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| 13 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yakuza.png]] |
| 14 | [[caption-width-right:350:''Rolling eyes fall...''\ |
| 15 | ''Ruling dies out...''[[note]]From left to right: [[HotBlooded Ichiban Kasuga]], [[TheHero Kazuma Kiryu]], [[BewareTheSillyOnes Goro Majima]][[/note]]]] |
| 16 | %% |
| 17 | ->''"I can take another name, and build a new life... But on the inside I'll always have that instinct, no matter how much I hate it. I'm yakuza through and through. Guile only gets you so far in this game. Remember that. You won't get another chance."'' |
| 18 | -->-- '''Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima''', ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza 5}}'' [[note]]Original [=PS3=] localization. The remaster retranslates this line.[[/note]] |
| 19 | |
| 20 | %% Quote changed per quotes thread (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1327331003042025100&page=203#comment-5068). Post there if you want to add or change the quote. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | '''For the series' first installment, click [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 here]].''' |
| 23 | |
| 24 | ''Like a Dragon'' (龍が如く ''Ryū ga Gotoku'') -- formerly known in the west as ''[[CompletelyDifferentTitle Yakuza]]'' -- is a BeatEmUp/[[WideOpenSandbox Sandbox]]/[[EasternRPG JRPG]] video game series that follows [[{{Yakuza}} the exploits of the Japanese underworld]]. Featuring twisted conspiracies, gang warfare, soap opera plot twists, cool tattoos, bizarre sidequests, huge shirtless men punching each other over their ideals, and more minigames than you can shake a stick at, ''Like a Dragon'' is as much an intense, heart-pounding [[CriminalProcedural crime drama]] as it is an avenue for exploring intensely-detailed virtual districts of Japan and partaking in numerous diversions and side activities. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | ''Like a Dragon'' was conceived by veteran game designer and Creator/{{Sega}} employee Creator/ToshihiroNagoshi in the early 2000s. His pitch was met with skepticism among Sega's brass, who were hesitant toward the proposed game's adult themes and its focus on organized crime; they also believed that the extremely Japanese flavor of the game would make the game have less appeal outside of Japan. Nagoshi still staked his career on getting the game produced, and got the project off the ground after some convincing. The first game was released in late 2005, and got heavy acclaim in Japan for exploring yakuza culture with previously unseen depth and authenticity; it was also a massive sales success, ensuring a localization and the release of several sequels and spin-offs. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | ''Like a Dragon'' games take place in an sandbox setting, with the most prominent location being red light district Kamurocho (神室町; Kamuro-chō, a fictionalized version of the real-world Kabukichō), Tokyo, with other cities of Japan coming and going between different games. Beyond the linear focus of the main story, there's a truly staggering amount of sidequests, minigames, and secrets scattered about. Players can solve the problems of myriad people on the street, play in hidden illegal gambling halls, hit some balls at the batting cages, learn powerful moves from an [[OldMaster enigmatic martial artist]], take part in underground fighting tournaments... |
| 29 | |
| 30 | The combat up to ''Yakuza 6'' (and still present in spinoffs like the ''Judgment'' series) is a 3D beat 'em up with RPG elements. Scoring hits and dodging attacks will fill the Heat gauge -- in most games, keeping the meter filled will [[SuperMode increase the character's speed and damage]], or the gauge can be spent to activate [[LimitBreak a powerful, context-based attack]] called a Heat Action. Combat becomes more complex as the series goes on, from introducing multiple characters in ''4'' to the addition of a StanceSystem in ''Ishin!''. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Beginning with the eighth main installment, ''Yakuza: Like a Dragon'', the franchise shifted to turn-based, party-focused JRPG battles, featuring a ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''-style JobSystem. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | Although ''Like a Dragon'' is one of Sega's flagship franchises, the series took a long time to actually get there outside of Japan, where it remained a cult classic for many years. The commercial failure of spinoff ''Dead Souls'' seemingly halted all localization plans, and the English website for the series was shut down in September 2013. In December 2014, Sony announced a partnership with Sega to localize future games, beginning with ''5'', which was finally released in English in 2015. Prequel ''Yakuza 0'''s English release in 2017 and subsequent PC port a year later [[NewbieBoom brought many newcomers into the series]] and restored Sega's confidence in its success outside of Japan. The success of ''0'' ensured localizations of the first two games' ''Kiwami'' remakes, and eventually, remasters and new localizations of ''3'', ''4'', and ''5''. ''Lost Judgment'', released in September 2021, was the first game in the series to have a simultaneous worldwide release. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | In 2022, it was announced that the series will ditch the ''Yakuza'' title in the west and will be going by the name ''Like a Dragon'' as it does in Japan. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | See also ''VideoGame/BinaryDomain'', a sci-fi ThirdPersonShooter developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku studio in the downtime between ''Yakuza 4'' and ''5'', which features Kiryu, Majima, Goda and Akiyama as [[GuestFighter guest characters]]. |
| 39 | |
| 40 | ! Games and other media revolving the ''Yakuza''/''Like a Dragon'' franchise: |
| 41 | |
| 42 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 43 | |
| 44 | [[index]] |
| 45 | [[folder:''Yakuza'' series (Kiryu's Saga)]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'', released in Japan as 龍が如く (''Ryū ga Gotoku'' lit. ''Like a Dragon''): Released in December 8, 2005 in Japan, September 5, 2006 in North America and September 15, 2006 in Europe for the [=PlayStation 2=].\ |
| 48 | On October 1st, 1995, Dojima Family lieutenant Kazuma Kiryu takes the fall for a crime he didn't commit. Ten years later, Kiryu is released only to learn that 10 billion yen have been stolen from the Tojo Clan, and the criminal underworld is looking for it. Following the trail of the Tojo Clan's turmoil leads Kiryu to protecting the young orphan Haruka Sawamura, whom the Tojo Clan believes has the key to finding their lost money. Along the way, he unravels several conspiracies, fends off rival yakuza after his head, and beats up the many, many punks cocky enough to step up against him.[[/index]] |
| 49 | ** To celebrate the series' tenth anniversary, ''VideoGame/YakuzaKiwami'' (JP: 龍が如く 極, lit. ''Like a Dragon Extreme''), a VideoGameRemake of the first game, was released in January 2016 in Japan for the Platform/PlayStation3 and Platform/PlayStation4 in Japan, and August 2017 in NA and Europe only for the [=PS4=]. Beyond utilizing ''Yakuza 0'''s engine for significantly updated gameplay, dialogue has been re-recorded by most of the original cast, the story has been expanded with cutscenes that show what happened to Nishiki during Kiryu's prison sentence, and the Majima Everywhere System is added, where Goro Majima can pop up ''anywhere'' to fight Kiryu. |
| 50 | [[index]] |
| 51 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza2'', released in Japan as 龍が如く2 (''Ryū ga Gotoku 2'', lit. ''Like a Dragon 2''): Released in December 7, 2006 in Japan, September 9, 2008 in NA and September 19, 2008 in Europe for the [=PS2=].\ |
| 52 | In December 2006, the Tojo Clan's fifth chairman, Yukio Terada, requests Kiryu's help to prevent an all-out war with the rival Omi Alliance, only to be ambushed and killed by Omi assassins. Now back in Kamurocho, Kiryu must not only make amends between the Tojo and Omi, but also find a new chairman for the Tojo ''and'' fend off the Omi's fearsome "Dragon of Kansai", Ryuji Goda.\ |
| 53 | While fairly similar to the original game, ''Yakuza 2'' features numerous refinements to the combat, a more grand scope in its storyline, and the addition of a second city in Osaka, bringing the series outside of Kamurocho for the first time. |
| 54 | ** ''VideoGame/YakuzaKiwami2'' (JP: 龍が如く 極 2, lit. ''Like a Dragon Extreme 2''), a remake on ''Yakuza 6'''s Dragon Engine, was released in Japan on December 2017 and worldwide in August 28, 2018 for the [=PS4=]. Like the first ''Kiwami'', it expands on the original story, introducing a new playable storyline with Goro Majima shortly after the events of the first game. |
| 55 | |
| 56 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza3'', released in Japan as 龍が如く3 (''Ryū ga Gotoku 3'', lit. ''Like a Dragon 3''): Released on the [=PlayStation 3=] in February 26, 2009 for Japan, March 9, 2010 in the US and March 12, 2010 in Europe.\ |
| 57 | In March 2009, to leave his criminal past behind, Kiryu has moved to Okinawa, where he runs the Morning Glory Orphanage with his newly-adopted daughter Haruka Sawamura. After multiple eviction notices from the land owner, the boss of a local yakuza clan, Kiryu's friend Daigo Dojima is shot, the landowner is attacked, and Morning Glory's deed is stolen, which forces Kiryu to return to Kamurocho and face the ones responsible.\ |
| 58 | The first mainline game in the series released for an HD console, ''Yakuza 3'' features seamless transitions between field and battle, a photo mode through which Kiryu can learn new moves, and a first-person view.\ |
| 59 | |
| 60 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', released in Japan as 龍が如く4 伝説を継ぐもの (''Ryū ga Gotoku 4: Densetsu wo Tsugumono'', lit. Like a ''Dragon 4: Heir to the Legend''): Released for the [=PS3=] in March 18, 2010 in Japan, March 15, 2011 in North America and March 18, 2011 in Europe.\ |
| 61 | In March 2010, generous {{loan shark}} Shun Akiyama gets an unexplained request for a 100 million yen loan by a woman known as "Lily". Meanwhile, ex-Tojo yakuza Taiga Saejima escapes from prison after discovering he was wrongly convicted, [[DirtyCop corrupt cop]] Masayoshi Tanimura, "the Parasite of Kamurocho", seeks revenge for his father's murder by the Tojo Clan, and Kazuma Kiryu learns from an escaped convict that the 10 billion yen stolen from the Tojo Clan in 2005 is connected to a new financial crisis the clan is facing.\ |
| 62 | While the setting stays solely in Kamurocho, there are now four playable characters, and Kamurocho can be explored underground and on rooftops. |
| 63 | |
| 64 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'', released in Japan as 龍が如く5 夢、叶えし者 (''Ryū ga Gotoku 5: Yume, Kanaeshi Mono'', lit. ''Like a Dragon 5: Fulfiller of Dreams''): Released in December 6, 2012 in Japan and December 8, 2015 worldwide.\ |
| 65 | In December 2012, as another war seems to break out between the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance, Kazuma Kiryu, now working as a cab driver in Fukuoka to escape his past, finds several forces trying to draw him back into the fray for their own agendas. Meanwhile, baseball player Tatsuo Shinada sets out to clear his name in Nagoya after false accusations of insider gambling, Haruka and Akiyama work together in Osaka to investigate the murder of a colleague, and Saejima faces assailants trying to keep him in prison in Sapporo.\ |
| 66 | With a new graphics engine, five playable characters, [[SerialEscalation five different districts to explore]], and greatly-expanded combat, ''Yakuza 5'' has been called "the ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]]'' of the series" by Toshihiro Nagoshi and writer Masayoshi Yokoyama. |
| 67 | |
| 68 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'', released in Japan as 龍が如く0 誓いの場所 (''Ryū ga Gotoku 0: Chikai no Basho'', lit. ''Like a Dragon 0: The Promised Land''): Released for the [=PS3=] and [=PlayStation 4=] in March 12, 2015 in Japan, May 4, 2015 in Taiwan, and January 24, 2017 in NA and Europe.\ |
| 69 | [[{{Prequel}} In December 1988]], the rookie yakuza Kazuma Kiryu is framed for killing someone on an empty plot of land sought by the Tojo Clan, and he sets out to clear his name while fending off gang members trying to kill him for the clan's favor. Meanwhile, hostess club owner Goro Majima is sent to carry out an assassination to get back in the Tojo Clan's good graces, but his loyalty and sanity are tested when he finds the truth about his target.\ |
| 70 | ''0'' sets up much of the conflict seen in the first game, and for the first time, features Goro Majima as a playable character in a mainline title. |
| 71 | |
| 72 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza6: The Song of Life'', released in Japan as 龍が如く6 命の詩。 (''Ryū ga Gotoku 6: Inochi no Uta.'', lit. ''Like a Dragon 6: Poem of Life.''): Released for the [=PS4=] on December 8, 2016 in Japan, and on April 17, 2018 in the West.\ |
| 73 | In December 2016, after three years in prison to clean his slate, Kiryu finds out Haruka has disappeared to avoid public scrutiny. Returning to Kamurocho, he discovers that not only is Haruka in a coma due to a hit-and-run, she also has a son -- and ''he'''s being targeted by a criminal faction so powerful, even the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance can't touch it.\ |
| 74 | The first game developed solely for the [=PS4=], ''Yakuza 6'' is the GrandFinale for Kiryu's arc, boasting an all-new game engine and massively-reworked, physics-based combat. |
| 75 | [[/index]] |
| 76 | |
| 77 | [[/folder]] |
| 78 | [[index]] |
| 79 | |
| 80 | [[folder:''Like A Dragon'' series (Ichiban's Saga)]] |
| 81 | |
| 82 | * ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', released in Japan as 龍が如く7光と闇の行方 ''(Ryū ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue'', lit. ''Like a Dragon 7: The Whereabouts of Light and Darkness''): Released for the [=PS4=] on January 16, 2020 in Japan and Southeast Asia, and later on in 2020 worldwide on [=PS4=], Platform/PlayStation5, [=XBO=], Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS and PC.\ |
| 83 | On January 1st, 2001, Arakawa Family grunt Ichiban Kasuga takes the fall for a crime he didn't commit. After eighteen years, Ichiban is released from prison, only to find that has his family's parent Tojo Clan has been exiled from Kamurocho and the Omi Alliance has joined forces with the police -- all thanks to Ichiban's mentor Masumi Arakawa, who asked him to take the fall in the first place. After being exiled to the Yokohama city of Ijincho, Ichiban must fight his way up from rock bottom with a motley crew of misfits to get to the truth behind the Tojo Clan's downfall.\ |
| 84 | ''Like a Dragon'' features not not only a new protagonist in Ichiban Kasuga, but also an all-new turn-based combat system in place of the 3D brawling from the classic series.\ |
| 85 | |
| 86 | * ''VideoGame/LikeADragonGaidenTheManWhoErasedHisName'', released in Japan as 龍が如く７外伝 名を消した男 (''Ryū Ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden - Na wo Keshita Otoko'', lit. ''Like a Dragon 7 Side Story: The Man Who Erased His Name''): Releasing worldwide on [=PS4=], Platform/PlayStation5, [=XBO=], Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, and PC on November 9, 2023.\ |
| 87 | After the events of ''6,'' Kazuma Kiryu is living in hiding as the hundredth disciple of the Daidoji Temple, where he carries out various missions on behalf of the Daidoji faction under the codename "Joryu."\ |
| 88 | An interquel set between the events of ''6'' and ''Infinite Wealth'', the game stars Kiryu and deals with what he's been doing between the two sagas and the circumstances surrounding his return as a protagonist in ''Infinite Wealth''. The game is pitched as a shorter, smaller-scale instalment in the series, and makes a one-off return to the BeatEmUp style of Kiryu's saga.\ |
| 89 | |
| 90 | * ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'' (stylized as ''Like a Dragon: Infinite ∞ Wealth''), released in Japan as 龍が如く8 (''Ryū ga Gotoku 8'', lit. ''Like a Dragon 8''): Releasing worldwide on [=PS4=], Platform/PlayStation5, [=XBO=], Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, and PC On January 26, 2024.\ |
| 91 | A sequel to ''Yakuza: Like a Dragon'' starring Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu as dual protagonists. Despite the format change, Kasuga will still serve as the main character, with Kiryu framed as a supporting figure in this chapter of Kasuga's story. Other confirmed returning characters for this installment will be Adachi, Nanba, Saeko, Han, Seonhee, Zhao, Sawashiro, Daigo, Majima, Saejima and Arakawa.\ |
| 92 | ''Like a Dragon's'' turn-based combat system returns with Kasuga and Kiryu each having their own separate party. The game is set to be RGG Studio's biggest, featuring the familiar locations of Isezaki Ijincho in Yokohama, Kamurocho in Tokyo, and a new map in Honolulu, Hawaii.\ |
| 93 | |
| 94 | [[/folder]] |
| 95 | |
| 96 | [[folder:''Judgment'' series (Yagami's Saga)]] |
| 97 | |
| 98 | * ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'', released in Japan as JUDGE EYES: 死神の遺言 (''Shinigami no Yuigon'', lit. ''Wills of Death''): Released in December 13, 2018 in Asian territories and in June 25, 2019 worldwide, for [=PS4=].\ |
| 99 | In December 2018, disgraced attorney and private detective Takayuki Yagami follows the trail of a serial killer targeting yakuza members in Kamurocho. When an everyday investigation links the killer to his past, Yagami dives into Kamurocho's criminal underworld to discover who set him up.\ |
| 100 | ''Judgment'' is a GaidenGame to the greater ''Like a Dragon'' franchise, starring ex-SMAP member Takuya Kimura as Takayuki Yagami. Featuring a whole new cast of characters and few story ties to the Kiryu saga, ''Judgment'' is described as a "courtroom thriller", and offers a new perspective on Kamurocho through the eyes of Yagami. |
| 101 | |
| 102 | * ''VideoGame/LostJudgment'', released in Japan as LOST JUDGMENT: 裁かれざる記憶 (''Sabakarezaru Kioku'', lit. ''Unjudged Memory)'': Released worldwide on September 21, 2021.\ |
| 103 | In December 2021, a sexual assault case for disgraced cop Akihiro Ehara takes a shocking turn when Ehara reveals footage of him killing a man in Ijincho at the time that he was originally arrested. Yagami takes up the case to discover the truth of the matter which leads him into the path of a brutal gang and a mysterious "handyman". |
| 104 | ** ''The Kaito Files'', released in Japan as 海藤正治の事件簿 ''(Kaitō Masaharu no Jikenbo'', lit. ''Masaharu Kaito's Casefile)'': Released on March 28th, 2022 worldwide.\ |
| 105 | The first story-focused DLC in an RGG game, it stars Yagami's partner Masaharu Kaito who mans the agency while Yagami is out of town. Approached by a tech mogul for a missing persons case, Kaito finds himself embroiled in a case connected to a woman from his past. |
| 106 | |
| 107 | [[/folder]] |
| 108 | |
| 109 | [[folder:Other spin-offs]] |
| 110 | |
| 111 | * '''''VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuKenzan''''' (龍が如く 見参! "Like a Dragon Arrives"): Released in March 6, 2008 only in Japan. Five years after the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sekigahara Battle of Sekigahara]], Miyamoto Musashi has retired from his life as a ''ronin'' to become a yojimbo in Gion, Kyoto under the alias "Kazumanosuke Kiryu". Now, on a one-ryō request from a little girl named Haruka, "Kiryu" moves to assassinate an impostor claiming to be Musashi.\ |
| 112 | ''Kenzan'' is the first game in the series for the Platform/PlayStation3, and a JidaiGeki spin-off featuring series regulars as a UniversalAdaptorCast to fit the setting. |
| 113 | |
| 114 | * '''''VideoGame/YakuzaDeadSouls''''' aka ''Like a Dragon OF THE END'' (龍が如く OF THE END "Ryū ga Gotoku OF THE END"): Released in June 9, 2011 for Japan, March 13, 2012 in North America and March 16, 2012 in Europe for the [=PS3=].\ |
| 115 | In April 2011, a ZombieApocalypse has struck Kamurocho, and only four men have the power to fend off the hordes: loan shark Shun Akiyama, infected construction worker Goro Majima, takoyaki chef Ryuji Goda and the legendary ex-yakuza Kazuma Kiryu. ''Dead Souls'' is a non-canon spin-off set after the events of ''Yakuza 4''. |
| 116 | [[/index]] |
| 117 | |
| 118 | * '''''VideoGame/LikeADragonIshin''''' (龍が如く 維新! "Like a Dragon: Restoration!"): Released only in Japan in February 22, 2014 for the [=PS4=] and [=PS3=].\ |
| 119 | In Japan's Bakumatsu period, Sakamoto Ryoma ("played" by Kazuma Kiryu) has fled to Kyoto after taking the fall for the death of his master, Yoshida Toyo. There, he joins the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinsengumi Shinsengumi]] force to hunt down the man that not only killed Yoshida, but also instigated the Tosa coup d'état.\ |
| 120 | ''Ishin!'', like ''Kenzan!'', is a JidaiGeki spin-off with series regulars as a UniversalAdaptorCast and the first series release on [=PS4=]. However, being set in a later historical period, the story is not related to ''Kenzan!''.\ |
| 121 | A ''Kiwami'' style remake was announced in September 2022, rebuilt from the ground up in the Unreal 4 MediaNotes/GameEngine. It is set for a worldwide release on [=PS4=], Platform/PlayStation5, [=XBO=], Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, and PC on February 21, 2023. |
| 122 | |
| 123 | * '''''Kurohyō''''' (クロヒョウ ''Black Panther''): Japan-only PSP spin-offs developed by [[VideoGame/DefJamSeries Syn Sophia]]. As a [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] PSP game. |
| 124 | |
| 125 | ** ''[[VideoGame/KurohyoRyuGaGotokuShinsho Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō]]'' (クロヒョウ 龍が如く新章 lit. "Black Panther: Like a Dragon New Chapter"): Released in September 22, 2010. In September 2010, while posing as a Tojo Clan enforcer, the delinquent Tatsuya Ukyo kills Tojo member Naoki Toda in a botched robbery. On an ultimatum from Toda's boss Ryutaro Kuki, Tatsuya is forced to enter the Dragon Heat fight club while trying to clear his name. |
| 126 | |
| 127 | ** ''[[VideoGame/Kurohyo2RyuGaGotokuAshuraHen Kurohyō 2: Ryū ga Gotoku Ashura-hen]]'' (クロヒョウ2 龍が如く 阿修羅編 lit. "Black Panther: Like a Dragon Ashura Chapter"): Released in March 22, 2012. |
| 128 | |
