So in summary, Kiryu fucked everything up by exiling himself from the orphanage in 5 so that Haruka could be an idol, just for Haruka to throw everything away at the end because she just wanted to be with Kiryu, just for him to immediately fuck it up by going to prison on what's basically a frivolous charge because he didn't want her to be ashamed of him when she just publicly tanked her career by announcing her devotion to him to the entire planet, just for her to then fuck it up by exiling herself from the orphanage, just for Kiryu to fuck everything up one final time by faking his own death and we might as well have rewinded back to the beginning of 5 where he was an exiled cab driver away from his kids and hated every second of his life. I really can't blame fans for being upset that this was supposed to be the finale. Its literally watching the two most stubborn people on the planet who both want the exact same thing but are just completely determined to not be happy.
The basement gimp represents how Kamurocho's seedier elements are pushed deeper and deeper into the shadows as the city changes, and him being confined represents how Kiryu feels trapped by always ending up in the city. After Kiryu thinks he defeats him in the cage, the gimp continues to stalk him from the shadows, just like how forces outside of Kiryu's control constantly end up dragging him back to Kamurucho. The gimp is a physical representation of Kiryu's growing resentment towards a city that doesn't really even exist anymore. More importantly though, we never see Big Lo and the gimp in the same room at the same time, and we already know Lo loves sex enough to have had it at least twice, so it could represent Lo's complete depravity I'm also completely joking about all of this
@@Tehsnakerer I am. Obviously the gimp was Hirose. He said so himself that he would put on a mask and beat off- sorry, beat on men and they never figured out it was him.
Time for a history lesson related to the BIG TWIST. The reason the Yamato and its sister ship the Musashi were even a thing was because arms limitations at the time meant you couldn't have too many battleships. So Japan decided they were just gonna make the biggest, most powerful battleships ever then. They were so big it was actually impractical, and this isn't even going into the fact that they were becoming obsolete even at the time (though no one knew that when the Yamato was under construction, that's a hindsight thing). By 1945, everyone knew that aircraft carriers were the new superweapon and that battleships were little more than floating artillery platforms. Japan didn't care, they saw the Yamato as the pride of the Imperial Navy, to many the very symbol of the might of Imperial Japan itself. Hence why it was such a big deal that it was sunk, and in reality probably would've survived the battle and simply been captured with the damage it sustained, but the captain gave the order to flood it and sink the ship himself rather than it fall into America's hands. On to the Mk II. The embezzled government funds to build it was actually the least pressing issue, plenty of governments have secretly spent billions on impractical shit. No the issue is what this ship represents. The issue is the people who built this ship did so primarily out of pride, specifically pride in the Empire that Japan once was. This has real-world geopolitical implications. Remember, China's currently official stance is that no amount of apology will EVER be able to make up for Second Sino-Japenese War (funnily during Mao's time, he said no apology was necessary as Japan's invasion allowed the nationalists to be weakened enough for the communists to defeat them). Korea still harps on endlessly about comfort women and the suffering they endured while they were under Japanese annexation. In addition to this, part of the occupation of Japan by American forces post-war was adding into the constitution that Japan could never build weapons of war again (this shortly got amended to "except for a defense force"). There's also the fact that the Mk II was primarily built using what was essentially slave labor from Chinese and Koreans, the two countries that suffered most from the Japanese. This battleship is not simply a boat, it is the ultimate expression of Japanese war crime denialism. By refusing to let go of one of the very symbols of the Empire of Japan, you are effectively saying to the rest of East Asia "fuck you, Japan did nothing wrong". If it was the original Yamato that would be one thing, you could argue that they just want to hold onto it for nostalgic reasons. But to build a brand new one post-war is to shove a giant middle finger in China and Korea's faces and tell them the atrocities committed against them don't matter. I know what you're asking, why didn't the government just dismantle it? You can't dismantle battleships that easily, it takes teams and teams of military engineers that specifically understand battleship construction to be able to safely take it apart. Such a thing would attract attention. Better to just keep the ship hidden and pray it never surfaces. Because if it ever came to light that the ship exists, shit will hit the international fan in ways Japan can barely imagine.
So basically these fuckin' guys were practically risking Japan getting fucked extremely hard in the ass because they couldn't let go of the "glory days" and that they were basically on a one way street where they had to finish it.
Thank you for this write-up, it was concise and explained the context thoroughly - I was disappointed to see "It's just a ship lol" in reaction to the secret by a lot of people in the community
@@zealous404 There is a bunch of things in this game that are just blatantly about Korean/Chinese WW2 relations with Japan that people will miss without cultural context. A big one is the Stardust scene which I had to have explained to me because I never 100% understood what it was saying before. The reason Stardust under the Jingweon has become a den of debauchery is a form of cultural revenge. Specifically revenge for the comfort women, and for anyone reading this comment who doesn't know what those are, google it and then feel really bad about what you just read. Basically, the idea behind what Stardust is doing is Koreans taking revenge for the Japanese occupation by reducing Japanese women into whores who care about nothing but their own pleasure, to show that this is their inner nature and is a direct reply to the common Japanese apologia of "they were prostitutes, not sex slaves". In effect what it's trying to say is, "this is what you thought of our women, now look as we can do the same to yours." It's one of those things that even if you study the history, you kinda have to have your brain tuned to east asian to understand the underlying meaning of it.
It’s funny to me that giving Kiryu a happy ending would have fit so neatly into the death of ideals theme, because the only way to truly kill the dragon is to let the man live a happy life. But by not committing to this and keeping kiryu on the table for future entries, they play into RGG embody the negative aspect of their own theme, unwillingness to let go of the past when it’s needed.
@@planescapedwell with whats happening to him in infinite wealth its definitely the cold turkey this os gonna be the last one cause you cant walk back from that bombshell without people hating it
The most I got out of Yakuza 6 is kiryu finally acknowledging that he is Daigo's father figure and he failed him. Its a feeling that has always been in the series but never spoken and it broke me when it was finally said.
For those who don't know, Tanimura's actor's career was ruined when a popular magazine spread baseless rumors that he was a cocaine addict, and drugs are a massive taboo in Japan so he was harassed to the point of leaving the acting industry altogether
Man, sometimes I get so caught up in the beauty and touristy aspect of Japan that I forget how scummy and shady it can be too, especially in the entertainment industry. Guy definitely didn’t deserve that
@@Sperium3000 Man I would love him to analyse Kuwana. Unfortunately, its going to take probably a year or two before we even get to that. Im more than willing to wait though, as his videos are peak video essay kino.
Can't wait for you to watch the "Hey, you're making me look like I have no balls" scene in Gaiden.... priceless and loving self-awareness by the RGG writers. One of the most emotional, wholesome moments in the series.
I visited Onomichi in early November. It really is a beautiful portside city. The view from the top of the hillside cemetery is unbelievable. It felt like a touristic city but mainly for Japanese people which made it a bit awkward when I ended up being literally the only foreigner in the entire city. Would definitely visit again though.
Going from Yakuza 5 footage to 6 back to back at the start of the game is just jarring for how the recurring characters suddenly look like they just stepped out of an oil bath
This is something I appreciate so much about Kiryu - and Snake has mentioned it many times, including in this video - but I want to point it out because it means so much to *me* personally. My dad has been my dad since I was one year old. My biological father didn't want much to do with me and was happy to hand me off to the man who would become my *real* dad. So when Kiryu stands up for the ideas of blood not mattering and how Lo shouldn't be able to call Yuta his son just because they're blood-related, really sticks out to me. So many stories focus on how blood relatives are so important, but Kiryu is all about found family. The people who are there for you and love you being family. My dad is my *real* dad, even though we're not blood-related. Kiryu is Haruka's dad because he *chose* to be. Kazama is his dad cause he *chose* to be. And Lo isn't Yuta's dad because he chose *not* to be. Powerful stuff.
Yep, just watched the ending to LAD Gaiden... it brought me to tears, I won't spoil it, but it is a goddamn treasure and I loved it so much. It follows similar themes to what you've mentioned though, ever-present throughout all of Kiryu's stories. I love it in its entirety, and genuinely hope he gets the truly joyous ending he deserves.
One thing I never liked was Kiryu's refusal to just say that Haruto is his grandson, because I don't understand why he won't. He's a man that believes family isn't just defined by blood and Haruka is to him his daughter, so his daughter's son SHOULD register to him as his grandson, but he never says it when questioned their relation.
@@arskakarva7474 I think that's different, it's clear she sees Uncle Kaz as her father, she's just too used to calling him that nickname. But it's a lot wierder for Kiryu and there would be way less awkward conversations if he just said, "he's my grandson" when people ask who Haruto is.
i've always seen it as kiryu never giving himself the credit he deserves. He just can't see himself as good enough for it, but we all know he still thinks it
3:12:40 I remember back when I played this for the first time at a friends house, she called that Yuta was the father right away. I was completely struck as I hadnt figured it out despite being deeply engaged and paying full attention. She DID figure it out even though she barely saw any of it and only took a simple glance. I asked her how she could have possibly known, and her response was: ''...He's the only handsome one. Duh.'' I have been at least 3% more jaded ever since.
@@Tehsnakerer If you start spelling your video titles in proper English, I shall believe you aren't an American Sleeper Agent. Fr though, thanks for the vid. Love Yakuza so much, I genuinely hope you review all the games, and that too in Japanese. I promise it's worth it.
Yeah that's how Pat from Pat Stares At figured it out too. Not just that he's the handsome one, but also that he's voiced by the same actor as Rikiya and the character is basically Rikiya 2.0
I have a special place in my heart for 3 and 6. They are perhaps the most important to Kiryu's character development, even more than 0 and 1 I would say. While I do understand people's frustration with Daigo and group being left out for basically all of the story, I also get why RGG may have felt it necessary to do so in order to focus on Kiryu. Someone like Majima can very easily hog the limelight when he's on screen. Not a hard reason I know, but it could be a combination of that and budgetary concerns. Regardless, I do like the new characters introduced in 6, especially the Hirose family and Someya, also Big Lo. What this video mentions as well, if you didn't know, is that Yuta's voice actor is the same as Rikiya, and Nagumo's is the same as Kanda (they even share their first names - Tsuyoshi). The parallels to 3 go deeper than the plot and setting. One thing I feel 6 accomplishes well is providing closure to Kiryu in several key aspects of his life. So many people important to him have died an untimely death. His father figure, his kyoudai, the girl he liked, the guy who called him aniki, the Mama of his favourite bar, and that's just the first game. But not in 6. In 6 everyone survives, even Kiyomi and Yuta, who were on my most likely to die list while playing. Nagumo and Kiyomi could've been history repeating itself but not this time. Kiryu's biggest failures, in his own eyes, were perhaps the deaths of Shinji and Rikiya, two guys who called him aniki and looked up to him. Not only did they die gruesome deaths, they did so while trying to help Kiryu, especially Rikiya who directly took a bullet for him. Kiryu had good reason to be hesitant when Nagumo decided to make him his aniki. But he gave it a chance once again and was successful this time around in leading and looking after every single person in his care. Perhaps the biggest closure of his life. The other thing is the parallel between Kiryu's relationship with Kazama and Nagumo and Matsunaga's with Hirose. It is not a stretch to believe that reliving the experience through them may have given Kiryu a new insight on his own feelings. The words he said to comfort them may also have been meant for himself, "You have lifted the curse that hung on your Patriarch". That's another huge closure. Finally, we have Haruka and the kids where we have another closure. Haruka is an adult now, has a loving family of her own, and has several siblings by her side. Her life is at a point where Kiryu can excuse himself and let her live free of danger. The kids at the orphanage have her as well as Yuta to look after them, which is another weight off Kiryu's shoulders. It makes a lot of sense to leave his old life behind at this point and become an anonymous figure. And it's true that the ending isn't entirely happy or sad - it's bittersweet. Leaves a lot to be desired but that could be seen as a good thing. At least it was for me because I had a good feeling Kiryu wouldn't be gone forever and I am looking forward to Infinite Wealth. Looks like this will be the end for real this time.
