Yakuza 5 didn’t exactly end on a high note for Kiryu. Not only did he nearly die from injuries, but his criminal ties wound up ending the idol career of Haruka. Yakuza 6 mainly takes place several years later after Kiryu returns from yet another prison term only to find Haruka missing from Sunshine Orphanage. This leads to the startling discovery that she not only is currently in a coma after being hit by a car, but also recently birthed a child.
Besides those shocking revelations, the opening hours of Yakuza 6 are pretty chill. That’s not to say that there aren’t some fists exchanged between Japanese gangsters, but for the most part Kiryu is just attempting to take care of his grandson. It’s almost as if the game is a single-father simulator for a bit. Players will have to purchase baby food and make sure the child isn’t upset while walking around the city by using the DualShock 4 to rock the baby to sleep. Oh, and Kiryu even finds some time to play baseball at the local field, because that’s what a cool dad does. Things eventually pick up to the usual Yakuza fare of gangsters, deaths (and boy there are a lot of deaths in this game!), and a conspiracy with its own twists and turns to solve. That said, things for the most part don’t get too crazy. Unlike Yakuza 5, which had players fighting bears, breaking out of prison, and becoming an idol, the story here is a lot more grounded in reality. There are a few instances where play...