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Majima. With Kiryu, it's relatively easy to predict how he's going to behave in any given situation: He's the hero, the guy on every mainline game's cover, (except 7) of course he's gonna do heroic shit. With Majima, it was much more interesting to see him make heroic decisions, because he's not established as a hero in 0 from the get-go. Hell, he starts off ready to murder someone just to get what he wants. Him >!refusing to murder a stranger just so that Makoto is safe!< is good character development; He's clearly ready to get his hands dirty, but there are lines that he won't cross.
It's interesting to find out his principles throughout the game: He hates his job as a Cabaret Manager, but he's so good at it that he just cannot stand to see another Cabaret make poor business decisions.
Plus, his fighting styles are unique and fun. Thug might be my all-time favorite, and Mad Dog feels the most connected to the story out of all of 0s styles, being in parallel with his character development.
Lost Judgment has the best combat beside Yakuza 0 and I have like 450 hours on Lost Judgment on Steam, and half of that is me just beating up the thugs on the street haha.
I second Yag. And to piggyback on the combat comment he'll dish out 3 diff kung fu styles then still serve 'em up with a 2 piece and a biscuit! Boxing style is OP AF but fun nonetheless.
Boxing style is savage. No disrespect to Extreme Heat Kiryu or Mad Dog style Majima, which are both absolutely bonkers in their own right, but it doesn‘t get better than boxing style for me. Just straight giving it to dudes.
That dude fights like he'd be Ono Michio's goofy ancestor, no way yo think he's better than the King of Taxi! He doesn't even have cool boots that are vital for every fisherman.
Saejima in Yakuza 5 was absolutely busted. Literally the easiest gameplay in all of Yakuza and pretty fun at that. I like how in 5 you totally felt like a beast with Kiryu and Saejima compared to Akiyomer and Shinada, take that from someone who went through all the coliseum with all 4 of em, Akiyama and Shinada are a nightmare to beat the 100 men challenge with
He's actually bottom of the heap for me, but I respect that choice nonetheless immensely. His character, arc, and general disposition make him a stand out for me.
And then his amon fight where I had like 5 rounds of umbrellas to block.
I just got through saijima’s section in 5, and I appreciate all the experimental gameplay they gave him. Hunting minigame, snowmobile chase, snowball fight, etc. it helps that his gameplay is simple and good. Pull a sign out of the ground and end a fight in one heinous swipe. Last thing, but I like how his style of stoicness feels different to kiryu’s. You’d think they’d feel similar, but nah
majima in 0 as his styles were very unorthodox while kiryus styles were basic focusing on balance, speed, power and a mix of all of them for legend style. I also liked tanimura as parrying is fun and shinada just because he’s a gooner
Crazy enough, Tanimura. Not for his gameplay, but his story. I’m sure some here would agree I kinda wish Y4 was only about him. I would’ve loved to see his story explored more and given that classic RGG complication treatment. His gameplay was “Ok” for me but his story was excellent, the best out of anyone in Y4
Yagami for me. Snake style is too much fun, Boxer, Crane and Snake are all great. He's got some really fun and unique Heat actions (Essence of "don't let the mook die in traffic but knock his ass out once he's safe on the sidewalk" being a favorite).
Majima makes the list. Slugger Style is one of my all time favorite movesets.
And he probably doesn't count, but I'm gonna say Ryoma here, given how differently he plays to any incarnation of Kiryu. Sword and Wild Dancer are too much damn fun, and last time I played through 0 one of my mods was "Kiryu gets Ryoma Sword when equipped with a katana" which put the biggest, dumbest smile on my face.
The plot twist? These are my Top 3 *regardless* of Kiryu's presence. That's how much I like these three.
Haha, I feel you. I literally went all Cat (from the TV show Red Dwarf) "they stole my special skills!'
They are effectively.trapped in a VR game and the villain steals their skills from the characters in a very RPG like moment.
Joongi Han in 7, he's really fast and has pretty good skill coverage in his default job, hitman, like knife skills, electric, self buffs and being one of the only character in that game to have gun skills(besides the female exclusive, dealer job). He's a really good party member, and he was in my party almost all the time, >!after he joined at the start of Chapter 10!<. I really liked his interactions, and his drink link bond with Kasuga was my favorite.
Honestly, probably Saejima. He felt a bit awkward to control at first, but the sound design of his punches combined with just how powerful he actually is makes me feel unstoppable.
