one way i think about it is that in the way that it recruits and grows itself, and the function it serves in its environment and politics, the palekana cult might as well be a bunch of yakuza. just with a different spin on it
Even after the gauntlet of Nele Island (Giant shark, hordes of Haku warriors, GIANT SQUID), it seems fitting that even before you get to cave Bryce's face in you have to fight through his last lines of minions to do so. And the image of Ichiban throwing that punch and being held back by the Haku as Bryce just smirks goes super hard. Bryce is smirking like he's showing off the power he wields and he's revelling in it. And there's no QTE, but the dynamic sequences show just how ruthless Palekana has ultimately become: the first wave fails and the second wave just machine gun them on the spot to get them out of the way. Then one of the last elites begs Bryce to be saved and just gets ventilated too. Just really hammers home that even though Palekana may have done a lot of good to the people of Hawaii, it's ultimately just a rotten shell around Bryce's schemes. I mean, Bryce goes on and on about Nele Island being their holiest place, and he's turned it into a radioactive pit. The heart of Palekana is rotten, and it needs to be torn out. Also, bosses tend to only switch their weapons when they get to half health, but having Bryce pick up that sword when he's nearly beaten is a neat subversion. He's been beaten up for the last 15 minutes, can barely stand, has been disarmed, and he still thinks he has a chance. And his dialogue's been reduced to ranting like a maniac, as he's starting to realise he's losing it all. And finally, when he tries to take the classic coward's way out of suicide, he's dragged back to face his crimes, to not take the easy way out.
Which by the way, play into several JRPG tropes as well. Seriously, fighting cult leader/dark lord attempt to achieve godhood is second most JRPG thing as fighting a literal god.
Funny story: After playing Lost Judgment, I predicted the next villain would be a cult leader. However I didn't expect that to happen in LAD:IW even though I saw Bryce in trailers.
No. God was Masato. "The Governor Of Tokyo" is the equivalent for that. Tendo is that common RPG trope where the boss before the final boss is always the hardest.
@@nabsthegodgamer5419yeah Masato was the dark lord of the castle and Tendo was the dragon guarding what Ichiban was trying to get to, pretty obvious lol Plus they also doubled as the usual Yakuza final bosses where you have to fight the big strong guy and then the political guy behind everything that usually had his goons do most of the fighting
Say what you will, but Bryce works wonderfully as an artificial force of nature rather than a strong man with stronger ideals. He isn't a good villain because of his strength or beliefs, it's his cunning and the army he's built to make sure you're never truly safe.
The premise of him brainwashing orphans into his cult just to give them facial reconstructive surgery and deploy them around the state to effectively puppet it from the shadows was, like, actually fucking crazy
"Artificial force of nature" That might be the perfect description of who Bryce is as a character. Even his first appearance is tacky as fuck, almost as though it's staged. It doesn't feel real, and that in and of itself tells us everything we need to know about him.
@@kartikayysola His first appeareance is like "Oh no, the gun I totally didn't rig to explode just hurt you! Here, let me heal your wounds. No, I'm not standing in front of the graffiti on purpose, trust me". The whole point of him is that everything he does is staged. Hell, even during the fight, his moves have all these awesome and holy names, and they're just grenades and guns.
@yanribeiro7108 yep, and I love that. I still feel like he shouldn't have been Ichiban's final boss but as a capstone to his adventures in Hawaii, he was perfect. A 1 to 1 negative image of Ichi in every way.
@@kartikayysolaI didn’t mind him as the final boss. It’s like you said he’s the complete opposite, artificial in every way meanwhile ichiban is always genuine with his kindness and charity
I tried to beat him by crushing his balls with ichibans atomic drop but unforunately tomizawa decided to do a crit followup and kill him before that could happen
Love the bait-and-switch with the dynamic intro. We expect Bryce's name to flash up but his subordinates intervene and its PALEKANA WARRIORS instead. That's when i knew it would be a long and gruelling battle to even reach him.
I think what people aren't seeing here is that this kind of fight is really in-character for a person like Bryce. This kind of fight highlights Bryce's true strengths, his ability to command and manipulate people as he wishes, and not needing physical strength to back this up. But no, people would much rather go for a boss fight that is way out of character for anyone, but they are somehow physically super strong.
The way the Palekana members stopped Ichi's punch just before the punch connected felt so good man. I loved that IW gave us an interesting villain in Ebina, a person who suffered and his thirst for revenge derailed him to a vengeful sadist but that we could see had a bit of humanity left at the end as Kiryu broke down, while Bryce is just a irredimible power hungry manaical bastard who's not afraid of killing people for his benefit, a being so evil and corrupt that only Ichi, the most pure hearted and heroic person, could bring down.
Like what that other guy's comment said, Bryce's dynamic intro straight up looked so Biblical. The intro alone shows how much of a master manipulator and (almost) untouchable Bryce was.
This fight is kinda like a jingu/munakata fight but actually fun. Also this is a nice and fitting final boss imo since it's essentially ichiban taking on a corrupt form of his hello work stuff. Pretty much what the tatara channel was saying he was
Well many things help a lot on the concept -By that time ya fought some enemies that could call up for backup so it was not too unusual in the rpg (as i would recall on Dwight's final fight) -Having extra friends means being able to deal more damage to the lackeys -The respawning only happens on first wave, since on the second one the summoned ones self destruct and by the third wave is the last of the troops Bryce has
It's true that Bryce might not be as cool as Ebina, but even if Ichiban got the lesser of the two main antagonists it's not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be. It's fitting
I had this theory going that this POS was still looking as youthful as he did because of the orphanage, what with them sending the children to the island. Adrenochrome and all that. Only made me hate him more
I had this theory going on after Wong mentioned his age early on. I feared the reason he sent kids from the orphanage to the island was for their Adrenochrome. Only made me hate him more.
