Ryu Ga Gotoku, aka Yakuza in the West. It's a fantastic game series that gives us a good look at just how gritty and menacing stories set around the Japanese Criminal Underworld can be, especially when it focuses on the themes of family, friendship, revenge, and honor. Created and developed by Sega, the games play similar to Shenmue and the Grand Theft Auto series, where you navigate through a town or place, looking for clues to proceed through the story or doing almost anything you want in typical action-adventure game fashion. Fights are down via beat 'em up style, smashing opponents down with your bare fists or using weapons, and earning skill points to use in upgrading your character.
Majority of the series focused on the adventures of one Kazuma Kiryu, a former Yakuza gangster whose sense of honor to his Yakuza clan and family places him in a constant web of conspiracy and betrayal, all the while struggling to protect those he loves and keeping things in the right order. I've followed the character since his debut game in the Playstation 2, and every installment serves up some compelling gameplay combined with intriguing cinematic storytelling. With that in mind, I guess the most memorable theme I can associate with the franchise is the one from the first Ryu Ga Gotoku/ Yakuza game - Receive You. It's the kind of song that defines how "kick-ass" this series is. Give it a listen.
No comments:
Post a Comment