Yakuza: Like a Dragon - Joon-gi Han Character Guide

In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, I recently discovered that if you play darts with Joon Gi Han, he doesn’t miss. He’ll literally hit bullseye on every shot until he needs something else to win. What are some of your favorite fun details in games?

Spoilers ahead!!!
Okay so I was fighting Kiryu and I noticed that he would ONLY attack the men in my party. So at first I was like “why the fuck is he picking on Joon Gi Han? If he wasn’t doing that, he was attacking Kasuga
And then I realized that Kiryu would never hit a woman and I’m really sad because I’ve been playing yakuza since October and I will be dead inside once I finish this game

WELCOME TO MY LONG ASS REVIEW OF THE YAKUZA SEIRES! This will include a shortened version of all of my thoughts and feelings towards all 8 (*note: this review will only cover the main series, so no dead souls, ishin or other spinoff's (tho I might play them in the future)) games and some of their inner aspects. So not reading all of it is completely understandable I just wanted to share them with someone but sadly none of my friends played it so i have nowhere else to do so
one them suggested posting it here and tbh i have nothing better to do so here they are
TLDR; 10/10 franchise I really like the characters, stories, music and gameplay.with that being said, HERE WE GO!
(*note: like I said these are MY opinions and MY lists, if you think otherwise, youre welcome to write it down in the comments I would love to hear your thoughts :))(*note: this review might contain spoilers, with that being said I will try to hide everything that I think might be considered a major spoiler and will put it between [ ] so if you see these be careful)(*note: this review might be a bit scattered and not understandable at times, that's because of 3 reasons: 1.english is my second language, although I like to think im at least conversational, spelling and sentence building aren’t my strong suits. 2. Like I said this is a review of all 8 games so I might scramble stuff in the middle or forget something completely. 3. I first wrote this on word and after transfering it here i noticed there are problems with the spacing and enters, so if you see a lack of space when there should be most likely there was supposed to be a shift+enter, i tried fixing it multiple times but appreantly having every enter where it should be makes it over 4000000 characters long.) So forgive me for those)(*note: if for some reason you would like to see my opinion on something that I didn’t include, you're welcome to ask me to write it :) I might not be able to answer everything but ill do my best to check the comments every so often for a while)
first of all I would like to say that my entry to the series is that a friend of mine bought me a copy of yakuza 0 for pc, little did he know, that would evolve into a crippling yakuza addiction (I bought a ps4 off another friend just to play 3-6). (*note: I know I said "none of my friends play it" that was a tiny lie, I have 1 friend who for 2 years now "is in process" to 100% yakuza 0, so I have no one to talk to about 7/8 games of the series) I came into the series thinking what I believe almost every player thinks before they start playing "oh it looks similar to gta/saints row but Japanese" but, say it with me now! "YAKUZA IS NOT JAPANESE GTA!" what I discovered is a beat'em-up, tear-jerking-story based adventure game, lucky me these are some of my favorite genres! I feel like yakuza has a very sad story not because its actually like sad sad but because kiryu is human, you see him go through life having to go through all kinds of crisis's and problems and its kinda feels like seeing a child grow? Idk, at least for me it sometimes does
now for my top 8 yakuza games (*note: the scores I give them out of 10 and their place on the top 8 might seem weird and "incorrect" because I give some games of lower place higher score then stuff of higher place. That's because when I decide their place on the top 8 I only consider how much I enjoyed it overall. when I give them a score out of 10 I try to give them what I think is a more objective score that includes everything of how fun it was, how much I liked the characters, the mechanics, the story, ect….)
(*note: if I don’t include a character in my reviews that doesn’t necessarily mean that I hate them, it just means that I generally don’t have too much to say about them. Overall I like basically all the main and side cast)
1.Yakuza kiwami 9/10
Lets start with the story,
Imma be real with ya chiefs, I have a pretty small smooth brain. That's why I like simple-semi complicated stories
And here we have a very basic story to follow, 10000000 yen missing, parent of this child missing, find them both. I love that simple, short and to the point but still interesting enough that I spent half my playthrough on the edge of my sit
This game also has the best side-quests of the entire series which are easily pocket circuit & majima everywhere
from the gameplay and mechanic side I also feel it’s the most fun and tight, nothing feels slow, every punch packs a punch and I actually really love (and prefer) the 4 fighting styles and was really sad to find out they were only in 0&kiwami. It has my favorite level up system (I will also include my top 7 level up systems later)
And now for some character reviews
Kiryu-CHAN!- he's by far my favorite character in the entire series, until now I only saw him as a brooding, badass, powerhouse that fucking breaks, shoots, and destroys (god forbid kills nothing like that here) but this was the first time I got to see that he actually has a soft side too and it’s the cutest fucking thing I've ever seen in my entire life. It was the first time I realized yakuza is one of those series that can make me sound like a kettle when I "aawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" seeing his interactions with haruka, yumi, nishiki and others was almost heart melting. Speaking of which
Majima-I have what I think is a very controversial opinion, which is I don’t like majima in 0 (and I will get to that later). So I really didn’t expect much considering I came to this series blind. And OH BOY! Majima quickly became one of my favourite characters and its really sad for me that I believe they kinda toned him down in later games. [half of my playthrough was running around looking for him and doing all of his stuff, having to fight him as a cop, zombie, idol, hostes in all sorts of different situations was one of the best things about this game]
nishiki-*ahem*,Im gonna fucking cry.
Like I said I came from 0, seeing the journey he went through from #1 jobro (which he will forever be btw) to head of a family he has no idea what to do with, to madness, to evil mastermind was one of the saddest stories of this series. Every head of the nishikiyama family after him only brought shame to his name. [every scene that contained both him and kiryu in the same room made me want to cry. From the moment he declared they are not brothers anymore to the final scene when he shot the bomb]
Haruka-B A B Y
My first thought after seeing her was "ughhhhh fuck an annoying child character to take care of, that's not what a yakuza game should have" but what ended up being is that if anything happened to her I will ̶k̶i̶l̶l̶ hit everybody in this room very hard until all their bones break and leave them unconscious with no way of calling an ambulance or any kind of help and then do that to myself only to protect her.
She is precious, and if you for some twisted, evil, disgusting reason think otherwise you are wrong
[Yumi/mizuki- when Im writing this its been like a year since I played kiwami so I don’t remember every little detail about this character (not that there's too much to remember to begin with) if anything the twist at the end was pretty surprising and her backstory is kinda sad]
[rena/shinji-they both serve kind of the same role so I don’t have too much to say on them separately. Their death (by the hands of the most annoying boss in the series) is kinda sad and like anything else relating to nishiki in this game, rena's death speech about how she always really loved him and wanted to help him in any way possible made me want to cry]
2.yakuza4 7.8/10
This game could’ve easily been an 8.5/10 but there're some stuff that just annoy me a bit and makes me have to retract from its score, let me get into it
First of all,
Although at the start the story didn’t really make sense to me and I thought it was very confusing, now after I played everything and saw how stuff connected together, I realized how amazing it actually is
From akiyama's little relationship with lily
To kiryu helping a refugee
To a laid back cop who gets in to something bigger than himself
And finally back to the actual main character of this series
initially It was very annoying when I found out I only get to play as kiryu at the end of the game but I got over it
On the gameplay side
in the overworld everyone felt really slow to me,it didn’t feel like they were running (like their animation showed) it felt like they were always at the speed of a start of a jog but you kinda get used to it so its fine overall.In the combat side of thingsI really liked how akiyama, tanimura and kiryu controlled. Fast&strong which is why I really like the combat of this series to begin with (I also found it kinda funny that swords in this game are sometimes considered "blunt objects" for some reason so when you use a heat action with them you just smack an enemies head again and again with the blade)
I will use the fact I didn’t include saejima in the list of the gameplay I like as a perfecet Segway to my character reviews