@@edman9953 Yeah exactly! I thought his pendant granted him immortality and that he needed the blood of children to sustain its power, thus why he chased after Lani. There's also the fact that in his first appearance, he made a Ganzhe grunt's gun explode and one of its shrapnels directly injured the guy's eye. I was convinced Bryce had magical powers.
my theory why the writers chose Bryce as the final boss for Ichiban, is because, Bryce personality is actually the exact opposite of Ichiban. (like how they do in Yakuza 6, Kiryu's final boss was Iwami who badly wants to be a Yakuza and gets recognition while Kiryu is the exact opposite who don't want to be in the Yakuza and hates recognition from it) its kinda hard to explain and i don't wanna spoil it too. but here's my summary, while Ichiban has the charisma and influence to attract people to help him save others with good cause, Bryce use his charisma and influence to attract people to be criminals and make others suffer while thinking that he is doing it for the good cause of others. its kinda hard to explain really but i see it in a narrative way. i was expecting someone like Eiji, Sawashiro or Kiryu or someone new to be Ichiban's final boss but man, we got this crazy sadistic old guy! still a 10/10 for me! there are no boss fights i didn't enjoy in this series.
That's actually a pretty nice theory to why Bryce is Ichibans final boss! I actually have a theory of my own to add onto what you said Remember what Kiryu said to Ichiban? "I'll take on the Yakuza's past, but you, I want you to handle their future" Ichiban going up against Bryce is him protecting the future of the Yakuza so they could have a chance to once again start fresh for themselves instead of wasting away in a nuclear hazard that is Nele Island. Kiryu's fight with Ebina on the other hand is Kiryu taking on the Yakuza's past, since Ebina has a grudge against the Yakuza of the past that killed his mother, hence wanting revenge.
I really really really like these theories. Not to mention just how fucking cool as hell the music is. They really knocked it out of the park with this game.
Also this sick-ass music straight out of Final Fantasy and your average JRPGs, but with unique twist. Feels like fighting Safer Sephiroth back in the VII days.
@@primalgamer34 wow! our theories are pretty similar! also in Ichiban and Kiryu's case, and YES! they are really trying to use their influence, experience and powers to save other people! including the former Yakuzas. which also in what you said, Kiryu telling Ichi "protect the future" while Bryce and Ebina are destroying it, while Kiryu and Ichi are really trying hard to save and protect everyone
I'm surprised to see that so many people were apparently disappointed with this fight. The only thing I'm disappointed by is that Bryce didn't tear off his shirt and reveal a tattoo of Nele on his back (perhaps with a design referencing the wings mural from the cutscene we first see him in)
@@Сергей-щ1ц8у Japanese VA for Bryce, Toru Furuya, according to an article in Japanese tabloid, had an extramarital affair with a female fan 37 years his junior (Furuya is 70 himself) which lasted for more than four years. He later forced her to perform an abortion and hit her once. Because of that all the roles associated with him has been blemished. He posted an apology on X, which confirms the legitimacy of the published article.
Bryce is probably the most heartless monster in the franchise. Takes no pity in killing his subordinates and throwing them away as they are just tools to be used. I'm kinda having a hard time believing that once Bryce was put in jail, that NONE of his "followers" broke him out and that entire mess would happen again. I mean, he's got spies literally everywhere in Hawaii, and you can't really tell if any of the people of Hawaii are working with Bryce or not. But his Boss Theme is straight up Biblical📖
@@hoyhoy852 dead i could see since most of his followers operated with faith, and Lani gonna make sure that faith is well placed , but yeah if he is in jail this is gonna continue at least for some time. Tho seeing how he is like 90 something years old maybe they just gave up on him
@gamemaster2638 I would say Kyoya too at least prior to this game, but when Bryce came in to picture he's on a way higher scale and had been doing what he was doing for decades, with followers he groomed from childhood into devoted followers who would make the Jingweon creed blush. He even has a god complex.
They literally did Jingu/Munakata but good holy shit The fight was definitely more symbolic than hard considering that the fucking Giant Squid was way harder, but holy shit is this a great example of two ideals against each other. Both Ichi and Bryce gather people to their side through their charisma and personality, but to totally different ends and with totally different mindsets. Ichi tries to gather the hopeless to give them a better life through Hello Work, but always blames himself when problems arise. He's selfless to a fault, and he learns to not doubt himself because the people he helps still make their own decisions. He doesn't want to take their individualism away; he wants to support it, believing everyone can choose to lift themselves up. Bryce is the opposite; he gathers the hopeless under the guise of a better life, and some of the things he did actually did help people. But it's like Ichi said: he's a false idol, nothing like the Sage before him who DID do a lot of charity. He views himself as someone who's perfect, while everyone else needs fixing. He doesn't view people as individuals; only collective pawns to be used. He easily just flat out murders anyone with no use to him, even his most loyal followers. His speech about the faith even admits he wasn't a believer in their religion to begin with. He's a master manipulator who thinks he and his chosen few (his investors lmao) are above the entire world. His old mafia and mobster ties also really come out during this fight, especially in his poses and use of the submachine guns. The imagery is also fantastic, from the biblical dynamic intro to his dramatic attack names that end up just being man-made weapons. Honestly probably the most evil villain in the series, even beyond Iwami, Kurosawa, Shibusawa, and Kuroiwa. What a great fight!!
@Garland846 I mean, Shibusawa was clearly gunning for the top of the Tojo clan with his ambitions, often using pretty brutal means to do so. He also has a "ruling with an iron fist mindset" and, judging by his pre-fight speech, has no problem with using or killing innocents to get what he wants (like the taxi driver on the highway scene he just straight up caps in cold blood). I think he's just a bit less evil in comparison to the later villains I mentioned because Kiryu stops him early in his ascension so we never got to see the lasting results of Shibusawa's potential reign.
