Ryuu ga gotoku 6: Inochi no uta

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is the seventh main instalment in the extraordinary action-adventure video game franchise of the same title that has existed for eleven years when this game was originally released in Japan. It's the final game featuring Kiryu Kazuma, former member of an organized crime family with a heart of gold, as protagonist. This game is certainly the most emotional, mysterious and personal one thus far in the franchise.

Kiryu Kazuma has made peace with his past and has just been released from prison as he wants to live a more secluded life and take care of orphaned children in Okinawa. Things take a more sinister turn when he learns that his protégée Sawamura Haruka has been severely injured in a hit-and-run incident when he was still in prison. As Kiryu Kazuma finds out that she is in a coma, he decides to investigate and penalize those behind the terrible crime. However, the surprises don't stop there as the protagonist learns that his protégée was protecting a little boy who turns out to be Sawamura Haruka's child. Kiryu Kazuma understands that in order to figure out the conspiracy in which his charming protégée has been mixed up, he must find the father of her son. Kiryu Kazuma traces her steps from Kamurocho, Tokyo all the way back to Onomichi, Hiroshima where she worked as a bartender. The protagonist soon gets mixed up with dangerous local and national conflicts while trying to figure out his protégée's secret life and protect his loved ones by any means necessary.

This game convinces on numerous levels. First and foremost, the story offers some interesting twists and turns and will keep players on the edges of their seats until the emotional conclusion. This game once again includes numerous very entertaining side stories that offer funny and heartfelt moments to offer genuine diversity.

Up next, old and new characters have more depth than ever before which makes the protagonist and his loved ones even more empathic and sympathetic. On the other side, players will certainly root against the antagonists who don't even hesitate to murder a teenage mother and her baby boy.

The idea to let this game take place in familiar Kamurocho and in fictional sea side town Onomichi was a brilliant one. The former offers a healthy dose of nostalgia while the latter introduces a truly dynamic environment with unique cultural elements.

The seventh instalment in the video game franchise once-again offers excellent long-term entertainment. It's not as long as its immediate predecessor but that isn't a bad thing at all as this sixth game is more compact, energetic and focused. This means that the game has few to no slow moments and is particularly dynamic and intriguing.

Some elements in this game are obviously still quite predictable such as the mandatory final epic fight sequences in the Millennium Tower and the cameo appearances of numerous beloved characters from earlier instalments.

At the end of the day, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a wonderful conclusion to Kiryu Kazuma's reign as protagonist of this excellent action-adventure video game franchise. This dynamic game finds the perfect balance between traditional trademarks of the franchise and fresh characters, emotions and locations. Fans of old date should therefore appreciate this game as much as potential new fans. This game genuinely offers value for money as it entertains from start to finish, is the franchise's most emotional content by far and has great replay value for hundreds of hours of diversified entertainment.

It's because having spent most of my life either living in Japan or connected with Japan through work, that I may get a lot more out of the game because, I think, speak, and know what's very familiar and satisfying about Japanese gokudo stories told well. I didn't expect this in a PS4 game, until a close family member recommended I play. It took me 6 days over two weeks and got caught up in Kiryu Kasuma's world.

There are several references to, and that draw directly from real events, although the names are changed to masked direct association. I was quite moved at times especially at the finale scenes and post credits prologue. I was surprised at how much I became very attached to the main characters. And I welcomed the faces and voice overs from well known actors like Kitano Takeshi to name just one. All this may also may have influenced why I enjoyed the story and the game play as well. Perhaps the avid gamer will find some weakness in the game play and mini-games. I remember playing many of the 80s mini-games from when I was a University undergrad in Nagoya, Japan.

I highly recommend the game if you have had similar life experiences to my self, and are bilingual like my family is, but there's plenty to enjoy for those who know little about Japan as well. The games 18+ rating is justified. My (grown) kids who could hear me shouting at the screen in Japanese, knew what I was saying which was awkward the following day sometimes, no matter what a ride it was !