I spent like 80% of the game waiting for Kiryu to get cornered and Majima and Saejima would bust through a wall to save his ass. I was like "there's no reason they'd mention them and not do anything with them"
I relate to Daigo so much. The kid who just wanted to do right by their parents getting shit on at every point. I relate to Kiryu so much as the dad who wants to do right by guiding their kid on the right path without overbearing, but it's really just not helping. This game tells a sweet story that sometimes, even at it's worst you hang in there, you do what you can, and seeing the last scene with Haruto and Kiryu walking broke me. I had just lost my mom at the time and everyone just kinda let me be. I didn't grow up with this series, but age wise I'm only 6 months older than Haruka. Playing this series from the beginning to 6, I felt like i had connection with Haruka too, I reflected on those key moments where Haruka and I shared an age and thought about how these things would've effected me, but at the end of The Song of Life and hearing "Hang in there" was something I needed to hear, and that's why 6 will always be one of my favorites of the entire series. It reminded me why it's important to be yourself, you leave behind your impression on people more than your accomplishments, more than your accolades, and that's why Kiryu is loved and always remembered
Well, if Daigo is of any indication, you'll be ending up winning at the end. You'd be surprised with how many people are finally coming around to Daigo. Especially in comparison to his predecessors. So take comfort in that, because it means you'll be amongst the GOATs.
I was one of those “started at 0, played Kiwami than played 6 when it released since it was the only other Yakuza game on the PS4”. And yeah, I liked 6. Obviously going in I realized I was missing context from a lot of games. But this in turn made the themes that they were pulling from 0 and 1 respectively so much stronger. One part I noticed you didn’t being up/notice yourself is that at the end of 6, when Haruka is about to be shot and Yuta steps in to shield her, only for Kiryu to step in as well. This moment is a 1:1 mirror of what happens in Yakuza 1. “The villain goes to shoot Haruka, and as her new recent protector steps in for her, her parent steps in to protect them both instead.” In those moments, Kiryu embodied Yumi. Which is beautiful in a way as to show how beginnings reflect the end. Or what would be the end if this was Kiryu’s real finale.
I think snakes joke about kiryu “doing what a mother could” or something along those lines is him cheekily pointing that comparison out like he usually does with his wordplay gags
I will always have a soft spot for Little Baby Iwami as a villain. I remembered my brain expanding when I first realized Kiryu and Iwami's motivation for joining the Yakuza are the exact same. Their jealousy of their fathers' success, and the infatuation with the dream. Yet despite their motivations being the same, Kiryu and Iwami ended up being so different. It makes me remember when Mine asked why Kiryu wasn't like him despite their similar backgrounds. Why Kiryu didn't become power hungry like Ryuji. Or was broken and twisted into a monster by the Yakuza life like Nishikiyama. Because Kiryu at the end of the day, is a man of respect and honor. Kiryu respected Kazama, and as such tried to emulate him. The trials of the criminal underworld gave Kiryu his understanding of the Yakuza, and as such he truly became like a dragon. Someone capable of reaching the top. Iwami never understood the Yakuza and unlike Kiryu's emulation that became his own thing. Iwami was an imitator, a thief who never had to experience the trials Kiryu had experienced. It does make you wonder. Could Kiryu have ended up like Iwami if Kazama didn't let Kiryu join until Kiryu forced himself in? As Yakuza 0 does show a more powerhungry, younger, superfical Kiryu. But yet, early in 0, it is shown Kiryu was always compassionate, always honorable, and always so suicidal. Iwami makes me wonder, what would the iconic underworld of Yakuza look like without the Dragon of Dojima? What would he look like without that underworld. Sorry for yapping, it's just stuff I kinda put together.
Bit embarrassing for me to admit but here it goes: I started playing the live chat minigame just to have a laugh at haha funni horny kiryu, but Anri Okita is genuinely so fucking hot that I had to stop because I was starting having trouble concentrating on the game. This had never happened before with any of the other live action FMV stuff in Yakuza
6 is my least favourite Yakuza game, and I always thought it a poor end to Kiryu’s story. He’s one of my favourite protagonists ever, and I felt robbed seeing how little time he actually got to spend with the people he’s cared about for years, instead being surrounded by new faces, a new world, etc. which was probably the intention, but eh, I still don’t care for it. It’s why I never had a problem with Kiryu being brought back. He deserved better then what he got, and I think RGG know that, judging by Gaiden and the Infinite Wealth trailers. That being said, the worst Yakuza game (for me) is still a very solid game overall, even if playing it after 5 (still the best in the series imo) left me wanting so much more. You highlighted a lot of what it does right here, and as usual, made a very engaging, funny, and entertaining deep dive into one of these games yet again. Thanks for the vid Snake, hope your future projects turn out as great as this!
I'm glad we got so much "The docks, better known as, the docks" out of Y6. It's probably one of my favorite recurring bits on UA-cam, behind only "Through the magic of buying two of them".
Surprised and a little disappointed you didn’t mention the fuckin weird addition of the ghost photography in this. It’s… definitely a thing that exists.
I think one of the big things with how Kiryu fights in this game does show you all you need to know about him. Remember, They still put personality into what he does. so what do we have with Kiryu? a man who thought he took the right choice to protect his family, but found out all he did was put the burden on someone else he loved, and now they're on their last legs. and what do we have with his fighting style? 'I have nothing to live for and a lot to make up for. get out of my way'. We've lost the precision and finess Kiryu of the past built up and learnt since 1 (0 if you wanna count that) and instead we've got a man on the edge looking to find out what happened, why and protect his family where he failed before
Perhaps they should have saved up all the silly for the finale and said that Kazuma had gone off to work on converting the Yamato II in to a spaceship and his raw fighting spirit was powering the wave motion cannon. Great work as always breaking down these games. My habit of watching the previous ones again so I can remember all the plot points and characters is getting increasingly difficult. I imagine clan manager in this game felt like a step down after you beat Hooligans.
I forget if this was mentioned in the analysis for Iwami as I've been watching this in chunks due to being busy with irl stuff. If I remember from what I've heard others say, Iwami's back tattoo has something that distinguishes him from other Yakuza villains. It has *_ZERO_* to do with Kiryu's back tattoo compared to Kuze all the way up to even Aizawa where their back tattoo has something to correlate with Kiryu's dragon, whereas Iwami's has fuck all to do with Kiryu's back tattoo on a mythical and symbolical sense. It adds even further to Kiryu's inner thoughts of "He is NOTHING to me." during Iwami's fight and further drives just how pathetically inept Iwami is as a self proclaimed Yakuza.
1:01:30 This was where I expected you to also mention that this really awesome use of the vending machines would never return. Kiwami 2 has them, but they're just a place to buy another item that goes into the inventory, and you can't interact with them as Yagami.
Yeah that kind of slipped me by when I was trying to keep Kiwami 2 more concise. It's funny though cause it confused me at first. I was buying drinks and thinking something had glitched, it was ages before I looked in my inventory and found all of my drinks. Yakuza can be weirdly like Pokemon in that way, great one off mechanics that never properly return. It's not the best but I kinda like that about it, keeps you on your toes.
It is interesting to note that Clan Creator's final antagonist actually first showed up in the Blue Jacket demo, being set up as part of the Saio Triad and a somewhat key figure in the main story, a thing which never did come to be in the full game, same with Kiryu abandoning his ironclad refusal to wear anything not stylish in some way as well as being able to reunite with Haruka for more than a few fleeting moments. It's like the Blue Jacket demo was made in an earlier stage of production where that *was* the case.
For me personally, I didn't really mind at first that Gaiden and Infinite Wealth will be the actual final act for Kiryu's story instead of 6 because of how much the finale of that game felt odd to me as the conclusion. If anything, you explaining in more detail about how it conflicts with the whole message the game went on regarding sacrificing yourself for the sake of others (That being it's not always the answer) helped amplify the weird feelings I had regarding the ending of that game when I played it. So to me, I definitely prefer looking at that game's ending as more of a setup for Kiryu's actual finale than the finale itself. I do hope Infinite Wealth delivers on that aspect because after finishing Gaiden's story and seeing how surprised I was at how much I enjoyed that game's story as well as the finale, my excitement for it amplified a whole lot.
Quick nerd note regarding the obsolescence of big battleships: It was not a matter of smaller ships outperforming them. Matter of fact smaller ships were largely being used for screens to take fire bigger ships. Especially in the Pacific, what brought an end to the age of Battleships was the Aircraft Carrier. The use of which Japan ironically would both pioneer and be brought low by and the very same war (In the sense of doctrine, anyway). Because suddenly it didn't matter how many guns you packed onto to a ship, how fast it moved compared to others. Because suddenly you could be taken without ever seeing the other ship, by aircraft that cost so much less than the vessels they were sinking. Conventional ships weren't rendered useless, you still needed to guard your aircraft carriers, but their prominence was vastly reduced. More damningly in the case of the Yamato Class, both went down with poor performance records. Not helped by how protective the IJN was towards the titular Yamato was often to the detriment of the rest of the fleet, and often pulled out before it could be in danger. To the IJN, any defeat would be a catastrophic loss of face back home. To lose their flagship would be an excuse for the IJA to take over their duties. Which leads to the fascinatingly dysfunctional world of IJA-IJN Relations. And IJA-IJA Relations. And IJN-IJN relations. In the army, entire theatre plans were the basis for deeply divided parties in the army. In the Navy, Battleship Doctrine vs Aircraft Carrier Doctrine was the big divide. This was not a matter of friendly branch rivalry or mere drama between high-ranking officers. These people wanted to see each other fail, did not trust each other for anything. But at this point I ventured off into tangent. Not the nature of naval warfare circa 1940s was all that related to Kiryu's story, more the massive embezzlement of funds and the flagrant treaty violation it presents. The latter of which is honestly not important to the story itself, I feel. The conspirators in the government are concerned because they will all suffer blowback if that gets revealed. They make that very clear. Also, not gonna lie. When the Yamato 2 came rising out the water, I kinda wanted the final gauntlet to be on that. Fighting your way massive battleship, maybe as it begins to sink because their scuttling it? I dunno. It just felt limp that it was given such a grandiose entrance only to never appear again, other than the big secret.
I’m glad I finally got to hear your thoughts on this game. Haruka getting shelved for 90% of the story just never sat right with me for this being hers and Kiryu’s final game.
