Yakuza 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2 are available on the Yakuza games has grown considerably on an international level in recent years.
Part of the reason behind this growth in popularity is that since the release of Yakuza 0 in 2015 the series has made its way to PC and moved away from its console-exclusive status. Like any other online fanbase, Yakuza fans have celebrated the games through numerous hilarious memes over the years, memes that require intimate knowledge of the games to understand, some of which have been shown below.
Collateral Damage
In the world of Yakuza, or more specifically in the streets of Kamurucho, there are always people looking to start a fight with Kiryu, and they are a great way to farm some experience points and money in-game. Kiryu has the ability to pick up random items laying on the street during fights and use them as weapons, and the bike is arguably the most powerful of them.
Not only is it very commonly found, but it can knock down multiple enemies swiftly, making it a favorite for Yakuza players but unfortunate for the bike owners, as highlighted by this meme.
It's The Jokes That Make A Dad
Kiryu is one of the best video game dads of all time, and his relationship with his adoptive daughter Haruka is one of the most loved aspects of the Yakuza series. And what kind of a father would he be if didn't make the occasional dad joke. It just adds to the overall realism of the game.
Kiryu gains the dad (technically uncle) status in the first Yakuza game when he meets Haruka, and over the years looks after her just as if she'd been his own daughter, and even becomes a granddad at one point.
Cutscenes, Cutscenes Everywhere
The Yakuza games are infamous for their lengthy cutscenes, and this meme is one of the many examples of how the fanbase pokes fun at the matter. Yakuza 2 holds the record for having one of the longest video game cinematics ever, at 23 minutes, and the rest of the games don't fall too short of that mark with their cutscenes.
Impatient gamers might complain, but with Yakuza games being as cinematic, character-driven, and dialogue-heavy as they are by choice, cutscenes are important for plot development and progression. Most fans have to accept and expect it.
Rubber Bullets
Getting shot or stabbed during combat in Yakuza games, which is common in Kiryu's line of work, will certainly take off a chunk of his health, but he is able to brush it off quite easily and continue breaking bones and is virtually invincible.
But as shown in this creative edit of the popular "Swole Doge vs. Cheems" meme, getting shot during a cutscene affects Kiryu much more significantly, such as in the finale of Yakuza Kiwami, which makes little sense. Not just Yakuza, but almost every action video game is guilty of using this cliche.
What Makes A Yakuza A Yakuza?
Yakuza fans playing PC will be familiar with the words "Real Yakuza Use A Gamepad" which appear on the title screen of every new Yakuza game. It is the game's way of suggesting that Yakuza is better played with a controller than a traditional keyboard and mouse, and has numerous memes, such as this one.
Players without a gamepad need not despair, as the game can be played just fine with a keyboard and mouse, even if it makes doing some of the mini-games, which have their own controls, a little more difficult and less enjoyable.
A Never-Ending Rivalry
Daisaku Kuze is one of the major antagonists of Yakuza 0, and the first boss that players fight in the game. He is far from being one of the worst or biggest video game bosses of all time, but what makes him particularly memorable is that Kiryu faces him a total of five times in the game.
Although the circumstances of each fight are different, and Kuze's resilience is irable, it is ridiculous how many times Kiryu ends up fighting the same person, which is what Redditor Runefreya857 is making fun of through this meme, taking a well-fitting line from a popular SpongeBob SquarePants meme.
A Different Breed
Not everyone plays a game in the same way. Some people solve every puzzle the game throws at them and achieve every accomplishment obtainable, while others are more than happy to just enjoy the main story. The Yakuza games make life particularly difficult for completionist types, simply because of the sheer amount of activities players can do in the game.
There are dozens of substories to do in every game, and even besides that many other mini-games that players need to complete to achieve 100 percent in the game. It is a task that is not just time-consuming but also demands plenty of patience, and as this meme highlights, it is certainly not for everyone.
A Slightly Polarizing Upgrade
In recent years, Yakuza developers have made a completely new game engine for the series, called the Dragon Engine, and it is a drastic upgrade over the previous one. The new engine comes with many big changes, essentially remodeling the Yakuza experience in numerous ways, arguably making the gameplay more modern, which is what makes it one of the best Yakuza games to start with.
But as this meme exemplifies, the changes to the combat system haven't been positively accepted by all, while others are more than happy with the new system. The Dragon Engine comes with a ragdoll physics feature, which is common in many games and results in enemies hitting the ground in often hilarious and erratic ways after being finished off.
Kiryu The Glutton
It's difficult to play a Yakuza game without getting into a fight every five minutes, and although most low-level street enemies can't hold a candle to the Dragon of Dojima, the damage the player takes does add up, eventually.
The best way to recover health in the games is to eat food, which is a sensible game mechanic, but what isn't sensible is the fact that Kiryu can effectively clear out the whole menu of the restaurant in an instant (something players will have to do to full up the HP bar). As this meme illustrates, from the perspective of a bystander, it would be a crazy experience watching Kiryu eat.
Business Is Booming
Yakuza 0 is considered the best game in the franchise by many fans, and part of the reason is that it has some of the best mini-games in the series. Noteworthy among them is Real Estate Royale, in which Kiryu finds himself in charge of a real estate agency with the objective of ending the reign of the Five Billionaires, people who control a significant number of plots in Kamurocho.
Players start small but eventually make their way to doing business with billions as they buy properties belonging to the other Billionaires, reaching a point where they almost own half the city, which is clearly what this meme is referring to.