I love that when the dynamic intro title ''Palekana Warriors'' showed up, it's like telling the player, ''Ah! Ah! No skipping to the final boss until you finished the minions first''
my favorite thing about bryce is just how cruel himself and his boss is. during the fight you see the followers blinded by their devotion to bryce as they massacered the previous wave of enemy's you just defeated with smgs. and when it was time for the man himself to step in, the first thing he does is brutally executing a follower that failed him. just to take his gun. the music really amplifies the sheer evil this man has, and probably the first boss I have seen to take the crown of most casualties in a fight in the whole series.
It can be disappointing to have the last fight of Ichiban's side be Bryce but it was expected since his reveal, I find it more fitting for him to fight Bryce than Ebina personally. I had deluded myself into thinking he'd be the final boss, and his schizo would morph Bryce into a god-like entity; seems like a very common JRPG trope with all the god-slaying final bosses yet it was very poetic in a way that Bryce is just himself. The man was never a god-like figure, just a plain man fueled with greed - all his 'powers' are depicted clearly in the intro; he's a fraud, he uses guns at the end of the day and he lobs grenades in guise of holy fire attacks. It's also refreshing to see RGG not letting a villain off themselves to get away with it.
Couple of things: A)He wouldn't really need to. He's not exactly facing consequences of doing so. B)Gods are often borne of word of mouth and the telephone game. Same basic principle with Bryce. A mere man, a mere assassin, ends up becoming a god through tricks, illusions and truth distortions.
I do love the mirroring of these 2 Ichiban being a leader and guiding his friends across a dangerous journey VS A selfish “god” who makes people do his bidding
Man, Bryce was one of the most evil bastards of a final boss I've seen in a long while. No redeeming qualities, and no depths he's unwilling to sink to in the name of what he wants... ...so I took great satisfaction in using the most embarrassing attacks I could on him. Having the Revolve Barkeep shoot him full of holes to a stirring rendition of Kamurocho Lullaby. Ichiban taking him to Suplex City. Tomizawa shaking him up with his terrible driving. Chitose using him for tennis practice. Adachi calling in an army. And plenty of Tomizawa and Chitose literally scrubbing him into submission. All of it was no less than what the evil son of a bitch deserved.
Really, why do people think evil, irredeemable villains are automatically bad? Your comment, is EXACTLY why they can be good: the moment you can FINALLY get your hands on them and give them everything their karma owes them!
It's goofy, but I kinda wish Bryce turned out to deadass have some kind of magical powers at his disposal with no explanation. The series hasn't shyed away from the supernatural before, and seeing otherwise grounded stories show signs of the fabric of reality tearing apart is great stuff
In this case, I think it’s better that he didn’t. Bryce’s whole thing is that everything about him is artificial, from the way he became head of Palekana to his kindness, absolutely none of it is genuine whatsoever. You even see it in his attacks, they get these grandiose fucking names and they’re just guns and grenades. It’s an excellent way to convey who Bryce is as a character. Or more accurately, who he ISN’T.
@@kartikayysola Oh yeah, I'm not saying this framing of Bryce isn't effective for the character; but I sure wouldn't had been dissappointed if he had turned out to be *actual* magic with no explanation.
I love the dynamic intro of this. How it starts with Ichiban going up to punch Bryce, and his punch is stopped by seemingly the will of God..... and then it pulls back the camera and shows that the Palekana dudes were holding him, shattering Bryce's illusions of Godhood. I love it when the Dynamic Intros are thematic as well as cool.
Ichiban: "Yeah I'll take a trip to Hawaii, quick one and done 30 minutes adventure." Ichiban, 3 weeks later: BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT 100 YEAR OLD MAN! SAVE THE ENTIRE OCEAN! CARE FOR MY OWN PRIVATE ISLAND RESORT! DELIVER FOOD WHILE DOING FLIPS! NAVIGATE THE MORALLY GREY INTER-CONTINENTAL DRAMA OF NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT! Kiryu: "Yeah I got cancer." Kiryu, 3 weeks later: "Would you believe me if I told you I still have cancer."
Altrough i seem to bne aware that Munakata is the reference the comments are, i admit i ended thinking of someone else entirely: I didnt expect Bryce to even have some capacity to do damage so the fact he even weilds submachine guns isatonishing. Altrough the whole deal of a crime lord using a machine gun like weapon while having lackeys to fill the place, it made me think me more of Mr X from streets of rage
Freakin Renaissance painting aaa dynamic intro Also, what a great final boss this was. I think this style of combat is the only way this particular boss archetype can work so well.
It's quite a scary thought. This man has brainwashed entire generations (we can assume he is doing this for at least 70 years), so I don't think it's weird that his followers are so faithful to him, he is like the only thing they knew. These weren't criminals or had bad lives, they were just innocent people who were driven to believe in this false god instead of the religion's actual god.
Honestly I've seen complaints towards Bryce as Ichiban's villain, and some theories that nicely explain why, But honestly I just enjoy it for the concept of what it is. Ichiban is essentially a Yakuza superhero, a valiant knight who fights for those who can't fight for themselves. LAD:7 was Ichiban's introduction, and LAD:IW is one of Ichiban's grand adventures in following through with what Arakawa would've wanted. For someone like Ichiban, i'd want that large sprawling adventure you'd see out of his favorite video games.
Can I just say it was BRILLIANT to have Ichiban's story completely new and Kiryu's story kitbashed out of the last game? Just as a subtle but major nod to the fact that Kiryu's the past and Ichi's the present. Ichi's final boss theme sounds like a "world is on the line" sound whereas Kiryu's final boss theme sounds "emotionally driven".
I swear this sounds like a movie trailer or something. like i can do an epic trailer type thing. "IN A WORLD.... ONE MAN....9 FRIENDS... ONE LEGEND RETURNS. ONE MISSION.."
