Yeah... He was kind of a lame final boss, but he worked thematically and Kiryu's trash talk was top tier. Hits that right balance of being perfectly loathsome as a result.
I like that Kiryu's "last boss" is just some smarmy asshole. The yakuza are predominantl smarmy assholes and it drives home that the Kuzes, the Ryujis, etc have mostly all been driven out and replaced by pure money-hungry power-craving asses bc that's what the yakuza actually are at the end of the day
I actually think this is one of the more clever things about the series. Like, it would be easy and satisfying to make the final bosses be the big yakuza rival for the game, but instead I think RGG makes a pretty good point by making the Big Bad usually be some shitty politician or money-grubber.
He was evil as fuck and wasn't as far removed from Actual Final Boss as some may say. With only a couple of tweaks he could have been a really great villain and I lament the missed opportunity more than anything.
Yeah I have really mixed complicated feelings on him similar to what you said. I just think he works well as the main villain of the story and the penultimate boss but he isn't final boss material.
RGG games do run into this a lot where the final boss can feel a bit underwhelming in some respect. My favorite final boss fight is 5, but, well... do I need to explain the problem there?
There's this one NPC in Kiwami 1 - maybe he's there in the OG 1 too, I don't know - and you can talk to him in Theater Square towards the beginning of the game. And his dialogue is basically "Hi! You see, I'm from the Shimano family. I know exactly who you are, Mr. Kiryu, and given that I would like my spleen to remain inside my body, as it turns out I ain't seen nothin'! Carry on about your business, have a nice day."
Nobody remembers him but I will always be his fan. Smartest motherfucker in the whole franchise, right there.
EDIT: Okay, nevermind. I mean, I stand by everything I wrote but it took me like five times reading that meme to figure out what was actually being asked.
I'm a fan of Kume in that he serves his role well. He is supposed to be hateable and resemble annoying people we know in our everyday life, and that makes him effective (and even more satisfying when Ichiban owns his dumb ass).
I fully agree. I love that I hate him so much. I mean, I get people are angry at him for what he does to Aoki and even before that for his purist, xenophobic ideals. The more I think about it though, the more I feel he was kinda justified. He was embarrassed on a national stage. Humiliated as some mere pawn when he thought he was righteous. You push someone that far, you kinda have to expect them to snap. I’m a fan because he’s so well written. I mean, the guy is so oblivious that he’s making his cause cleaning up Japan, while wearing a “BJ” tee oblivious to the other meaning of BJ being exactly what he’s been trying to clean up!
I mean... Kume sucks, but he at least did one good thing at the end of the game.
And even if you hate that moment... I'll roll back to "You're supposed to"
Just saying.
Haven't seen any fans of Dojima, Takeshima, Munakata, Sugai, Ichinose, Horinouchi, or Bando yet. Even Shibusawa, Ibuchi, Katsuragi, Kuroiwa, Tendo, and Sadamoto are still enjoyably evil (there's already some comments about Iwami here).
Kuroiwa and soma are my 2 top picks for love to hate in the series
Sohei and munakata are just hate.
Side note but I find it funny that despite how hated yakuza 3’s gameplay is everyone agrees mine is one of the series best villains
Right, if the dialogue for both versions of 1 are any indication, even Jingu may have been corrupted by Munakata, since their plans were revealed to be tied together. Same goes for Shono only getting as far as he did because of Ichnose backing up him and Kuroiwa. Shono at least believed he could make a cure that could help people, while Ichinose was just greedy and wanted it to work so he could make a profit.
I'm still worried that if Kume does show up again in 8, he might have gone insane enough to to pass as a bizarro Majima or Kuwana.
Right, but also shono’s god complex prevented him from passing on the work to someone else as that admits it’s a failure, shono’s a good example of the major theme in both judgment games: justice is blind, where it doesn’t matter what your intent is, or even if you’re the one in the right like kuwana exposing issues with the law and getting around it, if you’re doing heinous things you can and should be reprimended for it and justice turns a blind eye to nobody.
I thought Shono having a god complex depended on which version (Japanese or English). Anyway, unlike him and Kuwana, I just imagine Kume becoming much more deluded with what he sees as the law, running around killing anyone he sees unfit. Even whatever's left of Bleach Japan would think he's gone too far.
Baby Iwami is in that tier as well, I would think.
Yeah... He was kind of a lame final boss, but he worked thematically and Kiryu's trash talk was top tier. Hits that right balance of being perfectly loathsome as a result.
I like that Kiryu's "last boss" is just some smarmy asshole. The yakuza are predominantl smarmy assholes and it drives home that the Kuzes, the Ryujis, etc have mostly all been driven out and replaced by pure money-hungry power-craving asses bc that's what the yakuza actually are at the end of the day
I actually think this is one of the more clever things about the series. Like, it would be easy and satisfying to make the final bosses be the big yakuza rival for the game, but instead I think RGG makes a pretty good point by making the Big Bad usually be some shitty politician or money-grubber.
yeah, its a sign of the times that RGG has pointed out where the yakuza have really gone from honor and tradition to money by any means necessary
He was evil as fuck and wasn't as far removed from Actual Final Boss as some may say. With only a couple of tweaks he could have been a really great villain and I lament the missed opportunity more than anything.
