Yakuza's Combat Is Great Because It's A Fighting Game At Heart
X, X, X, Y, pow. The thug is flung to the ground. B. I’ve grabbed him, and now I’m swinging him around and lobbing him into his pals. Y. I’ve lashed out with a full-throttle Heat ability, caving his head into a brick wall. It’s brutal, but as soon as the fight ends he sits up and says sorry with nothing but a bruised ego.
Yakuza might be a JRPG that sees you exploring the open streets of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, but its brawler-inspired combat feels more like a fighting game. There are the signature eccentric combos, devastating moves that would certainly kill enemies in any other game, and over-the-top introductions to boss fights that even Heihachi or M. Bison would think were a bit much. You’re not just smacking heads and firing off guns like in GTA, you’re roundhouse kicking yakuza and spraying foam into the Men In Black’s eyes while Kuze rides in on a motorcycle with a lead pipe. I can almost hear the announcer yelling, “FIGHT!”
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There are often complaints that Yakuza’s combat is overly arcade-y and reliant on button-mashing, but that’s the charm. It’s not a hyperrealistic hand-to-hand reenactment or a Souls-like; it takes the traditionally 2D side-scroller fighting format and brings it to small, contained arenas that you can move around in freely. There are environmental cues and finishers just like in Mortal Kombat, but they’re littered around the world you explore. Kiryu and Nishiki’s brotherly beef is a gut-wrenching character drama for the ages, but I took that punk down by slamming a bicycle over his head. Only Yakuza could juggle two distinctly contrasting tones so effortlessly.
I mention Mortal Kombat because it's the closest
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