[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH depends on how soon Silksong makes it here. They still have not given an exact release date, as far as I know.

She is not the only one. Aveline and her may well form a book club.

One of the things that come to mind about the game is that Majima feels different from how he is when you do not control him in later/earlier games and true, he may not have that "spark of madness" fully yet, but still, he seemed out of character for me. But maybe that's just me. And it also did not feel to me that the game shows how he or Kiryu became the legends that they are, Kiryu in particular, here they are sort of "at the beginning of the road to legendhood", but how exactly they became so great is behind the curtain, somewhere between 1989 and 1995.

As for the favorite moments, I am not sure. The game is good, but none of the epic plot turns I found particularly memorable. I guess, in this game, surprisingly, for me, the best moments are the deaths, the way both Oda and Nishitani (and even Lee and Sagawa) died were all good scenes. Surprisingly again, not so much about Tachibana's death, him dying just before reuniting with his sister was dramatic, but such coincidence in the plot seemed forced to me. But my favorite moment would probably be hiring the manager Nugget:

As for Kuze in the sewer, honestly, my first reaction was "how did you get a motorcycle in there?" It was a stylish fight, and it helped that it was only the second one with him. By the end of the game when you need to fight him the last time, my reaction was

[ZaidH]

Yep, no concrete release date for Silksong so far 😭

I think Majima always had that madness in him (as seen in some side missions and his conversation with Komaki), but Y1 onwards he started to voice those crazy thoughts out aloud 😅 As for Kiryu's legend status, I 100% agree with you. I wish we got a game that took place between Y0 and Y1. I wonder if Sega wanted to avoid showing Kiryu engaging in actual Yakuza stuff 😅

Oh yeah, those characters were definitely a major highlight. So much characterization in just one game!

Lmao that nugget clip is just bizarre. Love how Emiri grew up on a poultry farm but couldn't tell that it was a chicken 😂😂😂

Hahaha Kuze was a proper old-school yakuza. While his repeated appearances did get a little annoying, he was a great progress marker for Kiryu. Went from barely beating Kuze to shattering his willpower by the end 😭

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH True about Majima, but still, it felt a bit out of character to me throughout the whole game. Then again, it is hard to show a genuinely mad character as a protagonist without falling into extremes (like with Postal) or comic relief (like with Deadpool). And they did not have additional expression options like inner voices (like Blacktail has), so maybe they decided not to try it at all and diled him down. That being said, the part I am most unhappy about in this case is that they did not show how Kiryu and Majima met, they only put that "Kiryu-chan!" at the end, I mean, come on, seriously you guys? You downplayed the epic meeting like that to this? Really?

The credits say Kiryu became the advisor for the family rather quickly, they could tell a story of him trying to guide it in a "proper" direction and maybe failing, rather than doing "yakuza stuff". He did reject the chairman title rather strongly and quickly, so some backup story about him coming to this mindset would be good. But oh well.

Maybe Emiri worked in meat processing there so all birds got to her plucked already and she never learned the difference?

I agree that those repeat fights with Kuze mark Kiryu's progress, but I think that it works on a level to indicate that Kiryu is not in his prime yet. Kuze comes back for more every time, while in later games Kiryu is such a force that people rarely try to fight him more than twice. Only Majima does that for sports, and Jo Amon fights him every time and then is all "I'll get you, Kazuma Kiryu! And your little Haruka, too!"

Have you started Yakuza 6 already?

[ZaidH]

You have an excellent point about playing the game as an unhinged character. I'm honestly glad that he acted as a vessel for all the wacky characters instead of becoming one himself. For me, I liked the duality of Kiryu bulldozing through hell (and coming out on top), while poor Majima was consumed by it.

That Kiryu and Majima scene was pure fanservice lmao! I'm not buying the explanation of "legend recognized legend without even seeing each other" that some people give. It's not a canon scene in my head.

100% agreed with your direction of Kiryu's story. To further showcase Majima's descent into madness, they can maybe expand upon the years when he married Mirei Park and then split up due to the events mentioned in Yakuza 5.

Maybe Emiri worked in meat processing there so all birds got to her plucked already and she never learned the difference?

LMAO I'll accept this backstory 😂😂😂

As for Kuze, I never thought about it in this way before, and man it makes so much sense! Great observation.

Have you started Yakuza 6 already?

I was at the beginning of chapter 2 before I stopped playing it. I intended to resume the playthrough right when you start playing it, but I will have to sleep on it a little more because things are kinda hectic on my end atm 😅 Are you gonna play it next, or will you go for some other game as a palate cleanser?

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH I actually thought Kiryu and Majima scene, fanservice though it was, was not their first meeting at all, but more of a homage to Yakuza Kiwami where Majima frequently uses it. To me, I am sure they met somewhere behind the curtain before that, I am just annoyed that that first meeting was never shown. That scene I do not think that was the first meeting at all.

And true, Majima has a lot of pieces in his biography throughout the series that make you say "wait, what?" His marriage, his construction company, him managing the Kamurocho Hills. They seem to give him the mood and the role that the plot needs him to play in every new game.

I am playing Yakuza 6 now, yes. I was waiting for a bit, but then I thought I'd start slowly making my way through and then see where you are at, so that there would not be too much of a gap between us. I am now sharing Yakuza 6 with Fenyx Immortals Rising. But do not let me disrupt your hectic things, we've all been there, I can pause and wait.

