[Spoilies] Come on, this game can't be serious right now....

[Kaxology]

I know there are like, 1 billion plot holes in this game but for real though? Kiryu, a man who has superhuman fighting skills and experience, don't know to kick or throw a weapon away from an enemy when they are incapacitated? Rikiya's death is some TLoU2 Joel death bullsh*t right there, I can't believe this f**king sh*t right now.

[De Poopst François ass dout]

That ♥♥♥♥ happens in like every Yakuza game, Kiryu just gets dumb when near a gun.

[Robo-Tavia Memory]

Honestly, I think it was the best way to execute it without it being extremely out of left field. If Rikiya died off-screen, that would have very little emotional impact for the player -- you wouldn't be able to invest in Kiryu's emotions of losing his friend he had known for about a year or so.

And it wouldn't make much sense for Tamashiro to also capture Rikiya along with Nakahara. At that point, why wouldn't they also capture Mikio and all of the Morning Glory Orphanage kids?

Rikiya's death articulates the character trait of him putting others before himself. He's willing to risk his life for those closest to him, as we see when he comes to Tokyo to find Nakahara's assassin and when he goes to fight the loan sharks for his childhood friend while in Tokyo. The only thing for me about his death is that I wished we had maybe one or two more substories with him to flesh him out a bit more. Hometown Girl and Dotting The Eye are excellent substories and really gives Rikiya more depth than he would have if you just play the main story, and another one or two of those would not only grow Kiryu's bond with Rikiya, but also the player's bond with him, and really strike a cord for the player when he sacrifices himself.

[Kaxology]

Originally posted by Robo-Tavia Memory:

Honestly, I think it was the best way to execute it without it being extremely out of left field. If Rikiya died off-screen, that would have very little emotional impact for the player -- you wouldn't be able to invest in Kiryu's emotions of losing his friend he had known for about a year or so.

And it wouldn't make much sense for Tamashiro to also capture Rikiya along with Nakahara. At that point, why wouldn't they also capture Mikio and all of the Morning Glory Orphanage kids?

Rikiya's death articulates the character trait of him putting others before himself. He's willing to risk his life for those closest to him, as we see when he comes to Tokyo to find Nakahara's assassin and when he goes to fight the loan sharks for his childhood friend while in Tokyo. The only thing for me about his death is that I wished we had maybe one or two more substories with him to flesh him out a bit more. Hometown Girl and Dotting The Eye are excellent substories and really gives Rikiya more depth than he would have if you just play the main story, and another one or two of those would not only grow Kiryu's bond with Rikiya, but also the player's bond with him, and really strike a cord for the player when he sacrifices himself.

Man, have you read the whole thing? I never said I have issues with Rikiya as a character, I just think his death could've VERY EASILY been avoided if Kiryu took 2 seconds to kick the gun away from the killer, ♥♥♥♥ just strikes me as ♥♥♥♥♥♥ writing.

[Robo-Tavia Memory]

Originally posted by Kaxology:

Originally posted by Robo-Tavia Memory:

Honestly, I think it was the best way to execute it without it being extremely out of left field. If Rikiya died off-screen, that would have very little emotional impact for the player -- you wouldn't be able to invest in Kiryu's emotions of losing his friend he had known for about a year or so.

And it wouldn't make much sense for Tamashiro to also capture Rikiya along with Nakahara. At that point, why wouldn't they also capture Mikio and all of the Morning Glory Orphanage kids?

Rikiya's death articulates the character trait of him putting others before himself. He's willing to risk his life for those closest to him, as we see when he comes to Tokyo to find Nakahara's assassin and when he goes to fight the loan sharks for his childhood friend while in Tokyo. The only thing for me about his death is that I wished we had maybe one or two more substories with him to flesh him out a bit more. Hometown Girl and Dotting The Eye are excellent substories and really gives Rikiya more depth than he would have if you just play the main story, and another one or two of those would not only grow Kiryu's bond with Rikiya, but also the player's bond with him, and really strike a cord for the player when he sacrifices himself.

Man, have you read the whole thing? I never said I have issues with Rikiya as a character, I just think his death could've VERY EASILY been avoided if Kiryu took 2 seconds to kick the gun away from the killer, ♥♥♥♥ just strikes me as ♥♥♥♥♥♥ writing.

