Awesome Bosses / Like a Dragon

The Like a Dragon series makes its name on brutal Good Old Fisticuffs combat, so it's only fitting that it has a huge supply of awesome boss battles.

Some unmarked spoilers follow.

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Recurring

• Every fight with Goro Majima, the series' signature awesome Recurring Boss turned Deuteragonist. His wild moveset has remained consistent across every game he's fought in, but it never gets any less cool.
  • In Yakuza, he's fought several times across different environments, culminating in a showdown in the halls of a building he's just crashed a dump truck through, which enters its second phase when Majima punches the unstable floor so hard it shatters — narrowly missing Kiryu's head — and they land in the demolished basement for another round. Kiwami takes it up a notch with the Majima Everywhere System, which has you fight Majima basically everywhere in ambush battles: on the street disguised as a cop, appearing as a bartender, staging a Zombie Apocalypse, pole-dancing in a club, and so on.
  • Yakuza 2 has you fight him in Purgatory's arena, where he gets a Big Entrance befitting his popularity and turns out to be one of the harder bosses in the game.
  • In Yakuza 3, he's the very first boss, fought at the very top of a skyscraper usually reserved for each game's Final Boss. Later on, he tricks Kiryu into fighting him in the arena again, in what's currently the last chronological time the two have clashed, and the battle is fittingly more punishing than any of his fights before.
  • Yakuza 4 is the first time he's fought by someone other than Kiryu; instead, Saejima faces him in a battle between scorned blood brothers, which ends with Saejima dodging Majima's wild stabs in a quick-time sequence, picking up his entire body, and slamming him into a wall headfirst. Notably, this is also the first Majima fight in the series where Majima isn't fighting for fun.
  • In Yakuza 5, he spends most of the game Faking the Dead, only to be brought out bloodied and bruised in the endgame and forced to duel Saejima, under threat that Haruka will be assassinated if he doesn't kill his brother. As the only time Majima is part of the final Sequential Boss sequence, it's one of the hardest and most dramatic fights with him in the series (and is thus appropriately staged as the snow kicks up). Majima gets a huge boost to his speed and power compared to earlier games, and the fight is interlaced with long, stylish Press X to Not Die scenes as he bounces madly around the environment and Saejima narrowly manages to dodge each frenzied stab.
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon sees him return as a Dual Boss with his blood brother Saejima joining in. The duo appear to have an absolute blast throwing down together for what is likely the first time in decades, and their fight heralds a Difficulty Spike for the rest of the game. For their super move, Majima leaps onto Saejima's back before the latter spins him around to slash anyone close by and sends Majima knife-first towards Ichiban before Majima bounces off the wall and knees Ichi in the back of the head, Saejima joining in with a blow to Ichi's solar plexus.
• Every game has a Superboss fight with a member of the Amon Clan, usually vengeful patriarch Jo Amon. While every other fight is at least loosely grounded in the realm of plausibility, Amon fights are where the game kisses all realism goodbye and goes all-out: they move at superhuman speeds and hit like bullet trains, soak up more damage than their game's Final Boss, and gain access to increasingly absurd weapons (including a BFG, Attack Drones, and a freaking Kill Sat). In the fifth game, Sango Amon even starts levitating and throwing around exploding umbrellas! They're usually backed up by some of the catchiest battle music in the games, including The Grudge and their oft-remixed Leitmotif, Fiercest Warrior.

Yakuza 1 / Kiwami

• Kiryu's battle with Lau Ka Long, leader of the Snake Flower Triad and a foe that even Kiryu himself fears, and for good reason too. The man's a walking arsenal of weaponry, where he'll change tactics and weaponry from a Guan Dao to Dual Wielding broadswords as the fight goes on before deciding to resort to Good Old Fisticuffs incorporating Chinese martial arts.
• The Final Boss fight with Akira Nishikiyama is intense enough in the original game, but slightly hampered by the lack of establishment for Nishiki as Kiryu's lifelong friend. The buildup of Yakuza 0 and the Jumping Off the Slippery Slope flashbacks in Kiwami, along with the latter's gameplay enhancements, turn the whole thing into one of the most dramatic and emotional battles in the series. The former best friends beat the ever-living hell out of each other across the the rooftop bar owned by their childhood friend Yumi, forgoing elaborate techniques for a simple, brutal slugfest, all while this track plays in the background. After several intense flurries of matched fists and one trip straight through a window, all Kiryu can do is put his insane friend to the floor with one solid strike to the head. A certain revelation in Yakuza 0 makes the setting even more poignant: Millennium Tower is built on the Empty Lot, which Kiryu and Nishiki nearly died fighting together to protect, and the grave of Tachibana, a friend and trusted contact of their father figure.

