#and maybe even saejima karaoke ...

[dirt-str1der]

I like that tanimuras like “damn when you hit forty its just talk talk talk .. when are they gonna be done ...” and then cut to date and kiryu and theyre literally standing beside each other in silence and dates like okay gotta run and kiryus like yeah .. see you ... and they both find it a very meaningful bonding experience

[yakuzacanons]

hey! Hope you're doing well, love ur blog sm it gives me life

Wanted to ask, do you think the guys have some hobbie? Would they be more likely to introduce their hobby to their S/O or could it be the other way around (the S/O easily introducing them into a hobby)? Thanks beforehand!

OOhhh this is a fun one, sorry it took so long to get back to ya btw. Giving u a big hug. Bit of a long post so sit tight and enjoy!

Kazuma Kiryu

Is working out a hobby? Seriously though, he likes working out and fishing. Not very likely to introduce his hobby to you unless you already express interest in it but is down to try whatever hobby you have as long as it's not something too crazy like climbing Mt. Everest.

Majima Goro

Honestly, he likes singing. It doesn't even have to be public, like karaoke. A lot of the time, you'll find him coming up with his own jingle by himself, minding his own business. Definitely more easily influenced by his S/O's hobbies than the other way around.

Saejima Taiga

Generally speaking, he's an outdoorsman. Likes hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting. Would love to do a camping trip with you but only if you want. Equally likely to introduce a hobby of his to you as you might introduce one to him.

Akiyama Shun

If taking a nap was a hobby, he would say that's his favorite activity. In reality, he has no particular favorite hobby but he does spend a lot of free time doing volunteer work for the homeless. Honestly, whatever your hobby is, he's down to try since he doesn't have one of his own to really offer you.

Tanimura Masayoshi

He likes learning how to cook and bake. That or trying the newest and weirdest flavor of snack he can find. Generally a really explorative guy and will try just about anyting you suggest.

Ryuji Goda

Has a particular interest in traditional ceremonies, especially tea ceremonies. Just fond of tea brewing in general. Also has an interest in coffee brewing but that's more out of him needing caffeine in the morning than an actual love for coffee, unlike his genuine love of tea. Would never force a hobby on you. Also not likely to be influenced himself; he barely has time for the one hobby he does have.

Nishikiyama Akira

To put it simply, he likes learning about pretty things. Like expanding his knowledge of fashion and jewelry, more so in how its made or where certain fabrics come from. Also kind of interested in gemstones and minerals but can never remember all the names. It's more of a passing fancy for him, sort of like knowing random trivia or facts, so he doesn't take it too seriously.

Daigo Dojima

If he ever DOES get the time to indulge in a hobby, it's typically something artistic. He would never go so far as to say he has any talent but he's tried his hand at piano and painting. For when he doesn't have time, you'll catch him folding tiny origami cranes at his desk. Actually pretty good at doing that but he never knows what to do with them when he's done.

Mine Yoshitaka

Does a lot of kickboxing and boxing when he's by himself. Will neither try to influence you with his hobbies nor is he easily influenced by your hobbies. Mostly just lovingly and curiously watches you while you're invested in your hobbies; he's more interested in observing than participating.

Tatsuo Shinada

Is baseball too obvious for him? Even if it is, it's the truth. Most of the time, you'll catch him doing something baseball related because that's most of what he knows and it's fairly affordable. Passing interest in photography too but only just in passing.

Ichiban Kasuga

Likes riding a bike or going fishing. Going on walks is also a good option for him. More likely to be influenced by his S/O's hobbies than the other way around. Always down to try something new, for better or for worse.

Yu Nanba

He doesn't personally consider this a hobby but he's actually quite skilled at sewing! Maybe it's just a natural extension of knowing how to do stitches as a nurse. Also more likely to try a hobby because of his S/O than influence their hobbies himself.

Adachi Koichi

Likes reading true crime novels and learning about cars. He doesn't own a car himself but he likes to learn about vintage models or go to car shows if he can. Neither hobbies are particularly serious for him though and more of a passing interest. Will try just about any hobby you present to him but be warned, he can be a little clumsy.

Tianyou Zhao

He spends almost all of his down time exploring something food related. Loves to come up with his own recipes and experimenting with old recipes. Also does a fair bit of tai chi on his days off. Just be aware, if you're dating, you ARE going to be his taste tester.

Joon-Gi Han

It sounds funny but he likes to read or watch random shit for the hell of it. Watches lots of video essays and then spits out everything he learned from it like a fountain. Also really good at making little model airplanes and figurines, although he kind of forgets to clean up after himself sometimes.

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

Started Kiryu's section today and made decent progress!

All the protags have their lucky plushies now! Kiryu gets the karaoke cat because he's THE karaoke guy. And because I didn't wanna give him a repeat, a human or a monkey.

Oh? This man is ALIVE?? HOW SKDJJDKS too bad he just missed Saejima!

"Not too keen"? Oh gee, I wonder why. I'm no expert when it comes to psychology but I have in an inkling it might have something to do with HIM STABBING HER FATHER/UNCLE FIGURE IN FRONT OF HER IN COLD BLOOD. Idk, just a hunch. Kiryu, honey, I love how forgiving and kind you are, but this shit will get you killed for real one day.

Let Haruka hate and distrust the man who almost left him without an adult to watch over her again. Preaching forgiveness is beautiful and all, but I feel like there's a line to be drawn.

I would perish for Haruka. Deadass. I'd do anything for her. She better not die at any point in the games because I'll never recover.

In terms of the whole 10bil yen, destroying the Tojo and making artificial crime to make the police look good... I like it. I keep being surprised when the games have proper continuity for some reason.