Saejima-although his story really is interesting, kinda sad and heartwarming at times I grew to not like him just because his gameplay is sooooooooooooooooo slooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
I don’t know why but I also felt that he was weaker than the rest of the characters? It kinda felt like when the rest of the crew took down 10 enemies in 1 second he took 1 enemy in 10 seconds
I get that hes supposed to be a tank and he has a lot of hp but usually tanks also do lots of damage to make up for their lack of speed
Here its just a "very healthy", slow and weak tank so its just annoying to play [if anything his sister is hot]
Akiyama- his gameplay is kinda like the "brawler" of the game, similar enough to kiryu's gameplay but different (because kicks) also his personality is cool, i would categorize it kinda like a happy go lucky guy but not really
His story is interesting about this mysterious girl named lily who apparently really looks like his ex and he has a picture from his past that shows her. Anyway she asks for 100000000 yen a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶ and because he really wants to help her, he gives her a challenge.
Tanimura- the counter option was kinda cool ig. His character is cool enough and his story about wanting to find what happened to his father is kinda sweet
I don’t have too much to say about him because he's kinda forgettable in the sense that his story was kind of an open and shut case
He was definitely one of the playable characters of the series but that's honestly the most you can say about him
If anything its kinda sad they swapped him in yakuza 5 but understandable because his story is 100% finished and he has nothing to draw him back considering he isn’t really related in any way to the rest of the cast
Date-I like him but his character rarely changes. In the rest of the series it seems the story writers forgot he quit being a detective
[yasuko/lily-seeing her story unfold was kinda sad, all she wanted for the last 25 years was to see her brother again. At least she got to that 1 last time before she did the bullet walk thing this series lovesssss to do]
One last thing about this game that really annoyed me, the game ends with a happy ending, [saejima is proven innocent, kiryu seems to return to the tojo clan and they all live happily ever after]. When I saw it I thought "oh wow, I wander how they're gonna build upon this?" well, they didn’t, like at all.
This series has 1 annoying problem that the writers team usually completely forget how the previous game ended
3.yakuza3 7.4/10on the story side-
Kiryu only wants to keep his goddamn orphanage leave him alone ffs.BUT NOPE!It’s the yakuza series so every few years it’s always the same thing: something something TOJO something something MONEY something something BROTHER something something REVENGE, oh godly kiryu san mr.dragon of dojima please help me!
The gameplay in the remastered collection stays more or less the same throughout so I don’t really have anything to say here
The characters of this story are a weird bunch
The children of the orphanage- if anything happened to any of them I will ̶k̶i̶l̶l̶ hit everybody in this room very hard until all their bones break and leave them unconscious with no way of calling an ambulance or any kind of help and then do that to myself only to protect them.
rikiya- at the start of the game I thought he was just gonna be one of those bosses that you beat thrice throughout the game and never hear from them again afterwards, what ended up happening is that I discovered just a lovable, loyal, dork of a character [and when he got shot and kiryu started crying I was almost crying with him, definitely one of the saddest deaths in the series because it’s a very unexpected one]
4.yakuza 6 8/10
HOLY SHIT MY BABY HAD A BABY but who is the father? Let's go to Hiroshima to find out! [If only yuta put on a condom]
Jokes aside this is one of the most amazing stories the series ever told
I was originally dreading playing this game because I don’t really like the dragon engine that much (that might be because I played kiwami 2 right after 0&kiwami and was just kind of overwhelmed by it although the graphics of it are amazing, the gameplay feels a lot more wonky to me, I either feel very weak or too strong (usually weak) I got used to it but I actually prefer anything else in the series)
But man did the story really bump up its place in the top 8
Nagumo- im sorry but speaking by role-serving terms rikiya is just kinda the cooler Nagumo (or technically speaking Nagumo is the worse rikiya) he's just a hot headed simp who's the captain of the hirose family but also kind of sweet in a way
If anything he has one very memorable line "yesterday's enemy is today's aniki"
Yuta-[BOI LOOKS LIKE LIVE ACTION KOICHI FROM THE DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE MOVIE AND MY BABY STELLED FOR HIM?!
jokes aside I see why haruka chose him, one of the best character's in the series for sure
tho the twist where he's actually the father was kind of apparent from the start]
Kiyomi- she looks like sayama's mom. Like I was 200% sure it was her for like the entirety of the first chapter she was shown in
[Also the thing in the end about kiryu saying he considered daigo as a son is stupid and forced in as hell]
5.yakuza0 7/10
(*note: I think I got a little more to say about this game then the rest cause like I mentioned it was my entry to the series so this may be a little bit of a garbled mess)
So let's start by saying, hands down it has the best overall soundtrack (*note: I will get to my top 15 songs later) consistently very high quality while the rest of the games have like 1-3 outstanding songs in them this one has: the intro, judgement, the best version of baka mitai (*note: I only discovered that the meme originated in yakuza like half-way through its life span) (*note: I saw on here some time ago that one of the top posts is a screenshot of a tweet from kiryu's VA that says he's very pleased that people are singing his song and I find that very heart warming and wholesome), 24-cinderella and so, SO many more.
Now… from the story side of things…..
Im sorry to say this but I don’t really like majima's story in this game. Out of every other playable character in this series majima's story in this game felt the most like a filler to me. The first like 4 of his chapters could've easily been skipped with nothing of value to the overall story lost. Having to switch to him every 2 chapters was very annoying. Actually It annoyed me so much that in the middle of zero I kinda just dropped the game for like half a year+ because I just didn’t feel like playing as majima [it was after the cutscene where nishiki betrays kiryu but doesn’t want to shoot him]. Tho his relation-ship with makato is easily the saddest, most tragic thing to happen throughout the entire series. But like… idk I really preferred playing as kiryu 100% of the time
On the gameplay side of things tho
Definitely one of the better, like I said I really like the fighting styles so having 8 of them (well 6 technically since I basically didn’t touch the real estate nor the cabaret) was really fun
Brawlethug-very basic, close enough to the dragon fighting style if that's what youre looking for but very boring nonetheless
Rush/breaker-rush fucking sucks, on the other hand I find breaker to be very funny and I used it most of my time playing majima
beast/slugger-beast is easily the best fighting style in the game, it’s a tiny bit slow but it gives back by being a fucking powerhouse being able to lift giant object's and using them as very fast hard hitting weapons (*ahem* *ahem* thisiswhatsaejimashould'vebeen*ahem* ahem*) on the slugger side I only switched to it when I saw that I couldn’t just style on my enemy to win and had to actually "play the video game"
now for the character's
makoto- I A M G O I N G T O F U C K I N G C R Y
nishiki- [ kiwami spoilers>>R.I.P best jobro, once again im going to fucking cry everything in this game makes me want to cry], his relationship with kiryu is easily one of the best parts of this game, from the little comments he makes about kiryu's wardrobe to [him saying he's not interested in climbing up the ranks without kiryu] everything that makes him easily the best follower in the entire series.
majima- I didn’t know what was coming so I just assumed this was kind of his character.looking back at it im kinda disappointed they didn’t try to do something else with him and instead they just kinda made him a simp to the yakuza [also it was kinda stupid to me how they didn’t find a way to bridge him into the crackhead he is in the rest of the series (they totally could've btw) instead making him just choose to "live crazier than any of 'em" (but thinking about it again honestly I feel like making majima choose to be a crackhead just because he wants to kinda fits his character)]
kuze- *insert how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man meme*
6.yakuza LAD 8/10"YOU BITCHES EVER HEARD OF PERSONA 5?"was probably the first line shouted by the director of the series in the first boardroom meetingthe story of this game follows ichiban kasuga trying to prove his loyalty and powerand goddamn smashing those goalsits kinda weird because I feel like I have nothing yet so much to say
Gameplay wisefor some reason they decided to change it to an rpg probably after the director played P5R for too long because like I indirectly said… almost everything here is persona 5,the ui, combat, life skills and so on and so forth. There are even social links for crying out loud.
