History VideoGame / RyuGaGotoku

* IdiotBall: Let's just say that protagonists' IQs drop considerably whenever a gun comes into play.

* IdiotPlot: The plot of Yakuza 4 is kicked off by the fact that Akiyama leaves [[spoiler: 100 billion yen in an easily accessible safe in his office. The only security is that the safe requires a button to be opened... which is hidden behind the most prominent book on his shelf. The antagonists of the game found it completely by accident (the office wasn't even ''locked'').]]

* MarkHamill: Plays Goro Majima.
* MiyamotoMusashi: Appears in ''Kenzan!'', eventually getting a name change to [[spoiler:Kiryu Kazumanosuke]].

* XMeetsY: ''Of The End/Dead Souls'' is basically Left4Dead meets VideoGame/RyuGaGotoku with a bit of Franchise/ResidentEvil. [[spoiler: It also seems like there's four playable characters.]]

There have been four games in the main series, with ''Ryu ga Gotoku 4'' currently available in Japan and North America and Europe. There's also a spin-off called ''Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan!'' that takes place in feudal Japan, starring Kiryu Kazuma-no-suke. A very combat-oriented PSP spinoff called ''Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou'' focuses on the life of underground fighter Ukyou Tatsuya. The spin-off featuring characters from the main series, ''Ryu ga Gotoku: Of The End''/''Yakuza: Dead Souls'', takes place during an... [[ZombieApocalypse umm... outbreak of the living dead]].

[[http://gematsu.com/2012/05/yakuza-5-due-december-in-japan Recently]], ''Famitsu'' announced that ''Ryu ga Gotoku 5'' will be released in Japan in December 2012, which will feature [[SerialEscalation five different protagonists and cities]]. While no announcement for a US release has been made yet, this is probably a sure thing. Yay!

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Lau Ka Long in the third game.]]

* {{Expy}}: The boss of the Purple Killers in the fourth game is the Joker. 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 killer in clown makeup with mannerisms very similar to Heath Ledger's Joker and... yeah.]]

* {{Flashback}}: The second and third games allow someone who never played the past installments to find out the storyline in segments at the opening cemetary scene.

* 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]].

* XMeetsY: ''Of The End/Dead Souls'' is basically Left4Dead meets VideoGame/RyuGaGotoku with a bit of Franchise/ResidentEvil. [[spoiler: It also seems like there's four playable characters.]]

* IdiotBall / ''WhatAnIdiot'': Happens many, many, many times in all games. Rail-thin street punks picking a fight with gigantic, dangerous-looking Saejima, frequently overlapping with ''SuicidalOverconfidence'', and don't get me started on most 'betrayals.'
** 'Kay, i'll get started anyway: the most-likely-armed and still conscious treacherous ''BigBad'' was defeated? Good, just leave him there on the ground and let's do a group hug. It happens way more often than it should, with predictable consequences. The most glaringly obvious instance of this is (warning, Yakuza 4 ending-breaker spoilers) [[spoiler:the whole finale, really. Munakata, the corrupt leader of the Tokyo police, is beaten in a fight, along with some other big figures in the game. Munakata is cornered and Tanimura whips out a revolver, ready to shoot him to settle some past debts. Arai comes by his side and stops him, taking out an automatic pistol of his own, and saying Munakata doesn't even deserve to die, seeing as he screwed lots of people for power. [[IdiotBall Arai then, without a shred of reasoning, drops his pistol on the ground mere feet away from Munakata and walks away.]] Munakata gets up and starts gloating that the protagonists really can't do a thing to him, because he's too important to the police. When Akiyama unveils a newspaper that would undoubtedly arrest Munakata, he goes on a crazy fit, grabs the easily accessible pistol and shoots Akiyama, who is miraculously saved by a bunch of money. Tanimura, who is a police officer, kicks the gun away from Munakata and cuffs him... while still leaving the pistol near arm's reach. Predictably, when everyone turns their backs again, he jumps at the pistol and shoots himself. All of this insane recklessness is only furthered when you remember ''he still has a loaded revolver pocketed somewhere'' from his last boss fight with Tanimura. Talk about sheer, unflinching stupidity.]]
** Akiyama's safe is just as bad... [[spoiler: the man keeps 100 billion yen in a safe in his office (which he neglects to lock) in a massive, massive vault... the only security? The button to open it is behind a book. That is literally the only thing between any random person and 100 billion yen. It's rather telling when the bad guys find it completely by accident, and weren't even looking for anything.]]
** Really, the protagonists as a whole need to learn to stop trusting the irredeemable villains and turning their backs on them after they've been defeated. This has happened far more times than is even slightly reasonable, resulting in the deaths of several characters. This started in the first game, and is what got [[spoiler: Fuma/Kazama and Yumi killed]]