Okay you know what? Fine. I will forgive you at least. You truly did turn around. RIP 🫡

HE WANTED TO BE A TEACHER? He did all this for her when he wasn't even an adult yet?? 🥺 Holy shit, Saejima just keeps climbing my faves ranking despite barely having proper screen time!! What a man. He's just so... OUGH,,,

??!! ON GOD?? HUH? Daigo what-

I'm guessing Majima is gonna be in jail for the rest of the game?? At least we got the Saejima reunion and the lore behind the eye stabbing of '85, I guess 😔

It would have been cool to have Majima in the Big Fight that's inevitably coming, but I suppose this is for the plot and because there would have been quite a few (maybe even too many) lads running around and screen time would have been cut for everyone.

My first instinct is to wanna strangle Daigo and scream at him right now. But I also remember his good character from previous games, so... I wanna hear his reasoning for this move.

Is the clan truly in such a dire state they need the help of law enforcement to get rid of a single opposing family? Good lord, how the mighty have fallen.

I feel like this is definitely a desperate attempt to keep Tojo running, but... after all Majima has done for the clan? I hope this was a difficult and painful decision for him, at least.

Munakata's information on how the Yakuza and police have been keeping peace as two different yet essential entities was fascinating.

Based on these scenes I'm betting on the final fight being Kiryu vs Munakata and a massive horde of cops. We'll see, I guess. Gonna have to find gear to help with bullets if that's the case. I hope it's not Daigo. But idk if Daigo would fight Kiryu.

[camelia-phoenix]

So I just needed a place to let my thoughts out on Infinite Wealth. It is likely going to have a bit of controversial opinions and certainly a lot of spoilers about the game itself. Or perhaps just the story.

The first thing I want to say is I am going to be honest...I do not like the new cast of characters from LAD7. While others may enjoy Ichiban and Nanba and etc etc etc and all of them as is WELL within their right to do, I hate having to slog through dealing with the Ichicrew to get to the actual character beats and characters I actually CARE about in the franchise.

I also hate that Kiryu apparently, though he LITERALLY HAS FRIENDS, its decided that oh...he'd rather pal around with people seemingly much younger than him instead of going and seeing the 3jimas or something.

Yes, he does meet them later in the game itself and they initially rebuff coming to his aid, but I honestly am flabbergasted they never came sooner aside from just. Oh big reveal and then they aren't interacting again.

Like why isn't the 3jimas with him in the hospital, why does Haruka only visit? It is baffling to me.

I'll be honest, I consider the end of the series around Yakuza 3 because that was meant to be the end of the franchise [I believe] but then they kept going and the story seemed to just get repeated...several times but in different flavors. Kiryu should have rested then...

In general, it also hurts to just see Kiryu abandoning his friends for this new blood. And I'm well aware he isn't actually abandoning them but goddamn does the writing surely make it seem that way especially with how, despite you know....the bonds of brotherhood with Saejima, the bonds of fatherhood with Daigo, and the bonds of lovers with Majima [my own opinion lol]...those three just get shafted time and time again.

And we are meant to believe that Kiryu is a good person? That he cares about the people he cares for? When he can just go 'lol bye' and dip out?

Listen, I understand that isn't what was meant to be portrayed at all but I can't help but feel that is what it is like when RGG just seems to have him come by, dip out, come by, ask favors, dip out again. One could argue hes trying to keep people safe but it doesn't work and hasn't worked...

I mainly hate him doing that to Daigo and Majima in particular. Especially Majima who does and would do anything Kiryu ever asked of him and had done so time and time again. They are just so inexplicably tied together by red strings of fate, only for Kiryu to just bounce. [Not to mention how RGG just seems to have some sort of issue with realizing just how popular Majima is but then only bring him out as DLC or you know, ways to get money all the same.]

The Kashiwagi and Kiryu scene at the bar just broke my heart too, now the playthrough I was watching, I don't know if you can go back to talk to him but just the brief like...two minute meeting and then the rest being karaoke, it just...idk man. I wish I could have seen an actual cutscene of them truly speaking with one another in private or SOMETHING. You haven't seen each other in YEARS.

Even if you wanted to play off the pretend names and all that, at least if you are alone, have that conversation. Something. ANYTHING. A crumb.

Then Kiryu going to the 3jimas to ask favors and stuff of them to help with the situation. I'm glad we learned why the fuck the Security company fell apart but if I was the 3jimas, I would be reluctant in helping too like...you constantly leave us and dip out on us and the only time you come to us is when you need something? Wtf Kiryu?

Because you know the 3jimas would welcome Kiryu with open arms if he would just commit to actually being their...idk...friend? Maybe that is why I get annoyed with that Ichicrew because...you had three other people right there that Kiryu could have been running around with but no.

I love Kiryu, deeply, but damn if the writing isn't frustrating to no end at times but well, I guess it is because he is meant to be something the player can project on even if it makes his actions so idiotic at times.

Also, I don't wanna get into the whole cancer bullshit, the ending image of Kiryu looking like a goddamn person on death's bed was heartwrenching enough. I understand that Kiryu wasn't meant to be strong forever but did the writers really have to do the cop out of getting cancer while he was trying to help that one dude? Couldn't Kiryu just grow old and go the Komaki route of training the new crew but otherwise be left alone?

And now once again the 3jima's fates are also a bit nebulously up in the air...and at this point, I just wish they would let all the OGs rest. You now have like 6-7 people for the ichicrew and gang and all of that, stop shoehorning them in for a fanservice that serves for like 5-10 minutes in a 50 hour game or what have you.

Also RGG, stop killing off characters too early...RIP Hanawa....Have you not learned yet...Or if you kill off characters, then explain why others are alive. I am looking at you Andre Richardson, where the FUCK is Mine then [Who RGG also killed off way too soon.]

Anyway, I'm sure I have more to rant about but agh.

At the end of the day, I do hope people enjoy Infinite Wealth and I think people that adore the Ichicrew will enjoy the fuck out of this game, but for me and what I was looking out for...well it was disappointing to say the least.

[kokujin-josei-simmer]

Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth

Just downloaded it and I already love it, been playing it now for about 3 days....4 maybe.