this game might've been a 9/10 if only there wasnt 2 giant grind moments in the latter half of it
[specifically before the majima&saejima boss fight and kiryu boss fight]
Character review
Ichiban- I saw a meme somewhere that said ichiban is "cooler nishiki", HELL NAHthose 2 are completely different characters each with their own reasons to make me depressed. Defiantly in the top 3 protagonists of the series which goes like 1.kiryu 2.majima 3.ichiban [before i started the game i was 200% sure he was gonna die, luckly he didnt, yet]
Adachi- before I started this game and only saw the art I was 100% sure it was the guy who taught slugger to majima in 0 (the weapon maker from the noodle shop).he's not.Good follower tho
[Joon-gi han- imma be real with ya chief, I forgot he died. And until kiryu said it was a double I was sure it was the same dude, he's not, still cool tho]
[kume-LITTLE SHIT SHANKED MASATO AND DIPPED WHY DONT I GET TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM AGAIN!?]
I feel like I should have more to say about the rest of the MC's, but I got nothing. I love all of them but I don’t have anything outstanding to say.
also this game has the top 3 best girls of the series which are: 1.seong-hui 2.sumire sawa 3.saeko mukoda don’t @ me
7.yakuza5 thekomakitigerdropisbrokenasallhell/10
Once again with 4 different character's, each with their own story that finally combines into one somehow
on the gameplay side
Like I said kiryu has the best moves in this game then the entire series
The counter allowed me to cheese out enemies I couldn’t really fight. And the komaki tiger drop allowed me to delete half a bosses health bar in one hit So usually a boss would last about 2-6 tiger drops
His story revolves around just being A NORMAL GODDAMN TAXI DRIVER LEAVE HIM ALONE FOR FUCK SAKES and going through a midlife crisis
Akiyama stays mostly the same
They did fix saejima a bit but still it was a drag to play him, not only that but the entire thing where he stayed in the small village for like a full chapter was very annoying and was clearly made just to drag out his story
HOLY SHIT MY BABY IS A PLAYABLE CHARACTER, when I originally saw haruka on the splash screen when you open the game she kinda has a fighting pose so I thought that she maybe learned a thing or two while watching kiryu
NOPE, I HOPE Y'ALL LIKE RYTHEM GAMES CAUSE THAT'S ALL SHE DOES!, personally im ok at them but not that good so I played only the stuff I had to do with her
[tho the twist at the end of her story about majima being park's ex husband, MAN I DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING]
And then there's shinada....
I honestly don’t know what to think about him.
He's an ok character overall but his story seems so unrelated it kinda seems to me like they just shoved him in there because they had some problem with having only 3 character that can fight. His gameplay is fine enough but sometimes it kinda felt weaker then it should be? Idk. His normal punch and grab combo is mediocre+ - ok- nothing more than that. His staff doh allowed me to cheese enemies and getting them into an infinite loop of being knocked down again and again
Another thing I can say about this game is that the character models eyes always look on the verge of tears and it seems very funny to me that at any given moment most of the cast looks like its about to cry cause im sitting here ready to do the same
8.yakuza kiwami 2 6.9/10
Man what a disappointment.
I came to this thinking its gonna be as good as 0/kiwami and my hopes were crushed
Like I said I don’t like the dragon engine that much so moving to it after the engine of the 2 previous games felt really weird
The story of this game although very heart warming at the moment youre playing it, is quickly forgotten about and basically un-canonized in the rest of the series [at the start of yakuza 3 sayama departs to America and never returns, in yakuza 6 it is mentioned that yumi is the only woman kiryu ever loved and that he never killed anyone (although ryuji goda died by his hands)]
Don’t get me wrong its still a very good game just not as good as the rest of the yakuzas
Now for the characters
Sayama- although story wise it seemed very sudden that they started dating, it was apparent from the start that something is gonna happen between them. Once again it was a sign that yakuza is one of those series that can make me sound like a kettle when I "aawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww"
Ryuji- one of if not the best villain of this series. That's because he's not actually evil but he knows there can only be one dragon so hes gonna fight for it. He actually has honor and some sense of justice. [the ending tho where sayama is crying because she finally discovered she has a brother but now he and her lover need to fight is very depressing, good thing it was all forgotten amirite? (pleasekillme)]
Now for my top 7 level up system's because this series cant ever just stick to 1
1.yakuza kiwami
It’s the only one I managed to fully complete so I might be a bit biased, but I feel like the exp/level system that is different for each fighting style is perfect. Unlike in the rest of the series where there's only the dragon fighting style that separates into body, soul, heat and tech.
2.yakuza 3
it’s very simple and doesn’t really lock out any abilities that you really need
3.yakuza 4
it locks some stuff out on the start but you can get them pretty easily
4.yakuza 5
Kinda just a worse version of 4
5.yakuza LAD
I actually like the fact every battle upgrades everything at once and I don’t really have to think about if something is better than anotherthan again you can make the case that it removes any sense of choice from the game (at least speaking in level up terms)
6.yakuza 0
Although you get like 500000 yen per basic group of enemies, I still feel that money and levels shouldn’t corelate, especially when I need hundreds of millions for some of the side-quests (*ahem* *ahem* pocket circuit *ahem* *ahem*) also, tho it makes sense canonically, I feel like the trainer system of this game specifically is kinda stupid and annoying, never really bothered with it doh considering how much beast is a powerhouse even when its only upgraded with the stuff you don’t need to unlock
7.yakuza 6 & kiwami 2
Its too separated, having all those different exp points is stupid, I always had like 2 sections that were lagging behind the rest.
I would like now to give a quick shout-out to the top 4 side-quest's in the series1.pocket circuit 10/10
I got too addicted to it both in 0 & kiwami, 95% of all my early game money was either spent/saved for pocket circuit
#pocket_circut_fighter_forever
[when I saw kiryu reminiscing on being kamurcho's fastest in kiwami's baka mitai I fucking died laughing]
2.majima everywhere 10/10
Basically doubled my playthrough's length because I always wondered what kinda whacky ass shit majima is gonna pull next. He's the best character in that game 100%
3.taxi racing 10/10
I did it all in the same game day so I like to think that in 1 night kiryu beat all the devil killers.
Shock that it reminds me of intial-d, who would've thought right? Jokes aside the car controls in this game are really fun
4.dragon kart 10/10
I would like to believe someone ran in the idea room and was like "GUYS, SO UNTIL NOW WE PLAYED PERSONA 5 100% OF THE TIME, GET THIS, WHAT IF, MARIO KART?!"and then everyone clapped
Now…
There's 1 aspect that I pretty much barely mentioned in this review and you might even be asking yourself where is it?
So without further ado
My top 15 songs from the yakuza series
Why 15? Cause that's how many songs I personally find to be fucking bops and the number of songs that I put in my playlist
(*note: don’t take it too much as if its in numerical order, I kinda tried to do it as such but that's kind of a lot of songs (the longest section in my playlist at least) and I really love all of them so it was hard to choose. Maybe try to look at it more of as a list then a top 15)
1.get over it-yakuza kiwami
It’s the only REALLY good song in this game (*note: not the only good one, the only REALLY good one)
Man that fucking guitar section in the middle, you know the one im talking about.I apologize for bringing jojo into this but I feel like if kiryu was a jojo this would easily be his theme (and that guitar section is like giorno piano)
2.destiny-yakuza 6
V I O L I Ncoming in in a VERY close second is destiny from yakuza 6I originally thought someya to be one of those bosses you just beat like 3-4 times throughout the events of the game then never hear from again and just remember him as that one asshole from that yakuza game. But MAN then this theme hits in his final fightand O O F[and right after the fight when he begs you to kill him to save kioymi, I have yet to actually cry during the events of this series but its really trying to make me do it and im 100% sure eventually I will]
3.machinegun kiss-yakuza4&5
I have a story with this song that the first couple of times that I listened to it I thought it was very mediocre, then one day I just got a vibe to listen to it 1 more time, at which point it got stuck in my head for about 3 weeks-month and it shoved its way up here.
4.judgement-yakuza 0
In case you haven’t noticed I really like buttrock
[I read a comment somewhere that said kiryu can no longer sing this after 0 because its not the same without nishiki, excuse me when I UGhhhHhHhHhhhhhhhHHhhhHHhhhHHhhHhhhhHhhhh]
5.clay doll on the cradle-yakuza 3
It has a pretty weak start but becomes really good really fast
6.comin'at ya, my girl-yakuza 5
As much as I don’t really like haruka's gameplay in 5, this is the best song in the game, sue me