Yakuza 2 / Kiwami 2

• One honourable mention goes to Hiroshi Hayashi, the Omi lieutenant you face in the first game. Here, he poses a far greater challenge than he did before. Midway through the battle, Hayashi quickly rips off a pair of metal pipes with his bare hands and proceeds to fancily spin them around with deadly efficiency. To top it all off, Hayashi has six full health bars, twice of that of the Final Boss himself in the original game! Kiwami 2 ends the battle keeping a QTE sequence from the original that has you beat the absolute snot out of the former Omi lieutenant, letting players blow off steam after dealing with Hayashi's grueling pipe phase.
• The fight with Koji Shindo, the vengeful patriarch of the Nishikiyama Family, after he sells out the entire Tojo Clan to the Omi by acting as Goda's Mole. He arms himself with a katana, and you're forced to chase him through the Tojo Clan headquarters, fighting him a few more times until you finally corner him in the back garden. After beating the stuffing out of him some more, Yayoi throws Kiryu her own katana, allowing the two to have a tense Sword Fight (complete with two Blade Locks) that ends with Kiryu delivering an apparently mortal slash across the torso. And even after that, he turns out to be Not Quite Dead, ambushing Kiryu when he runs back to the Tojo office for one last duel.
• You probably expect to fight Sengoku at the end of his massive, absurd castle. What happens instead? He sics his pets on you: two ferocious tigers. The actual gameplay of the fight is a bit clunky (since the combat system is designed for punching humans, not wild animals), but it's still awesome for the sheer absurdity of the whole sequence, which is considered one of the franchise's Signature Scenes, and which ends with Kiryu countering a tiger's lunge by punching it straight in the forehead.
• The first climactic showdown with Ryuji Goda in the finale is well worth the whole game’s buildup. Like Shindo, Goda is an expert swordsman, but he’s a Mighty Glacier and you don’t get a sword of your own this time. With limited space to work with, you have to time every attack carefully to avoid being struck down by Goda’s lethal slices.
• The Final Boss is by far the most iconic fight in the series thus far, and for good reason. Kiryu and Goda, both having been shot twice and with Kim's bomb minutes from detonating, decide to forgo escaping and have one last fight in order to settle their grudge. What follows is an intense, brutal, challenging, and surprisingly poignant battle between the two dragons, whom are equally matched and have grown to have immense respect for one another. Their clash goes on until both men are nearly dead on their feet, at which point they rush each other for the Cross Counter of a lifetime (which is a One-Hit Kill if you fail the prompt) — after which Goda drops to the ground, his wounds finally catching up to him. This fight alone (and its well-known theme) plays a key role in Yakuza 2 being regarded as one of the series' best installments.

Yakuza 3

• The Climax Boss battle between Kiryu and Joji Kazama/Fuma late in the game. Where almost every other 3 boss previously has made use of a weapon, a unique style, or an unfair trick, this is a plain, honorable hand-to-hand clash with a highly dangerous and experienced combatant. Not to mention the symbolic weight: since Joji and Shintaro were identical siblings, this is the closest Kiryu ever gets to fighting his father figure.
• 3's Final Boss fight, while nowhere as iconic as the first two or as show-stoppingly stylish as later ones, is still pretty awesome. Yoshitaka Mine, at the height of his tragic insanity, challenges Kiryu to a battle on the roof of a hospital with a comatose Daigo nearby. Mine is the first boss of the franchise to utilise a variety of fighting styles, with the speed and acrobatic ability to rival Majima, as well as an enormous health bar. He also has one awesome QTE sequence where Kiryu intercepts his flurry of swings before proceeding to counter a final punch from Mine with a headbutt that injures Mine's hand, giving Kiryu an opening to deliver a dropkick to his face. Not to mention that it has one of the most notoriously crazy endings to a final fight in Yakuza history: Daigo wakes up from his coma in time to perfectly shoot several armed men trying to kill Kiryu and Mine, and Mine proceeds to redeem himself by suplexing the Greater-Scope Villain straight off the roof! Mine also has the honorary distinction of being the first boss in the franchise with a Dynamic Intro, which would become a franchise staple from 4 onwards.

Yakuza 4

• To test Saejima's honor and resolve, Kiryu challenges him to a fight on the beach outside the orphanage. Except this happens in Saejima's campaign, meaning you have to fight the Dragon of Dojima yourself. It's exactly as difficult and exactly as awesome as it sounds, with Kiryu busting out all of his old moves and hitting Saejima with a Heat attack which, if he fails to counter it, will devastate his health. Due to Saejima’s injuries, the fight ends in a stalemate. It certainly lives up to the Tiger Versus Dragon terminology.
• And just to further prove he's still the top dog, Kiryu's campaign has him fighting Akiyama and Tanimura simultaneously, a Dual Boss with two guys you've spent hours fighting with and leveling up. One QTE has Kiryu lift up both Akiyama and Tanimura with one arm each, with Tanimura trying to armbar Kiryu to no avail, who then proceeds to toss them aside like yesterday's trash. But if Kiryu fails the QTE, Akiyama and Tanimura deliver a synchronised kick to Kiryu's face that knocks him on his ass.
• The finale, which forms a Sequential Boss out of each protagonist splitting up to take on their own Final Boss after all of the remaining villains are lured to the top of Millennium Tower. The fights themselves are pretty simple (and the final phase is a poorly-regarded Flunky Boss), but the sheer scale and catharsis of it make it great.
  • Special mention goes to Akiyama fighting Hiroaki Arai in a Mirror Boss battle. Their battle ends when both Akiyama and Arai charge each other with a flying cross leg kick, with Akiyama coming off as the victor.
  • Another mention goes to Kiryu blocking a skydiving punch from Daigo Dojima, then beating the sense back into his old ally. One specific QTE sequence has Kiryu and Daigo counter each other's punches in a Punch Parry, where both sides try and overpower the other in a test of strength and determination.