*** Yumi is [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Faith]] and [[{{Dollhouse}} Echo]].

----

* LostInTranslation: Majima is quite fond of calling our hero "''Kiyru-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 "''Kiyru-chan''" sound affectionate (even more so when you consider Kiryu addresses Majima as "Onii-san", or 'big brother'); the American dub of the first game makes "''Kazuma-chan''" sound more diminutive.

* LostInTranslation: Majima is quite fond of calling our hero "''Kiyru-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 "''Kiyru-chan''" sound affectionate (even more so when you consider Kiryu addresses Majima as "Onii-san", or 'big brother'); the American dub of the first game makes "''Kazuma-chan''" sound more diminutive.

** ''Of the End/Dead Souls'' has a couple of nods to the live action movie: Majima's firearm of choice is a shotgun, and one of the Team Heat Actions has him hitting a target with a line drive... except in ''Of the End/Dead Souls'' he uses his SPAS-12 as a baseball bat and the "ball" happens to be a grenade that a Super Zombie [[ResidentEvil B.O.W.]] swallows to predictable result.
** In this trailer[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzE-Usa5kkc]] and footage[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MewAJegsPOE]] has quite a few to other survivor horrors and combat ops; if you look among which a couple [[Left4Dead of hunters and a tank]], [[SilentHill flashlight segments and the changes to the Kamurocho district]], [[MetalSlug available attack vehicles to use]],[[spoiler:a room with [[ResidentEvil Lickers]], a [[HouseOfTheDead team up in a room with the chapter's]] [[LoadBearingBoss behemoth zombie]] ]], just from what is shown.
** 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 suprisingly similar to [[ResidentEvil Albert Wesker]]. Many a fan have indulged in calling him "[[FanNickname Wesker Jr.]]"

* XMeetsY: ''Of The End/Dead Souls'' is basically Left4Dead meets VideoGame/RyuGaGotoku with a bit of ResidentEvil. [[spoiler: It also seems like there's four playable characters.]]

* TattooedCrook: Given that the game series deals heavily with the subject of Yakuza this is ''de rigeur''. The tattoos on the main characters (Kazuma- Blue Dragon, Nishiki- Carp, Majima- Oni, Goda- Gold Dragon) turn out to be very symbolic in the games and are often reflective of their personalities and traits.

* DatingSim: Every game has had an optional series of [[SideQuest side quests]] where Kazuma could visit the local hostess 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. In the second game, Kazuma 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. In the western release of the third game, the whole "hostess club" aspect was cut, which just allowed Kazuma to simply take the girls out for a couple dates, then reap the benefits (no relationship values, expensive hostessing minigame, multiple choice dialogue, etc). The hostess clubs return in western release of the fourth game (at least for Akiyama, Tanimura, and Kazuma). In Dead Souls, wooing a lady allows you to use her as an escort into the Quarantine Zone.

*** [[AkioOhtsuka The Minister of Defense]] is [[MetalGear Solid Snake.]]

The series is basically old school [[BeatEmUp beat 'em up]] with a [[WideOpenSandbox sandbox setting]] and [[{{RPG}} RPG elements]]. While you can just follow the story and play it as a straightforward beat 'em up, there are TONS of sidequests, minigames and secrets to do and find, many of them quite challenging, unique, even funny sometimes. Players can help people on the street with myriad problems, find hidden illegal gambling halls to play in, go to the batting cage to hit a few balls or find an [[OldMaster enigmatic martial artist]] to learn many powerful moves from. And in good ol' {{Shonen}}/{{Seinen}} series fashion, there's even underground fighting tournaments to participate in, complete with a caged arena. The amount of things to do in the games is mindblowing.

** MarkHamill voices Goro Majima as [[BatmanTheAnimatedSeries an unstable, sadomasochistic gangster]] who laughs at pain -- even his own and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=778VDaSLeX4 is more than willing to kill his own henchmen when they don't get with the program]]. In addition he's so determined to take down Kazuma himself that [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mjiNzDDTmI he'll stop anyone else who's trying to beat him to the punch]].