1. 24-hour cinderella-yakuza 0

Started listening to it because it’s a funny meme song
It got stuck in my head for 2 weeks
8.tears of a father-yakuza 3
When the credits hit after THAT cutscene and this song starts to play, "the father" is almost not the only one to shed tears
I only found out its called "tears of a father" while I looked it up after, and that was the point my heart had to get replaced because the previous one died
9.baka mitai-yakuza 0/kiwami/5
Do I really need to explain?
10.speed star-yakuza 4
A really pumped up default fight theme
11.intro-yakuza 0
I have a meme with some of my friends about the first 4 notes you have to hear before being able to skip it
(*TA NA, NA! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*)
12.infinite handcuffs-yakuza 4
Another pumped up normal battle theme
13.today is a diamond-yakuza 6
*insert funny kiryu thumbs up*this song seems so happy and upbeat until you realize that according to it the singer is singing it to his lover that is in a coma[kinda fitting doh]
14.Friday night-yakuza 0
Once again, started because of a meme, continued because it’s a bop
15.[majima construction anthem]-yakuza kiwami 2
All rise for our national anthem.
One of the best things to come out of this game.
Surprisingly enough there weren't any outstanding songs in lad
​
AND THAT'S IT!
As a little conclusion, I would like to say I would've never imagined I would be as much in to this series as I am now, definitely one of the best game series's of all time and im really sad its not popular as it should be
Overall 10/10 series
So many good memories were formed and I can 100% see myself replaying it in the future
If you actually read all of it,
Holy shit thank you I wouldn’t be able to do that myself :)
And even if you just schemed through it and only looked at specific sections,
Thank you as well
Like I said if you wanna ask me about something I didn’t already write or wanna give your own opinion on one of my opinions youre 200% welcome to do so in the comments, ill try to answer most of the stuff i see
Well, I have nothing to add, see ya!

Because of a lot of people comparing it to Persona, I went through another thought experiment regarding Yakuza characters and their potential place on Ichiban's Fool's Journey. (I had previously done this with Goro Majima as The Fool).
Ichiban Kasuga - The Fool
Yu Nanba - The Magician
Eri Kamataki - The High Priestess
Saeko Mukoda - The Empress
Masumi Arakawa - The Emperor
“The Bartender” - The Hierophant
Hamako - The Lovers
Tianyou Zhao - The Chariot
Taiga Saejima - Strength
Ryuhei Hoshino - The Hermit
Hello Work - Wheel of Fortune
Koichi Adachi - Justice
Kazuma Kiryu - The Hanged Man
Yosuke Tendō - Death
Seong-Hui - Temperance
Jo Sawashiro - The Devil
Sota Kume - The Tower
Joon-gi Han - The Star
Masato Arakawa - The Moon
Nick Ogata - The Sun
“Ryo Aoki” - Judgment (the aesthetic here is is that Masato painted over The Moon with his "rebirth" as Aoki but the paint melts off as the game progresses)
Goro Majima - The World (This is in reference to my previous list where Majima was the Fool. But it also makes sense without that context because like... Majima is having the time of his life by the time of 7. He's got his bro back, having a fun fight, he's making a comeback, and he even learns Kiryu is alive again. Dude just had a great time over the course of the game)
I can provide explanations if need be, just ask. Also I'd like to hear any of your interpretations.

idk what flairs to put so yakuza 6 and kiwami 2 spoilers ig
but
there are two specific themes i'm looking for, the first one only appears in 6 but the other one appears in both games.
​
those being -
what i'm assuming is the jingweon mafia theme, it plays in the scene where joon-gi han burns that guy's face and after that, i heard very similar themes to it in the other chapters where jingweon appeared in.
​
and the other theme, i first noticed it in kiwami 2 but later, when replaying 6 - i noticed it in that game as well. it's the theme (in kiwami 2) in the scene where daigo and kiryu are on the train talking about the go-ryu clan (if i remember correctly) and later it's also heard in the scene where kashiwagi tells kiryu and his friends about the jingweon mafia (before that kazama/shimano/dojima cutscene).
​
can someone help me out with this? lol

I know it’s a brawler and I shouldn’t question but this is pretty noticeable. Compared to every other character he comes across more as a force of nature than anythjng else. Back in Yakuza 1 on the PS2 I chalked it up to just years of training but 0 shows him as a 20 year old who didn‘t have his signature style yet and somehow he’s strong enough to take down a building full of men and beat the utter crap out of Kuze who’s decades his senior in fighting skill and experience.
The weirdest thing is no one ever seems to question it. Sure they acknowledge his skills and characters like Joon-Gi Han brag that beating the Dragon of Dojima will skyrocket them but not a single person ever really asks ’how the fuck are you so strong?’ except maybe thugs who ask that for every olayer character that beats the shit out of them.

