Summary
TheYakuzagames are known for their iconic map and loads of substories, but mainly for their captivating storylines. These games have immersive narratives where, most of the time, players are watching cutscenes orexploringKamurochoto witness the life ofKiryu Kazamaand his comrades unfold.
Throughout the stories inYakuza, there are a lot of twists and turns and massive plot twists that change the outcome of the story. There are a lot of plot twists, and naming every single one can cover pages, so instead, this list will cover some of the bigger ones in the story throughout the games.
Unsurprisingly, this list will feature major spoilers
Yakuza 0is a game that came out after the launch of the first five installments in the series. The game focuses on the story of Kiryu Kazama andGoro Majimabefore their introduction inYakuza 1. Kiryu Kazama meetsTachibana, while Goro Majima has to killMakoto, which he ends up not doing.
As the story progresses, Kiryu finds outOdahas betrayed them and beats him in a fight. After that,the players are able to see a flashback scenewhere Oda is shocked to hear Tachibana calling Makoto her sister when she appears on the television. This scene catches many of the players by surprise, as most people are speculating at this point in this story, but their theory is confirmed.
However, a reunion never occurs between the two long-lost siblings as Tachibana is killed before Makoto can meet him.
InYakuza 1,Akira NishikiyamakillsSohei Dojima, who is the leader of the Dojima family, in order to protectYumi, his childhood friend. Kiryu, who is also Yumi’s friend and sworn brother to Akira, decides to take the blame for the murder and spends ten years in prison.After coming out of prison, Kiryu finds out that Yumi is missing and finds a little girl,Haruka,who is looking for her mother,Mizuki.
As the story progresses, Kiryu protects Haruka and tries to find his mother, who might know where Yumi is. In Chapter 12, Kiryu and Haruka find out that the woman Kiryu is chasing and Haruka’s mother is, in fact, the same person. Kazama created a fake identity for Yumi so that she could live as a different person.
InYakuza 3,Kiryu opens an orphanageand tries to live a normal life. However, the life of a Yakuza can never be simple, as Kiryu has to make his way back to Kamurocho. During Chapter 8, Kiryu makes his way to theSnake Flower Triad, who have takenRikiya. As Kiryu is fightingLau Ka Long, a person shoots Lau and tells Kiryu he has beautiful eyes. This person looks exactly likeShintaro Kazama, the mentor of Kiryu who died inYakuza 1.
Kiryu is unable to understand why the person resembles his mentor, as are the players. In the next chapter, Defense MinisterTamiyatells Kiryu that the person on the roof wasJoji Kazama, the brother of Shintaro Kazama, and is working for the CIA.
Probably the most well-known event in theYakuzagames is theUeno Seiwa Hit. AsTaiga Saejima, the sworn brother of Goro Majima, is a playable character inYakuza 4, players get to see his story. The Ueno Seiwa Hit appeared in the story ofYakuza 0andYakuza 4,which showed Saejima carrying multiple revolvers and killing around 16 Ueno Seiwa Clan.
Throughout the game, everyone believes this to be the case; however, in the latter chapters,Katsuragireveals that the weapons provided to Saejima had rubber bullets in them, and no one was killed. He also reveals that he took out his own gun to kill all the Ueno Seiwa people. This plot twist is a major one in the story as players realize that Saejima was falsely charged and given the death penalty.
InYakuza 6: The Song of Life,Kiryu returns to the orphanage after spending three years in prison and finds out that Haruka is missing. Kiryu later finds her infant sonHarutoand makes it his mission to find out where Haruko is and who the father is. The rest of the game is spent inHiroshimawhere Kiryu tries to find more clues but ends up in the conflict between theTojo Clan, theSaio Triad, and theJingweon Mafia.
Kiryu and theHiroseFamily try to find Haruko through the chapters. At the end of chapter 9, Hirose reveals that the father of Haruto is none other thanYuta Usami. This comes as a shock to Kiryu and the rest of the Hirose Family, who had no idea.
Throughout the entirety ofYakuza: Like a Dragon, players are kept in the dark aboutKasuga Ichiban’s parents and who they are. But in Chapter 14, after fightingJo Sawashiro,players are shown the same Coin Locker cutscene, but this time from the perspective of Sawashiro.
The twist comes when it is revealed that there were two babies in the coin lockers, andArasakatook Sawashiro’s baby thinking the child was his. This confirms that the child Arasaka left behind was Ichiban, who was then raised atShangri-La.
The story ofLike A Dragon: Ishinfollows the story ofSakamoto Ryoma, who flees toKyoafter being framed for a murder he did not commit. He leaves his sworn brother back inTosaand makes his way to Kyo. Ryoma takes on the alias ofSaito Hajimeand focuses on finding the actual killer in Kyo. Throughout the chapters, Saito joins theShinsengumiand fights against severalpowerful samurai and swordsmen.
During the latter half of the story, Ryoma finds out that his sworn brother,Takechi Hanpeita, faked his own death and is the person claiming to be Sakamoto Ryoma in order to have good ties with British arms dealers. This comes as a shocking point in the story as the game then starts to show Takechi as the main antagonist of the game.
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