It really should be noted, nagoshi put his entire career on the line for these games, and now he is currently the head of sega's entire game's division. The dude made it.

"A respected, very powerful, ᵛᵉʳʸ ᵃᵗᵗʳᵃᶜᵗᶦᵛᵉ, member of the yakuza."

“While typing like an idiot” The man is literally a boomer and was in jail during both tech booms in the late 90s and mid 2010s. *And he’s canonically 52.*

What I love about yakuza is that these ridiculously dramatic animations for minigames are not only fun, but characterize Kyriu as well. It shows that he is a very passionate person who is determined to do his best no matter what. No matter what silly activity you perform, Kyriu hypes himself up and goes all in. It doesnt matter what it is, if Kyriu is doing it, he is giving it his all. I had to genuinely laugh out loud when I first saw Kyriu loose at pocket circuit racing in Yakuza 0 and his face shows so much genuine pain that you would think his best friend had just died.

"Yakuza is tragic and hilarious, but life is tragic and hilarious" I felt that.

"every action we can take is something Kiryu would actually do" well yeah, because as badass as he is, Kiryu is also a MASSIVE FUCKING DORK. And I love him for it.

Yakuza is the only series where you can go from contemplating murdering a traumatised blind girl to playing bowling so you can win a chicken named Nugget to work in your real estate business with none of it feeling out of place

Over the top taking the phone and saying "Moshi Moshi" is just too fucking hilarious

I think it's always important to point out that for 99% of the entire franchise that we see and play, Kiryu is actually ex-Yakuza (or temporarily left it in 0). The only time he was a proper Yakuza is the era we never play. It's because Kiryu, the guy who idealizes Yakuza, cannot accept that life as it does not live up to his ideals. The reason he gets drawn back is that he has an intense desire to fix the Yakuza, but never can.

"Yakuza is a game about hardship." *roll clip of Majima dancing in a pompous outfit*

Kiryu is unironically one of the most human characters I’ve seen in video games. And as a lot of people have pointed out, it has to do with the ridiculous tones that the game throws at you outside its main story. Because think about it. When you’re serious and going through a bad situation, everything is tense. It has meaning, it’s methodical, and there’s no room for error. But outside of that, what do you do? What would you do if you lived in a bustling city district in the middle of a booming economy? You would have some fun, of course. You might sing karaoke, go to the arcade, hit some baseballs at the batting cages, dance at the disco club. You might even really get into stock car racing. But you wouldn’t go around and rob convenience stores and hurt random people on the streets. And that’s what makes Kiryu so human. That despite all of the serious yakuza business he has to deal with, he lives his life outside of it, another citizen of Kamurocho.

In Majima's side campaign in Kiwami 2 where he says: "You worked out some knots Ive had for 18 years" really got to me

You should've pointed out in the Someya fight that not only does he have no tattoos, but also Kiryu keeps his jacket on for the fight. As if he thought Someya wasn't worthy of seeing them.

"He is a fantasy. A respected, powerful, *softens voice* very attractive fantasy" I totally loved this sentence cause let's be honest, it's a perfect description all around. Great video as always!

Downloaded 0 on a whim from game pass. My only thought was, it's that game that looks like Shenmue. Several hours in and I gotta say. I haven't been this enamored with a game since Witcher 3. That moment where you go the karaoke bar just hit me like a train. This serious Yakuza crime story became... A sweet and goofy moment between two brothers. Which led to this man I thought was just an unrelenting badass to someone who looks out for the little guy. That sees injustices and rights them. Who becomes a disco king out of nowhere and can hit home runs in a baseball simulator. To tracking down a video game for a kid who had his stolen. It's so wonderful. In times where it feels like every game/movie/show has to be grim and dark. Yakuza wants to tell a serious story while putting a smile on your face. Man. This is just a great game.

"Why you should play Yakuza?" *24 Hours Cinderella plays I seen enough, I'm satisfied.

>A small child 12:44 Shows daigo Come on man, his trying his best

"subtleties of kiryu's personality" *shows him naming a LIVE chicken 'Nugget'*

Yakuza is the flipside to this open-world fad in gaming. _"As wide as a puddle. But as deep as an Ocean."_ Up yours GTA.