* AmazingFreakingGrace: Played over the end credits for the first game.

* BadExportForYou: The US release of ''Yakuza 3'' unfortunately cut some of the features like mahjong and managing a massage parlor. Granted, they didn't do this out of vindictiveness so much as feeling that western gamers just wouldn't get mahjong or how to play shogi. Though losing the DatingSim aspect of the hostess clubs was actually well-received by some players. It did, however, result in the MEB location being little more than a booth decorated with pictures of women.

* 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.

* CoolOldGuy: Detective Makoto Date, who even fights alongside Kazuma at times and is pretty reasonable to him in the first game.

* CurbStompBattle: 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.
* DatingSim: Every game has had an optional series of [[SideQuest side quests]] where Kazuma could visit the local hostess 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. In the second game, Kazuma 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. In the western release of the third game, the whole "hostess club" aspect was cut, which just allowed Kazuma to simply take the girls out for a couple dates, then reap the benefits (no relationship values, expensive hostessing minigame, multiple choice dialogue, etc). The hostess clubs return in western release of the fourth game (at least for Akiyama, Tanimura, and Kazuma). In Dead Souls, wooing a lady allows you to use her as an escort into the Quarantine Zone.

** [[JustifiedTrope Actually]], this is a common punishment among [[RealLife Yakuza]], and is as symbolic as the physical punishment is painful.Cutting off one's fingers decreases one's ability to grip a sword effectively, making him more dependent on the group.

* DulcineaEffect: Men are falling over themselves to protect Lily in 4, though everyone does have their own reasons. Doesn't change the fact that only one of the main characters has known her for more than a week.

** From the first game, Akira Nishiki, who basically cracked under the pressure over the years and molded himself into a cold version of what Kazuma would have become (a head of a family of the Tojo) if he hadn't been in prison.

* EvilFeelsGood: The zombification process in Dead Souls explicitly feels very pleasant, due to the over production of endorphin hormones.

* 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 advenced combos) they branch out considerably.

* FriendToAllChildren: Nothing brings out Kazuma's good side like kids, especially his kids from the orphanage and his adopted niece Haruka. Subsequently, nothing brings out Kazuma's [[UnstoppableRage BAD side]] [[PapaWolf like someone hurting a kid]]. [[CurbStompBattle The most savage and satisfying beatings Kazuma's rained on someone]] are those in retaliation for abusing a kid.

* GatlingGood: Ryuji Goda in ''Of The End/Dead Souls'' sports a cybernetic ArmCannon from the [[FinalFantasyVII Barrett Wallace]] Collection.

* HeroicSacrifice: So many. There's an instance of TakingTheBullet pretty much once per game.

*** Sera is [[{{Lost}} Charles Widmore]].

*** Date is [[{{Goofy}} Goofy]] and [[HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw Secret Squirrel]].

*** [[KoichiYamadera Akiyama]] is [[CowboyBebop Spike Spiegel]] and DonaldDuck.
*** [[RikiyaKoyama Saejima]] is [[MarvelVsCapcom3 Frank West]] and {{Wolverine}}.

*** [[AyaHirano Hana]] is HaruhiSuzumiya and [[LuckyStar Konata.]]

* HonorBeforeReason: SO MUCH.

* IKnowMaddenKombat: In the second game, Kazuma 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.

* KnifeNut: Goro Majima.

* TheLancer: Shinji Tanaka in the first game, Daigo Dojima in the second, Rikiya Shimabukuro in the third.

* 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]].

* ManBehindTheMan: Pretty much at least one per game.
* ManlyTears: Kazuma actually sheds these when [[spoiler:Rikiya]] dies. You know from this moment on that someone is [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge GOING TO FUCKING DIE.]]

** Averted in Dead Souls, it's 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.]]

* NoExportForYou: The four main games have all seen Western releases. The same cannot be said about ''Kenzan!'' and ''Black Panther'', two spin-off titles. However, ZombieApocalypse spin-off ''Of The End'' has been confirmed for a Western release at least. It's coming over as ''Yakuza: Dead Souls'', averting this trope.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryu_Ga_Gotoku#Tie-in_and_product_placement Other Wiki]] has more specific details on the Product Placements.