I’ve been wondering since they’ve finally added in combative female party members and with the first showing of Seong-hui back when the game was still being announced in Japan, I was hoping she’d make a good boss and then I was slightly let down when Adachi just slaps the gun out her hand, missing the opportunity for a potentially interesting dual boss fight with her backing up Han Joon Gi.Personally, since a lot of the other enemy types in the game I seen so far tend to be batshit in part because of Ichiban’s interesting way of seeing the world, I think there’s decent potential for seeing out-there female enemy types too without feeling that out of place anymore.
I can imagine kimono wearing matriarchs who use swords for slash attacks and going into a temporary parry stance, tissue handler businesswomen ninjas (as a reference Yakuza 3/Online) with increased evasion who throw tissues at range like shurikens, dominatrixes who use similar attacks to the Night Queen class with an emphasis on charming make male party members while punishing female party members, bunny girl/magicians who pull out cards to inflict random effects, etc.
Anyone got their own ideas?

currently thinking i skipped over a few things? I’m a little slow with instructions and I’m new to yakuza 7. but I’m level 20, and I’m currently fighting joon gi han. All of my attacks do so little damage. I looked up gameplay to see if I was doing anything wrong and... no, just weak? if there’s anything I have to do to upgrade, or anything I do to become stronger could you guys please leave tips and advice! I also don’t know how to unlock the secret shops, where to get any special weapons I hear about or etc. nothing is very helpful online, so I’m hoping someone can help me here!

Hi there, gamer from The Netherlands here. I was blessed enough to get a copy of Like A Dragon two weeks before launch, and considering I was diagnosed with COVID around the same time, it was the perfect excuse to absolutely no-life the heck out of this game during that time.
As a result, I've managed to get the platinum trophy for the game, and I think I have a really good understanding of the game mechanics now. Like A Dragon has become my favourite game in the series, which is probably the biggest gaming-related surprise ever, as I’m a big fan of beat-em-ups and generally dislike turn-based combat. Still, this game really managed to suck me in, in a way few games ever have.
Anyway, one of the biggest challenges in this game is having enough money, as things like crafting better weapons and upgrading them cost millions of yen. (Having to spend gazillions of yen in a Yakuza game shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but, yeah, it’s still a thing. With a vengeance.) And while I don’t think players should focus on ways to maximise their earnings in the first half of the game (just enjoy the game; you will get plenty of money by just enjoying as much as you can) I do think serious players of this game should keep their finances in mind while playing the second half.
The best ways to earn money from the 'second half’ of the game onwards? Two things: the management minigame and the Sotenbori Battle Arena. Trust me, you will definitely want to spend time on both, as the former will not only grant you a lot of money, but also an entirely optional party member and one of the strongest attacks in the game, while the latter will grant you much needed XP, rare upgrade materials and fantastic accessories, including some of the best armour pieces in the game. Knowing how to quickly rinse and repeat (certain floors of) the arena is paramount to maximising your crafting game, and understanding how to win at the management minigame is, in my honest opinion, the key to beating the game until you get to the post-game.
Now, I’m not here to tell you how to win the management minigame; just trust me when I say that it’s both less boring and less complicated than it looks. (In summary: focus on winning the shareholders meetings, which you do by recruiting employees who have high charisma and low speech cost, like the kid from the bookshelf sidequest.) I am here, however, to explain to you all how to absolutely dominate the post-game, and earn ridiculous amounts of money. Which will come in handy, as you will need approximately 100 million yen and a shitload of expensive materials just to upgrade one job-specific super weapon to its absolute max (EX EX). And there are 20 jobs in the game (22 if you count DLC), so, ehr, you better know how to earn that money.
(And, yes, I know the game just came out and most of you haven’t even accessed the management minigame or Sotenbori at all yet, but, ehr, well, just bookmark this or something :))
Once you've beaten the story, forget about the management minigame. Yeah, it grants you 3 million yen per 10-15 minute cycle, but that’s all it gives you. No, earning money in the post-game is all about redoing the Final Millennium Tower dungeon, as it contains five boss characters (that happen to be easier to take out than their story counterparts, but still yield millions of yen each.) And once you know what to do, you can run through the tower in what feels like mere minutes. Ca-ching.
There's something very important you can't overlook, though: you have to equip every character (all seven of them, not just the four active ones) with the crown head piece accessory.
It's called the Nouveau Riche Crown, and you need seven of them. I had three of them by just completing as much of the game as possible (I remember one of them being a reward for completing a Part-Time Hero rescue mission, for instance) but they're easily craftable at the aptly named Romance Workshop. In order to do so, you need to have upgraded the workshop to its fourth and final tier, but you've definitely done so if you're at this point, since it's the only way to get the strongest weapons for your character.
Crafting the crown costs 30,000 yen (which is nothing), but it also requires four golden bugs, twice: the golden moth x2, golden butterfly x2, golden rhinoceros beetle x2 and golden mantis x2. Luckily, these just happen to be the additional rewards you get for completing the first four stages of the Sotenbori Battle Arena the right way. So just start at floor 1, make your way to floor 5 but turn back and take the elevator to the entrance, and repeat. This way, you'll have the necessary items to craft one crown in just a few minutes.
(Don't overlook the rest of the Battle Arena, though! Again, the final 20 floors grant amazing rewards that will definitely help you in clearing the Final Millennium Tower, like the Dragon Kinagashi, which is the best piece of armour for most characters. You'll definitely want some of these rewards.)
Finally, don’t forget to stock up on Sengoku Coffee. These are available in select red vending machines. You can hold a maximum of 5, but that's just enough to maximise profit during your Final Millennium Tower runs, as it contains five boss characters, and they're the main source of yen.
Once you've equipped your team with seven crowns (and the best accessories and weapons possible) just go through the Final Millennium Tower as much as you can. All seven crowns means that you'll get DOUBLE the money, so the final boss alone drops over 18 million yen this way. 18 million yen. For what's less than five minutes work, essentially. Sick.
Oh, wait, did I say 18 million yen? Try 22,666,664 yen. Thank you, Sengoku Coffee!
General tips on beating the Tower: Make sure you have access to a lot of Shock abilities, and, if possible, Ice. The ridiculous Shock attack you get for Ichiban by completing the management minigame is really good, although with the way I've set up my team, he hardly gets to use it, as he's the last one to attack and this often means that the enemies are dead before I even gets to do anything, LOL.
My team (in order of Agility and, thusly, attack speed):
• Joon-gi (Hitman)
• Eri (Dealer)
• Nanba (Fortune Teller)
• Ichiban (Hero)
What's special about my Joon-gi Han is that, although he's a Hitman (which is easily his best job, and you'll want this for his stats and Essence attacks, especially his Slash one), I've also levelled him up as a Fortune Teller and a Host enough to get two perma-learned skills, which are game-breakingly good. They are: Fulminating Forecast (does great Shock damage to three enemies) and Ice Spreader (a very decent hitting ice attack). Joon-gi's magic isn't the best, but it’s more than good enough for these skills to complement his already ridiculous ridiculous Hitman kit, which does all three physical damage types (blunt, slash and projectile).
Take note of all the enemies' weaknesses in the Final Millennium Tower, although you'll find that most are weak to Shock, some (like most bosses) to Ice, and the rest to Slash. My team takes advantage of all of this:
• Joon-gi wrecks a single enemy with Essence of Phantom Drive (slash), hits multiple enemies with Fulminating Forecast (shock) or damages another one with Ice Spreader (ice)
• Eri's stupidly broken Dealer skill Darts Airstrike then finishes off most enemies, or deals great damage to three enemies (it does a LOT of projectile damage to three enemies or multiple times to one enemy. It WRECKS bosses). But her Card Sharp skill is also amazing: it does high slash damage, so occasionally I use it to finish up enemies weak to slash that Joon-gi's Phantom Drive didn't outright kill
• Like Joon-gi, Nanba is there mostly to cast Fulminating Forecast, which does even more damage with him as, unlike Joon-gi, he's actually still a Fortune Teller. But my Nanba also has Ice Spreader, since I've levelled him up as a Host as well. Most enemies do not get to live past this Joon-gi — Eri — Nanba combo, that’s how hard it hits. And since I started out levelling my Nanba with the Homeless job, he also still knows the Malodorous Stench skill, which is perhaps the greatest debuff skill in the game: it lowers both the defense and attack of all enemies for one turn. Very helpful considering some bosses stop taking damage until after changing stances. Finally, he also has hard-hitting fire attacks (thanks, Homeless) for the few enemies in the Tower that are weak to it, like the second boss.
• Finally, Ichiban is there to finish of enemies that survived the aforementioned combo. His weapon is fully upgraded (EX EX) so it has the Shock attribute, AND of course he has the Shock attack you get from the management minigame. Don't forget he also acts the team's healer (so you don't need to waste a slot on the Idol job). He can even revive fallen party members, although, with this team, I haven't been killed once.
(One last thing to remember is that the four boss characters all have different stances which they HAVE to go through. If you're wondering why you're not lowering their HP despite doing massive damage, it's because they have to switch their stance on the next round first. So don't waste your MP on super attacks, and Guard or (de)buff instead. The final two bosses especially: they change stances four times, after losing 25% of their health.)
With this method (seven crowns + five cans of Sengoku Coffee) you will earn over over 75 million yen. In less than 30 minutes work. (Although it’s probably closer to 76 million, considering the regular enemies drop a nice amount of pocket change as well.)
And, no, once you have access to this tower I don't think the management minigame's worth it at all anymore. Not just because the tower pays out waaaaay more in the same amount of time, but because the tower is also a treasure trove of rare upgrade items (all the gems, mostly) and, of course, a lot of XP.
Good luck breaking the game and getting filthy rich :)