Yakuza 5

• The combination of boss fight and The War Sequence that ends Kiryu's part of the campaign, in which Kiryu takes on the entire Tojo Clan all on his own to fight Aoyama's leadership. Hundreds of enemies at once, many armed with heavy weapons and attacking from all sides, and Kiryu wins regardless. Culminating in a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown against Aoyama, it's one of the coolest parts of the game.
• Saejima vs Yama-Oroshi. Who or what is Yama-Oroshi, you ask? It's a gargantuan, bloodthirsty grizzly bear that's seen as The Dreaded for those who know of it. Saejima fights it after his prison break when he's caught in a severe blizzard, and in the tradition set by Kiryu and the tigers, manages to defeat it with his bare hands. He manages to finish it off at the end of the fight by turning in midair when it throws him up and using the momentum to deliver a Megaton Punch to the bear's face!
• Kiryu and Saejima get another round with each other late in the game, after taking out Katsuya and Watase together, though this time, the player chooses which one to control. In a tribute to the Final Boss of 2, the two duke it out atop Kamurocho Hills in a bout where both are equally matched, and it ends with a dramatic Cross Counter that results in both of them falling in exhaustion.
• The penultimate battle has Akiyama fighting Kamon Kanai and his goons in the middle of a snow-covered Theatre Square. Despite being a Flunky Boss, it's quite dramatic and atmospheric, as Akiyama single-handedly covers Kiryu's path and repays the criminals for what they've done to his town. It's a great display of Akiyama's combat prowess, and it ends with him finishing off Kanai by delivering a furious kick to the side of his head while in the process of being choke-slammed.
• The Final Boss establishes a whole new bar for the elaborate stylishness of Yakuza finales. With Kurosawa's plan in shambles, Masato Aizawa fights Kiryu at the Tojo HQ just to prove himself, and finally goes all-out after teasing it throughout the game. Opening with an incredible Cross Counter shot, the two engage in a brutal battle that gradually takes them through the building (triggering several dynamic prompts, including a Brawler Lock Kiryu nearly loses) and to a balcony, which Aizawa kicks Kiryu off before trying to punch him in midair; after a Press X to Not Die prompt, Kiryu manages to parry the blow in mid-air and slam Aizawa headfirst straight into the ground. Shortly thereafter, Kiryu kicks Aizawa through the door to the building's snowy entrance courtyard, and the two engage in a final bout where Kiryu's bullet wound fully reopens and Aizawa starts regenerating health, ending with a bloody clash that fades to white just before the final blow.

Yakuza 0

• Every fight with Daisaku Kuze, who gives Majima a run for his money in sheer persistence despite being significantly older. Unlike Majima, Kuze's battles are simply a test of raw strength and prowess, growing more intense and desperate as Kiryu continues to humiliate him.
  • The second time you face him, he ambushes Kiryu in the sewers during his escape from Kamurocho... riding a motorcycle and wielding an iron pipe. Kiryu, being Kiryu, tanks the first blow at full speed and the subsequent attempt to finish him off, leading to a close-quarters beatdown with little room to do anything but surge forward and exchange crippling blows.
  • The final fight with him is one of the game's best, and not just because it's the first time Oath of Enma plays in full. Kiryu is lured to the empty street outside the Kazama Family building, where Kuze challenges him to one last fight before he rushes off to the final showdown. It's a no-frills street fight where he forgoes his weapons and reinforcements from previous fights, so he and Kiryu simply beat each other down to prove once and for all which of them can outlast the other. Special mention goes to the elaborate exchange of blows near the fight's end, which, if the prompt is met, results in Kiryu completely no-selling a powerful punch to the face and retaliating in kind. And when Kiryu prevails, Kuze finally admits he's a real yakuza and waits on the street to be arrested.
• Majima's first fight with Homare Nishitani. He's basically fighting his future self, an acrobatic Psycho Knife Nut who's even more willfully unhinged than he'll turn out to be, in the middle of the glitzy cabaret you've used as a hub for much of his campaign. Nishitani packs many of Majima's familiar moves, along with a few new tricks, such as when he pretends to be knocked down only to wildly lash out at Majima if he takes the bait.
• Near the end of his side of the story, Majima has a Climax Boss battle with Masaru Sera, who proves how much stronger he was in the years before Yakuza 1. Sera is a Lightning Bruiser adept at gracefully dodging Majima's attacks and countering with low kicks and rapid punches, and if the player isn't prepared, he can easily combo them into submission. Matching him, on the other hand, results in one of the most frenetic battles in the game.
• One might be surprised to see that one of the bosses you'll be fighting is Osamu Kashiwagi. In previous games, he was depicted as a calm and level-headed mediator despite the mysterious large scar on his face, but 0 reveals that he was a completely different man back in the day and a force to be reckoned with. He takes on Majima not just to protect Nishikiyama and Kiryu, but to fulfill his own desire to fight Majima for himself. A surprisingly skilled karateka, while he's weak against the Slugger style, Kashiwagi can otherwise overwhelm the Mad Dog with powerful attacks and quick moves if you get careless and underestimate him. The highlight of this fight is a QTE where he attacks Majima with a punch so powerful that it'll send him flying across the roof if it connects. And it comes at you at lightning speed, reflected by the QTE giving you barely any time to react.
• Who is Majima's last real boss before the final chapter? Nishikiyama himself! Except in a complete tonal reversal from Yakuza 1's Final Boss fight, you duke it out with him in the middle of Serena in a fight full of Black Comedy and unexpected moves. Reina is watching the whole time, and comes in as an Assist Character for Nishiki twice: once when Nishiki slams Majima onto the bar and he has to block Reina's bottle swing, and later when she tosses Nishiki a health item, which Majima can catch and drink himself.
• The Sequential Boss fight in the final chapter provides one of the best finales in the series.
  • First up, Majima faces Hiroki Awano outside Dojima's office. After rambling for some time about his lifestyle, he reveals that his Smug Snake tendencies haven't been all talk throughout the game: he might be the strongest fighter in terms of brute strength, approaching a Charles Atlas Superpower when he punches a crater in a solid wall while trying to strike Majima's head.
  • After Awano's Redemption Equals Death moment, Dojima sics Lao Gui on Majima, who — having watched the assassin shoot Makoto hours earlier — is understandably enraged. So begins Majima's Final Boss, a multi-phase battle in which both Majima and his enemy are ruthlessly trying to kill each other with every attack. Lao Gui fights unlike any other boss in the game and most others in the series, twisting and flipping around the environment while constantly switching up his core fighting style: first trying to slice and impale Majima with Wolverine Claws, then wielding a Sword and Gun in tandem, before finally fighting him unarmed after trying to gouge out Majima's remaining eye. The battle blows them straight into the foyer of Dojima's office, and Majima finishes up by tossing Lao Gui right through to Dojima's desk.
  • Kiryu's Final Boss, and in turn the Final Boss of the game, somehow manages to top it. It's a brutal showdown with Keiji Shibusawa, the original Dragon of Dojima, on the deck of a burning cruise ship, which starts with both combatants screaming and charging at one another for a headbutt Cross Counter that highlights both of their dragon tattoos. Shibusawa has all of Kiryu's combat styles, including the classic Dragon moveset, and the two violently clash from one end of the ship to the other. The first phase ends with Kiryu wrestling Shibusawa against a railing before they both fall to the lower deck, where Shibusawa enters Beast Style and starts throwing chairs; the second ends with Kiryu and Shibusawa having a knock-down, drag-out fight against the stairwell with such force and intensity that they beat each other up the stairs. Finally, after pummeling each other to the brink of collapsing, Kiryu locks Shibusawa in an uncharacteristically ruthless No-Holds-Barred Beatdown against a rail before finishing him off with a strike that knocks him clear off his feet. This all accompanied by Two Dragons, one of the most intense Final Boss themes yet, which syncs up with some of the most intense moments.