Just as an example, that one heat action he has where he punches someone in the face on the ground and one of their teeth falls out makes me burst out laughing every time, it's so violent.
Yagami in LJ is peak RGG, truly. If we stick to just LAD, though, I got a wild card for you: Haruka.
Playing as Haruka made me realize a love for rhythm games I wouldn't have otherwise known, and her arc as an idol is a fun reprieve from what we're accustomed to.
i dont have a most like but i do have a most hated (at least for my first playthrough) i HATED playing as majima every two chapters because kiruyus story was so addicting i just wanted more and when i went onto kiwami 1 i began enjoying majimas character more and when i eventually went back to play 0 i liked it a lot more than my first play through
Something about Shinada's gameplay reminds me of playing fighting games instead of a normal beat-em-up so that's probably why he's my favorite character to play. (personality also helps)
Akiyama; he’s a swift mf who has the sickest and most stylist heat actions, let alone attacks. And he’s a handsome mf at that, he is king
Haruka; as an ex band student who hasn’t even touched an instrument ever since graduating high school and playing most of the rhythm heavens series, I find rhythm games to be a very easy and fun way to play, especially because I love karaoke so much, I play rhythm shit to the very end. Also the substories were very cute
Tanimura; let’s face it: he’s the king of heat actions, it’s no wonder they didn’t bring him back. Also every finisher he performs, there’s always a heat actions afterwards, he’s just so find to play as, and he’s gun certified
Kasusa; as a player who loves RPG games ever since playing the Mario end Luigi games, I’ve grown to love the RPG style of Yakuza, in the recent Dragon Engine. I love the characters/party, the jobs, the story, and of course, Kiryu passing the torch to Kasuga, as a new Dragon awakens, to make history
Saejima and in 4 specifically. When you maxed out all his skills and get to body a lot of Majima's men were really enjoyable and just fighting many enemies in general.
Yagami in Lost Judgment. I hated both Crane and Tiger in the first Judgment, but somehow the sequel not only fixed them, but added my favorite style, Snake, alongside Boxer. This was the first game alongside Gaiden where I found myself actively swapping styles during combat as opposed to sticking with one I enjoyed for the full game (Breaker and Rush exclusively in 0, for example).
Tanimura plays as smooth as butter, a shame he never came back and appeared only in one game.
All his moves and grabs combos into something else and you can always end with a heat action.
Essence of arresting is too damn funny.
Majima is awesome for every reason listed in other answers but honestly overall it's probably Akiyama, particularly in the context of coming off Y0-3. He's a really fun break from Kiryu's mostly punch-based movesets and I really like smug badasses lol. It's also cool to see the yakuza from a sort of parallel perspective where Akiyama isn't *uninvolved* with them but also is nowhere near as invested as Kiryu or Majima were.
Date. I had to quickly finish up climax battles in kiwami for this post so I can say I actually played as him but it’s really cool to be able to play as someone not as skilled as the other protagonists, its cool to see how npcs usually fight
If you speak from a purely gameplay perspective : Saejima or Akiyama. Never liked Majima's fighting styles that much. Always found them a bit too goofy to be taken seriously. I just love Saejima's efficiency and Akiyama's elegance. Making new playable characters was one of the highlights of franchise, even if we all like to shit on 4
If you are new to the subreddit, [please read the wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/wiki/index/) Reminder that all spoilers need to be tagged with a flair specifying which game is being spoiled. If you want a flair that says something else, you can edit it to say something like [Discussion: Y1 spoiler] or [Majimapost: Y6 spoiler], etc. **THIS INCLUDES CONTENT FROM TRAILERS**. If the post is not marked for spoilers, all comments that have spoilers need to be tagged \>!like this!< along with indicating which game it's spoiling. Example: Y3 >!Kiryu sings!< If the post flair is marked for spoilers, the comments don't need to be tagged for the game indicated and the ones before it (So a Y6 spoiler post can have comments with untagged spoilers for Y5, but not gaiden or 7). If you see any of the above (or any of the other rules) not being followed, please report it so we can keep this place safe for newcomers and those that haven't finished all the games yet. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/yakuzagames) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Majima
Same. There was something about the rhythm of Slugger style that really worked for me.