I must be weird, I thought this was the better of the two final battles. Not that Kiryu's was bad, mind you. But this one just felt more interesting to me mechanically as you had to deal with a few waves before you got to take a swing at the big bad himself. Also the music, good god, the music.
@nicolenechita9531 funny cuz the dynamic intro had ebina destroy three of them without losing eye contact with kiryu. man could've straight up annihilated the other four if kiryu wasn't there.
guys we slain god in Yakuza series now, Ichiban Finally become Heroes like in Dragon Quest. side note: I found it funny Yakuza found JRPG Trope that, Final boss is Corrupt Religion vs our heroes to save the world
When you accidentally "skip" the second phase and a good 1/3rd lifebar because you put Ichi on Action Star, use double damage, have some attack and crit buffs on the party and Essence of Friendship hits for 9000 Damage... oopsie
I think Bryce might be one of my favorite characters, he's such an irredeemable shitheel. 100% just sucks. So fun to hate, especially with his huge heel turn
bryce seeing adachi arrest every fucking member of his cult that he inducted them into and trained for years:
Seriously, the Arrest skill is just ridiculous.
mfw the boss has sentinels but adachis in the party:
Certified Tanimura Moment
one way i think about it is that in the way that it recruits and grows itself, and the function it serves in its environment and politics, the palekana cult might as well be a bunch of yakuza. just with a different spin on it
FUCK IT WE ARREST
Ichiban only wanted to see his long lost mother and a week later he takes down a cult
For kiryu, it was a substory
@@Wh1teChanneI Tbh, not anymore. It's finally main story time cause he has to settle some old shit.
And he only gets like one dialogue with her and then she fucks off, what a good story
No it's his main story!@@Wh1teChanneI
Not to mention he helped an island become a 5 star resort. 😂
The hero of Yokohama vs the false god of Hawaii
a mortal who plays god can never defeat a man who accepts and embraces the humanity within himself.
@@4thsin098Jonathan vs Dio in a nutshell
@@technoimperialist9509 I didn't realize I made a jojo reference lol
Even after the gauntlet of Nele Island (Giant shark, hordes of Haku warriors, GIANT SQUID), it seems fitting that even before you get to cave Bryce's face in you have to fight through his last lines of minions to do so. And the image of Ichiban throwing that punch and being held back by the Haku as Bryce just smirks goes super hard. Bryce is smirking like he's showing off the power he wields and he's revelling in it.
And there's no QTE, but the dynamic sequences show just how ruthless Palekana has ultimately become: the first wave fails and the second wave just machine gun them on the spot to get them out of the way. Then one of the last elites begs Bryce to be saved and just gets ventilated too. Just really hammers home that even though Palekana may have done a lot of good to the people of Hawaii, it's ultimately just a rotten shell around Bryce's schemes. I mean, Bryce goes on and on about Nele Island being their holiest place, and he's turned it into a radioactive pit. The heart of Palekana is rotten, and it needs to be torn out.
Also, bosses tend to only switch their weapons when they get to half health, but having Bryce pick up that sword when he's nearly beaten is a neat subversion. He's been beaten up for the last 15 minutes, can barely stand, has been disarmed, and he still thinks he has a chance. And his dialogue's been reduced to ranting like a maniac, as he's starting to realise he's losing it all. And finally, when he tries to take the classic coward's way out of suicide, he's dragged back to face his crimes, to not take the easy way out.
Which by the way, play into several JRPG tropes as well.
Seriously, fighting cult leader/dark lord attempt to achieve godhood is second most JRPG thing as fighting a literal god.
Funny story:
After playing Lost Judgment, I predicted the next villain would be a cult leader.
However I didn't expect that to happen in LAD:IW even though I saw Bryce in trailers.
Yeah I honestly figured Judgment 3 (if it ever happens) would be Yagami vs. a Heavens Gate type cult
@@yourguysheppy Unification church or Moonies would fit even more although it would be very controversial
I like how with this boss fight ichiban has technically fought another rpg final boss archetype. This time being a "god".
Rather "Dark lord". He is too weak for god. Tendo was god
No. God was Masato. "The Governor Of Tokyo" is the equivalent for that. Tendo is that common RPG trope where the boss before the final boss is always the hardest.
@@MasatakaEbina He is Japanese Hercules
C'mon guys, Tendo's the fucking dragon. That was the whole point behind the tattoo lol
@@nabsthegodgamer5419yeah Masato was the dark lord of the castle and Tendo was the dragon guarding what Ichiban was trying to get to, pretty obvious lol
Plus they also doubled as the usual Yakuza final bosses where you have to fight the big strong guy and then the political guy behind everything that usually had his goons do most of the fighting
Say what you will, but Bryce works wonderfully as an artificial force of nature rather than a strong man with stronger ideals. He isn't a good villain because of his strength or beliefs, it's his cunning and the army he's built to make sure you're never truly safe.
The premise of him brainwashing orphans into his cult just to give them facial reconstructive surgery and deploy them around the state to effectively puppet it from the shadows was, like, actually fucking crazy
"Artificial force of nature"
That might be the perfect description of who Bryce is as a character. Even his first appearance is tacky as fuck, almost as though it's staged. It doesn't feel real, and that in and of itself tells us everything we need to know about him.
@@kartikayysola His first appeareance is like "Oh no, the gun I totally didn't rig to explode just hurt you! Here, let me heal your wounds. No, I'm not standing in front of the graffiti on purpose, trust me". The whole point of him is that everything he does is staged. Hell, even during the fight, his moves have all these awesome and holy names, and they're just grenades and guns.
@yanribeiro7108 yep, and I love that. I still feel like he shouldn't have been Ichiban's final boss but as a capstone to his adventures in Hawaii, he was perfect. A 1 to 1 negative image of Ichi in every way.
