Ranking the Yakuza Series: ‘Yakuza 5’
Yakuza 5 is the most ambitious game in the series, featuring five locations and five playable protagonists. Borrowing three characters from Yakuza 4, Taiga Saejima and Shun Akiyama make their return alongside Kazuma Kiryu. Yakuza 5 also introduces two new playable characters, Haruka Sawamura and Tatsuo Shinada, who are easily the highlights of the game. Despite all of these characters carrying out their chapters in physically different locations, the story hangs together through the clever use of cliffhangers. For instance, Kiryu’s opening segment culminates in the news that Goro Majima has been killed – something shocking to both Kiryu and the player. But right as we learn this information, the game moves on from Kiryu and we are left with dozens of questions moving forward. As each character’s arc stops just before their climax, the tension continues to build throughout the entire game, driving me eagerly forward to learn more.
While I was initially skeptical of how Yakuza 4 spread itself thin with four protagonists, my hopes were generally high for Yakuza 5. Though the pacing might wear this game a little thin, my playthrough clocking in around 45 hours without doing all of the substories and side activities, I think the closing chapters of the finale stick the landing rather well. It’s a tough balancing act to make me care about five separate characters and then, for narrative purposes, intertwine them for dramatic effect at the end. As evidence of this game’s ambition, each character has their own dedicated mini-games and activities that you can engage in, all of which have depth and complexity to them. For example, Saejima finds himself surviving up in a frozen mountain village and has to learn to hunt. You can dunk several hours methodically tracking and trapping prey, some of which can even attack you if you’re not careful. Shinada, as well, has an entire baseball section where you can max out his stats at the batting cages. My favorite character-specific activity throughout the entire game, however, was Haruka’s dance battles. In an initially overwhelming but ultimately simplistic rhythm game, you have to time various button presses that are coming at you from multiple places on the screen. These segments were so poppy and high-energy that I was seeking out every single one I could, despite the same song playing during each battle.
Yakuza 5 subverts many conventions of the series. The notorious Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu, has adopted a mundane taxi driving job under a pseudonym, for example. Whereas Yakuza 4 started the player off with three protagonists before getting to play as Kiryu, Yakuza 5 starts off with Kiryu and then abandons him in the background until the finale. It’s fascinating to explore the narrative reasons underlying these shifts in gameplay and focus. Though part of me always wanted to get back to playing as Kiryu, I found myself deeply engrossed with many sections – notably Haruka and Shinada – throughout the game. Part of what makes the Yakuza series so brilliant is the degree to which humanity and vulnerability are depicted. All of the weirdness and ugliness shines through. Broken people put themselves back together for the sake of carrying on. And when done right, as in this game, that experience of fragile humanity is beautiful.
Thank you for reading. Your Patreon support keeps our community entirely Ad free.
