Ichiban as a whole is a walking Crowning Moment of Awesome, having the charisma to wrangle, among many others, a homeless bum, an ex-cop, an ex-hostess, a hitman, a Triad gangster, and a secretary to his side (most of which are just ordinary civilians with the noticeable exceptions of Han and Zhao) and being able to kick some serious ass alongside them just as well as he rallies them, too!
Early on in the game, Ichiban and Adachi jumping from one building to another while Ichiban lands on his feet, kicking an unlucky mook square in the face in the process.
Both of the boss fights with Sawashiro, particularly the Dynamic Intro for his second fight, and the cutscenes in the middle of each of them. Most notably, Kasuga, who is the franchise's epitome of Weak, but Skilled, is still tough enough to HOOK KICK A CANE HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK IT IN HALF. Note that this same cane is made of solid wood, and is being wielded by a powerful weapon master who's giving it his all, and is tough enough to fight multiple people at once.
Nanba teaming up with Ichiban to kick the shit out of some no-face mooks that are harassing them and their fellow homeless for money. And before then, Ichiban smugly not having any of their shit makes it clear that he's no pushover. Keep in mind that Nanba was cowering before these mooks earlier, trying to hide Ichiban from them, even. Ichiban later points out to the thugs that getting their higher-ups to help muscle in isn't going to work, as the gang was moving in on an area they don't actually control, and the brass have better things to do than to help a bunch of nobody thugs bully homeless when they can't handle it themselves.
When protecting a bar from the resident Korean Mafia, Kasuga and Nanba are assaulted by snipers wielding crossbows on the bridge. Kasuga responds by just standing there, taking a bolt scraping his cheek without flinching, and gets them to back off by telling them what will happen if they keep trying to steal the bar's electricity, much to Nanba's disbelief. A massive Establishing Character Moment that, along with earlier ones, show that, as much of a goober as he is, Kasuga is still a hardened Yakuza, and can demand respect if needed.
Ichiban, Nanba, and Adachi fighting their way through the Seiryu Clan HQ. By this point, the latter has basically hit rock bottom; with Adachi being kicked out of the police for aiding Ichiban's earlier escapade with the Omi Alliance, thus making the trio nothing more than a ragtag group of civilians. Not even the yakuza can stop these guys from doing the right thing and getting Sunlight Castle shut down just to save the life of Nanoha's father.
The fact that Nanoha is revealed to be Saeko's sister (and thus her father as well) also doubles as heartwarming since the trio inadvertently earned themselves a new friend that way, too!
Han's Big Damn Heroes moment when he frees Ichiban from Mabuchi's goons. For players that enjoyed Han in Yakuza 6, hearing a remix of his leitmotif Theory of Beauty is guaranteed to invoke a "hell yeah!" And even if you haven't played 6 before this one, it's still pretty badass.
Joon-gi Han's boss fight in Chapter 6. Besides Theory of Beauty making a return here, Han isn't afraid to hold back against Ichiban, Adachi, Saeko, or Eri if it means protecting his home and the Gray Zones from having Ogikubo's money counterfeiting scheme (which is the only thing keeping the Ijin Three from going at each other's throats) exposed to the public. It's especially awesome that, once Han becomes a party member, much of the skills that he uses against you in his boss fight can also be used while he's playable!
Also around this time is the scene where Seong-hui tries sneakily pulling her gun to break a Mexican Standoff between the heroes and Geomijul - and is quickly and easily disarmed by Adachi, who quips, "you forgot I was still here, did you?" As laid back as he might be (and as old as he's getting), Adachi is still at the top of his game.
A minor example is when Ichiban, Adachi, and Saeko confront Kume the second time before Bleach Japan batters down the Great Wall of Muscle. Ichiban and Saeko take turns making fun of the thinly-veiled Omi Alliance members posing as Bleach Japan, but Saeko makes sure to put Kume in his place once more:
Saeko: Pretty lame threats for someone who thinks he's cleaning the world up. Your heart's as black as they come.
Saeko: Wow, the real you is coming out now, huh? But if I'm a "hussy," you're just the garbage under my heels.
The scene where we find out what really happened regarding the murder that Ichiban took the rap for ends up being one for the yakuza in question. Masato Arakawa pulled a gun on a yakuza who was getting ready to beat him down. The yakuza's reaction? Laughing in Masato's face, grabbing the gun and pressing it to his forehead, and daring Masato to do it if he has the balls. The kicker? Masato actually breaks and can't go through with it at first, and only pulls the trigger after being further insulted by the yakuza in question. The man was absolutely fearless, even in the face of death. Suicidal Overconfidence? Yes. Unspeakably badass? Also yes.