11:16 "Every action we can take is something Kiryu would actually do" Yeah, like stabbing a person with a katana or heating them up in a microwave

Super Eyepatch Wolf finally made a video on Yakuza?! *rips off shirt* Let's do this.

Long story short: Yakuza ask the question "what if shenmue was good"

“The story revolves around the protagonists getting caught up in a Yakuza conspiracy revolving around money, land or a small child.”Haruka, Haruto and Daigo. You didn’t have to do Daigo dirty like that, my man.

"Conspiracy involving .... or in several cases, a small child" *shows 30-something Daigo* This was unexpectedly hilarious after playing through most of the series.

“He’d resign from his company, never to return” *Kiryu Kazuma resigning just to prove him, and his father, innocent*

Kiryu is a better SEGA mascot than Sonic.

*To summarize this whole series in a nutshell* Kamurocho: *exists* Kazuma Kiryu: *ah shit, here we go again*

Nagoshi really do be the irl Kiryu risking everything for what he believed. The man took an insanely high risk, and it paid off

"Where they de-robe and fight until one of them are no longer evil." And people were surprised when you said you love wrestling?

"...discovering what really matters in life." [shows manbabies wearing diapers rolling around the floor]

He is a fanasty, a respected, powerful, *ᵛᵉʳʸ ᵃᵗᵗʳᵃᶜᵗᶦᵛᵉ* , fantasy

"A small child" *Shows Daigo* No Lies Detected

You know what? FINE, I WILL! ... thank you.

Quote from the original Yakuza 1 dub that perfectly sums up the series Random goon: "Kazuma-san, please. Don't interfere" Kiryu: "fuck you"

My mom passed away earlier this year, while I was still kind-of in the early stages of Yakuza 0. I'm honestly really fucking glad I started playing it because this world and these characters helped me get through the time without her and forget for just a brief second about the sadness of my everyday existence; I just now finished 6 and of course will play the others, but its' been one of the most interesting journeys I've ever gone through in a video game series. It's really hard to say if there will be a cast of characters that sticks with me like the ones in these games simply because you grow with them, see them through major parts of their life and such. Nagoshi thank god for your vision, it was this blend of crazy wild bizarre shit and genuine emotion that made 2021 not as shit as it could've been.

Majima's story in 0 I think had more meaning than Kiryu's in 0. Kiryu from the start was a man who followed his own beliefs and convictions, and he already seemed to understand he wanted to carve his own path, even though he somewhat wanted to follow Kazama, he was firmly footed in what was believed to be right or wrong. Majima on the other hand didn't know what he wanted to do, but eventually learned that he has to be his own man, and it was great and even inspiring to see him slowly decide to live his life the way he wanted.

One reason to play yakuza: Goro Majima. That's all you need

I've always loved the fact the this video highlights the emotional weight of the Kiryu/Nishiki scene from Yakuza 0. A scene that a certain angry, diminutive ginger sat through before declaring "This entire scene was completely pointless."

"You're not God here you're just another person" Level 999 Kiryu: *Are you sure about that?*

i recently started playing yakuza with 0 and then proceeded to cruise through 1-6... i fell in love with the series so quickly it's absurd. these games are mahou shoujo BL crime soap operas with so much depth in them. they're also tourism propaganda and you should not play them if you're hungry. i love them. so much.

Kazuma Kiryu is undeniably the most manliest, badass and the hardest video game character of all time.

I remember playing yakuza after a bad day and I admired kiryu For his ability to be both strong and imposing yet selfless and noble, and at that moment I decided I would attempt to be more like kiryu. My life immediately improved

"I would recommend all of these games, maybe not one after the other, unless you have about 300 hours to kill." 2018 seems so long ago.

"He is a fantasy, a respected, powerful, V E R Y A T R A C T I V E, fantasy" I just love the way he says atractive

I cried so hard during the scene when nishiki was going to kill kiryu in yakuza 0. Nishiki's crying felt so real, I felt his pain. I had to take a break after the save point, it left me shook.

