#and yet I'm still not done Yakuza 0 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fabiansociety · 7 months

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i started playing yakuza 0 in August last year, and I've been playing my way through the entire series ever since. it's been a wild ride — a lot of nonsense plot has flowed through and out of my brain, a lot of janky combat, a massive amount of characters i've come to love, and hundreds of warmly empathetic substories that have pressed themselves into my brain. it feels like i've crammed an entire found family into my life, speedrunning through decades of character growth, major triumphs and minor failures. what it all means, in retrospect, i couldn't quite say. the series hasn't had a consistent point of view, except for an increasing melancholy of how life's narrative opportunities narrow with age and poor decisions, of the ways that childhood trauma lives with us forever, the ways that young men are brutalized into something useful for the powerful men at the top—but that's all a shadow passing over the true landscapes of the games, the long period hanging out in arcades or pool halls or drinking in a favorite bar, or singing karaoke alone or with someone. of watching kamurocho and sotenbori shift with the years, of the new cities we've visited and the food we've eaten. i remember the takoyaki place on the corner that got replaced with a gelateria much more than i remember any of the yakuza heavies that have driven the plots of these games, and that may actually be the point?

it's so weird to not have another yakuza game to immediately start playing. i've gotten so used to opening the next game as soon as i finish the previous one that it feels wrong to just be… done, for now? like, what am i to do with myself now? these games have been such a major part of my leisure time this last year. i've still got Ishin, but that's not really the same thing. the faces will be familiar, but the people will be strangers.

it feels right that the man who erased his name was the only one of these that i've actually 100% completed, from achievements to in-game trackers. they've lowered the bar for completion substantially with this latest game, and frankly it feels like an act of grace for people who have played through the entire series. i'm never going to get good at virtua fighter 2, no matter how many times it shows up, so it's nice to not have to get good at everything in order to round everything out. i've already taught myself mahjong for this series, is that not enough? LADG says, yes, it's okay, you've done enough, and i appreciate that tremendously, here at the end of this loooong road.

i spent *50 solid days* this last year doing nothing except playing yakuza games, that's ridiculous. i read every single nero wolfe book in significantly less time than that! this is the problem with doing this sort of run-the-board project for a video game series, it just takes so long to get even a basically thorough experience. running through the entire MCU, including all the D+, Netflix, Hulu, Freeform, and ABC shows, only takes 424 hours, by comparison. you could watch all of it in less time than in took me to get from Y0 to Y4. i read all the nero wolfe books a couple of years back, and i was ripping through those at a book a night. video games are massively more decompressed as a medium, which makes them much harder to approach. i've loved doing this, and really valued the experience, but how do i even begin to recommend someone approach this, when so much of the specific pleasure i get is from seeing these characters and locations grow and change over time? how do you even begin to read a work of that scope? what is even meaningful out of that time to convey to another person? and yet it is meaningful, having lived through it, in the way living in another city is meaningful. i can tell you what i did there, and the important things that happened to me, but the only way to really get it is to move there yourself, and that's a lot to ask of someone.

stats under the cut, if you're curious about just how much time i've spent on each individual game

yakuza 0: 115:45 started 8/10/22, completed 9/7/22

yakuza kiwami: 66:24 started 9/9/22, completed 10/10/22

yakuza kiwami 2: 73:20 started 10/10/22, completed 10/30/22

the majima saga: 2:49 started 10/18/22, completed 10/26/22

yakuza 3: 103:20 started 10/31/22, completed 2/20/23 (with a break from november to february)

yakuza 4: 124:14 started 2/20/23, completed 3/17/23

yakuza 5: 168:17 started 3/18/23, completed 4/27/23

yakuza 6: 76:05 started 4/30/23, completed 5/20/23

judgment: 114:29 started 5/22/23, completed 7/16/23

yakuza like a dragon: 131:31 started 7/16/23, completed 9/2/23

lost judgment: 131:10 (shocking how close this is to YLAD) started 9/17/23, completed 11/4/23

the kaito files: 12:59 started 11/5/23, completed 11/10/23

the man who erased his name: 75:17 started 11/11/23, completed 11/27/23

total time, across the entire series: 1195:40

i benchmarked these against the completionist starts on HowLongToBeat, and i was actually under par that way until about yakuza 4, when my times suddenly got much longer than estimated. what changed? mahjong. i learned how to play mahjong, and that was great (mahjong rules), but it's added dozens of hours to my games, easily, and even with that LADG is the only one of the games where i managed to complete the in-game mahjong objectives. y4 has four separate tournaments you can climb your way to the top of, one for each main character, and i never even got close, but i spent a lot of time trying!

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peemanne · 6 months

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I already talked a little about it on my Twitter, but MAN. I need to gush about this theme everywhere and anytime I can. This feels like a culmination of all of Kiryu's street battle themes throughout the years, and I am ALL for it. The sheer roughness and ferocity from the original 2 games. The unintelligible- and yet, amazingly hard-hitting English lyrics from Yakuza 3 and 4. The heaviness of the guitars from the Yakuza 5 and 6. Hell, the bits of techno sprinkled in from Yakuza 0's tracks. I've had this damn track on loop ever since I got the game a week ago. It honestly only gets better the more I listen to it. You combine this with a more refined, yet still unapologetically BRUTAL version of the Dragon Engine Kiryu style, and you've got yourself one of the best random encounter tracks RGG's ever made.

I'm so, so happy this rounds out the sort of trilogy of "Kiryu tracks where he's so done with everything". Yakuza 5's Isolated Fight, then Yakuza 6's KAMURO again, and finally this track. Thank you so much RGG for this year's album drop that also happens to come with a free game

#rgg #ryu ga gotoku #yakuza #like a dragon #like a dragon gaiden #lad gaiden #Youtube

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datastate · 9 months

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current tierlist! all in relation to one another. i'm still working on the more detailed reviews for each & i'm very sleepy atm, but here's the gist:

S TIER - YAKUZA 0:

the story was well done! i really loved each character and how everything came together by the end. it was really impressive how they managed to foreshadow so much within the first chapter, only ever expanding off of what was already introduced. even as the story continued, there still left enough doubt in each player's mind to wonder if there's another factor/motivation they haven't yet found out, really putting them in the place of each protagonist. the game did well with handling two protagonists, and the culmination of their overlapping arcs was very interesting to see - even if it was something the player already assumed, it wasn't frustrating seeing the characters in the moment not realize its true importance... you looked forward to seeing how it'd be revealed to them. as this prequel was made in retrospect, i understand there are some characters/systems they cannot carry over due to the limitations of the first few games without creating inconsistencies. however, my main critique was a narrative choice toward the end which was needlessly tragic. more salt in an already-existing wound, when this incident could very well have been pushed off - especially with pre-existing chronic conditions the character in question had, and the fact this moment was precisely what had been driving the entire story. i am not particularly disappointed with how it ended, but i do feel that there was much more that could've been done before jumping to the next act. it was admittedly disappointing, and something i preemptively feared the story would do. while i enjoy dark/emotional topics, this felt like a senseless, unsatisfactory narrative choice that could've been easily avoided or explained away. however, with the story choice they took, i appreciate their confidence in how they used this to wrap up the story. overall very good! characters were definitely its strong suit and they created a lot of interesting dynamics.