The boss fight against Majima and Saejima. The fact that Majima and Saejima are both fought at the same time can be a daunting prospect.
Kiryu also gets in a Big Damn Heroes moment later on in the game, too - he punches the shit out of a mook that's about to stab Watase. Then he promptly reveals himself by taking off his Cool Shades, title card included.note The last time he ever had his own title card was in the original Yakuza game and its remake, Yakuza Kiwami, by the way. For any player that started the series with this game, this is one hell of a way to introduce a character. And even for a longtime veteran of the series, this is most certainly a very welcome surprise. Especially after Kiryu faked his death at the end of Yakuza 6.
Majima's reaction in particular also doubles as heartwarming since he genuinely thought that Kiryu was dead. That isn't the reaction of the Mad Dog of Shimano seeing the Dragon of Dojima in his full glory once again, it's the reaction of a man seeing an old friend alive and well after having thought he was dead for a long time.
Watase also deserves credit for somehow managing to find Kiryu and getting him to act as his secret weapon.
Ichiban campaigning against Kume is probably one of the most satisfying moments in the entire game - not only does he own his ex-Yakuza status, but he also turns Kume's own Black-and-White Insanity and incessant Moral Guardian tendencies against him by calling him out on his own hypocrisy to the point he runs his ass out of there! Seeing Hamako in the crowd cheer him on is also equally satisfying, given how he saved her earlier from Totsuka! This is even more impressive when you realize that Ichiban is a former Yakuza, an ex-convict, a political nobody, and a person who lives inside the gray zones. Essentially, Ichiban is the face of everything that Kume is opposing, and he manages to turn the guy's supporters around in the course of a single speech!
Ichiban: Kume-san. People really don't want to break the law. They really don't. But just like the law ain't perfect, neither are humans. They both exist in gray zones, part good, part bad. Kume:… Ichiban: I mean, just one little mistake can send you down the slippery slope. It happened to me. I made a mistake that led me to this city. Luckily, I was rescued from that mistake. But not by the law… I was rescued by people who live in the gray zones. And man, they didn't ask for that life. They got the raw end of a deal. They were never given a real choice. They want to be proud, hard-working members of society as much as anyone in this crowd. They know the law is important. I do, too. But we also know some things are more important! Kume:… Ichiban:People don't exist to serve the law. The law exists to serve the people. We ought to remember the words in that order! Don't you think, Kume-san?
Kiryu stopping Ichiban from finishing off a helpless mook when even his friends told him to stop. He makes it apparent that he won't help Ichi unless he learns to control his temper. Kiryu probably saw a bit of his younger self in Ichiban too, seeing as he too had a pretty hot-blooded temper in his younger days, so seeing him pull Ichiban off the Omi thug that he was mercilessly beating to a pulp goes to show that he's come a long way in the past 31 years.
The boss fight with the legendary Dragon of Dojima himself, Kazuma Kiryu, complete with Darryl Kurylo reprising his role from the very first game. The last time he was ever fought as a Boss was way back in Yakuza 5, and even then, the player could decide the outcome of that fight between him and Saejima.
Just the fact that Kiryu's Title Card has the Tojo Clan's pin on it is also a clear sign that Ichiban isn't just going up against the Dragon of Dojima, but rather the Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan itself. Kiryu also just does a No-Sell with Ichiban's punch to the head.
The moment that the two dragons reveal their tattoos; Kiryu's, a dragon ascending ever higher to improve itself, and Ichiban's, a carp mid-transformation, refusing to let the waterfall overcome it.
Ichiban has a very imaginative mind in this game, but it usually doesn't go overboard. Thugs are still thugs, they just have glowing eyes and occasional magic. Not the case for Kiryu. The second the power gap between Ichiban and Kiryu becomes obvious, Ichiban's mind snaps completely from the strain and can only picture Kiryu as an actual literal dragon.
And the end of the fight just hammers home the final nail of how utterly out of his depth Ichiban was here; The entire party is exhausted and on their knees, Ichiban in particular just falls unconscious and has the above dragon vision and wakes up a not inconsiderable amount of time later. And Kiryu? Completely unscathed. Not so much as a bruise or a bit of sweat, and he just very calmly puts his suit back on to talk to Ichiban like nothing happened. Probably the most awesome example of Heads I Win, Tails You Lose ever.
Nick Ogata, one of Ichiban's allies, gets one near the end of the game: as part of Ichiban's plan to stop Masato Arakawa, Nick manages to turn Ryo Aoki's latest speech into a public-relations nightmare, posting a news ticker behind Masato declaring that Aoki is wanted for murder, and calling out the man himself so that all the reporters hear that Ryo Aoki's real identity is ex-yakuza heir Masato Arakawa. Well done, Nick!