@@kartikayysolaI didn’t mind him as the final boss. It’s like you said he’s the complete opposite, artificial in every way meanwhile ichiban is always genuine with his kindness and charity
The classic jrpg thrope: "Fight the god at the end of the game".
The canonical way to beat Bryce is with essence of dolphin dive.
I tried to beat him by crushing his balls with ichibans atomic drop but unforunately tomizawa decided to do a crit followup and kill him before that could happen
Him being weak to ice is the cherry on top. It really was the intended finisher
Ichiban leads, Bryce commands.
Love the bait-and-switch with the dynamic intro. We expect Bryce's name to flash up but his subordinates intervene and its PALEKANA WARRIORS instead. That's when i knew it would be a long and gruelling battle to even reach him.
I think what people aren't seeing here is that this kind of fight is really in-character for a person like Bryce.
This kind of fight highlights Bryce's true strengths, his ability to command and manipulate people as he wishes, and not needing physical strength to back this up.
But no, people would much rather go for a boss fight that is way out of character for anyone, but they are somehow physically super strong.
In fact, I would say that this fight is a very good mirror to just Ichiban in general. Ichiban leads, Bryce commands
leader vs boss type of shit
@ebbisnar8616 watch the modder somehow gave him Richardson move
Let's be glad that this is an RPG battle, I do not want another Jingu/Munakata again.
rare moment when a yakuza fan actually has media literacy
0:15 this looks straight up biblical
i liked scene where he (spoiler) jumps
Put this shit on a painting
Ichiban: 😡 Bryce: 😁
Kinda reminds me of the renaissance painting “The creation of Adam” but like, evil
The way the Palekana members stopped Ichi's punch just before the punch connected felt so good man.
I loved that IW gave us an interesting villain in Ebina, a person who suffered and his thirst for revenge derailed him to a vengeful sadist but that we could see had a bit of humanity left at the end as Kiryu broke down, while Bryce is just a irredimible power hungry manaical bastard who's not afraid of killing people for his benefit, a being so evil and corrupt that only Ichi, the most pure hearted and heroic person, could bring down.
Like what that other guy's comment said, Bryce's dynamic intro straight up looked so Biblical. The intro alone shows how much of a master manipulator and (almost) untouchable Bryce was.
This fight is kinda like a jingu/munakata fight but actually fun. Also this is a nice and fitting final boss imo since it's essentially ichiban taking on a corrupt form of his hello work stuff. Pretty much what the tatara channel was saying he was
Also first time you actually beat the main guy last and not their bodyguards
Because the Turn Based format makes sure that all the enemies don't annoyingly just bum rush you or gets free-infinite-spam of their guns lmao.
Also cult leader is just a much cooler concept than evil politician???(seriously what was jingu's day job) /police commissioner
Well many things help a lot on the concept
-By that time ya fought some enemies that could call up for backup so it was not too unusual in the rpg (as i would recall on Dwight's final fight)
-Having extra friends means being able to deal more damage to the lackeys
-The respawning only happens on first wave, since on the second one the summoned ones self destruct and by the third wave is the last of the troops Bryce has
It's true that Bryce might not be as cool as Ebina, but even if Ichiban got the lesser of the two main antagonists it's not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be. It's fitting
To be honest the way im seeing things, is that Ichiban was finishing what his mother had started.
This guy is at least 90-100 years old when you fight him by the way
yet bro looks like he''s in his mid late 60s
@@Kat-tu2dgimportant yakuza characters age like fine wine unless they are pocket circuit racer😢
I had this theory going that this POS was still looking as youthful as he did because of the orphanage, what with them sending the children to the island. Adrenochrome and all that. Only made me hate him more
I had this theory going on after Wong mentioned his age early on. I feared the reason he sent kids from the orphanage to the island was for their Adrenochrome. Only made me hate him more.
@@edman9953 Yeah exactly! I thought his pendant granted him immortality and that he needed the blood of children to sustain its power, thus why he chased after Lani. There's also the fact that in his first appearance, he made a Ganzhe grunt's gun explode and one of its shrapnels directly injured the guy's eye. I was convinced Bryce had magical powers.
my theory why the writers chose Bryce as the final boss for Ichiban, is because, Bryce personality is actually the exact opposite of Ichiban. (like how they do in Yakuza 6, Kiryu's final boss was Iwami who badly wants to be a Yakuza and gets recognition while Kiryu is the exact opposite who don't want to be in the Yakuza and hates recognition from it) its kinda hard to explain and i don't wanna spoil it too. but here's my summary, while Ichiban has the charisma and influence to attract people to help him save others with good cause, Bryce use his charisma and influence to attract people to be criminals and make others suffer while thinking that he is doing it for the good cause of others. its kinda hard to explain really but i see it in a narrative way. i was expecting someone like Eiji, Sawashiro or Kiryu or someone new to be Ichiban's final boss but man, we got this crazy sadistic old guy! still a 10/10 for me! there are no boss fights i didn't enjoy in this series.
That's actually a pretty nice theory to why Bryce is Ichibans final boss!
I actually have a theory of my own to add onto what you said
Remember what Kiryu said to Ichiban?
"I'll take on the Yakuza's past, but you, I want you to handle their future"
Ichiban going up against Bryce is him protecting the future of the Yakuza so they could have a chance to once again start fresh for themselves instead of wasting away in a nuclear hazard that is Nele Island.
Kiryu's fight with Ebina on the other hand is Kiryu taking on the Yakuza's past, since Ebina has a grudge against the Yakuza of the past that killed his mother, hence wanting revenge.
I really really really like these theories. Not to mention just how fucking cool as hell the music is. They really knocked it out of the park with this game.
Also this sick-ass music straight out of Final Fantasy and your average JRPGs, but with unique twist. Feels like fighting Safer Sephiroth back in the VII days.