Tehsnakerer, thank you for this video series you've done. While I have heard of the Yakuza games before, I wasn't really interested in them before due to their major meme status, assuming they weren't anything more than that. However, thanks to your videos I've picked up 0-6 on steam and am slowly working my way through Kiryu's journey (currently on Kiwami 2). Your videos have done a great job showing the depths of this series and in getting me interested. I hope you get some rest after making this massive video, you deserve it.
So we just have to say we do love the "The docks" joke cause we can just hear you smiling as you make it. Like the dumb in jokes we have with our friends but it's also this weird testament for how far you've come **Like how your style of writing has gotten more detailed and mature through the years, as well as your editing and essay writing skills that get us to think!** __Not much to do with yakuza so far so we will say as someone who played through all the yakuza's from "Yakuza 0" through "Kiwami" up to "Like a Dragon" we didn't mind 6's faults as much. We might just be grasping at emotions watching your yakuza series so soon after we streamed all the way to 6 at the start of last year, but it felt like a series coming to a close but still having a lot it wants to say with Kiryu. The rushed storytelling, the relaxing atmosphere of the towns (Yes we find Kamarocho pleasant no matter how gentrified), then the somber last scene at the end telling you it's over as you knew it. We could feel this version of "Yakuza" leading into "Like a Dragon" saying its rushed goodbyes as it goes out on one last good note. All in all, loved doing everything the first time through, would rather die then do that baseball or clan building game on stream__
I found it ironic that Yakuza 1's moral of the story was to never run away, but Yakuza 6 ends with Kiryu running away. I'm honestly glad with Kiryu coming back for this reason alone.
Honestly I agree especially considering not running away is a part of 6 too. I mean the only reason haruka and kiryu are even involved is because they chose not to fight. Kiryu chose to just let himself be arrested which led haruka to follow his example and leave the orphanage. Their penchant for self sacrifice getting them involved in the happenings of 6. Only for Kiryu to sacrifice himself again at the end of the game.
I loved this video, and you did mamage to change my outlook on 6 in a more positive way. I was never a hater of 6, quite the opposite, but that's really because I believe we haven't had any truly bad games yet. I do hope you don't skip on Judgment, because it's a game I've been quietly waiting for you to cover ever since I finished it at launch, because I think it deserves it, but I understand why you'd skip it. Whatever the next stop is, I will still be there, your videos are something else
I finally had the time to binge this video. Ever since I saw your Yakuza 0 video in my recommended, I knew this was another longform channel for me. For me, 6's way of making Kiryu's arc "meaningless" with the way he sacrificed himself again was great. In the entire series so far, he's always been like that and suddenly going out of your comfort zone like that is a hard task so Kiryu goes back to the thing he's used to. The letter was proof that 6 had an effect on him. No matter what Kiryu does in that scenario, he will always be dragged back in. Yakuza 3 showed Kiryu that living a normal life is just a dream and almost got his children in danger. Yakuza 5 and 6 shows Kiryu that doing the opposite doesn't work either. As you mentioned, he wasn't able to scold Haruka because he realized of his own hypocrisy and following his own logic, living a cosy life after basically ruining so many lives withhis decision just doesn't dwell right for him. His survivor's guilt being on full display. To end this long comment, I want to thank you for such an amazing series that showed me something more to love to this weird and heartful series of games about a man with a stricter dress code than my old school. I'll see you when you do 7 and the schizophrenic adventures of Ichiban.
I almost wish Judgment was next, because honestly, Yagami might be my favorite RGG protagonist of all of them. Both of his games I just love to death. Great video, man.
Thank you so much for putting the focus on Hands at the end. It's a song that made me kind of melancholic when I read the lyrics first, but I'm a dad of a 3 year old daughter now and it destroys me. Seeing them grow up is so wonderful but the inevitability also hurts, and Kiryu not being able to be there when it happens is beyond gutwrenching.
Genuinely wasn't expecting this till Christmas or some time into 2024 so this is a very welcomed surprise. Love your passion for this series, and gaming in general, it makes it so easy to stay glued to the screen. Stay safe Snake!!
This is a bit long, hope you don't mind- For the first couple 'Playing Yakuza' videos, i had only played Kiwami 1 because it was free on PS Plus (i wasn't interested in continuing the series.) and was content to watch you explain the story, characters and gameplay of each game. But after watching 'Playing Yakuza 3', i decided to wait until i finished yakuza 4 before watching your video on it because i was really interested in the series at that point. Then, i waited until i beat Yakuza 5 to watch 'Playing Yakuza 5'. It was basically like a fun reward after beating these two games, to see what i missed and get someone else's perspective/opinion. Now i'm up to date with all mainline yakuza games and was excited for this video to drop! Thanks for introducing me to this series proper, and shoutout to Yakuza 3 for stoking my interest, i love that game immensely.
So far the video is a banger. Your bit on the new city exploration reminded me of this one moment i had when playing y6. I spent around an hour or 2 in first person wandering onomichi. It was beautiful. It finally hit me how much detail are in these games. I may be biased bc onomichi reminds me of my hometown. But never before in a open world game had i payed so much attention. Maybe in something like p.t or silent hill, both atmospheric games. Anyway i find it very impressive and y6 seemingly is the only game in the series i had a moment like that
This video coming out now is making me realize that gaiden kinda makes 6 better for me. Slight spoilers below, nothing too specific but still worth a warning. I always felt that 6’s ending was a weird backwards step to the kiryu at the beginning of 5 who sacrificed himself for others even if that doesn’t lead to him or the people he’s protecting actually being happier for it. In gaiden this is something directly pointed out by the ending and it really feels like kiryu is moving towards his own happiness. I think it’ll also be relevant to him being a party member in 8. He’s not doing it alone anymore he’s accepting help from others.
>I think it’ll also be relevant to him being a party member in 8. He’s not doing it alone anymore he’s accepting help from others. Is that actually true though? Kiryu had no problems cooperating with people in Yakuza 3-5. He wasn't a rugged lone wolf doing everything by himself in those games.
0 to Kiwami to 6 (then everything) player. I felt really happy with 6 at the time and still do. I never felt lost on anything and I still understood the weight of the whole thing, just more distant. Eventually replaying 6 after filling in the rest, I think it was a stronger experience the second time, but not so much that I regret playing out of order. Also I kinda prefer the gameplay of 6 onwards, because it feels like it has more 'flow' in some way. Hard to explain but it just feels a little nicer to me even in the unrefined state. It's not my fav in the franchise, but it's in the upper middle ranking. Also these videos a great, I always look forward too 'em.
Just finished yakuza 6 a few days ago, and DAMN did I need this video. I can't remember the last time a game has left me feeling so mixed on it- in the sense there's so much I love about it, and so much I dislike as well. God, I just have so much to say about it, but I'll save it for my mates. Thank you so much for your hard work on all of these videos, they've helped me re-evaluate the games, and even helped spark my journey back through this series, just to get back to where I'd left off! I'll get to 7 (and 8), but I could do with a break after beelining 4-6. I do wanna say however, with how good the theme DESTINY is, I have a theory that someya was intended to be the final boss at some point, with his fight more or less having the same context as what we have currently, but due to time/budget constraints, they had to rewrite or restructure within the resources allotted. It feels that way to me, since they basically skipped the long battle sequence leading up to reaching the service for kurusu/iwami. Within that, I theorized the original fight would have been on the deck of the yamato mk. II- tsuneo and koshimizu would have made one more power play after the defeat of sugai, someya would still have taken his life to spare kiyomi's, but this would have made it so they didn't need the cheap kiyomi death fake-out once the fight was over
Kiryu two-finger typing and sounding out the words at 1:06:05 absolutely slaughters me every time, it’s just SO funny to me knowing that the fearsome Dragon of Dojima has been slowed to a crawl by basic typing. Genuinely grateful to know this exists in the world
Amazing video like always, and as somebody who both loathed this game but deeply loves it, it feels nice somebody willing to go to bat for its stronger elements while not ignoring the BS in the story and the weaker combat Additionally, I have an interesting read on the story I don't see thrown around that often: it somehow retells core ideas of the entire Kiryu saga in one small little package. Like Yakuza 1, it's the story of a child who falls at the center of a grand yakuza conspiracy. Like Yakuza 2, it's a story about the Tojo trying to stay afloat amidst a war between itself, the Jingweon, a Triad, and a rival yakuza organization. Like Yakuza 3, it's a story where Kiryu becomes acquainted with a small Yakuza family in an out of the way and more rural city (Yuta and Nagamo's actors being Y3 alums as well) Like Yakuza 4, one of its main villains a young Tojo clan upstart attempting to get to the top of the organization to fulfill his ideological goals, despite the pain it causes everybody around him Like Yakuza 5 it's a game that ends with Kiryu knocking down a power hungry upstart who's power was given to him by his father, before eventually "dying". A lot of these are probably just coincidence, but I think the amount of parallels helped it to feel more like a conclusion to me than past games have. Like you mentioned, even if it's not some big victory lap that sends off every beloved character, it puts a nice little bow on Kiryus story thematically, and in that way I feel it doesn't quite get enough credit.
I called Yuta being the father the second I saw him based on his face alone, when designing the baby they just babified Yuta's face model or something because it was so obvious to me from that very second.
I finished 6 this year, and the ending struck me as being confidently unsure of its own conclusion. Unsure of what the future will be without Kiryu for themselves, and to please the fans. Since beating Yakuza:LaD, I'm confident the series will be strong no matter their direction. Since beating Gaiden's Story and going into Infinite Wealth. I'm certain the devs are confident in letting Kiryu rest w/o needing to hold up the entire series. Moving forward with a series without its face is such a risk, but it looks to have worked out for the creators and the fans coming to love Ichiban and the energy he brings to such a long running series.
I'm really happy that you started doing these playing series going over the games you play. It's honestly super fun and I can't help but keep coming back to re-watch my favorite reviews of yours. Only thing I wish is that there was like a second channel or something where you posted your in the moment of thoughts like a let's play type of deal. Still though keep up the excellent work and I excitedly I'll wait whatever you're going to analyse next!
I'm glad i wasn't the only one who thought Yuta was gonna die by Harukas hand. The lack of emotion on her face made me realize it's her character model that's off. Maybe they didn't put as much detail into her while being awake, so her mouth doesn't move or show any sort of movement either.
Since I left my thoughts on your Yakuza 5 and 0 videos about the games, I'll do the same here. 6 is my second least favorite of the mainline games and for much of the things you said about it, it feels distant, it feels so hollow while trying to feel so impactful and feels too contrived in some areas, however this game's ending (even if it was after a 2nd playthrough and not the first time) made me cry, I knew the ending, I knew kiryu would return , and still I wept as much as Kiryu did in 3 and Gaiden. I think it shows how much these games mean to players like me that even a weak entry still manages to invoke some powerful emotions in me, something most games can't even do. So Yeah this is one of the weaker Yakuza entries, it's still a Yakzua 6 out of 10, but it's still a Yakuza game through and through. Also Kiwami 2's Clan creator is so much fun I was excited to play 6's and then I realized "oh right they made Kiwami 2 after 6"
Yakuza 6- easily one of the Kiryu send-offs ever. I'm also glad you're able to even push this video this year, given the difficulties it must've been to write about this game- it's even more perplexing than 4 and the rubber bullet conundrum! Also best game in the series because Anri Okita is in it.