It's a massive game, lots to explore (in 3 different cities, 2 in Japan and one in Hawai'i), lots to do and I'm gonna say it now, but *MINOR SPOILER* (it was already revealed in the trailer for the game) my digital husband Kiryu is ill and I'm gonna lose it if they kill him off. I've played the series since the beginning and I know they wanna move on from Kiryu to Kasuga but I personally don't think they should kill him off 😢

Kasuga's character is popular, I think most fans know the series can continue under the LAD name without having to permanently get rid of the original star, Kiryu. Let him retire to Okinawa with his foster kids like he wanted to with occasionally cameos like Majima and Saejima, please 😭😭😭

The game is fun so far, though, and I love how big Honolulu is. So much to explore and various businesses to shop at, eat in/take out, games to play or karaoke songs to sing. Also gear to buy since you do a lot of fighting in the game. There's even an island you end up cleaning up and creating DIY projects (you have to fight, too, some pirates who have polluted the island with trash/waste so that's what you have to clean up and clear out: them and their trash) to create a 5-star resort.

I'll post more pics later because this game is just massive, I've taken plenty of screenshots (and in game photos/selfies since you have a smartphone) and I need to go through them. This is supposed to be the longest game in the series so far, I needed a break from Sims 4 (especially since they just released a big update) and I wanna play this before I end up coming across some spoilers about the end.

[todayisafridaynight]

Y5's plot is a little messy from there being five protagonists, but I feel things converged pretty well regardless of that. Even though I wish they had more time to interact with each other aaaaaa. But I did start to get a bit confused around the end of Shinada's part because I was trying to keep track of who was actually important to stuff overall. And also baseball. Trying to understand all this terminology what's going on I don't have time to learn the plot anymore, game 🙄

Gameplay? God. The moment I was starting to get used to Saejima finally I had him snatched away from me by the story. So it felt like I was relearning his moveset every time afterwards 🫠 Akiyama is so easy to fight as, but Shinada was giving me slightly similar problems to Saejima. The enemy rate encounter in the old games was insane and they should go to jail for making the decision to do that tbh. I got into nearly 200 street fights at the start of the game. And kept running into fights right after I finished one. Directly. After. I found myself not doing a lot of side stuff. I think part of it was from trying to get to certain parts I really wanted to see, and part of it was because of who knows what really... The only character's side story I did was Saejima's, and I did almost all of their substories, tho. Besides Haruka's. I can see how someone who wants to do everything would get instantly burnt out. I just didn't

Story? Why the F U CK didn't they bring up Kiryu's thoughts and feelings on Majima after he hauled ass back to Tokyo to find answers. That was the whole initial reason he was there, and the writers were like "nah. Let's not touch that with a ten foot pole but here's Kiryu threatening to end that twink Baba." He didn't even directly react to knowing he's still alive. Like, that's one of the most glaring problems I have with it. It feels like someone ignoring an elephant stomping in the room. However I have to admit I didn't care for the out of left field relationship drama Majima had in the past. It was like a huge brick was dropped on me and then am anvil

Five catches some weird heat from people who want to pretend the whole thing never happened, and those that gave up on it super easily. To each their own of course. I just don't think it's nearly that bad, personally. Four is definitely my least favorite of the bunch. Next to six

my thoughts below the cut cause this post's already long </3

unfortunately for the rest of this website, shinada's baseball scandal was easy for me to follow on account of me being a baseball lover myself. BUT yeah i can totally see how the typical player will get lost on things like 'stealing signs' and either might take too much time googling terms and rules to pay too much attention to the plot, or not bothering to do that and just proceeding with the story without fully understanding what's happening

on that note though like i said in the last post, shinada's the strongest point about this game for me: him and his co-stars are just such fun characters, and my favorite thing about shinada is that his play style reflects his i'm-just-a-guy-fghting-for-his-life character. it's incredibly rough, unrefined, and sluggish- nothing you'd expect from a regular fighter like maybe kiryu or akiyama. from purely a gameplay standpoint though i get how it could be irritating when you're shifting from characters you're familiar with who move relatively similar to. Shinada. (affectionately). especially if you weren't using weapons beforehand and now you're trying to become accustomed to them if you don't want to raw dog his gameplay

speaking of akiyama though, while i did like how he and haruka get to team up (i also think the protags shouldve had more time to hang out, if not at least invite each other to karaoke </3) his part felt so short. t'was foreshadowing for being sidelined in y6, but yk even for the three seconds we get to play with him, and despite the minor nerf done to him, i love him too much to be too upset. plus that air-combo shit's Wack

all things majima related in Y5 were weird, but park was especially. Off. for me. as an antagonist, she's great- hell, even NOT as an antagonist she's great. but it's just a weird feeling how the game wants us to sympathize with her and ignore how she's been threatening kiryu and haruka this entire time and treat her like a martyr. i dont think park's the worst charcter and most evil character ever, but that's prob a post in of itself honestly. what does make me feel weird though is her and majima's relationship- i guess it's just weird hearing about it after y0 though, but i'm not forgetting this game was made way before y0 was even conceptualized. it sucks that we don't get to know about majima's reaction to her death though, and honestly i was hoping they would get to reunite at haruka's concert: he said he wouldn't see her until he was dead, and according to every news outlet at the time he sure was dead, if you catch my cold.

back to majima though, it DOES suck how we don't get to see how kiryu reacts to majima not actually being dead. it's as you said, that's the reason why he even came back in the first place, and now that he's fine we're just going to have to assume how he felt

for me, five was alright. yakuza game plots are hardly anything to write home about (unless it's 7 tbh i love 7 sorry not sorry), so i'm not overly pressed about the plot being the way it is. besides, i cant be mad about the plot when part of the plot is 'daigo's on thirteen doses of copium so he runs away and decides to give 20 mil yen to his old classmate cause Dreams'.

the only game plot that actually does deserve a 'that's so stupid' comment from me is Y4's plot 🥴

[snuggetfish]

Karaoke with Majima

Well anon, I think we all know this would be a must for anyone Majima is close to, romantically or otherwise! But I think the karaoke date doesn't happen right away, it's more the kind of thing you both have to ease into.

