![]() His guardian Kazama responds with a beating and a blunt refusal. ![]() Early on, 20-year-old Kiryu requests to join the Yakuza along with his adoptive brother, Nishiki. But Yakuza 0, the acclaimed prequel released in 2015 in Japan and 2017 internationally, is arguably the best place to start. No matter where you jump into this sprawling series, you’ll soon realize that Kiryu is nothing like other action game protagonists. But by the end of 2009’s Yakuza 3, he becomes a father figure to nine orphaned kids. To his Yakuza associates, he is the feared and revered Dragon of Dojima, the legendary Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan. He’s six feet tall, wears an expression that could knock a rhino unconscious, and tends to resolve arguments with his fists. Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist of the series until 2020’s Like A Dragon, is the pinnacle of modern masculinity. Never one to turn down a stranger in need, Kiryu models for a photo shoot. Throughout the series, protagonists like Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, and Ichiban Kasuga consistently unsettle and subvert our expectations of what a man should be - with unforgettable results. But one thing that remains consistent is the series’ staunch resistance to the toxic masculinity we see in so many other games. The series routinely oscillates between the grave and the absurd - the somber mood of a mysterious murder can be interrupted by the intrusion of a diaper-wearing cult. ![]() Sega’s Yakuza series is rooted in the criminal underworld, and its heroes radiate an overbearing macho presence that could make a ferocious tiger cower in fear - maybe even two.īut Yakuza is anything but typical, always at odds with what it was ten minutes prior. Honoring a vow to your oath brother might lose you an eye, but leaving a life of crime behind could land your nine favorite orphans (and a gorgeous Shibu Inu) in the line of fire. ![]() Murder, torture, espionage, deceit - being a yakuza is not for the faint of heart. ![]()
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