On the topic of the ending to the game and it's emotional pay-off, the effect on me has actually been the opposite. It was all the scenes with Haruka, Yuta, and Kiryu's send off to them that had the most emotional impact, with the final scene of Kiryu looking over the orphanage before walking away that had me bawling, whereas the letter to Daigo and the scenes with the old guard didn't mean much to me. This is because at that point, I had only played Y0, Kiwami, then jumped straight to Y6, as those were the only Yakuza games available on the PS4 at the time. It meant I had no idea who the old guard were outside of Majima, and between Kiwami and Y6 I had enough time with Haruka to understand at least to an extent why she was important to Kiryu. I'm not sure if this would've changed if I'd have played the games in chronological order as I think the ending hits the right notes for me on a personal level, but it would definitely make the letter to Daigo more impactful.
It is genuinely fucking funny to me that my video player stuttered and repeated a second of video when you were talking about how the pacing changed because of the licensed music that I had to go back and make sure you weren't making a point.
I absolutely love this video series, as a fairly new yakuza fan I love the bits of behind the scene details and your own interpretations of the games events. Absolutely baller
Always love hearing the explanation and analysis behind Kamurocho in each of these, the city does a great job of setting off a mood and showing the characters feelings without directly telling you most of the time. Really looking forward to when you get to talking about it in the eventual Yakuza 7 video because even though you're there the shortest and it has the least amount of things to do there out of all the games, its portrayal really tells you a lot about what Ichiban has gone through and how he's changed throughout the story.
I'm so excited/hopeful for whenever you have the time to cover Judgment and how that game's feel is different due to the drastic shift in how much money yagami gets versus kiryu's mega millions
Yakuza 8's trailer got me thinking about Yakuza again and replaying 7, which got me watching old Yakuza videos for fun, then Man Who Erased his Name came out, and now we get a new video? Yakuza fans eating good tonight
There are many places to cry throughout Yakuza. Unfortunately I've failed to let myself be vulnerable enough to fully let it break but the closest I've been have been with 3 and 6. Rikiya in 3 hit harder than the extremely bitter bittersweetness of Kiryu's final departure from Morning Glory. 3 and 6 aren't my favorite as games, but they're my favorite for the stories because they're smaller and paired down. I knew the game was supposed to be Kiryu's farewell when I got to it and 7 was already out and about but because of how its framed it almost feels like its a farewell to Haruka specifically despite how pitifully absent she is from the story. I think watching Haruka grow up and how she learns and gains Kiryu's traits, including his worse one, was an aspect I accidentally caught onto and enjoyed so much when I played through Kiryu's saga. I liked Haruka a decent chunk as a character and the one thing I neglected to do with her outside of Kiwami 2 was build her trust in the post games. When I started 6 I decided I was going to do that starting with 6 and moving backwards once I finished the story just to be met with the chance never arising in 6. I fully thought 6 would just do the same non canon nonsense for 5 and just let it happen anyways but in a small way to really pin that point home Kiryu's really and truly seperated in that post game. Every post game up to that point I sunk a few single digit hours into but 6's I stepped away from faster because that small decision reallly cemented that 2016 intention. It makes Kamuroucho, and Onimichi especially, feel lonely. I still love 6's goofiness but it did give me a harsh reminder to try and keep walking forward, the way Kiryu did and the way Haruka encourages Haruto to do, despite what you'll leave behind and miss. Much like how it would've been if Kiryu was still actually gone from the series.
This Yakuza Video helped me get through a very tough shift at my new job. I appreciate these as always despite not being able to contribute much to the discussions.
I always had a strong resonance towards Yakuza games, but never had the chance to play one. These videos are great, not only telling the story, but describing the gameplay, scenery, even the menus, really well. Thank you, Snake. Really hope you do the Ichiban games aswell.
Tehsnakerer has warped my consciousness so much that when ever I hear someone talk about docks in any context, I have to internally say “better known as: The Docks.”
Now, normally I'd be all for another video by you, especially one about Yakuza, but 6 is special in that I have yet to truly spoil myself on the overall plot of this game and I wanna keep it that way. Until I finally get around to 6, this video's staying in my "Watch Later" list. Stay creative, m8.
I always thought it was weird that Kiryu didn't kill Someya, when he pleaded for it. I always thought he should have. But I get it now. That would be listening to Tsuneo and Sugai's orders. Kiryu will *NOT* do that. He could help out, but someone he dislikes gave the orders, so he won't.
Took me quite a bit of time to find some to watch this video, but I must say this was nice. I've never played the yakuza series, but thanks to your videos I can enjoy it in it's quasi fullest.
I feel my biggest problem with 6 isn't the choices Haruka made but more how it happens. She decides to not tell anyone where she's going for no real reason, she doesn't go to someone like Daigo, Akiyama, Date or the Nakahara family. People who would have gladly helped. Akiyama and Date don't even bother trying to keep in contact or keep tabs on a young teen who is going through hell. This is egregious with Akiyama after he spend a whole game protecting her. She however trusts Hirose despite him being shady as hell, has the bright idea to have unprotected sex with a guy whose only interaction we see with her not being uh good at all and agrees to meet someone with her baby that she already knows is shady. Its one thing to make a bad choice, but everything surrounding that choice to get to where we are at in 6 is just a mess. I loved the final choice in 5 because while it wasn't smart, it was a choice that made sense in the heat of the moment. 6 for me just doesn't do a good job dealing with the consequences, especially when we don't even learn what happened to T-Set or her producers too.
I think the big problem with Haruka is that she's sorta simultaneously absolutely integral to the plot while also not mattering at all. Not only do most of her actions not make sense for her to do as a character, but really her only relevance/influence on the plot is her emotional connection to Kiyru. She could have any number of different personality or character traits and the plot would still mostly be the same as she only matters to the plot so far as how much Kiyru cares for and wants to protect her. She's treated less like a genuine character and more like a plot device to motivate Kiyru throughout the story, which makes it harder to get emotionally invested in her story unless you've already played the previous games.
It's because the game was wrriten backwards. They had plot elements they wanted, a setting they wanted, and a time frame they wanted. Then they forced the characters to get to all those points and places in a totally hamfisted way. They wanted to repeat plot beats from the first game with a plot central mystery child whose parent has a close connection to Kiryu, so they made Haruka do things that were out of character to get there. They wanted the game to take place in Hiroshima, so Haruka randomly ends up there with no major plot element drawing her there. They always make the game take place when the game comes out, so Kiryu has been in prison for 3 years and has not spoken to any of the children he's been raising while locked up to repeat how he had to figure everything out when he got out if jail in the first game. This is despite the wildly different life situation Kiryu has in 6. Instead of writing the plot organically, they decided where they wanted the plot to go and then totally failed to be convincing while on the way there.
It makes sense to me. Like TehSnakerer says, Haruka is channelling Kiryu's worst trait at the moment, sacrificing herself for what she sees as the benefit of others. It makes sense that she'd choose to go to a completely unknown place rather than be a burden to the people who know her. The fact that said people would be more than happy to take her in does not cross her mind at all.
So in summary, Kiryu fucked everything up by exiling himself from the orphanage in 5 so that Haruka could be an idol, just for Haruka to throw everything away at the end because she just wanted to be with Kiryu, just for him to immediately fuck it up by going to prison on what's basically a frivolous charge because he didn't want her to be ashamed of him when she just publicly tanked her career by announcing her devotion to him to the entire planet, just for her to then fuck it up by exiling herself from the orphanage, just for Kiryu to fuck everything up one final time by faking his own death and we might as well have rewinded back to the beginning of 5 where he was an exiled cab driver away from his kids and hated every second of his life.
I really can't blame fans for being upset that this was supposed to be the finale. Its literally watching the two most stubborn people on the planet who both want the exact same thing but are just completely determined to not be happy.
I do find it funny how Joon Gi-Han is fleshed out more in Yakuza 7 via his body double.
The thing I'll always remember about clan creator is that one of the codes for Daigo is kiryusavemepleaz
That's great
lmao
I read this comment shortly before I began with 6. The Code works 😂.
The basement gimp represents how Kamurocho's seedier elements are pushed deeper and deeper into the shadows as the city changes, and him being confined represents how Kiryu feels trapped by always ending up in the city. After Kiryu thinks he defeats him in the cage, the gimp continues to stalk him from the shadows, just like how forces outside of Kiryu's control constantly end up dragging him back to Kamurucho. The gimp is a physical representation of Kiryu's growing resentment towards a city that doesn't really even exist anymore.
More importantly though, we never see Big Lo and the gimp in the same room at the same time, and we already know Lo loves sex enough to have had it at least twice, so it could represent Lo's complete depravity
I'm also completely joking about all of this
Sure you are
@@Tehsnakerer I am. Obviously the gimp was Hirose. He said so himself that he would put on a mask and beat off- sorry, beat on men and they never figured out it was him.
Obviously, he was mad at Kiryu for getting the biggest soapland in town shut down which he really wanted to visit
Time for a history lesson related to the BIG TWIST. The reason the Yamato and its sister ship the Musashi were even a thing was because arms limitations at the time meant you couldn't have too many battleships. So Japan decided they were just gonna make the biggest, most powerful battleships ever then. They were so big it was actually impractical, and this isn't even going into the fact that they were becoming obsolete even at the time (though no one knew that when the Yamato was under construction, that's a hindsight thing). By 1945, everyone knew that aircraft carriers were the new superweapon and that battleships were little more than floating artillery platforms. Japan didn't care, they saw the Yamato as the pride of the Imperial Navy, to many the very symbol of the might of Imperial Japan itself. Hence why it was such a big deal that it was sunk, and in reality probably would've survived the battle and simply been captured with the damage it sustained, but the captain gave the order to flood it and sink the ship himself rather than it fall into America's hands.
On to the Mk II. The embezzled government funds to build it was actually the least pressing issue, plenty of governments have secretly spent billions on impractical shit. No the issue is what this ship represents. The issue is the people who built this ship did so primarily out of pride, specifically pride in the Empire that Japan once was. This has real-world geopolitical implications. Remember, China's currently official stance is that no amount of apology will EVER be able to make up for Second Sino-Japenese War (funnily during Mao's time, he said no apology was necessary as Japan's invasion allowed the nationalists to be weakened enough for the communists to defeat them). Korea still harps on endlessly about comfort women and the suffering they endured while they were under Japanese annexation. In addition to this, part of the occupation of Japan by American forces post-war was adding into the constitution that Japan could never build weapons of war again (this shortly got amended to "except for a defense force"). There's also the fact that the Mk II was primarily built using what was essentially slave labor from Chinese and Koreans, the two countries that suffered most from the Japanese.
This battleship is not simply a boat, it is the ultimate expression of Japanese war crime denialism. By refusing to let go of one of the very symbols of the Empire of Japan, you are effectively saying to the rest of East Asia "fuck you, Japan did nothing wrong". If it was the original Yamato that would be one thing, you could argue that they just want to hold onto it for nostalgic reasons. But to build a brand new one post-war is to shove a giant middle finger in China and Korea's faces and tell them the atrocities committed against them don't matter. I know what you're asking, why didn't the government just dismantle it? You can't dismantle battleships that easily, it takes teams and teams of military engineers that specifically understand battleship construction to be able to safely take it apart. Such a thing would attract attention. Better to just keep the ship hidden and pray it never surfaces. Because if it ever came to light that the ship exists, shit will hit the international fan in ways Japan can barely imagine.