Majima's a regular at the place, sure, but I think he usually goes either alone or with a big group of his boys. Singing as a pair... that's something he hasn't done much since the 80s (assuming we're talking about Majima pre-Y4/Saejima's release).

So I think that for the first few times, he'll rein the off-key screeching in a little. Not just because he doesn't want to scare you off, but also because somewhere deep inside, there's still some shyness left. It's one thing to pour out your soul to the empty four walls or to join a chorus of drunken men, but it's another to have a single person's attention all focused on you. Majima's "proper" singing voice may be far from perfect, but maybe it's time to dust it off... just for a while.

However, whether it's the first or the 100th time doing karaoke together, he always makes a point of being gentlemanly and letting you choose the songs. After all, Majima's not picky. You'd think an old fart like him would wanna stick to his expectedly old-timey tastes, but in fact he's just as comfortable with enka as he is with the fluffiest of modern kawaii rock. Try him. 👀 If you pick a duet, he might just force a role swap midway through.

Even though I don't see Majima as having a sweet tooth, I think something about the karaoke atmosphere awakens that in him. Thus, expect him to only order sugary cocktails and frosting-heavy cake slices. Singing takes a lot out of a man and he's gotta replenish his energy stores! 🍰

[marmett]

a8, a13, b2, c11, d4, d7, f9! thank you for participating!

A8: Favorite song(s)?

fave disco song: queen of passion

fave boss theme: receive and turn you

fave dance battle song: like an arabesque

fave princess league song: loneliness loop

fave main karaoke song: pride from despair

fave back up vocals karaoke song: heartbreak mermaid

A13: Favorite minigame(s)?

all the rhythm based ones! but especially disco and dance battles.

B2: What’s a scene that never fails to make you cry?

hmmmm i actually only cried a couple times during the whole series, and it was when tachibana died and when saejima gave his speech abt how bad killing is at the coliseum. not even sure why that one got me but it did sjaksjndasdjn. i see my peepaw cry and i cry too, ig.

C11: Which character has the best taste in clothing? Who has the worst?

best: i havent played y7 yet but ive seen pics of seong-hui and shes so stylish i love her purple hair.

worst: nishiki. i know, controversial maybe, but that white suit was NOT it.

D4: Which character(s) do you believe should have never existed in the first place?

lau ka long, that entire thing was soooo uncomfortable 😰he was literally just there to b a racist stereotype and u could just take him out of the game and nothing abt the plot would even change 😭 and then he had to come back in y3 too 😭😭😭

D7: Who was the least engaging protagonist?

i wouldnt say haruka isnt an engaging protagonist, but i feel like she was rlly passive and not exactly in character from what we've seen in previous games. i just think she couldve been handled better. she had a lot of interesting traits that were just,,, ignored. like the way she vocally disagrees w/ kiryu abt hamazaki, and rlly isnt a trusting person, ppl have to prove themselves to her.

shes also shown to b rlly clever and she can be assertive! she stands up to hamazaki and mine.

i feel like they just made her... too nice all the time? i wouldve liked to see her be allowed to react in negative ways to... anything. ofc im not finished w/ y5 yet but thats my take so far. haruka just wasnt written that well, and its a shame bc she is a good character, they just didnt utilize the traits she had in previous games very well and she doesnt feel like the same person.

basically what i mean is, haruka is a rlly good character, but when they made her into a protag they failed to translate any of that and she feels like a totally different person and its disappointing.

F9: What are you most likely to get arrested for?

honestly its probably just an accident, smth bonkers happens bc smth bonkers ALWAYS happen, and i end up making myself look suspicious on accident.

[kulemii]

hullo! for the rgg questions, may i ask for A13, B4, C6, D9 and F10? sorry if that's too many!!

Not at all!

A.13) Favorite minigame(s)?

Too damn many lol. Everyone's just like, 'well ya can't go wrong with karaoke' and while I agee, I've gotta admit that I really only enjoyed karaoke in y0. I don't maybe because of the Majima and Nishiki? Maybe because of the UI? Idk, all I know is y0 is the only game where I couldn't get enough of it.

All time fave though? The fucking cabaret minigames in y0 and kiwami 2. Amazing gameplay! The music???? I wannnaaaa be your girlll oohoooooo. Or, WHERE IS MYYY LOVE!!!! I CANNOT FIND TI!!!!!! BOPS! BOPS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER! The girls??!?!?!?! Every single one of them??? I fell in love! LOVED THEM! My favorite girls were from y0 tho- Ai, Yuki, Saki, Hibiki. BUT KANA IS MY FUCKING WIFE!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved her so much! I was happy to see her in the next game. Despite the retcon.

The disco minigames were a blast a well! I sucked at them but they were a good time. Love to break away from all the bloodshed and tears to go bust a groove in my local Maharaja. Fantastic fun.

Dance battles in Y5?!?!??!? THE MUSIC????!??!??!? BOPS!!!!! BOPS ALL AROUND!!!!!! Wildly entertaining!

The taxi shit was fun too and hell, I even enjoyed hunting in Saejima's part. And I know a bunch of folks aren't gonna like this one but I really liked the Live Chatting in y6. It gave me some good laughs and I liked seeing Kiryu perving out on the internet lol. Fucking sue me, idc.

B.4) Who would you like to post more about but you don’t? Why don’t you?

Majima, most definitely! I don't because I think, I've said this somewhere here before, I feel like Majima tags are oversaturated to a degree. I know the word 'oversaturated' has a seeming negative connotation but I don't necessarily mean that in an insulting way. I just feel like, everything that can be said about Majima has been said to death and no one needs my input at this point.

C.6) If you could revive any deceased character, who would it be and why?

Nishiki. Nishiki's story began in a time where the writers felt the only way to end an antagonist's story was to kill them off and I don't think that was necessary. They're fucking yakuza- send their asses to jail sometimes! Shit. Granted, Yakuza 1 didn't have a very in depth version of Nishiki. When I met Nishiki, I was playing y0, so seeing the way his relationship with Kiryu slowly crumbled killed me and so did seeing him crumble. I would have loved for him to have survived and then get to have a redemption arc. Hell, Kiryu accepted Hamazaki- I'm sure he could do the same for his childhood friend and sworn brother.

