Like a Dragon: Difference between revisions

'''''Ryu Ga Gotoku''''' (''Like a Dragon''), or '''''Yakuza''''' as it's known in America, is a video game brawler series for the PS2 and PS3. The first game follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu (桐生 一馬, Kiryū Kazuma), the "Dragon of Dojima," a former Yakuza whose release from prison after a 10-year sentence sparks the setup of the first game's plot. After his release, Kazuma returns and finds that his friend is missing and the clan to which he once belonged (the Tojo Clan) has had 10 billion yen (approx. $100 million US) stolen from them, and the entire Japanese underworld is now searching for the money. The game was heavily acclaimed in Japan for being the first game to explore Yakuza culture with such depth and ''as it is claimed'' authenticity to the nature of Japan's criminal underground (info from Wikipedia).

 

 

Fighting enemies earns you experience points to gain new moves to punish them with, and you can also learn new moves by doing sidequests. There's also tons of items and equipment to find, and you can even create your own. The series is considered by many players to be the spiritual successor to ''[[Shenmue]]'', and is also compared to such classic old-school series as ''[[Streets of Rage]]'' and ''[[River City Ransom]]''.

* [[Bad Export for You]]: The US release of ''Yakuza 3'' unfortunately cut some of the features like mahjong and managing a massage parlor. Granted, they didn't do this out of vindictiveness so much as feeling that western gamers just wouldn't get mahjong or how to play shogi. Though losing the [[Dating Sim]] aspect of the hostess clubs was actually well-received by some players. It did, however, result in the MEB location being little more than a booth decorated with pictures of women.

* [[Batter Up]]: Goro Majima, in one of his more psycho moments, takes a baseball bat to one of his underlings.

* [[Betting Minigame]]: The two hidden (and illegal) Casinos as well as the (also hidden and illegal) Cho-Han Dice Parlor in Kamurocho, although oddly enough they don't offer a direct cash payout, rather relying on a prize exchange system. There's also the Volcano Video Slot Parlor which is more legal and also relies on a prize exchange system for the payoffs.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: The other side of Kazuma, once he has been pushed. Don't push him.

*** {{spoiler|[[Real Men Wear Pink|A PINK semi-truck.]]}}

* [[The City Narrows]]: Purgatory.

** Somewhat averted in future games, as the original Japanese dialogue is much tamer compared to the first game, which spews F-bombs any chance it gets.

* [[Conservation of Ninjutsu]]: Elite bosses are pretty much the only real threat to Kazuma and company. Mooks exist to be splattered across the curb in spectacular fashion.

* [[Drunken Master]]: It's a very bad idea to pick a fight with Kazuma. It's an even WORSE idea to pick a fight with Kazuma ''when he's drunk'': while drunk, his Heat meter recharges faster, and he even has some special(not to mention BONE SHATTERING) moves that he can only do while drunk. You will probably spend lots of yen just getting him hammered or buying alcohol to go to always make sure you have a little extra oomph.

** Which is ironic since the game makes confrontations with [[Mooks]] more likely when Kazuma's buzzed.

** And one of the available styles in ''Kenzan!'', a no-brainer considering that Kiryu is {{spoiler|also [[Miyamoto Musashi]]}}.

** Lau Ka Long in the first game also takes up a pair of swords after receiving a good amount of physical damage.

** In addition, Hanaya was called Kage, although the second game referred to this specific [[Dub Name Change]] by adding the title "Florist." ''Hanaya'' is literally the Japanese word for "florist".

** Interestingly, the Western release of the fourth game averts this trope and refers to almost everyone by their Japanese names (the only exception is Kage, who is referred to as "Florist" in the subtitles).

** And this is played with in the second game. {{spoiler|1=In a sidequest, Kazuma finds out that a couple of clowns have been shaking down goods and services from people by masquerading as him and his late buddy [[Dead Person Impersonation|Shinji Tanaka]]. Rarely in video game history has there been such an instance of NPCs [[Hoist By His Own Petard|invoking]] a [[Curb Stomp Battle]] on [[Too Dumb to Live|themselves.]]}}

** Played with in ''3'': part of the beginning tutorial is a gang of mooks working for the ''Fuma'' Clan, Kazuma's original outfit. Like all other mooks, they pick a fight with Kazuma just for shits and giggles. After beating them within an inch of their life, their boss shows up and chastises them for not bowing to the Tojo Clan's Fourth Chairman. The mooks are [[Mass Oh Crap|HORRIFIED.]]