@@primalgamer34 wow! our theories are pretty similar! also in Ichiban and Kiryu's case, and YES! they are really trying to use their influence, experience and powers to save other people! including the former Yakuzas. which also in what you said, Kiryu telling Ichi "protect the future" while Bryce and Ebina are destroying it, while Kiryu and Ichi are really trying hard to save and protect everyone
They really gave Ichiban a whole ass Dark Lord to fight
I'm surprised to see that so many people were apparently disappointed with this fight.
The only thing I'm disappointed by is that Bryce didn't tear off his shirt and reveal a tattoo of Nele on his back (perhaps with a design referencing the wings mural from the cutscene we first see him in)
Coming back here after Bryce VA pulling a Bryce irl isn't on my bingo today
Wut? What's the context?
@@Сергей-щ1ц8у Japanese VA for Bryce, Toru Furuya, according to an article in Japanese tabloid, had an extramarital affair with a female fan 37 years his junior (Furuya is 70 himself) which lasted for more than four years. He later forced her to perform an abortion and hit her once. Because of that all the roles associated with him has been blemished. He posted an apology on X, which confirms the legitimacy of the published article.
@@EliBroady-l6k Dear lord!.....
this is why I played in english bruv
@@EliBroady-l6k took his role a little bit too seriously.
Bryce is probably the most heartless monster in the franchise. Takes no pity in killing his subordinates and throwing them away as they are just tools to be used.
I'm kinda having a hard time believing that once Bryce was put in jail, that NONE of his "followers" broke him out and that entire mess would happen again. I mean, he's got spies literally everywhere in Hawaii, and you can't really tell if any of the people of Hawaii are working with Bryce or not.
But his Boss Theme is straight up Biblical📖
Kyoya Sadamoto, probably, beat him in this nomination.
Yeah actually, Palekana seems like too huge of a trouble to be fixed with Bryce being imprisoned, or even dead.
@@hoyhoy852 dead i could see since most of his followers operated with faith, and Lani gonna make sure that faith is well placed , but yeah if he is in jail this is gonna continue at least for some time.
Tho seeing how he is like 90 something years old maybe they just gave up on him
@gamemaster2638 I would say Kyoya too at least prior to this game, but when Bryce came in to picture he's on a way higher scale and had been doing what he was doing for decades, with followers he groomed from childhood into devoted followers who would make the Jingweon creed blush. He even has a god complex.
They literally did Jingu/Munakata but good holy shit
The fight was definitely more symbolic than hard considering that the fucking Giant Squid was way harder, but holy shit is this a great example of two ideals against each other. Both Ichi and Bryce gather people to their side through their charisma and personality, but to totally different ends and with totally different mindsets. Ichi tries to gather the hopeless to give them a better life through Hello Work, but always blames himself when problems arise. He's selfless to a fault, and he learns to not doubt himself because the people he helps still make their own decisions. He doesn't want to take their individualism away; he wants to support it, believing everyone can choose to lift themselves up.
Bryce is the opposite; he gathers the hopeless under the guise of a better life, and some of the things he did actually did help people. But it's like Ichi said: he's a false idol, nothing like the Sage before him who DID do a lot of charity. He views himself as someone who's perfect, while everyone else needs fixing. He doesn't view people as individuals; only collective pawns to be used. He easily just flat out murders anyone with no use to him, even his most loyal followers. His speech about the faith even admits he wasn't a believer in their religion to begin with. He's a master manipulator who thinks he and his chosen few (his investors lmao) are above the entire world. His old mafia and mobster ties also really come out during this fight, especially in his poses and use of the submachine guns. The imagery is also fantastic, from the biblical dynamic intro to his dramatic attack names that end up just being man-made weapons.
Honestly probably the most evil villain in the series, even beyond Iwami, Kurosawa, Shibusawa, and Kuroiwa. What a great fight!!
@Garland846 I mean, Shibusawa was clearly gunning for the top of the Tojo clan with his ambitions, often using pretty brutal means to do so. He also has a "ruling with an iron fist mindset" and, judging by his pre-fight speech, has no problem with using or killing innocents to get what he wants (like the taxi driver on the highway scene he just straight up caps in cold blood). I think he's just a bit less evil in comparison to the later villains I mentioned because Kiryu stops him early in his ascension so we never got to see the lasting results of Shibusawa's potential reign.
You forgot Sadamoto.
@@joseph86255 Oh totally, he's probably right under Bryce tbh lmao
This guy is def the most evil mf in the series since he was doing his cult shit for 70 years and ruined multiple generations of people
@@GenesisJames I mean, the same is true for Crime Dad Shintaro Kazama, so...
I love that when the dynamic intro title ''Palekana Warriors'' showed up, it's like telling the player, ''Ah! Ah! No skipping to the final boss until you finished the minions first''
my favorite thing about bryce is just how cruel himself and his boss is. during the fight you see the followers blinded by their devotion to bryce as they massacered the previous wave of enemy's you just defeated with smgs. and when it was time for the man himself to step in, the first thing he does is brutally executing a follower that failed him. just to take his gun. the music really amplifies the sheer evil this man has, and probably the first boss I have seen to take the crown of most casualties in a fight in the whole series.
Bachus looks a little different this time, I think he stopped drinking
ayy, boy 🤠
@@psychosalad7812 oooh, boy ☹
This is Bacchus’ evil brother who doesn’t work for the CIA
I love Bruce's smug grin in the intro cause he just knows Ichi will never get a shot off on him so soon
It can be disappointing to have the last fight of Ichiban's side be Bryce but it was expected since his reveal, I find it more fitting for him to fight Bryce than Ebina personally.