So basically these fuckin' guys were practically risking Japan getting fucked extremely hard in the ass because they couldn't let go of the "glory days" and that they were basically on a one way street where they had to finish it.
Damn that was a great read
Thank you for this write-up, it was concise and explained the context thoroughly - I was disappointed to see "It's just a ship lol" in reaction to the secret by a lot of people in the community
Damn, wasn't expecting a history lesson on my weekend. Thank you for the explanation
@@zealous404 There is a bunch of things in this game that are just blatantly about Korean/Chinese WW2 relations with Japan that people will miss without cultural context. A big one is the Stardust scene which I had to have explained to me because I never 100% understood what it was saying before. The reason Stardust under the Jingweon has become a den of debauchery is a form of cultural revenge. Specifically revenge for the comfort women, and for anyone reading this comment who doesn't know what those are, google it and then feel really bad about what you just read. Basically, the idea behind what Stardust is doing is Koreans taking revenge for the Japanese occupation by reducing Japanese women into whores who care about nothing but their own pleasure, to show that this is their inner nature and is a direct reply to the common Japanese apologia of "they were prostitutes, not sex slaves". In effect what it's trying to say is, "this is what you thought of our women, now look as we can do the same to yours."
It's one of those things that even if you study the history, you kinda have to have your brain tuned to east asian to understand the underlying meaning of it.
It’s funny to me that giving Kiryu a happy ending would have fit so neatly into the death of ideals theme, because the only way to truly kill the dragon is to let the man live a happy life. But by not committing to this and keeping kiryu on the table for future entries, they play into RGG embody the negative aspect of their own theme, unwillingness to let go of the past when it’s needed.
We're going to retire kir- and let's welcome back Kiryu everybody! Woo-hoo!
@@planescapedwell with whats happening to him in infinite wealth its definitely the cold turkey this os gonna be the last one cause you cant walk back from that bombshell without people hating it
lol
Yo I got news for you
The most I got out of Yakuza 6 is kiryu finally acknowledging that he is Daigo's father figure and he failed him. Its a feeling that has always been in the series but never spoken and it broke me when it was finally said.
i don't even wanna know how long you were waiting to tell the "they finally beat takeshi" joke
Funny Wes is a yakuza enjoyer?
The cheeky bugger was too busy shoving in sex and shipping jokes
@@sharkattack153who wouldn't be?
For those who don't know, Tanimura's actor's career was ruined when a popular magazine spread baseless rumors that he was a cocaine addict, and drugs are a massive taboo in Japan so he was harassed to the point of leaving the acting industry altogether
Man fuck the tabloids.
Man, sometimes I get so caught up in the beauty and touristy aspect of Japan that I forget how scummy and shady it can be too, especially in the entertainment industry. Guy definitely didn’t deserve that
man i wish tanimura could appear again with his new voice actor, but at this point i think rgg forgot him.
So he got cleared of those accusations huh?
@@SolProxy the only "evidence" they had was a video that showed a powdery substance on a table in the background
1:37:17 "Yuta pulls out quicker than he ever has in his life."
That's why I keep coming back to you.
"Someya has nothing on his back because he's putting on a front" is genius too
1:38:43
I would take a bullet for Ono Michio.
A few iffy things about the story, but the side content is at it's best with Yakuza 6. I love it all.
The most anticipated sequel to a Yakuza video in the history of Yakuza videos
Honestly I really want him to get to Judgment.
@@Sperium3000 Man I would love him to analyse Kuwana. Unfortunately, its going to take probably a year or two before we even get to that. Im more than willing to wait though, as his videos are peak video essay kino.
for me that was Zero and Judgement
@@Sperium3000 Chill with the Judgement stuff, this is a mainline entry, have some respect, pal.
that would be the yakuza 3 retrospective but ok
“that’s why kiryu is a great mom” FACTS!!!
Can't wait for you to watch the "Hey, you're making me look like I have no balls" scene in Gaiden.... priceless and loving self-awareness by the RGG writers. One of the most emotional, wholesome moments in the series.
I visited Onomichi in early November. It really is a beautiful portside city. The view from the top of the hillside cemetery is unbelievable. It felt like a touristic city but mainly for Japanese people which made it a bit awkward when I ended up being literally the only foreigner in the entire city. Would definitely visit again though.
What I remember from this game is how shiny Akiyama looked whenever he walked in the room.
Going from Yakuza 5 footage to 6 back to back at the start of the game is just jarring for how the recurring characters suddenly look like they just stepped out of an oil bath
Akiyama in general just looks like a completely different character in 6, his face looks really weird.
@@LucasRCD
Finally someone said it lol
Bro looks like he got some kinda facial reconstruction in this game
He lost all his money on Botox :(
He looked a lot better on the Unreal Engine in Ishin. It actually looks a good evolution of his model from 4 and 5.
This is something I appreciate so much about Kiryu - and Snake has mentioned it many times, including in this video - but I want to point it out because it means so much to *me* personally. My dad has been my dad since I was one year old. My biological father didn't want much to do with me and was happy to hand me off to the man who would become my *real* dad.
So when Kiryu stands up for the ideas of blood not mattering and how Lo shouldn't be able to call Yuta his son just because they're blood-related, really sticks out to me. So many stories focus on how blood relatives are so important, but Kiryu is all about found family. The people who are there for you and love you being family. My dad is my *real* dad, even though we're not blood-related. Kiryu is Haruka's dad because he *chose* to be. Kazama is his dad cause he *chose* to be. And Lo isn't Yuta's dad because he chose *not* to be. Powerful stuff.
Yep, just watched the ending to LAD Gaiden... it brought me to tears, I won't spoil it, but it is a goddamn treasure and I loved it so much. It follows similar themes to what you've mentioned though, ever-present throughout all of Kiryu's stories. I love it in its entirety, and genuinely hope he gets the truly joyous ending he deserves.
There’s a lot you can say about 6. But Kiryu’s definitely at his best here: Completely done with everybody’s shit
One thing I never liked was Kiryu's refusal to just say that Haruto is his grandson, because I don't understand why he won't. He's a man that believes family isn't just defined by blood and Haruka is to him his daughter, so his daughter's son SHOULD register to him as his grandson, but he never says it when questioned their relation.
This is kinda like how the one thing I am *livid* about with these games is that Haruka never calls Kiryu father.
@@arskakarva7474 I think that's different, it's clear she sees Uncle Kaz as her father, she's just too used to calling him that nickname. But it's a lot wierder for Kiryu and there would be way less awkward conversations if he just said, "he's my grandson" when people ask who Haruto is.
i've always seen it as kiryu never giving himself the credit he deserves. He just can't see himself as good enough for it, but we all know he still thinks it
3:12:40 I remember back when I played this for the first time at a friends house, she called that Yuta was the father right away.
I was completely struck as I hadnt figured it out despite being deeply engaged and paying full attention. She DID figure it out even though she barely saw any of it and only took a simple glance.
I asked her how she could have possibly known, and her response was:
''...He's the only handsome one. Duh.''
I have been at least 3% more jaded ever since.
Occams razor innit, cut right to the quick
@@TehsnakererWHAT BRITISH AUSTRALIAN SPEECH IS THIS
@@Tehsnakerer If you start spelling your video titles in proper English, I shall believe you aren't an American Sleeper Agent.
Fr though, thanks for the vid. Love Yakuza so much, I genuinely hope you review all the games, and that too in Japanese. I promise it's worth it.
Yeah that's how Pat from Pat Stares At figured it out too. Not just that he's the handsome one, but also that he's voiced by the same actor as Rikiya and the character is basically Rikiya 2.0
@@SeruraRenge11 Fair
I wouldnt have known that at the time since Yakuza 3 is the last entry I went through
I have a special place in my heart for 3 and 6. They are perhaps the most important to Kiryu's character development, even more than 0 and 1 I would say. While I do understand people's frustration with Daigo and group being left out for basically all of the story, I also get why RGG may have felt it necessary to do so in order to focus on Kiryu. Someone like Majima can very easily hog the limelight when he's on screen. Not a hard reason I know, but it could be a
combination of that and budgetary concerns. Regardless, I do like the
new characters introduced in 6, especially the Hirose family and Someya, also Big Lo. What this video mentions as well, if you didn't know, is that Yuta's voice actor is the same as Rikiya, and Nagumo's is the same as Kanda (they even share their first names - Tsuyoshi). The parallels to 3 go deeper than the plot
and setting.
One thing I feel 6 accomplishes well is providing closure to Kiryu in several key aspects of his life. So many people important to him have
died an untimely death. His father figure, his kyoudai, the girl he liked, the guy who called him aniki, the
Mama of his favourite bar, and that's just the first game. But not in 6. In 6 everyone survives, even Kiyomi and
Yuta, who were on my most likely to die list while playing. Nagumo and Kiyomi could've been history repeating itself but not this time. Kiryu's biggest failures, in his own
eyes, were perhaps the deaths of Shinji and Rikiya, two guys who called him aniki and looked up to him. Not only did they die gruesome deaths,
they did so while trying to help Kiryu, especially Rikiya who directly took a bullet for him. Kiryu had good reason to be hesitant when Nagumo decided to make him his aniki. But he gave it a chance once again and was successful this time around in leading and looking after every single person in his care. Perhaps the biggest closure of his life.
The other thing is the parallel between Kiryu's relationship with Kazama and Nagumo and
Matsunaga's with Hirose. It is not a stretch to believe that reliving the experience through them may have
given Kiryu a new insight on his own feelings. The words he said to comfort them may also have been meant for himself, "You have lifted
the curse that hung on your Patriarch". That's another huge closure.
Finally, we have Haruka and the kids where we have another closure.
Haruka is an adult now, has a loving family of her own, and has several siblings by her side. Her life is at a point where Kiryu can excuse himself and let her live free of danger. The kids at the orphanage have her as well as Yuta to look after them, which
is another weight off Kiryu's shoulders. It makes a lot of sense to leave his old life behind at this point and become an anonymous figure.
And it's true that the ending isn't entirely happy or sad - it's bittersweet. Leaves a lot to be desired but that could be seen as a good thing. At least it was for me because I had a good feeling Kiryu wouldn't be gone forever and I am looking forward to Infinite Wealth. Looks like this will be the end for real this time.
I dont have anything cogent to say in response to this essay but I do want to validate the passion ❤ good shit we love to see it
That's a very nice perspective, thank you for the write up
Also both Yakuza 3 and 6 were supposed to the Kiryu's finale but didn't.
why tf did you write a poem
I spent like 80% of the game waiting for Kiryu to get cornered and Majima and Saejima would bust through a wall to save his ass. I was like "there's no reason they'd mention them and not do anything with them"
The first few jokes whenever Yuta shows on screen caught me so off guard.
Top tier work as always.