A TIER - YAKUZA 3:

again, characters were the main draw of this one!! i enjoyed the mystery of the first arc, and how the tension steadily built as we finally got to see the effects of yakuza on civilian life. it was nice seeing how characters took yakuza loyalty to heart - even to the point of doing the horrible things they ended up doing, against the wishes of the very one they're devoted to, if it's for their 'health' ... that sort of dynamic is always interesting to me. i liked seeing another aspect of kiryu's compassion here, and i'm always a fan of older mentor figures giving advice to younger ones who look up to them. with the nakahara family as well as those within the orphanage, i feel it did a wonderful job establishing kiryu's experience & his new goals outside of the yakuza. it's very nice seeing him settled down and feeling so much more joyous/thankful - especially with everything else he's already gone through, it feels like. a well-deserved break, and it's nice seeing him fight for something that isn't necessarily what the tojo clan asks of him, but something he personally chose. it just happened to fall in line with the tojo's priorities, meaning he's of use... my main gripe with this game, despite how much i enjoyed it, was the ending & how the yakuza games treat disabilities as temporary (makoto & saki). but i will mainly focus on the ending for now: it was very cheap to kill someone as soon as they came to the realization of how much harm they've done. i will not dig into every last detail here, but i feel as if it would've added much more to keep this character around for a longer amount of time to grow as a person and possibly fuel further (eventual) internal conflict for the clan if the chairman recognized points of contention. we have seen how ruthless this antagonist can be, and letting them return to the clan with a new perspective in mind could've really improved making the games feel connected & create natural conflict for future games considering what we already know about this character & the lengths they can go to.

C TIER - YAKUZA 2:

interesting concept, poor execution... it wasn't necessarily terrible, but the characters weren't as compelling as they could've been to make me care for furthering the story, and i had been stuck with knowing (some of) the twists from the earliest chapters, where... this story definitely relied heavily on the air of mystery over all else. you can definitely tell y0 was made after a few of these yakuza games with how they've improved their storytelling, because this just. did not live up to its potential. i liked the remaining dojimas & it was fascinating seeing kiryu realize how wrong he's been due to his trust of people, but still choosing to accept the responsibility of what comes with more caution rather than giving up entirely. majima was a treat here, & i did enjoy seeing his story through. he really is a man of extremes when it comes to that malicious compliance, and i really did enjoy how he naturally tied into this + his assumptions were justified due to previous experience being manipulated by people within the omi alliance. the recontextualization of y0 made this match up very well i always like seeing moments where he's more perceptive than he usually lets on. (& this may just be me, but the mafia they were against felt a bit. more like caricatures than people with a drive/resolve to thrive against hardship - partially because we weren't even given reason why they chose to form here, or how the yakuza previously wronged them to make them charge so heavily. especially after the treatment of other asian countries in y0, even if they were foreign mafia, this gave me a lot of whiplash...)

D TIER - YAKUZA 1: cw for spoilers & brief reference of sexual assault

not in F because we meet haruka... but everything else really does feel a bit cliche and the descent of [main antagonist] just made me feel like this

corruption arcs can be really good! i usually really love reading up on them, but... this particular one felt very forced. i feel like there was more that could've been done to prove how the remaining yakuza were pushing nishiki's paranoia over what kiryu would do once he left, pushing him to doubt kiryu (despite him. going to jail for him), and if there was more given over how he became possessive and demanding over time, eventually culminating in another impulsive murder where he realizes... he can't go back, and then loses those morals entirely if only to keep himself & yumi safe, damn whoever gets in the way, then. it'd work much better because he's now become someone who he would've once considered worthy of death, as dojima's possessiveness was, but he's more 'righteous' now. there was some pushing from others for him to be better, some shows of manipulation, but never quite enough specifically centered around kiryu as to 'prove' he couldn't trust him. i also feel that jingu was a very. poor replacement. this sounds. horrible, but i believe yumi's disconnect with haruka would've been better off if haruka was dojima's daughter. this would also contribute to why she visited her under an alias, as well as the idea that kazama & yumi felt the need to hide haruka from tojo/nishiki, for fear of his reaction. as yumi begins to recognize nishiki's becoming more of a lone conspirator, maybe if she's again been put in harm's way under threat for the nishikyama family, that's when she abandons him for a safer life with kazama's help. but because nishiki's had to take up kiryu's mantle, prove he's much more than kiryu could've been, he can't follow yumi into a peaceful life and resents her for that as well. for abandoning him, too, and instead going to kiryu who took the fall for both of them. kiryu just always has to be better, doesn't he? & that's also why nishiki ends up surveying kiryu as soon as he leaves, because he's searching for yumi through him because. even in the end, they're inseparable. and kiryu hasn't changed in the least: he still wants to trust both of them, as deceitful as they've become. (though both disallow people to be close to them anymore; yumi's is more for safety, nishiki's is because he's. lost & is actively destroying his support system lol) maybe, nishiki works with jingu's information network to try to find yumi again, not realizing that jingu would accept this because he'd also realized the tojo clan was suffering after being stolen from - he didn't know this guy knew that, meaning he was putting yumi in more danger when he gave him the money for his silent search. yumi stole the money for when nishiki's finally disposed of (he's painted a target on his back, begun to brute force things as kiryu had), so she can send haruka somewhere safer (if kiryu's still out of the life, then with him; even sera would be a better choice considering how calculating he can be & carefully hide her w people loyal to him alone), etc. etc. there are still ways to tie him into this and be so selfish, but. honestly, i feel like his corruption arc is a bit more nonsensical than nishiki's already. nishiki's constantly in an incredibly stressful environment and lured in by greed/praise/allure of safety, but jingu had. solely wanted money. no other factor. if he went into the business looking for money, he'd stay looking for money... nothing out of the ordinary there, is it. we already have nishiki betraying the people he loves, we don't need this business man out here too. but. to do all that, it requires upheaving most of the story. and it is not the game we get, sadly. so here it remains.

#jestersvaguely #ykza tag #put cws for the last one but the rest are relatively spoiler free & in-line w typical violence

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angrybatart · 1 year

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Wishing everyone a merry Christmas and/or happy holidays! I've yet to wrap presents, but am otherwise ready for the holidays.

Sorry for the sudden lack in art. I guess Drawcember really wore me out. (Tired of doodling, tired of holiday art, etc.) So I'm just going to take a little break and....say I'm done with it for now. Thinking maybe I'll do the rest I missed next year.

STILL have a desire to draw, but I'm just so tired/drained. Probably gonna take a hiatus and wait until next year before I donart again. If I do anything sooner, I'm putting off posting it until 2023. Also motivated to play more Yakuza 0. Gotta play as many games as I can before the Ishin remake is released. Also looking forward to Lies of P. IT'S SO PRETTY!!!! And I feel more motivated to play it after watching Guillermo del Toro's Pinnochio.

Sooo hope ya'll have a safe (and warm) happy holiday, and I look forward to posting more next year!

Cheers!

#not art #Happy Holidays everyone

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mejomonster · 2 years

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Yup.Kenzan came out in 2008,and a good chunk of the plot revolves around the relationship between Majima and Kiryu.The main plot of the game actually has a full translated series of videos by KHHSubs on YouTube.Although,there's a few errors in it,you'll still be able to totally understand the story.I won't say too much,but even Kiryu's other relationships in that game (like with Haruka,Date,and his love interests) are pretty fascinating.And maybe they're something more like potential past lives.It can be pretty nice to work off that view of it.