I had deluded myself into thinking he'd be the final boss, and his schizo would morph Bryce into a god-like entity; seems like a very common JRPG trope with all the god-slaying final bosses yet it was very poetic in a way that Bryce is just himself. The man was never a god-like figure, just a plain man fueled with greed - all his 'powers' are depicted clearly in the intro; he's a fraud, he uses guns at the end of the day and he lobs grenades in guise of holy fire attacks.
It's also refreshing to see RGG not letting a villain off themselves to get away with it.
Couple of things:
A)He wouldn't really need to. He's not exactly facing consequences of doing so.
B)Gods are often borne of word of mouth and the telephone game. Same basic principle with Bryce. A mere man, a mere assassin, ends up becoming a god through tricks, illusions and truth distortions.
I do love the mirroring of these 2
Ichiban being a leader and guiding his friends across a dangerous journey
VS
A selfish “god” who makes people do his bidding
WE TICKLING THE PARTY WITH MACHINE GUNS WITH THIS ONE
I remember some guy on the Yakuza subreddit saying he wanted the final boss of 8 to absolutely TERRIFY Ichiban.
I guess he got his wish.
Maybe its me looking too deep, but looking at bryce and ebina it kinda feels like they're parallels to yaldabaoth and lucifer.
Man, Bryce was one of the most evil bastards of a final boss I've seen in a long while. No redeeming qualities, and no depths he's unwilling to sink to in the name of what he wants...
...so I took great satisfaction in using the most embarrassing attacks I could on him.
Having the Revolve Barkeep shoot him full of holes to a stirring rendition of Kamurocho Lullaby.
Ichiban taking him to Suplex City.
Tomizawa shaking him up with his terrible driving.
Chitose using him for tennis practice.
Adachi calling in an army.
And plenty of Tomizawa and Chitose literally scrubbing him into submission.
All of it was no less than what the evil son of a bitch deserved.
Really, why do people think evil, irredeemable villains are automatically bad? Your comment, is EXACTLY why they can be good: the moment you can FINALLY get your hands on them and give them everything their karma owes them!
Just wanna say that RGG COOKED with this dynamic intro 🔥 legit one of the best ones in the series
Mfw RGG makes the Munakata-type boss fight actually amazing
WE MAKING IT OUT OF THE NELE ISLAND WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥🗣️🗣️🗣️💥💥💥
It's goofy, but I kinda wish Bryce turned out to deadass have some kind of magical powers at his disposal with no explanation. The series hasn't shyed away from the supernatural before, and seeing otherwise grounded stories show signs of the fabric of reality tearing apart is great stuff
I honestly wouldn’t mind if the Yakuza series introduced a guy who legit has magical powers
@Joey-fm1jh cant wait for the next amon that just strikes you with lightning and kills you instantly
In this case, I think it’s better that he didn’t. Bryce’s whole thing is that everything about him is artificial, from the way he became head of Palekana to his kindness, absolutely none of it is genuine whatsoever. You even see it in his attacks, they get these grandiose fucking names and they’re just guns and grenades. It’s an excellent way to convey who Bryce is as a character. Or more accurately, who he ISN’T.
@@kartikayysola Oh yeah, I'm not saying this framing of Bryce isn't effective for the character; but I sure wouldn't had been dissappointed if he had turned out to be *actual* magic with no explanation.
I love the dynamic intro of this. How it starts with Ichiban going up to punch Bryce, and his punch is stopped by seemingly the will of God..... and then it pulls back the camera and shows that the Palekana dudes were holding him, shattering Bryce's illusions of Godhood. I love it when the Dynamic Intros are thematic as well as cool.
Ichiban: "Yeah I'll take a trip to Hawaii, quick one and done 30 minutes adventure."
Ichiban, 3 weeks later: BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT 100 YEAR OLD MAN! SAVE THE ENTIRE OCEAN! CARE FOR MY OWN PRIVATE ISLAND RESORT! DELIVER FOOD WHILE DOING FLIPS! NAVIGATE THE MORALLY GREY INTER-CONTINENTAL DRAMA OF NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT!
Kiryu: "Yeah I got cancer."
Kiryu, 3 weeks later: "Would you believe me if I told you I still have cancer."
Altrough i seem to bne aware that Munakata is the reference the comments are, i admit i ended thinking of someone else entirely:
I didnt expect Bryce to even have some capacity to do damage so the fact he even weilds submachine guns isatonishing. Altrough the whole deal of a crime lord using a machine gun like weapon while having lackeys to fill the place, it made me think me more of Mr X from streets of rage
He was probably the first one to drop once they got to him, but the leader being the strongest is a cool trope and Ichiban probably likes that trope.
guhhh i fucking love the dynamic intro for this, reminds me of tanimura's final boss but an enjoyable fight
The name of this track is very fitting for Bryce
Freakin Renaissance painting aaa dynamic intro
Also, what a great final boss this was. I think this style of combat is the only way this particular boss archetype can work so well.
Yakuza 8 fights at the start of the game: Fight local thug
Yakuza 8 fights at the end of the game: Fight God
It’s an rpg all right.
It's quite a scary thought. This man has brainwashed entire generations (we can assume he is doing this for at least 70 years), so I don't think it's weird that his followers are so faithful to him, he is like the only thing they knew.
These weren't criminals or had bad lives, they were just innocent people who were driven to believe in this false god instead of the religion's actual god.
Fun fact, Bryce Fairchild share the same Japanese voice actor who played Sabo in One Piece and Toru Amuro in Detective Conan.
Also Amuro Ray from Mobile Suit Gundam
His English VA is also Gladiolus from FFXV.
Rgg missed the opportunity to do something extremely funny by making bryce weak to fire
2:09 Sounds like choir in the final battle from Elden Ring
Another little nod to the rpgs that Ichiban loves so much: the religious dude is ALWAYS evil!