Yakuza 6

• One of the game's many Recurring Bosses, Joon-gi Han, is a standout. He's both the new leader of the Jingweon Mafia and the new owner of Stardust, has an outsize personality that makes all of his scenes entertaining, and fights on a level equal to Kiryu. While his fights lack the over-the-top choreography of other great battles, all three fights with him are quite fun.
• Another Recurring Boss, Takumi Someya, has all of the potency of Han but with more story relevance. Due to being a Foil to Kiryu and a representation of the modern Yakuza evolving past traditions like the back tattoo, as well as being an excellent fighter in his own right, he's always an interesting combatant. This is especially true for his final fight, where he wields a katana as the third-to-last boss, forced by the Big Bad Duumvirate into a Duel to the Death with Kiryu to save his ex-wife, proving himself to be a true yakuza despite not having a drop of ink in his back, more so than weasels like Iwami. The battle becomes even more awesome thanks to its emotional conclusion and the fact that it's the last fight Kiryu ever has at the top of Millennium Tower.
• Though the Final Boss is quite divisive among fans, the Climax Boss is commonly considered the best fight in the game. Kiryu faces Toru Hirose, who's been ordered to kill him since he's about to discover the Secret of Onomichi. Despite their previous friendly relationship, Hirose fights Kiryu with no hesitation about killing him. The battle plays out like a distorted version of a Majima battle (given Hirose's great skill and Psycho Knife Nut tendencies) with a few new features, and Hirose makes up for his advanced age with incredible speed and striking power; halfway through the battle, he even stabs a pipe to fill the room with blinding steam and starts throwing knives at Kiryu's head from every angle. It has a lot of emotional and symbolic meaning to Kiryu's arc as well, since Hirose's character and subsequent death scene have a lot of similarities to Shintaro Kazama's, while his backstory makes him come off like an elderly Kiryu.
• Even the Final Boss, despite being considered an Anti-Climax Boss due to his small health bar, lacking buildup, and single unique QTE, has some awesomeness going for it. The final physical challenge of Kiryu's life is Tsuneo Iwami, a sociopathic, childishly entitled yakuza wannabe who's destroyed everything in Kiryu's life for profoundly petty reasons, and there's some solid catharsis in being able to completely destroy that even though Kiryu has just taken multiple severe blows to the head. And even if you didn't like the final boss, his final boss theme, "The Way of Life", will not disappoint you.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