The pair you have to watch for is half Mine.I can't say a whole lot due to spoilers,but you'll have to keep a close eye on what he says,what's pushing him,and his behavior.I'd be happy to explain more whenever you're done with 3.

There's definitely some super worthwhile stuff at the end of the construction bit in K2.I'm trying to play through it myself right now so that I can experience the party interaction,and a semi-private Kiryu and Majima conversation.I've seen vids on both.The first one including all the correct responses which will be very useful.

Your interpretation of Majima after having played 0 first is honestly a lot better than most people's.Its true that in the original 1 and 2 he was much more of a focused crazy (especially in 1).While in 2,we started to see more of his serious side not unlike K2.3 presents some very analysis worthy Majima,too.

And Dead Souls definitely looks like something I'd want to try to play,too.Its got some err very interesting substories- like one between Daigo and Majima- and an overall story that I want to look at for myself.

Thank you for all of this! <3

Mmmm if you end up getting Dead Souls before me, please ee tell me what you think of the gameplay. Yeah I um 1. Intensely miss playing majima, yakuza 0 spoils people with 2 full main playable characters , so playing like 4 people is tempting. Also I really would like to see majima and ryujis whole sections, now that I know who more of these characters are now. Also I love genre Mashups so concept itself is tempting for the stories and whatever wild things it can allow for.

I'll look up the KHHSubs kenzan videos cool! I knew they did ishin videos.

Oh man there's correct answers to the construction side game talks later! Thank you for that heads up! Mm I may wanna check out more of that side game area then before I finish the game... I keep playing these games for like 30-60 hours then once the game hints I'm near the end I tend to just really get excited to see the end and start the next, so I'm missing like 60-70% of the game as far as that % complete says ToT which I'm hoping is at least like 50% high score stuff maybe and not story. But I definitely know when I go back to replay them next time, I'll have new substories and portions I just didn't get to yet. Which in a way is fun knowing there's more enjoyable stories to see even when I'm done.

(Mildly related but if you happen to like games where a LOT of the actual game stuff pays off with story, I highly recommend Nier Automata. One thing the yakuza series really does well is all the player time is mostly spent paying off with stories/side stories or mini games You choose to do - no required level grinding or material harvesting for things with no story payoff, no required hours of play to accomplish an objective that has no payoff. I can waste hours at the karaoke or bowling but one usually get a fun music video or story, and two it happens early so if I choose to keep doing it then it's optional for my own fun. I've played games where I spent over half the gameplay time level grinding or harvesting stuff, often with no story movement and not cause I enjoyed the task a bunch - compared to a fun optional mini game lol. So like I really appreciate that quality in yakuza, I don't feel my time is wasted, I'm always doing story relevant stuff I find fun or optional stuff cause I enjoy it. Nier Automata is like that- every side quest has an interesting side story related to the themes of the game or making the main story richer, mini games are optional if you find them fun - though not as many or as silly as yakuza lol, and if you do choose to grind for some weapon upgrade the weapons have stories which is their own little thing. Weapon upgrades are optional, and level grinding isn't required to beat the game by any means, so it's stuff you only have to do if you enjoy it. Nier Automata has an absolutely amazing story, but it also is really fun for you know not wasting player time and having a lot of care for its story and side stories.)

Whenever I play 3 and start/finish liveblogging yeah I'd love to discuss that game more!

#replies #ask #anonymous #yakuza #kenzan #mmm i might buy kenzan too and check out the vids if i get lost.... mmm #thank you for this info!#also mildly related? way diffwrent structurally but atlas ps2 game Devil Summoner Raidou also vaguely reminds me of yakuza games #in a goodcway. you play a devil summoner who solves supernatural cases. befriends demons and humans and helps both.#and theres a main intense story (but also wild) and then lots of slice of life side stories. and yakuzas story setup is similar

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entreri · 3 years

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Happy Birthday Yakuza 0! (March 12, 2015)

#yakuza 0 #kiryu kazuma #majima goro #yakuza #my gif #y0*#i only started playing this series for the first time last october #but it has quickly become one of my favorites #and i still haven't even played all the games yet #also this took forever and i'm DONE. I GIVE UP #gamingedit #1k

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real-sotenbori-hours · 3 years

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Hello there 💖 Love your writing and just finished yakuza 0, and if you're up for it, I'm in the mood for something different. I love Majima, but I'm craving drama atm. What if he and his badass beauty of a s/o are getting it on and he calls Makoto's name by mistake? New bae is sweet, makes his lunches, but is NO Makoto! How shook is she? Can the couple reconcile or is that the deal breaker?

This is a terrific prompt... I’ve been dealing with some roller coaster emotions as of late so I appreciate a drama req. Pls be patient and I’d love to write this. TYSM for requesting <3

Mistaken Makoto

Reader is Female

Mild smut, angst, mentions of trauma

***WARNING: YAKUZA 0 SPOILERS***

What a day. If she didn't stay and help up, who would?It had been this way all week, and Y/N had only realized how emotionally and physically drained she truly was at the end of it all, which couldn't be more ideal because nothing is worse than realizing how thanklessly overworked one is in the very midst of the issue itself. Thankfully she now had a couple of days off to decompress and relax and the first things on her mind were a quick snack, a cup of tea and hopefully some pleasures of the flesh with her all too irresistible man. She desperately needed some bliss to tear her from her incredibly demanding lack of work/life balance. Good thing her man was more than understanding.

They didn't reside together, but Majima's flat was a lot closer (and fancier) than her place, so she typically crashed there in the evenings especially after late work days. Her apartment was more of a storage unit for her belongings and less urgently needed clothes as she usually spent her nights at his place. Though he'd been pushing the idea of moving in together for months, it was just so much work to pack her stuff and close out her lease and with her long hours as of late, she didn't have the energy to seal this lingering loose end. She planned on it, but something else held her back from making it official. She hadn't even had the time to analyze her trepidation, it was just there, and something far more easily avoided. Money wasn't an issue, so she couldn't complain. She'd get around to it soon enough.

It was a damp, sultry evening... an hours' long rain had set a sexy mist in the air and with the low lights of Kamurocho illuminating her quick and safe walk home, she felt like a seductive evening at home was just what the doctor ordered. Majima had texted her only a couple hours prior, hinting at the same theme as he'd just settled some big work things and wanted to relax. He'd offered a lovely night on the town but because Y/N was stuck at work just a little later than usual, a hot night at home seemed like the move. He'd warned that he was settling in for a nap, and to wake him when she arrived.

Her plan was to forego the food and tea, strip down and slip into bed with him... he loved being awakened by her eager warmth.

After locking the door, she dropped her coat and shimmied out of each of her professional garments, slowly sauntering into the bedroom from which only a dim light from the bathroom shone due to the door being slightly ajar.

What a marvel --- his back was to her, his irezumi slightly visible in the dim light and partial obscurity of blanket. No matter how many times she'd seen it wet, dry, slightly irritated from her nails raking its flesh, it still made her skin tingle. She loved Majima Goro through and through and was willing to do anything for him. He treated her like a Queen and still offered her the world if she needed anything. He respected her independence, always offered to support her if she so desired, and was in turn endlessly grateful for her love and commitment to him. Many a time she wondered how in the fuck that she was The One to tame a yakuza boss... but she had. It was so natural and uncomplicated, she never batted an eye. It was sparks in the air the first time they met and every day and night since.