When I first heard it it felt like a Dark Souls boss fight theme lmao
Honestly I've seen complaints towards Bryce as Ichiban's villain, and some theories that nicely explain why,
But honestly I just enjoy it for the concept of what it is. Ichiban is essentially a Yakuza superhero, a valiant knight who fights for those who can't fight for themselves. LAD:7 was Ichiban's introduction, and LAD:IW is one of Ichiban's grand adventures in following through with what Arakawa would've wanted. For someone like Ichiban, i'd want that large sprawling adventure you'd see out of his favorite video games.
This fight along side really fills you up with anger just like our boy Ichiban and its so good!😤
Can I just say it was BRILLIANT to have Ichiban's story completely new and Kiryu's story kitbashed out of the last game?
Just as a subtle but major nod to the fact that Kiryu's the past and Ichi's the present. Ichi's final boss theme sounds like a "world is on the line" sound whereas Kiryu's final boss theme sounds "emotionally driven".
Me vs. The Illuminati (Internal Revenue Service)
_Palekana Warriors_
_Palekana Officer_
_Ramos_
_Leader Of Palekana_
_Bryce Fairchild_
I swear this sounds like a movie trailer or something. like i can do an epic trailer type thing.
"IN A WORLD.... ONE MAN....9 FRIENDS... ONE LEGEND RETURNS. ONE MISSION.."
My favourite final boss... Palekana warriors
I swear I heard this song 8 years ago in a playlist of Epic Orchestra Motivational music, oddly enough the playlist was erased.
RGG went full Elden Ring for this one
Bryce Fairchild is basically a cross between Joseph Seed (Far Cry 5) and Jared Leto
japan vs scientology ichiban vs old tom cruise of the future yakuza 8 vs mission impossible dead reckoning
Thank God, this fight was in turn-based. Because if it not, it will be Munakata all over again.
Such an epic theme for such an underwhelming fight.
dude was literally tickling me with two smgs
The chant when Ichiban got close to hitting Bryce was just pure perfection 😍😍😍😍
I must be weird, I thought this was the better of the two final battles. Not that Kiryu's was bad, mind you. But this one just felt more interesting to me mechanically as you had to deal with a few waves before you got to take a swing at the big bad himself. Also the music, good god, the music.
same here, Kiryu's was not as impactful because it was a party of 5 against one dude, feels kinda empty.
@nicolenechita9531 funny cuz the dynamic intro had ebina destroy three of them without losing eye contact with kiryu. man could've straight up annihilated the other four if kiryu wasn't there.
Not going to lie I liked this fight a lot more than kiryus final fight it felt way more climatic while kiryus felt like cleanup
Easily the creepiest final boss music from the RGG series
This is so intense o-o
EPIC :0
This track is straight out of Ace Combat and I fucking love it for that
I finally realized what this specific part reminded me of 1:17. The Gundam SEED OST near the finale
This theme was one hell of a tonal shift but it rocks tbh
Munakata if it was a good boss fight
0:12 my god.
guys we slain god in Yakuza series now, Ichiban Finally become Heroes like in Dragon Quest.
side note: I found it funny Yakuza found JRPG Trope that, Final boss is Corrupt Religion vs our heroes to save the world
Bryce felt like the real antagonist of the game while to me ebina felt a bit tacked on so kiryu could have his own moment to shine
When you accidentally "skip" the second phase and a good 1/3rd lifebar because you put Ichi on Action Star, use double damage, have some attack and crit buffs on the party and Essence of Friendship hits for 9000 Damage...
oopsie
I get heavy jingu vibes from this theme
It aint a JRPG unless we attack and dethrone "God"
i wish ichiban's schizophrenia is working so he can see bryce become a devil or god whatever but no
Would be really sick not gonna lie
But story wise would be really weird
america jingu
The true final boss is that giant squid.
勇者vs偽りの教祖
JRPGあるある展開だな
Come. my dear children. the time for our crusade is now!
I love this theme because parts of it remind me of Pirates of The Caribbean. Especially 1:27.
Jim Jones boss fight
Endgame Team
Ichiban - Level 60, Rank 55 Freelancer
Joongi - Level 60, Rank 52 Hitman
Tomizawa - Level 60, Rank 41 Host
Chitose - Level 60, Rank 44 Tennis Ace
Adachi - Level 60, Rank 39 Linebacker
Why yes, I did grind. XD
一回聞いただけじゃ耳に残らん曲。
二回聞いてもパッとしない。
三回聞いたら、これ流すゲーム違うんじゃないかと思い始めた。
これダークソウルとかブラスフェマスで流すような曲じゃん。
I think Bryce might be one of my favorite characters, he's such an irredeemable shitheel. 100% just sucks. So fun to hate, especially with his huge heel turn
GUN MESSIAH 🔥🔥🔥
❤. Great fight.
OOOOOOH 🗣️🗣️
OOOOOOH 🗣️🗣️
Only yakuza game Can have a big Bad guys name Dwight and Bryce😂
Intense ass theme for a guy whos just turn based munakata
Bryce vs Munakata who wins ?
Influence wise, Bryce.
Jingu with the cash in
@@OrfeasDourvas one of Jingu's men will probably be one of bryce's sleeper agents,
1v1 Munakata prob wins because he's a lot less old, but Bryce's cult is just too massive to lose if their groups fought.
Munakata 2.0
But now in turn based
Ngl, sounds like something from Assassin's Creed 2.
yakuza is a old ass game featuring many old ass guys who had great butt and muscle
Did they ever explain how he made that guy's gun explode/knew it would misfire or was he just really lucky? Did I miss something?
It was a really well-timed gun backfire
Maybe Bryce had sniper or smth
I mean it was stucked, most likely than not something bad would happen
ラスボス戦とはいえ、脱ぐ必要あったのか？今回は刺青見せる相手では無いし
munakata but turn based