Alternative Game Title: Kiryu's Bizarre Adventure

Yakuza 0 was my introduction to the series after hanging out with nishki so much I literally cried during the scene where he talks about putting kiryu down and kiryu just talks to him like it’s the only way out. Then Nishki can’t bring himself to putting down his own Bro. Then after that I played Kiwami and the struggle with him the whole game struck me that much harder.

Picking up a phone has the same energy as Light eating a potato chip

I just beat Yakuza 0. It's my first Yakuza game ever. And im absolutely in love. I almost cried during multiple game moments. The story and passions just run so incredibly deep. I wish every game strived to be more like Yakuza.

There are only 2 types of gamers in the world. 1. Who love the series and can't wait for the next one. 2. And those who have never played it.

I know I'm VERY late to this but I just found this video and wanted to add my two cents. The thing that I find the most intrinsic beauty of Yakuza is the mundane. It allows the world to be grounded in a way that most games miss. Yes, there are absurd and bombastic moments, but it's in a way that doesn't wholly break the immersion because you come to expect it and it fits the world so tightly that it would cause the game to come apart at the seams and fall into the generic action/adventure/rpg trope. The mundane is what ultimately shows the protagonist being a deep and rich character, who is also a major badass and should not be fucked with. The side characters feel like main characters, or at least majorly supporting roles without stealing the spotlight. Some people will like other games in the series and not others but every game is beautifully written, acted and brought to life with the strong cohesion of the world it takes place in.

"Yakuza has powerful men, tearing off shirts...slamming their fists into each other's bodies" Kiryu's Depressing Adventure

Dude I'm so glad you added "very attractive" when you were talking about Kiryu

If I could summarize the Yakuza series with one statement. it would be "I'mma beat the evil out of you boy!"

Something I don't see really talked about that is worth mentioning is the fact that Kiryu's story is probably the longest story in gaming. Most other series with over 10 entries are either not particularly focused on their narrative or change protagonists between every few entries. I don't know my own neighborhood as well as I know Kamurocho, I don't know know my friends as well as I know Kiryu, Majima and Taiga.

Kiryu should easily be in any top ten best video game protagonists. Throughout the entire series literally every facet of his character is explored and makes you so invested in him. For a game to make you confident thar Kiryu will prevail against all odds, yet at the same time make you want to protect his virtue is enthralling and these two things encapsulate two key factors about his character. He's an unfiltered badass who is the quintessential tough guy, but he's also insecure, loyal, and loving to a fault and it makes him constantly get into trouble.

12:43 - _while showing a scene of 40-year old Daigo on screen:_ "...or in several cases, a small child" Wow, I actually almost spit my drink all over my laptop from laughing so hard. It's true though, Daigo is the biggest baby of them all and I love it.

To me, the Yakuza series present itself has nothing more than video games. By that I mean that it's sole and unique goal is to make you have fun, that's all it cares about. And to make sure you will have fun, those games will culminate amazing stories, crazy side quests, funny side games, amazing characters, etc. This isn't a game that will shy away from trying new things, breaking its own immersion, delivering an emotional story and cathartic gameplay and in an age where AAA Games either strive to be gamble-filled MMOs or walking simulator to feel "immersive and cinematic", I'm so fucking glad this gem of a series exist to make me have fun by just holding my controller. Thank you Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku series, I love you.

"You're not god here, you're just another person" Another person: Fights 2 tigers at once, beats up gangs for breakfast, gets surrounded by 100 men, beats most of them and gets saved by crazy 1 eyed hyena

I just finished Yakuza 0 two days ago and also played through Kiwami 1 & 2 prior. I am madly addicted to these games, but that Majima/Makoto story arch will tear out any grown man's heart. The ending in Majima Saga had me crying, and as much as it was for the best, you still cannot help but feel bad for a love that will never happen that Majima pushed for to protect Makoto.

Dude,​ you could explain Teletubbies and you'd make me want to watch it.

I was watching a guy stream Yakuza 0 a while back, and he was absolutely hooked on Pocket Circuit Fighter. As gripping as the main story can be, the distractions along the way are equally so.