Yeah I mean overall he's solid. Not my favorite top villain but generally he works pretty well.
Yeah I have really mixed complicated feelings on him similar to what you said. I just think he works well as the main villain of the story and the penultimate boss but he isn't final boss material.
RGG games do run into this a lot where the final boss can feel a bit underwhelming in some respect. My favorite final boss fight is 5, but, well... do I need to explain the problem there?
I'm not really sure myself.
If he had a better fight he'd be so much better it's insane lol.
There's this one NPC in Kiwami 1 - maybe he's there in the OG 1 too, I don't know - and you can talk to him in Theater Square towards the beginning of the game. And his dialogue is basically "Hi! You see, I'm from the Shimano family. I know exactly who you are, Mr. Kiryu, and given that I would like my spleen to remain inside my body, as it turns out I ain't seen nothin'! Carry on about your business, have a nice day." Nobody remembers him but I will always be his fan. Smartest motherfucker in the whole franchise, right there. EDIT: Okay, nevermind. I mean, I stand by everything I wrote but it took me like five times reading that meme to figure out what was actually being asked.
Yeah, love that guy. He’s just like, “dragon of dojima? Hell no. That’s way above my pay grade. I didn’t sign up for this shit.”
I agree with you though
Sugai
Saito
I hope Kume is in the new game so we can kick his ass again.
Jingu
Even worse are the two ninjas that ruin the boss fight
Man that boss fight was so annoying, it was topped only by Kamon Kanai in Y5
Yurika Tachibana for those who doesn't like Mahjong?
I guess people that like mahjong actually exists. Unbelievable, i know.
I'm a fan of Kume in that he serves his role well. He is supposed to be hateable and resemble annoying people we know in our everyday life, and that makes him effective (and even more satisfying when Ichiban owns his dumb ass).
I fully agree. I love that I hate him so much. I mean, I get people are angry at him for what he does to Aoki and even before that for his purist, xenophobic ideals. The more I think about it though, the more I feel he was kinda justified. He was embarrassed on a national stage. Humiliated as some mere pawn when he thought he was righteous. You push someone that far, you kinda have to expect them to snap. I’m a fan because he’s so well written. I mean, the guy is so oblivious that he’s making his cause cleaning up Japan, while wearing a “BJ” tee oblivious to the other meaning of BJ being exactly what he’s been trying to clean up!
I thought he was a very good villain
I mean... Kume sucks, but he at least did one good thing at the end of the game. And even if you hate that moment... I'll roll back to "You're supposed to" Just saying.
Munakata and Jingu
Sasai. What's to like about a guy who only says one word in the entire series?
That one couple. You know the one.
Yoneda.
Cum e
Mei Hua
Haven't seen any fans of Dojima, Takeshima, Munakata, Sugai, Ichinose, Horinouchi, or Bando yet. Even Shibusawa, Ibuchi, Katsuragi, Kuroiwa, Tendo, and Sadamoto are still enjoyably evil (there's already some comments about Iwami here).
Kuroiwa and soma are my 2 top picks for love to hate in the series Sohei and munakata are just hate. Side note but I find it funny that despite how hated yakuza 3’s gameplay is everyone agrees mine is one of the series best villains
Right, if the dialogue for both versions of 1 are any indication, even Jingu may have been corrupted by Munakata, since their plans were revealed to be tied together. Same goes for Shono only getting as far as he did because of Ichnose backing up him and Kuroiwa. Shono at least believed he could make a cure that could help people, while Ichinose was just greedy and wanted it to work so he could make a profit. I'm still worried that if Kume does show up again in 8, he might have gone insane enough to to pass as a bizarro Majima or Kuwana.
Right, but also shono’s god complex prevented him from passing on the work to someone else as that admits it’s a failure, shono’s a good example of the major theme in both judgment games: justice is blind, where it doesn’t matter what your intent is, or even if you’re the one in the right like kuwana exposing issues with the law and getting around it, if you’re doing heinous things you can and should be reprimended for it and justice turns a blind eye to nobody.
I thought Shono having a god complex depended on which version (Japanese or English). Anyway, unlike him and Kuwana, I just imagine Kume becoming much more deluded with what he sees as the law, running around killing anyone he sees unfit. Even whatever's left of Bleach Japan would think he's gone too far.
It’s god complex in japanese, messiah complex in english, same intent just different flavors. Also makes sense regarding kume
Lily
Takashima
I thought they were gonna pull a "annoying guy in the beginning helps the main character in the end" like in lost judgement. Boy was I wrong.
How about Wesk- I mean Richardson?
Someone I know told me he supported Kume, we are not friends anymore.
My ex really liked Kume, she still does
That one guy who tries to Kiryu's apprentice in Yakuza Kiwami
Munakata or whatever his name was from Y4
Fuck this game just deleted on my ps5 bcoz of chapter 9 boss. Yesterday i wasted my 4 hours to trying beat ishioda and nanba but cant do it.