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Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life reviewKiryu’s final chapter hits hard

Kiryu’s final chapter hits hard

And now I’ve revisited the action-RPG on PC, I’m not surprised at my response. This is easily the most intimateYakuzagame of the lot. There’s no bouncing around different playable beefcakes, or upholding your position in Japan’s criminal underworld; the focus is on family, and punching anyone who dares threaten them - as is Kiryu’s way.

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Kiryu’s initial impressions of Haruto aren’t great.

And it’s this switch-up from the hustle and bustle of Kamurocho to the quaint shores of Onomichi which sets Yakuza 6 apart from the rest. You’ll flit between the two on occasion, but a large portion of the game is set in this peaceful port town. I adored its hushed streets and lazy orange glow, so much so I never wanted to leave. When the time did arrive, though, it elevated Kamurocho from a familiar crash of noise into a welcome injection of pace.

And Yakuza 6 had me grinning, too, not only because I’d seen Kiryu morph into a loving father, but because he was allowed to do so without a technical hitch; the game ran really well on PC. It has multiple frame rate options, with a slider that lets you jump between 30, 60, 120, and unlimited. I opted for trusty 60 fps, and I didn’t experience any performance issues. If you’ve got a 4K monitor then you can crank the resolution right up too, although I only played at 1920 x 1080 with my RTX 2070. I found the higher quality presets available for PC gave environments and characters more presence compared to the PS4 version, too.

It’s good to be back.

But, though the Dragon of Dojima may have revealed a tender side, there were still plenty of heads to crunch and bikes to buckle. Yakuza 6’s beat ‘em up combat will be instantly familiar to longtime fans. You string together basic combos to bruise groups of thugs until you can pop your special Heat actions: flashy moves that’ll let you fold enemies in two or pound them into dust. Uppercutting suits into the stratosphere felt as satisfying as ever, but as the game wore on I did become tired of enacting the same animations over and over (and over) again.

Here’s me, getting absolutely battered.

I missed the multiple fighting styles of previous Yakuza games, where I could flit between sweeping clotheslines and rapid fists of fury; they felt wonderfully chaotic. In Yakuza 6, the combat felt too streamlined, like after all these years Kiryu had solidified an unbeatable style which suited his needs, but wasn’t nearly as fun for us to control. It was the one thing that made me long for a return to his wild and unpredictable days.

Thankfully, my interest in Yakuza 6’s substories never wavered. I fought some actual ghost pirates, thwarted a sentient virus on my phone, and dressed up as Onomichi’s mascot - an orange-headed humanoid who wears a ramen bowl as a hat - to entertain some local kids. They are gloriously at odds with the seriousness of the plot and will genuinely make you belly laugh, but are just as likely to make you reach for a hanky. And if you’ve played any of the previous games, a number of emotional reunions await.

Although, I’m nitpicking here really. Yakuza 6 is an excellent standalone adventure for newcomers and a brilliant send off for Kiryu without the clutter of the other yakuza games, for better and for worse. I’m just happy I can hang out again with my favourite yakuza dad, who now smoulders at max settings.