I loved this entry to the series. The story was enjoyable and Ichiban was great!
Note: I played the English dub for the game's entirety (I always refered to Masato as Wei Shen throughout my time), I played 0 to 6, I knew Kiryu, Daigo, Majima, Saejima, Watase, and "Joon-gi Han" were going to be in the game (internet after the Japanese release), it takes a new direction for gameplay, heard Ichibanka when the theme was revealed for the first time along with looking at fan translations.
Also I'll be nitpicking on some things through my ramblings.
I like how concepts like the Hero's Journey are present with how Ichiban steps into unknowns and become a major influence for his friends once you're capable of facing reality. You also include concepts like play or understand the creative aspects that the games includes with Ichiban's imagination and how his personality can be through the dialogue can have with his friends. He had things that I would most likely say in conversations though at times I would rather say something similar but reworded and executed differently. I'm surprised that he got "laid" like 5 times despite nothing being official with Eri and Saeko despite the other girls making their feelings known to him with his knowledge and approval. It was like a "bruh moment."
The game used the subject of Japanese politics to further the plot and get an understanding of how Wei Shen operates once he is lost with power and probably bring a realistic interpretation with how general audiences are always misinformed when there is something else going on. I hate politics and the game does expose how politics are interested in gaining power with one ideology mattering more than others instead of solving real issues, it can apply to other places as well. Politics only leads to disconnections between people instead of getting shit done that establishes a harmony for all. Thank god Wei Shen was the final boss.
The game does have unique characters in the main story cast but they should reduce the amount they include so they don't become forgotten so easily because they aren't fully developed or be reduced to side content despite playing a major role in the story. I'm referring to Seong Hui, Horinouchi, the Omi goons and officers, etc.
I'm fine with the game bringing back known previous characters from the last entries but I wished they never brought back Kiryu. His story is done and over with, references to him are fine but him being fully present just shows how experimental Like a Dragon is as a new direction for the Yakuza games. Hell after the first Amon fight, they make it well known. I wished it was Daigo knocking sense into Ichiban to show that he has fully learned from Kiryu after his letter in 6. I wished Watase and Daigo had more screentime to understand where they're fully coming from instead of disbanding both Tojo and Omi and not being seen afterwards. Tendo needed some more development but I wished he had more of a unique tattoo than a dragon because the series doesn't need to oversaturate dragons. Avoid mistakes like what Dragon Ball Super did with transformations.
Ichiban "being" Arakawa's real biological son was a surprising twist but it reminds me of Naruto being the Child of Prophecy (also being OP at a young age and later in the series) which can hurt the credibility of Ichiban starting from nothing because the Yakuza life was always going to reach him no matter what locker Arakawa opened if the babies managed to survive. The exchanges between Ichiban and Wei Shen were greatly written and well executed for both dubs. The frustrations and emotional tensions were greatly understood.
I don't understand why Kashiwagi doesn't go back to the Tojo Clan if he survived being shot multiple times in 3. I guess RUBBER BULLETS...
English dub was great but some voices were hit and miss in the main story and substories. I'm happy that Majima got someone new to voice him because everyone overrates Mark Hamill's performance in Yakuza 1. Kiryu's voice direction in English is an improvement but still sounds like he'll croak everytime he speaks. Watase needed more pride into his voice. Saejima was good but I wished he had voice similar to Batista. Didn't like how Saejima's name was mispronounced when Daigo first spoke.
Managed to get the platinum trophy but I hate how much of a grind it for levels and job ranks especially for the True Final Millennium Tower and upgrading the ideal weapons. However, there is still room for improvement for future games and I'm looking forward to it.
Also, FUCK YOU KUME! There better be an explanation on what happened him instead of disappearing with no explanation like the Ryudo Family and Aizawa.
Thanks for reading all of this. Feel free to share your own thoughts. I could be wrong in something.

So is it true to have more jobs at lvl.99? Btw I have Joon-gi Han, Eri, and Saeko as my party main. And what jobs are recommended for that? I had Joon-gi Han as Hitman, Eri as Idol, and Saeko as Hostess. Those are my last two trophies to be my 5th Yakuza Platinum Trophy.

Yakuza 0

• massive man: 2 times
• nishitani: 2 times

KUUUZEEEEEE : 5 times
Yakuza 1

• shimano: 2 times
• majima: only 2 times (in the main story)

Yakuza 2
ryuji 2 or 3 depending on what you count
Yakuza 3

• majima: 2 times
• tamashiro: 2 times
• albert wesker: 2 times

Yakuza 4

• minami: 2 times
• that piece of shit saito: 2 times

Yakuza 5

• yahata: 2 times
• baba: 3 times
• Aizawa: 3 times
• Kanai: 4 times

Yakuza 6 this is a surprisingly long list * Tagashira: 2 times * yuta: 2 times * masuzoe: 2 times * koshimizu: 2 times * Ed: 3 times * someya: 3 times * han joon gi: 3 times * hiroshima thug: 4 times
Judgment

• murase: 2 times
• hamura and his lackeys: 3 times
• shiyoa: 2 times
• cane man: 2 times ^{well depending on how you count it}
• ADDC guard saito : 2 times
• the mole: 2 times

across multiple games:

• hayashi: 2 times
• shindo: 2 times
• lau ka long: 2 times
• akiyama: 2 times
• Gary "climax death" Holmes: 3 times
• daigo: 3 times
• tojo clan members: 4 times (when will these stupid fucks learn)
• TOJO CLAN, SHIMANO FAMILY CAPTAIN: 7 times

I can't believe that they made someone look like Joon-Gi Han. I was so happy that they put him on yakuza 7 and they didn't. Forever love Joon-Gi Han RIP.
Bye For Now- Joon-Gi Han out!