I first watched this video a little over a year ago and picked up Zero and the Kiwamis in a sale because of it. Having just now finished Kiwami 2, I can say with certainty that next summer when I get time again I'll definitely be trying to finish the rest of the Kiryu saga. Hot dang these games make me feel things I wish I could have felt when I was younger and taught me things I had to learn the hard way in my life. Also the ending to that bonus Majima Saga in Kiwami 2 is a real tearjerker, holy shit.

11:39 bruh the first time i saw how he typed sent me😂😂

I’ve played every mainline Yakuza game (and Judgment) and this is one of my favorite series of all time. Please someone explain to me why the hell am I watching this video for the third time with the same dumb smile on my face

"Discovering what really matters in life" *looks at grown men pretending to be babies* Finally, A game series for me!

*"Yakuza is a series about hardship"* background visuals: *sunao ni I love you*

Remember. Kiryu never killed anyone. Those guns are filled with rubber bullets, those swords and knives have rubber blades and those rocket launchers have rubber explosions.

_Su nao ni _*_I LOVE YOU_* I love this series so much, can't wait for Kiwami 2 and the remasters

I initially bought Yakuza 0 on a whim.. wanted to see what this weird game was.. I now own all the Yakuza games and can’t imagine not playing this series that has become my all time favorite. It’s been such a rare and great surprise to just kinda fall into the Yakuza series. Great video explaining to others the reason these games are so amazing!

Your mini-documentary analysis are truly great, you know a lot about what you are talking about and you tell it in an absorbing way. I hope you can upload much more high quality material.

Thank you so much for this video! I had never heard of these games before you published this video and now I've played every mainline title. It's now my favorite video game series. Keep up the great work.

Why you should play Yakuza Every interaction with Goro Majima

I love how the actual yakuza praised the game for accuracy lol

12:43 "Or in several cases a small child" *shows a picture of ADULT Daigo*

Yakuza is the Gintama of video games, makes you experience all sorts of emotions but not one specifically(maybe comfort)

"discovering what really matters in life" grown men in diapers

I actually like the Yakuza logic of not beating random civillians, because in GTA especially 5 and 4 you're pretty much just a petty criminal trying to make it big and stuff, in Yakuza you're an.. "honorable" man of.. high.. ranking... gang watchamacallits..

Started playing Yakuza 0 three days ago and I've had so many laughs, so many WTF moments it's already one of my fave games. Nothing could have prepared me for the craziness that is this game and the fights are amazing! Forever thankful to Nagoshi for creating this gem of a series.

I love how when he was talking about the plot points, once he reached the “Small Child” point, he has Daigo in one of the pictures and I love it

Gaming on the whole likes to say "the world is a character", but it's only Yakuza that I feel actually conveys that. You only really get the feeling if you play at least two or three of the mainline games, where you get to see the evolution of Kamurocho. You play 30-50 hours of these games depending on how much you dive into minigames and substories. In that time you learn the streets, know where these little nooks are. Each time you return to Kamurocho you go to your old haunts, see if they're still there or how it has changed. I get a few plates from thugs and without even having to look at the map in a brand new Yakuza game, I can navigate my way to Ebisu pawn. For about five games many players could make a beeline to the Karaoke minigame as soon as the game would let them without having to look at the map. It's like coming back to your home town every few years and seeing how it's changed. The Yakuza series is the only series I feel lets the world it inhabits evolve and grow in what seems like a natural way.

Yakuza. The Jojos Bizarre Adventure of video games. Both are goofy but serious, both have adult men do badass things while dressed like a supermodel and both are loved by Eyepatch Wolf.🐺

Just beat Yakuza: Like a Dragon today after going through the other main titles. Feels great being a fan of this franchise and I will never forget this amazing journey. I can't wait to start the Judgement games soon and the many Yakuza titles to come in the near future like the upcoming Ishin remake.

This video got me into this absolutely incredible series. These games are like nothing I have ever experienced, these games have had me rolling with laughter and tearing up like a child. Thank you for making this video. These games have ended up meaning more to me than I thought games ever could.