By the time she reached the bed, she was beautifully nude and ready. As much as she needed him and his attentions, she wanted to at least begin by lavishing him with attention while rousing him from his slumber. It drove him crazy.

After slipping beneath the linens, pressed against him, she kissed his shoulder, slowly and deliberately and then made her way down the back of his arm while slipping her hand along his back and over his hip, gripping the bone. He groaned, rolling on his back as she snuck up to his ear.

"Mmmm, I'm home...."

No further words necessary, he wrapped his arms around her as she straddled him, kissing and biting his lobe, down his neck, stopping to suck along his clavicle. His hands found their way to her hips as he gripped them and urged them to rock back and forth, but she wanted to prolong it. She needed to tease a little.

His eye remained closed, his breathing grew heavier as he gripped her hips hard enough to bruise. She adored it.

Leaning in to kiss his neck, she traveled up to his lips, leaving quick and desperate pecks along them before sinking herself on him. She rubbed his pecs delicately before leaning back and gripping his thighs, preparing to ride him. Just as she'd begun to establish a momentum, his hands gripped her forearms, his eye still shut tightly, lips parted. She raised herself, holding steady, slowly sinking down on him again just as he moaned... "I've missed you..."

She loved it when he mused in the throes of it. She bounced a few times, leaning in to kiss him again, harder, taking his bottom lip and kissing his chin... leaning in further to whisper, "I've missed you too..."

He slid his hand up the back of her neck, gripping and keeping her close. He turns his head, eye still screwed tightly shut as he kisses her cheek. She rolls her hips again. He rubs his lips along her lobe, sighing.

"Mmmm..."

She slams her hips harder, urging him to chase his release as he continues to keep her pinned to him, gritting his teeth. She loves his scent, his sweat, she wants to lap up every bit of it.

"....Mmmma..."

She bites at his clavicle, sucking tenderly as she continues pumping him with her entire body, just wanting to make him feel so good for no reason but adoration and appreciation for him... She just wants to hear him moan and watch his face contort as he fully surrenders.

She sits up, one last slam as she tightens herself around him. She descends, pulsing on him, cradling his head as his lips part one more time. He exhales, groaning.

"....Makoto...."

Screeeeeeeeeeech.

Y/N's heart, stomach, hell, fucking everything dropped. Without a second thought, she pressed her hands on each side of her along the bed and dismantled herself, rising.

His eye flew open, his head frantically turning, searching for his girlfriend, who was promptly planning on redressing and bolting before the tears could burst out of her into every direction. What the fuck?!

"Oy!" He shouts, sitting up, still registering.

She's already made it out of the bedroom, picking up every piece of her clothing trail and hurriedly putting them back on with the urgency of a burning building.

She's grabbing her bag off of the counter as he barges into the kitchen, wrapped in the linens. "OY! Where the hell ya think yer goin'?"

She takes a deep breath and turns around to face him, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm leaving. Fuck off."

"What in the hell for? What's the matter?!"

ARE YOU SERIOUS.

She steps forward and shoves him with a single, open hand. Bag still in her other hand. "FOR CALLING ME 'MAKOTO' WHILE I'M FUCKING ON TOP OF YOU. ARE YOU FUCKING OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

He catches himself, grabbing the counter and throws his head in his other hand. "Jesus Christ, I'm a little drunk, babe. I'm sorry..."

"Yeah, great. Well, you can be sorry alone. I'm going home."

"Nah c'mon don't be like that, it was a mistake, I love ya and ya know that, don'tcha?"

"You know honestly, I'm not sure. If you're thinking of her while I'm giving it to you, giving you my fucking body, my affection, my time, I think the mistake is my being in this entire fucking equation. I must be insane. I knew there was a reason I wasn't ready to move out of my place yet...."

"Nah babe it's not like that, I swear. I'm really sorry, I know that didn't feel good but I was in such a deep sleep I really wasn't thinkin---"

"---ABOUT ME. You were thinking of another woman. While I'm here. Are you serious? Do you have any idea how much I love you, how you might as well have shoved your tanto straight into my chest? That would've felt better than to hear another woman's name come out of your fucking mouth..."

Majima realized this wasn't a conversation he could charm his way out of. All of the times he came home battered, bruised and bleeding? Yeah after a few minutes of patching, he could calm her down. All of the times he was stuck at the office late and hadn't eaten in hours, she'd bring him something home cooked, knowing full well that none of his favorite shops were open. She'd beg him to come and get some sleep but he'd assure her that he'd get it done and be fine. She'd take it all in stride, this was the man she loved, it was par for the course.

But being called another woman's name, one that held such a crushing significance in his life? Nah.

"...I'm leaving. I need space. Leave me alone for a few days." His eye flew open as he nearly tripped over the blanket, dashing to her and grabbing her arms.

He knelt, looking up at her pleadingly.

"Y/N, baby, please. Please. Yer everythin' ta me. Please don't go..."

She sighed, too tired to even fight the tears. She let them roll.

"I can't do this, Goro. Maybe you love me, but obviously I'm not everything to you. Maybe it's unfair for me to demand to be, but it's what you are to me, and I can't compromise. I won't find myself in another love in which my feelings aren't matched."

"They are matched, babe. Please just stay so we can talk about it. If ya don't wanna stay after that, fine, but please gimme a minute to explain..."

"Goro, what's there to explain? If she's still in such a dominant place in your mind, then what's left for me? I can't share your affection like that. This isn't gonna work. Am I supposed to get over it and hope it doesn't happen again? What do you take me for?"

He choked, taking a deep breath. He dropped the Kansai-ben.

He looked up at her slowly, his face changing, his voice low and serious."I cared a lot for her. I haven't spoken with her in almost 20 years. There is nothing there. Sometimes I'm plagued with nightmares from the events of those years. Between my captivity and the situation in which I met her. I wish her nothing but the best. I have moved on since then, clearly. She only means anything to me because she is a good person. I'm not in love with her, I'm in love with you, and only you."

Y/N swallowed hard, taking his words into consideration... soothed but still feeling an uneasiness.

"You said her name while you were balls deep inside me. How are you going to explain that away? Be fucking honest with me. You have one minute."

"Makoto and I were never physically intimate! She isn't an ex-girlfriend or former love or anything like that! It was an honest mistake, it had nothing to do with the fact that you and I were in the middle of it, okay? I was just waking up, babe..."

"You were conscious. You grabbed me, you kissed me..."

"My mind was still out of it. Come on, I'm telling you the truth. I love you, Y/N. I love you like crazy. Makoto has absolutely nothing to do with my life now. I was just having a fucked-up dream."

Y/N set her bag down and draped her arms around him lazily as he hugged her hips.

"Look, I don't know how much I ever told you about it but here's the brakes: I was told to kill her and if I did, I'd be let back into the family, which was all I wanted at the time. You know all about my Grand days and that tiny apartment and the fact that all I did was run a cabaret club and get followed everywhere I went and my direct boss at the time would just slap me around like a fucking puppy and throw wrenches in everything I did, right?"

She nodded.