Rules:

1. We will be using the Arkhamverse Batman, as he has the most clearly defined fighting style and gadgets.
2. Mechanics from the games that would be unrealistic in real life, such as Freeflow or the general restrictions of each game's combat engine, are not present.
3. Each fighter retains their style and abilities, and fights are treated as if they were occurring under Yakuza-style physics, meaning that attacks that would, in real life, cripple or disable an opponent will only deplete their health here.
4. Gadgets such as Batarangs or Freeze Blasts are dodgeable, but Batman does have a characteristically infinite supply of them.
5. Attacks that would otherwise instantly stun or disable an enemy, such as cape stuns or counters, do not do so here, simply briefly disorienting the boss.
6. Before a fight, Batman is given information on his enemy's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses, and vice versa.
7. When a fight begins, the two combatants are immediately placed in front of each other in the area in which they are fought in their game, depriving Batman of the stealth advantage.
8. Batman cannot heal, and his condition in his next fight depends on how well he did in the last. However, he does recover stamina between fights, and his health will be completely replenished upon beating the final boss of a game.
9. Combatants that are fought multiple times (such as Majima, Kuze, and Hayashi) remember their fights and can plan for the next one to the best of their ability. However, in subsequent fights, their character development, physical condition, and moveset will be the same as it was at the time they were fought in-game.
10. Optional bosses (such as the Mr. Shakedowns, the Amon Clan, and Majima Everywhere) are not included.
11. Due to operating on a gameplay system that would not translate easily to standard combat, Yakuza: Like a Dragon must sadly be excluded

Boss order is as follows:

• Yakuza 0

1. Daisaku Kuze (1)
2. Jun Oda
3. Wen Hai Lee (1)
4. Daisaku Kuze (2)
5. Wen Hai Lee (2)
6. Homare Nishitani (1)
7. Daisaku Kuze (3)
8. Ginger Chapman
9. Doctor Kirihito
10. Dead Puncher
11. Homare Nishitani (2)
12. Masaru Sera
13. Daisaku Kuze (4)
14. Osamu Kashiwagi
15. Akira Nishikiyama (1)
16. Daisaku Kuze (5)
17. Hiroki Awano
18. Lao Gui
19. Keiji Shibusawa

• Yakuza Kiwami

1. Inmate 1356
2. Yuya
3. Shimano Family Goons
4. Omi Alliance Man
5. Futoshi Shimano (1)
6. Hiroshi Hayashi (1)
7. Daniel Feldman
8. Gaowayan Pramuk
9. Gary Buster Holmes (1)
10. Goro Majima (1)
11. Takashi
12. B-King and his men
13. Atobe Family
14. Shota and his men
15. MIA Agents
16. Gambling House Bouncers
17. Koji Shindo (1) and his men
18. Yuji Shiraki and his men
19. The Akai Brothers
20. Lau Ka Long (1)
21. Kazuto Arase and his men
22. Goro Majima (2)
23. Futoshi Shimano (2)
24. Kyohei Jingu and the MIA agents
25. Akira Nishikiyama (2)

• Yakuza Kiwami 2

1. Ryota Kawamura
2. Kei Ibuchi
3. Daigo Dojima (1)
4. Ryuji Goda (1)
5. Di Scuva
6. Gary Buster Holmes (2)
7. Goro Majima (3)
8. Jingweon Mafia Toughs
9. Hiroshi Hayashi (2)
10. Go-Ryu Clan
11. Koji Shindo (2)
12. Jingweon Mafia
13. Feral Tigers
14. Kurahashi
15. Ryuji Goda (2)
16. Daejin Kim
17. Ryuji Goda (3)

• Yakuza 3

1. Goro Majima (4)
2. Rikiya Shimaburo
3. Tetsuo Tamashiro (1)
4. Hasebe
5. Andre Richardson and Black Monday agents
6. Tsuyoshi Kanda
7. Goro Majima (5)
8. Lau Ka Long (2)
9. Joji Kazama
10. Tetsuo Tamashiro (2)
11. Yoshitaka Mine

• Yakuza 4

1. Ihara
2. Takumi Midorikawa
3. Daisaku Minami (1)
4. Saito
5. Kazuma Kiryu (1)
6. Ivan Ibrahimovic
7. Daisaku Minami (2)
8. Goro Majima (6)
9. Junji Sugiuchi
10. Shun Akiyama (1) and Masayoshi Tanimura
11. Hiroaki Arai
12. Takeshi Kido
13. Daigo Dojima (2)
14. Seishiro Munakata

• Yakuza 5

1. Yamagasa Family Toughs
2. Yu Morinaga and Masato Aizawa (1)
3. Yahata (1)
4. Yahata (2)
5. The Tojo Clan
6. Kugihara
7. Yama-Oroshi
8. Shigeki Baba (1)
9. Hakamada Takeshi (1)
10. Kan Ogita
11. Mysterious Man
12. Hakamada Takeshi (2)
13. Kamon Kanai (1)
14. Teppei Ono
15. Atsushi Sakai
16. Manabe
17. Daigo Dojima (3)
18. Kuroha Family Toughs
19. Shigeki Baba (2)
20. Masato Aizawa (2)
21. Masaru Watase
22. Naoki Katsuya
23. Kazuma Kiryu (2) and Taiga Saejima
24. Goro Majima (7)
25. Shigeki Baba (3)
26. Kamon Kanai (2)
27. Masato Aizawa (3)

• Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

1. Tsuyoshi Nagumo (1)
2. Ed (1)
3. Shun Akiyama (2)
4. Tsuyoshi Nagumo (2)
5. Tsuyoshi Nagumo (3) and the Jingai Thunders
6. Koji Masuzoe (1)
7. Naoto Tagashira and Yuta Asami (1)
8. Koji Masuzoe (2) and his men
9. Takumi Someya (1)
10. Joon-gi Han (1)
11. Ed (2)
12. Takumi Someya (2)
13. Kanji Koshimizu (1)
14. Joon-gi Han (2)
15. Joon-gi Han (3)
16. Yuta Usami (2)
17. Tsuyoshi Nagumo (4)
18. Toru Hirose
19. Takumi Someya (3)
20. Kanji Koshimizu (2)
21. Tsuneo Iwami

• Judgment

1. Horseplayer Detective
2. Akira Murase (1)
3. Akira Murase (2) and his thugs
4. Matsugane Family (1)
5. Toru Higashi and his thugs (1)
6. Satoshi Shioya and his thugs (1)
7. Satoshi Shioya and his thugs (2)
8. Toru Higashi and his thugs (2)
9. Kyohei Hamura (1) and his thugs
10. Cane Man (1)
11. Security Guards
12. Cane Man (2)
13. Kyohei Hamura (2)
14. Matsuhisa Koga and his thugs
15. Hangman
16. Mitsuru Kuroiwa (1)
17. Mitsuru Kuroiwa (2)