| 129 | * '''''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarLostParadise''''' (北斗が如く ''Hokuto ga Gotoku'', lit. "Like the North Star"): Released in March 8, 2018 in Japan and October 2, 2018 worldwide.\ |
| 130 | Kenshiro, heir to the Hokuto Shinken martial art, travels to the idyllic city of Eden to find his fiancée Yuria, who has been kidnapped by his rival Shin.\ |
| 131 | ''Lost Paradise'' is a ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' {{licensed game}} developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, with a new storyline set during the similar gameplay to their namesake series, a voice cast with many ''Yakuza'' regulars (including Kiryu's actor Takaya Kuroda as Kenshiro), and the series' trademark [[DenserAndWackier sense of humor]]. |
| 132 | |
| 133 | * '''''[[VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuOnline Ryū ga Gotoku Online]]''''' (龍が如く ONLINE "Like a Dragon Online"), an online RPG for mobile devices and PC, released in Japan on November 21, 2018. The game's story is set after the events of ''Yakuza 6'', and introduces ''Yakuza 7'''s protagonist Ichiban Kasuga. |
| 134 | |
| 135 | * '''''[[VideoGame/StreetsOfKamurocho Streets of Kamurocho]]''''': Given a [[FreewareGames free]] limited release from October 17, 2020 to October 19, 2020 as part of a [[MilestoneCelebration celebration of Sega's 60th anniversary]], as well as a second run by popular demand from November 13, 2020 to November 16, 2020. A VideoGameDemake done in the style of ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'' while loosely retelling the story of the first ''Yakuza'' game. Players control either Kiryu or Majima [[spoiler:as well as [[SecretCharacter Ichiban]]]] as they fight their way through the [[TitleDrop streets of Kamurocho]] following the unexpected death of the Tojo Clan's third chairman. |
| 136 | [[/folder]] |
| 137 | |
| 138 | [[folder:Other Media]] |
| 139 | |
| 140 | * Books |
| 141 | ** ''Literature/KamutaiMagazine'' (カムタイマガジン): a [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] PreOrderBonus full-color print book for ''Ryū ga Gotoku'', with articles about the many in-game locations and Japanese adult film actress Mihiro Taniguchi as the cover girl, in-character as the hostess Rin. More "issues" were released with other games, featuring different cover girls, and further were printed for ''Ryū ga Gotoku 4'' and ''Kurohyō''. |
| 142 | *** ''Ryū ga Gotoku 2:'' Nana Natsume |
| 143 | *** ''Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!:'' Yinling (Joytoy) |
| 144 | *** ''Ryū ga Gotoku 3:'' Shizuka Mutou, Sayaka Araki and Rina Sakurai |
| 145 | [[index]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | * Live-Action Adaptations |
| 148 | ** ''Like a Dragon: Prologue'' (龍が如く 〜序章〜 Ryū ga Gotoku ~ Joshō ~): a 2006 DirectToVideo crime drama directed by Takeshi Miyasaka, with Creator/TakashiMiike as executive director. Released in March 24, 2006 in Japan and in August 15, 2006 on Sega Europe's official ''Yakuza'' website, ''Prologue'' is a prequel to the original game focusing on Kazuma Kiryu's childhood in the Morning Glory Orphanage.[[index]] |
| 149 | ** ''Film/{{Yakuza}}/Like a Dragon'' (龍が如く 劇場版, lit. "Like a Dragon: TheMovie"): a straight film adaptation of the original game directed by Creator/TakashiMiike. Released in March 3, 2007 in Japan and in February 23, 2010 direct-to-DVD in North America. |
| 150 | ** ''Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō'': a TV series based on ''Kurohyō''. Aired between October 5 and December 21, 2010 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. |
| 151 | |
| 152 | * Radio dramas |
| 153 | ** ''Ryū Ga Gotoku Presents Kamuro-cho Radio Station'' (龍が如くPresents神室町RADIOSTATION) |
| 154 | ** ''Shin Kamuro-cho Radio Station'' (新・神室町RADIOSTATION) |
| 155 | |
| 156 | * Web TV |
| 157 | ** ''Kamurocho Caba Jou TV'' (神室町キャバ嬢 TV) |
| 158 | |
| 159 | * Digital Comics |
| 160 | ** ''The Dragon's Path'': an interactive comic launched for ''Yakuza 6''[='=]s worldwide release, summarizing the series' events through several different perspectives. Hidden within certain chapters are a codes for ''Yakuza 6'''s Clan Creator minigame and a secret safe. [[http://yakuza.sega.com/experience/comic Read here.]] |
| 161 | [[/folder]] |
| 162 | |
| 163 | ---- |
| 164 | !!This game series includes examples of: |
| 165 | [[folder: #-D]] |
| 166 | * HundredPercentCompletion: Probably one of the most well-known aspects of the series, each game in the series offers myriad ways for the player to be occupied; all with counts down to that 100% mark. Crafting weapons, dating hostesses, singing karaoke, gambling, etc. |
| 167 | * AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: ''Yakuza 4'' allow the characters to go through Kamurocho's sewers, which Saejima uses to avoid any police presence due to him being a wanted man. They return in ''5'' to reach Purgatory and are used in the finale. |
| 168 | * ActionCommands: Some of Kiryu's Heat Actions have these to potentially increase their damage (and pain to the unfortunate recepient). From the second game onwards, these sometimes crop up when Kiryu has to avoid some damaging move, tying in with PressXToNotDie. |
| 169 | * ActionGirl: |
| 170 | ** Kaoru Sayama in ''2''. She'd already cut her teeth against underworld thugs as a part of Osaka PD, but she can join Kiryu in street brawls for some tag team Heat Actions. |
| 171 | ** Saeko Mukouda and [[AsHerself Eri Kamataki]] in ''Yakuza: Like a Dragon'' stand out being the first playable female combatants in the franchise. |
| 172 | * ActuallyFourMooks: Used extensively. Anytime you walk into some random punk on the streets, you may safely assume that he's got anywhere between 1 and 3 buddies hiding somewhere BehindTheBlack, ready to jump in to help him the moment the fighting starts. |
| 173 | ** Also used with an amusing twist by a RecurringBoss in the third game, [[spoiler: the AbhorrentAdmirer DragQueen, Michiru]]. His uncanny ability to pop up behind you when you least expect it culminates in a lengthy chase where, every time you think you've shaken him, he appears AGAIN, right in front of you, WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck style. In the end, it's revealed that [[spoiler: he's actually a team of cross-dressing [[AlwaysIdenticalTwins identical triplets]], and the other two were just chasing you to make sure you 'broke up' with the real Michiru so she could get back together with her Drag-King ex-'boy'friend.]] |
| 174 | * AllChinesePeopleKnowKungFu: |
| 175 | ** While the native Japanese folk use a wide variety of fighting styles, the vast majority of foreign Chinese enemies tend to be skilled in some form of Kung-Fu. This perhaps is best seen whenever Kiryu clashes with the [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Snake Flower Triad]] which happens in multiple games and is exemplified by their powerful leader, Lau Ka Long. {{Moveset Clone}}s of him throughout the series also tend to have Chinese names. |
| 176 | ** As mentioned in ShoutOut, one Revelation a player can encounter in ''4'' is a kung-fu battle between a cheating man and his scorned wife straight out of ''Film/KungFuHustle'', with a bicycle kick, thrown butcher's knives, and using random stools as makeshift weapons and shields. |
| 177 | * AlternateCharacterReading: The ''Kiwami'' (極) subtitle of the remakes is the first kanji of ''gokudō'' (極道). It typically means "(the) ultimate path", but it's also another word for "gangster", which is how yakuza refer to one another in Japanese. |
| 178 | * AlternateWorldMap: While Kamurocho in Tokyo is the mainstay map of the series, some games have other districts to visit: |
| 179 | ** Sotenbori, Osaka in ''0'', ''2'', ''5'', and ''Like a Dragon''. |
| 180 | ** Downtown Ryukyu in ''3''. |
| 181 | ** ''Yakuza 5'' also has Nagasugai in Fukuoka, Tsukimino in Sapporo, and Kineicho in Nagoya. |
| 182 | ** Onomichi, Hiroshima in ''6''. |
| 183 | ** Starting from ''Yakuza: Like a Dragon'' onwards, Isezaki Ijincho in Yokohama will replace Kamurocho as the main map of the series. |
| 184 | ** ''Infinite Wealth'' [[SequelGoesForeign takes the series outside of Japan]] with one of the new areas being Honolulu, Hawaii. |
| 185 | * AmbiguouslyGay: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b046YkUK4XA The male massager who provides the protagonists a Super V.I.P massage.]] |
| 186 | * AmbitionIsEvil: Ambition is a common motivation for villains, where they are driven to commit all sorts of nefarious deeds in order to secure their rise to power. |
| 187 | * AmazingFreakingGrace: Played over the end credits for the first game. |
| 188 | * AnyoneCanDie: Played straight in the first game, with very few of the important cast members surviving to the end. From ''2'' onwards, with the game being established as a series, the important characters now enjoy a hefty coat of PlotArmor, but new characters are still very much at risk of being in the wrong end of a gun. Funnily enough, new characters that make it to the end of their introductory game are safe, with two notable exceptions: [[spoiler: Yukio Terada in ''2'' and Osamu Kashiwagi in ''3'' (with ''Like a Dragon'' later implying he survived anyway)]]. |
| 189 | * ArbitraryGunPower: Guns vary in power depending on the games from being weak and annoying to being very dangerous (and still annoying). They are also [[ContractualBossImmunity far less effective on bosses]] than they are on mooks. |
| 190 | * TheArtifact: The Mach Bowl bowling alley is Kamurocho appeared in ''2'', ''3'', ''0'', and ''Kiwami''. In ''6'', the site was turned into the RIZAP Gym, in ''Kiwami 2'' and ''Like A Dragon'' it's an inaccessible restaurant, and in ''Judgment'' it became the Paradise VR salon. Despite these new incarnations of the venue however, the building has always prominently displayed a neon sign of bowling pins on its side. |
| 191 | * ArtifactTitle: The series was officially titled ''Yakuza'' outside of Japan until September 2022's RGG Summit event. While the yakuza are frequently involved in the games' stories, Kiryu himself is only a yakuza in the first game's prologue, and he spends ''0'' on the run from a yakuza clan. |
| 192 | * ArtificialStupidity: You can count the number of allies that actually fight alongside you mid-battle and are ''good at it'' on one hand. Most will straight up charge enemies head on and [[AttackAttackAttack attack non-stop]], doing pitiful damage before a tougher foe punts them across the room, and in cases where you have to protect your allies or minigames that rely entirely on their fighting capability, you might just rue their SuicidalOverconfidence. The enemies aren't exempt from this, either; some games give them ArtificialBrilliance and are right bastards to fight, but most of the time the average {{Mook}} is going to stand there to be ragdolled and [[GrievousHarmWithABody weaponized]] at your discretion. |
| 193 | * AscendedExtra: |
| 194 | ** Koji Shindo was just a lieutenant of the Nishiki Family notable for leading the back alley ambush on Kiryu at Serena in the first game. In the second, he became the Patriarch of the Nishiki Family. |
| 195 | ** Hiroshi Hayashi was a minor boss fight in the first game and one of Ryuji Goda's right-hand men in ''2''. In ''Dead Souls'', he's a [[spoiler: ''freaking'' zombie. And not just any zombie. He's the insanely durable zombie (mutant may be a more suitable term for him) who kicks off the zombie outbreak. Granted, he didn't turn into one by will, and wanted to stop Nikaido and DD from whatever their plans were before he was mutated.]] |
| 196 | * AssShove: |
| 197 | ** If Akiyama becomes friends with the owner of the M Store, he will come out and throw Akiyama a magazine if he gets into a fight right outside, which will then be shoved up your assailant's rear end with enough force to make him flip through the air. |
| 198 | ** In ''Kiwami 2'', the heat action with pole weapons involved Kiryu sticking the pole up the victim's rectum before hitting the pole to send them flying. |
| 199 | * AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Typically any character who holds a position of authority is likely going to put up more of a fight than the average goon. |
| 200 | * AutobotsRockOut: Quite so many songs to hear while fighting enemies, especially bosses, such as: |
| 201 | ** [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Eda6k3MVGuY&list=PLW0-N_78usn3KVJXKLfMqdryZ8nER4Rws&index=12&t=0s "The End of the Drama"]], where you fight a boss in the first game. |
| 202 | ** [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nEsNuPCG9JY&list=PLW0-N_78usn3KVJXKLfMqdryZ8nER4Rws&index=8&t=0s "Son Of A Gun"]] when you fight Yuya and bosses who are not yakuza in the first game. |
| 203 | ** [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TJSAwbzUNdc&list=PLF3187C350AEDA048&index=19&t=0s "Pure Malice"]], in the third game where you fight Tamashiro family members. |
| 204 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACUhXbJyz3o "Reign"]], used in ''Yakuza 0'' during Majima's RoaringRampageOfRevenge in the finale. |
| 205 | * AwesomeButImpractical: Several Heat Actions and most weapons fall into this. Some Heat Actions require very specific setups that are not worth the trouble more than ticking off a box in completion. Many weapons have low durability that doesn't make them viable when GoodOldFisticuffs can work just as well, if not better. |
| 206 | ** Essence of Pole Dancing in ''Yakuza 3''. Learned by [[ItMakesSenseInContext watching a drunk perform a pole dance on a lamppost]], it does good damage, is an incredibly flashy looking hurricanrana, and... well, was learned by watching a drunk perform a pole dance on a lamppost. However, it uses up your HEAT gauge and far more importantly, instantly removes your drunken status. Also, it's very easy to accidentally do when you're trying to perform another HEAT action. |
| 207 | ** There's also the other drunk Essence, Essence of Drunken Thrust. Same thing as the one above, but the one upside it has is that it's easier to pull off without doing another HEAT action. Other Essences require certain environment objects, so during some storyline missions, you won't be able to pull these off. |
| 208 | ** A good chunk of the weapons fall into this, especially the Patriarch weapons. High power, but will break in about five swings. The most use they'll get will be for some Heat Actions. |
| 209 | ** Certain attacks and summons in ''Like A Dragon'' can devastate enemies with ease, but their price becomes quite steep, moving them into this territory. Most notable of these is Essence of Orbital Laser, which has Ichiban go nutty with a KillSat. The problem is that the earliest level he gets it at won't give him enough MP to use it, and it already costs ''200 MP''. |
| 210 | * AwesomenessByAnalysis: The ''Revelation'' mechanic. By witnessing some bizarre and awesome accidents and fights, the heroes can get inspiration for new combat maneuvers. This further extends into ''Yakuza 0'', where Kiryu and Majima can watch about twenty seconds of someone performing a new style, say "That's rad!", and then be able to perform the style themselves. |
| 211 | * AxCrazy: Goro Majima. ''Yakuza 0'' reveals this is a facade to protect himself. |
| 212 | ** Kanda in the third game. [[BigBadWannabe But he's more bark than bite]]. |
| 213 | ** Homare Nishitani in ''0'' can give Majima a run for his money in the bat-shit insane department and (it being a prequel) appears to be who Majima used as a model for his own "Mad Dog" persona. |
| 214 | * BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Lau Ka Long in the third game. Considering he doesn't survive this encounter, this is also a case of BackForTheDead.]] |
| 215 | ** Ryuji in ''Of The End/Dead Souls''. [[WeCanRebuildHim He is now a cyborg]] with an ArmCannon. |
| 216 | ** [[spoiler:Kashiwagi]] in ''Like A Dragon''. Apparently, [[spoiler:being riddled with machine gun fire just sends you in a long coma]]. Similarly, [[spoiler: Lau Ka Long]] too in the same game. |
| 217 | ** [[spoiler: Richardson]] in ''Infinite Wealth''. Apparently, [[spoiler: it takes more than getting suplexed off a hospital by someone on par with ''Kiryu'' to put him down]]. |
| 218 | * AuthorAppeal: That karaoke has appeared in the series since ''3'' and onward is no accident - [[https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/now-we-know-why-yakuza-games-are-obsessed-with-karaoke the series' chief director, Ryosuke Horii, claimed to have a spreadsheet containing 7,964 songs that he sings at karaoke]]...and that was just in 2022. He updates it yearly. Of course, positive fan response to {{Bathos}} they helped inflict also cemented their place in the series. |
| 219 | * BadassCrew: |
| 220 | ** Everyone who supported and helped Kiryu has at least done something awesome to earn this. Examples being his TrueCompanions in ''4'' (Akiyama, Saejima and Tanimura) and the other playable characters in ''Dead Souls'' (Akiyama again, Goda, Majima). |
| 221 | ** The Amon clan in ''4'' also qualifies. As the deadliest assassins in all Asia packing skills and abilities more at home in more high-end fantasy works paired with a KillSat, it's small wonder how they're baffled when an ex-yakuza, a loan shark, an ex-con, a DirtyCop, and a disgraced baseball player are able to beat them with just their fists. |
| 222 | ** Ichiban and his friends end up becoming this, where despite being [[ConservationOfNinjutsu overall far weaker than previous protagonists]] still manage to kick a lot of ass. |
| 223 | * BadassNormal: Very few things, even the Amon family despite the crazy nature of their {{Superboss}} fights, actually try to stretch into any real idea of supernatural in the series, which means that every combatant that can stand their own is typically really, ''really'' good at their job and/or have some serious CharlesAtlasSuperpower. And in Kamurocho particularly, that's a high count. Tanimura himself pulls a LampshadeHanging before [[spoiler:his FinalBoss]] in ''4'', which isn't even an exaggeration considering what the heroes have been through up to that point. |
| 224 | -->'''Tanimura:''' In this town, there are men who'll [[OneManArmy take down a hundred guys by themselves]] if they have to. |
| 225 | * BadGuyBar: Debolah in the original is populated solely by people who exist to be beaten up by you. |
| 226 | * BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: Since none of the protagonists kill people, villains are usually killed by other villains, either because they've [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived their usefulness]] or [[RedemptionEqualsDeath as a final act of redemption]]. |
| 227 | * BagOfSpilling: A slightly milder example in that characters typically retain some moves in-between games (barring complete overhauls of the combat system) but still start from scratch statistically, usually handwaved as them being out of action in-between games. |
| 228 | * BathhouseBlitz: Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! has Ryoma fighting Saigo in a bathhouse, with both of them completely nude and shielded only by CensorSteam. Also, in ''Yakuza Kiwami'' Kiryu and Majima get into an argument about whether the movie Passionate Manly Bathhouse Battle qualifies as porn. |
| 229 | * {{Bathos}}: The entire series is steeped in it. The main plots are [[MemeticMutation serious crime dramas]] full of murder, passion, betrayal, strong themes of father- and brotherhood and HotBlooded {{Hunk}}y guys beating the crap out of each other in battles that are as much expressions of conviction, loyalty and commitment to ideals as knock-down, drag-out slugfests. Between the story beats the games are pure unadulterated cheese, with protagonists singing karaoke, racing slot cars and go-karts, playing mahjong and arcade games and helping every weirdo in Japan with the stupidest problems imaginable, while still often being treated as serious issues by the [[ComicallySerious eternally earnest Kiryu.]] |
| 230 | * BatterUp: Goro Majima, in one of his more psycho moments, takes a baseball bat to one of his underlings. |
| 231 | --> '''Majima:''' This is the part where you're SUPPOSED TO LAUGH! [WHACK!] '''[[ClusterFBomb LAUGH YOU STUPID MUTHAFUCKA!]]''' |
| 232 | ** In ''Dead Souls'', Majima uses his shotgun as a bat to knock a thrown grenade into the mouth of a boss monster. |
| 233 | ** The bat's HEAT action first involves hitting the target in the knee, wind up...and HOME RUN TO THE FACE! |
| 234 | ** In ''0'', Majima gains a fighting style centered around using a bat. |
| 235 | ** Subverted by Shinada in ''5'', an ex-baseball player who refuses to tarnish his beloved sport by using baseball bats as weapons. If he picks one up, he'll gently set it down. |
| 236 | ** In ''Like A Dragon'', Ichiban's default class is centered around using bats as a weapon. |
| 237 | * BattleAura: The protagonists and stronger opponents have battle auras of various colors. It's also visible by characters InUniverse. |
| 238 | * BattleStrip: Anytime a major boss battle is about to happen, the characters will rip off their clothes in a single swoop. It's considered in-universe [[ThrowingDownTheGauntlet an official challenge to a duel]] that's not just exclusive to those in the Yakuza. Averted in ''Dead Souls'' as the bosses there are experimental mutated freaks of nature. |
| 239 | * BettingMiniGame: The two hidden (and illegal) Casinos as well as the (also hidden and illegal) Cho-Han Dice Parlor in Kamurocho, although oddly enough they don't offer a direct cash payout, rather relying on a prize exchange system. There's also the Volcano Video Slot Parlor which is more legal and also relies on a prize exchange system for the payoffs. [[note]]The exchange system is TruthInTelevision in Japan; pachinko parlours cannot directly pay out in cash by law as gambling for cash is generally illegal, so they pay out in small and often worthless prizes that can be exchanged for cash at booths outside the parlour.[[/note]] |
| 240 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: The other side of Kiryu, once he has been pushed. Don't push him. |
| 241 | ** Akiyama is harder to push (Given his mostly carefree nature) but misuse money or people in any way and he will literally kick your ass to curb. |
| 242 | ** Frankly all the playable characters fall under this as a natural consequence of a handful of [[NiceGuy Nice Guys]] and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jerks With Hearts Of Gold]] in a series where CombatPragmatism is encouraged. They manage to acquit themselves as helpful, selfless, considerate people but in gameplay, they're capable of some absolute brutality and will resort to every trick in the book to even the odds against the mobs of goons the games keep throwing at them. |