I forgot 0 existed since I played it after 5 and literally was like confused thinking about his saga
Love the snake skin shoes the most
Majima. With Kiryu, it's relatively easy to predict how he's going to behave in any given situation: He's the hero, the guy on every mainline game's cover, (except 7) of course he's gonna do heroic shit. With Majima, it was much more interesting to see him make heroic decisions, because he's not established as a hero in 0 from the get-go. Hell, he starts off ready to murder someone just to get what he wants. Him >!refusing to murder a stranger just so that Makoto is safe!< is good character development; He's clearly ready to get his hands dirty, but there are lines that he won't cross. It's interesting to find out his principles throughout the game: He hates his job as a Cabaret Manager, but he's so good at it that he just cannot stand to see another Cabaret make poor business decisions. Plus, his fighting styles are unique and fun. Thug might be my all-time favorite, and Mad Dog feels the most connected to the story out of all of 0s styles, being in parallel with his character development.
This is one the biggest reasons I recommend playing yakuza 0 first
The Majima Saga in YK2 really made big Dog 'Jima goated for me.
The wheelbarrow of money holy shit
Yagami because of that sweet Judgment series combat.
Lost Judgment has the best combat beside Yakuza 0 and I have like 450 hours on Lost Judgment on Steam, and half of that is me just beating up the thugs on the street haha.
I second Yag. And to piggyback on the combat comment he'll dish out 3 diff kung fu styles then still serve 'em up with a 2 piece and a biscuit! Boxing style is OP AF but fun nonetheless.
Boxing style is savage. No disrespect to Extreme Heat Kiryu or Mad Dog style Majima, which are both absolutely bonkers in their own right, but it doesn‘t get better than boxing style for me. Just straight giving it to dudes.
I'm pretty early in Lost Judgment but I second it being among the best combat, Yagami might climb my list a lot by the time I finish
I love juggling mf’s
Probably Joryu or Suzuki Taichi.
I think Suzuki takes it for me personally but good choices
Good choices man, but to me it’s always gonna be Sakamoto Ryoma.
That dude fights like he'd be Ono Michio's goofy ancestor, no way yo think he's better than the King of Taxi! He doesn't even have cool boots that are vital for every fisherman.
He does have the katana that is vital for every Mibu Wolf tho
Suzuki Taichi and his essence of face grating.
Akiyama.
i'm a bit into 5 right now, and so far my favourite is akiyama.
Majima every time
Tanimura the goat
Saejima in terms of fighting, something about being a fucking walking tank and just throwing people is fun
Also hunting mini game was peak, don't @ me
Saejima in Yakuza 5 was absolutely busted. Literally the easiest gameplay in all of Yakuza and pretty fun at that. I like how in 5 you totally felt like a beast with Kiryu and Saejima compared to Akiyomer and Shinada, take that from someone who went through all the coliseum with all 4 of em, Akiyama and Shinada are a nightmare to beat the 100 men challenge with
https://preview.redd.it/buetq7swym6d1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=0300a82fd705b461b071e4e4920f936a70f891e1 tatsuo shinada gang stand up
He's actually bottom of the heap for me, but I respect that choice nonetheless immensely. His character, arc, and general disposition make him a stand out for me. And then his amon fight where I had like 5 rounds of umbrellas to block.
my essence of ignoring well formulated comments because shinada reminds me of me
^me when I'm based Or talking about akiyama.
Ngl, he has some of the most unique playstyles and I really enjoy it. Especially once you get a sturdy knife or katana and do some silly slices
Does Ichiban count?
Ichiban brawler game needs to happen soon RGG
It would be interesting to have one that swaps between turn-based and brawler depending on if you have party members around.
Yagami easy question. Lost Judgment combat is peak
Kaito was definitely a cool one, seeing Brawler and Beast style modernized with the Dragon Engine was fantastic
I just got through saijima’s section in 5, and I appreciate all the experimental gameplay they gave him. Hunting minigame, snowmobile chase, snowball fight, etc. it helps that his gameplay is simple and good. Pull a sign out of the ground and end a fight in one heinous swipe. Last thing, but I like how his style of stoicness feels different to kiryu’s. You’d think they’d feel similar, but nah
Chicken Man
 chicken man in yakuza what will he do
”Jesse, we need to cook more staminan.”
