Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (Yakuza, Judgment, Binary Domain + more!) Discussion Thread

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I like it better than the first iteration of that minigame in Yakuza 6, where it had very little interaction.

 

[Urthor]

Majima is definitely not an enjoyable minigame, it's a pity since the wrestlers and Majima himself are absolutely hilarious throughout

 

[Deflowerer]

There's so much potential in it though, either as MOBA or Musou.

 

[Modron]

There's so much potential in it though, either as MOBA or Musou.

Stop.

 

[Fishy]

Didn't care much for the minigame, but it was worth it for the Majima Construction theme song alone.

 

[eric__s]

Frankly, they would not be able to make a GTA style game narratively speaking about yakuza in Japan. The reason why they have been able to have these yakuza stories in these games is because you technically always play as someone who has been outcast from the clan.

Why? What do yakuza do? What kind of crime do they engage in? Is it even crime?

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Frankly, they would not be able to make a GTA style game narratively speaking about yakuza in Japan. The reason why they have been able to have these yakuza stories in these games is because you technically always play as someone who has been outcast from the clan.

Why? What do yakuza do? What kind of crime do they engage in? Is it even crime?

The Japanese are rather touchy about a lot of topics. The yakuza are one of them, and the series already skirts the limits of polite society for bringing up said organized crime but also other things like orphans, that Japanese Koreans and Chinese exist, or that Japanese judicial system is fucked up (they specifically bring up the absurd conviction rates in Judgment).

As for what crime the real yakuza engage in, just about everything. Blackmail and protection rackets (this is something that's sort of a unique thing, the way they do it is either just obtaining compromising information OR the pseudo-legal way of just being or arranging nuisance like far-right megaphone vans; yakuza backdoor involvement with the Japanese far-right is also kind of a paradoxical thing given that most yakuza fall in some or multiple sorts of category that Japanese extremist nationalists would consider subhuman, like Koreans or burakumin or orphans), drug trade, human trafficking (though in regards to these two, they like to pretend they don't), pimping, goons-for-hire, money laundering, smuggling, squeezing cash through talent agencies, etc. Kyushu yakuza as of recent are basically almost a terrorist group too, and I dunno if the Yamaguchi-gumi split is still in open gang war phase (these two things are basically why in the past few years the authorities actually started cracking down on yakuza in Japan).

What sets them apart from your usual organized crime is that they're not exactly underground, since those pins and offices are actually a real thing, and bosses are semi-public figures as well. A big part in this was that for a pretty long time there was something of an unspoken understanding between the yakuza, the public, and the authorities, which was basically along the lines of refraining from petty street crime (this is one basis for Kiryu beating up muggers at the start of 0, this was something that you supposedly could get your ass kicked on yakuza turf at least back in the day), especially when it comes to tourists, and in general keeping their activities behind closed doors so everyone can pretend they don't exist or that they're just "chivalrious organizations". Before the aforementioned split and the formation of the new Kyushu group, yakuza in general did a lot of PR work too to keep this status quo up, ie providing disaster relief after the Fukushima earthquake.

 

[HoboForEternity]

i love it when people interact with Kiryu it always ends either in 2 ways:
1. he beat the shit out of your soul
2. you tell him your problem and he helped you then have a heart to heart wholesome speech with sad music and you become BFF

 

[ERYFKRAD]

i love it when people interact with Kiryu it always ends either in 2 ways:
1. he beat the shit out of your soul
2. you tell him your problem and he helped you then have a heart to heart wholesome speech with sad music and you become BFF

And sometimes both.

 

[Fishy]

i love it when people interact with Kiryu it always ends either in 2 ways:
1. he beat the shit out of your soul
2. you tell him your problem and he helped you then have a heart to heart wholesome speech with sad music and you become BFF

And sometimes both.

Was about to say that, haha. Pizza-man is your typical example of both.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Or the Arakure Quest substory in 0.

 

[Fishy]

Or the Arakure Quest substory in 0.

I liked how this one ends up being as tedious for the player as it seems to be for Kiryu at every step. Nice player/character empathy buildup.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Or the Arakure Quest substory in 0.

I liked how this one ends up being as tedious for the player as it seems to be for Kiryu at every step. Nice player/character empathy buildup.

Fucking Yakuza gunman, shamefur dispray.

 

[CaffeineConquistador]

Frankly, they would not be able to make a GTA style game narratively speaking about yakuza in Japan. The reason why they have been able to have these yakuza stories in these games is because you technically always play as someone who has been outcast from the clan.

Why? What do yakuza do? What kind of crime do they engage in? Is it even crime?

The Japanese are rather touchy about a lot of topics. The yakuza are one of them, and the series already skirts the limits of polite society for bringing up said organized crime but also other things like orphans, that Japanese Koreans and Chinese exist, or that Japanese judicial system is fucked up (they specifically bring up the absurd conviction rates in Judgment).