• In addition to facing off against the iconic Mad Dog of Shimano Goro Majima (who is every bit as crazy and unpredictable as ever), you also face off against Taiga Saejima, the Tiger of the Tojo, at the same time! All while you're likely jamming out to an amazing remix of Receive You that combines elements of the latter and Yakuza 0's Reign. A highlight of the fight is Majima and Saejima pulling a Fastball Special on poor Ichiban - Saejima picks up Majima, spins him around while the latter slashes at Ichiban's teammates. Saejima then tosses Majima at Ichiban, whom of which dodges the attack, but just when Ichi thinks it's safe, Majima and Saejima strike him down hard with a knee to the back and a punch to the chest, respectively.
• While he is the first proper boss encounter in the game, Jo Sawashiro proves to be a very formidable opponent for Ichiban and his party in his second fight. In his Dynamic Intro alone, Sawashiro gracefully dodges all of Ichiban's attacks, flips a table over to stagger Ichiban, and grabs a nearby katana to take on Ichiban and his party properly. And that's without mentioning this theme, which conveys that, compared to the first time, Sawashiro is dead serious in going all-out against Ichiban. Oh, and the second and third phases see Sawashiro take on Ichiban's party using a cane and then using the tip of the broken katana and a broken half of the cane.
• If you've always wanted to properly go toe to toe with none other than the legendary Dragon of Dojima himself, then this is the game for you. The fight against Kiryu is hands down one of the main highlights of this game. Seeing Ichiban going up against Kiryu while the latter uses his various fighting styles from previous entries really shows just how far Kiryu has come since 2005. Oh, and you get an epic remix of Receive You and an amazing Dynamic Intro to boot.
• The Climax Boss of the game and a fellow Dragon - Yosuke Tendo - is an absolute behemoth of a Boss in his own right. Not only does he No-Sell a dropkick to the chest in his Dynamic Intro, but he can also floor any of your party members in a single hit while he's in his battle aura and he resists nearly everything but lightning. The fact that Tendo killed Masumi Arakawa, Ichiban's boss and biological father before this and the menacing and ominous theme that plays throughout makes this one of the most climactic encounters in the series.
• Considering the boss that came before him, the final boss of the entire game, Ryo Aoki (a.k.a, Masato Arakawa), is much easier, but still just as climactic in his own way. Whereas Ichiban relied on his friends to deal with Tendo, here he's completely on his own while defaulting to his Freelancer class. Masato is also notable for being the only Boss in the entire game that has Quick Time Events of any kind (as they're only seen with certain skills outside of gameplay otherwise). Throw in the fact that the circumstances make the fight feel like a Call-Back to the original Yakuza game's own final boss and a very sad tune that plays throughout and this is one of the most tear-jerking fights in the series.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

• Yuki Tsuruno gets on Kiryu's bad side early on in the game and he's fought as the first boss, but aside from some agile kicks, he's not so bad to deal with. However, when Kiryu fights his way up an Omi stronghold later to rescue Hanawa, Tsuruno's at the top with a table full of torture instruments. He kicks Kiryu out a window and grabs two of these instruments, a double-bladed saw and a branding iron, wielding both weapons with surprising deftness. His tools are normally unblockable and can cause bleeding and burn effects on Kiryu, making for a very tough fight if you're not prepared. Tsuruno loses his weapons after a QTE, becoming easier but still fighting with more vigor than his first battle. He thankfully becomes an ally to Kiryu not too long after this fight, but Tsuruno certainly proves he's not Watase's right-hand man for nothing.
• Homare Nishitani III may lack any of the original Nishitani's honorable qualities, but his combat prowess (and psychosexual insanity) are worthy enough of the name. He attacks relentlessly with knife strikes and kicks, quickly sidestepping Kiryu's attacks in return. After a mid-fight QTE, he resorts to tossing flash grenades which, if Kiryu gets stunned by one, will almost certainly guarantee he gets hit by Nishitaniii's Mortal Attack right afterward. He's bad enough when fought on the main thoroughfare of The Castle or in his burning hideaway office, but he brings a long sword with him when he's last fought at the climactic construction site brawl, and he loses no agility despite carrying a larger blade than his previous fights. He may be the most loathsome character in this game by far, but at least he brings a great challenge backed with an amazing fight track.
• He may be a traitor who's clearly lost his sanity, but it's hard not to respect Kosei Shishido as Kiryu's final challenge. He's no slouch when fought early in the game, with his brute strength forcing Kiryu to unleash his "Yakuza" stance just to keep up with Shishido's crushing blows. He's also a pain to fight at the construction yard brawl when backed with a small army of goons and Nishitani III. However, when his beloved Yakuza lifestyle is on the line, Shishido goes all out in the final battle, coming at Kiryu with a large katana and ferocity befitting a lion. The battle sprawls over a large stretch of the Omi HQ, with Shishido breaking his sword on a wall before being tackled through said wall, picking another sword and severing a chandelier with it, and grabbing Joryu's Spider wire, tossing them both up to the awning above the Omi's front entrance where the fight's last phase commences. Whether armed or unarmed, Shishido hits with the strength and speed of a flying meteor, and he only succumbs to defeat after beating a staggering TWELVE bars of life out of him. On top of being a much worthier final 1-on-1 fight for Kiryu than the underwhelming Iwami, many already consider Shishido to be the greatest final boss in the entire series, and that's a mantle that already has multiple contenders.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

