking over the Castle from Nishitani) it’s both a great window into how he might’ve been as the chairman of the Tojo, and a man who is already dead and miserable, so what does he have to lose?

(I swear I had a better way of putting this..and the internally selfish part of me kinda loved and adored that moment even though I know he’s in pain so uh. Bah, make of that what ya will).

To conclude, Gaiden’s a wonderful game. No game is perfect, and there’s no way this is all my thoughts on it (as I said, I’m still extremely emotional). But it’s everything I didn’t know I wanted, and a fantastic ride.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for coming along for the ride! I hope you enjoy this game as much as I did!

And I'm gonna cry again. Help.

[devilmaycry3dantesawakening]

i finished yakuza 7 last night. easily top three of the series for me alongside Judgment and 0. did all the substories and everything. cried my eyes out. i love ichiban so much.

i think it's fairly lackluster as an actual JRPG until you have the full seven-man squad but once you reach that point and can reliably start tag teaming everyone in and out + the battle arena opens so you have a reliable source of XP and can actually properly experiment with the job system, i think it greatly comes into its own and i started having an absolute blast with the combat. i just wish it didn't take fifty hours to reach that point. my understanding is 8 does a lot to improve on the battle system so i'm really looking forward to that.

i love you yakuza. i'll be caught up with this series one day. i'll probably start on lost judgment sometime soon.