How far can the Bat go against the massed hordes of Japan's criminal underworld?
(Feel free to comment if a rule is unclear and needs explaining, or if you feel the list needs to be amended with a new rule or have one removed.)

if you have played yakuza 7 you know there is a scene when kiryu and the double of Joon-gi Han talk about the real Joon-gi Han. But the way double Joon-gi Han talks makes me think that double Joon-gi Han was killed in yakuza 6 and that the Joon-gi Han from yakuza 7 is the real Joon-gi Han. What do you guys think

This list has spoilers for anyone who hasn't played Yakuza Series Games (Incl. Spinoffs) so stop reading if you don't want to get spoiled.
This is an upgraded list from This. I have played 0-6, Judgment, FOTNS: Lost Paradise so basically all the western releases and these are the fights that really got the hype going. You may notice some fights placed differently from my earlier list, let's just say playing all the games changed my taste.
15) Kiryu v Aizawa - 5
14) Kiryu v Shibusawa - 0
13) Majima v Awano - 0
12) Yagami v Cane Man - Judgment
11) Kiryu v Hirose - 6
10) Kiryu v Someya - 6
9) Baba v Saejima - 5
8) Majima v Ibuchi - Kiwami 2
7) Kenshiro v Raoh - FOTNS
6) Kiryu v Nishikiyama - Kiwami
5) Tanimura v Munakata - 4
4) Kiryu v Kuze (Final) - 0
Honorable Mentions: All the Amon Fights, Yagami (& Kaito) v Higashi (Second), Kiryu v Kuze (Sewer), Kiryu v Han Joon Gi (Arena & Final Round), Kiryu v Tigers, Kenshiro v Thouzer, Kenshiro v Targa (Final), Shinada v Baba, Akiyama v Kanai (Final), Saejima v Majima, Kiryu v Joji Kazama
​
3) Kiryu v Mine - 3
​
2) Yagami v Kuroiwa (Medical Center) - Judgment
​
​

1. Kiryu v Ryuji (Final) - Kiwami 2

​
What do you think?

Either based on first impressions from promotional images and trailers or for those who already played/watched the game, I’m curious as to which characters fans like from Yakuza 7. Comment down below.
For me based on first impressions and from what else I’ve seen:
1) Kasuga Ichiban
2) Joon-Gi Han
3) Tianyou Zhao
4) Masato Arakawa
5) Masumi Arakawa
6) Kouichi Adachi
7) Namba
8) Jo Sawashiro
9) Seong-Hui
10) Saeko Mukouda

This list has spoilers for anyone who hasn't played Yakuza Series Games (Incl. Spinoffs) so stop reading if you don't want to get spoiled.
First off, I'm making this list based on the games I have played so far: 0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, 6, Fist of the North Star (FOTNS): Lost Paradise and Judgment. I'm sure 3,4 & 5 have fantastic fights but I haven't played those games yet. Here Goes-
10) Kiryu v Majima (Coliseum) - Kiwami 2
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9) Kiryu v Hirose - 6
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8) Majima v Ibuchi - Kiwami 2
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7) Kenshiro v Raoh - FOTNS
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6) Majima v Awano - 0
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5) Kiryu v Someya (Millenium Tower) - Yakuza 6
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4) Kiryu v Kuze (Final Round) - 0
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Honorable Mentions: All the Amon Fights, Yagami v Cane Man, Yagami (& Kaito) v Higashi (Both), Kiryu v Shibusawa, Kiryu v Kuze (Sewer), Kiryu v Han Joon Gi (Arena & Final Round), Kiryu v Tigers, Kenshiro v Thouzer, Kenshiro v Targa (Final), Kenshiro v Jagi
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3) Kiryu v Nishikiyama - Kiwami
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2) Yagami v Kuroiwa (Medical Center) - Judgment
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1. Kiryu v Ryuji (Final) - Kiwami 2

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What do you think?

I have only played Yakuza 0, Kiwami, 6 and Kiwami 2 so far. This list will reflect my observations. Feel free to let me know your thoughts.
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Legend
Kiryu
Ryuji
Majima
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A
Lao Gui
Amon (Jo, Kazuya, Jiro, Sango, So)
Akiyama
Shakedown
Shimano
Wen Hai Lee
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B
Daigo
Nishikiyama
Lau Ka Long
Han Joon Gi
Someya
Koshimizu
Iwami
Nagumo
Yuta
Shibusawa
Awano
Kuze
Arase
Shindo
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So I'm confused as to the strength of the characters in Yakuza/RGG series. Clearly Kiryu is supposed to be the strongest, but i think that Majima and Saejima are on that level too (clearly Majima was stronger than Kiryu at the time of Yakuza 0 and Saejima fought Kiryu twice and both ended in a draw) But then you have other characters for example: Nishiki, Goda, Mine, Akiyama, Tanimura, Shinada, Daigo, Prime Shintaro Kazama and his younger brother, Joon-Gi Han etc.
Can someone tell me the strongest to weakest from all the characters of Yakuza series from 0 till 6. At least this is my top 5 strongest:

1. Kiryu
2. Saejima
3. Majima
4. Goda
5. Mine

I dont know where to put other characters on the list,
Thanks for joining tho

So going through Yakuza 6, I can't help but feel that there was a lot of wasted potential for the future of the series.
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In Yakuza 6, we saw some new characters, and 2 of the biggest players died, new dogs that could have really played a big part in Shin Yakuza as returning characters.
They are: Paul Lim
and
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I'm kidding
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They are: Joon-gi Han and Takumi Someya.
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I think they are two characters that would have been great additions of Shin Yakuza going forward, we know it'll be about the future and we need more characters going forward but main ones. Daigo will be in charge of the Tojo right? We also have Majima and Saejima as pillars, but then what? The tojo, omi, etc are strongest when they are full of build up relevant characters and not a bunch of nobodies who can't take out a swat team alone unarmed. Someya would have been a good addition both as a character, and as a powerhouse, the game build him up heavily and it'd have been an interesting plot point to have him be unable to be with the woman he loved due to his yakuza connections (a reoccuring point in yakuza games). He would have been a great pillar of the tojo clan (just behind majima and saejima), and it would have fleshed out the tojo a lot, plus he was just a great character.
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Joon-gi Han would have made a great enemy/rival for the new main, someone who like Majima goes "let's beat each other to a living pulp in this arena", his pretty boy nature is a nice difference, he really pushes the korean factions up in credibility, etc etc. The chinese really only have Ed after Lau Kar Long and he's arguably on the run and not a member anymore, the koreans have nobody to hype them up. The tojo at least have daigo, majima, and saejima. The omi at least have Watase and Katsuya. They are more Majima and Saejima's level than Daigo so it's a nice bolster, but it still feels fairly empty.
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I'm sure we'll get more characters, but why? Joon-gi Han and Someya could have been established characters that could have played parts going forward (even if it was as side characters) and could have been huge on the next generation of Yakuza. They should have taken those and added them to the roster, maybe give Ed a family, and then build the triad, koreans, and yakuza further in later games. Yakuza has too much of a tendency to clear the board, and while we have the Hirose family, none of them are particularly powerhouse.
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