Yuta comes inside with an ejaculation _!_
I love snakerer, but at the same time things like this make me want to give him a glaswegian handshake. Cheeky bastard
"He's the Florist of Sai-ya fuckin nara" ACTUALLY made me spit my food hahahahaha
this, and the "So-hey" pun when snake was talking about Daigo
I relate to Daigo so much. The kid who just wanted to do right by their parents getting shit on at every point. I relate to Kiryu so much as the dad who wants to do right by guiding their kid on the right path without overbearing, but it's really just not helping. This game tells a sweet story that sometimes, even at it's worst you hang in there, you do what you can, and seeing the last scene with Haruto and Kiryu walking broke me. I had just lost my mom at the time and everyone just kinda let me be. I didn't grow up with this series, but age wise I'm only 6 months older than Haruka. Playing this series from the beginning to 6, I felt like i had connection with Haruka too, I reflected on those key moments where Haruka and I shared an age and thought about how these things would've effected me, but at the end of The Song of Life and hearing "Hang in there" was something I needed to hear, and that's why 6 will always be one of my favorites of the entire series. It reminded me why it's important to be yourself, you leave behind your impression on people more than your accomplishments, more than your accolades, and that's why Kiryu is loved and always remembered
Well, if Daigo is of any indication, you'll be ending up winning at the end. You'd be surprised with how many people are finally coming around to Daigo. Especially in comparison to his predecessors. So take comfort in that, because it means you'll be amongst the GOATs.
I was one of those “started at 0, played Kiwami than played 6 when it released since it was the only other Yakuza game on the PS4”. And yeah, I liked 6. Obviously going in I realized I was missing context from a lot of games. But this in turn made the themes that they were pulling from 0 and 1 respectively so much stronger.
One part I noticed you didn’t being up/notice yourself is that at the end of 6, when Haruka is about to be shot and Yuta steps in to shield her, only for Kiryu to step in as well. This moment is a 1:1 mirror of what happens in Yakuza 1. “The villain goes to shoot Haruka, and as her new recent protector steps in for her, her parent steps in to protect them both instead.” In those moments, Kiryu embodied Yumi. Which is beautiful in a way as to show how beginnings reflect the end.
Or what would be the end if this was Kiryu’s real finale.
Damn I didn't even make that connection. Yumi and Kiryu, what could've been.
I think snakes joke about kiryu “doing what a mother could” or something along those lines is him cheekily pointing that comparison out like he usually does with his wordplay gags
I will always have a soft spot for Little Baby Iwami as a villain. I remembered my brain expanding when I first realized Kiryu and Iwami's motivation for joining the Yakuza are the exact same. Their jealousy of their fathers' success, and the infatuation with the dream. Yet despite their motivations being the same, Kiryu and Iwami ended up being so different.
It makes me remember when Mine asked why Kiryu wasn't like him despite their similar backgrounds. Why Kiryu didn't become power hungry like Ryuji. Or was broken and twisted into a monster by the Yakuza life like Nishikiyama.
Because Kiryu at the end of the day, is a man of respect and honor. Kiryu respected Kazama, and as such tried to emulate him. The trials of the criminal underworld gave Kiryu his understanding of the Yakuza, and as such he truly became like a dragon. Someone capable of reaching the top. Iwami never understood the Yakuza and unlike Kiryu's emulation that became his own thing. Iwami was an imitator, a thief who never had to experience the trials Kiryu had experienced.
It does make you wonder. Could Kiryu have ended up like Iwami if Kazama didn't let Kiryu join until Kiryu forced himself in? As Yakuza 0 does show a more powerhungry, younger, superfical Kiryu. But yet, early in 0, it is shown Kiryu was always compassionate, always honorable, and always so suicidal.
Iwami makes me wonder, what would the iconic underworld of Yakuza look like without the Dragon of Dojima? What would he look like without that underworld. Sorry for yapping, it's just stuff I kinda put together.
2:54:15 I’m hoping Ichiban will learn that Kiryu and Majima are responsible for Shangri-La’s current state.
*Kiryu finally feels as dense as he is*
"Shows clips of Kiryu destroying bikes, desks and chairs by just walking over it"
Yep, that seems right...
Bit embarrassing for me to admit but here it goes: I started playing the live chat minigame just to have a laugh at haha funni horny kiryu, but Anri Okita is genuinely so fucking hot that I had to stop because I was starting having trouble concentrating on the game. This had never happened before with any of the other live action FMV stuff in Yakuza
IT'S GROWING
I can't believe Gaiden fixed almost every problem with this game's story and even perfectly justified a point in 7's story.
This is sarcasm, right? Gaiden just made it far worse.
Fym gaiden patched the holes in this game so good that now I really enjoy it
@@Thewatcher-ej6qvgenuinely confused what you mean, imo Gaiden didn't really do anything substantial to wrap up Kiryu's story
All it did was to patch the hole in the ship with yumi ring and his kids and set course to place of infinite wealth to truly be done with kiryu
6 is my least favourite Yakuza game, and I always thought it a poor end to Kiryu’s story. He’s one of my favourite protagonists ever, and I felt robbed seeing how little time he actually got to spend with the people he’s cared about for years, instead being surrounded by new faces, a new world, etc. which was probably the intention, but eh, I still don’t care for it. It’s why I never had a problem with Kiryu being brought back. He deserved better then what he got, and I think RGG know that, judging by Gaiden and the Infinite Wealth trailers.
That being said, the worst Yakuza game (for me) is still a very solid game overall, even if playing it after 5 (still the best in the series imo) left me wanting so much more. You highlighted a lot of what it does right here, and as usual, made a very engaging, funny, and entertaining deep dive into one of these games yet again. Thanks for the vid Snake, hope your future projects turn out as great as this!
I'm glad we got so much "The docks, better known as, the docks" out of Y6. It's probably one of my favorite recurring bits on UA-cam, behind only "Through the magic of buying two of them".
What's the magic line from?
@@gunfighter009 Gangland, a TehSnakerer classic.
@@gunfighter009 the magic of buying two of them is a bit from Alec on Technology Connections
@@gunfighter009 Technology Connections, I believe
Surprised and a little disappointed you didn’t mention the fuckin weird addition of the ghost photography in this. It’s… definitely a thing that exists.
Just wanted to say I’m loving this yakuza analysis series, and that you’re a masterclass script writer
I think one of the big things with how Kiryu fights in this game does show you all you need to know about him. Remember, They still put personality into what he does.
so what do we have with Kiryu? a man who thought he took the right choice to protect his family, but found out all he did was put the burden on someone else he loved, and now they're on their last legs.
and what do we have with his fighting style? 'I have nothing to live for and a lot to make up for. get out of my way'.
We've lost the precision and finess Kiryu of the past built up and learnt since 1 (0 if you wanna count that) and instead we've got a man on the edge looking to find out what happened, why and protect his family where he failed before
Perhaps they should have saved up all the silly for the finale and said that Kazuma had gone off to work on converting the Yamato II in to a spaceship and his raw fighting spirit was powering the wave motion cannon.
Great work as always breaking down these games. My habit of watching the previous ones again so I can remember all the plot points and characters is getting increasingly difficult.
I imagine clan manager in this game felt like a step down after you beat Hooligans.
Came up in the SR comments but after hoolies all gang management is going to be a step down
I forget if this was mentioned in the analysis for Iwami as I've been watching this in chunks due to being busy with irl stuff.
If I remember from what I've heard others say, Iwami's back tattoo has something that distinguishes him from other Yakuza villains. It has *_ZERO_* to do with Kiryu's back tattoo compared to Kuze all the way up to even Aizawa where their back tattoo has something to correlate with Kiryu's dragon, whereas Iwami's has fuck all to do with Kiryu's back tattoo on a mythical and symbolical sense.
It adds even further to Kiryu's inner thoughts of "He is NOTHING to me." during Iwami's fight and further drives just how pathetically inept Iwami is as a self proclaimed Yakuza.
I didn't actually know that aspect of it, thank you.
You're welcome!@@Tehsnakerer
Dropping a 5h video with no prior announcement is my favourite part of the channel
1:01:30 This was where I expected you to also mention that this really awesome use of the vending machines would never return. Kiwami 2 has them, but they're just a place to buy another item that goes into the inventory, and you can't interact with them as Yagami.
Yeah that kind of slipped me by when I was trying to keep Kiwami 2 more concise. It's funny though cause it confused me at first. I was buying drinks and thinking something had glitched, it was ages before I looked in my inventory and found all of my drinks. Yakuza can be weirdly like Pokemon in that way, great one off mechanics that never properly return. It's not the best but I kinda like that about it, keeps you on your toes.
It is interesting to note that Clan Creator's final antagonist actually first showed up in the Blue Jacket demo, being set up as part of the Saio Triad and a somewhat key figure in the main story, a thing which never did come to be in the full game, same with Kiryu abandoning his ironclad refusal to wear anything not stylish in some way as well as being able to reunite with Haruka for more than a few fleeting moments.
It's like the Blue Jacket demo was made in an earlier stage of production where that *was* the case.
For me personally, I didn't really mind at first that Gaiden and Infinite Wealth will be the actual final act for Kiryu's story instead of 6 because of how much the finale of that game felt odd to me as the conclusion. If anything, you explaining in more detail about how it conflicts with the whole message the game went on regarding sacrificing yourself for the sake of others (That being it's not always the answer) helped amplify the weird feelings I had regarding the ending of that game when I played it. So to me, I definitely prefer looking at that game's ending as more of a setup for Kiryu's actual finale than the finale itself. I do hope Infinite Wealth delivers on that aspect because after finishing Gaiden's story and seeing how surprised I was at how much I enjoyed that game's story as well as the finale, my excitement for it amplified a whole lot.
2:46:25 That instant backhand from Yuta has done more to bolster my respect for him than anything else in the game, it was smooth as hell
Okay man, that short shot of the chair absolutely rocking your shit at 4:04:45 had me losing mine. Haven't snort-laughed like that in forever
it's also synced to the music LMAO
Quick nerd note regarding the obsolescence of big battleships: It was not a matter of smaller ships outperforming them. Matter of fact smaller ships were largely being used for screens to take fire bigger ships. Especially in the Pacific, what brought an end to the age of Battleships was the Aircraft Carrier. The use of which Japan ironically would both pioneer and be brought low by and the very same war (In the sense of doctrine, anyway).
Because suddenly it didn't matter how many guns you packed onto to a ship, how fast it moved compared to others. Because suddenly you could be taken without ever seeing the other ship, by aircraft that cost so much less than the vessels they were sinking. Conventional ships weren't rendered useless, you still needed to guard your aircraft carriers, but their prominence was vastly reduced. More damningly in the case of the Yamato Class, both went down with poor performance records. Not helped by how protective the IJN was towards the titular Yamato was often to the detriment of the rest of the fleet, and often pulled out before it could be in danger. To the IJN, any defeat would be a catastrophic loss of face back home. To lose their flagship would be an excuse for the IJA to take over their duties.
Which leads to the fascinatingly dysfunctional world of IJA-IJN Relations. And IJA-IJA Relations. And IJN-IJN relations. In the army, entire theatre plans were the basis for deeply divided parties in the army. In the Navy, Battleship Doctrine vs Aircraft Carrier Doctrine was the big divide. This was not a matter of friendly branch rivalry or mere drama between high-ranking officers. These people wanted to see each other fail, did not trust each other for anything.