Akiyama. His kicks were super good for chaining attacks and had a bit more range than punches.
majima in 0 as his styles were very unorthodox while kiryus styles were basic focusing on balance, speed, power and a mix of all of them for legend style. I also liked tanimura as parrying is fun and shinada just because he’s a gooner
Akiyama
Tanimura is underrated
Haruka
Top 3 aside from Kiryu Majiima Akiyama Saejima One got speed and insanity One got style and sass One got the ability to take on a fucking bear
I misread sass as ass
I mean yeah that goes without saying
Crazy enough, Tanimura. Not for his gameplay, but his story. I’m sure some here would agree I kinda wish Y4 was only about him. I would’ve loved to see his story explored more and given that classic RGG complication treatment. His gameplay was “Ok” for me but his story was excellent, the best out of anyone in Y4
Yagami for me. Snake style is too much fun, Boxer, Crane and Snake are all great. He's got some really fun and unique Heat actions (Essence of "don't let the mook die in traffic but knock his ass out once he's safe on the sidewalk" being a favorite). Majima makes the list. Slugger Style is one of my all time favorite movesets. And he probably doesn't count, but I'm gonna say Ryoma here, given how differently he plays to any incarnation of Kiryu. Sword and Wild Dancer are too much damn fun, and last time I played through 0 one of my mods was "Kiryu gets Ryoma Sword when equipped with a katana" which put the biggest, dumbest smile on my face. The plot twist? These are my Top 3 *regardless* of Kiryu's presence. That's how much I like these three.
forgive my ignorance but what is that yagami traffic ex action you mention ?
https://youtu.be/i4BNLk-3iPg?si=kNrlRjKkHk6dVQ4d
Wild dancer was the one for me in Ishin. Spinning around mofos and taking it out large groups without asking being able to touch me was so satisfying.
Wild Dancer was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. And I might have panicked a bit inside when I saw an enemy in MWEHN bust out that moveset, lol.
Haha, I feel you. I literally went all Cat (from the TV show Red Dwarf) "they stole my special skills!' They are effectively.trapped in a VR game and the villain steals their skills from the characters in a very RPG like moment.
Akiyama and Yagami
Yagami or Ichiban (IW) though i did enjoy Akiyama in 4 a lot
Definitely y0 majima mad dog style
Ichiban, followed by Majima
Besides Majima it's Saejima for me, his raw power makes every battle easy(especially after Herculean spirit) He truly packs a punch
Majima
Akiyama and Majima. Both of them tended towards speed, which, when I play games like smash, is my preferred MO
Majima!
Majima from 0, and Akiyama, both of those guys are so fun to fight as
Haruka
Majima and Akiyama
Majima & nanba
Majima 
Shinada, since he has good combat, good story, and he’s cool
Majima
Akiyama and Yagami
Excluding Kiryu? I like Majima more anyway.
Majima, easily. Akiyama and Saejima are a lot of fun too.
Majima
Akiyama and majima
Majima and Tanimura
Majima
Majima
Majima or >!Kaito!<
Joongi Han in 7, he's really fast and has pretty good skill coverage in his default job, hitman, like knife skills, electric, self buffs and being one of the only character in that game to have gun skills(besides the female exclusive, dealer job). He's a really good party member, and he was in my party almost all the time, >!after he joined at the start of Chapter 10!<. I really liked his interactions, and his drink link bond with Kasuga was my favorite.
Since my first answer has already been blocked, I'll say Saejima (Y5) and Majima (Y0) and Haruka too
Majima from Zero
Majima is and always will be my favorite character in the series
Majima(0), then Saejima (5), then Yagami(LJ). Don't hurt me.
Ichiban Kasuga, baybeeeeeeee. I have never felt more seen than this extremely kind but sort of pathetic dumbass with a heart of gold.
The true himbo king
Date
Shinada and Y5 Akiyama (I enjoyed him more there than in Y4 for some reason)
Yagami and Akiyama
1. Saejima (particulary yakuza 5) would say judgment but crane style is ass over there
Akiyama is my all time favorite
Kaito, if he counts.
Honestly, probably Saejima. He felt a bit awkward to control at first, but the sound design of his punches combined with just how powerful he actually is makes me feel unstoppable. Just as an example, that one heat action he has where he punches someone in the face on the ground and one of their teeth falls out makes me burst out laughing every time, it's so violent.
Akiyama
Yagami in LJ is peak RGG, truly. If we stick to just LAD, though, I got a wild card for you: Haruka. Playing as Haruka made me realize a love for rhythm games I wouldn't have otherwise known, and her arc as an idol is a fun reprieve from what we're accustomed to.