| 243 | * BigBad: [[spoiler:Sohei Dojima in the prequel, Akira Nishikiyama and Kyohei Jingu in the first one, Ryuji Goda and Daejin Kim (Yukio Terada) in the second, Yoshitaka Mine in the third, Isao Katsuragi in the forth, Tetsu Nikaido in ''Dead Souls'', Tsubasa Kurosawa in the fifth, Tsuneo Iwami in the sixth and Masato Arakawa in ''Like a Dragon''.]] |
| 244 | ** ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Ryo Takashima in the second game; Andre Richardson in the third; Seishiro Munakata in the fourth, DD in ''Dead Souls'', and Katsumi Sugai in the sixth.]] |
| 245 | * BigBadWannabe: The third game introduces Tsuyoshi Kanda, third patriarch of the Nishikiyama family. He is shown to be short-tempered, violent to his men and also seemingly a rapist, and is named as the most likely suspect for [[spoiler: Kashiwagi's murder]]. Then you actually fight him and it's revealed [[spoiler: he's only good at hitting you with furniture, he's too stupid to plan something like an assassination attempt, and the implied rapes are actually ''heavy-handed back massages'', which some of his victims end up liking!]] |
| 246 | ** The same game has Hamazaki, who comes closer, [[spoiler: but he vanishes from the plot after Lau's death until the very end, where he stabs Kiryu in retaliation for losing everything.]] |
| 247 | * TheBigGuy: While Saejima is the definitive one, in practice nearly any of the playable protagonists could qualify due to the sheer amount of brutal physical violence they'll inevitably engage in [[BeatEmUp per the genre]] as well as consistently standing considerably taller than the vast majority of the Japanese population, including the many [[{{Mooks}}generic goons]] they'll encounter. |
| 248 | * BitterSweetEnding: The games often end with the villains being defeated but also losing many close ones on the way. |
| 249 | ** The first game may have resulted in Kiryu saving the Tojo from absolute ruin, but led [[spoiler: to the death of nearly all his old friends, his mentor/father figure, former best friend, and love interest to the point he was actually willing to go back to jail if Date hadn't snapped him out of it by pointing out he still had Haruka to watch over.]] |
| 250 | ** [[spoiler: The third game. While Kiryu is able to stop the smugglers and save the clan, several good people have died in the process.]] |
| 251 | ** [[spoiler:Kiryu's saga ends with him faking his death and going into hiding, but Haruka, her child and the orphans are now safe from his past and in capable hands.]] |
| 252 | ** [[spoiler:''Like a Dragon'' ends with the fall of Bleach Japan and (for better or for worse) the end of both the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance. However, Ichiban loses both Masumi and Masato Arakawa, the two men he considers family]]. |
| 253 | * BondVillainStupidity: [[OncePerEpisode Almost every game]] will have Kiryu (or whoever is the protagonist at that point) held at gunpoint by a villain at some point in the story. Since our protagonists are equipped with several layers of PlotArmor, one of the following ''will'' happen: the villain will fire and either miss or hit a non-vital area ([[MadeOfIron expect the protagonist to recover from this in a cutscene or two]]), the villain will not shoot and instead either [[NobleDemon decide to fight the protagonist in a proper fistfight]] or just [[NotWorthKilling leave the scene for no apparent reason]]; the villain will be overpowered and disarmed by somebody, usually because he spent too long monologuing; the villain will properly fire towards a vital area but will be blocked by another character's HeroicSacrifice; the villain will [[DramaticAmmoDepletion run out of ammo]]; the villain will [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled shoot himself instead]]; the villain will only use the gun in the ensuing boss fight, [[CutscenePowerToTheMax at which point it'll be much less lethal than if it was used in a cutscene]]. One way or another, the protagonist ''will'' have a way to survive the situation no matter how implausible it may seem. |
| 254 | * BoozeBasedBuff: Every game in the series has some form of this, varying from a damage boost to gaining access to exclusive, easier-to-use Heat Actions that can only be done while drunk. Using the latter causes the PlayerCharacter to sober up a little, preventing players from spamming these moves unless they have spare alcohol in the inventory. |
| 255 | * BossRush: ''4's'' climax is played this way, with each playable character pairing up with a different opponent. [[spoiler:In order, we have Akiyama vs. Arai, Saejima vs. Kido, Kiryu vs. Daigo and Tanimura vs. Munakata (and his personal corrupt Special Assault Team squad.)]] |
| 256 | ** Starting with the 3rd game, additional "Ultimate Skill" missions are unlocked after beating the game. The final challenges involve various boss rushes, with the final one usually being a boss rush against almost every single boss in the game. |
| 257 | * BossRemix: The fight against Goro Majima in the first game is a remix of the game's main theme, titled "Receive You - The Prototype". Each game has a new remix of the song when he's fought against in them. |
| 258 | * BossSubtitles: Whenever a new character is introduced, the screen turns monochrome, the character's name and occupation show up in big red letters, and two hits of an ominous-sounding drum are heard. This applies to ''every'' new character, not just the bosses. Kiryu, the protagonist of the vast majority of the franchise, gets a unique, much less ominous tune in his introduction. |
| 259 | * BreakableWeapons: The series does include an exact counter to how many hits the weapon can take before it breaks. Equipable weapons can be repaired... for a hefty price. |
| 260 | * BriefcaseFullOfMoney: One holding 100 million Yen plays a role in ''Yakuza 4.'' |
| 261 | ** In ''0'', Kiryu purchases businesses by dramatically opening a briefcase full of money. |
| 262 | * BruiserWithASoftCenter: The protagonists are all tough guys who are always ready to throw down who nonetheless happen to be men of unshakable moral fiber who will always defend the less fortunate from bullies, will do anything to make a child's day and love singing soulful karaoke. |
| 263 | * BuildingOfAdventure: The Millennium Tower is typically used as the centerpiece of climaxes. |
| 264 | * BulletTime: In certain mini-games that don't rely on physical combat, the heat gauge can be used to slow down time instead. This can range from baseball, air hockey, and actual shooting during car chases. |
| 265 | * BullyHunter: The protagonists will never hesitate to punish thugs bullying those weaker than them and are always quick to defend the innocent. |
| 266 | * BullyingADragon: While most random encounters are cases of MuggingTheMonster, many thugs and gangs seek out fights against you knowing full well who you are and thinking they can take you anyway, often believing that beating him would skyrocket their reputation. |
| 267 | * CallBack: Despite being a prequel, ''Yakuza 0'' does reference several events and characters that would eventually occur and appear respectively. The Fortune Teller in particular [[spoiler: spoils the plot for ''1'', ''3'', and ''5'',]] and you also meet younger versions of Shinji Tanaka, Daigo Dojima, and Ryuji Goda. Kiryu back then didn't even think [[spoiler: he would actually willingly fight 100 Tojo Clan punks rather than a big boss in part 4 of his story in ''5''. The entire plot of ''0'' even revolves around the piece of land that would eventually become the Millennium Tower, where the majority of significant events in the series happen.]] Additionally, every subsequent game released after calls back to ''0'' itself: |
| 268 | ** ''Kiwami'' adds extra dialogue that directly references Kiryu and Majima's previous substories through their various encounters, most notably real estate and cabaret club respectively. Some substories (such as Pocket Circuit Fighter and Munan Chohept Onast) continue from ''0'', and some also call back to past characters such as [[spoiler: Tachibana and Oda]] if you answer questions correctly. |
| 269 | ** ''6'' yet again continues the substories concerning Pocket Circuit Fighter and the former leader of Munan Chohept Onast, Munan Suzuki (although they [[CuttingOffTheBranches do not directly continue]] from ''Kiwami'', as Fighter only remembers seeing him in 1988 and not 2005). |
| 270 | ** ''Kiwami 2'' references Kiryu's previous real estate job again in a mock interview substory, and Kiryu gets his own opportunity to run a cabaret club after Majima did so, with Yuki [[spoiler: and later, the Obatarian]] to boot. [[spoiler: Majima will even save the day once the substory progresses further, and speaking of Majima, Makoto also returns in the Majima Saga for a touching reunion.]] |
| 271 | ** ''Like a Dragon'' continues to see Pocket Circuit Fighter's career advancements (as he now runs Dragon Kart), makes a ContinuityNod to AHA Water, also features a chicken named Omelette in the business minigame (after the infamous Nugget Kiryu can hire as a ''manager''), [[spoiler: and the fight against Kiryu brings back his [[StanceSystem Rush and Beast styles.]]]] |
| 272 | * TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Almost literally. ''Yakuza 3'''s main story starts with Kiryu being called, that a friend has been shot. The secondary story, is that the call keeps trying to evict him. Happens again during the fourth game, although to be fair, Kiryu has less of a personal stake in the matter (compare the safety of his kids versus his loyalty to the Tojo, which is still pretty freaking big). |
| 273 | ** Kiryu suffers from this hard in ''5''. It seems that despite moving to Fukuoka and going by the alias "Taichi Suzuki", either everyone who wants to bring him out of hiding knows where he lives and how to get his attention, or stumbles upon him by accident. |
| 274 | * CallToAgriculture: Kiryu's call is to manage a tiny beachfront orphanage with nine kids in it, but it's the same idea: this is his peaceful retirement from a life of crime. Or so he hoped, until ''Yakuza 3'' happened. And then ''5''. And then ''6''. At least in ''4'', he wasn't exactly forced to get involved and decided to take a look at the latest conflict in Kamurocho of his own volition. |
| 275 | * CarChaseShootOut: The franchise has such sequences in its [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 first game and its remake]], as well as ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' (as a throwback to the original), where Kiryu has to fend off waves of cars, motorcycles and helicopters full of gun-totting thugs while on a highway. Despite Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's attempts to improve the sequences, they're generally reviled by fans for their FakeDifficulty, which leaves them a rare oddity in the series. Even ''VideoGame/Yakuza2'''s equivalent highway fight turned out to be an over-the-top brawl atop several flatbed trucks, to players' audible sighs of relief. |
| 276 | * CarFu: In the first game, everyone's favorite PsychoForHire Goro Majima [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vJH8-_S1Ns literally crashes the party at the Shangri-La soapland with a truck]]. |
| 277 | -->'''Majima:''' LET'S FUCK THIS SHIT UUUUUUP!! |
| 278 | ** When Futoshi Shimano grabs Kiryu on his second encounter at Shibaura Wharf, a mook starts up his car ready to pummel the bound Kiryu and a successful hit deals massive damage if the player doesn't manage to break free of Shimano's grasp. |
| 279 | ** In ''Yakuza 3'' [[spoiler: Majima outdoes himself by being TheCavalry to a surrounded Kiryu, with a semi-truck.]] |
| 280 | *** [[spoiler:[[RealMenWearPink A PINK semi-truck.]]]] |
| 281 | ** An ActionCommand must be used at one point in ''Yakuza 4'' to allow Tanimura to safely dodge a truck that takes a swing at taking him out. |
| 282 | ** Starts cropping up more often in ''Yakuza 5'' in comparison to previous games, during story sequences where the player is running through the city to get somewhere. Saejima goes to the point of stopping one cold by rooting himself in place. |
| 283 | ** Appears again in ''Yakuza 0'' [[spoiler:when Tachibana rescues Kiryu from angry Tojo Clan members by driving through them. Also DrivesLikeCrazy, due to him having to steer with a prosthetic hand.]] |
| 284 | ** Playable characters can also indulge in the superhero variety, sort of. Its' less CarFu and more Bicycle/Moped/Motorcycle Fu. |
| 285 | * CartoonPhysics: While most techniques and Heat Action aren't too far from what you might see in an action movie or a wrestling video game, a decent fraction of them would be ''impossible'' in real life mostly due to liberal application of CharlesAtlasSuperpower. This is perhaps most prominent with [[TheBigGuy Taiga Saejima]] whose Heat Actions include grabbing a "bouncing" thug by the leg to launch them upwards, spinning like a pinwheel, before clotheslining them at the neck while they're ''upside down''. |
| 286 | * CelebrityCameo: Several throughout the series. |
| 287 | ** {{Zigzagged|Trope}} in ''0''. Chinese hitman Lao Gui is portrayed by celebrity Hong Kong actor [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Lee_(actor) Sam Lee]] only in the Chinese version of the game, [[https://youtu.be/-1-raxj-XbM?t=112 replacing Lao Gui's normally imposing face and voice]] in the Japanese, American and European versions. |
| 288 | ** ''Yakuza 5'' features celebrity chef Tatsuya Kawagoe, palm reading comedian Shuhei Shimada, gamer gravure idol Saki Suzuki, and reality TV star Toru Kirihata as themselves, who aid the various heroes. |
| 289 | ** ''Kiwami'' features retired Judo Champion Shinichi Shinohara, who visits Kamurocho to find some excitement in his life, and after Kiryu introduces him to the Underground Coliseum, challenges our hero to a fight. |
| 290 | ** In ''6'', there exist a gang of Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling stars named Justis which can be fought as bosses; these include: Wrestling/KazuchikaOkada, Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi, Wrestling/TetsuyaNaito, Wrestling/HiroyoshiTenzan, Wrestling/SatoshiKojima and Toru Yano. When defeated, [[DefeatMeansFriendship they join Kiryu's gang and can be used for group battles.]] |
| 291 | ** ''6'' also features world darts champion Paul Lim AsHimself and DDT-Pro Wrestling superstar Saki Akai as a pro wrestler/hostess. |
| 292 | * CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Despite ostensibly taking place in a realistic modern day setting, characters (especially protagonists) frequently demonstrate nigh-superhuman feats of strength and durability. Kiryu in particular can casually shatter a marble statue in a single punch as well as take a glass bottle to the back of the head without flinching while Majima can create shadow clones simply by backflipping. |
| 293 | * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: To [[Videogame/MetalGearSolid Ocelot]] levels, for some characters. |
| 294 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: There are a few characters who disappear or are PutOnABus and seemingly never come back: |
| 295 | ** Kaoru Sayama, the Osaka police officer [[spoiler:and Kiryu's LoveInterest]] from ''2'' goes to America at the beginning of ''3'', and never reappears, aside from Kiryu alluding to her in ''4'' to a hostess and one character mentioning her influence on the Osaka police in ''5''. Exacerbated in ''6'''s beginning sequence where [[spoiler: he mentions Yumi as [[OneTrueLove the only woman he ever loved]]]]. |
| 296 | ** Masayoshi Tanimura, the CorruptCop deuteragonist from ''4'' completely disappears after said game, barring one mention [[spoiler:when Akiyama tries to call him for the Amon Clan rematch in ''5''. He does not answer, leading everyone involved to believe he [[RunOrDie ran for his life]].]] However, both Kiryu and Yagami eventually inherit his parry in ''6'' and ''Lost Judgment'' respectively. |
| 297 | ** Tatsuo Shinada, ex-baseball player and Tanimura's replacement, completely disappears after ''5'', even though all the other playable characters from ''5'' show up to the hospital where Kiryu is immediately after the ending of said game in a flashback in ''6''. |
| 298 | * TheCityNarrows: Purgatory. |
| 299 | ** The series as a whole focuses on the shadier sides of normal Japanese cities with Kamurocho being the Entertainment and Red Light District of Tokyo and all the other various overworld areas similarly being Entertainment Districts. It helps justify the sheer frequency in which street fights break out as well as how often the protagonists defend innocent pedestrians from street thugs. |
| 300 | * CityNoir: The [=PS2=]-era games were heavily inspired by this style, set in near-perpetual night time and overcast weather with a heavy emphasis on the grunginess of their city settings. While it never completely went away, later games tend to go for a wider range of settings and stylistic presentations, with ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'' and ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'' standing out as the clearest post-classic examples of noir. |
| 301 | * ClarkKentOutfit: Characters of seemingly average to below-average builds often wear suits that hide incredibly muscular physiques that they only reveal when they [[BattleStrip rip it all off]]. |
| 302 | * ClusterFBomb: At least in the first game's English dub, which was the only game that had one for a long time. This was mostly due to the dubbers [[SpiceUpTheSubtitles taking a few creative liberties]]. |
| 303 | ** Downplayed in future games, as the original Japanese dialogue is much tamer compared to the first game, which spews F-bombs any chance it gets. Even when the games started to receive English dubs again, their use of four-lettered words was still more reserved than the first game's dub. |
| 304 | * CollectionSidequest: The series usually has a collectible item present that earns extra rewards for getting them. Most of the time, it's coin locker keys. |
| 305 | * ColourCodedCharacters: |
| 306 | ** Kazuma Kiryu = White/Grey |
| 307 | ** Shun Akiyama = Red |
| 308 | ** Taiga Saejima = Turquoise/Green |
| 309 | ** Masayoshi Tanimura = Blue |
| 310 | ** Tatsuo Shinada = Brown |
| 311 | ** Haruka Sawamura = Pink |
| 312 | ** Goro Majima = Purple/Black |
| 313 | * CombatPragmatist: The way all the protagonists [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential are able to fight]] (minus [[NonActionProtagonist Haruka]]) shows them to be absolutely brutal fighters that will take any advantage they can get. Anything that isn't nailed down can used as a weapon such as bicycles or random furniture. Whatever ''is'' can instead be used to slam thugs faces against like cars or lamp posts. Think they'll lighten up on the onslaught because they just knocked you flat on your ass? [[CurbStompBattle Think again.]] To be fair, they all learned to fight on the streets where everything's fair game so it's unsurprising how unscrupulous they tend to be when they're constantly fighting against larger numbers. |
| 314 | ** Notably averted in ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'': It's stated early on that Ichiban is a good enough fighter that he doesn't ''have'' to take half the hits he does, but he lets his enemies get some in since he's insistent that's how a hero acts. |
| 315 | * ComicBookTime: Averted; The games are all set in the year in which they were originally released, meaning that characters age in real time. As such, Kiryu has gone from being 36 at the beginning of the series to being in his 50s (though the only sign of his age is him going silver). |
| 316 | * CompanyCameo: The series allows you to go to Creator/{{Sega}}-owned arcades and play classic titles like ''VideoGame/OutRun'', ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', and even ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters''. |
| 317 | * CompilationRerelease: In Japan, the first two games were given an HD upgrade as ''Ryū ga Gotoku 1&2 HD Edition'' for the [=PS3=] and Platform/WiiU, which also upgraded the first game's combat with features found in the second. |
| 318 | * TheConspiracy: Exist in most games be it from one of the mafia clans, [[GovernmentConspiracy government]] or [[VillainTeamUp both]] |
| 319 | * ConservationOfNinjutsu: Elite bosses are pretty much the only real threat to Kiryu and company. Mooks exist to be splattered across the curb in spectacular fashion. |
| 320 | * ContainerMaze: Tanimura fights through an army of mooks in the docks of Tokyo in ''4''. Shinada later does the same in ''5'' but on the docks of Nagoya instead. |
| 321 | * ContractualBossImmunity: Bosses tend to break out of grabs far more easily than the common goons, which [[CripplingOverspecialization tends to work against grappling-focused characters like Tanimura and Shinada]]. |
| 322 | * TheCoatsAreOff: Major battles/boss fights are often precluded by characters dramatically pulling their shirts off with a single yank just to show how serious they are. |
| 323 | * CoolOldGuy: Detective Makoto Date, who even fights alongside Kiryu at times and is pretty reasonable to him in the first game. |
| 324 | ** It's not just him, Kawara doubles it for being a CowboyCop and there's Kage the Florist who "plays fair," Sotaro Komaki, Fuma/Kazama, [[spoiler: his cop brother-turned-CIA Agent Joji]] and finally Nakahara that [[spoiler:wrestled with a ''bull'']]. By the later games Kiryu, Majima and Saejima qualify as this since they're in their fifties and still as hardcore as ever. |
| 325 | * CounterAttack: Kiryu can learn several from Sotaro Komaki in the games. The easy-to-pull-off Knock Back, the strong Tiger Drop, and the stunning Komaki Parry. |
| 326 | * CowardlyBoss: Koji Shindo from the second game. |
| 327 | ** Also from the second game, Sengoku. He doesn't even fight, he has his pet tigers take on Kiryu. |
| 328 | ** The third Game has [[spoiler:Hamazaki]] who lets Lau and his henchman fight his own war. [[TheUnfought You don't even fight him!]] |
| 329 | ** [[spoiler: Munakata]] in the fourth game. While Kiryu, Akiyama, and Saejima have one-on-one boss fights with their enemies, Tanimura has to deal with [[spoiler: half a dozen elite police forces while Munakata runs around and shoots him with his pistol.]] |