D.9) Any hot takes? (Something that might not win ya any new friends)

Answered here, my friend! Warning, it's extra spicy.

F.10) Who would be your kyodai?

Omg, I think hate this question and I'm the bitch that came up with it lol. Um, probably Nishiki. (aww shit, here we go again) I would have loved to have been the support system he needed while Kiryu was away. I really think that with the right support, the right guidance and acceptance, Nishiki's story would have turned out different. And for the better. And I don't mean this in a shippy way either. The poor guy was just a lost punk that wanted to be seen beyond his brother's shadow. I'd give my right tit, to have been that for him (no smushing, i promise).

[gremlin4goro]

Okay then please do yakuza now :P

Yayyy, time to ramble! This post does contain some spoilers throughout the series but nothing too detailed, be wary.

the first character i ever fell in love with: Majima. The first scene where he appeared on Yakuza 0, that was the moment I fell in love with him. This dude just gives 0 fucks, and that's why he fucks. Also I like me some long-haired guys, always have.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: Nishiki is the first that comes to mind. In Y0 he was young, innocent lad, maybe a bit cocky but in a good way. YK1 did him dirty. That is not the man I knew, that's some nasty fuck that looks like Nishiki.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Majima/Sagawa. Not OTP but I read it quite a lot, mostly 'cause there was this one author who did it pretty well. But now that I've started re-playing Y0, I just can't look past just how much of a jerk he is to Majima.

my ultimate favorite character™: I think this one should be clear by now. Obviously it's Majima (this also includes Goromi).

prettiest character: Goromi, hands down. Seong-Hui deserves a mention. Oooh and Joon-Gi Han. Zhao's not pretty but he's very sexy in a slimy rat kinda way.

my most hated character: Shimano and sorta Sagawa as well because don't treat my baby boy (who's twice as old as me) like that!! Also Mirei could've been written into story sooo much better, she kinda felt, well not irrelevant but... very meh.

my OTP: Kazumaji.

my NOTP: Just like the last time I replied to this, I'll say anything involving Haruka. She's just a baby. Since she's older than Nanako I could give a pass to some cuddly fics with boy around her age but other than that, no. (I know she's older in later games but to me she'll always be a baby.)

favorite episode: Not appliciable so I'll say karaoke.

saddest death: Yakuza 3, where the young fella gets shot at the beach. Spoiler in case you didn't catch that: Rikiya. Oh yeah and Yakuza 7 ending!!!

favorite season game: Yakuza 0. My first game of the series and I just love it so much.

least favorite season game: I mean I do love them all but if I had to pick one I guess it'd be Y5? The plot is a mess and I didn't understand half of it even after my bf explained it to me.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: Again, not hate, but I never understood the hype around Daigo. To me he's just meh.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Majima! Literally piece of trash. To some extent Ichiban as well.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Kaoru deserves bigger role in the games. I wanted to see more of her. Also Kiryu. His life's been a rollercoaster of shitstorms, just give him a rest will you?! Or at least a therapy session or ten.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Okay remember how I said Majima/Sagawa is gross? Slap in Nishitani and it gets so much better.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Majima/Saejima. I read it every now and then but never gotten around to create anything about it myself (yet). Also Kiryu/Kaoru and Majima/Makoto. I don't read that but I liked how those ships got presented in the games.

[tinycartridge]

Time Enough at Last for Yakuza 5 ⊟

The Yakuza Remastered Collection completed its time-release trilogy last month, with a relocalized PS4 release of Yakuza 5. Upon completing my download, I wondered how I would ever find time for this monstrous, expansive game, with its seemingly infinite variety of distractions, all worthy of exploration.

The Monkey’s Paw curled a finger. Sorry, everybody.

Yakuza 5 is not the best Yakuza game in terms of storytelling or tone. That is, of course, Yakuza 0. Where that prequel is at all times outrageous, Yakuza 5 makes more of an attempt to be straight-faced and serious even when it shouldn’t be. And honestly, it shouldn’t try at all, since it’s got some of the silliest stuff in the series. Ever wanted to have Kiryu try his hand at ramen cookery? I hadn’t either until I did it. 

But where Yakuza 5 excels, and why I put it at the top of this Polygon list, is in the volume of content. And right now, for those of you stuck at home, plans canceled, that’s a boon.

Yakuza 5 has five different playable characters across five cities -- approximately five more cities than I’m seeing at any time this week. Each city has shops, restaurants, and plenty of other things to do, like two different styles of fishing, photography, karaoke, uh, snowball fights, idol dance-offs... taxi driving... taxi racing... Each city also has local foods described lovingly in menu text. Restaurants are something else I’m experiencing only virtually right now.

When I played this back on PS3, I spent who knows how many hours doing all the stuff I thought I wanted to. This time, I realized there were whole minigames I never bothered with, each representing hours of gameplay. For example, Saejima can go hunting in the mountains, gathering meat to survive and occasionally running from a giant bear. (Of course you get in a fistfight with the giant bear. You knew.) I’m not interested in hunting, so I passed this bit up. This time, I decided to check it out, and while I still don’t like hunting, this minigame is a really neat experience! It’s part survival, part shooting, part resource management, part bears.

I don’t know if I’d recommend Yakuza 5 as an entry point. Kiryu is pretty beaten down and world-weary by this point, and the context as to why and how makes more sense of why he’s hiding out as a suspiciously barrel-chested, sad taxi driver. But the storyline isn’t so important, and any of the three games in the Remastered Collection would be a worthwhile use of your quarantine time. Even better, play all of them.

But while they’re all great, Yakuza 5 is by far the most Yakuza, in the most unnecessary, jam-packed ways. I still love this game for its ambition, for just how many fences it swings for. And now is the right time to get lost in some virtual cities. 

