Yakuza series

I find it one of the funner minigames. If you're having trouble, grinding some levels in the easier circuits is a good idea. Make sure you're helping them when they request it, and learn the hand signals that they give to get more money and restore their hp. And make sure to change your platinum hostesses outfits to maximize their looks.

And done!

I will say the insistence that Majima and Kiryu have never killed anyone gets more and more annoying in these games with all the exploding helicopters as well as broken necks. I assume this must be a Japanese thing where our protagonists have certain lines that CANNOT be crossed no matter what.

Just like superheroes.

Except, in this case, it's Japanese gangsters.

This is my go-to meme for Kiryu never killing anybody.

It was just a paintball gun that the waiter wanted to use to prank Kiryu. He's fine.

It ends up being complete BS by the time 6 rolls around And Kiryu shoots down a helicopter with a Stinger missile. Didn’t see any parachutes either.

It was a cargo helicopter.

And the Rocket was made of Styrofoam.

Batman and Kiryu - Averse to killing, adopt a lot of orphans, no issues with traumatic brain injury.

And to think Kiryu doesn’t actually have a problem with it.

Look there are two important things to remember about Yakuza.

1. Kiryu has never killed anyone; they all get up, give him a silver plate, and then go repent for their misdeed.

2. Kiryu is forever a virgin.

1. Number 2# is even more ridiculous given while he didn't get with Yumi, there's a pretty huge selection of naughty scenes with the hostesses he dates.

2. He blew up a helicopter by killing its pilot in Zero too.

4:45

Mind you, for a gritty crime drama, the car chases are so over the top that they kind of feel out of place within the game. You'd think a dozen dead people would show up on the news as a bigger deal than one guy in an Empty Lot.

Maybe it's an American thing but I do think Kiryu and Majima are more interesting if they have killed more than a few people as well as acted against The Paragon role that people keep trying to shove them in.

It's like Han Solo and Greedo really.

I just think it's fine saying Kiryu hasn't killed AS many people as he probably would with all his epic beatdowns.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Apr 27th 2020 at 9:43:00 AM

All he did with the hostesses was play with the crane machine at Sega Land and have long conversations about being true to yourself.

It's not well known but in the Yakuza Ultimania it's revealed that Kiryu's ability to never kill anyone is part of a Faustian pact powered by his virginity.

Any good crime movie has a big car chase. Bullitt, The French Connection, The Italian Job, etc.

Edited by Beatman1 on Apr 27th 2020 at 12:42:02 PM

We got through four or five games without one.

Ah, so they just talk at the love hotels.

So, Judgement next or 3 Remastered?

I'm leaning toward Judgement as much as I love the main characters.

3 is a definite step back from Kiwami 2 gameplay wise. But it does show a different side of Kiryu which is interesting to see.

Judgment is a fun game, and it’s completely stand alone.

Edited by Beatman1 on Apr 27th 2020 at 1:01:31 PM

Judgment is kind of weak by series standard. It doesn't break away from the Yakuza formula in any really interesting ways and most of the cast are yakuza anyway, so it's like the series never moved on.

Also it has really annoying stealth missions.

Judgment's different from the rest of the Yakuza games in that while the side stuff is mostly garbage, the main plot is the best the series has to offer.

Yeah, I'm not a huge sidequest guy. I love that it's in Yakuza but it's not my main focus.

I started Judgement and am enjoying it but it's a bit too much to jump into so far. So, I decided to do Yakuza 3 instead. The Remastered version has some flaws like the fact you can't pause during cutscenes.

I was also annoyed at how Kaoru Sayama was written out. I feel like the writers who think Yumi is the only love of Kiryu's life sort of ignore her existence.

If Kiryu and Sayama stayed together they might eventually have boned, and that can never happen.

Yes, Yumi is Kiryu's one true love he can never move on from despite the fact she hooked up with an evil politician while he was imprisoned.

Also, the fact they may have never even gone on a date and almost certainly didn't.

Oh and were raised as brother and sister.

Kiryu is enough of a bonehead to stay in love with a dead woman his whole life but I figure moving on from Sayama was just not wanting to give him a steady romantic interest.

Also he is raising her daughter after all.

Starting Yakuza 3, I'm not terribly impressed so far. It feels a bit soap opera-ish. So it's Kazama's identical twin, right? Oh and the key piece of land for a massive real estate deal is Kiryu's orphanage. This feels like a Three Stooges plot.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Apr 29th 2020 at 6:57:40 AM

While it gets a bit better, I found 3 had the weakest plot of the Kiryu saga. Seriously, replace Kiryu with The Big Show and you have a plot for season 2 of Big Show’s Netflix sitcom.