That being said, I am on Chapter 4 now (so 2 chapters ahead). A small piece of advice for you, without spoilers: while you're in Kamurocho, but pork bento (has to be pork!), sushi set, and MUSCLE powder from the RIZAP and do not use them. I had to learn that the hard way which annoyed me.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH on a related note, I've been planning out how I would play the Yakuza series in the future. Yakuza 6 presumably ends the story of Kiryu (sort of), but the series has a lot more to offer. So the way I am thinking to go from there is this:

1. Yakuza: Like a Dragon. This is a direct continuation of the series. Kiryu may not be a protagonist anymore, but the show must go on.
2. Judgment + Lost Judgment. Then I want to tackle the 2 part spin-off and visit Kamurocho again in a brand new fashion with a new cast and setting. Also, I know that the combat mechanic changed radically in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, so it would be nice to return to more "classic" fighting in Judgments. On a sadder note, the Judgment saga seems to have ended, despite just recently making its way to PC and being quite popular, and again, the culprit is the talent agency that SEGA uses, Johnny & Associates, and them not wanting their actor Takuya Kimura (who is the voice and looks of Judgement protagonist) to appear in the game which is not exclusively PS platform so as not to allow his likeness to be overly exposed on the Internet. Even though Takuya Kimura enjoyed his work on the game. Does not seem like good business practice, but there we have it. Unless the situation changes, it is unlikely the Judgement spin-off will get any more entries, so may as well finish up that dilogy and move to...
3. Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! This little gem of "Yakuza in Bakumatsu Period" is released on PC later this month (exciting!) Me focusing on Judgement first will allow for a bit of time for SEGA to work out the bugs and put all DLCs they plan on offer before I move over to that one. Would be nice to see "Kiryu" as the main protagonist again (here he is Sakamoto Ryoma), if only in Bakumatsu Period. Historic Japan is always exciting, and getting "Kiryu" again will help as the next on my list is...
4. Like a Dragon Gaiden. This will come out later this year. While it is technically a spin-off of the new Like a Dragon series, it brings Kiryu back as a protagonist and shows what happened between Yakuza 6 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, while at the same time also building a bridge towards...
5. Like a Dragon 8, which I know nothing about except that it is due to come out in 2024.

That is my plan, not sure if yours is different.

And to wrap it up, I did not hear any news about a possible remake of Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! for PC (this is another Yakuza historic spin-off but set in the Edo period). There are plenty of rumors, but nothing concrete yet, but I do hope that in the future we'd get to play a remaster of that game as well.

[ZaidH]

@ZaidH I actually thought Kiryu and Majima scene, fanservice though it was, was not their first meeting at all, but more of a homage to Yakuza Kiwami where Majima frequently uses it.

100% agree with you. This scene could’ve been handled in a much better way 😣

It's criminal how Majima's life events that you mentioned haven't been covered yet. Sega, please give our mad boi a Like a Hannya Gaiden game damnit!

Oh god, I hope I didn’t ruin your momentum for Yakuza 6 🙁 Seeing how things are going, I might be only able to squeeze in a small amount of gaming time in Feb and March, so I really hope that you will resume your playthrough soon 😄 We can always have discussions at a later date 😁

while you're in Kamurocho, but pork bento (has to be pork!), sushi set, and MUSCLE powder from the RIZAP and do not use them. I had to learn that the hard way which annoyed me.

Advice noted 📝TYSM for the tip!

Many more thanks for that list! Instantly bookmarked. I didn't think ahead of Yakuza 6, so you saved me the headache of all that planning 😁

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH I think it is unlikely that game for just Majima will see the light of day, sadly. The direction the series is taking seems to move away from the old cast and onto the new, but let's see. Maybe if Like a Dragon Gaiden is popular enough, then they could think of something.

But I think that the most evident problem there is that most of Majima's life events happen with no option to showcase other characters. While he was out and about in Kamurocho, Kiryu and Saejima were both in prison, Daigo was...still in high school, I presume, Shun was working in his bank and we know that they did not know each other. So, they'd have to invent a problem and a supporting cast just for his personal story, which is a lot of "lore" to be "inserted" in a timeline in not a very organic way. Makes a game like that less likely.

To be honest, I am not liking part 6 so far as much as I did previous parts, so I do not mind putting it off for a bit. Don't get me wrong, it is still good, but compared to previous parts, I dunno... We can compare notes after we're both done with it.

Glad you liked the list. Good luck with all your Feb/March tasks!

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH On a related note and speaking of tips, when you start playing it again, do tell how are you doing with a special safe that needs code.

[ZaidH]

Man, it feels great to comment in this thread again 😁

Your points on a potential Majima game are all valid. Maybe Majima's lack of background info is actually his greatest allure 😅 Also, to avoid gameplay redundancy, RGG Studio might go down the new Assassin's creed path of diversifying gameplay by limiting the OG combat system for the Judgement games (and hopefully a Kenzan remake) and the turn-based RPG stuff for LAD.

To be honest, I am not liking part 6 so far as much as I did previous parts, so I do not mind putting it off for a bit.

This sadly seems to be the consensus from what I've read online. While the other Yakuza games got their hooks set into me from the very beginning, the same unfortunately didn't happen when I stopped playing the game at Chapter 2. I don't think I'll be resuming my playthrough anytime soon, but yeah I very much look forward to discussing the game with you when I'm done with it.

Glad you liked the list. Good luck with all your Feb/March tasks!

Thank you so much 🙏

And wow, it seems like Yakuza series stepped up its locker keys game with Y6 eh 😬