"I was told that I'd be in good standing and that I'd get my life back if I did my first hit. I was supposed to take out some ruthless scumbag that trafficked women. It was a no-brainer. I hunt my target down only to find that this ruthless scumbag was a blind woman who had no idea why in the fuck anyone would be after her. You can only imagine my confusion and why I did not kill her. But I was then of course risking worse things than death by keeping her alive and hidden away, all the while lying to my boss. Once he wised up, he tried to kill me, her and the guy she worked for at the time who was a solid guy. I watched him die. I got roughed up time and again, had to find her, make sure they didn't kill her. She was totally blameless and a survivor of the trafficking itself. This woman went through so much and still never batted an eye at her poor hand of cards. Yes, I wound up caring for her very deeply and after all was said and done, I could've told her how I felt, maybe she felt the same, who knows. Instead, I wanted her to be happy and to have nothing to do with me... because at the time, I only created more and more enemies as I climbed the ladder and I knew I couldn't keep her safe forever. I knew that at that time in my life, I had to focus on where I was going, I couldn't drag an innocent person into my mess of a life just because I had feelings for her. I did what I thought was the right thing then and I stand by it now... and where I'm at now, finally, is a place in which I can finally be with the woman I love -- you -- and I don't have to keep you away. I'm not climbing anymore... I'm no longer a real target and neither is anyone close to me."

Y/N nodded again, feeling relieved... but sad. So sad. Sad for being angry at him and sad for his loss... she had no idea the extent of what Makoto was to him and had only assumed the usual out of fear of bringing up such a heavy conversation... but she was glad to finally have it all out in the open.

"Alright... I know I shouldn't ask this but I need to..."

"Anything, babe. What do you want to know?"

"Do you wish you had been with her anyway? I know comparing myself to her is nonsensical but---"

"---Could I love you like I did her?"

"Yes."

"...No. Because the way I felt for her is different. You have to understand, I had to fight dozens and I mean dozens of men to protect her. She kept getting nabbed, I'd have to fight my way through buildings full of armed men to get her out alive. She got shot and almost died. I thought she had at first. It looked grim. So I guess in a way, the way I felt for her then is that I just wanted to protect the only truly good person I ever knew in my life... at that point. How do I feel about her now? I just hope she's happy... and I believe she is."

"You said you haven't spoken to her in 20 years?"

"That's a half truth. When we went through all that shit, she was blind. She never knew what I looked like, she only knew my voice. Years later I ended up in Sotenbori tying up some loose ends that led me to her shop and she didn't realize it was me, telling a perfect stranger how she was happily married with a kid. I was glad to hear it, you know? That was it. I just hope her life now is great because the first half wasn't, you know what I mean? That's it."

Y/N closed her eyes tightly and breathed in slowly, trying to make sense of her emotional state.

"Goro-kun..."

He looked up for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Y/N-chan?"

She sighed once again and carded her fingers through his hair, tugging at the ends, trying to stifle a laugh. Though she was still mildly hurt, the burn of her fury had subsided... she was grateful to have gotten a full discourse out of him and now felt almost foolish for being so (understandably) upset. She all but worshiped this man... he has always been good to her, holding her up on a pedestal, treating her with the respect and care that one only does when they truly and deeply... love and care for another.

She realized it's not a competition, Makoto wasn't "some other woman" or even a threat to her... she was a member of his past, a traumatic and murky one at that. She realized in that moment that it's okay that Majima loved another woman (and more, of course) before her... look at him.

But in this moment for a time before and likely to come, Majima Goro is hers and only hers. He did the right and likely painful thing by scratching at the scab to let her in, to tell her what happened and how it applies to his life now... to give her a perspective on her importance to him now, in comparison to what he's endured. It's a scab because the events of his past never truly heal or leave his psyche... he's just learned to live with and in spite of them, in many thanks to her.

Her unconditional love keeps him grounded, her presence adds to his purpose and for her, the same.

She was indescribably appreciative that the gave her a part of him in his honesty... and she would never take it for granted again. Walking out the door in anger would be, in her eyes, taking it for granted.

He nuzzled his face against her stomach, cradling her hips, giving her all the time she needed to cycle through her thoughts and feelings. God, what a man.

She gripped his chin and pulled him up to his feet, slipping an arm around him, re-tucking the blanket around his hips.

"Let's go to sleep... and bring back the Kansai-ben. I miss it already."

He laughed his usual insane, multi-octave laugh and grabbed her face, kissing her lips, nose, cheek and forehead before ripping the blanket off of him, wrapping it around her and scooping her up, carrying her back to the bedroom.

#majima goro #majima goro x reader #goro majima x reader #majima goro smut #goro majima smut #majima goro angst #goro majima angst #yakuza #yakuza 0 #yakuza kiwami #yakuza kiwami 2

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blackhakumen · 2 years

Text

Mini Fanfic #980: Niijima Sisters' Bonding Time (Persona 5)

1:46 p.m. In the Streets of Shiyuba.........

Sae: (Sighs Heavily as She Walk Next to Her Little Sister) I never thought I would ever be happier to not go back to that office for a few days....

Makoto: Work starting to overwhelm you again, sis?

Sae: Unfortunately. Annoying clients, mountain stacks of paperwork....And don't even get me started on all the convoluted cases I've worked on so far this month! (Places her Hand on her Forehead) It's a miracle I never ripped out my own hair yet....

Makoto: You know, I've always wondered what you would look like with short hair.

Sae: (Shrugs) Eh. I'll probably look average. But enough about my tedious work life, let's focus on something more important and special for today.

Makoto: The celebration of my birth and my first step into womanhood?~ (Smiles Brightly)

Sae: I was...gonna say the day we finally spend quality time together, but yeah. That too. Still....(Gives Makoto an Unsure Look on her Face) are you sure you wanna start off with a sparring match with me?

Makoto: (Happily Nodded) Yeah. It's been a while since we've done it after all. And who knows? (Starts Smiling Confidently) Maybe this will be the day where I actually beat you this time-

Three Rounds of Sparring Matches Later......

Makoto gets judo flipped and yeeted into the floor by her own big sister with a yelp.

'THUD'

Makoto: ('Groans in Pain and Defeat') Damnit......

Sae: (Kneels Down With One Knee While Looking Down at Makoto with a Bit of a Smug Look on her Face) Another round goes to yours truly, little sister~

Makoto: It has been nearly a decade since we've last sparred....(Raises her Habds up in Frustration) How the hell are you still this STRONG!?

Sae: Just because I've spent the entirely of my adulthood as a prosecutor, doesn't mean abandoned my training completely. In fact, usually come here to hone my skills during lunch breaks.

Makoto: (Groans Again While Rolling her Eyes) And you wonder why I kept pestering you to make friends in the office.

Sae: Hey, excuse me for not having much of a connection with my peers. And besides, I have friends! S-Sure most of them are....from your friends group and...one of them is a talking bear and a bird, b-b-but that counts for something, right!?

Makoto: (Sighs as She Gets Herself Up) I suppose it does...(Smiles a Little) I'm glad you're getting along with then.

Sae: (Happily Nodded in Agreement) Me too. So I believe next in our schedule is to go shopping?

Makoto: Yep. Ooh! Could we go to the Karaoke Bar downtown after that?