I did read the whole thing, and I said that I couldn't think of another way that Rikiya could have died without leaving the same impact on Kiryu and the player.

I guess I'll ask the same question: did YOU read MY whole comment?

[Kaxology]

Originally posted by Robo-Tavia Memory:

Originally posted by Kaxology:

Man, have you read the whole thing? I never said I have issues with Rikiya as a character, I just think his death could've VERY EASILY been avoided if Kiryu took 2 seconds to kick the gun away from the killer, ♥♥♥♥ just strikes me as ♥♥♥♥♥♥ writing.

I did read the whole thing, and I said that I couldn't think of another way that Rikiya could have died without leaving the same impact on Kiryu and the player.

I guess I'll ask the same question: did YOU read MY whole comment? :ccknight:

I did read your whole a** garbage that just gives Rikiya's character more credit than he deserves, that scene has less impact than a toy car BECAUSE of how stupid the death was. I can think of MANY other ways to off Rikiya than that stupid crap.

How about him following Kiryu to the hospital and end up fighting Andre to let Kiryu go to the roof so that Andre could defeat Rikiya and drag his body to the roof while taunting Kiryu?

How about Rikiya staying at the orphanage so scattered remains of the Tamashiro Family decides to assault it, for it to end with Rikiya dying while defending the orphanage?

How about if Tamashiro pulls out a sheathed knife instead of using a gun that Kiryu was fighting against and COULD'VE SO OBVIOUSLY DISARMED from him to rush Kiryu and kill Rikiya?

If you think this game is the greatest, whatever. If you think Rikiya's death wasn't f**kin cheap, whatever. But if you're gonna sit there and tell me that Kiryu NOT kicking the gun away from an opponent is some supreme writing, you must be out of your sodding mind.

[Robo-Tavia Memory]

Originally posted by Kaxology:

Originally posted by Robo-Tavia Memory:

I did read the whole thing, and I said that I couldn't think of another way that Rikiya could have died without leaving the same impact on Kiryu and the player.

I guess I'll ask the same question: did YOU read MY whole comment?

I did read your whole a** garbage that just gives Rikiya's character more credit than he deserves, that scene has less impact than a toy car BECAUSE of how stupid the death was. I can think of MANY other ways to off Rikiya than that stupid crap.

How about him following Kiryu to the hospital and end up fighting Andre to let Kiryu go to the roof so that Andre could defeat Rikiya and drag his body to the roof while taunting Kiryu?

How about Rikiya staying at the orphanage so scattered remains of the Tamashiro Family decides to assault it, for it to end with Rikiya dying while defending the orphanage?

How about if Tamashiro pulls out a sheathed knife instead of using a gun that Kiryu was fighting against and COULD'VE SO OBVIOUSLY DISARMED from him to rush Kiryu and kill Rikiya?

If you think this game is the greatest, whatever. If you think Rikiya's death wasn't f**kin cheap, whatever. But if you're gonna sit there and tell me that Kiryu NOT kicking the gun away from an opponent is some supreme writing, you must be out of your sodding mind.

Lemme analyze all three suggestions and poke holes in them -- this is a great exercise in writing!

Andre vs. Rikiya
This one seems the most plausible at first, but when you think about it, it starts to really fall apart. Firstly, Rikiya was still injured by the wound in the leg he got from Tamashiro, and would have no time to heal up before the battle at the hospital.

Even then, Kiryu would absolutely NOT allow Rikiya to join him back to Kamurocho -- firstly because of the aforementioned wounds, and secondly he wouldn't want to risk his life again, not after the Snake Flower Triad incident.

Also, with Rikiya joining Kiryu and Haruka, it would severely diminish Kiryu's "last day together" moment with Haruka. Finally, even if Rikiya were to follow Kiryu without him knowing, he'd have to follow him to Kamurocho on a 2 and a half hour commercial flight with a limp, compared to Kiryu's 1 hour jet flight.

And, Kiryu would've already fought Andre by this point. It would be a bit lame to fight him again to avenge Rikiya. However, we couldn't let Mine sacrifice himself here, either, as this would leave Kiryu without the opportunity to avenge Rikiya. He also wouldn't be able to tell Kiryu to not let Mine win, as they would've already fought. His death at this point would have little to no bearing on the story. The only reason why this worked for Yumi, for example, is because Date was able to convince Kiryu to keep going even after all of his loved ones were lost for Haruka's sake. Doing the same thing for Rikiya would do nothing, as Kiryu still has his orphanage, his children, and Haruka to fight for.