• Every fight against Yutaka Yamai is a delight, with each one turning up the intensity from the last. The first two are fairly straightforward, but the third has him fighting Ichi's crew in a wooded area that he set on fire, the fourth has you fighting him on his own turf with his gang and two hostesses providing support, and the fifth and final clash has him set his own crowbar on fire for bonus power and intimidation. He hits hard enough at first, and he gets to take two moves every turn, but he assumes a feral stance in the latter two fights that increases his agility, enhances the strength of his basic "Taste Steel" attack, and gives him crazy moves like a teleport dash strike and a fiery crowbar tornado. At least he gets to fight on your side before the final battle against him, but when he turns that red-and-gray bar of steel against you, he's a force to be feared.
• Jo Sawashiro returns to fight Kiryu's team and he's even more formidable than in the last game. He starts out fighting with a cane this time, but he can switch to using either a katana or twin daggers at will, the latter stance being similar to the improvised shivs from his third phase in Like a Dragon. Each weapon also comes attached with an element: Ice for the cane, fire for the katana, and electric for the daggers. Sawashiro's ultimate attack employs all three weapons in a massive sweep that's likely to hit everyone at once. Despite these new powers, Sawashiro is overall less difficult than in Like a Dragon since he isn't constantly healing, IW's combat improvements make fights go faster, and he's going up against Kiryu, who's still stronger than Sawashiro despite having cancer. Even if he's not quite as tough as the last game, Sawashiro is still a formidable and fun opponent, not to mention satisfying to demolish after how badly he's treated Ichi over the years.
• Like the last game, Majima and Saejima are fought as a team once again, but they are now joined by the former Sixth Chairman of the Tojo himself, Daigo Dojima. While he's not as strong as his companions, Daigo's still a tough fighter in his own right and provides status buffs for his team. Saejima still hits hard and Majima's as slippery as ever, but all three -jimas bust out their strongest attacks when their health drops halfway. Daigo lays down strong combo strings and uses a counter stance much like his Yakuza 4 incarnation, Saejima uses an earthshaking ground punch and a crushing backbreaker than can potentially kill any teammate whose health is even somewhat low, and Majima employs his good old DoppelgängerAttack, where he thankfully only generates two clones this time, but he can do so multiple times until he's defeated. The fact that the Majima/Saejima fight in Like a Dragon is one of (if not THE) hardest fights of that game, plus them now having a third in Daigo, sounds like a very intimidating order, but their time stuck in a depressive exile is implied to have made them somewhat weaker, and as with Sawashiro, that they're going up against Kiryu as party leader instead of Ichiban levels the playing field significantly. Despite the lower difficulty, the legendary trio still makes for a tough fight, but what pushes it above and beyond every other boss in the game is what happens when they almost run out of health. When one of the -jimas is close to being KO'ed, they summon up a second wind that forces Kiryu to trigger his Dragon's Resurgence, bringing them both into a spiritual void filled with images of their past encounters, as Kiryu has to finish them off in a real-time fight to finally defeat them. The trio is the only force badass enough to not just stand there and take it as Kiryu breaks the laws of turn-based combat, proving their worth as the legends everyone believes them to be. All at once, this fight provides a nostalgia trip, a unique mechanic, a fair challenge, and a mea culpa for those who were disappointed Kiryu never fought Majima again after the third game. It's not a stretch to consider it the greatest battle between the series' two turn-based installments to date.
• With his powerful machete attacks, his Latin-infused battle music, and his strong resemblance to his dub voice actor, Dwight Mendez makes for a fun and tough battle for all three times you fight him, but special mention goes to the third and final fight where a freaking shark keeps jumping onto Yamai's boat to chow down on anyone unfortunate enough to land next to it. It doesn't discriminate, so Ichi's team can take advantage of the shark against Dwight and his goons but must watch out that his team stays away from the edge. The mid-fight QTE even has Ichiban toss Dwight towards the shark in an uncharacteristically cold move for the normally virtuous hero, even if the result isn't fatal. That said, it's hard not to derive some satisfaction from tormenting the leader of the Barracudas who have been antagonizing the heroes all throughout their Hawaiian adventure.
• If the previous fight wasn't ridiculous enough, before Ichiban reaches his climax dungeon, his team must fight the shark itself, dubbed the "Tyrant of the Tides." A fitting moniker for such a vicious beast, the shark's bites and belly flops deal severe damage to the party at once, and it can appropriately inflict the team with the "Fear" status effect. In addition to this sea monster, near the end of Nele Island itself, Ichiban's gang are assaulted by the "Blessed Leviathan," a Giant Squid which blasts the party with blinding ink while its left tentacle slams them around. Even worse is its right tentacle, which grabs a party member and shovels it into the beast's mouth, forcing the unlucky hero to squish several egg sacs to get spit out. Both of these fights are as terrifying as they are insane, and the intensely dramatic music that plays for them really sells the "David vs. Goliath" feel they're going for.
• Ichiban's final boss is the loathsome Bryce Fairchild, the false "Sage of Palekana" and a fair contender for the most vile villain in the entire series. Before Ichi's team can lay down some much-deserved justice on the usurper, they need to fight off two waves of Palekana cultists, the latter of which brings soldiers with sub-machineguns into the fight. Bryce stands in the background and will keep summoning soldiers until the captain of each squad (Ramos for the first wave, Graham for the second) is defeated. He also tosses grenades onto the field without caring if they'll hit his own men or not, and he even summons suicide bombers in what might be the most disturbing battle tactic in the entire series. After Graham is beaten, he is callously gunned down by Bryce who now confronts the heroes personally with one more group of soldiers by his side. The man is surprisingly durable despite his advanced age, and he can cause major damage to the entire party at once with his dual sub-machineguns and ability to carpet-bomb the arena. It is a long, grueling, epic battle until Ichiban kicks the guns out of Bryce's hands, driving him to pick up a sword in desperation which he wields very poorly before inevitably being subdued. Watching him end the battle so pathetically is beyond gratifying for the laundry list of crimes and sins he has been getting away with for decades.
• Kiryu's team gets to take on the other big bad, the Seiryu Clan's treacherous captain Masataka Ebina, as the final boss of the game. Showing himself to be extremely built under his suit, Ebina fends off all five heroes in quick succession before the fight begins proper. His moves include well-aimed punches that can put his target to sleep, rage-inducing taunts, a frenetic display of martial arts that bounces between the whole party, and an area-sweeping aerial spin kick that might be the most physically improbable move seen in the series yet. When his health reaches the halfway point, he picks up a katana and alternates between crazy slashing combos that hit everyone at once and precise stabs that cause paralysis. His devastating multi-target attacks and restrictive status effects make him a very difficult opponent if you aren't properly prepared, but that just makes it more satisfying to take him down. Cast under the moonlight shining through windows of Bleach Japan's spacious new office and driven by a final boss track that's amazing even for this series' very high musical standards, the setting is just perfect for what may very well be Kiryu's final fight in the Millennium Tower. Regardless of what you might think about Ebina's character, it's hard to deny he delivers the goods as the ultimate challenge at the end of the series' largest adventure to date.