Maybe don’t track down an old copy of Dead Souls right now, though. You know, the one about a walled-off city facing a zombie disease. Maybe it’s not the right time for that one.

JOIN CLUB TINY AND OUR DISCORD Support Tiny Cartridge!

[yakuzacanons]

A little night goblin ask, ya know, for the boys 👀 how would they be with an s/o who is a major and I mean, MAJOR night owl? Maybe borderline insomniac? It's not from anything traumatic (or so they think) but hey, what's the deal?

(pls +thank oh gracious god)

As someone who is awake at almost 5 AM as in hasn't gone to bed yet, I FEEL THIS and yes I can. It won't be caused by anything dramatic, they just be up late. Maybe they gamin, who knows. Headcanons below da cut, mwah. Last one for today, goog nite.

Kazuma Kiryu

He's a morning guy so he tries to get to bed at a reasonable time. At first, he would be concerned for your health and wonder if something is wrong. Once he realizes you are just like THAT, he'll more or less return to normal but it'll take some getting used to for him. You might accidentally wake him up in the middle of the night if you're too noisy and that might startle him at first.

Majima Goro

ALSO a total night owl and will only encourage your bad habits. Total enabler and will use it as an excuse to spend time with you, saying things like "Well, since we're both up, may as well do somethin'!". Once he finds out you stay up late, he will take you out on at least ONE all night bender so watch out.

Akiyama Shun

This chronically sleepy dumb dumb cannot understand how you possibly stay up so late. The man doesn't go 5 hours without taking a nap so he'll totally sit up, yawn and stretch before saying "Ah, you're still up?" before getting up to do whatever he was about to do. You'll likely still be awake when he comes back for his next nap, to which he'll say "You're STILL up?! How??". Honestly he's just fascinated.

Saejima Taiga

He's not a night owl but he can be prone to the occassional night where he can't fall asleep, in which case he will simply join you in whatever you're doing. In these cases, he loves nothing more than to just drink some tea and read a book next to you in silence until the both of you get tired enough to go to sleep. Otherwise, he's unphased and just tells you to make sure you remember to turn off the lights whenever you're done.

Tanimura Masayoshi

Also a night owl but not by choice as sometimes it's just because he's getting dragged into work. In these times, he'll keep you company from afar by checking in on you via text or even dropping a quick phone call if he can. However, if it's an off day, he'll definitely be snoozing. If he's super tired, you being up won't disturb him at all but if it does manage to wake him up, he kind of wakes up as if he was startled by a weird dream and just goes "Huh??"

Ryuji Goda

He doesn't know the meaning of a sleep schedule and just sleeps whenever he feels tired. This means he's sometimes just up with you and sometimes he's in his bed spread out like a starfish going honk schnoo. When he does stay up with you, he usually asks what you want to do. He would definitely ask you what's up the first time he realizes you've stayed up super late but he won't act like something's wrong with you as he trusts you to sleep when you need to like he does.

Nishikiyama Akira

He has a pretty average sleep schedule. Typically, he'll only be up late if he's had a couple drinks too many or by losing track of time at karaoke, in which case you're probably doing the same with him. At home, he's a relatively light sleeper, so if you make a noise that wakes him, he'll kind of roll over and sleepily ask what you're doing without so much as opening his eyes while his blanket is pulled up to his chin.

Mine Yoshitaka

Probably the only one of the boys who's got your insomnia thing beat. Who knows if Mine ever actually sleeps fully, he honestly just naps strategically. Like Akiyama but with a plan this time. You'll find him resting intermittently through the day and night at specific times. If he happens to be awake at the same time as you, he kind of just goes about his business as this was already normal for him. He'll take the time to talk to you and see what you're up to though. Otherwise, Mine is just puttering about his day or night depending on what time it is.

Daigo Dojima

This poor boy is so sleepy exhausted. Running the Tojo Clan is difficult difficult lemon difficult. Doesn't really mind that you're a night owl though as it would take an earthquake or a Tojo Clan emergency to wake him up. Secretly loves falling asleep with his head in your lap while you read a book or tell him about your day. No matter how tired he is, he always manages to wake up before you do. You might stay up later than him but you somehow always get more sleep than he does.

Shinada Tatsuo

This man doesn't know what a schedule is, period. He can barely keep his job together so he just gets sleep when he can. You might catch him bolting upright in bed at 11 PM before he shouts "Ah I forgot to turn that in!" before he hasilty throws on his clothes and shoes before running out the door. Other times, he'll be conked out by 5 PM. It doesn't matter how long he's known you, he'll always be kind of impressed by how late you stay up, although you insist to him that it's really not an impressive thing. Always tells you to make sure you get enough sleep whenever you do decide to go to bed.

[mjm56-a]

FUCK IT, IM TALKING ABOUT THE TAKOYAKI SCENE.     been unsure if i wanted to talk about it for a while considering how short the actual scene is but it makes me feel so much and impacted majima to such a degree that if i didnt talk about it, id feel like a straight up fraud. this post also kinda expands on maji’s feelings towards makoto to a certain extent.

the takoyaki scene. where i do i even BEGIN, especially knowing how makoto and majima end up in the end. the instrumental piano in the background, the actual warmness of the atmosphere, and the genuine gratefulness and visible love makoto felt for majima just tears at my heart. the circumstances around their current situation and the overall softness and adoration for each other juxapose in such a way that it really did take me a moment my first playthrough of the game to take in what had just happened. yes, it was obvious from the beginning of makotos introduction that she would be playing the love interest trope this entire game, and to be honest, i wish there was more to her character more than just being the character with a tragic backstory that needs constant protection and to serve as the romantic interest of one of the main characters. but even then, given with how reluctant majima is this entire scene and how much mutual tension there is between them, it still impacted me AND majima incredibly.

