Until just a few years ago, Yakuza was a PlayStation exclusive, but with the series' growing popularity, it's now available on virtually every platform, giving us a lot of freedom to choose. Which platform do you think is the best?
For those who don't know, Ichiban breaks the fourth wall and has a Twitter account where he's a sort of "influencer," posting photos of his daily life. This makes sense considering he's popularly known as the Hero of Yokohama, and we, the account's followers, are essentially his fans within the Yakuza universe, making it all function as a kind of ARG (Augmented Reality Game).
Since this account was created, there have been many doubts about whether it was official or not, but RGG gave itself away by posting a photo of the Pirate Yakuza wardrobe at the Revolve Bar before the game was officially revealed. So, now that the account is official, the question remains: is its content canon or not? Because there are definitely a lot of interesting things we can learn thanks to this account:
The gang is still kicking and they meet up frequently
Ichiban currently has a job (we don't know what it is)
He's dating Saeko
He regularly visits Tomizawa and his mom in Hawaii, and he also helps her and Lani with Palekana
Ichiban traveled to Okinawa where he met none other than Mac
He's now participating in the Dragon Kart championship in Hawaii
He's started following the Dragon Quest series again, now a bigger fan than ever, doing cosplays and visiting conventions
Last and most important...Ichiban visits Kiryu at Christmas 2024, where Kiryu seems to have recovered from cancer and is living a peaceful life with his family in Okinawa! (This would be shortly after the events of Pirate Yakuza) Also, after a long time, we finally see Yuta again. Perhaps... just perhaps, this explains why Kiryu is healthy in the Yakuza 8 DLC, which takes place after the events of the main story
What do you think? Do you believe these tweets are canon? Would you like them to be canon, or should they simply remain a "gift" from RGG to fans that shouldn't be taken seriously?
You know what? Despite all the hate people have for it, and even though I've said Yakuza 5 has the worst story in the entire series... I have to say that everything else is perfect: the art style, the gameplay, the soundtrack, the bosses... everything. It's a shame it falls short in the series' main aspect
Yes, voice actors are among the many things Reuse Ga Gotoku recycle
P.S: I didn't include cases like Joongi-han, Saeko/Nanoha, or the Ishin! counterparts because I think it's pretty obvious they use the same voice actors and there's no need to mention it
It seems we'll have to wait a little longer for a glimpse of Yakuza 9, but I think we currently have several clues to give us an idea of what the central focus of the plot and some elements might be. Obviously, these are all just theories based on the small hints we've had lately, so take everything with a grain of salt (spoiler alert for Pirate Yakuza and Kiwami 3)
Kiryu's Fate: By now, we all know RGG's fascination with resurrecting its characters, so it's more than obvious that they won't let Kiryu, who has been the face of the series for over 20 years, die of cancer, and they'll find a reason for him to recover. His mention and "appearance" at the end of Pirate Yakuza suggest this. As a more "abstract" clue, Kiryu's room number is 707. In Japanese culture, the number seven is a strong symbol of good fortune, and the number 707 itself represents the awakening of consciousness and a strong divine connection.
The Elixir of Eternal Life as a Central Plot Element: As many of us have already deduced, the central plot element will be the search for a cure for Kiryu, and this will likely be the Elixir of Eternal Life mentioned in Pirate Yakuza. I think they deliberately made Majima fail to find the cure to further develop the elixir's lore in the future. Furthermore, it's quite a coincidence that the elixir is called "The Heart of the Dragon" (curious, isn't it?) Some will say this isn't possible because Rodriguez's father threw the rocks to the bottom of the ocean, but it's also made clear that those rocks aren't the only ones in the world, and this was surely a deliberate decision to make obtaining the cure more difficult.
Ichiban, the link that ties it all together: Again, I highly doubt that Ichiban's cameo at the end of Pirate Yakuza is a coincidence. Everything seems to indicate that Ichiban and his friends' next big adventure will be finding a cure for Kiryu. The fact that he appears listening to Majima's stories reinforces this, and shortly before the dance scene begins, Ichiban says he's going to talk to Jason (who is also investigating how to obtain the elixir). It's a simple plot trigger, but narratively coherent enough for Ichiban and his friends to become involved into something bigger due to the great respect and affection they feel for Kiryu.
