Why Yakuza became one of my favourite video games series

Before I go into this please watch the video from Super Eyepatch Wolfe for a large analysis and thoughts on the series as a whole as linked below. If not obvious spoilers for the Yakuza series below and throughout. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJVJX6G9cCA 

For me the narratives I enjoy are those driven by characters. To follow a character over the course of many instalments and see them grow. I can't think of many forms of media that have engrossed me in their characters and their world as the Yakuza series of games has. 

The first six games feature around Kazuma Kiryu and reformed gangster who is associated with the Tojo Clan where he gets constantly sucked into plots and schemes to kill or destroy the clan. The series runs this in parallel to Kiry's main aim to leave the yakuza for good and start over all this while trying to make it out alive while powerful clans and enemies come for his head to make his own legend. 

While many who have not played the games would expect this to be wall to wall action held in the upmost sincerity these games juxtapose this with their host of minigames, through the karaoke minigames to the baseball and even playing Virtual Fighter this is all done in the vein of you doing what Kiryu would you can't just go around creating havoc it makes you invest in the character and how they work putting you them somewhat in their shoes. It reminds me of a quote from the director of the series that he doesn't want Kiryu in Smash Bros as he doesn't want him hitting women as it's something Kiryu wouldn't do. The time and investment into Kiryu as a character is something to be respected and you can feel that love in the series itself. 

But this doesn't begin and end with Kiryu but the full supporting cast throughout the series. A character is only as good as the cast and with Yakuza it thrives. A strong protagonist can only thrive if he has a strong supporting cast to work off and throughout the games it is there. The likes of Goro Majima, Ryuji Gooda, Akira Nishikiyama and Daigo Dojima all work in their roles and help add to the story. Be it in roles as antagonists, allies or somewhere in between each character seems layered and gives you a reason to care about them. I pulled up a comment from the battle theme of Ryuji Gooda. It goes as follows: 

Ryuji was a hell of a character man, really wished he didn't have to die, I would have loved to see him as an ally in later games. He really wasn't evil, just misunderstood and felt abandoned by everyone he loved. He still was honourable and had morals. LOVED when he killed that scum Sengoku, and Takashima as well.

This can be seen for a lot of characters. A depth to their actions reflected in the performance the importance of a cast of characters that hook you in. While stories need heroes and villains it is important that we get a chance to understand these characters. If you look at a different example when you look at the MCU the villains people like the most are those that we get to spend time with and learn about. The likes of Thanos and Killmonger were fleshed out we got to understand why they did what they did.

So why is Yakuza one of my favourite video game series? Well when playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 I got to the final battle with Ryuji Gooda and fighting him I didn't feel joy but sadness in beating him, he was a man who suffered a man who was misguided. There's no winners in Yakuza just the suffering of men led down the wrong path. Did I feel this way with Balder in God of War or Basmin in Assassin Creed Valhalla or whatever the women at the end of Watch_Dogs Legion was called? No and I loved those games and that is to me what sets Yakuza apart.

They make you invest and care for the characters they introduce. They make you care for its world and those who live in it and for that it sets itself above others.