* RangedEmergencyWeapon: In Dead Souls, Pistol ammo is infinite, making a Pistol a RangedEmergencyWeapon for most characters (except for Akiyama, whose primary weapon is a pistol). But as the first character in the game this works to soften the learning curve by making ammo not much of an issue until later).

* RivalTurnedEvil: Akira Nishiki, childhood friend of Kazuma who, after a series of tragic events, really changed during the years Kazuma was in jail for [[spoiler: a murder that Nishiki himself committed - granted, he had a good reason.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Played most straight in ''Dead Souls,'' when Kazuma enters the quarantine zone to confront those that kidnapped Haruka... and proceeds to fight zombies. Unarmed.

* ShoutOut: Ryu ga Gotoku 2 contained references to the previous game, AshitaNoJoe, SEGA, the PS3 cat and even TheMatrix (the "Man in black").
** [[spoiler: It could be argued that the MindScrew ManBehindTheMan reveal towards the end is a veiled reference to MetalGearSolid.]]

* WideOpenSandbox: Kamurocho in general, and other locations as the series goes on.

<<|FightingGame|>>

[[http://gematsu.com/2012/05/yakuza-5-due-december-in-japan Recently]], ''Famitsu'' announced that ''Ryu ga Gotoku 5'' will be released in Japan in December 2012, which will feature [[SerialEscalation five different protagonists and cities]]. While no announcement for a US release has been made yet, this is probably a sure thing. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced Yay!]]

'''''Ryu Ga Gotoku''''' (''Like a Dragon''), or '''''Yakuza''''' as it's known in America, is a video game brawler series for the [=PS2=] and [=PS3=]. The first game follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu (桐生 一馬, Kiryū Kazuma), the "Dragon of Dojima," a former Yakuza whose release from prison after a 10-year sentence sparks the setup of the first game's plot. After his release, Kazuma returns and finds that his friend is missing and the clan to which he once belonged (the Tojo Clan) has had 10 billion yen (approx. $100 million US) stolen from them, and the entire Japanese underworld is now searching for the money. The game was heavily acclaimed in Japan for being the first game to explore Yakuza culture with such depth and ''as it is claimed'' authenticity to the nature of Japan's criminal underground (info from Wikipedia).

There have been four games in the main series, with ''Ryu Ga Gotoku 4'' currently available in Japan and North America and Europe. There's also a spin-off called ''Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!'' that takes place in feudal Japan, starring Kiryu Kazuma-no-suke. A very combat-oriented PSP spinoff called ''Kurohyou: Ryu Ga Gotoku Shinshou'' focuses on the life of underground fighter Ukyou Tatsuya. The spin-off featuring characters from the main series, ''Ryu Ga Gotoku: Of The End''/''Yakuza: Dead Souls'', takes place during an... [[ZombieApocalypse umm... outbreak of the living dead]].

[[http://gematsu.com/2012/05/yakuza-5-due-december-in-japan Recently]], ''Famitsu'' announced that ''Ryu Ga Gotoku 5'' will be released in Japan in December 2012, which will feature [[SerialEscalation five different protagonists and cities]]. While no announcement for a US release has been made yet, this is probably a sure thing. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced Yay!]]

* HeroicBloodshed: ''Ryu Ga Gotoku'' has a lot in common with Heroic Bloodshed movies in terms of thematic elements.

* PressXToNotDie: [[spoiler: You have to press a button on your last attack against the final boss of Ryu Ga Gotoku 2. If you don't, well...]]

* ShoutOut: Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 contained references to the previous game, AshitaNoJoe, SEGA, the PS3 cat and even TheMatrix (the "Man in black").

* BadassCrew: Everyone who supported and helped Kazuma has at least done something awesome to earn this. Two of them being his {{Nakama}} in ''4'' (Akiyama, Saejima and Tanimura) and the other playable characters in ''Dead Souls'' (Akiyama again, Goda, Majima)

* {{Nakama}}: By the endgame of ''4'', Kazuma has formed a nakama with Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima and Masayoshi Tanimura. A more impressive collection of bonafide badasses will be hard to find.

* EvilForeigner: Three notable examples in the series:
** Lau Ka Long (from ''1'') - The leader of the Chinese Triads.
** Andre Richardson (from ''3'') - Corrupt CIA Agent who is the leader of Black Monday, an arms dealing group.
** DD - (from ''Of the End / Dead Souls'') - A [[ButNotTooForeign Japanese-American]] arms dealer who creates the Thanatos virus, which starts the ZombieApocalypse in Kamurucho. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Also notorious for]] [[DudeLooksLikeALady looking extremely feminine.]]

