Yakuza 5 for Playstation 3 is 25% off through April 5th, and to celebrate we’ve teamed with SEGA to give away eight Yakuza 5 t-shirts featuring the franchise’s iconic dragon emblazoned on the front and back. We’re especially excited for Yakuza 5‘s temporary sale as it means more people will play the game and in turn the fanbase will grow. The Yakuza franchise is an incredible series of games filled with rich stories, fun and interesting characters and varied gameplay.
To enter, all you have to do is share your favorite moment from Yakuza 5 (or another game in the Yakuza series) in the comments below. You must use a valid email address in the email field (nobody will see it except us, this is how we will contact you should you win) and please specify if you are in the US or Canada in the comment field, as we would like to give each region even chances. Shirt sizes are limited and the contest ends March 29th. Eight will win.
Learn more about Yakuza 5 and series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi:
- SEGAbits reviews Yakuza 5
- SEGAbits interviews Toshihiro Nagoshi
- Playstation Yakuza 5 interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi and Masayoshi Yokoyama
- Yakuza 5 Famitsu interview – fully translated
My favorite moment in Yakuza is finishing kiryu’s side taxi racing story. After hours of trying finally being able to beat it while listening to daytona usa music.
Us
Getting in a fist fight with the giant bear, Yama Oroshi.
My favorite Yakuza 5 moment is the Akiyama dance battle substories, it was a nice surprise and that moneylender has got some moves.
My region is US.
My favourite part of Yakuza 5 and most of the games in the series despite the awesome storylines in all the games is the Club SEGA arcades. For a long time Sega fan like myself I find the Club SEGA arcade sections to be the Fan-service-love-letter to long term Sega fans like myself and especially with Yakuza 5 and the upcoming Yakuza 0.
In Yakuza 5 we can play a full version of Virtua Fighter 2 and online which brings back an authentic arcade feel. Not only that but the ever popular Taiko Drum Master by Bandai NAMCO Games is also present and gives a more realistic sense of being in a Japanese Club SEGA arcade venue. The new photo boothes are awesome and Kuryu and the main characters really get in to the spirit of gaming enjoying SEGA’s hits as much as the people playing through their eyes.
Yakuza 0 looks to go authentically 80’s with the inclusion of Outrun, Space Harrier and Super Hang On. It’s that kind of detail that makes these games so special and that’s only one area in the massive world of Yakuza.
Kamorucho is an awesome if slightly shady place and having the Club SEGA arcades really gives the Yakuza series depth while admiring the hit of SEGA’s yesteryear. Awesome!
My favorite part of Yakuza 5 was the Saejima side-mission with the “Santa hunters.” From the way the sub-mission began with the NPC laying on the floor to the chase sequence (especially that music) to the beatdown at the end, it was a stellar sub-mission all around.
Region is US.
The little details but ill give you a example: during the taxi races when ever you hit a boost kazumas head is pushed back against his seat and he holds onto the steering wheel for dear life making the funniest face almost like he is in a spaceship going into orbit. The little deets like that really make the game special for me it’s the same kinda content that made shenmue so special and it’s something only sega Can do
Just wanted to add that, that moment is so special because its one of the few times u see kazuma not making his I’m kazuma face we always see and it’s great to see
Us region (austin Texas)
I have only played 1 – 4.
I have a checkered relationship with the Yakuza series. The games start well but they keep adding characters and the plot keeps getting convoluted and I am totally out of the game towards the ending.
The only Yakuza game I genuinely enjoyed till the end was Yakuza 3. It followed the same formulaic plot, so it was easier to follow. The game also introduced a side kick, Kazuma’s boy wonder “Rikiya Nakagawa” like Haruka follows Kazuma around the streets Rikiya was like that too. He is one of my favorite characters in the series. And him yelling Aniki while tailing Kazuma was funny.
I only played Yakuza 3 and 4 at the moment but my favorite moment so far is either the jailbreak with Saejima in 4 or the chase/boss fight in the hotel with Kanda since it was really fun kicking open the wrong doors and interrupting the couples.
I didn’t finished Yakuza 5 yet, but so far, my favourite moment from that game was part of Saejima’s story, where I fight a giant bear with bear (no pun intended) hands. Do I even need to say why? 😉
Oh yeah, I just now noticed that it is contest US and Canada only. I’m from Poland, Europe. So you can ignore mine comment… *sigh*
SPOILERS!
The ending really, which I felt it ended on a strong emotional note. But particularly how most of the cast returned at the end with a huge impact, especially in Akiyama’s segment where they express their gratitude toward him.
Silly me. Not that I’d win, but US.