** Lau Ka Long (from ''1'') - The leader of the Chinese Triads.

** Andre Richardson (from ''3'') - Corrupt CIA Agent who is the leader of Black Monday, an arms dealing group.

* [[Expy]]: The boss of the Purple Killers in the fourth game is the Joker. This is apparent even before you meet him, being described as a guy in a purple suit with an insane smirk. {{spoiler|Then you find out he's killer in clown makeup with mannerisms very similar to Heath Ledger's Joker and... yeah.}}

* [[Extremity Extremist]]: Akiyama and Tanimura in the fourth game are both mild examples. Tanimura's attack on a downed attack is even a crouching punch as opposed to a stomp like everyone else. Their basic combos play it straight, but as they learn new abilities their HEAT actions (and more advenced combos) they branch out considerably.

* [[Heroic Bloodshed]]: ''Ryu Ga Gotoku'' has a lot in common with Heroic Bloodshed movies in terms of thematic elements.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: So many. There's an instance of [[Taking the Bullet]] pretty much once per game.

** For the English version of the first game:

*** As was stated earlier, Majima is [[Mark Hamill|The Joker]] and Nishiki is [[Smallville|Lex Luthor]].

* [[Hide Your Children]]: Averted in the third game, not only with the Sunshine Orphanage kids, but other kids as well can be seen walking around Downtown Ryukubu.

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: SO MUCH.

** 'Kay, i'll get started anyway: the most-likely-armed and still conscious treacherous ''[[Big Bad]]'' was defeated? Good, just leave him there on the ground and let's do a group hug. It happens way more often than it should, with predictable consequences. The most glaringly obvious instance of this is (warning, Yakuza 4 ending-breaker spoilers) {{spoiler|the whole finale, really. Munakata, the corrupt leader of the Tokyo police, is beaten in a fight, along with some other big figures in the game. Munakata is cornered and Tanimura whips out a revolver, ready to shoot him to settle some past debts. Arai comes by his side and stops him, taking out an automatic pistol of his own, and saying Munakata doesn't even deserve to die, seeing as he screwed lots of people for power. [[Idiot Ball|Arai then, without a shred of reasoning, drops his pistol on the ground mere feet away from Munakata and walks away.]] Munakata gets up and starts gloating that the protagonists really can't do a thing to him, because he's too important to the police. When Akiyama unveils a newspaper that would undoubtedly arrest Munakata, he goes on a crazy fit, grabs the easily accessible pistol and shoots Akiyama, who is miraculously saved by a bunch of money. Tanimura, who is a police officer, kicks the gun away from Munakata and cuffs him... while still leaving the pistol near arm's reach. Predictably, when everyone turns their backs again, he jumps at the pistol and shoots himself. All of this insane recklessness is only furthered when you remember ''he still has a loaded revolver pocketed somewhere'' from his last boss fight with Tanimura. Talk about sheer, unflinching stupidity.}}

** Akiyama's safe is just as bad... {{spoiler|the man keeps 100 billion yen in a safe in his office (which he neglects to lock) in a massive, massive vault... the only security? The button to open it is behind a book. That is literally the only thing between any random person and 100 billion yen. It's rather telling when the bad guys find it completely by accident, and weren't even looking for anything.}}

* [[Kung Foley]]: Kazuma's stronger punches- particularly with one of his [[Counter Attack]] moves or when he uses the [[Desperation Attack]]- have a deep bass echo to convey just how brutally powerful they are.

* [[The Lancer]]: Shinji Tanaka in the first game, Daigo Dojima in the second, Rikiya Shimabukuro in the third.

* [[Limit Break]]: The Heat moves.

* [[Loan Shark]]: Shun Akiyama from Yakuza 4 operates as one. Subverted in that he loans out money with no interest or collateral, as long that the recipient [[Secret Test of Character|passes one of his tests]].

* [[Old Save Bonus]]: Starting a file for the second game in a card with the files from the first nets Kazuma a bonanza of items, most of which Haruka gave to him in the first game to indicate his [[Karma Meter]] progression and comprise of one-shot healing items and accessories that affect his stats.

** In ''Yakuza 3'' (may be JP version only), having a ''Kenzan!'' save file will net you Ukiyo's Bell, an exclusive protective item.