Sae: Not much of a singer myself, but sure why not-

As her phone suddenly begins to buzz inside her pants pocket, Sae takes it out and reads the message that was sent to her by Futuba.

Futuba: If u guys planning on going to a Karaoke Bar later on today, DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, let Makoto sing Baka Mitai!!!

Futuba: Srsly. Ur Eyes will thank me later.

Futuba: Tell ur sis happy birthday btw!~ Luv u! Byyyyyye!~（*＾3＾)/～♡

Sae raises an eyebrow in confusion before turning back to Makoto.

Sae: Heyyyy, Makoto? Quick question: What kind of song is... (Looks Back at her Phone For a Brief Second Before Looking Back Up to Makoto) Baka Mitai again?

Makoto: (Eyes Immediately Glows Up in Excitement) Only the best song that ever been composed in Yakuza 0!~ (Places her Hand onto her Chest) And one of my personal favorites, of course. I can sing for you at the bar later on if you like. (Starts Winking at Sae in a Bit of a Cute, Pleading Manner)

Sae: Uhh....yeah, sure. (Maybe Futuba's blowing this out of porption. I mean, really, how bad could this one, harmless song possibly-)

Few Hours Later at the Karaoke Bar.....

Makoto: Dame da ne......Dame yo..... Dame na no yo~ Anta ga.....Suki de Sukisugite~ (Continues Singing)

Sae: (Covers her Face While Crying her Eyes Out and Reluctantly Singing Along) Osake Demo........Why.......('Sniff') Why....('Sniff') WHY THE HELL DIDN'T ANYONE TELL THIS WAS A GODDAMN TEAR JERKER SOONER!? (Continues Crying Out Loudly)

'Harmonica Solo'

Sae: THE HARMONICAS!? ('Sniff') REALLY!?

Later that Night, Back at the Niijma Apartment.....

TV Screen: You Got the Star!!

Makoto: ('Sighs in a Bit of Relief') There. It's all mine now.

Sae: (Raises an Eyebrow at the Screen in Front of Her and Makoto) You chose to steal a star from Waluigi instead?

Makoto: (Shrugs) He doesn't seem to be that much of threat compared to the rest of us. Plus, I'm pretty sure you would find some way to get me back if I try stealing from you.

Sae: (Turns to Makoto With a Small Glare) Oh come on. I would never do that to you.

Makoto (Glares Back at Sae) Yes you would. In fact, you're one of the most conniving, prettiest person to play Mario Party with besides Pitto-san.

Sae: (Starts Rolling her Eyes) Honestly, Makoto....How can I be all those things in one?

Makoto: Well, for starters, when we were younger, playing Mario Party 3, I've obtained Koppa Kard from a Hidden Block. A turn or two later, after you got an item of your own, all you ever told me was "Thank you" . I ask you THREE. SEPARATE TIMES. Why the "Thank You" and all you ever did after that was making widest smile I've ever seen of you yet. And-

Sae: That's when I used to the Plumber Chest to take the card away from you. ('Sighs Fondly') Ah yes. Those were the glory days~

Makoto: For YOU maybe! Oh and let's not forget the time you started that snowballing mini game knowing FULL WELL I was still reading the instructions!

Sae: (Sighs While Facepalming Herself) How many times do I have to apologize to you for that?.....I seriously thought you knew how to play.

Makoto: And I still don't believe you! Ooh! And how can I EVER forget the time that you used that same Plunder Chest to STEAL my hard earned Magic Lamp at the second to last turn!!!?

Sae: Hey, I saw the opportunity in front of me and seized it. I'm pretty sure you would've done the same if you were in my shoes.

Makoto: Yeah, but......(Points at Sae) Y-You're still a cheat!

Sae: (Raises an Eyebrow Once More) You mean "cheater", genius?

Makoto: I KNOW WHAT I SAID! Just.....(Takes a Deep Breath) For once, don't try to screw me over this tims?....PLEASE.

Sae: (Sighs While Rolling her Eyes Again) I won't screw you over this time, Makoto. Just don't do the same to me and you'll have my word. (Sticks Kne Hand Out For Shake) Agreed?

Makoto: (Tries her Hardest Not to Cave In Before Sighing in Defeat While Crossing her Arms and Rolling her Own Eyes) Fiiiine. I'll take your word for it. (Shakes Sae's Hand) Don't make me regret this.

Sae: You worry too much, little sister.(Crosses her Fingers Behind her Back) You have my undying word in all of this.

Makoto: (Squints her Eyes at her Sister Suspiciously) Mmm...hmm.

Few Hours Later.......

TV Screen: Now dig on this~ (Fingers Snapping)

Sae: (Scoffs While Sitting Next to Makoto on the Sofa) Look at him.....Trying to make his girlfriend jealous by dancing with another girl in front of her. In her own live performance nonetheless.....

Makoto: I know, right?....('Yawn') Who does that jerk......('Yaaaawn') think he is anyways? I hate him.

Sae: (Turns to her Yawning Little Sister) Feeling drowsy there already, kiddo?

Makoto: I dunno- (Starts Yawning a Little More Loudly While Stretching her Arms) Maybe? (Scratches her Back) What time is it?

Sae: (Picks her Phone Up From the Coffee Table, Turns it On, and Sees the Time on the Screen) Huh. It's past midnight already. Really went all out today, haven't we?

Makoto: Yeah. We.....('Yawn') Definitely.....did....(Slowly Lays her Head onto Sae's Lap)

Sae: (Giggles Softly) And what do you think YOU'RE doing, young lady?

Makoto: Taking a nap on your lap.... Not as soft and squishy as my Ren-Ren's, but....('Yawn') I guess it will do for now......

Sae: (Sighs While Rolling her Eyes Yet Again) Honestly.....When are you two going to get married already?

Makoto: Sooooooon......Just.....be more patient, will ya!?

Sae: (Giggles Softly) I'll try, but....(Gives Makoto a Playful Smirk on her Face) You might wanna try telling your friends the same~

Makoto: ('Sighs Heavily') Believe me, we tried.....And they STILL kept pestering us about it.....('Yawn') I guess that's the price we pay for being a couple......

Sae: Seems like it. But you still love each other, right?

Makoto: Definitely....(Snuggles onto Sae's Lap) I'll always love my sweet Ren-Rem~

Sae: (Giggles Some More) Hey! Easy on the snuggling there, Makoto. I'm still here your sister.

Makoto: I knooow.....I'm just....Really glad I get to spent time with you today, you know? You're so.... cool......

Sae: (Heart Begins to Melt in Genuine Happiness) Thanks. But if I'm being completely honest here....(Looks Down at Makoto) I think you're truly the most coolest out of the two of us. Makoto?

Makoto: (Already Fallen Asleep) Zzzzzzzzzz..........

Sae: (Sighs Once More Before Smiling Softly at her Sleeping Sister) Already out for the count. (Kiss the Top of Makoto's Head) Sweet dreams, little sister. Happy Birthday. (Looks Back Up at the TV, Mute it, and Starts Changing Channels)

Happy (Late) Birthday Queen!!

@keyenuta

@ma-lemons

@princekirijo

@cyber-wildcat

@caleb13frede

@theweebmaster31

@26shann

#persona 5 #makoto nijima #sae niijima #futuba sakura #dark pit (mentioned)#sister bonding #sweet family moment #humor #lots and lots of fluff here #birthday celebration #karaoke night #mario party #the runaway guys reference #shumako (mentioned)

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sir-yeehaw-paws · 2 years

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68, 53, 40, 14, 15, for ask games :3

I like that you did these in a descending order.