How to play the series: 1. Play Yakuza 0 2. Play Yakuza Kiwami (Don't listen to the people telling you to play the original PS2 Yakuza. Its combat is so clunky, the English dub ruins it & the villain doesn't get any back story or character development. Yakuza Kiwami fixes all of those issues.) 3. Play Yakuza Kiwami 2 or the original PS2 Yakuza 2. Both of them are fine. Yakuza 2 doesn't have a terrible dub, its combat is much better than the first game & the villain is actually great. Kiwami 2 will obviously have much better graphics since it's a PS4 game. 4. Play the remastered version of Yakuza 3 when it come out. The original Yakuza 3 on PS3 had a lot of cut content and the localization was bad. The remastered version on PS4 will have a better localization, resolution, framerate and all of the content is left intact. 5. Play Yakuza 4. Both the original PS3 version and the remastered PS4 version are fine. The remaster will have better resolution and framerate. 6. Play Yakuza 5. Both the original PS3 version and the remastered PS4 version are fine. The remaster will have better resolution and framerate. 7. Play Yakuza 6: The Song of Life.

"Yakuza is a game about hardship." (shows a clip of a J-Pop concert scene)

"Or in several cases, a small child" Don't pretend you didn't just show a picture of Daigo in the middle of two children. Absolutely beautiful .

amazing vid, loved it fom beginning to end fr you're mad good at analyzing and summarizing this kinda stuff

9:56 '' Very attractive '' I FELT THAT

Seriously one of the most original game series around, you really don't see anything else like it at all. It flies under so many radars but is honestly one of the best series ever made.

Everyone says "Start at Yakuza 0", meanwhile I binge-played ALL the Yakuza games EXCEPT for 0, yet... And boy do I love these series, and am happy to see such meticulous videos about 'em. Our dude Kiryu deserves way, way more attention, and this helps. Good stuff!

Old video i know but as someone who is really passionate about the yakuza series this video was so fun to watch...thank you for making it. :)

I wonder if David Cage is even aware of how much better this series handles *'emotions'* than any of his games ever have, and probably ever will.

It's one of the more unique game series out there. Thanks for making a video about this series!

Thank you Super Eye Patch Wolf for introducing me to this series 2 years ago... I only just finished y0 and now trying to save some money to buy Kiwami! Hope you have a good 2021

I don't mean to shit on any of Eyepatchwolf's recent work, I think it's all incredible, especially the new stuff, and I think this video stands out perhaps only because it's such an exceptional thing but, Man, this has got to be my favourite video on the channel, it's just so perfect in every respect in a way I can't totally format into words. It's a fantastic pitch for the games, captures what makes them so special, and I think most importantly, has this real heart which is what I think really defines great SEW videos.

I bought a used copy of Yakuza 0. I've spent 3 hours trying to figure out majong

Some of the most heart-wrenching parts of Yakuza are some of the "villains" and opponents that Kiryu is forced to face. Nishkiyama and Ryuji Goda are the two I immediately think of. Unfortunate events, tragic circumstances and overbearing pride leads Kiryu to fighting people that are/were his best friends and people that could've been friends if things were a little different. And even the ones he does get close with will meet some kind of horrible end or get caught up in a struggle that will shake their personal foundations. I started with Yakuza Kiwami before moving to Yakuza 0 and I highly recommend taking that route as well. To start with turned Nishki and balls-insane Majima (everywhere) made me appreciate the time I got to better learn about them in 0. It also heavily added to the tragedy that are these characters. That scene with Nishki and Kiryu in the woods hit real hard on my first experience. Kazuma Kiryu is the most well-written character I think I've ever had the pleasure of learning about. The internal struggles and, as you mentioned, his duality of Yakuza and normal life puts him on paths that most people couldn't even begin to handle. He's tragic, he's badass, he's kind-hearted and while not the brightest, he's figured out how to push through life no matter how the deck's stacked against him. As he's portrayed by his friends in the later games, he's a symbol of hope. Not just for Kamurocho or the Tojo Clan, but for all of Japan. Even if they don't know who he is outside of the criminal underworld. And Goro Majima. We all know he's crazy. We all know he's fun. But wait until you see him "normal" and struggling.

This is an amazing way to explain the series. I just started playing 0 a few months ago. I'm so upset I didn't try these games earlier, they're complete gold!

I never thought a game series could be so emotional, epic, and goofy at the same time. and i love yakuza for that.