| 330 | * CrossCounter: The final battle of the second game ends with an epic one (mixed with PressXToNotDie). The fifth game is scattered with them. |
| 331 | * {{Crossover}}: The playable characters of ''Dead Souls'' appeared as DLC characters for the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/BinaryDomain'', which was also developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios. Kiryu and Majima later appeared as partners for the second ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' game. |
| 332 | * CurbStompBattle: |
| 333 | ** You might as well not even bother trying to fight the Dragon of Dojima if you're a nameless thug, because you *will* be sent to the infirmary... if you're lucky. |
| 334 | ** Sotaro Komaki and Jo Amon WILL do this to you unless you make a plan or abuse moves like the Tiger Drop. |
| 335 | * CutsceneIncompetence: Characters get less competent in cutscenes (with smaller crowds of enemies that players would normally tear through being presented as a threat), and much less bulletproof. |
| 336 | * CuttingOffTheBranches: |
| 337 | ** As ''Kiwami'', ''6'', and ''Like A Dragon'' each follow up on it, at the very least, the Pocket Circuit arc of ''0'' is canon, as far as sidequest chains go (although in ''6'', Fighter doesn't seem to remember seeing him previously in ''Kiwami''). Likewise, the photo Kiryu has in the ''Gaiden'' cinematic for "Bakamitai" has him and Fighter together from back in 1988. |
| 338 | ** As shown by ''Kiwami 2'', Majima canonically completed the Cabaret Club Czar storyline in ''0'', and Majima being literally everywhere was real, since Kiryu also mentions the time Majima brought up his "Lord of the Night" nickname (which could've only happened with the encounters in Bantam and Club Shine). |
| 339 | ** As shown by each subsequent one, Kiryu does beat every Amon boss fight. |
| 340 | *** If the completion requirements to even make them appear are accounted for, then ''nearly every substory'' has actually happened. Yes, including Shinada's interview. And the man-babies Kiryu begrudgingly fought. And all of the times he called up the wrong girls. |
| 341 | * DanceBattler: One of Majima's fighting styles in ''0'' is a mix of break-dancing and Michael Jackson impressions. Said fighting style is also available as a job in ''Like a Dragon'', meaning every male party member can bust out breakdancing moves. |
| 342 | * DatingCatwoman: You'll see it just by hearing Majima's way of speaking to Kiryu. As part of ''Kiwami'''s "Majima Everywhere" system, not only does Goro now stalk Kiryu throughout the entire game, often accompanied by suggestive dialogue, but he goes so far as to perform a pole dance and cross dress as a hostess for him. Kiryu can even play along and is given the choice to treat him like any other hostess. |
| 343 | * DatingSim: Every game has had an optional series of [[SideQuest side quests]] where Kiryu could visit the local cabaret clubs and woo a collection of lovely ladies for HundredPercentCompletion and some neat bonuses which includes [[ExperiencePoints XP]], sometimes very valuable items, and photo portraits of the women. Note that this is ''not'' how cabaret clubs work in real life. |
| 344 | ** In the original version of the second game, Kiryu can also optionally help out the hapless employees of a host club getting screwed over by their boss... by signing on as the newest employee and working to become the Number One Host as a gambit to root out the boss from hiding. |
| 345 | ** In the western release of the third game, the whole "hostess club" aspect was cut, which just allowed Kiryu to simply take the girls out for a couple of dates, then reap the benefits (no relationship values, expensive hostessing minigame, multiple choice dialogue, etc). |
| 346 | ** The hostess clubs return in full in the western release of the fourth game (at least for Akiyama, Tanimura, and Kiryu). |
| 347 | ** In Dead Souls, wooing a lady allows you to use her as an escort into the Quarantine Zone. One of the [=DLCs=] allows you to change their outfits as well as what gun they use. |
| 348 | ** In ''0'', not only can Kiryu meet women using "terekura" (telephone dating clubs), but Majima takes on the role as a hostess club manager, in a minigame in which you micromanage the club, including the dress style of the women working there and coaching them in conversation. |
| 349 | ** In ''6'', Kiryu can chat with cam girls and go on dates as well as go on dates with hostesses. |
| 350 | * DeathGlare: Kiryu does these on a regular basis when some punk [[KickTheDog kicks the dog once too often]], but the absolute worst is when [[spoiler:Mine has the Tamashiro family destroy Morning Glory Orphanage]]. Kiryu [[FistOfRage clenches his fist trembling in anger]] and does [[UnstoppableRage a stare so intense and full of rage]] that [[spoiler:Mine]] would have been killed on the spot from the intensity of it. [[ThisIsUnforgivable Cue incoming karmic vengeance]]. |
| 351 | * DefeatMeansFriendship: This is pretty much how Kiryu snaps Daigo Dojima out of his hedonistic spree and gets him focused on taking charge of the Tojo Clan. Also applies to Rikiya, Saejima and Majima (although he genuinely enjoys fighting Kazzy, he's a RecurringBoss after all). |
| 352 | * DesperationAttack: There are a few abilities and heat actions in the series which can only be used while the user's health is critical. The most frequently recurring example is Kiryu's Essence of Wreckage. Normally, using a heat action on a prone opponent will make Kiryu hit the victim with either a head stomp or a kick to the gut. At critical health, he will instead give the victim a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. |
| 353 | * DidIMentionItsChristmas: The first two games take place around Christmas in December of 2005 and 2006 respectively. "[[AmazingFreakingGrace Amazing Grace]]" is played in the credits of the first game, while "Silent Night" is played during the credits of the second. The third and fourth games avoid this due to the time of year they take place in, but it returns in the fifth game which takes place in December of 2012. One of Saejima's sidestories has him beating down some thugs while wearing a Santa suit, with Christmas trees and sleigh decorations nearby to use as weapons. Averted in ''Yakuza 0'' and ''Yakuza 6'' despite taking place in December 1988 and 2016, respectively. |
| 354 | * DigitalTabletopGameAdaptation: Some of the {{minigames}} are adaptations of board and card games, such as TabletopGame/{{shogi}} and TabletopGame/{{poker}}. |
| 355 | * DirtyCop: The series has a number of corrupt law officials, ranging from regular cops on the payroll of organized gangsters to the upper echelons having their own schemes. |
| 356 | * DisproportionateRetribution: Shimano in a [[YouHaveFailedMe you failed me]] moment cuts off the fingers of his underling for losing to Kiryu and getting shot by Shinji in the first game. [[{{Yubitsume}} Ritual mutilation]] of this type is a common punishment among yakuza (and, incidentally, why the FourFingeredHand never took off in anime) so it isn't that surprising. |
| 357 | --> '''Shimano:''' Let me see your hand for just a second... |
| 358 | ** [[spoiler: The entire plot of Dead Souls is this in a nutshell. Kiryu and Goda aren't too pleased. To elaborate: the zombie outbreak on Kamurucho was kickstarted by Tetsuo Nikaido, the new head of the Omi Alliance and an old subordinate to Goda. He planned to wipe out the Tojo Clan in response to Goda's defeat in ''2'', and even offered Goda his old place back out of respect. However, both Kiryu and Goda point out how insane his plans turned out to be in the end, and he even begrudgingly accepted his fate had DD not turned him into a monster.]] |
| 359 | * DisappearedDad: Hanaya/Kage to Takashi. [[spoiler:And Kawara to Kaoru in the second game.]] |
| 360 | * {{DLC}}: |
| 361 | ** Appears on all main [=PS3=] games in the form of unique costumes and weapons. In the USA, the DLC is free! (Well, save for ''Yakuza 3''.) Dead Souls even offer up rare items that can't be obtained until MUCH later! |
| 362 | * DrunkenMaster: For every game in the series, drinking alcohol and getting drunk will increase the rate at which Kiryu and other protagonists gain heat in combat. More heat means more heat actions which means more pain for poor unsuspecting street thugs. There are even certain special heat actions that require being drunk to perform. |
| 363 | * DualWielding: Hayashi from the second game. |
| 364 | ** And one of the available styles in ''Kenzan!'', a no-brainer considering that Kiryu is [[spoiler:also UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi]]. |
| 365 | ** Lau Ka Long in the first game also takes up a pair of swords after receiving a good amount of physical damage. |
| 366 | ** Prisoner #1356 carries a pair of forks this way. |
| 367 | ** Kamiyama, the weapons master, actually wields Kali sticks during the arena matches. And he's fairly tough! |
| 368 | * DubNameChange: Shintaro Kazama becomes Shintaro Fuma for the US release, probably to avoid confusion with Kazuma Kiryu. [[spoiler: Ditto for his younger brother in the third game.]] Also, Nishikiyama was shortened to Nishiki. |
| 369 | ** In addition, Hanaya was called Kage, although the second game referred to this specific DubNameChange by adding the title "Florist." ''Hanaya'' is literally the Japanese word for "florist". As of ''Kiwami'', he's now addressed as the slightly more fitting "Florist of Sai". |
| 370 | ** Interestingly, the Western release of the fourth game averts this trope and refers to almost everyone by their original Japanese names (the only exception is Kage, who is referred to as "Kage the Florist" in the subtitles). |
| 371 | * DudeWheresMyRespect: Played straight and subverted. Only once in a blue moon does Kiryu's insane reputation prevent a fight or frighten an enemy. Despite being one of the most dangerous men alive, nearly every goon and boss in Japan is still gunning for him in spite or because of his reputation. |
| 372 | ** And this is played within the second game. [[spoiler:In a sidequest, Kiryu finds out that a couple of clowns have been shaking down goods and services from people by masquerading as him and his late buddy [[DeadPersonImpersonation Shinji Tanaka]]. Rarely in video game history has there been such an instance of [=NPCs=] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard invoking]] a CurbstompBattle on [[TooDumbToLive themselves.]]]] |
| 373 | ** Played with in ''3'': part of the beginning tutorial is a gang of mooks working for the Kazama Family, a family with which Kiryu has a good history. Like all other mooks, they pick a fight with Kiryu just for shits and giggles. After beating them within an inch of their life, their boss shows up and chastises them for not bowing to the Tojo Clan's Fourth Chairman. The mooks are [[MassOhCrap HORRIFIED.]] |
| 374 | ** Pretty well averted in ''4'' and ''Dead Souls'', whose multi-character gameplay (with Kiryu being the last character) allows him to be presented as more of a larger-than-life character from the perspectives of other characters. Additionally, many of his random encounters in ''4'' are people attacking him knowing that if they should take down the Dragon of Dojima, their own reputations will skyrocket. Still SuicidalOverconfidence, but it's SuicidalOverconfidence out of '''respect'''. Plus, there's the fact that Dead Souls' enemies aren't the usual gang members, so Kiryu gets bonus points for being THE legendary yakuza who fights off the zombie infestation in Kamurucho. |
| 375 | * DuelingPlayerCharacters: Happens quite often in a series with multiple playable characters. Averted in ''Yakuza 0'', however. |
| 376 | ** ''Yakuza 4:'' |
| 377 | *** Saejima vs. Kiryu. |
| 378 | *** Kiryu vs. Akiyama and Tanimura. |
| 379 | ** ''Yakuza 5:'' |
| 380 | *** Kiryu vs. Saejima again. [[note]] This time the player can pick the character and decide the outcome. [[/note]] |
| 381 | ** ''Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2:'' |
| 382 | *** Kiryu vs. Majima. [[note]] Majima uses all of his fighting styles as a player character from ''0'' against Kiryu in ''Kiwami'' and he is once again playable in ''Kiwami 2''. [[/note]] |
| 383 | ** ''Yakuza 6:'' |
| 384 | *** Kiryu vs. Akiyama again. |
| 385 | ** ''Yakuza: Like a Dragon:'' |
| 386 | *** Ichiban vs. Joon-gi Han. |
| 387 | *** [[spoiler: Ichiban vs. Nanba.]] |
| 388 | *** [[spoiler: Ichiban vs. Majima and Saejima.]] |
| 389 | *** [[spoiler: Ichiban vs. Kiryu.]] |
| 390 | [[/folder]] |
| 391 | [[folder: E-N]] |
| 392 | * EdibleCollectible: These games have a selection of restaurants and bars serving a variety of food and drinks including ramen, sushi, pasta, takoyaki, burgers, coffee and alcoholic drinks, plus convenience stores stocked with inventory items like onigiri and sandwiches. As you sit down to eat, your character will comment on the food, and there's even an in-game checklist keeping track of what you've eaten and completion points gotten from eating everything at a restaurant. |
| 393 | * EncounterBait: |
| 394 | ** The Charismatic Photo, a black-and-white photo of an unidentified yakuza, plays this trope straight by spawning more random street battles. It also adds more enemies per encounter. |
| 395 | ** The Mew Shoes equipment plays with this. They indirectly increase the random encounter rate by making the person wearing them more noticeable while running, [[DrawAggro drawing the aggro]] of random encounters from farther away. On the other hand, they also make said enemies less aggressive in combat. |
| 396 | * EncounterRepellant: The Goddess of Children Amulet, in games where it's present, reduces the frequency of random street battles when eqipped. |
| 397 | * {{Engrish}}: Far more often than not, allegedly foreign characters in the series will speak really broken English. They will often have Japanese voice actors and speak perfectly good Japanese (in the Japanese versions) except for randomly throwing English words in the middle of sentences and speaking with [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent exaggerated nonspecific accents]]. This happens to Japanese characters as well, such as [[VideoGame/Yakuza3 Mine's]] infamous "There is no change in the plan" scene, but it's more justified given that English is not meant to be their native language (although they're still often portrayed as being [[InformedAbility far more fluent than they really are]]). |
| 398 | * AnEntrepreneurIsYou: Several of the later games allow the protagonists to run businesses via minigames that become a primary way to make a good chunk of money. This ranges from real estate to managing Cabarets and even outright venture capitalism. |
| 399 | * EverybodySmokes: Practically every adult character is a heavy smoker and most of them look cool doing it. |
| 400 | * EvilCounterpart: |
| 401 | ** From the first game, Akira Nishikiyama, who basically cracked under the pressure over the years and molded himself into a cold version of what Kiryu would have become (a head of a family of the Tojo) if he hadn't been in prison. |
| 402 | ** Ryuji Goda from the second game, who also bears a dragon tattoo. He and Kiryu also mutually believe [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne there's only room for one dragon in Japan]], but Goda, despite [[NobleDemon having his own codes of honor]], is more of a BloodKnight than Kiryu is and wants to wage war against the clans and spread chaos in Japan for the hell of it. |
| 403 | ** And the third game has [[spoiler: Yoshitaka Mine, who grew up as an orphan like Kiryu, but without the support of friends like he had, grew up lonely and with a very twisted mentality]]. |
| 404 | ** ''Yakuza: Like a Dragon'' features Ryo Aoki ([[spoiler:later revealed to actually be Masato Arakawa, Ichiban's adoptive brother]]), whom of which is a ManipulativeBastard to Ichiban's GuileHero. There are also their contrasting suits and mannerisms - Ichiban is very flamboyant and hot-blooded whereas Aoki is cold, calculating, and pragmatic. |
| 405 | * EvilVsEvil / ALighterShadeOfBlack: Series-wide, the Tojo Clan is portrayed significantly more positively than the Omi Alliance, and as a generally noble organisation and force for good. Only issue is, while the Omi are significantly more hot-blooded and willing to start a fight, at the end of the day ''both'' organisations are nothing more than vast criminal enterprises that are shown to engage in violent street battles, and profit from all manner of unpleasant crimes such as loansharking, protection rackets and pimping. Neither is particularly "good"; it's just that our protagonists happen to be on the Tojo's side. This is never clearer than in VideoGame/Yakuza0, where the Tojo is seen to be perfectly comfortable with [[spoiler:murdering a completely innocent civilian woman in cold blood purely to expedite a property transaction]], just as much as the Omi are. |
| 406 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 407 | ** Doctor Minamida, who first appears in ''Yakuza 3'' and runs the [=IF7=] virtual reality game, is clearly one of [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Dr. Emmett Brown]]. |
| 408 | ** The boss of the Purple Killers in the fourth game is ComicBook/TheJoker. This is apparent even before you meet him, being described as a guy in a purple suit with an insane smirk. [[spoiler: Then you find out he's a killer in clown makeup with mannerisms very similar to Heath Ledger's Joker and... yeah.]] |
| 409 | * ExtremityExtremist: Akiyama and Tanimura in the fourth game are both mild examples. Tanimura's attack on a downed attack is even a crouching punch as opposed to a stomp like everyone else. Their basic combos play it straight, but as they learn new abilities their HEAT actions (and more advanced combos) they branch out considerably. |
| 410 | * EyepatchOfPower: Goro Majima, who pretty much fights Kiryu in most games at an even footing. The fourth game and the prequel expand on how he got the eyepatch in the first place. |
| 411 | * {{Fanservice}}: Considering the game's adult themes, the game is filled with them. |
| 412 | ** In the first game, the infamous "Price of an F-Cup" substory has a well-endowed woman tries to seduce Kiryu, with [[MaleGaze the camera focusing]] on her breasts. |
| 413 | ** Some mini-games that involve the hostesses, such as ping-pong, the public bath and air hockey, emphasize their assets. |
| 414 | ** On the lighter side, several of Sega's other franchises are referenced and featured in various ways, including characters that can be won as UFO toys, and music from various games can be heard in various locations. In the fifth game, tunes from various racing games can be used for Kiryu's taxi racing missions. |
| 415 | * FanDisservice: Usually PlayedForLaughs. The fifth game has "Shinada's Interview", where he's unwittingly hired to perform services for men wearing next-to-nothing, and has to fight them. ''Kiwami'' has Majima [[DisguisedInDrag disguise himself as a hostess]] for Kiryu. In ''Dead Souls'', a zombie can be caught in the FishingMinigame and used as a minigame opponent, but really serves as an alternate skin for the hostesses, camera chest zooms and hearts filling the screen included. |
| 416 | * FetishesAreWeird: Susumu Gondawara, who appears in ''VideoGame/Yakuza2'' and ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', is obsessed with infant play, where he and his underlings put on diapers and are doted on by a woman named Machiko wearing little more than an apron. He's also eager to the point of violence to get others involved in his fetish, resulting in a fight with Kiryu when his "hospitality" is rejected. His underlings make it clear afterwards that they are ''not'' into this, but because he's their boss, they have to go along with it. |
| 417 | * {{Fiction500}}: Akiyama has just an absurd amount of money. |
| 418 | * FictionalCounterpart: |
| 419 | ** Chatter is Website/{{Twitter}}. |
| 420 | ** Quickstarter is Website/{{Kickstarter}}. |
| 421 | * FinishingMove: Starting from the second game, knocking down an opponent's health sufficiently in a BossBattle will open up a window of opportunity where you can quickly charge Kiryu's HEAT Meter with rapid button mashes (if it's not filled already) to execute a special and often devastating HEAT Action that will usually drop the unfortunate recipient in one hit. Saejima has a variant of this. |
| 422 | * FightClubbing: Each game has some sort of underground fighting tournament that the protagonists have to compete in as part of the InevitableTournament. Afterwards it becomes a standard side activity you can compete in for rewards. ''6'' is the exception, having only one underground fight that is not revisited. |
| 423 | * FishingMinigame: The third game introduces one where fish and other items can be caught and sold for money, which has remained in the series since. ''Dead Souls'' puts a bizarre spin on it, allowing players to fish for a particular zombie which can then be used as a partner for various mini-games. |
| 424 | * FiveMovesOfDoom: Kiryu's "Hell's Floor" finisher in ''3'': a German suplex, followed by an arm bar, followed by a triangle choke, followed by an anaconda choke, followed by a guillotine choke, finished with a mounted punch to the face. [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Just the chokes would probably leave the opponent's trachea reduced to the consistency of burger.]] |
| 425 | * FiveTemperamentEnsemble: Applicable in the fourth and fifth games, where there are multiple playable characters. |
| 426 | ** Kazuma Kiryu = Melancholic |
| 427 | ** Shun Akiyama = Phlegmatic |
| 428 | ** Taiga Saejima = Choleric |
| 429 | ** Masayoshi Tanimura = Sanguine (in ''4'') |
| 430 | ** Haruka Sawamura = Supine (in ''5'') |
| 431 | ** Tatsuo Shinada = Sanguine (in ''5'') |
| 432 | * {{Flashback}}: Most of the games (save for ''Dead Souls'') after the first allow someone who never played the past installments to find out the storyline in segments either through an in-story prompt at the beginning of the game, or through a menu option. |
| 433 | ** A small example in ''Dead Souls'': the end credits are a slide show from previous ''Yakuza'' games (save for the one PSP release in Japan), which include cameos from characters in those games (Akira in ''1'', Saejima and Tanimura in ''4''.) (Note: the part where flashbacks to ''Kenzan!'' [[NoExportForYou may not make sense to non-Japanese gamers.]]) |
| 434 | * FlungClothing: Everyone in the setting can remove all the clothes on their upper body simply by tugging on their shoulders once. [[RuleOfCool Even gloves.]] |