* [[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You]]: {{spoiler|Goro Majima pretty much gives the as the reason why he took a knife meant for Kazuma in the gut... right after coldcocking the underling who used the aformentioned knife. }}

* [[Papa Wolf]]: Do not mess with little Haruka, Kazuma's adoptive daughter, if you value your life.

* [[Paper Fan of Doom]]: Ryuji gets to use this ''of all things'' to fend off various mutated zombies in ''Of The End/Dead Souls'', when trapped in a gas leak. Literally played straight, as it only takes ''a few hits'' to kill what could've taken lots of bullets, and has infinite durability

* [[Playing Against Type]]: In the English version of the first game, Bill Farmer- best known as the voice of Goofy- gives a rather remarkable and down-to-earth serious performance as Detective Makoto Date.

{{quote| '''Kazuma''': [[Suicidal Overconfidence|So you're ready for me?]] [[Bring It|Then step the fuck up]], it's time to ''[[Tranquil Fury|die]]''.}}

* [[Press X to Not Die]]: {{spoiler|You have to press a button on your last attack against the final boss of Ryu Ga Gotoku 2. If you don't, well...}}

* [[Scary Black Man]]: Gary "Buster" Holmes, although only in the ring. Outside of it he's a rather amicable [[Gentle Giant]].

** {{spoiler|And in ''Of the End/Dead Souls'', Gary is your personal Drill Instructor for Zombie Killer Boot Camp.}}

* [[Shout Out]]: Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 contained references to the previous game, [[Ashita no Joe]], SEGA, the [[PS 3]] cat and even [[The Matrix]] (the "Man in black").

** {{spoiler|It could be argued that the [[Mind Screw]] [[Man Behind the Man]] reveal towards the end is a veiled reference to [[Metal Gear Solid]].}}

*** In the same vein, the fourth installment introduces Daisaku Minami, a drunken boxer who has a few moves directly lifted from [[Virtua Fighter|Shun Di]] complete with appropriate sound effect.

** ''Of the End/Dead Souls'' has a couple of nods to the live action movie: Majima's firearm of choice is a shotgun, and one of the Team Heat Actions has him hitting a target with a line drive... except in ''Of the End/Dead Souls'' he uses his SPAS-12 as a baseball bat and the "ball" happens to be a grenade that a Super Zombie [[Resident Evil|B.O.W.]] swallows to predictable result.

** If one manages to look closely, Andre Richardson ({{spoiler|Black Monday's leader, a crooked CIA agent and one of the [[Big Bad|Big Bads]] of ''3''}}) looks suprisingly similar to [[Resident Evil|Albert Wesker]]. Many a fan have indulged in calling him "[[Fan Nickname|Wesker Jr.]]"

* [[Shown Their Work]]: According to actual Yakuza who played it, it's not wildly off the mark, and most of the inaccuracies fall under [[Acceptable Breaks From Reality]].

* [[Tattooed Crook]]: Given that the game series deals heavily with the subject of Yakuza this is ''de rigeur''. The tattoos on the main characters (Kazuma- Blue Dragon, Nishiki- Carp, Majima- Oni, Goda- Gold Dragon) turn out to be very symbolic in the games and are often reflective of their personalities and traits.

* [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]]: Beating the crap out of dozens of people? Forgivable. One lowly punk getting shot/stabbed to death? [[Serious Business]]. Like, clan-war serious. This may come off as [[Values Dissonance]] for people used to western crime dramas, but remember that guns (and thus, gun violence) are a lot rarer in Japan, plus yakuza are ''really'' political.

* [[Turncoat]]: So far, apart from [[The Lancer|Shinji Tanaka]], significant individuals in the Nishiki Family are doomed to this role.

* [[Two Guys and A Girl]]: Kazuma, Nishiki, and Yumi in the first game pretty much fits this trope, especially as the story went by.

** Majima has a [[Shotguns Are Just Better|pump-action shotgun.]]

** Ryuji's main firearm is actually one of his arms, [[Gatling Good|which transforms into a gatling gun.]]

** Yet played straight in the same game with {{spoiler|Rikiya's childhood's friend}}. The side mission where he finds her working in a pole dancing club is treated like a main mission, with cutscene and all. {{spoiler|Rikiya promises to take her out of this life style for good}}, but he ends up {{spoiler|dead in the end}}, but the {{spoiler|girl}} is never brought up in the main storyline, and how {{spoiler|she feels about her White Knight being dead}} is left unknown.

* [[Wide Open Sandbox]]: Kamurocho in general, and other locations as the series goes on.