BACK WITH A VENGEANCE
In its most ambitious entry to date, the Yakuza franchise finally reclaims a place in the big leagues. With a strong story, a memorable cast, a staggering amount of side content, and multiple fully realized cities, Yakuza 5 radiates confidence. Its success feels earned, the result of years of experimentation and refinement. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio finally demonstrates a firm grasp on multi-protagonist storytelling.
The game is divided into five major story parts, four of which initially stand on their own, each with a different protagonist. These arcs are largely self-contained and consistently engaging. Only when they converge in the final act does the overarching plot become somewhat muddled. Until then, Yakuza 5 continuously reinvents itself, repurposing familiar mechanics while introducing new ideas. Each chapter feels distinctly shaped by its lead character’s personality and combat style.
The opening act stars Kazuma Kiryu, the series’ long-standing main character. His section is the most approachable, befitting his status as a legendary Tojo Clan enforcer. Having left his criminal past behind, Kiryu now lives under an alias as a taxi driver in the city of Nagasugai. He leads a modest life, supported by kind coworkers and a fair boss, sending what money he can spare back to the orphanage he once ran in Okinawa.
This fragile peace does not last. Kiryu soon learns that Daigo Dojima, head of the Tojo Clan and one of his closest allies, has vanished. Complicating matters further, Kiryu was the last person known to have seen him. His investigation into the disappearance gradually draws him into a larger conflict that ultimately intertwines with the other protagonists’ stories.
Haruka’s storyline is the most inventive of the five, exploring the darker underbelly of the idol industry. She is joined by a compelling new character, Tatsuo Shinada, a disgraced former professional baseball player. While his weapon-focused combat style feels less refined, his story—told from the perspective of a struggling working-class man—adds a welcome layer of grounded humanity.
Despite likely being the longest entry in the series, Yakuza 5 remains impressively well paced. Side activities are compartmentalized within each chapter, preventing the experience from becoming overwhelming. Every protagonist features a substantial side story complete with its own progression system, alongside numerous substories and a wealth of shared mini-games. All of it is optional, yet irresistibly engaging. As always, the distractions feel like the true heart of the Yakuza experience.
Not all side content is equally successful. Saejima’s extended hunting storyline overstays its welcome, and the VR training missions—side-scrolling brawls that awkwardly repurpose the main combat system—are outright dreadful. Thankfully, the highlights far outweigh the missteps. Kiryu’s taxi missions are unexpectedly enjoyable, Shinada’s baseball storyline offers poignant insight into his past, and Haruka’s idol arc stands out as the game’s brightest achievement.
Unlike the others, Haruka does not fight. Instead, she participates in rhythm-based dance battles and singing competitions, accompanied by fully animated performances. Outside the stage, she meets reporters, attends fan events, and appears on television, all in service of growing her popularity. Her songs are genuinely excellent, as are the karaoke tracks—listen to “Ring” or “Bakamitai” and tell me otherwise.
The remaining characters follow the traditional Yakuza formula of story missions and street brawls. Combat is largely unchanged from previous entries, so it bears little repeating. Each character has a distinct fighting style: Akiyama’s fast, acrobatic kicks are the most enjoyable, Kiryu’s versatile moveset makes him a master of all trades, while Saejima’s brute-force approach feels slow and cumbersome.
Shinada’s weapon-centric style is new to the series and benefits from a dedicated progression system that rewards frequent weapon use. It encourages improvisation—grabbing bikes, trash cans, or traffic cones mid-fight. Though he is mechanically the weakest fighter, his encounters are often the most challenging. In a nice character touch, Shinada refuses to wield a baseball bat out of respect for the sport that once defined him.
Of the four combat-focused protagonists, Shinada’s narrative is also the most compelling. One scene in particular stands out: a moment of betrayal met not with anger, but with a silent, devastated stare—shown from the betrayer’s perspective. In a series often prone to excessive dialogue, the restraint of that scene is a home run.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has always excelled at crafting charismatic characters, but here they begin to flesh them out with genuine depth. At its best, Yakuza storytelling thrives in individual moments rather than grand narrative arcs. A sprawling open-world game is rarely ideal for tightly structured plots, which is precisely why the substories are so vital. Short, focused, and emotionally efficient, they deliver meaningful gameplay and feeling in just a few minutes.
One standout is Saejima’s absurd food delivery substory. Stranded in snowy Sapporo over New Year’s, he agrees to deliver a meal for an injured courier. The destination is barely fifty meters away, yet the icy street turns the journey into chaos as pedestrians slide downhill like spinning insects, threatening to ruin the food. I laughed uncontrollably—especially when one passerby shouted, “At least this is the right way home!”
The game’s central theme revolves around dreams. Haruka embodies the hope of realizing aspirations long abandoned by others. The remaining protagonists rally around her, investing their own unfulfilled desires in her success. Placing her storyline at the center of the game provides a much-needed reprieve from the violence, reinforcing the emotional core.
Though the remastered version shows technical inconsistencies—dated visuals, invisible walls—it compensates with extraordinary environmental detail. Aside from Yakuza Kiwami 2, this may be the most immersive entry in the series. Streets feel alive, storefronts bustle, and overheard conversations subtly reflect your story progress. Even screenshots tell stories of their own.
Unfortunately, Yakuza 5 arrives near the end of Kazuma Kiryu’s long-running saga. Many players will never reach it, deterred by the hundreds of hours required to get there. Not every step along the way is this rewarding. But if you find yourself slogging through the weaker middle chapters of the series, remember this: somewhere near the end of the rainbow lies a game capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Yakuza 0, the masterpiece that likely began your journey
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