| 435 | * FoodPorn: Various restaurants across the games feature a variety of food to eat to recover health (and in later games, gain EXP), including burger joints, ice cream parlors, sushi restaurants, ramen shops, and more. The food is often represented through actual photographs of the real items, especially [[ProductPlacement branded items]], with almost literal FlavorText describing them. Like in real life, the many restaurants, bars, and convenience stores of the city have gorgeous pictures of their wares plastered everywhere as well. Even the descriptions for the various types of ''cat food'' in some games sounds mouthwatering. |
| 436 | ** Some games go a step further when drinking at a bar. Ordering a drink will prompt the bartender to give a brief but detailed description of the flavor and history of the drink. |
| 437 | * ForgottenFallenFriend: [[spoiler: Shinji Tanaka from the first game and especially Rikiya from the third game. Despite both being TheLancer, neither of them get a mention in the following games, outside of the Reminisce menu.]] |
| 438 | * FreezeFrameIntroduction: In every game, whenever a major character or an important yakuza-affiliated character is introduced to the story, the cutscene fades out and freezes and displays their full name and title. |
| 439 | * FriendToAllChildren: Nothing brings out Kiryu's good side like kids, especially his kids from the orphanage and his adopted niece Haruka. Subsequently, nothing brings out Kiryu's [[UnstoppableRage BAD side]] [[PapaWolf like someone hurting a kid]]. [[CurbStompBattle The most savage and satisfying beatings Kiryu's rained on someone]] are those in retaliation for abusing a kid. The protagonists of the series in general all tend to be great with children and will do anything to look out for them in Substories. |
| 440 | * FrothyMugsOfWater: Tatsuya Ukyo of the Kurohyou series cannot drink booze with hostesses since he is below the drinking age of 18/19 (in the sequel). The hostess clubs offer non-alcoholic alternatives for him and his hostess though from premium cola to fresh fruit juice and in the sequel, virgin cocktails. |
| 441 | * FullFrontalAssault: In ''Ishin!'', a boss battle between Ryoma Sakamoto (Kiryu) and Saigo Kichinosuke (Ryuji Goda) takes place in a bathhouse, and both characters fight entirely in the nude, with only CensorSteam hiding the naughty bits. |
| 442 | * GambitPileup: Plots usually involve various different factions and characters making power plays that stack up on top of each other, with the protagonists stuck right in the middle of the mess. |
| 443 | * GameWithinAGame: The Club Sega branches will always have a UFO Catcher skill crane and even playable video game machines. These can serve as part of a SideQuest. Some of them are made exclusively for the series, while others are actual arcade games. |
| 444 | ** The second game introduces ''[=YF6=]'', a first-person fighting game where futuristic warriors duel it out with laser swords. |
| 445 | ** The third game introduces the fast-paced arcade shooter, ''Boxcelios'', which receives a sequel in the fourth game. The fifth game introduces is SpiritualSuccessor, ''[=GunRhein=]''. |
| 446 | ** ''Yakuza 5'' has a ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter 2'' machine! There's also a demo for ''VideoGame/TaikoNoTatsujin''. |
| 447 | ** ''Yakuza 0'' has full arcade versions of ''VideoGame/OutRun'', ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier'', ''VideoGame/FantasyZone'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperHangOn Super Hang-On]]''. |
| 448 | ** ''Kiwami'' has ''[=MesuKing=]: Bug Battle Beauties'' (a {{fanservice}} {{parody}} of ''[[VideoGame/KouchuuOujaMushiking [=MushiKing=]]]''), an arcade card game played using RockPaperScissors where scantily clad women dressed as insects fight for dominance of the forest.[[note]]The name is a pun on ''[=MushiKing=]'' with ''Mesu'' (Female) substituting for ''Mushi'' (Insect).[[/note]] |
| 449 | ** ''Yakuza 6'' has ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter 5 Final Showdown'' and ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo''. |
| 450 | ** ''Kiwami 2'' has ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter 2'', ''[[VideoGame/VirtualOn Cyber Troopers Virtual-ON: Operation Moongate]]'', and Kiryu can relieve himself on a "Toylet", a RealLife interactive urinal developed by Sega featuring a few mini-games. |
| 451 | ** ''VideoGame/FistOfTheNorthStarLostParadise'' includes ''Space Harrier'', ''Super Hang-On'', and ''Outrun''. In lieu of ''Fantasy Zone'', players can play the Platform/SegaMasterSystem version of ''Fist of the North Star'' (which was released in the US under the title of ''Black Belt''). |
| 452 | ** ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'' has all of the minigames from ''6'', in addition to ''Motor Raid'', a motorcycle-racing game that had never before received a home release. |
| 453 | * GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Whenever a story cutscene takes place which has the player character drinking at a bar, they will often have a mild intoxication effect in place during gameplay afterwards. |
| 454 | * GameplayAndStorySegregation: Only in cutscenes does Kiryu suffer an actual injury that would cripple him. |
| 455 | ** Several characters, both major and minor, have been shown dying or getting severely injured from gunshots, but during gameplay, damn near ''anyone'' can shrug off a bullet and keep fighting as if they were never shot in the first place. |
| 456 | * GolfClubbing: Golf clubs can be used as weapons in fights, and enemies can be sent flying from it if a heat action is performed when it's equipped. |
| 457 | * GoodGuyBar: Serena and New Serena typically serves as the typical PlayerHeadquarters of the heroes. ''Like A Dragon'' adds Survive Bar. |
| 458 | * GoryDiscretionShot: |
| 459 | ** In the third game, [[spoiler: the severed head (or body part) of Tsuyoshi Kanda]] is never seen on camera when [[spoiler:Mine]] brings it to Kiryu and company. |
| 460 | ** The same goes for [[spoiler:Majima's lost eye when he reveals it to Saejima in ''4'']]. |
| 461 | ** Kuze performing {{Yubitsume}} in ''0'': his severed pinky is never shown, and his hand is bandaged quickly afterwards. Only some blood is shown on the cutting board as Kuze's body and the camera angle hide the gore. |
| 462 | ** Also in ''0'', the fight with [[spoiler: Lao Gui has a [[PressXtoNotDie QTE]] where if successful, Majima avoids his remaining eye getting gouged and gouges Lao Gui back in return; the animation is cut short and partially off camera]]. |
| 463 | ** [[AvertedTrope Shockingly averted]] in ''Like a Dragon'', however - [[spoiler: Sawashiro gouges out the eye of a Tojo Clan patriarch for mocking Arakawa's death. You'd think the camera would turn away before Sawashiro digs his thumb into the patriarch's eye, but ''[[NauseaFuel it just doesn't.]]'']] |
| 464 | * GoToAlias: The name "Suzuki" gets used a lot by everyone as a quick alias. |
| 465 | ** In ''4'', Akiyama uses it as an alias when dealing with someone stealing his identity until he's run them out of town. Saejima uses it to hide his true identity to Kiryu and Haruka when he first meets them and again after getting back to Kamurocho for his "Brother and Sister" substory chain since he's broken out of prison after 25 years. |
| 466 | ** In ''5'', Kiryu uses it as his new identity as a taxi driver in Fukuoka so he can give Haruka's new idol career distance away from his life as a yakuza. Ironically works against him since he is the only person in Fukuoka named "Taichi Suzuki", making him easily found by the new characters Masato Aizawa and Yu Morinaga. |
| 467 | * GratuitousEnglish: Since the games have used the Japanese voices since ''Yakuza 2'', [[spoiler: Andre Richardson]] in the third game is the only major character who speaks in English. |
| 468 | ** Also, not to mention some of the karaoke songs that have sprinkles of English words in the lyrics just like every other Japanese song has in reality. |
| 469 | ** Some of the theme songs themselves have English lyrics but are sung with Japanese pronunciation, making them difficult to understand for native speakers. Songs include the first game's "Receive You," the fourth game's "For Faith" and the prequel's "Reign". |
| 470 | * GratuitousForeignLanguage: Some Korean characters in the second sequel speak their native tongue. One of the residents of Kamurocho's multi-Asian community area Little Asia, where Masayoshi Tanimura helps them out, speaks Chinese at some point. |
| 471 | * GrievousHarmWithABody: Several Heat actions involve picking up an enemy and swinging/throwing them at their allies. |
| 472 | * GunsAkimbo: Several regular bosses, most notably Arase, [[spoiler:Andre Richardson]] and super boss hitman Jo Amon in classic John Woo style. Which makes it all the more badass when they are beaten to death by fists and feet (if the player chooses). |
| 473 | ** This is Shun Akiyama's default weapon configuration in ''Of The End/Dead Souls''. After you wooed a hostess, you can have them wield double pistols. Not to mention after completing a specific set of side missions you can recruit Arase himself to join you in the zombie hunts. |
| 474 | ** Averted in Jo Amon's case in ''Kenzan!'', as his expy uses a sword in that game. |
| 475 | ** Joon-gi Han in ''Like A Dragon'' uses two handguns in his default class. |
| 476 | * HackAndSlash: ''Kenzan!'' and ''Ishin!'' allow you to use and upgrade multiple melee weapons, giving the combat flavors of this genre. You also have the option to buy and use weapons in the main series, though most of them have limited durability and are often a case of AwesomeButImpractical. |
| 477 | * HammyVillainSeriousHero: This is the main dynamic between TheStoic Kazuma Kiryu and the WildCard Goro Majima, with the former being more serious and quiet yakuza with a code of honor, and the latter who's a hammy and unpredictable yakuza who usually rivals with Kiryu and goes after him in a special (and implicit) kind of StalkerWithACrush, especially with the "Majima Everyhere" feature in later games and the two "Kiwami" remakes. |
| 478 | * HarderThanHard: The Ex-Hard and Legend difficulties. |
| 479 | * HeroicBloodshed: ''Yakuza'' has a lot in common with Heroic Bloodshed movies in terms of thematic elements. |
| 480 | * HeroicSacrifice: So many. There's an instance of TakingTheBullet pretty much once per game. |
| 481 | * HiddenDepths: |
| 482 | ** While Kiryu's fists bring justice to man, his voice will shake your soul. |
| 483 | *** Many characters throughout the series also qualify, who kick all sorts of ass and are just as adept at singing karaoke. Yes, even Majima. Especially when he puts his heart into it. |
| 484 | * HollywoodHealing: Most main characters, and even mooks to an extent, regularly survive beatings that would kill most men ten times over. It's especially obvious when you use a triple katana slice or pistol on a lowly purse snatcher... and they live. |
| 485 | ** Even moreso in ''Kenzan!'', where the sword combos can be ''way'' longer... |
| 486 | * HonorBeforeReason: SO MUCH. Many of the characters live and breathe this. |
| 487 | * HyperactiveMetabolism: |
| 488 | ** Food can be used to restore your health instantly. Eating at restaurants is one way to quickly restore HP, although you won't be able to order any more food than what it takes to top off your health bar without a specific item. As your health bar is upgraded, you'll quickly reach the point where Kiryu is ordering [[BigEater 4 or 5 entrees and a drink]] just to get to full health again. |
| 489 | ** ''Kiwami'' and ''Kiwami 2'' have [[InvertedTrope inversions]] of this: Kiryu can buy a consumable called [=AppStim=] RX, which sets his HPToOne (or by 50% for [=AppStim=] Half), mainly to invoke [[invoked]]SelfImposedChallenge. If it wasn't already obvious from [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the item's name]], their FlavorText explicitly mentions that [=AppStim=] "stimulates your digestive tract", which is represented by Kiryu losing HP. [=AppStims=] also appear from ''6'' onwards, but they're no longer inversions of this trope -- they reduce an actual hunger gauge instead of a health bar in these games, which only serves to prevent experience gains from eating when it's full. |
| 490 | * IKnowMaddenKombat: In the second game, Kiryu can gain improved Strong Attacks and later improved Heat Actions with the baseball bat, golf club and bowling ball by playing enough times at the batting cage, driving range and bowling alley respectively then completing the related SideQuest for each location. By the next game, by refighting bosses, he can 'learn' new techniques, such as using knuckles. |
| 491 | ** Zig-zagged with Tatsuo Shinada in ''5'': as a former baseball player, he has techniques that are inspired by the sport. He refuses to use bats as weapons, though: if he picks one up, he'll examine it nostalgically for a moment before putting it back down. |
| 492 | * IdiotBall: Let's just say that protagonists' [=IQs=] drop considerably whenever a gun comes into play. |
| 493 | * IllegalGamblingDen: A regular feature in the games, where the gambling dens are primarily run by homeless people. There's also an underground pleasure district called Purgatory that includes a casino. |
| 494 | * ImpaledPalm: |
| 495 | ** An uncommon HEAT action when Kiryu is holding a knife near a wall is to throw the mook at the wall, then stabs his hand against the wall, or against a desk. |
| 496 | ** [[spoiler: Mine]] also stabs his subordinate's palm all the way through with a butterknife for not having proper reverence for Daigo Dojima. |
| 497 | * ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: There are several HEAT actions that involve doing this in some fashion. One of Shinada's HEAT actions has him actually ''use the pole to lift himself in the air after impaling someone with it''. |
| 498 | * ImprobableWeaponUser: Kiryu and the other playable characters can make use of unorthodox weapons (usually through HEAT actions) such as super glue, oranges, salt shakers, magical girl wands (they're modified kali sticks but still), and bottles of mystery liquids. |
| 499 | * ImprovisedWeapon: Practically anything laying on the ground can be swung around and used as a weapon. This ranges from traffic cones and store signs to bikes and (in the cases of particularly strong characters) motorcycles. Some of these ''ad hoc'' weapons even come with their own HEAT actions! |
| 500 | * InfinityPlusOneSword: |
| 501 | ** The War God Talisman is the franchise defining example. Equipping it grants infinite Heat by quickly filling the Heat Gauge to maximum, ensuring that you always have access to all your Heat Moves and any Heat Mode perks gained from leveling up. You typically have to beat Ultimate Match Mode/Climax Battle Mode in order to earn it, and that mode doesn't fully unlock until you beat the Yakuza games once, often causing the Talisman to fall into BraggingRightsReward territory. The only exception to this is ''Kiwami 2'', where it's possible to earn the War God Talisman before you end the first playthrough. |
| 502 | ** The Golden Pistol is just as much a RecurringElement, and for good reason. Firearms usually fall under TooAwesomeToUse because they can stagger enemies but have pitiful ammo counts along with them. The Golden Pistol is not only one of the strongest firearms one can own, but it has infinite ammo. Mooks tend to go down in 1-2 hits from this baby, and bosses can now be blasted to death from a safe distance. Also doubles as a BraggingRightsReward in most Yakuza games because you have to complete the vast majority of each game to earn it. |
| 503 | * InformedAttribute: The series bends over backwards to ensure that the protagonists never kill. Regardless of how brutal the HEAT moves can be (many of which would leave men crippled for life) the only wounds they leave is broken pride. And then there are moments such as Kiryu using a random waiter as a HumanShield, getting into gunfights with exploding cars and even ''shooting a helicopter down with an RPG'' that are far harder to justify. |
| 504 | * InevitableTournament: At some point in each games, the protagonists will be forced to participate in some sort of fighting tournament in order to progress the plot. |
| 505 | * InkSuitActor: Ever since the series hit the Platform/Playstation3, many major characters and hostesses were modeled after their voice actors. Notable examples per game: |
| 506 | ** Kiryu himself and his expys (though only partially, as Kiryu's face was made narrower and sharper) from ''Kenzan!'' onwards. |
| 507 | ** Masayoshi Tanimura, Yasuko Saejima, Junji Sugiuchi, Takeshi Kido, Hiroaki Arai, and Seishiro Munakata in ''4''. |
| 508 | ** Tatsuya Ukyo in the ''Kurohyō'' games (though strangely, his model only voices him in the sequel). |
| 509 | ** Kazuhiko Serizawa, Shigeki Baba, Mayumi, Naoki Katsuya, and Koichi Takasugi in ''5''. |
| 510 | ** All 3 Dojima Lieutenants, Tsukasa Sagawa, and Tetsu Tachibana in ''0''. |
| 511 | *** In the Chinese version only, Lao Gui is portrayed by and modeled after Hong Kong actor Sam Lee. |
| 512 | *** ''0'' also did this for many more side characters than previously, including both Mr. Libidos, both Mr. Moneybags, all Mr. Shakedowns, and all 30 Gandhara girls, who appear in various locations and substories in either city. |
| 513 | ** Tsuyoshi Nagumo, Yuta Usami, Kiyomi, Takumi Someya, Toru Hirose, and Tsuneo Iwami in ''6''. |
| 514 | ** Jiro Kawara, Ryo Takashima, Tsutomu Bessho, and Wataru Kurahashi in ''Kiwami 2''. |
| 515 | *** Most of these characters were recast from the original ''2'', which made for some discrepancies such as Takashima looking much older than he was originally and [[spoiler: Kawara not looking quite like Kaoru Sayama's father]]. |
| 516 | ** Takayuki Yagami, Ryuzo Genda, Mitsuru Kuroiwa, and Kazuya Ayabe in ''Judgment''. |
| 517 | *** In the original Japanese release, Kyohei Hamura was modeled off his voice actor Pierre Taki, but the character was recast and remodeled after Taki's arrest for cocaine possession. |
| 518 | ** All of Ichiban Kasuga's party members (except [[spoiler: Joon-gi Han and Tianyou Zhao]]), Masumi Arakawa, and Jo Sawashiro in ''Like a Dragon''. |
| 519 | ** Jin Kuwana, Akihiro Ehara, and Kazuki Soma in ''Lost Judgment''. |
| 520 | ** Yuki Tsuruno, Kosei Shishido, Homare Nishitani III, and Akame in ''Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name''. |
| 521 | ** Eric Tomizawa, Chitose Fujinomiya, Masataka Ebina, Dwight Méndez, and Eiji Mitamura in ''Infinite Wealth''. |
| 522 | * IronButtMonkey: Any poor sap on the receiving end of a Heat action. At least half of them in any game would cripple or outright kill their victim in real life, but they're usually still capable of limping away afterward. |
| 523 | * IrrelevantSidequest: Just about the most irrelevant in the gaming industry. It's half the fun. |
| 524 | * ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: The climax of the games typically involve fighting your way up a building (typically the Millennium Tower) and a boss fight in either [[ExecutiveSuiteFight a fancy room]] or the rooftops. |
| 525 | * JapaneseDelinquents: The second and fourth sequels introduce you to traditional Japanese motorcycle gangs (known in Japan as "bosozoku"). The second game has the sidequest in Kamurocho where male host Yuya must defend Stardust from his former peers of the gang he was once in and the fourth sequel has them serving as one of the encountering gangs Kiryu can drive out of Kamurocho by defeating their leader. Biker gangs are also a common random enemy to run into in Yakuza 0, especially Sotenbori as they were at the height of their relevance in the 80's. |
| 526 | * KillTheParentRaiseTheChild: [[spoiler:Shintaro Kazama worked as a ruthless and efficient hitman in the criminal underworld, whose work left many orphaned children. [[HitmanWithAHeart Out of guilt]], he started Sunflower Orphanage, where he would take in the children of his victims and raise them as best he could. This includes the trio of ChildhoodFriends Yumi Sawamura, Kazuma Kiryu, and Akira Nishikiyama, the latter two serving as TheHero of the series and [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 the first game]]'s BigBad respectively]]. |
| 527 | * KnowledgeBroker: The Florist has a huge surveillance network spread throughout Kamurocho, and offers information at a price. Most of the time the protagonists end up fighting in Purgatory instead to get the information they seek. |
| 528 | * KungFoley: Kiryu's stronger attacks- particularly with his infamous [[CounterAttack Komaki Tiger Drop]] and some of his [[LimitBreak Heat Actions]]- have a deep bass echo to convey just how brutally powerful they are. Certain games exaggerate this effect with certain moves to such a degree that it almost sounds like these seemingly mundane men are punching the universe itself to death. |
| 529 | * TheLancer: Akira Nishikiyama in the prequel, Shinji Tanaka in the first game, Daigo Dojima and Kaoru Sayama in the second, Rikiya Shimabukuro in the third. Shun Akiyama becomes this from the fourth onwards. Yu Nanba serves this role for Ichiban in ''Like a Dragon''. |
| 530 | * LaserBlade: Some games feature a "Photon Blade" as a secret unlockable weapon. |
| 531 | * LaserGuidedKarma: Kiryu helping out the fun-loving crazy old lady in the second game will not only give him the obligatory SideQuest [[ExperiencePoints XP]], it'll also give him access to some useful combat skills. [[spoiler:Which becomes self-explanatory when it's revealed that the fun-loving crazy old lady is in fact [[RetiredBadAss Lau Ka Long's former martial arts instructor]].]] |
| 532 | * LimitBreak: The Heat moves are brutal cinematic attacks that can only be initiated with certain amounts of Heat. |
| 533 | * LoanShark: Shun Akiyama from ''Yakuza 4'' operates as one. Subverted in that he loans out money with no interest or collateral, as long that the recipient [[SecretTestOfCharacter passes one of his tests]]. Many of his random encounters are actual loan sharks who want Akiyama to stop, since he's encroaching on their territory. |