Unique~!

75 Gaming Asks

14: Do you watch playthroughs online?

I do! Though normally of games I've also played.

15: Favourite animal in a video game?

I fckin' adore DD from Metal Gear Solid V. My lil wolf dog buddy!!

40: Favourite voice actor?

Ngkjjkasdkj.

Making me CHOOSE.

My eternal fave, my number one has for over a decade been Morikawa Toshiyuki..this has not changed.

53: Your most immersive game?

I think I could picture most scenes from Yakuza 0 in my sleep and I still haven't 100% completed it or done that third playthrough.

Yet.

60: The game you are best at?

By this point I'm getting pretty good with Yakuza though I've yet to attempt hard mode.

Thank you for sending in! <3

#75 gaming asks #ask #asks #ask games

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reddoll123 · 3 years

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Hi Red!

Sorry for the late response. So busy at work last week but hello!

Kpop artists always come to my state but more the city-city… mine is a big city too but I guess not as big. We did get SuperM to come but I wanted all of EXO to be here (inserts me whining lol and sounding entitled haha), not just two members haha but it was still nice that we were included.

Swing Kids was so good, minus the ending. I was sooooo extremely sad about the ending and wish that were some type of alternate ending, but of course, that would not be realistic lol The Along with the Gods was really good! I look forward to the next ones! I hear there’s 2 more and they’ll have him in it! I didn’t see Dokgo Rewind and I only saw half of Andante. When I heard it was going to have a sad ending(?), I stopped. I can’t do with sad dramas. I will be sad forever, which is why Swing Kids was a stab to the heart at the end 😭

Yay! I love fall/autumn season too! Birthday season!!! How fun! Any plans this year, since we can have semi-normal plans now?

What type of video games do you play?

I read your other post about your job, but wow! I’m glad you were still able to keep your original job but that was a whirlwind to read, so I can only imagine, how it felt with it happening.

Let’s see, maybe some questions on what you don’t like? So I know what to avoid? Is there any song or performances you don’t like it? Color schemes? Just trying to figure out what would be good to do for you :)

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Your EXO-L 🤶🏼

Hey again santa anon~ 👋🏾

Nah please don't apologize, just hope you're doing well! I've been busy with work too this week ('tis the season) so sorry this reply's a bit late. And lol, no whine away. I'd whine too if they were close like that but not!

And yeah like tho I love happy endings, if there was one for Swing Kids it'd obvs make me happy but also leave me a bit dissatisfied in a way cuz of how the setting and plot was set up. (Doesn't mean I didn't go straight to ao3 after to look for a happy alternate ending tho lol.) But the way they all died tho is still like fresh in my mind 😩😩. And yeah I heard the movies were really good! I'mma get to 'em one day or another hehe.

I def rec watching Dokgo Rewind tho, it was so fun! And yeah Andante does have a really sad part to it but also in that realistic way like when ya meet someone who leaves a big impact but at some point, you or they gotta part ways for whatever reason. I still def rec watching and finishing it tho, it was very well done imo.

And yeah so I took some time off for around that time and plan on hanging out with my best friend (still deciding on what to do besides go out and eat like we always do hehe) and most likely my fam too. Then, on my actual b-day (which is sadly on a Tuesday lol, the one after this one), I'm prob just gonna chill and eat some great food~

And as for the types of videogames I play, I'mma just name some that I constantly play and love lol: Overwatch, Sims 4, Yakuza Kiwami (already played 0 and am going in order), GTA V, recently finished Divinity: Original Sin 2 with my younger sis (we already played the 1st together too), Rayman Legends for 4 player couch co-op, Kingdom Hearts III, and have a few other games that I haven't played yet.

And oh you did? Yeahhh, it was definitely a whirlwind to experience for sure lol!

And hmm, can't really think of any performances I outright dislike...But as for songs? Uhh this is a throwback but their song Baby from the XOXO album andddd Heaven from the Ex'Act album lol. Besides that, nothing else I can think of 😅. And as for color schemes, I also like other colors besides blue even tho it's my fav, can be any color of the rainbow, black, white, brown, whatever really. And I dig vibrance but also pastels and love seeing melanin if that helps lmao.

Hope ya have a great rest of the day and week as well!

#anon #ask #reply #exolssecretsanta

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gaigethemech · 3 years

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yakuza 0 done..... 47 hours and i'm still not actually done cause i'm a hoe for achievements so i have like 100 more hours to go. also, the fact i knew everything that happened in the game bc of my fav streamer and his streams of the whole game series yet i still cried like a baby at everything

#txt #yakuza #yakuza 0 #yakuza zero #ryu ga gotoku #basically the story is done oof

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peemanne · 6 months

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Yakuza 5 Review: Life Could Be a Dream

i'm just copying the intro from the last one AGAIN HA Hey, it's Pee again! So there's this site called Backloggd that's basically just letterboxd for video games and I've been writing a bunch of reviews there, with a bunch of longer ones for RGG games because of course so. I've got one currently cooking for 0 and in the meanwhile, I've decided to put them up here too, for archiving or whatever. I also get to put silly captions on them now. So with that out of the way, here's what's probably gonna stay the longest review, Yakuza 5.

Also might as well plug my backloggd in here if you wanna see the rest of the stuff I've done hehehehehe

This review contains minor spoilers.

Reviewed on Aug 06, 2023

Completed on PC

Rating: 10/10 (5 Stars)

Yakuza 5's just a dream come true, in so many ways. This many protagonists, this many stories and content, and yet all of them just work out to create one of, in my opinion, the best titles in the series. Look, this is... a long game, to say the least. The Yakuza games usually take awhile to beat, even keeping side content to a minimum, but Y5 is just something else. And yet it never feels like it drags on. Yakuza 5 earns that long run time, and it kept me entertained the whole time. The main gameplay in the combat is just glorious. I liked Yakuza 3 and 4's combat, but going from there to 5 was definitely something. With 4 (technically 5 hehe) different fighting styles, Yakuza 5's combat just feels fantastic to play through no matter who you're playing as.