Lastly, even if we could somehow excuse all of the above, having Rikiya die while away from Kiryu would be extremely lame for his character arc.

All in all, the small details destroys this one.

Tamashiro Revenge
Where exactly would this take place? It would have to happen while Kiryu is away in Kamurocho, and if this was the case, then his death would be pretty much in vain -- the climax of the entire game would be taking place, unless you want the game to end with a fight against, like, three Tamashiro Family men instead of with Mine?

The point of RIkiya dying off-screen and away from Kiryu also applies here, too.

Tamashiro Hidden Knife
Tamashiro pulling out a knife feels like a cop-out. At least with using the gun it's utilizing something we've established exist in this scenario and feels less like a cop-out. Even so, I feel like Kiryu would be able to hear Tamashiro rise to a stand and run towards him while yelling.

And why would Rikiya not just tackle or try to disarm him -- that feels like it would be less effort than running between them both in time to bite the blade. Not to mention that Rikiya could yell to warn Kiryu about attack much more easily than a gunshot.

------

I do think that the way Rikiya died COULD have been better -- but I can't think of a better scenario that would have the same emotional impact for Kiryu. It works best for what it's trying to accomplish without feeling like a complete cop-out.

If you have other ideas, I would love to hear them!

[Nightflash]

When I saw that I was just NOPE, I'm not feeling bad at all. It was their own fault for not getting the weapon away. Like the guy said, a rookie mistake.

[🔥]

Kiryu has the terrible tragedy of his bestest friend in the whole wide game shot by a guy who was hanging out on the floor totally defeated next to his gun.
After that, he beats Wesker to the ground twice, totally defeated next to his gun.
When that guy appears a third time and is beaten until he is totally defeated next to his gun, shock horror, he gets up again and starts waving a gun around.
I can only assume Kiryu has a permanent concussion from all those fights because his short term memory is terrible.

[Robert F.]

Originally posted by Daggsy:

I can only assume Kiryu has a permanent concussion from all those fights because his short term memory is terrible.

Especially the time that he keeps forgetting to learn to fight throughout the series.
Like "Oh, I forgot how to use Komaki's technique, lemme get some acupuncture or beat up Komaki and his grandson to jog my memory"

[CalicoJack]

Originally posted by Robert F.:

Originally posted by Daggsy:

I can only assume Kiryu has a permanent concussion from all those fights because his short term memory is terrible.

Especially the time that he keeps forgetting to learn to fight throughout the series.
Like "Oh, I forgot how to use Komaki's technique, lemme get some acupuncture or beat up Komaki and his grandson to jog my memory"

lol, funny but true

[LArc7thHeaven]

Bruh this is like complaining why mace windu didn't kill sidious straight up instead wasting his time talking with anakin.

[YotsuMD]

Imagine how many lives would have been saved if Kiryu just agreed to relocate the orphanage from the start. Him and his handful of brats cause all this death and suffering.

[Hit]

Yakuza games really don't have the greatest plots, they're more akin to soap operas. Dunno what you were expecting TBH

[Survii Gecko]

This happens in every single Yakuza game, either the writers don't know how else to do a dramatic death scene, or Kiryu is legit mentally retarded and forgets that when a cutscene starts he and other characters can't tank 10 gunshots before drinking an energy drink.

[YotsuMD]

Originally posted by Survii Gecko:

This happens in every single Yakuza game, either the writers don't know how else to do a dramatic death scene, or Kiryu is legit mentally retarded and forgets that when a cutscene starts he and other characters can't tank 10 gunshots before drinking an energy drink.

Imagine Rikiya dying in Kiryu's arms, tears streaming down Kiryu's face as he begs him to hold on.
Suddenly a lightbulb goes off over his head, and he pops open a Staminan Royale before jamming it down Rikya's throat. Cue a Popeye spinach animation sequence as Rikya's wounds heal instantly, and he wakes up with fire in his eyes. "Aniki...you saved me" he whispers, smiling as he reaches up and puts a hand on Kiryu's shoulder. "Don't thank me. Thank Staminan. Now let's go save Daigo and punch all the bad guys."