A few decades ago the masses believed video games were a waste of time for lackadaisical youths to pacify themselves while ignoring their responsibilities as both kids and young adults. As more and more people started understanding the benefits of gaming so too did the perception of what a video game is and, most importantly, the benefits gaming can bestow on a person’s life changed.
Hi, my name is James Bullock and I am a gamer who has spent the better part of his existence testing the laws of physics, exploring the vastness of a world ruined, and been a champion inside various arenas courtesy of digitized worlds both driven by reality and created through pure unbelievable ingenuity unlike anything seen by human eyes. And as a gamer I’ve discovered something else video games provide: life lessons. Today I examine the “Yakuza” game series and how it showcased what it really means to be family.
Family is More Than Blood
On a dark & stormy night, the first image of an intimidating man in white is that of a potential murder. This belief that this unidentified individual isn’t on the up & up in terms of morality is made even more profound by him holding up what appears to be a helpless individual. But the truth isn’t of a bully as the story of “Yakuza” progresses, but a misguided youth who found nothing greater than loyalty to those who took care of him when no one else would including a major member of the Tojo Clan. Kazuma Kiryu – the man in white with an ability to intimidate by simply glaring at someone – returns from a ten-year stint in prison at the start of “Yakuza” after taking the fall for his best friend & sworn brother who killed their mutual boss to prevent a rape of another mutual childhood friend.
This girl Yumi – who could’ve been a victim of power if not for an intervening ally – went missing during Kiryu’s time imprisonment, believed by the Tojo Clan that she stole ten billion yen. Kiryu’s quest to find Yumi puts him in the line of literal fire as he encounters a young girl trying to stop an untimely death. Kiryu discovers that the yakuza’s want to attain this child named Haruka is directly tied to Yumi’s actions; beginning a game-long relationship between these two strangers bonded by their simultaneous quest for truth and potential unions between the people they care for the most.
But the story of Kiryu and Hakura’s relationship doesn’t stop there. From the moment Kiryu rescues Hakura he becomes “Uncle Kaz” and the sole father figure in her life. Kiryu goes out of his way to make a better life for Hakura; forgoing power & money by being a top member in the Tojo Clan for a simpler life as the director & owner of Sunshine Orphanage – the place Kiryu once called home as a youth. Kiryu’s lifestyle before and even during his time as Hakura’s guardian comes back to haunt them both throughout the years including a time when Kazuma insists that she reaches her potential and trains to become a J-Pop idol.
Even as an adult with a child of her own, Kiryu goes out of his way to protect Hakura as best as he can while constantly realizing his shortcomings as a “father” be it to her or her son as the Kazuma portion of the series comes to a close in “Yakuza 6: The Song of Life”. Family bonds are not all created by blood with some being stronger than what’s stereotypical of the term “family”.
Mini-Lesson: Talking With Your Fists/Feet Works
While the basis of the “Yakuza” games stories usually boil down to Japanese mafia power struggles, shocking revelations featuring characters who didn’t know they are related until it’s too late, and the want to see Goro Majima do anything (seriously, any scene featuring Majima is usually a memorable one). But nothing is more synonymous with enjoying a “Yakuza” game than its battle style featuring an old school beat-‘em-up foundation in a 3D environment with RPG elements including a skill tree, extensive mini-games & more side quests than one could shake a stick at on any given day.
Pretty much every bad encounter – be it against random street thugs or some guy looking to test their skills against the “Dragon of Dojima” – in a “Yakuza” game starts & ends in violence with a successful Kiryu usually beating the sense into any adversary. In the world of “Yakuza”, nothing makes more sense than beating respect, understanding, and even friendship into someone.
Have you learned any major life lessons from playing the “Yakuza” series or any video game for that matter? Leave them in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.