Spinoffs

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise

• The battle with Thouzer / Souther is rightfully considered one of the game's highlights. Thanks to his mirrored pressure points, he is completely immune to special moves for half of the fight and will No-Sell normal strikes with his arms outstretched instead of blocking. This forces you to attack more tactically than in other fights and wait for openings, all while gorgeous QTE sequences send Kenshiro and Thouzer soaring all around the nightclub, culminating with Ken blasting the Big Dipper constellation into Thouzer's body and sending him crashing back into a crumbling statue.
• While Jagi is a Breather Boss, his fight is cool. The first phase is an Unexpected Gameplay Change which switches you into a first-person view as Kenshiro resolves to beat Jagi with one hand, forcing you to counter Jagi's attacks and build up to several pressure point attacks. When you regain full control in the second phase, you all but wipe the floor with him, while he constantly screams insults and relies on dirty tricks to counterattack.
• Raoh gets a suitably challenging fight for his reputation. As the ultimate Mighty Glacier, he'll barely react to any of your attacks while dishing out his own devastating strikes, and his arsenal mirrors many of Ken's own attacks. The first QTE of the fight has Ken enduring Raoh's beam attack with sheer will before charging forward for a counter that knocks him flat; the second sees both fighters brutalizing each other to their breaking points before aiming for a Cross Counter, winning which results in Raoh taking a punch to the heart. It truly sells the feeling of going up against the Ken-Oh in one of the most famous duels in manga.
• Per tradition, both Final Bosses are spectacular.
  • First, you face Nadai outside the newly-opened Sphere City. Even more so than Raoh, he's a Mirror Boss and Worthy Opponent, fighting Ken with his own techniques and speed, and after losing some health he'll overcharge himself and assume a demonic form that grants him better stats and a few more attacks. This turns the fight into a relentless flurry of exchanged fists and blocks the likes of which few other bosses in the game match, culminating in a midair duel that ends in a crippling Brawler Lock.
  • After that and a long gauntlet of enemies, you face Targa at the top of Sphere City to stop him from causing a second nuclear apocalypse. He fights similarly to your initial battle with his emphasis on Gun Fu and sidesteps, but has gained several levels in speed and skill since then, leading him to bounce around Ken at lightning speeds and match his every strike with blows and bullets of his own. Reaching the halfway point triggers a long Press X to Not Die struggle as the two furiously trade kicks around the stage, all while the boss tries to cut the battle short with a few attempted headshots; afterward, he gains a massive boost to his speed and damage, making it quite hard to land hits as he dashes around and combos you into oblivion (assuming you don't use the exploit with Toki's Destiny Talisman, which takes 30% health off bosses, to instantly kill him at this point).