4."To be continued": This is the message that appears at the end of Pirate Yakuza right after Majima and Saejima visit Kiryu. It's the first and, so far, only time a message appears in the series, and I think it's a clear indication that the plot of the elixir, or more broadly, the cure for Kiryu, is not yet over.
What your theories do you have? I'd like to read your thoughts
Alright, I'll start the chaos:
Ichiban is better than Kiryu
Dead Souls and Yakuza 3 are actually good games
Akiyama is overrated and Daigo is underrated
Yakuza 5 is the worst game in the series (story wise)
Shimano and Sawashiro are actually great characters and I like them
The English dub is actually great, and in many cases, even better than the Japanese one
Alright, your move!
It's been 6 years since the release of the most revolutionary game in the series, not only completely changing the gameplay we'd been used to for 15 years, but also introducing us to the character who would become the new face of the series.
This question might seem old, but I've recently realized that Ichiban not only has many fans, but also many haters. So, what do you think? Is Ichiban a worthy successor to Kiryu as the face of the series, or should Kiryu remain the eternal protagonist?
As I always do with these kinds of posts, I'll take the first bullet: Like everyone else, I like Akiyama, but beyond liking his design, his moveset, and his "cool" personality, I've never really connected with him because his backstory doesn't seem very interesting to me, and I think the biggest culprit for this is Yakuza 4 and its messed up narrative, which failed to delve into his backstory.
So, I think he's a cool character, and it would definitely be good to have him back in a game with an important role, but I don't think he's strictly necessary, as many who are clamoring for his return claim.
Despite all this, I think if they were to make an Akiyama Gaiden that explored him further, my opinion might change. After all, Majima was a flat character until Yakuza 4-5, where RGG started developing him, and he ended up becoming one of the best characters in the series.
Alright, it's your turn!
In several posts I've already mentioned that Majima is the greatest irony of the series. That reckless Yakuza with an intimidating appearance, seen as a criminal and popularly known as "the mad dog," has proven to be one of the most human characters in the series, a stark contrast to many of the villains we've seen, who pretend to be good people in public but are actually complete bastards in the shadows.
Furthermore, it's even poetic that the funniest character in the series is also the one (at least in my opinion) who has suffered the most
One of the most controversial aspects of the series is the characters' ages in many ways, but one of the most debated is the fact that the characters don't age, at least physically.
I think this is especially noticeable since the arrival of the Dragon Engine, because as you can see in the image, the characters used to change from game to game, until the Dragon Engine came along and made them all look younger, and also froze their ages (except for Kiryu, for obvious reasons)
Do you think this is the fault of the Dragon Engine or was it simply an artistic decision by RGG? Would you like to see the characters age realistically or do you prefer them to stay young?
PS: Before anyone points it out (because I know how some people are) yes, Majima is 31 years old in 1995, in the prologue of Yakuza 1 (the scene shown in the image), in the main game he is 41
At the request of many of you in my previous post, I decided to dedicate a post to the fallen soldiers, so now you'll have an idea of roughly how old they would be if RGG miraculously remembered their existence.
A few days ago I made a post showing the current ages of the main Yakuza characters, and many people pointed out Ichiban's age, saying he should have been younger so his time as the protagonist would have been longer, since at his current age (49 years old) Kiryu had already starred in 11 games, while Ichiban has only starred in 2.
Do you think Ichiban should have been at least a little younger, or is his age perfect?
This is the current age of our beloved characters, since, as you already know, they age in real time just like us. So this way you can get a rough idea of how old they'll be in Yakuza 9/Judgment 3
Important note: Before anyone points this out in the comments, I want to clarify that the ages were based solely on the year of birth. For example, Zhao hasn't actually turned 43 yet; his birthday is July 27th, but that's the age he'll be this year. So, to make things easier to understand, I did the same for all the characters. Have a nice day!