majima truly thinks that he’s a horrible man. of course he would, given all that he’s done and what he knows he will do in the future. he isn’t a keeper, nor a gentleman, it’s all part of the role he was forced to play by his imprisonment, a persona he knew he would drop once his debts were paid. his quick utterance of “yeah, right” and a shift of the eyes away from the woman almost did make him feel like a deer in the headlights. it’s almost as if he’s afraid of admitting how much he really DID care about makoto. he’s been so vulnerable already emotionally, especially in regards to her, and to think that he’d want to show this at all would be like shooting himself in the foot. he’d already been entangled in the tojo clan’s mess and makoto was already a target for her ownership of the vacant lot. it would of been stupid of him to show interest in her, but he already was aware at this point that his entire involvement was all a part of shimano’s manipulation, part of his play to keep makoto alive and to use majima as some kind of proxy through emotional attachment. talking about shimano almost makes me want to write a whole-ass novel about how much of a piece of shit he was for not only what he did to majima, but also what he did to nishikiyama in kiwami, but not today. maybe one day though.

its obvious that majimas efforts aren’t worth it, given how he pretty much ‘snaps’ into that mad dog-esque rage at first with the three punks that beat him up, and then at tojo hq. he really does care for makoto, so much so that he let her go to pursue her own happiness without him for the sake of her safety (i know i’ve talked about this before, but he knows well enough that wanting to pursue anything romantic or close with her would be incredibly selfish of him; it would bite him in the ass and makoto would be a casualty of that. the last thing he wants to do is hurt her and this is evident through his entire escapade with makoto). he isn’t a keeper, nor a gentleman. and he doesn’t deserve to be seen as such, as shown by his quick defense of just begging the woman cooking their food, “less talk, more cookin’, lady!” with a worried expression.

but boy, makoto’s interjection of “he’s a keeper.” and the surprise, no, shock that majima shows. with their previous interaction on the rooftop, i would of been surprised as well.

“he’s been through terrible things for my sake, yet he’s still trying to help me. if not for him, i’d never have made it this far.”

it’s true: the amount that majima had done to keep her safe, risking his own life on multiple occassions for her sake is astronomical. as fuzzy as this morality is in the later games once he takes on his persona, majima can be quite reckless when it comes to protecting those he cares about. well, yeah, at first he felt like protecting her was out of obligation; her murder would of just been an act in selfishness of the corruption of the yakzua, in his eye. she wouldn’t of deserved what had happened to her, nor does she deserve the current hardships that she’s been forcibly put through by mere circumstance. the only way sagawa knew that majima would take the job instead of slaving away once more at the cabaret grand would be to make up some story about makoto being the leader of a trafficking ring in order to butter majima up into feeling better about killing her. her entire predicament is tragic and majima is well aware of this, but even if she wasn’t already a victim, he would of still felt obligated to keep her safe and not do any harm to her. he doesn’t believe in the slaughter of innocents; he’s made it very clear that he’d only murder those who are truly evil or deserved it, e.g. lao gui and dojima sohei, and he would of murdered them if it weren’t for sera to step in and bring majima down from his violent high.

it isn’t just the premise of this scene that makes me go absolutely batshit. he’s so soft and gentle for her. it really does hammer in home the bittersweet ending they got both in y0 and in kiwami 2 when they parted ways permanently, makoto still not knowing majima’s name after all of these years. never has majima cared for a person to this extent, excluding saejima, which i DO plan on writing something about them in the future. i could go into depth about why i dislike majima’s k2 karaoke song “shiawase nara ii ya” to an extent, as i don’t feel like the song was for majima (because if it was, saejima would of been included somewhere in those cutscenes; it wouldn’t make sense for him not to be) and more as a fanservice-callback to y0 without any real reason other than to hammer in makotos reappearance, but i won’t.

anyways, there’s just something about this scene that makes me both awestruck and emotional, knowing how majima ends up. makotos final words regarding majima in y0, “his eye was so sad”. yeah. it was.

[thathomestar]

Yakuza 6 beaten! This game is mechanically rough but the story is good. An interesting sendoff for Kiryu’s final adventure, to say the least.

Putting this under a read more because it got kinda long sorry

I’ve already talked at length about the combat mechanics and how I’m not a fan, but I’ll sum up my thoughts here a little more succinctly. Kiryu’s old Dragon of Dojima style he’s had for like 6 games now is replaced with this weirdo clunky fighting style that’s really slow. It gets better when you get the speed upgrades, but Yakuza 0 has this game beat by a long shot. The enemies, at least on Hard difficulty, love to swarm you all at once and all attack at once, making large group fights a real pain. The combat is at it’s best when you’re one-on-one with a boss, but previous games have done it better.

The introduction of Extreme Heat Mode is an interesting decision, but ultimately I feel it’s a misstep. A large amount of heat actions being locked behind a limited-duration ability is odd, and you can’t do your standard combos while in Extreme Heat Mode either, as your standard rush combo becomes essentially a Dempsy Roll. Not to mention, activating Extreme Heat takes a solid 2 seconds, which means setting up for specific heat actions is much more difficult. You’re still susceptible to flinch from enemy attacks while in Extreme Heat Mode, so wailing on your opponents isn’t feasible. The best method for crowd control is to grab and throw, or use Finishing Holds.

How you level up is also completely new. Gone are the Mind, Body, and Technique categories, gone are the sphere grids and multiple styles. There are now five aspects that you can earn XP points for: Strength, Agility, Spirit, Knowledge, and Charm. Just about everything gives you XP now. Fighting, eating, going to the RIZAP gym in Kamurocho, completing substories, filling out the completion menu, etc. Earn enough of these, and you can either level up your core abilities (health, attack, defense, evasion, heat) or choose to purchase skills, whether it’s new attack moves or augmenting your heat.

I don’t mind this new system, except for one thing: knowledge. There is no good way to get XP for knowledge outside of eating food (you don’t earn it from fights, and typically don’t get much of it as a reward for side activities), so you will be stuffing Kiryu full to the brim every single chance you get just to scrape together some knowledge XP. However, Kiryu now has a stomach capacity meter now. Eat too much, and you can’t earn XP from the food you eat. Being full or hungry doesn’t affect Kiryu outside of this though, thankfully, but it’s rather annoying. You quickly find out which restaurants are worth eating at for knowledge XP and ignore the rest.