Judgment / Judge Eyes

• The mid-game rematch with Satoshi Shioya is a Flunky Boss done right; following an absurd Big Entrance that has him cheerfully parading out behind several schoolgirl idols, Yagami and his allies face him alongside a sea of his soldiers in a chaotic free-for-all through the nightclub. Getting him to halfway health leads to a QTE that sends him and Yagami to the stage for a personal brawl, leading Yagami to kick him straight into an electric sign.
• Late in the game, Yagami is attacked in the street by a stylish, enigmatic Professional Killer known as "Cane Man", who brandishes a Sword Cane and attacks with flurries reminiscent of a more graceful Majima. It's a quick, but intense fight backed by a superb theme. But the real fight comes during Yagami's ascent of Hamura's hideout some time later; his return as a miniboss throughout the gauntlet marks one of the weirdest battles in the franchise, pushing the series' already loose logic into Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane territory. Cane Man first fights you with a hidden knife, which turns into a long spear in his next encounter; when that fails, he ambushes you with his cane somehow transforming into a working shotgun. Then he ambushes you again and turns the cane into two staves seemingly by duplicating it, before finally throwing one of them away and extending the other into a katana that appears from nowhere. Put together, it's one of the longest, coolest, and most arduously difficult fights in the whole game.
• Finally getting to properly throw down with Kyohei Hamura one-on-one isn't very tough, but it's cathartic and cool as hell. Hamura is much slower and weaker than Yagami, allowing you to beat on him relentlessly after everything he's done throughout the game, but still puts up a competent enough fight that he isn't a pushover. The fight also boasts a hilarious-yet-stylish QTE straight out of a campy martial arts movie, as Hamura and Yagami find themselves desperately trying to fight while forced into a tiny office chair one after the other.
• Late in the final chapter, Yagami finally clashes with the Mole, aka Mitsuru Kuroiwa, in the emptied-out L'Amant casino. Kuroiwa is a Mirror Boss who can do everything Yagami can, including being the only enemy in the game who can Wall Jump, and he's much faster and stronger than you to boot. His quick recovery and constant aggression mean he can demolish your health if you slip up, but it's immensely satisfying to return the favor. His QTE scene has him brutally wrestling Yagami over the bar, matching him blow for blow and threatening to perform his signature Eye Scream on him, before Yagami retaliates and finally floors him with a spiraling dropkick. It's no wonder it's considered one of the best fights in the game, overshadowed only by...
• The Final Boss has been praised as one of the best in the franchise, despite eschewing the series' usual Boss Rush structure for a single opponent. Following a long chase and some strange spiritual visions, Yagami and Kuroiwa face off again in the research wing of the ADDC as a storm rages outside, this time with Kuroiwa in full Mole mode. This fight truly shows off Kuroiwa's predatory nature and superhuman Implacable Man status; nothing will put him down, and he brings everything from the previous fight alongside some dangerous new techniques and a massive health boost. After busting up the AD-9 lab, the two transition out to the viewing room where Yagami hits him with a brutal Roundhouse Kick, only to be flung through the nearby windows and narrowly avoid falling to his death. With the storm now blowing into the building, the pair continue to fight until Yagami punches him across the room and straight out the window to his apparent doom... only for the Hope Spot with the end-of-battle signifiers to be subverted when he climbs back up, no worse for wear, and gives himself some kind of shot in the heart to keep going. All together, the boss has 8 health bars — more than any non-optional boss in the series prior — and still doesn't even seem phased until the cops finally show up and ventilate him. All set to "Penumbra".

Lost Judgment

• Facing off against Daimu Akutsu halfway through the game, after a chapter's worth of him being a stubborn Recurring Boss and inflicting a brutal Cold-Blooded Torture sequence on Yagami alongside his boss, is extremely intense and cathartic. Akutsu is already Made of Iron as is, but he's backed up by several dozen goons in a confined warehouse space, and he's armed himself with a CHAINSAW for good measure. And while you have Kaito and Sugiura backing you up, the fact that Yagami's phone has been stolen means he's unable to use any healing items or attack buffs throughout the fight, making for a tense and brutal encounter where every decision matters. And while Akutsu's final rematch late in the game might not be as stylish, he does get points for having one of the best Dynamic Intros in the game — a long, brutal slugfest across the club floor with Yagami and his allies on one side and Akutsu's goons on the other, climaxing with Akutsu no-selling a flying kick to the chest and segueing into the fight proper.
• The penultimate boss fight against Kazuki Soma is quite literally the stuff of nightmares. Fitting for him being one of the franchise's scariest antagonists, Soma duels Yagami in a foggy freezer where he slowly, imperviously walks around before rushing in for brutal stabs. He's loaded up on health and very difficult to stagger, so you have very little room for error, and to make matters worse, he has an outright inhuman Flash Step which allows him to cross the room or circle around you at lightning speed. And hell, he has several scenes where he outright vanishes, only to reappear behind Yagami and nearly eviscerate him. It often feels more like you're fighting Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers than a standard criminal — an image which is only shattered when Yagami finally beats him down and gives him a venomous "The Reason You Suck" Speech while strangling him unconscious.
• Every fight with Jin Kuwana is a treat, with his intense Mirror Boss duels being just one of the reasons he's been held as one of the best villains of the franchise.
  • You first fight him very early in the game, and his threats to some Liumang thugs about him being a "way better fighter than [Yagami] is" turn out to be very easily backed up. He quickly proves himself to be a graceful Lightning Bruiser who can trounce your (no doubt low level) Yagami in moments, acrobatically flipping and sliding all over the place in a perfect replica of Yagami's Crane Style. And halfway through, he even learns and replicates your Sky Dance, stripping you of another big advantage.
  • Much later on, after you've learned of his true nature as the game's central Anti-Villain, you have a rematch with him and get to realize how unprepared you still are to face him. This time he's added your Snake Style to his arsenal, meaning he can parry you with impunity and even parry your parries. As a bonus, he also gets a new boss theme, the intense and pounding techno track "Dig In Your Heels", which reinforces both the sheer speed of the fight and Kuwana's ruthless resolve.
  • And finally, he takes his place as the Final Boss in one of the most intense, frenetic, universally praised final showdowns in the series. Right after taking out Soma, Kuwana challenges you to one final battle of ideologies, dueling Yagami through the warehouse where he's kept Kawai's frozen body. He busts out all of his previous tricks, matching Yagami blow for blow in every respect with the speed and damage dialed way up; if you aren't playing to your absolute best, he can easily beat you at your own game. After wailing a few of his health bars down, he'll suddenly spring up onto a higher ledge, forcing Yagami to pursue him into a complex grappling battle through the warehouse shelves; they end up at the very top, and Kuwana dials up his attacks even further with increased focus on devastating counters. Finally, when both fighters are at their absolute limit, they lunge in for one last Cross Counter, and Kuwana goes in to choke Yagami out only to be finished off with a crippling drop down to the warehouse floor. This is all set to "Unwavering Belief", a Dark Reprise of "Dig In Your Heels" that ramps up into full-blown Ominous Latin Chanting to perfectly sell the emotional resonance and tragedy of the whole affair.

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