Kiryu's arguably the best he's ever felt in this game, with amazing crowd control, a great variety of heat actions, and bounding throws galore. He's at a very "angry old guy who absolutely does not want to deal with this anymore" point in 5, and that reflects pretty well in his gameplay. Take a look at Essence of Face Grating. Kiryu's just pissed off 24/7, and that makes for some kickass fights. Saejima's basically a step above in every way compared to his gameplay in 4. They patched up some of his big flaws, and elevated just about everything that already worked. The Tiger Dragon Drop is just utterly busted even by counter standards and feels amazing. His charged attacks somehow feel even more satisfying to connect, as do his heat actions. I'd like to highlight Essence of Clotheslining for that. Thanks to the MASSIVLY buffed Herculean Spirit, Saejima in 5 embodies both the unstoppable force and the immovable object roles perfectly. There's also the neat bonus of being able to rip poles out of the ground to end street fights the second they begin. Akiyama... actually feels worse than he did in 4. Still fun, just not quite the same guy who had the coolest moveset in the last game. Wall-bounding's gone, but then in comes his aerial shenanigans. It's pretty cool that this ended up being the precursor for Yagami's juggling in LJ. While it does suck that it's basically unusable against his main boss(es), there is still a lot of fun to be had hanging out in the air while kicking down a group of poor street goons. Akiyama's base kit, even with some of his fancy tech taken away from him, is still just really fun to play with. Speed's the name of the game, and Akiyama's the star. I like Shinada's combat. I like it quite a lot, actually. He's rougher and unrefined compared to everyone else, but he still knows how to dish out the damage. As someone who loves grappling in this game, finding out just about everything in Shinada's kit can link into a grab just made me fall in love with him the second I picked him up. His quickstep attack's a grab, his rush combos can link into grabs, his finishers give way to bounding throws, and so on. Even against bosses, who can break free of them pretty easily, Shinada's kit is still pretty damn solid. And where he lacks in crowd control, comes all his unique tricks with weapons. The sturdy pipe you get from the start alone does so many things for Shinada, between heat actions, crowd control, and knocking people down. I understand that's just not for everyone, but Shinada's kit just clicked with me really well. It also helps that his battle theme is my favorite.

Hey, speaking of battle themes, the soundtrack! The RGG game has a great soundtrack, blah blah blah, I'm sure you're used to this by now. But still, I just feel the need to highlight it. I really like the direction they went with the music here. Yakuza 5's soundtrack centers mostly around hard rock, even compared to the rest of the series. And man, it just delivers with every track. It just might be one of my favorites, and again, that's REALLY saying something considering how amazing the composers at RGG are. The street battle themes are just banger after banger. Isolated Fight delivers on the aforementioned "old man kiryu sick of everything" front, and is just a pretty underrated track in general. Hailstorm fits both Saejima and his city perfectly with some amazing riffs thrown in. Affected Fight 1:17. FUNKASTIC HIT sounds like a baseball stadium organ theme and then hits you with a sick ass guitar solo. I accidentally wrote a 24 line segment (spoilers if you click that!) about (almost) all the battle tracks, so I'm just gonna spare you, scrap it here, and tell you that Yakuza 5's soundtrack does NOT miss. Everything, from the boss themes, long battle tracks, side content shenanigans, they're all just amazing. And there's thanks to Haruka's chapter, there's not just some amazing heavy rock tracks, but we basically get a whole CD's worth of J-pop tracks. All 3 of the Princess League songs were amazing and I love them. There's also all the dance battle ones, with a nice little variety to the sounds. I'd also like to shoutout some of the calmer bar tracks like Highway and Silky Night. Adds a lot to the game's atmosphere and are honestly just really nice sounding songs. So, to sum this section up, just about every song in Yakuza 5 can be put into a workout playlist, and it's super duper awesome and cool and radical. The soundtrack's always a highlight for RGG games, but Yakuza 5's is just phenomenal.

The story's usually criticized for having a pretty messy plot. And while I can sort of agree to an extent, there's one thing I think Yakuza 5's story just does phenomenally, and that's the character work. The protagonists are all written fantastically, and a decent amount of the supporting cast are too. Kiryu's characterization in 5 is worth highlighting on it's own: a broken man, still fighting on ever-determined for his family. And they never forget the legend of the Dragon of Dojima, either, especially during the later segments of the game. You really feel for his struggle, and really want to cheer him on as he fights through them. Saejima's pretty well done too, but what I like most about him in this game is how he bounces off everyone else. With Kiryu, with his prison buddies, and especially with Baba. He's actually a lot calmer and pretty chill for the most part which I appreciate, but when he's poked, you'd better prepare yourself for the tiger to roar louder than ever. Haruka's just a great encapsulation of the game's central theme of dreams, and it's nice to see things from her view for a change. Her relationship with Park and the other members at Dyna Chair was pretty sweet. Her chapter's also a nice breath of fresh air, with you not getting jumped all the time. Akiyama admittedly feels sidelined a little, but he's still a fan favorite character for a reason. I love how he and Haruka work together, and it's nice seeing them bond considering the circumstance. RIP Hana though, I can't believe they made her a desk And Shinada. Tatsuo Shinada. Everyone's favorite broke baseball loving goober. I don't trust you as a human being if you don't like Shinada. I'm sorry. Shinada's chapters are honestly some of RGG's best writing. I love his fall from grace and the people he meets down there. I love his relationship with everyone in the town. ESPECIALLY Takasugi. I love how determined he always is. In spite of everything that's happened to kick him down, he always gets back up. As funny as a character Shinada is, he also got some of the most somber moments. There's just so much unapologetic joy from Shinada, and I adored every last second of it. His role in the finale made me tear up a lot, and I honestly don't mind that he hasn't come back yet. As much as it would rock, Shinada's story is finished in my eyes, and they wrapped it up perfectly. Lastly, I'd just like to highlight some of the supporting cast. Katsuya and Watase are honestly just really cool characters. Watase in particular just stole the scene every time he showed up, he really embodied the Omi energy well. As I said before, Takasugi is a perfect character who really complimented Shinada's character well. He goes from shady, untrustworthy douche to reliable and lovable partner pretty fast, and I'm amazed RGG managed to pull that off so well. Nakajima's like, a side-side character, but I'd kill to have a great boss like him. He really sold me on Kiryu's taxi stuff. And lastly my personal favorite supporting character, Baba. I believe he's one of the best in the game. RGG characterized him really well here. His relationship with Saejima was really well done, and everything surrounding him near the end was masterfully done for me. He just feels so human, so vulnerable, and I appreciate that about him. Overall, the story's kind of a mixed bag plot-wise, but, in my opinion, more than makes up for it with some amazing character moments and just characters in general.

Let's move on to the side content. RGG games are no stranger to having lots of it, but the lengths 5 goes through is honestly kind of insane. I can't imagine the completionists were all too thrilled when they got to this entry in particular... You have the mainstays like mahjong and karaoke, but there's also a decent chunk unique to this game, like the noodles minigame, winter combat, the comedy team, and some more. Then there's all the side stories. Fleshed-out minigames for each character to dive in, complete with progression systems and stories. There's taxi driving, taxi RACING, the hunting minigame, Haruka's jobs, and Shinada's unique take on the batting center. There's just so much to do. Like come on, they have TAIKO in this game. That's awesome. You could probably repackage Y5 into a minigame collection and it'd be worth it by itself. There's just so much to do here. As for the substories, they're... alright. I do like them, but there's not really a lot that stand out to me. I do really like some of the more protag-based sweet substories like A Second Haruka or The Letters, though. There's also Shinada's interview which gave us the glorious line "I like to get my balls rubbed at massage parlors. Aww yeah!".

Yakuza 5's a BIG game, in capital letters. And almost everything about it just clicks with me. The music, the characters, the combat, the gameplay, it all just clicks. I understand that not every RGG fan's gonna click with this game as much as I did, and that's fine. But dammit, this game just amazes me with how happy it made me the entire time. A great embodiment of the series thus far, and it's seriously a contender as one of the best for me, in a series FULL of fantastic games.

10/10. This makes the second RGG game that I played the finale during midnight and bawled my eyes out for. I aspire to be a man like Tatsuo Shinada. Thanks for reading me ramble about this long ass game.

#rgg #ryu ga gotoku #yakuza #like a dragon #ramblings of the pee-man #game review

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