But at this point I ventured off into tangent. Not the nature of naval warfare circa 1940s was all that related to Kiryu's story, more the massive embezzlement of funds and the flagrant treaty violation it presents. The latter of which is honestly not important to the story itself, I feel.
The conspirators in the government are concerned because they will all suffer blowback if that gets revealed. They make that very clear.
Also, not gonna lie. When the Yamato 2 came rising out the water, I kinda wanted the final gauntlet to be on that. Fighting your way massive battleship, maybe as it begins to sink because their scuttling it?
I dunno. It just felt limp that it was given such a grandiose entrance only to never appear again, other than the big secret.
I sometimes wonder if Kiryu can ever truly retire.
I worry but also kinda hope that the plotpoints teased for 8 will lead to this event
Guess Cancer will surely be the end of him.
@@suckassmork2972 Inb4 he tiger drops the cancer.
@@suckassmork2972 It would be both darkly comedic and tragic that death by cancer is the only retirement that Kiryu will ever get...
@@duypham3603 hope he gets to out like Old Snake off-screen. No more of that fox-die crap.
I’m glad I finally got to hear your thoughts on this game. Haruka getting shelved for 90% of the story just never sat right with me for this being hers and Kiryu’s final game.
Tehsnakerer, thank you for this video series you've done. While I have heard of the Yakuza games before, I wasn't really interested in them before due to their major meme status, assuming they weren't anything more than that. However, thanks to your videos I've picked up 0-6 on steam and am slowly working my way through Kiryu's journey (currently on Kiwami 2). Your videos have done a great job showing the depths of this series and in getting me interested. I hope you get some rest after making this massive video, you deserve it.
Thank you kindly
So we just have to say we do love the "The docks" joke cause we can just hear you smiling as you make it. Like the dumb in jokes we have with our friends but it's also this weird testament for how far you've come **Like how your style of writing has gotten more detailed and mature through the years, as well as your editing and essay writing skills that get us to think!** __Not much to do with yakuza so far so we will say as someone who played through all the yakuza's from "Yakuza 0" through "Kiwami" up to "Like a Dragon" we didn't mind 6's faults as much. We might just be grasping at emotions watching your yakuza series so soon after we streamed all the way to 6 at the start of last year, but it felt like a series coming to a close but still having a lot it wants to say with Kiryu. The rushed storytelling, the relaxing atmosphere of the towns (Yes we find Kamarocho pleasant no matter how gentrified), then the somber last scene at the end telling you it's over as you knew it. We could feel this version of "Yakuza" leading into "Like a Dragon" saying its rushed goodbyes as it goes out on one last good note. All in all, loved doing everything the first time through, would rather die then do that baseball or clan building game on stream__
I found it ironic that Yakuza 1's moral of the story was to never run away, but Yakuza 6 ends with Kiryu running away. I'm honestly glad with Kiryu coming back for this reason alone.
Honestly I agree especially considering not running away is a part of 6 too. I mean the only reason haruka and kiryu are even involved is because they chose not to fight. Kiryu chose to just let himself be arrested which led haruka to follow his example and leave the orphanage. Their penchant for self sacrifice getting them involved in the happenings of 6. Only for Kiryu to sacrifice himself again at the end of the game.
He's also claims that he's tired of running away in 4, but then 5 starts with him having already ran away.
@@a1rg3ar31 To be a BIT fair to him in that instance, he was manipulated and practically blackmailed into doing so that time.
I loved this video, and you did mamage to change my outlook on 6 in a more positive way. I was never a hater of 6, quite the opposite, but that's really because I believe we haven't had any truly bad games yet. I do hope you don't skip on Judgment, because it's a game I've been quietly waiting for you to cover ever since I finished it at launch, because I think it deserves it, but I understand why you'd skip it. Whatever the next stop is, I will still be there, your videos are something else
I finally had the time to binge this video. Ever since I saw your Yakuza 0 video in my recommended, I knew this was another longform channel for me.
For me, 6's way of making Kiryu's arc "meaningless" with the way he sacrificed himself again was great. In the entire series so far, he's always been like that and suddenly going out of your comfort zone like that is a hard task so Kiryu goes back to the thing he's used to. The letter was proof that 6 had an effect on him. No matter what Kiryu does in that scenario, he will always be dragged back in. Yakuza 3 showed Kiryu that living a normal life is just a dream and almost got his children in danger. Yakuza 5 and 6 shows Kiryu that doing the opposite doesn't work either. As you mentioned, he wasn't able to scold Haruka because he realized of his own hypocrisy and following his own logic, living a cosy life after basically ruining so many lives withhis decision just doesn't dwell right for him. His survivor's guilt being on full display.
To end this long comment, I want to thank you for such an amazing series that showed me something more to love to this weird and heartful series of games about a man with a stricter dress code than my old school. I'll see you when you do 7 and the schizophrenic adventures of Ichiban.
I almost wish Judgment was next, because honestly, Yagami might be my favorite RGG protagonist of all of them. Both of his games I just love to death. Great video, man.
I just wish yagami didn't date people between 10 and 20 years younger than him. That's my only problem with the judgement games
Thank you so much for putting the focus on Hands at the end. It's a song that made me kind of melancholic when I read the lyrics first, but I'm a dad of a 3 year old daughter now and it destroys me. Seeing them grow up is so wonderful but the inevitability also hurts, and Kiryu not being able to be there when it happens is beyond gutwrenching.
Notice how Kiryu is helping Majima with his building, specifically as payback for Majima Everywhere helping him regain his strength as the Dragon.
Genuinely wasn't expecting this till Christmas or some time into 2024 so this is a very welcomed surprise. Love your passion for this series, and gaming in general, it makes it so easy to stay glued to the screen. Stay safe Snake!!
This is a bit long, hope you don't mind-
For the first couple 'Playing Yakuza' videos, i had only played Kiwami 1 because it was free on PS Plus (i wasn't interested in continuing the series.) and was content to watch you explain the story, characters and gameplay of each game. But after watching 'Playing Yakuza 3', i decided to wait until i finished yakuza 4 before watching your video on it because i was really interested in the series at that point. Then, i waited until i beat Yakuza 5 to watch 'Playing Yakuza 5'. It was basically like a fun reward after beating these two games, to see what i missed and get someone else's perspective/opinion. Now i'm up to date with all mainline yakuza games and was excited for this video to drop! Thanks for introducing me to this series proper, and shoutout to Yakuza 3 for stoking my interest, i love that game immensely.
That's very lovely to read, thank you. That is maybe the goal of these, to get people in and appreciating these games.
So far the video is a banger. Your bit on the new city exploration reminded me of this one moment i had when playing y6. I spent around an hour or 2 in first person wandering onomichi. It was beautiful. It finally hit me how much detail are in these games. I may be biased bc onomichi reminds me of my hometown. But never before in a open world game had i payed so much attention. Maybe in something like p.t or silent hill, both atmospheric games. Anyway i find it very impressive and y6 seemingly is the only game in the series i had a moment like that
He should release the full series on DVD. I'd buy that on the spot.
This video coming out now is making me realize that gaiden kinda makes 6 better for me. Slight spoilers below, nothing too specific but still worth a warning.
I always felt that 6’s ending was a weird backwards step to the kiryu at the beginning of 5 who sacrificed himself for others even if that doesn’t lead to him or the people he’s protecting actually being happier for it. In gaiden this is something directly pointed out by the ending and it really feels like kiryu is moving towards his own happiness. I think it’ll also be relevant to him being a party member in 8. He’s not doing it alone anymore he’s accepting help from others.
>I think it’ll also be relevant to him being a party member in 8. He’s not doing it alone anymore he’s accepting help from others.
Is that actually true though? Kiryu had no problems cooperating with people in Yakuza 3-5. He wasn't a rugged lone wolf doing everything by himself in those games.
Watching Kiryu break down in Gaiden's ending destroyed me
0 to Kiwami to 6 (then everything) player. I felt really happy with 6 at the time and still do. I never felt lost on anything and I still understood the weight of the whole thing, just more distant. Eventually replaying 6 after filling in the rest, I think it was a stronger experience the second time, but not so much that I regret playing out of order. Also I kinda prefer the gameplay of 6 onwards, because it feels like it has more 'flow' in some way. Hard to explain but it just feels a little nicer to me even in the unrefined state. It's not my fav in the franchise, but it's in the upper middle ranking. Also these videos a great, I always look forward too 'em.
Just finished yakuza 6 a few days ago, and DAMN did I need this video. I can't remember the last time a game has left me feeling so mixed on it- in the sense there's so much I love about it, and so much I dislike as well. God, I just have so much to say about it, but I'll save it for my mates. Thank you so much for your hard work on all of these videos, they've helped me re-evaluate the games, and even helped spark my journey back through this series, just to get back to where I'd left off! I'll get to 7 (and 8), but I could do with a break after beelining 4-6.
I do wanna say however, with how good the theme DESTINY is, I have a theory that someya was intended to be the final boss at some point, with his fight more or less having the same context as what we have currently, but due to time/budget constraints, they had to rewrite or restructure within the resources allotted. It feels that way to me, since they basically skipped the long battle sequence leading up to reaching the service for kurusu/iwami. Within that, I theorized the original fight would have been on the deck of the yamato mk. II- tsuneo and koshimizu would have made one more power play after the defeat of sugai, someya would still have taken his life to spare kiyomi's, but this would have made it so they didn't need the cheap kiyomi death fake-out once the fight was over
I'm actually so interested in hearing what you think about Gaiden after watching this, I think it handles writing around 6's ending very well.
3:19:15 R.I.P. Han Joon-gi. Too bad they can’t use that character again
Kiryu two-finger typing and sounding out the words at 1:06:05 absolutely slaughters me every time, it’s just SO funny to me knowing that the fearsome Dragon of Dojima has been slowed to a crawl by basic typing. Genuinely grateful to know this exists in the world
Amazing video like always, and as somebody who both loathed this game but deeply loves it, it feels nice somebody willing to go to bat for its stronger elements while not ignoring the BS in the story and the weaker combat
Additionally, I have an interesting read on the story I don't see thrown around that often: it somehow retells core ideas of the entire Kiryu saga in one small little package.
Like Yakuza 1, it's the story of a child who falls at the center of a grand yakuza conspiracy.
Like Yakuza 2, it's a story about the Tojo trying to stay afloat amidst a war between itself, the Jingweon, a Triad, and a rival yakuza organization.
Like Yakuza 3, it's a story where Kiryu becomes acquainted with a small Yakuza family in an out of the way and more rural city (Yuta and Nagamo's actors being Y3 alums as well)
Like Yakuza 4, one of its main villains a young Tojo clan upstart attempting to get to the top of the organization to fulfill his ideological goals, despite the pain it causes everybody around him
Like Yakuza 5 it's a game that ends with Kiryu knocking down a power hungry upstart who's power was given to him by his father, before eventually "dying".
A lot of these are probably just coincidence, but I think the amount of parallels helped it to feel more like a conclusion to me than past games have. Like you mentioned, even if it's not some big victory lap that sends off every beloved character, it puts a nice little bow on Kiryus story thematically, and in that way I feel it doesn't quite get enough credit.