As for what crime the real yakuza engage in, just about everything. Blackmail and protection rackets (this is something that's sort of a unique thing, the way they do it is either just obtaining compromising information OR the pseudo-legal way of just being or arranging nuisance like far-right megaphone vans; yakuza backdoor involvement with the Japanese far-right is also kind of a paradoxical thing given that most yakuza fall in some or multiple sorts of category that Japanese extremist nationalists would consider subhuman, like Koreans or burakumin or orphans), drug trade, human trafficking (though in regards to these two, they like to pretend they don't), pimping, goons-for-hire, money laundering, smuggling, squeezing cash through talent agencies, etc. Kyushu yakuza as of recent are basically almost a terrorist group too, and I dunno if the Yamaguchi-gumi split is still in open gang war phase (these two things are basically why in the past few years the authorities actually started cracking down on yakuza in Japan).

What sets them apart from your usual organized crime is that they're not exactly underground, since those pins and offices are actually a real thing, and bosses are semi-public figures as well. A big part in this was that for a pretty long time there was something of an unspoken understanding between the yakuza, the public, and the authorities, which was basically along the lines of refraining from petty street crime (this is one basis for Kiryu beating up muggers at the start of 0, this was something that you supposedly could get your ass kicked on yakuza turf at least back in the day), especially when it comes to tourists, and in general keeping their activities behind closed doors so everyone can pretend they don't exist or that they're just "chivalrious organizations". Before the aforementioned split and the formation of the new Kyushu group, yakuza in general did a lot of PR work too to keep this status quo up, ie providing disaster relief after the Fukushima earthquake.

It’s really going be interesting when Japan gets the casinos going. The Yamaguchi have been defanged and broken up since the days they could trade drugs for rocket launchers, but at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the locations around casinos not go to shit.

I know an older couple who run a popular onsen in Shizuoka and from what they tell me, Chinese tourists are keeping the industry afloat. Casinos might attract triad attention, too.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Ah yea, entirely forgot about that, gambling is outlawed in Japan (outside of Pachinko parlors who have a sort of loophole in that they don't give out cash prizes) and was a traditional business for the yakuza, and they were apparently pretty involved in the Pachinko parlor prize item -> pawn shop cycle too.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

outside of Pachinko parlors

Konami infiltrated by Yakuza confirmed.

 

[CaffeineConquistador]

Ah yea, entirely forgot about that, gambling is outlawed in Japan (outside of Pachinko parlors who have a sort of loophole in that they don't give out cash prizes) and was a traditional business for the yakuza, and they were apparently pretty involved in the Pachinko parlor prize item -> pawn shop cycle too.

I take it you spent some time in Japan, then? There used to be a little shack next door to the pachinko places that would exchange the little balls for stuff, too. Ever see those? Bullet-proof, tinted glass, the whole shebang. I haven’t seen one for awhile, in fact I’m not even certain they still exist. But way back years ago on a Saturday night it was nothing to see dudes lined up out to the parking lot with sacks of ball bearings.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Ah yea, entirely forgot about that, gambling is outlawed in Japan (outside of Pachinko parlors who have a sort of loophole in that they don't give out cash prizes) and was a traditional business for the yakuza, and they were apparently pretty involved in the Pachinko parlor prize item -> pawn shop cycle too.

I take it you spent some time in Japan, then? There used to be a little shack next door to the pachinko places that would exchange the little balls for stuff, too. Ever see those? Bullet-proof, tinted glass, the whole shebang. I haven’t seen one for awhile, in fact I’m not even certain they still exist. But way back years ago on a Saturday night it was nothing to see dudes lined up out to the parking lot with sacks of ball bearings.

I haven't been to Japan, I just tend to read extensively about various topics for fun, one of them was finding out what on earth Pachinko is. That also included details regarding the pawn shops (or probably more accurately "pawn shops") that are used to dodge the law on cash prizes, and that the yakuza were more or less involved with the practice.

outside of Pachinko parlors

Konami infiltrated by Yakuza confirmed.

The craziest thing about Pachinko is how much money it makes. Did you know that as a franchise, Fist of the North Star has made more money than James Bond and The Simpsons? It's almost entirely through Pachinko machines. Neon Genesis Evangelion has a similar deal, huge piles of moolah from Pachinko.

Doesn't happen with a lot of franchises on that sort of massive scale where it's more than 10 billion dollars, but Pachinko is basically this scene played to hardcore mode (and sometimes with gangsters):

 

[CaffeineConquistador]

Ah, yeah, Eva was sort of revived a few years back for the pachinko market. I’m driving into Machida tomorrow to get a new monitor, I’ll see if I can find one. Something to do, anyway.

 

[Deflowerer]

outside of Pachinko parlors

Konami infiltrated by Yakuza confirmed.

I bet every single Japanese company that made arcade games in 70s-80s has some yakuza connections.

 

[vonAchdorf]

I bet every single Japanese company that made arcade games in 70s-80s has some yakuza connections.

You just have to look beneath the surface shirt.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I bet every single Japanese company that made arcade games in 70s-80s has some yakuza connections.

You just have to look beneath the surface shirt.

Bowser ain't got a shirt, so there's fuck all he can do either.

 

[Reinhardt]

 

[Azalin]

Finished Yakuza Kiwami today,compered to 0 it's a in most parts and it's a shorter game,about half as long as 0,still a good enough game.

 

[Ivan]

Nishki....