| 534 | * LostInTranslation: Majima is quite fond of calling our hero "''Kiryu-chan''", or "''Kazuma-chan''" in the American dub. In Japan, the only time that a man would ever call another man by the effeminate suffix ''-chan'' is 1.) they are close family or childhood friends, or 2.) as a diminutive insult. The original Japanese games make "''Kiryu-chan''" sound affectionate; the American dub of the first game makes "''Kazuma-chan''" sound more diminutive. The English subtitles starting from some of the later games' releases have Majima calling Kiryu "Kazzy" which not only is a more approximate term of endearment but also might reference Creator/MarkHamill having voiced Majima in the U.S. release of the first game. In ''0'', Majima's superior Tsukasa Sagawa does the exact same thing to him, calling him "''Majima-chan''". |
| 535 | ** The word ''yakuza'' itself. In English, it's more or less the only commonly-used word to refer to Japanese organized crime, but in Japanese it's just one term out of ''many'' different synonyms and euphemisms which are all used in the series and carry different connotations. Besides ''yakuza''[[note]]A somewhat derogatory word with several proposed origins, none of which are flattering. Actual members ''do'' refer to themselves this way sometimes, but generally in a more self-deprecatory or ironic fashion, similar to how a career gangster might call themselves a "crook"[[/note]], many characters use words such as ''gokudou''[[note]]Literally "the ultimate/extreme path", originally a Buddhist term that refers to veteran priests who have mastered their path, but around the Edo period began to be associated with righteous renegades who valued the concept of charity and helping the weak when the authorities won't. The first kanji of the word, 極, can also be read [[TitleDrop "kiwami"]][[/note]], ''ninkyo/ninkyo dantai''[[note]]Literally "chivalry/chivalry organization", related to the aforementioned ''gokudou''-- the "ideal" yakuza are charitable protectors of the weak who keep the streets clean when no one else will (in real life and even in the games this is mostly only used as a pretense to justify criminal activities rather than actual chivalry, with the exception of the few heroic "true yakuza" such as Kiryu and Saejima). The actual word "ninkyo" has become so strongly associated with organized crime that nowadays it's not really used in other contexts anymore[[/note]], ''shitei boryokudan''[[note]]"Designated violence group", the offical police designation for yakuza organizations. In-game the Tojo Clan is often referred to this way when they're mentioned in news reports and such. Suffice it to say no yakuza will ever refer to themselves this way[[/note]], ''honshoku''[[note]]"Main job" or "professional", a euphemism referring to someone who does criminal activities as a career rather than as a random street outlaw[[/note]], as well as ''sujimon'', ''ya-san'' / ''ya-kou'', ''hanshakai seiryoku''... [[LongList you get the idea.]] |
| 536 | * LoveInterest: Yumi Sawamura in the first one, Kaoru Sayama in the second, Mayumi in ''5''. |
| 537 | * AMacGuffinFullOfMoney: The 10 Billion Yen that goes missing from the Tojo Clan in the first game. By extension Haruka (or more specifically, her locket), as people quickly realize she's the key to the missing money. |
| 538 | ** That incident rears its head again in ''4'', as apparently it's tied to BigBad [[spoiler: Munakata's]] plan to wipe out organized crime. |
| 539 | * MagicPlasticSurgery: Tanimura in ''4'' and Kyohei Hamura in ''Judgment''. Both their original voice actors and 3D models were replaced for the Remastered editions of their respective games due to drug abuse allegations, as they were [[InkSuitActor modeled after their voice actors]]. Contrary to popular belief, the former was not the reason Tanimura [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome disappeared from the rest of the series;]] the allegations happened near the end of 2016, shortly before the release of ''6'' and long after they had already omitted him from the story of ''5''. |
| 540 | * ManBehindTheMan: Pretty much at least one per game. Some games go trigger-happy with his trope. Literally. |
| 541 | * MarketBasedTitle: The series name was changed to ''Yakuza'' outside of Japan, perhaps to make it more clear what the game is about. The first game to (partially) avert this was ''Yakuza: Like a Dragon'', which added the Japanese series title as a subtitle. However, starting from 2022, all localized titles going forward were changed to ''Like a Dragon'', thereby matching the Japanese name. |
| 542 | * MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: What is that fiery BattleAura that appears when particularly strong combatants get serious? Who knows? It's never mentioned in-story, it just kind of ''is''. |
| 543 | ** On a related note, Cyclops Oba in a substory in ''2'' will make note of Kiryu's "scary, flaming death moves" which is a direct acknowledgment of the [[LimitBreak Heat Actions]] that can be used while emanating said flaming BattleAura. The aura is also mentioned by Ichiban at the start of ''Like a Dragon", notably before his [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness imagination goes haywire]]. So it's definitely not merely something only the playable character or the player themself can see. |
| 544 | ** On a more creepy note, a number of the substories across the series, like in ''0'' or ''Kiwami 2'' reveal that ghosts and curses may be more real than the characters would believe... |
| 545 | * MenuTimeLockout: While paused, you can perform actions like consuming items, changing equipment, or learning new abilities. This applies even if you're in the middle of a battle. A boss got you on the ropes? No problem, just pause the game, chug a few Toughness Zs, learn that new HEAT move that you happen to have the EXP/money for, and unpause to turn the tables on them! |
| 546 | * MetronomicManMashing: An easy and effective way of taking out mooks is to knock them down, grab them by their leg, perform a throw, and before they get up, repeat until dead. It's not always an ability that is immediately usable without upgrading for it first. Also when it first appeared in ''2'', it used to expend Heat to use as well so it was harder to use it succession. |
| 547 | * MiniGame: The ''Yakuza'' series is absolutely stuffed to the gills with {{betting mini game}}s: TabletopGame/{{blackjack}}, slots, dice games, pachink, RC car races, fishing, golfing, darts, table tennis, and even arcade games (''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' has a near-perfect emulation of ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter 2'', while ''Yakuza 0'' has games more appropriate for [[TheEighties its era]], like ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier'' and ''VideoGame/OutRun''). |
| 548 | * MoneySpider: |
| 549 | ** You gain money after winning regular fights, though it's justified since you're just taking it from regular people. |
| 550 | ** Exaggerated in ''Yakuza 0'', where enemies explode in a shower of coins and yen bills when beaten, a reflection of the "Bubble Economy" of TheEighties when there was an overabundance of cash flowing through Japan as well as the fact that money doubles as XP. There's also the indomitable "Mr. Shakedown" enemies who can literally beat cash out of you, but if you can defeat them you'll get back everything you ever lost to them and then some. |
| 551 | ** Multiple games in the series and its spinoffs have the recurring "Nouveau Riche" enemy type. They're always found by themselves wandering the streets, decked out with ridiculous [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny all-gold suits]] and slicked-backed hair dyed blonde, and usually either drop tens of thousands of yen or [[ShopFodder a high-value plate]]. Depending on the game, they might also be a MetalSlime by virtue of being [[BossInMookClothing surprisingly hard to beat]]. |
| 552 | * MoodWhiplash: Between the serious HeroicBloodshed main stories, utterly insane {{Irrelevant Sidequest}}s, and ComicallySerious protagonist, this is a huge part of the appeal of the series. The contrast between how serious the games' storyline is and how STUPID the sidequests can be is mindblowing. It's hard to believe Kiryu can be fighting for his life against the most bloodthirsty gangsters in the world in one mission, and then running from a lovesick crossdresser in another. |
| 553 | * MookChivalry: Most of the enemies in every game take turns making potshots at the protagonist during battle. The only exceptions to this are [[TurnsRed angered]] EliteMooks, enemies with firearms or grenades (who infrequently attack out-of-turn for harrassment), and equipment that specifically averts this like the Champion's Ring. |
| 554 | * MookHorrorShow: Several actions can turn fights with weaker enemies into this, cowing them into holding back for a bit. |
| 555 | * {{Mooks}}: An endless horde of thugs, gangbangers and Yakuza endlessly harass Kiryu with their tough talk and cruel actions. He is not impressed. |
| 556 | * MuggingTheMonster: The thugs constantly trying to beat up/extort the main characters as they walk down the street have no idea what they're getting into. In Tanimura or Akiyama's case, that's somewhat forgivable as neither of them looks anywhere near as strong as they are. Well-built, clearly-a-Yakuza Kiryu and built-like-a-brick-shithouse-on-steroids Saejima, on the other hand.... |
| 557 | * MultipleLifeBars: Most bosses have at least 2 or 3, while tougher bosses can have up to 6. Subverted in ''Yakuza 6'', where all bosses ([[spoiler:save for the final fight with Koshimizu]]) have a single large health bar. |
| 558 | ** The FinalBoss of ''Yakuza 5'' has '''9'''. |
| 559 | ** The final fight with [[spoiler:Ryuji]] in ''Kiwami 2'' does one better with '''10''' health bars, although damage is inherently higher in the [[VideoGameRemake Kiwami remakes]]. |
| 560 | ** The Amons of ''Yakuza 0'' turn it up to eleven by having '''14''' each. |
| 561 | ** ''Yakuza Kiwami'' gives Amon two phases of '''8''' health bars, for a total of '''16''', albeit again with less defense than before. |
| 562 | * MundaneMadeAwesome: The series enjoys making boring tasks look extremely awesome. |
| 563 | ** Revelations, which involve a character realizing something and doing something furiously to capitalize on it. |
| 564 | *** In the third and fourth games, Kiryu and Akiyama have mad blogging skillz. Saejima and Shinada also show them in the fifth. |
| 565 | *** And in the fourth, Saejima's epic woodcarving. |
| 566 | *** Also in the fourth, Tanimura's fast pen sketching. |
| 567 | *** In ''Infinite Wealth'', the whole cast get new jobs and weapons from vacation and tourist events. |
| 568 | ** In ''Yakuza 0'', there's the telephone club, which has Kiryu answer a phone and deciding what to ask next in an extremely awesome manner. |
| 569 | ** In ''Like a Dragon'', the exaggerated JRPG tropes and the bizarre enemy types are actually justified as Ichiban's overactive imagination filtering his perception of fights. He can also make share holder meetings seem like life-or-death ordeals. |
| 570 | ** ''Kiwami 2'' takes this to ridiculous extremes with Kiryu going full Dragon of Dojima when '''''peeing'''''. |
| 571 | * NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight: Because first, it won't do any good (unless you're Majima). And second, Kiryu will then use it on your friends. |
| 572 | ** Guns won't be any better either, especially once Kiryu has mastered the Komaki Shot Stopper. He'll deflect your aim off, then proceed to beat the shit out of you. |
| 573 | *** On the other hand, if it's Kiryu bringing the weaponry, massive damage ensues. Crude Pistols will one-shot weaker enemies and the shotgun one hit kills all but the end game mooks. Not to mention the brutal attacks he can pull off with melee weaponry.... |
| 574 | ** Averted in ''Dead Souls'', it's [[PaperFanOfDoom (usually)]] impossible to kill a zombie with melee attacks, and Kiryu has a rough time when he [[spoiler: goes into the quarantine zone without any weapons.]] |
| 575 | * NiceGuy: Kiryu missed his calling in life as the Patron Saint of Niceness. He helps any innocent bystander no matter how big or small the problem, rescues young girls, pets, old women crossing the street, and forgives men who try to kill him on several occasions at the slightest hint of their redemption. This makes his status as the entire underworld's ButtMonkey so far as picking fights go all the more hilarious. In 3, he goes so far as to track down the most dangerous hitmen in Japan... JUST to beat the crap out of them and drag them to a reform center so they can get out of the criminal life. |
| 576 | * NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters: Despite their gangster background, protagonists like Kiryu or Saejima is portrayed as the old school "Protect the streets" type of gangster to the point that the series infamously goes out of its way to keep their hands clean of blood (or ignore moments that would contradict said image). To a lesser extent, supporting characters like Kazama and Daigo are portrayed as honorable (albeit willing to kill when necessary) and don't seem to be directly involved in anything worse than white-collar crimes. |
| 577 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The Tojo Clan is a stand-in for the real-life yakuza group Sumiyoshi-kai. Like its game counterpart, it's the 2nd largest yakuza group in Japan and is based in Tokyo (specifically active around Kabukicho). Likewise, the Omi Alliance is based on the Yamaguchi-gumi, the single largest yakuza group in Japan that also happens to be the aforementioned Sumiyoshi-kai's greatest rival. This is more or less where the similarities end, though; turns out depicting actual criminal syndicates and leaders in an action video game would probably not be a great idea. |
| 578 | * NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: Almost all the locales and neighborhoods are patterned after real-life Japanese wards with their names changed for various reasons. Kamurocho is based off of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabukich%C5%8D,_Tokyo Kabukicho, Tokyo]], Sotenbori is based off of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dtonbori Dotonbori, Osaka]], and Isezaki Iijincho is based off of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isezakich%C5%8D Isezakicho, Yokohama]]. {{Averted|Trope}} in the case of Onomichi, Hiroshima, which is a real town and not fictionalized like the other locations. |
| 579 | * NonCombatEXP: The player can gain additional experience points by eating at local eateries, hanging out at the hostess clubs and completing substories - some of which don't even involve any form of combat! |
| 580 | * NonLethalKO: No matter how much you brutalize enemies, especially with HEAT moves that should give the victim severe brain damage, compound fractures, and multiple ruptured organs at the very least, nobody you attack ever actually ''dies'' by your hands (and if they do die, it's usually due to someone else finishing the job). In the case of RandomEncounters on the streets, the worst you ever of them is that they're doubled over and clutching their guts apologizing for picking a fight with you. |
| 581 | [[/folder]] |
| 582 | [[folder: O-Z]] |
| 583 | * OhCrap: If you pull out a weapon in the middle of a heated random encounter battle or finish off the penultimate enemy, your enemies may suddenly panic and start to back off. Kiryu even has a HEAT action against scared enemies holding weapons. |
| 584 | * OldMaster: Sotaro Komaki. And when you can actually fight him in a tournament, he will show you just why he is the Old Master. |
| 585 | * OlderThanTheyLook: With the exception of ''Yakuza 0'' the protagonists tend to be on the older side, particularly by video game standards. You'd never know it by looking however, as they and most of the other characters appear to have stopped aging somewhere in their late twenties. |
| 586 | * OldSaveBonus: Starting a file for the second game in a card with the files from the first nets Kiryu a bonanza of items, most of which Haruka gave to him in the first game to indicate his RelationshipValues progression and comprise of one-shot healing items and accessories that affect his stats. |
| 587 | ** In ''3'' (JP version only), having a ''Kenzan!'' save file will net you Ukiyo's Bell, an exclusive protective item. |
| 588 | ** ''4'' and ''Dead Souls'' offer up items if you played the last game. ''3'' gives you armor and an accessory that restores HP over time and ''4'' nets you an item that offers high defense and charm. |
| 589 | ** ''Yakuza 5'' gives items for having saves not only from ''Yakuza 3'', ''Yakuza 4'' and ''Dead Souls'', but from games that never made it into the region, such as ''Kenzan'' and the HD versions of the first two games. |
| 590 | ** Future games in the series give items simply for having another Yakuza game's system data. |
| 591 | * OncePerEpisode: There's a certain recurring sequence in the games. Kiryu beats up someone with a gun, he doesn't move the gun away from them. He turns his back. The guy gets back up and shoots either Kiryu or someone else. The character introduced that game stands in the path and takes the bullet lethally. |
| 592 | ** In every main series game, all of Kiryu’s final boss fights have both him and the antagonist fight shirtless. |
| 593 | ** You can always count on a substory or some sort of optional event where one member of a walking group of thugs bump into Kiryu and then [[WoundedGazelleGambit pretend that the collision injured them badly.]] His gang friends will demand that Kiryu pays them back to pay for the supposed hospital charges. While you often have the choice to submit to their demands, it's obvious that it's just a cheap con so you're always better off denying them and fighting off the group when they become hostile. |
| 594 | * OneDialogueTwoConversations: ''Many'' side quests are caused by this. |
| 595 | ** In ''0'': |
| 596 | *** There's a guy who sells mushrooms in a dark alley... [[spoiler:which are all of the non-hallucinogenic kind, to the anger of his customers]]. |
| 597 | *** A mysterious lady repeatedly calls a telephone club, but nobody understood what she's saying until Kiryu comes along. They agreed to meet... [[spoiler:Turns out it's a guy using a voice changer trying to call the parents of the boy he kidnapped for ransom, but the boy gave him the number of the telephone club he saw through the window of the room he was locked in]]. |
| 598 | * OneHitPointWonder: The Artful Dodger. After all, all you got to do is to hit him just once. Also applies to Yasuo Sodachi from ''4'' to ''5'', who is somehow even weaker than his students and remains that way until ''6''. |
| 599 | * OneManArmy: Kiryu. In the course of three games he was able to fight alone against almost everything, from entire yakuza families to triads to trained military personnel and even rogue CIA agents. |
| 600 | ** This also extends to the other playable characters as they are powerful in their own right (Akiyama, Saejima, Majima, Tanimura, and Shinada). Hell, in the near climax of ''Yakuza 5'', Kiryu, Akiyama, Saejima, and Shinada were surrounded on all sides by hundreds of yakuza thugs. A huge army of thugs tried to take on a quartet of one-man-armies, with predictable results. Subverted by Ichiban, who as a JRPG protagonist fights primarily with a party and within the story is treated as [[WeakButSkilled nowhere near the level of previous protagonists]]. |
| 601 | * OnlyAFleshWound: No matter how brutal the protagonists can get in gameplay (up to gutting people with blades or outright using guns) they do not kill. Enemies beaten by them are usually just treated as either knocked out or limping away. Moments where this is much harder to excuse (such as blowing them up with a rocket launcher or throwing them off skyscrapers) are typically just ignored. |
| 602 | * OutOfGenreExperience: Most of the third part of ''5'' follows Haruka's pursuit of her idol career, in which the BeatEmUp fights are replaced by RhythmGame dance battles to catchy J-pop music, more reminiscent of ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster''. |
| 603 | * PapaWolf: Do not mess with little Haruka, Kiryu's adoptive daughter, if you value your life. |
| 604 | ** And in ''3'', don't mess with ANY of Kiryu's kids. It counts against your life expectancy. |
| 605 | ** And if you plan to mess with his grandson Haruto in ''6'', then you must be ''exceptionally'' stupid. |
| 606 | * PaperFanOfDoom: |
| 607 | ** Ryuji gets to use this ''of all things'' to fend off various mutated zombies in ''Dead Souls'', when trapped in a gas leak. Taken literally, as it only takes ''a few hits'' to kill what could've taken lots of bullets, and has infinite durability. |
| 608 | ** Haruka can use one in ''Yakuza 5'' in one of her substories as part of a BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine. |
| 609 | * ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: The more common, less savory yakuza moneymaking methods such as extorting small businesses or dealing drugs are often glossed over, particularly when it comes to the more heroic characters. Kiryu has the excuse of not actually ''being'' an active yakuza member for most of the franchise, but in the few instances where he is (such as the intros to ''0'' and ''1/Kiwami''), the targets of his brutal debt collecting are conveniently scumbags so that Kiryu won't look villainous in the process. |
| 610 | * PointOfNoReturn: Each game has one toward the very end of the main story, where players are given one last chance to save their game, stock up on items and finish any loose ends before going off into the final battle. Players are always given fair warning when this moment occurs. |
| 611 | * PoliceAreUseless: Even though Kamurocho is home to so much violence that it should probably be put under martial law or classified as a warzone, the presence of law enforcement ranges from being minimal, nonexistent or outright ''harmful'' due to the alarming amount of corrupt cops and double agents in the force. It should be noted that the real Japan had strict anti-yakuza laws since the 90s and has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. |
| 612 | * PowerGlows: In almost every game in the series, the strongest weapons tend to have BattleAura[=s=] of their own. Even the ''guns''. |
| 613 | * PreAssKickingOneLiner: Near the end of the first game, Kiryu and Haruka are about to head for the Millennium Tower to locate her mother and the missing Tojo money. Suddenly pedestrians clear the street and they're surrounded by an armed mob. Kiryu reassures Haruka that he'll get her to her mother, then turns around to stare down the mob and let them know what's coming: |