I called Yuta being the father the second I saw him based on his face alone, when designing the baby they just babified Yuta's face model or something because it was so obvious to me from that very second.
After watching this I guess it was obvious, but when I played it I thought it would be something bigger somehow
I was literally wondering when this video would come out, what a pleasant surprise! Thanks for coming through Snake
I finished 6 this year, and the ending struck me as being confidently unsure of its own conclusion. Unsure of what the future will be without Kiryu for themselves, and to please the fans.
Since beating Yakuza:LaD, I'm confident the series will be strong no matter their direction. Since beating Gaiden's Story and going into Infinite Wealth. I'm certain the devs are confident in letting Kiryu rest w/o needing to hold up the entire series.
Moving forward with a series without its face is such a risk, but it looks to have worked out for the creators and the fans coming to love Ichiban and the energy he brings to such a long running series.
Kiryu in his raid outfit without the mask just might be my favorite costume I've ever seen him in
Oh wow, no separate parts this time? This was one helluva surprise.
Great to see your stuff in my inbox again!
I'm really happy that you started doing these playing series going over the games you play. It's honestly super fun and I can't help but keep coming back to re-watch my favorite reviews of yours. Only thing I wish is that there was like a second channel or something where you posted your in the moment of thoughts like a let's play type of deal.
Still though keep up the excellent work and I excitedly I'll wait whatever you're going to analyse next!
I stream occasionally, but my in the moment thoughts are really nothing special. Still thank you for the kind words!
I'm glad i wasn't the only one who thought Yuta was gonna die by Harukas hand. The lack of emotion on her face made me realize it's her character model that's off. Maybe they didn't put as much detail into her while being awake, so her mouth doesn't move or show any sort of movement either.
Since I left my thoughts on your Yakuza 5 and 0 videos about the games, I'll do the same here. 6 is my second least favorite of the mainline games and for much of the things you said about it, it feels distant, it feels so hollow while trying to feel so impactful and feels too contrived in some areas, however this game's ending (even if it was after a 2nd playthrough and not the first time) made me cry, I knew the ending, I knew kiryu would return , and still I wept as much as Kiryu did in 3 and Gaiden. I think it shows how much these games mean to players like me that even a weak entry still manages to invoke some powerful emotions in me, something most games can't even do. So Yeah this is one of the weaker Yakuza entries, it's still a Yakzua 6 out of 10, but it's still a Yakuza game through and through.
Also Kiwami 2's Clan creator is so much fun I was excited to play 6's and then I realized "oh right they made Kiwami 2 after 6"
Yakuza 6- easily one of the Kiryu send-offs ever. I'm also glad you're able to even push this video this year, given the difficulties it must've been to write about this game- it's even more perplexing than 4 and the rubber bullet conundrum!
Also best game in the series because Anri Okita is in it.
On the topic of the ending to the game and it's emotional pay-off, the effect on me has actually been the opposite.
It was all the scenes with Haruka, Yuta, and Kiryu's send off to them that had the most emotional impact, with the final scene of Kiryu looking over the orphanage before walking away that had me bawling, whereas the letter to Daigo and the scenes with the old guard didn't mean much to me. This is because at that point, I had only played Y0, Kiwami, then jumped straight to Y6, as those were the only Yakuza games available on the PS4 at the time. It meant I had no idea who the old guard were outside of Majima, and between Kiwami and Y6 I had enough time with Haruka to understand at least to an extent why she was important to Kiryu.
I'm not sure if this would've changed if I'd have played the games in chronological order as I think the ending hits the right notes for me on a personal level, but it would definitely make the letter to Daigo more impactful.
It is genuinely fucking funny to me that my video player stuttered and repeated a second of video when you were talking about how the pacing changed because of the licensed music that I had to go back and make sure you weren't making a point.
I absolutely love this video series, as a fairly new yakuza fan I love the bits of behind the scene details and your own interpretations of the games events. Absolutely baller
Always love hearing the explanation and analysis behind Kamurocho in each of these, the city does a great job of setting off a mood and showing the characters feelings without directly telling you most of the time.
Really looking forward to when you get to talking about it in the eventual Yakuza 7 video because even though you're there the shortest and it has the least amount of things to do there out of all the games, its portrayal really tells you a lot about what Ichiban has gone through and how he's changed throughout the story.
"Someya is pained, but a little nostalgic." I screamed when I heard that.
I'm so excited/hopeful for whenever you have the time to cover Judgment and how that game's feel is different due to the drastic shift in how much money yagami gets versus kiryu's mega millions
I know to you these types of comments are dime a dozen, but I burst out laughing at your edit of Majima into the Oil Crisis. Fantastic work.
I NEED Teh going over the deep Dragon Quest lore before or during a tangent in his Ichiban 1 video
Yakuza 8's trailer got me thinking about Yakuza again and replaying 7, which got me watching old Yakuza videos for fun, then Man Who Erased his Name came out, and now we get a new video? Yakuza fans eating good tonight
I love that you still make reference to the docks also known as THE DOCKS
There are many places to cry throughout Yakuza. Unfortunately I've failed to let myself be vulnerable enough to fully let it break but the closest I've been have been with 3 and 6. Rikiya in 3 hit harder than the extremely bitter bittersweetness of Kiryu's final departure from Morning Glory. 3 and 6 aren't my favorite as games, but they're my favorite for the stories because they're smaller and paired down. I knew the game was supposed to be Kiryu's farewell when I got to it and 7 was already out and about but because of how its framed it almost feels like its a farewell to Haruka specifically despite how pitifully absent she is from the story. I think watching Haruka grow up and how she learns and gains Kiryu's traits, including his worse one, was an aspect I accidentally caught onto and enjoyed so much when I played through Kiryu's saga. I liked Haruka a decent chunk as a character and the one thing I neglected to do with her outside of Kiwami 2 was build her trust in the post games. When I started 6 I decided I was going to do that starting with 6 and moving backwards once I finished the story just to be met with the chance never arising in 6. I fully thought 6 would just do the same non canon nonsense for 5 and just let it happen anyways but in a small way to really pin that point home Kiryu's really and truly seperated in that post game. Every post game up to that point I sunk a few single digit hours into but 6's I stepped away from faster because that small decision reallly cemented that 2016 intention. It makes Kamuroucho, and Onimichi especially, feel lonely. I still love 6's goofiness but it did give me a harsh reminder to try and keep walking forward, the way Kiryu did and the way Haruka encourages Haruto to do, despite what you'll leave behind and miss. Much like how it would've been if Kiryu was still actually gone from the series.
Damn, with the Mk II and the Castle ship the Omi have, maybe the Tojo should have gotten a big ass super illegal ship
And that golden castle
Just put Kiryu in a Gundam at that point.
@Calvin_Coolage nah mecha godzilla then he'll yakuza 0 final boss real godzilla
This Yakuza Video helped me get through a very tough shift at my new job. I appreciate these as always despite not being able to contribute much to the discussions.
i genuinely adore you dude, i can't put into words how much i love these videos
you are incredible
IKUZE! Congrats on releasing the vid! Loved all the previous ones. Gonna watch this one during the week
I always had a strong resonance towards Yakuza games, but never had the chance to play one. These videos are great, not only telling the story, but describing the gameplay, scenery, even the menus, really well. Thank you, Snake. Really hope you do the Ichiban games aswell.
Its nice that no matter the game, no matter the critical consensus, the OST always goes crazy
"Oh, where could he Hana-Bi", Speechless, fist-pumping joy.
5:19:00 As soon as she said that I started crying. I hope Majima has a nice life
Tehsnakerer has warped my consciousness so much that when ever I hear someone talk about docks in any context, I have to internally say “better known as: The Docks.”
*YAY!!* The blockbuster of the year! The thing everyone has been waiting for! I *LOVE* listening to your videos on the series! x3
Now, normally I'd be all for another video by you, especially one about Yakuza, but 6 is special in that I have yet to truly spoil myself on the overall plot of this game and I wanna keep it that way. Until I finally get around to 6, this video's staying in my "Watch Later" list. Stay creative, m8.
I always thought it was weird that Kiryu didn't kill Someya, when he pleaded for it.
I always thought he should have.
But I get it now.
That would be listening to Tsuneo and Sugai's orders. Kiryu will *NOT* do that.
He could help out, but someone he dislikes gave the orders, so he won't.
Took me quite a bit of time to find some to watch this video, but I must say this was nice. I've never played the yakuza series, but thanks to your videos I can enjoy it in it's quasi fullest.
I feel my biggest problem with 6 isn't the choices Haruka made but more how it happens. She decides to not tell anyone where she's going for no real reason, she doesn't go to someone like Daigo, Akiyama, Date or the Nakahara family. People who would have gladly helped. Akiyama and Date don't even bother trying to keep in contact or keep tabs on a young teen who is going through hell. This is egregious with Akiyama after he spend a whole game protecting her.
She however trusts Hirose despite him being shady as hell, has the bright idea to have unprotected sex with a guy whose only interaction we see with her not being uh good at all and agrees to meet someone with her baby that she already knows is shady. Its one thing to make a bad choice, but everything surrounding that choice to get to where we are at in 6 is just a mess. I loved the final choice in 5 because while it wasn't smart, it was a choice that made sense in the heat of the moment. 6 for me just doesn't do a good job dealing with the consequences, especially when we don't even learn what happened to T-Set or her producers too.
I think the big problem with Haruka is that she's sorta simultaneously absolutely integral to the plot while also not mattering at all. Not only do most of her actions not make sense for her to do as a character, but really her only relevance/influence on the plot is her emotional connection to Kiyru. She could have any number of different personality or character traits and the plot would still mostly be the same as she only matters to the plot so far as how much Kiyru cares for and wants to protect her. She's treated less like a genuine character and more like a plot device to motivate Kiyru throughout the story, which makes it harder to get emotionally invested in her story unless you've already played the previous games.
She really is just a prop in 6.
It's because the game was wrriten backwards. They had plot elements they wanted, a setting they wanted, and a time frame they wanted. Then they forced the characters to get to all those points and places in a totally hamfisted way.
They wanted to repeat plot beats from the first game with a plot central mystery child whose parent has a close connection to Kiryu, so they made Haruka do things that were out of character to get there. They wanted the game to take place in Hiroshima, so Haruka randomly ends up there with no major plot element drawing her there. They always make the game take place when the game comes out, so Kiryu has been in prison for 3 years and has not spoken to any of the children he's been raising while locked up to repeat how he had to figure everything out when he got out if jail in the first game. This is despite the wildly different life situation Kiryu has in 6. Instead of writing the plot organically, they decided where they wanted the plot to go and then totally failed to be convincing while on the way there.
It makes sense to me. Like TehSnakerer says, Haruka is channelling Kiryu's worst trait at the moment, sacrificing herself for what she sees as the benefit of others. It makes sense that she'd choose to go to a completely unknown place rather than be a burden to the people who know her. The fact that said people would be more than happy to take her in does not cross her mind at all.
Finally starting to watch this video. Can't wait for you to analyze everyone's favorite Yakuza Antagonist. Good O'l Jimmy