The Very Definitely Final Dungeon of the game, the Millennium Tower, is every bit as amazing as the final raid on the Dojima HQ in Yakuza 0 and the battle of Kamurocho Hills in 2/Kiwami 2. For context, Ichiban had told Masato that there is a recording of him ordering someone to be killed in the Arakawa Family office. Masato at first shrugs it off as a bluff, but being the paranoid egomaniac that he is, he still sends in the Ryudo Clan and Tendo to search for said evidence, giving Ichiban and his friends the opportunity to strike at the heart of Masato's operation. Thus, Ichiban and his friends fight their way up to the Arakawa Family office, with Tendo waiting there for them so Ichiban can avenge Arakawa. This of course leads to the following boss fight below...
The entirety of Yosuke Tendo's boss fight is easily this, which is rather apt considering Tendo's position in the game. Just the mere fact that his Dynamic Intro (which in itself is every bit as epic as the above-mentioned Sawashiro) has him No-Sella fucking dropkick to the chest makes it very clear that this guy isn't gonna go down so easily.
Doubling as a Tear Jerker, the final boss fight in its entirety is still this in some aspects. After all, after everything that Ichiban has been through in his journey, from tearing apart Masato's schemes to taking down Tendo, credit is due to Masato giving Ichiban a fair one-on-one fistfight.
During the first part of The Stinger, Adachi finally gets some cold, satisfying vengeance on Horinouchi, using data he took from Sawashiro's computer to put the bastard in jail for a long time on corruption charges. Sufficed to say, after the emotional rollercoaster that was the ending right before the credits, that was some delicious schadenfreude.
When the summons aren't being side-splittingly hilarious, they're typically being drop-dead awesome in choreography and visuals, especially for big-name returning characters.
Kiryu's Summon, Essence of the Dragon God, has him in what is his city, Kamurocho (Tenkaichi Street in particular), before promptly taking off his suit top and going to town on the helpless mooks that are stupid enough to try their luck with him, finishing the last one off with his iconic kick, being a Call-Back to both the original game and Yakuza 0. On top of all this, when the Summon starts, the music changes. To "Receive You".
Majima's Summon, Demonfire Rain, has him do his trademark laugh and pose while ninja-running down Kamurocho Hills before promptly showering the area with electrified daggers, finishing the unlucky victim off with a running slash.
Saejima's Summon, Raging Tiger Cyclone, has him pop out of the sewer before promptly catching the manhole cover and spinning so fast that he summons a tornado and then, with the momentum he gained from the initial spin, hurls both the manhole and the surrounding debris onto the mooks, finishing off with a very powerful battle cry.
Watase's Summon, Hundred Fists of Asura, has him stroll into the arena, casually take the scene in, and then raining hell on the victim's ass with a glorious barrage of Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs!
Honoring his position as the former Tojo Clan Sixth Chairman, Daigo's summon, Guns of the Forefathers, has him tap into his ethereal powers and summon his father Sohei, Kashiwagi, Shimano, and Kazama to essentially spray the area with bullets, Al Capone style. Bonus points for Daigo holding his pistol Gangsta Style, too.
The more off-the-wall summon, Plague of Pincers, is gained after completing a side-quest with a homeless man named Ebihara to find his crawfish, Nancy. After saving her, you gain access to the summon and find out just what Ebihara's regimen did for the little crawfish, as she's now capable of performing Heat actions. Not only that, it is one of the most effective summons to use against damage sponges like Kiryu and Tendo.
You know that adorable little kitty, Robson? Who you find for Hiro as part of the Part-Time Hero sidequest? Yeah, he can turn into a tiger and maul his opponents! This is especially satisfying since Ichiban fights a tiger twice throughout the course of Like a Dragon, so to see Ichiban summon a tiger to his beck and call is nothing short of amazing!
After you beat Shin Amon for the first time in the Final Millenium Tower, out from the shadows steps out...Kazuma Kiryu, who apparently arranged the whole thing with Amon to see if Ichiban would be able to forge his own legend.
making a return here, Han isn't afraid to hold back against Ichiban, Adachi, Saeko, or Eri if it means protecting his home and the Gray Zones from having Ogikubo's money counterfeiting scheme (which is the only thing keeping the Ijin Three from going at each other's throats) exposed to the public. It's especially awesome that, once Han becomes a party member, much of the skills that he uses against you in his boss fight can also be used while he's playable!