I haven’t finished Yakuza 5 yet (I’m at the first chapter of the finale though!) my favorite part so far was fighting the bear as Saejima, I also enjoyed racing the taxi as Kiryu, it was very funny. My region is US
My favourite Yakuza 5 moment is when I hunt yama oroshi with saejima….
USA
My favorite moment in Yakuza games was exploring virtual tokyo; and specifically being able to walk into the Club Sega arcades and actually play Sega arcade games! the first games featured the older sega arcade games, but later featured VF2 in yakuza5! This was an awesome feature that I wish sega would have included more choices and more modern titles, but alas, what we got was ok. (daytona usa? sega rally? virtua cop? etc etc)
There’s so many memorable moments in this series I could go on all day about them, but one moment in Yakuza 5 that’ll stick with me isn’t a big fight, brawl, or even bear hunting (though these are all great!) but instead is actually a rather tender and touching moment from Haruka’s campaign.
I feel a big theme of the game is ‘time’, and exploring how the central characters have aged over the years. During Haruka’s storyline, she’s well on her way in achieving her dream of becoming a successful idol and is doing an interview with a magazine company. During which, the interviewer reads out some fan mail, asking her views on various things, requesting advice, and showing their support. As she’s being read these, she comes to the realization that some of the fans in question are none other than the young children she helped raise at the Sunshine Orphanage with Kaz – only with false names in attempt to hide their identity as to not embarrass her. Haruka soon figures out who each one is based upon their “name” and the content of their message, and becomes emotional. One of the letters mention how all their “brothers and sisters” are supporting and rooting for her, how they’ve been following her progress since the beginning, and how much it’d mean to them to see her win the Princess League finals.
It’s about a 5-10 minute sequence. It’s also a touching moment that shows just how much heart these games have, as well as highlight another core theme that’s been touched upon throughout the series – family.
Thank you.
[I live in the US]
I came here just to read everyone’s comments. A shirt would be great, but so is seeing more people talk about this great game. 🙂
I loved the majority of Yakuza 5 for many different reasons. It’s honestly hard to pick a single moment from any of it, as my first play through was pretty exhaustive and lasted roughly 80 hours! All of the characters had some very entertaining side stories to run through. Some of them were completely unexpected and I feel like if I name them outright here, someone might have part of the fun ruined for them.
As far as gameplay goes, I spent way too long hunting with Saejima. In fact, despite wanting to advance the plot greatly, I came off that mountain completely finished with it and a very rich man!
Loved the game. I wrote a pretty lengthy review about it after finishing it below.
http://segascream.com/yakuza-5-or-how-i-stopped-worrying-and-became-a-teen-j-pop-idol/
US
I was always amused when you get accosted, all nearby people stop their routine to watch the scuffle – civilised cosmopolitan deteriorates as soon as they catch wind of a fight, regressing into a school yard brawl.
Like Mariusz I can be ignored as I’m from the UK, Europe.
My favorite moment is when it finally came out.
My favorite moment was playing vf2 at Club sega
My favorite moment was the dice game, Cho Han, and letting the stream viewers decide to bet low or high or bet on the dice number.
When the music kicks in for the 1-on-1 versus the house, it was hype! Everyone was getting into it like a real gambling house.
There were a lot of highs and lows as we won and lost accordingly, but we really wanted to hit that big jackpot and press on, especially after seeing the sudden QTE and missing it the first time.
It took many many attempts, but when we hit the QTE and won the final roll, the catharthis was sublime. We did it.
And now I just learned that if you win enough money off the dealer, you can date her!? This game is incredible with the amount of content it has. You can keep playing it forever.
Or until Yakuza 6 and 0 are out.
USA
I’m not in US/Canada so shirt is out. BUT, I’ve written most of my blogs lately on my experiences with Yakuza 5, not done with Shinada’s part yet. Favourite moments are when certain familiar music plays in the background. Such as Daytona USA and Feel the Magic XY/XX themes. Great stuff!
It’s such a great game, it’s difficult to pick a favourite moment! XD
I’m going to have to go with the moment Akiyama and Haruka finally meet again. It was such a great feeling for some of the main characters to meet again, albeit in dire circumstances. They’re both kind-hearted characters, it was nice for them to be there for each other when Kiryu couldn’t be there.
There’s so many other moments I can think of but this one was probably the most joyous for me 🙂
I realise I can’t win the shirt being in the UK, I just wanted an excuse to talk about Yakuza 5 😛
Punching a tiger in the face in Yakuza 2. Every other enemy/boss you fight is human so the two tigers were really intimidating. Then kazuma punches them in the face.