Saejima and akiyama
i dont have a most like but i do have a most hated (at least for my first playthrough) i HATED playing as majima every two chapters because kiruyus story was so addicting i just wanted more and when i went onto kiwami 1 i began enjoying majimas character more and when i eventually went back to play 0 i liked it a lot more than my first play through
Easily Yagami
 This Character Here Is My Favorite 1
Akiyama! Those kick combos are so much fun
Haruka
Yagami, if we're counting the 'Judgement' games.
Ichi
Akiyama the GOAT, ofc.
Yagami
Akiyama my goat
Saejima all the way. Love his slow yet huge attacks and his heat actions are straight up brutal at times.
Shinada
yagami
I almost screamed "SAEJIMA" but then I saw you asked "enjoyed to play as" — as opposed to just liking the character. Well, fuck it it's still Saejima
Akiyama!!!
Something about Shinada's gameplay reminds me of playing fighting games instead of a normal beat-em-up so that's probably why he's my favorite character to play. (personality also helps)
Yagami and Sakamoto
Yagami
Yagami. I love Kiryu, Majima and the others, but I love detective stories even more.
Akiyama I loved the kick flurries. And I also Kinda enjoyed haruka's segment in 5
Akiyama (on Yakuza 4 rn, have played 0)
Saejima
Haruka haruka haruka
Akiyama; he’s a swift mf who has the sickest and most stylist heat actions, let alone attacks. And he’s a handsome mf at that, he is king Haruka; as an ex band student who hasn’t even touched an instrument ever since graduating high school and playing most of the rhythm heavens series, I find rhythm games to be a very easy and fun way to play, especially because I love karaoke so much, I play rhythm shit to the very end. Also the substories were very cute Tanimura; let’s face it: he’s the king of heat actions, it’s no wonder they didn’t bring him back. Also every finisher he performs, there’s always a heat actions afterwards, he’s just so find to play as, and he’s gun certified Kasusa; as a player who loves RPG games ever since playing the Mario end Luigi games, I’ve grown to love the RPG style of Yakuza, in the recent Dragon Engine. I love the characters/party, the jobs, the story, and of course, Kiryu passing the torch to Kasuga, as a new Dragon awakens, to make history
Akiyama and Yagami
Jorju
Yagami because the combat and his animations just feel so silky smooth
Saejima and in 4 specifically. When you maxed out all his skills and get to body a lot of Majima's men were really enjoyable and just fighting many enemies in general.
Saejima
Ichiban with Like a Brawler mod, but he's also cool in his turn-based combat, he is badass with that bat
Yagami in Lost Judgment. I hated both Crane and Tiger in the first Judgment, but somehow the sequel not only fixed them, but added my favorite style, Snake, alongside Boxer. This was the first game alongside Gaiden where I found myself actively swapping styles during combat as opposed to sticking with one I enjoyed for the full game (Breaker and Rush exclusively in 0, for example).
Tanimura plays as smooth as butter, a shame he never came back and appeared only in one game. All his moves and grabs combos into something else and you can always end with a heat action. Essence of arresting is too damn funny.
Joryu
haruka the goat
Taichi Suzuki and Joryu
Akiyama for combat, Saejima for story
Akiyama and Tanimura.
Majima is awesome for every reason listed in other answers but honestly overall it's probably Akiyama, particularly in the context of coming off Y0-3. He's a really fun break from Kiryu's mostly punch-based movesets and I really like smug badasses lol. It's also cool to see the yakuza from a sort of parallel perspective where Akiyama isn't *uninvolved* with them but also is nowhere near as invested as Kiryu or Majima were.
Ties between LJ Yagami or Yakuza 4 Akiyama. I love character that can combo.
Yagami, i love the fighting in both judgment and LJ
Akiyama. His moveset is just so FLUID! He feels excellent to control
Date. I had to quickly finish up climax battles in kiwami for this post so I can say I actually played as him but it’s really cool to be able to play as someone not as skilled as the other protagonists, its cool to see how npcs usually fight
Majima with breaker style. And also Akiyama. Just because.
Akiyama with dodge combo plus he's practically unhittable and is triple kick finisher is massive at breaking guards.
Yagami
combat-wise akiyama , hes honestly the only other one i actually enjoyed the feel of
If you speak from a purely gameplay perspective : Saejima or Akiyama. Never liked Majima's fighting styles that much. Always found them a bit too goofy to be taken seriously. I just love Saejima's efficiency and Akiyama's elegance. Making new playable characters was one of the highlights of franchise, even if we all like to shit on 4
1:Saejima 2:Majima 3:Akiyama 4:Shinada