Enough about the gameplay then. The story is pretty damn good. It’s like if Yakuza 5 was actually cohesive and paced well, lots of new characters and good drama. The stakes are probably the highest they’ve been for a Yakuza game, which I know sounds ridiculous considering the kinds of things Kiryu ends up getting sucked into, but it’s the truth. There’s a few older characters like Daigo, Majima, and Saejima that make what amount to cameo appearances, and they are quickly shuffled out of frame to make way for the new cast. I love all the new characters. The Hiroshima newcomers take some warming up to but they come into their own by the time the story concludes.

Side stuff this time is a mixed bag. New engine, new minigames. The railgun spearfishing game where you genocide fish was my favorite, the baseball management game not so much. Karaoke has finally gotten a much needed overhaul, making rhythms not a guessing game. All of the classic Sega arcade games from Yakuza 0 are brought over, as well as Puyo Puyo and a full arcade-perfect port of Virtua Fighter 5. I am fucking awful at Puyo Puyo. The batting cage game is a bit different now too, it’s more like how Shinada’s batting minigame was from Yakuza 5. Darts and Mahjong have also returned. Woo. I ignored hostess clubs as I always do.

The camgirl game is amusing on your first go but it’s be boring to play it over and over just to view all the different branching scenes, unless you’re into that sort of thing I guess. Substories are now all fully voice acted, to my surprise. There’s 52 in total, which is less than usual, but given how each one has a lot more time and effort spent on it makes up for it a bit. Unfortunately, some of them are tied behind stuff like the baseball management game, like the ability to be a regular at a hole-in-the-wall pub. Also, I don’t know if there’s anything else to the Cat Cafe thing if you actually find all the cats, because I didn’t bother.

The Clan Creator is the big new side activity for Yakuza 6, and it’s... kinda boring. The little story thread is that this bigass gang (led by New Japan Pro Wrestling members for some reason) is causing a lot of trouble, so Kiryu and some kids he meets up with form the Kiryu Clan to stop them. You recruit leaders to your ranks and slot them into a hierarchy, then set off on missions. It plays like a bare-bones RTS game where you send out troops, up to 6 of your leaders and your pick of generic gang members who specialize in different things (some are tanky brutes who can soak up damage but are slow, some stay back and shoot guns, some chuck grenades, etc). You send your gang up or down a street and have them duke it out with the enemy gang, occasionally using your leaders’ abilities to help turn the tide in your favor.

Unfortunately, it’s not exactly that difficult or that fun. I did use a code or two to unlock OP leaders (like Daigo with his ability to refresh your reinforcement pool), so maybe that’s why, but it was always a steamroll until the very last battle. Hell, I didn’t even have Daigo for a while and I was still cruising through it. But you’re encouraged to find and use codes, so I dunno. The little storyline was kinda boring outside of the goofy wrestling personas doing their goofy things.

I guess I oughta wrap this up. Overall, I still enjoyed Yakuza 6. But literally every time I was in combat, I was thinking about how much more fun Yakuza 0 or even Yakuza 5 was. The story is great, I loved the characters, but it’s brought down by the rough mechanics of this new engine and fighting style. I hope for Shin RGG they really polish its mechanics. I would not recommend this as a first Yakuza experience, but I think I would recommend it for people who have beaten 0 and Kiwami.

God I wish they port the PS3 games to PS4 WELL HEY

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

for the kiss meme: 6 or 7?

You did say I could go for anything. ^_^ And I’ve had Yakuza on the brain for months now, so…Goromi/Saejima it is.

6. Tipsy kiss

They have a little bit of extra money to do something fun, and Yasuko insisted on karaoke. Not that they’d argued with her. Saejima had been thinking maybe bowling would be nice, because he liked that there was at least one game he could always beat Majima at, but as soon as Yasuko had sighed wistfully and said that she wanted to do some singing, well, of course he’d agreed. Majima had just stared into space for a moment before saying, “If we’re singin’ then I gotta go change,” and Yasuko had clapped her hands excitedly, and then it’d taken another forty-five minutes of getting ready before they’d actually been able to head out.

Saejima eyed them dubiously. “Yasuko, ain’t that skirt a little short on you?”

“I am eighteen, I’m allowed to wear a short skirt if I want to.”

“Yeah, well…I’m your brother, if any guy tries gettin’ creepy at you I gotta break his nose.”

“Nobody’s going to be creepy at me, Taiga. Besides, it’ll be fine, I’ll have you and Goromi to protect me.”

Goromi’s skirt is, if anything, even shorter. It’s distracting. She and Yasuko are holding hands like schoolgirls, though, which is fucking adorable, and she’s got a tiny little purse that she opens up briefly to reveal…a switchblade. Of course. “We’ll both keep an eye out for her, Taiga-chan, now let’s go.”

They only let Yasuko have one drink, because she’s still not in great health and maybe Saejima’s a little overprotective. She doesn’t complain too much, though, which is great, because karaoke always makes Goromi thirsty, and she’s enough of a handful already.

After one duet with Yasuko and one song by herself–both received with enthusiasm by the other people at the bar–Goromi knocks back a couple of drinks and just sits down in Saejima’s lap and says, “You oughtta sing.”

Saejima stares fixedly into the distance. If he actually looks at her he’ll agree. “Goromi-chan, I ain’t a good singer.”

“How the fuck does that matter?” She kisses him on the cheek, smelling pleasantly of perfume and whiskey. Yasuko giggles. “Sing!”

“I come here for you two, why do I have to sing?”

“Because the prettiest girl you know’s askin’ you to?”

“She’s right, you know.” Yasuko sips her water and grins. “You can’t just not sing when your girlfriend asks you to.”

“This ain’t fair, you’re gangin’ up on me.” Saejima makes the mistake of looking down for a moment.

Goromi flutters her eyelashes, kisses him again, and murmurs, “Come on, you know I like hearin’ you sing.”

Saejima stares at her for a moment and then says, “Fuck,” and goes to pick a song.