| 614 | -->'''Kiryu (English dub)''': [[SuicidalOverconfidence So you're ready for me?]] [[BringIt Then step the fuck up]], it's time to ''[[TranquilFury die]]''. |
| 615 | * PreexistingEncounters: The games feature these with enemies hanging around town looking for a mark (''most often you'') to harass in some way. Because of this its possible to avoid these encounters entirely, or purposely engage them in case of any ulterior motives on the part of the player. ''0'' and ''Kiwami'' blend this with RoamingEnemy where groups of mooks will actually be roaming the town themselves and will pick a fight with you if they see you running or you accidentally rub shoulders with them. Even incidental enemies who aren't part of a mob who are minding their own business will engage you in a fight if you bump into them. |
| 616 | * PressXToNotDie: Quick Time Events happen sometimes as part of a BossBattle. In specific battles, this becomes FridgeBrilliance when you realize it's actually the enemy attempting to use a HEAT Action on you and you're trying to evade it. |
| 617 | * ProductPlacement: Used heavily throughout the series . |
| 618 | ** No-frills department store chain Don Quijote was a staple of the series from the first game until ''Judgment'', complete with their infamous "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSCGDkXvyzg Miracle Shopping]]" theme song as the interior background music. Their in-game stores are notably located in the exact spots where their real-world equivalents also are. |
| 619 | ** The longest-running tie-in by far has been with beverage giant Suntory. Every game since the first has had most of the purchasable drinks be linked to them, ranging from soft drinks like Boss iced coffee all the way to premium brand-name liquor that they have distribution rights to in Japan, including Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey. Until ''Yakuza 6'', ordering a drink at a bar would see the bartender give a loving description of the drink's history and taste profile, all while the camera focuses on the bottle sitting on the counter. |
| 620 | ** The karaoke machine in the bar is always a Joysound product. Joysound is a very prolific karaoke equipment and software company in Japan that got a short stint in the limelight in the west for region-locking their [=PS3=] title so tightly that it will not work outside Japan even if the [=PS3=] is a Japanese region console. Similarly, darts machines are courtesy of DARTSLIVE, which doubles as a [[CompanyCrossReferences Company Cross Reference]] for another Sega Sammy Holdings company. |
| 621 | * ProtagonistTitle: A mild subversion for the English title. The protagonists are ''former'' yakuza during most of the stories, but the stories are undoubtedly centered around organized crime. |
| 622 | * RandomEffectSpell: Mr. Random, an [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly-named]] endgame handgun that appears throughout most of the series, inflicts a random status effect every time its user lands a shot. While it usually lacks attack power in comparison to other handguns, the ease in which it can [[CycleOfHurting stun lock enemies to death]] more than makes up for it. |
| 623 | * RealityIsUnrealistic: While Kiryu dresses like the stereotypical yakuza and has the back tattoo, [[https://boingboing.net/2010/08/10/yakuza-3-review.html real yakuza who reviewed the game]] noted that his threads are typical of low-level members (''chimpira'') and he should've upgraded to a more conservative top brand suit when he became boss (as worn by the other bosses), and his tattoo should've covered his whole body (this is probably justified since he was expelled from the Dojima family and is only back in the business for short terms after getting out of prison). ''0'' also has his kyoudai Nishikiyama mock his fashion sense before and after he settles on his now-iconic suit, suggesting Kiryu's a poor dresser for a Yakuza in general. |
| 624 | * RealLifeWritesThePlot: Yakuza in real life have been on a steady decline due to an increasing amount of legislature and restrictions that make it extremely hard and often not worth the effort for them to carry out their business as usual (at least not "out in the open" as they are stereotypically known to do). This becomes more and more prevalent in the games, which tend to take place in the year they were released in, thus making it difficult to realistically portray yakuza freely roaming the streets and having public offices as late as the 2010s / 2020s. This reaches a breaking point in ''Like A Dragon'', where [[spoiler:Daigo decides to [[AbdicateTheThrone disband the Tojo Clan with their pride still intact]] since it'd be either that or watching it become a puppet of the police/government.]] |
| 625 | * RecurringBoss: Occurs often in the series, though the most prominent example is definitely Goro Majima in ''Kiwami''. |
| 626 | * RecycledSoundtrack: The second game reuses some background and cutscene music from the first. In the later games, the songs from various mini-games often get reused. Some of the more popular songs also get remixed or updated in later games. |
| 627 | * RedemptionEqualsDeath: While not wholly repentant, [[spoiler:Nishiki]] died avenging someone he cared about. Ditto [[spoiler: Mine in the third game]]. Also [[spoiler: Hamazaki]] in ''Yakuza 4''. [[spoiler:Goda]] was fatally injured saving a half-sister he didn't even know he had minutes prior (and getting revenge on the man who betrayed him as a bonus). |
| 628 | * RedBaron: This being a game about gangsters, we're bound to get a few examples. We have the Dragon of Dojima (Kiryu), the Mad Dog of Shimano (Majima), the Dragon of Kansai (Goda), and for a couple of non-yakuza examples, there's the Lifeline of Kamurucho (Akiyama) and the Parasite of Kamurucho (Tanimura). |
| 629 | * ReformedCriminal: Possibly a few examples in the games, but in particular The Florist. In the first game he had been a former police intelligence officer who was busted by Date for selling some of the information he gathered and ended up becoming the de facto ruler of Purgatory while continuing to sell information. In the second game, it turns out that the police contracted him for his abilities and he left Purgatory in the charge of Goro Majima to move his base of operations to the Millennium Tower. |
| 630 | * RememberTheNewGuy: The franchise has a habit of introducing entirely new yakuza families and their members both within and outside the Tojo with each new installment, to justify antagonists that had been plotting for years or perhaps had risen FromNobodyToNightmare under everyone's noses. The story and in-game database tend to give some context to them, but rarely stop to exposit, thus coming off as acting like they were there the entire time which isn't unreasonable given that the Tojo Clan alone has over 30,000 members for most of the series. One notable non-Tojo example is the rival Ueno Seiwa Clan that apparently had been fighting off-screen with the Tojo for over thirty years in ''4''. |
| 631 | * RivalTurnedEvil: Akira Nishikiyama, a childhood friend of Kiryu who, after a series of tragic events, really changed during the years Kiryu was in jail for a murder that Nishiki himself committed - granted, he had a good reason. |
| 632 | * RoamingEnemy: ''Kiwami'' features this in the form of the ''Majima Everywhere'' system, where Majima can be seen as a wandering encounter around town, hiding in certain spots around town such as manholes, giant traffic cones or even as "random" encounters where a scripted PatrollingMook will instigate a fight with Kiryu, only for Majima to show up 10 seconds later. You're not even safe inside certain stores as performing certain actions will also instigate a (''one time thankfully'') Majima fight. |
| 633 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Played most straight in ''Dead Souls,'' when Kiryu enters the quarantine zone to confront those that kidnapped Haruka... and proceeds to fight zombies. Unarmed. |
| 634 | * RooftopConfrontation: The series loves final showdowns on top of very tall buildings. |
| 635 | * RotatingProtagonist: Several games feature multiple protagonists and cycle between their perspectives periodically. Their plotlines typically don't start connecting until past the mid-point and near the end of the game you'll get the option to switch between them manually. |
| 636 | * RuthlessForeignGangsters: In the first game, Kiryu also has to rescue Haruka from Lau Ka Long's [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Snake Flower Triad]]. |
| 637 | ** The sequel has Kiryu fighting against the Jingweon, Korean gangsters/terrorists as well as the other yakuza. |
| 638 | ** The third one has [[spoiler:Black Monday, a weapons dealing syndicate headed by corrupt CIA operatives. Lau and the Snake Flower Triad also return.]] |
| 639 | ** The sixth game has the Jingweon return as well as a new triad gang, the Saio Triad. |
| 640 | ** The seventh game introduces a non-Triad Chinese gang called the Liumang and a Korean syndicate, the Geomijul, who are mostly made up of former Jingweon members. |
| 641 | ** The eighth game [[SequelGoesForeign goes to Honolulu, Hawaii]] which has the local American gang, the Barracudas, as well as another Chinese organized crime group, the Ganzhe. |
| 642 | * SadBattleMusic: |
| 643 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8LZ2GqzOSA "For Who's Sake"]], the final boss theme for Akira Nishikiyama which empathizes on the grief of him and Kiryu. Here's the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hl6KNY10ZA Kiwami]] mix. |
| 644 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcEtPhCJenQ "A Scattered Moment"]], the final boss music for Ryuji Goda whom Kiryu fights for the third time as they are both severely wounded by [[spoiler: Ryo Takashima's]] gunshots. After Kiryu's victory, Ryuji [[spoiler: dies in his half-sister Kaoru's arms]]. It returns in the UpdatedRerelease as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8WGb2gs-F8 A Scattered, Eternal Moment]]", which adds strings and guitars to give it a true sense of finale and respect. |
| 645 | *** Speaking of ''VideoGame/Yakuza2'' there's this version of Jo Amon's theme "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MAqTLHpeTo Fiercest Warrior Ver. Kiwami 2]]" from the UpdatedRerelease, which is ''far'' more emotional and atmospheric than his other themes, likely to indicate that this is the last time we will fight against him as Kiryu. |
| 646 | ** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnGuvZViqYs Cry...]]", from ''VideoGame/YakuzaDeadSouls'', an emotional track which is heard during the fight against [[spoiler:Tetsuo Nikaido, who helped put the events of the game into motion and has now become one of the undead]]. |
| 647 | ** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyQUo0xmVR8 For Face]]", [[spoiler:Daigo Dojima]]'s version of "For Faith" from ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', is a track which represents an inexperienced man's desperation to steer the organization straight and meet the high hopes of the hero who entrusted him with its leadership, even if it meant betraying those around him. |
| 648 | ** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIkQ6yAfVgg ism]]" (also known as "Light and Darkness") in ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', which is similar to "For Who's Sake" from the first game (see above) and the circumstances that it plays in are also [[HistoryRepeats quite familiar]]. |
| 649 | * ScaryBlackMan: Gary "Buster" Holmes, although only in the ring. Outside of it he's a rather amicable GentleGiant. |
| 650 | ** And in ''Dead Souls'', Gary is your personal Drill Instructor for Zombie Killer Boot Camp. |
| 651 | ** Gary also returns yet again as a summon in ''Like a Dragon''. |
| 652 | * SceneryGorn: ''Dead Souls'' has this to spare: the areas in the quarantine zone look like bombs went off all over. |
| 653 | * SchmuckBait: The series does not seem to be without them and they have a great diversity of methods in both storylines and side quests. |
| 654 | * SceneryPorn: Just every hub is really majestic given the Japanese setting, especially when they are glowing with neon during evening or night. |
| 655 | * ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Pretty common, with Daigo refusing a land deal in ''3'' because it would inconvenience Kiryu, and the entire main cast (especially Akiyama) [[spoiler: throwing away 100 billion yen to figure out who was pulling the strings and bring them to justice.]] |
| 656 | * SequelEscalation: The first game revolved around a stash of 10 billion yen. In the fourth game, the plot revolves around a ''100 billion'' yen stash. |
| 657 | * SerialEscalation: [[spoiler: Tiger punching.]] |
| 658 | ** For a game that repeatedly escalates, the zombie apocalypse in ''Dead Souls'' shatters every known perception of possibility. |
| 659 | ** Saejima fights a giant bear with his bare fists in ''5''. |
| 660 | ** Fighting against an excavator in ''Like a Dragon''. No, seriously. |
| 661 | * SeriesMascot: Perhaps befitting his EnsembleDarkHorse status (which he inexplicably possesses ''in-universe''), Ono Michio-kun seems to be becoming this as he appears in every game from ''Yakuza 6'' onwards, despite originally being a minor character in a set of sidestories: |
| 662 | ** In VideoGame/Yakuza6, he's introduced as the mascot of Onomichi, used for marketing the town as a tourism destination [[spoiler:as repeatedly played by Kiryu, much to the latter's intense displeasure.]] |
| 663 | ** In [[VideoGame/Yakuza2 Yakuza Kiwami 2]], he's available as a character for Clan Creator by way of DLC. |
| 664 | ** In VideoGame/{{Judgment}}, a side case revolves around [[spoiler:a robber using an Ono Michio costume to commit robberies]], with the mascot somehow having become famous nationwide, including in Kamurocho. |
| 665 | ** In VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon, in addition to a substory in which [[spoiler:knock-off merchants are using Ono Michio's new-found national fame in order to hawk fake action figures that, in addition to being generally shoddy, are ''literally explosive'']], you can optionally customise your party to all have Ono Michio's head, regardless of their actual class. |
| 666 | ** In VideoGame/LostJudgment, [[spoiler:his ridiculous head is used as a hiding place by one of Yagami's impossibly shy DLC girlfriends, while Yagami can also use his outfit as a disguise while stopping a robbery at Cafe Alps.]] Additionally, you can see advertising for Onomichi as a destination that features him in at least one place. |
| 667 | ** The only other character for which the UK Sega shop sells licensed merch, besides Kazuma Kiryu? Not series favourite or one-time protagonist Goro Majima, not new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga... [[https://www.segashop.co.uk/collections/yakuza/products/pin-kings-ryu-ga-gotoku-yakuza-ono-pin-badge-set-1-1 Ono Michio]]. |
| 668 | ** In [[Videogame/LikeADragonGaidenTheManWhoErasedHisName Gaiden]], the new karaoke video for "Sayonara Silent Night" shows a depressed Kiryu in costume as Ono Michio acting as a busker, performing for a disinterested public. You can also get Ono Michio decals for your Pocket Circuit car. |
| 669 | * SetSwordsToStun: Mooks can take dozens of sword slashes, but they'll always be alive enough to apologize after the fight and give you a reward. |
| 670 | * ShirtlessScene: At least [[OncePerEpisode once per game]], Kiryu will rip off his shirt to reveal his dragon tattoo, typically before the climax of the game. If his opponent is also yakuza, they'll likely return the gesture and shed their own shirt. Completely averted in ''Dead Souls'' for obvious reasons. |
| 671 | * SidetrackedByTheGoldenSaucer: A common occurrence with these games, since they all have a ton of side content. The two biggest offenders are the Substories and Management Minigames. Substories are short but funny sidequests that usually center around odd situations happening in Kamurocho that the player character stumbles onto. Some famous ones include Majima rescuing a woman's daughter from a cult in ''0'', Saejima escaping from some Christmas-mad kids while dressed as Santa Claus in ''5'', and the infamous Adult Baby Diaper Lover story in ''2'' which is unique among these examples for being ''mandatory''. Meanwhile, Management Minigames are much more involved sidequests that usually have the main character become the leader of a business and must guide it to the top of the rankings. These games are the principle source of money in the games they feature in, and usually boast a more complex story than the average Substory. They also often feature guest characters, with the Cabaret Club Czar minigame in ''0'' having many of the Hostesses take their likeness from real gravure actresses, or the Majima Construction Company minigame in ''Kiwami 2'' having the main opponents be cameo appearances from New Japan-World Wrestling. |
| 672 | * SignatureSoundEffect: The loud echoing crack that rings each time Kiryu delivers a finishing blow to the last opponent in a combat round... even if it's just a simple straight punch to a [[SuicidalOverconfidence suicidally overconfident]] and [[OneHitPointWonder fragile]] twerp. |
| 673 | * ShopFodder: |
| 674 | ** Plates mostly exist solely to be sold to vendors for a decent chunk of yen, although they occasionally play a minor plot role in some games. They're sometimes obtained from random battles in place of yen and are often seen as rewards for {{Betting Mini Game}}s as well as from [[CollectionSidequest coin lockers]]. |
| 675 | ** In ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', the protagonists can find and pick up various types of garbage throughout Kamurocho. Their use isn't readily apparent until Saejima's story, where he encounters a shopkeeper in Kamurocho's sewers calling himself the "Mean Green Machine". He doesn't deal in yen, instead giving Saejima [[GlobalCurrencyException "Ecopoints"]] to use on his exclusive wares, such as rare crafting materials and the unique Dragon Flak Vest. Saejima can also spend these Ecopoints on a food stall close to the Mean Green Machine, making it one of the few places where he can conveniently obtain recovery items while using the sewers to avoid RandomEncounters. |
| 676 | * ShoutOut: |
| 677 | ** The first ''Yakuza'' had a car chase sequence where Kiryu has to use a gun to shoot down their pursuers, which uses the same targeting sights seen in ''VideoGame/VirtuaCop''. |
| 678 | ** ''Yakuza 2'' contained references to the previous game, ''Manga/TomorrowsJoe'', SEGA, the [=PS3=] cat and even Film/TheMatrix (the "Man in Black"). |
| 679 | ** Also, Kiryu can learn various techniques after helping out and sparring with wrestler "Cyclops" Oba, who is likely a reference to Japanese wrestling legend "Giant" Baba. |
| 680 | ** Snake Flower Triad leader Lau Ka Long is patterned after [[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Lau Chan]], with a few shades of [[VideoGame/{{Shenmue}} Lan Di]]. |
| 681 | *** In the same vein, the fourth installment introduces Daisaku Minami, a drunken boxer who has a few moves directly lifted from [[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Shun Di]] complete with appropriate sound effect. |
| 682 | ** In this trailer[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzE-Usa5kkc]] and footage[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MewAJegsPOE]] has quite a few to other survivor horrors and combat ops; if you look among which a couple [[VideoGame/Left4Dead of hunters and a tank]], [[Franchise/SilentHill flashlight segments and the changes to the Kamurocho district]], [[VideoGame/MetalSlug available attack vehicles to use]],[[spoiler:a room with [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Lickers]], a [[VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead team up in a room with the chapter's]] [[LoadBearingBoss behemoth zombie]] ]], just from what is shown. |
| 683 | ** If one manages to look closely, Andre Richardson ([[spoiler:Black Monday's leader, a crooked CIA agent and one of the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of ''3'']]) looks surprisingly similar to [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Albert Wesker]]. |
| 684 | ** One of Kiryu's, Tanimura's and Saejima's abilities that allow them to recharge their HEAT meters may cause some players to think they are also [[Anime/DragonBallZ Super Saiyans]]. |
| 685 | ** A Revelation Moment for Saejima and Akiyama in ''4'' involves [[Film/KungFuHustle a Chinese couple with the wife catching the husband fooling around. And they're both skilled martial artists]]. |
| 686 | *** Akiyama's first Revelation ends with [[Anime/CowboyBebop a slow-motion scene of a man falling backwards toward the pavement while inappropriately happy choir music plays]]. |
| 687 | ** ''Yakuza 5'' is practically Sega fanservice. Music from various Sega games can be heard in the streets, stores and bars, figurines of certain characters can be obtained with the UFO catcher, and music can be purchased as BGM for the Taxi racing missions. Getting a boost after drifting also reminiscent of ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed]]'', while the drifting is reminiscent of Nagoshi's earlier hit, ''VideoGame/DaytonaUSA''. |
| 688 | ** ''Yakuza Kiwami'''s description of Essence of Cramming: Nails. It reads "Feed your enemy a handful of [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants nails for breakfast... without any milk]]." |
| 689 | ** ''Like A Dragon'' is one huge ShoutOut to ''Franchise/DragonQuest''. |
| 690 | * ShownTheirWork: [[http://boingboing.net/2010/08/10/yakuza-3-review.html According to actual Yakuza who played it]], it's not wildly off the mark, and most of the inaccuracies fall under AcceptableBreaksFromReality or RealityIsUnrealistic. However, this was not the case with the first draft of the first game's script, which suffered from major inaccuracies, requiring the staff to truly explore the culture of the Japanese underworld and rewrite it. |
| 691 | ** In the case of the New Japan Pro Wrestling bosses in ''6'': |
| 692 | *** Each of them bosses can perform their {{Finishing Move}}s during their respective fights. |
| 693 | *** Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima are fought together, since they are tag team partners in real life. |
| 694 | *** Kazuchika Okada's theme plays during his encounter; he is the only NJPW boss with this distinction. |