My favorite part from Yakuza 4 is when Kiryu Kazuma and Dojima Daigo face off at the top of the building!
US
I loved the part where Kiryu nonchalantly side-stepped two incoming missiles, and proceeded to kick all kinds of ass.
USA
My favorite moment in Yakuza 5 would have to be after Baba is framed in prison, Saejima finally has had enough. He realizes that even though he turned a blind eye to Kugihara in order to avoid trouble and shorten his sentence, he has betrayed his own principles and let down his fellow inmates. Angry at his own selfishness, he rips off his shirt, revealing the tiger tattoo accompanied (with an appropriate tiger roar), and proceeds to fight Kugihara.
Region: US
One of my favourite parts of the series is from Yakuza 3, and I love it for just how silly it was. An old lady riding her moped down the road, looks at a big billboard of an Idol then crashes into a van but somehow manages to front flip over the van, land on both wheels, and just carries on without realising what happened.
I actually replayed that revelation a few times and it made me laugh every time!
I can’t believe how much I enjoyed the prison storyline. I saw some negative comments about it online and think that some folks didn’t like that Saejima’s section seals you away from the havoc-in-the-city action for a bit. I ate it all up.
My favorite part of the Yakuza series is Rikiya’s death. It made Yakuza seem more emotionally connected than ever before, and kind of marked a change in the feel of the games. Absolutely chilling moment, as Rikiya’s character development was incredible, and you really felt connected to him.
US
My favorite moment in Yakuza is finishing kiryu’s side taxi racing story. After hours of trying finally being able to beat it while listening to daytona usa music.
Has to be when Akiyama took on a dance battle, the sheer spirit of fun and Sega-ness of that really struck me as exactly what I want from Sega games
What happened to my avatar?
(I’m from US) – My favorite moment in the Yakuza series is when Rikiya Shimabukuro dies. Yeah, I know, you8 guys must be thinking “what?’ but I didn’t choose this moment because I did not like the character. I REALLY loved him and it take guts to kill such a great character. That’s why the Yakuza series is so cool, it’s a fun game with an amazing plot were even the good guys can die. There’s no way for someone who played Yakuza 3 to forget the word “anikiiii”!!!!! Btw, I’m downloading Yakuza 5 right now!!!
Getting to Shinseicho in Yakuza 2 and trying out the offal restaurants.
The best part for me was the rooftop showdown at the end of 3. US btw. :3
The kiryu’s side taxi racing story with de Daytona Music in Yakuza 5, I almost cry when I hear it. U.S.
Favorite Moment in Y5 had to be Akiyama’s dance battles, other than that, helping Rikiya get his tattoo finished, the feelings were real
Also, U.S.
*spoiler*My favorite moment from yakuza 5 has to be the end of kiryu’s chapter where he decides to take on the Tojo clan singlehandedly to prevent a clan war. That fight was amazing! It magnificently raised the stakes for the rest of the game! -Canada
When I gambled away all my money and came to the realization that I had a problem since I was still playing this game at 3AM in the morning…
My favorite part in Yakuza 5 was the street racing substory in Kiryu’s chapter. I thought it would just be a simple “race these guys and make them leave” story, but there were a lot of heartfelt moments like discovering the truth behind your boss’s past, and helping that kid turn his life around.
USA
I really enjoyed the street racing in Kiryu’s part of the game.
My favorite moment was in yakuza 4 when saejima shut up the noodle shop, that cutscene was choreographed beautifully and saejima going in with revolvers in his waist, hands, mouth and anywhere else he could fit them was one of the most badass moments in gaming ever
There are so many things in the yakuza series I love that it’s so hard to think of my favorite moment in the game. But I’d probably have to say for yakuza 5 one of my favorite moment was the cutscene when every yakuza bowed down to akiyama after he beats kanai up. I just thought that was such an amazing moment in the game and of course the revelations stories! I love them XD My region is US
My favorite moment from the Yakuza series is fighting Ryuji Goda at the top of Kamurucho Hills, while the bomb is ticking.
USA
Favorite moment in Yakuza 5 was knowing a Virtua Fighter 2 arcade machine was playable. An arcade port of the game can be played in a game your already playing and that brought back memories of Shenmue when you could play the Space Harrier arcade. Only reason I didn’t play Virtua Fighter 2, yet, because I was reading manga! Sugoi!!
U.S.A. region
There are a lot of memorable moments in the game but mine has to be fighting the tigers in Yakuza 2.
US poster
Here, the story of Shinada’s sectioning. It’s such a very nice, small self-contained story with so many great & heartbreaking momentry.
yakuza 5 for.
i am from Aust, so internationally speaking, outside the US/district for me.