* ActorAllusion: Two of them in the American release of the first game-

[[http://gematsu.com/2012/05/yakuza-5-due-december-in-japan Recently]], ''{{Famitsu}}'' announced that ''Ryu Ga Gotoku 5'' will be released in Japan in December 2012, which will feature [[SerialEscalation five different protagonists and cities]]. While no announceement for a US release has been made yet, this is probably a sure thing. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced Yay!]]

Another game is in the works, starring [[CrazyAwesome Goro Majima]]. There aren't many details available yet, however

''Ryu Ga Gotoku'' (''Like a Dragon''), or ''Yakuza'' as it's known in America, is a video game brawler series for the [=PS2=] and [=PS3=]. The first game follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu (桐生 一馬, Kiryū Kazuma), the "Dragon of Dojima," a former Yakuza whose release from prison after a 10-year sentence sparks the setup of the first game's plot. After his release, Kazuma returns and finds that his friend is missing and the clan to which he once belonged (the Tojo Clan) has had 10 billion yen (approx. $100 million US) stolen from them, and the entire Japanese underworld is now searching for the money. The game was heavily acclaimed in Japan for being the first game to explore Yakuza culture with such depth and ''as it is claimed'' authenticity to the nature of Japan's criminal underground (info from Wikipedia).

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: [[spoiler:Goro Majima pretty much gives as the reason why he took a knife to the gut from one of his underlings meant for Kazuma... right after coldcocking said underling.

* RangedEmergencyWeapon: In Dead Souls, Pistol ammo is infinite, making a Pistol a RangedEmergencyWeapon for most characters (except for Akiyama, whose primary weapon is a pistol. But as the first character in the game this works to soften the learning curve by making ammo not much of an issue until later).

* RivalTurnedEvil: Akira Nishiki, childhood friend of Kazuma who, after a series of tragic events, really changed during the years Kazuma was in jail for [[spoiler: a murder that Nishiki himself committed, granted he had a good reason.]]

* ScaryBlackMan: Gary Buster Holmes, although only in the ring. Outside of it he's a rather amicable GentleGiant.

* 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 take them to justice.]]

* ShoutOut: Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 contained references to the previous game, AshitaNoJoe, SEGA, the PS3 cat and even TheMatrix (ie the "Man in black").

** In this trailer[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzE-Usa5kkc]] and footage[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MewAJegsPOE]] has quite a few to other survivor horrors and combat ops; if you look among which a couple [[Left4Dead of hunters and a tank]], [[SilentHill flashlight segments and the changes the Kamurocho district]], [[MetalSlug available attack vehicles to use]],[[spoiler:a room with [[ResidentEvil Lickers]], a [[HouseOfTheDead team up in a room with the chapter's]] [[LoadBearingBoss behemoth zombie]] ]], just from what is shown.
** If one manages to look closely, Andre Richardson ([[spoiler:Black Monday's leader, crooked CIA agent and one of the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of ''3'']]) looks suprisingly similar to [[ResidentEvil Albert Wesker]]. Many a fan have indulged in calling him "[[FanNickname Wesker Jr.]]"

* SuicidalOverconfidence: "[[MuggingTheMonster Hey, we're having a pretty bad day, so we need to put out our aggression on you.]] [[GenreBlind Huh? Why you looking at us funny?]] [[HilarityEnsues You wanna die old man?!]]"

* TurnCoat: So far apart from [[TheLancer Shinji Tanaka]], significant individuals in the Nishiki Family are doomed to this role.

** Yet played straight in the same game with [[spoiler:Rikiya's childhood's friend]], the submission where he finds her working in pole dancing club is treated like a main mission, with cutscene and all; [[spoiler:Rikiya promisses to take her out of this life style for good]], but he ends up [[spoiler:dead in the end]], the [[spoiler:girl]] is never brought up in the main storyline, how does [[spoiler:she feel about her White Knight being dead]] is left unknown.

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: [[spoiler:Goro Majima pretty much gives as the reason why he took a knife to the gut from one of his underlings meant for Kazuma... right after coldcocking said underling. Of course [[IGotBetter he gets better]] later on.]]