| 695 | * SimulationGame: The second game plays with this a bit, as an optional sidequest where saving the owner of the hostess club Marietta from {{Mook}} harassment opens up the opportunity to run the place with the aim of trying to make it profitable while the owner attends to family illness. |
| 696 | ** The fifth game has Kiryu working as a taxi driver, and some missions require him to take passengers to their destination while abiding by traffic laws (stopping at signs and signaling for instance). |
| 697 | * SinisterSurveillance: Inverted. Kamurocho has a ''very'' extensive surveillance network installed, that seems to be able to note every square inch of the city inside buildings well as out and includes the ability to zoom in and presumably enhance images. The Florist uses it as his primary tool to gather information for clients and to help out Kiryu at certain instances. |
| 698 | * SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: The main plots of the game are often serious crime dramas with various twists and turns throughout as the cast plays against each other and tackles serious concepts such as honor, loyalty, revenge and family. The sidequests, on the other hand, can run the gauntlet from serious drama to downright ridiculous. |
| 699 | * SpecialPersonNormalName: Despite the grandiose scale of the drama, schemes and battles regularly portrayed in the series, nearly all of its characters are given relatively mundane Japanese names in contrast. While the surnames used have a tendency to be chosen from rarer (albeit existing) surnames like Yagami (八神)[[labelnote:*]]which only exists among 880 people throughout the country -- only 0.0007% of Japan's population![[/labelnote]], for instance, the given names of characters are uniformly commonplace. Villains who have larger-than-life personalities, borderline superhuman mastery of the martial arts and [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Charles Atlas Superpowers]] can have names as ordinary to Japanese eyes as Goro Majima, Yosuke Tendo or [[spoiler:Mitsuru Kuroiwa]], for instance -- all of which you can easily find walking around in Tokyo. |
| 700 | * SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}''. Both series have [[WideOpenSandbox Wide Open Sandboxes]] set in thriving Japanese towns and cities with a wide variety of side-activities to partake in, deep combat systems with inspiration from ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', and intricate stories. |
| 701 | * SpontaneousCrowdFormation: As a means of cordoning off the fight areas, and also perhaps to highlight the culture of violence in which street brawls are common spectator sport. |
| 702 | * StanceSystem: The first spinoff game set in Japan in the past, ''Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!'' has 4 styles of combat you can switch on the fly, hand to hand, one sword style, two sword style, and two handed swords. |
| 703 | ** ''Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!'', the other historical Japan spinoff released several years later once more has a stance system, this time more diverse than Kenzan, and you unlock more styles as you progress. |
| 704 | *** A single sword style that plays similar to Saejima's combat style from ''Yakuza 4'' and ''5'', where you have slow yet powerful attacks, as well as having the ability to charge your attacks. It is also the most defensive style in the game. |
| 705 | *** A hand to hand style that plays like a mixture of Kiryu's regular fighting style, but also mixing in Tanimura's style from ''Yakuza 4'' by having parries and counters. Once you parry an attack, you become invincible for a short time, allowing you to fight against the sword wielding bad guys if you're skilled enough. |
| 706 | *** The pistol style, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in which you wield a pistol.]] With it, you have no defence, but you are able to damage enemies from far away and basically play keep away from them. |
| 707 | *** And lastly, the Wild Dance Style, which uses the pistol and sword at the same time and it makes you very agile and quick to make up your lack of defense in this style, and it possibly is the most visually pleasing. |
| 708 | ** ''Yakuza 0'' has this for Kiryu & Majima, each having up to three styles, along with a secret style. ''Kiwami'' keeps these styles for the two, but Kiryu is the only one playable. [[spoiler:As a boss, Kiryu switches between his stances as the fight progresses]]. |
| 709 | *** Kiryu's Brawler style is an UnskilledButStrong version of his usual fighting style in earlier games. It's a bit sluggish and puts a lot more weight and force than necessary behind every attack, but this style also allows Kiryu to CounterAttack whenever he's hit as long as he's not knocked down. |
| 710 | *** Kiryu's Rush style puts an emphasis on speed, similar to Akiyama's fighting style. While he cannot grab in this style, he is able to quickstep multiple times in succession and can strike much faster, with a mechanic that stuns an enemy if they are hit at least ten times successfully. Kiryu is also able to weave in place of blocking, allowing him to dodge attacks. |
| 711 | *** Kiryu's Beast style makes him into a MightyGlacier, putting more emphasis on sheer strength, like Saejima. While he is very slow and cannot dodge as fast as his other styles, Kiryu will automatically grab any nearby object or weapon as he attacks, also allowing him to use motorcycles and other heavy objects he cannot normally use as weapons. The style also possesses a Resist Guard in place of blocking, where he takes a minimal amount of damage, but it is in effect everywhere instead of being vulnerable from behind. |
| 712 | *** Kiryu's Legend style, later known as the Dragon style in ''Kiwami'', is his classic fighting style as the Dragon of Dojima, albeit without Komaki's moves, as he doesn't meet him until several years later in the first game. Instead, he can only dodge once like with Brawler as well as possessing different counters; the "Knockback Counter" instead of the "Komaki Knock Back", which is functionally similar, the "Iron Fist Counter" takes the place of the "Komaki Tiger Drop", which consumes the Heat Gauge, the "Twist Counter" takes the place of the "Komaki Parry", where it does effectively the same thing as the Tiger Drop, ''Kiwami'' gives the style a significant nerf by the time Kiryu comes out prison, due to him not fighting for the ten years he was incarcerated. |
| 713 | *** Majima's Thug style is his basic style. WeakButSkilled, Majima does not hit as hard as Kiryu, but he is also quicker and far more refined in how he strikes, able to quickstep twice, as well as possessing an Eye Poke move that disorients the enemy. He also has a second Rush Combo following the first that limits his movement, but also strikes much faster, which can be extended with certain upgrades. |
| 714 | *** Majima's Slugger style puts an emphasis of Majima's skill with weaponry, primarily in the form of a baseball bat he found in an alleyway. With it, Majima is slower, but possesses a much larger range of attack suitable for crowd control, but does not work well in enclosed spaces as it can bounce off walls. Unlike other styles, Majima's mastery of the style comes in the form of mastering other weapons that he can also use with other styles. In ''Kiwami'', Majima does not possess the weakness of his bat bouncing off walls when he uses the style. |
| 715 | *** Majima's Breaker style is perhaps the most difficult moveset to utilize to the fullest extent. While the rush combo is rather sluggish and cannot dodge as fast as the other two, this is Majima's speed style, but places an emphasis in crowd control, moreso than Slugger. As it takes time to reach a specific finishing blow, said finishing blows cover a large area once they're initiated. They're followed up with "Freeze", in which Majima is locked in a pose before he initiates the final blow of the combo. Said Freeze can also be started quickly at any point of the Finishing Blow. In ''Kiwami'', Majima possesses a red aura instead of pink. |
| 716 | *** Majima's Legend style is basically his style as the Mad Dog of Shimano, representing how he usually fights when he's fought as a boss in ''1''. With it, Majima uses his Demonfire Dagger, along with any other knife he can wield, in many of his moves. One particular move he has is "Savage", which allows to Majima to move at a fast pace following any Finishing Blow. He can follow this up with another move called "Chomp", where he viciously strikes an enemy as he passes by. He also possesses a special dodge called "Shadow Trail", where the dodge covers a significant distance, but consumes Heat if he has any. Like Kiryu, Majima also has a special Counter known as "Demonfire", where he brutally stabs the attacking enemy with his dagger that takes away a significant chunk of their health, as well as leave them open for a few more attacks. |
| 717 | * StatusQuoIsGod: |
| 718 | ** A small example: Akiyama's overweight secretary Hana becomes a [[BeautifulAllAlong gorgeous bombshell through dieting]] by the events of ''4's'' end. She ends up returning to her old body type by ''Dead Souls.'' She's actually back to her old body type by the non-canon [[NewGamePlus Premium Adventure Mode]], but when/if that actually takes place isn't clear. |
| 719 | ** In ''Yakuza 5'', Haruka has left the orphanage and is living on her own in Osaka, pursuing a career as an IdolSinger even though it means not being able to see her family. [[spoiler: At the end, she forfeits her career after she couldn't bear to be away from those she considers family any longer: Kiryu]]. Ultimately subverted in ''Yakuza 6'', where Kiryu is immediately sent to jail for 3 years and Haruka leaves the orphanage after her confession leads to a scandal. |
| 720 | * TheStinger: Most of the games end with an additional scene after the credits. |
| 721 | * SuicidalOverconfidence: "[[MuggingTheMonster Hey, we're having a pretty bad day, so we need to take out our aggression on you.]] [[GenreBlind Huh? Why you looking at us funny?]] [[HilarityEnsues You wanna die, old man?!]]" |
| 722 | * TakingTheBullet: Pretty much at least [[OncePerEpisode once per game.]] |
| 723 | * SuperMobBoss: Even in a WorldOfBadass, several, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking often high-ranking]] members of the of the various Yakuza clans across Japan stand out with their seemingly superhuman strength and durability: Countless yakuza in gameplay have little trouble shrugging off lethal tactics such as guns, knives, and katanas only to show themselves capable of singlehandedly taking down entire armies of mooks and even punching out vicious beasts such as tigers and bears without missing a beat. |
| 724 | ** Played straighter with Goro Majima and Kazuma Kiryu's appearance in VideoGame/ProjectXZone. Despite the relatively mundane titles of being high-ranking yakuzas, they're able to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of M Bison from ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' and Selvaria Bles from ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' among others. |
| 725 | * TattooedCrook: Given that the game series deals heavily with the subject of Yakuza this is ''de rigeur''. The tattoos on the main characters (Kiryu- Silver Dragon, Nishiki- Nishiki Carp, Majima- Han'nya, Goda- Gold Dragon, Mine- Kirin, Rikiya- Viper, Daigo- Fudo Myou, Saejima- Tiger, Ichiban- Koi Dragon) turn out to be very symbolic in the games and are often reflective of their personalities and traits. |
| 726 | * ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Kazuma Kiryu, "The Dragon of Dojima", is considered TheParagon and all-around biggest badass, leading to at least one rival per game being driven by jealousy or ambition to defeat him and become the next "Dragon", frequently sporting dragon tattoos of their own just to emphasize this trope[[note]]And just for completeness sake, two have carp tattoos, referring to a legend where a carp that swims to the top of a waterfall becomes a dragon, while Ichiban sports a tattoo of a carp who has become a dragon [[/note]]. |
| 727 | * ThouShaltNotKill: Beating the crap out of dozens of people? Forgivable. One lowly punk getting shot/stabbed to death? SeriousBusiness. Like, clan-war serious. This may come off as ValuesDissonance for people used to western crime dramas, but remember that guns (and thus, gun violence) are a lot rarer in Japan, plus yakuza are ''really'' political. That is, [[StoryAndGameplaySegregation ignoring the times Kiryu's shot or blown up enemies during high-speed shootouts]]. |
| 728 | * ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: The events of the first game could have been avoided had Kiryu not taken the fall for Nishiki. This decision leads to a civil war that severely weakens the Tojo Clan and its repercussions can be felt in many subsequent entries. |
| 729 | * TurnCoat: So far, apart from [[TheLancer Shinji Tanaka]], significant individuals in the Nishiki Family are doomed to this role. |
| 730 | * TheTysonZone: The series has become infamous for the amount of utterly bizarre things that goes on despite being on surface a realistic crime drama. This ranges from employing a chicken as a real estate manager to the ability to remove all the clothes from your upper body simply by yanking your shoulders. |
| 731 | * UniversalAdaptorCast: Very much the case with ''Kenzan!'' and ''Ishin!'' which star Japanese historical figures UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi and Sakamoto Ryoma respectively, who are both portrayed by Kazuma Kiryu. The supporting cast of both games are comprised of characters appearing in this series, although Haruka is the only one who exists as her own character in both titles. |
| 732 | * UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Apparently, fistfights and random gang brawls are common enough in Japan that nobody cares when [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Kiryu smacks people with plungers and leaves them unconscious on the streets]]. |
| 733 | * UpdatedRerelease: The first two games were re-released in Japan in 2012, a CompilationRerelease called ''Ryū ga Gotoku 1&2 HD Edition'' for the [=PS3=] and Platform/WiiU, which updated the combat in the first game using the improved mechanics in the second. |
| 734 | * ViceCity: You'd think Japan is the most dangerous country on Earth playing this series. On a ''good'' day, Kamurocho is swarming with yakuza, pickpockets, swindlers, human traffickers [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and weirdos]]; on a bad day, you can also add exploding buildings, serial killers and zombie outbreaks to the list. The other cities in the series vary in severity; for instance, Sotenbori and Ijincho are usually slightly safer than Kamurocho but are still riddled with crime, whereas Ryukyu and Onomichi are actually peaceful enough to have children walking around unsupervised in the streets, and they only ''occasionally'' have to deal with gang wars or government conspiracies. |
| 735 | * VideoGameCaringPotential: In Premium Adventure Mode, unlocked after beating the main story, you can let Haruka follow Kiryu around town. She will sometimes request to stop in at a restaurant or other attraction. You'd be hard-pressed to not get the warm fuzzies from it... until you find she can put you to shame at the bowling alley as a teen. |
| 736 | * VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Of the Enemies only type. Sure, the various mooks and bosses Kiryu meet are either punks or scum but did they really need to suffer that badly by various brutal heat actions? Of course, [[BullyingADragon it is kind of their fault]] [[TooDumbToLive for provoking him in the first place]]. |
| 737 | ** While you can't assault civilians, there's nothing stopping you from harassing them by repeatedly bumping into them while running and even knocking them over if you hit them at the right angle. |
| 738 | * VideoGameLongRunners: The series has gone on since 2005, with the final chapter for Kiryu released 19 years later. |
| 739 | * VideoGameRemake: |
| 740 | ** To mark the series' [[MilestoneCelebration 10 year anniversary]], ''Yakuza Kiwami'' was released, which is a remake of the first game using the engine and gameplay from ''Yakuza 0''. The story was slightly expanded to include a new segment where Kiryu buys Yumi a ring in the prologue, new cutscenes explore Nishiki's StartOfDarkness, and BreakoutCharacter Goro Majima's role has been expanded to serve as a StealthMentor for Kiryu after he returns from his ten-year prison sentence. |
| 741 | ** ''Yakuza Kiwami 2'' is a remake of the second title using the Dragon Engine created for ''Yakuza 6''. Featuring updated graphics and new actors, the story has also been expanded to explore Goro Majima's role during the game's events, making him playable once more. |
| 742 | * UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay: While the above trope about guns and fistfights is mostly true, actually getting shot or stabbed in some games in the series still has devastating and jarringly realistic, relative to other forms of damage, anyway, consequences. Your character will scream, suffer large amounts of damage, and reel in pain for several long seconds, all while the camera shakes and flashes red. |
| 743 | * TheUnfought: |
| 744 | ** Yayoi Dojima in the first game, who challenges Kiryu and is fully prepared to do so, but you only fight her mooks. |
| 745 | ** [[spoiler:Hamazaki]] in the third game, unless you download a certain DLC. |
| 746 | ** Jo Amon has always been the {{Superboss}} in the series, but in ''Dead Souls'', he gets knocked out by ancestor Rasetsu Amon, whom you fight instead. |
| 747 | * ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: It's essentially the series' signature style where almost all encounters end with a huge scuffle. For example; a protagonist attempts to convince someone to stand down or ask for aid/info, only for said someone to stubbornly refuse and fight, or have the protagonist conclude that only through fisticuffs that can make them listen. It's rare for a situation to be solved without violence. |
| 748 | * WideOpenSandbox: Kamurocho in general, and other locations as the series goes on. |
| 749 | * WorldOfBadass: This is a setting where a majority of characters tend to be men of great physical shape who get into fights on a near-daily basis and where climactic grudges are settled via shirtless fistfights. |
| 750 | * WouldHitAGirl / WouldHurtAChild: Poor Haruka is usually on the receiving end of this, and has been kidnapped in more than a couple of titles. |
| 751 | * WouldntHitAGirl: Imposed by the games on the player; Kiryu will never find himself in a situation where he must (or can) strike a woman. On the rare occasions where he is tracking or is attacked by a woman, it will always turn out to be a [[GenderBender guy in drag]]. This even extends to the developer being very careful to not allow Kiryu to appear in MassiveMultiplayerCrossover games where he could end up fighting women. |
| 752 | ** [[spoiler:Which is hilariously subverted in a SideQuest in the first game. Refusing to go into a Hotel for some "fun" with a woman results in her calling her thug brother in an attempt to pummel Kiryu. After the obligatory trashing ensues, it's then revealed that the siblings are [[GenderBender Gender Benders]], with the "woman" being [[DudeLooksLikeALady male]] and the thug "brother" being the actual female.]] |
| 753 | ** [[spoiler: The end result of the Michiru substory in ''3'' reveals that the 'guy' you originally rescued 'her' from? That was a post-op man.]] |
| 754 | ** The lack of female opponents is somewhat averted in ''4''. While helping her out with her investigation, Tanimura takes up a female Filipino cop named Nair who's in Japan chasing a Filipino criminal as a sparring partner. She's the only female opponent in the game, though, and neither one of them have any intention of holding back on each other. |
| 755 | ** Finally averted in ''Dead Souls'', which has female zombies, including special mutants that are exclusively female. Given the [[ZombieApocalypse circumstances]], it's no surprise that any reservations about genders have to be put on hold. |
| 756 | ** [[spoiler:When fought as a boss in ''Like a Dragon'', Kiryu will not directly attack female party members. Attempting to exploit this by having two of them isn't a good idea since Kiryu will frequently target Ichiban which ends in a game over if he gets knocked out.]] |
| 757 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: Pretty much everyone in all the games, actually, but special mention goes to Saejima and [[spoiler: Yoshitaka Mine in the third game, who gives the BigBad a Dragon Suplex ''off a thirty story building''.]] |
| 758 | ** Kiryu has a wrestler handle: Dragon Mask. |
| 759 | ** And taken to its logical next step in ''Yakuza 6'', when an antagonist gang - JUSTIS - counts six (fictionalised versions of) New Japan Pro Wrestling roster members amongst its number: Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito, the ''TenCozy'' tag-team (Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan), Hiroshi Tanahashi and their leader, Kazuchika Okada. While they all have their signature moves present[[note]]such as Naito's ''Destino'' DDT and Okada's ''Rainmaker'' lariat. Though, because there are no opportunities/possibilities for him to climb up high enough, Tanahashi gets a Sling-Blade rather than his ''High-Fly Flow'' frog-splash.[[/note]], Okada gets special mention for being the only one to have his NJPW music play during his boss fight. |
| 760 | * {{Yakuza}}: Nearly every major character in the series is a member of a Yakuza clan, though Kiryu eventually retires to run an orphanage. |
| 761 | * {{Yubitsume}}: Deconstructed, if anything. Some characters pay for their failures this way, yet many others avoid it and redeem themselves through more practical means. On several occasions it is called out as an outdated and pointlessly cruel practice. Futoshi Shimano being especially keen to demand yubitsume as punishment for failure from his underlings is treated as nothing but yet another indication of his sadism. |
| 762 | * ZipMode: Taxis can transport you to different parts of the map or sometimes completely different areas, for a fee. |
| 763 | * ZombieApocalypse: ''Dead Souls''. Yes, a Yakuza game [[OutOfGenreExperience features zombies]]. Somewhat subverted in that the outbreak is contained to Kamurocho and is thus not a truly global ZombieApocalypse. |
| 764 | [[/folder]] |
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