Yakuza 5: Dream Big

The fight with Aizawa is infinitely cooler when you realize he’s not your final boss. You’re his final boss.

7 hours of Yakuza 5. I'm gonna watch all this in one sitting and walk away only remembering the word yume, just like in the real game

"My story's not yours to write." Perfectly sums up Shinada's entire character arc in Yakuza 5. What an amazing character.

“Daigo really missed his calling in life as a hitman” fr dude had 100% accuracy.

I really want to know how they keep taking off suit jackets, ties, and buttoned up shirts in one fluid, dramatic flair. This is the true power of Yakuza.

OH MY GOD, in the beginning of part 1 when snake says "It doesn't take a detective to know somethings wrong" and it shows Kurosawa, and that made sense cuz he's a detective buT NO HE'S NOT AND IT DOESN'T TAKE A DETECTIVE AND I HAVE BEEN PLAYED BOTH OVER THE COURSE OF 7 HOURS AND THE COURSE OF 3 MONTHS thats worth a month on patreon

I think the way to best describe Y5 is that it has a lot more soul than it does sense. Not everything it wants to say comes through perfectly but it knows exactly what it wants to say and says with gusto. Not everything it wants to do works out but it goes for it anyway despite itself. It stumbles, it even falls short, but even at its worst it never gives up, it never stops trying. It follows the dream of what game it wants to be. Ain't that just perfect metaphor. Not to get too saccharine on you after you're likely high blood sugar injection from this sickeningly sweet story, of course lol

"Because I didn't want to trek through several hours of my save file to record this, I had to use source footage and the only person I found who forfeit the Princess League was DSP" That had me laughing for about 10 minutes straight. I didn't even realize that was an option, but of course Phil would be the one to try and get out of doing any gameplay.

3:24:38 - So I just found out that the main reason why Hana's presence was so minimal in this game along with Dead Souls and 6. Apparently her VA Aya Hirano was involved in a "scandal" with her then bandmates that nearly killed her VA career in 2011 which was enough to minimize her role in the coming games.

I can see how Ichiban is like an evolution of Shinada, just overwhelming Yume and enthusiasm

7:12:15 Thank God I became a Yakuza fan a couple years ago. Imagine being a fan in 2012 and having to play a spin-off, a prequel, and a remake of 1 before playing Yakuza 6 and wondering if Kiryu is alive.

52:36 I like how Kiryu immediately curls his body up, tucks his head in, and covers his neck to protect himself from any falling debris. It's such a cute detail to come right after the action movie cliche with the explosion that doesn't actually hurt you but just knocks you a few feet away

It's easy to miss, but the utter contempt Kiryu has for Shinada for no apparent reason is so funny. In 4, the other protagonists had to convince Kiryu to let them fight Amon with him, but here he just drags Shinada with him even though he really doesn't want to come, even knowing that he will be a target of the clan for the rest of his life lmao

Up until finishing Y5 yesterday, I always wondered why the games always described Haruka and Kiryu's relationship weirdly, by never just saying that she's his adoptive daughter. It felt strange. Y5 was the first game where that word, father, was used: first Akiyama when he meets Haruka, then Katsuya at the end of part 3 and I was happy the game finally started saying it. But then, while watching Haruka's final speech, I finally understood the weight that that word had on her and Kiryu. I think they both weren't ready to recognize it. It reminded me of Y1, when Kazama is dying in Kiryu arms, after saving Haruka: only then, in his last moments, Kiryu calls him father, maybe for the first time. In the same way, Haruka sees on tv that Kiryu is fighting and, after achieving her supposed Dream, while he might be in grave danger, she calls him father, maybe for the first time. It took long, but it just made me weep more during the ending. Loved the video(s). Yakuza 5 might be a mess, but it is just what makes it a great game.

Yakuza 5 has a perfect final boss I think its the best final boss fight in the series for the quality of the fight itself But I'm putting together now why I think its the best themeatically as well The Tojo is ostensivly dead post Yakuza 4 Its crumbling in 2, shattered to pieces in 3 And in 4 Daigo is so desperate he goes against his morals and faith in the clan Doing anything required to keep it alive By the end of 4 he realizes its over, he can't do what he was planning to now without that money So in 5 he starts beginning to rebuild the Tojo in a different way as a better leader And ends up realizing that someone is trying to take the clan from him, hatching a plan to stop that from happening There is a man out there, posing as a detective, who is trying to raise his son up to being Tojo Chairman His son is Aizawa Kiryu arrives to an empty Tojo HQ Nothing but him, and Aizawa Aizawa never planned for or even wanted this. He was put into this spot by his father who wanted this for him. He never would've done this on his own, why would he? He dosen't care about running a near dead clan. But his father wants him to run the clan, because he himself won't be able to due to a disease eating him alive. Aizawa is Daigo, Kiryu is his father. Kiryu put Daigo at the head of the Tojo, something he didn't want and didn't care about. A crumbling clan worth nothing for long. But Kiryu wanted him to lead the clan, because he himself was going to leave again and dosen't want the Yakuza life. Kiryu puts him into a position he'd otherwise never be in. They're both put into the same position by their fathers (Kiryu being metophorical), becoming Tojo Clan Chairman Its like looking into a mirror Kiryu wants to escape the clan but wanted to pass on the dream of it being run by a man like himself The "Noble Yakuza" Just like how Park passed the dream of being an Idol to Haruka, Kiryu is passing the dream of a just Tojo Clan to Daigo Kiryu wont be the one to do it, he dosen't want it and I think he also dosen't believe he can do it But, just like Park and the others in the story, just because they themsleves can't do it dosen't mean they can't see their dream realized through someone else Even at the very beginning with Kiryu in the noodle shop The guys say how the idol industry is a place where parents throw their kids to the wolves to achive what they never could Kiryu gets pissed and leaves But its not like Kiryu passed a dream of being an idol to Haruka, then threw her into a situation she couldn't handle But he did do that to Daigo So even though them talking about Haruka that way would make him mad, I think it also brings up Daigo in his mind and what he's done to him Especially since the scene before is Daigo coming to Kiryu for advice he refuses to give

So I'm 6 months late and haven't finished this video yet, but I have to mention this. Everyone who plays this game treats Baba like he's, what, early 20s, mid 20s at oldest? I did, and the game sure did. Baba is 30. I hope someone out there's as shocked as I was.

Kurosawa: I did this so that my son would ascend to the top without having to literally eat shit, like I did. Aizawa: But what if I WANT to eat shit, dad? Me be STRONK! Kurosawa: Goddamn it kid

I always read Akiyama's line of: "Maybe this will turn me into a town legend, what do you guys think?", as more of just him being cocky towards Kanai, acting so sure that he will win. I don't really see it as his motivation suddenly changing. Still a great video/set of videos, and pretty stonking large indeed.

Yakuza 5 was a journey, took me the whole summer to finish it and it's one of those game where you get nostalgic about the part that you've played last month. What an experience!

Eight hours of yume baby let’s go, gonna watch it all in one sitting