Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Yakuza 6 is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. It is similar to that of other Yakuza titles with exploration mixed with arcade style over the top combat. Kazuma Kiryu returns as the main and only playable character and the game features locations of Kamurocho, Tokyo and Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture. Several renowned actors voice the characters in Yakuza 6. Among them: Takeshi Kitano as Toru Hirose, Shun Oguri as Takumi Someya, Hiroyuki Miyasako as Tsuyoshi Nagumo, Tatsuya Fujiwara as Yuta Usami, and Yoko Maki as Kiyomi Kasahara, as well as other artists that have participated in the Yakuza series. While recovering from his injuries from the previous game, a hospitalized Kazuma Kiryu is approached by the police, who plan to arrest him for his past crimes.
Game Discussion
Steam User 13
At the start of 2025 I thought I'd play this whole series in order. Managed to finish them all from 0-6 and thought the story was absolutely incredible. Kiryu is such a great well made character and it feels like I've pretty much played through most of his life.
I played Gaiden first over a year ago which then made me want to see the story in order. Glad I finally got through them all, 3, 4 and 5 do show their age though and were a bit of a slog but overall a solid 9/10 game series.
Steam User 17
Yakuza 6 is a fantastic conclusion to Kiryu's saga, wrapping up his story in a way that feels both emotional and satisfying, even though Kiryu returns in later titles. The new minigames and fresh location in Onomichi are a blast, and the graphics look stunning, really bringing the world to life. It's noticeably shorter than previous entries, making it much easier to 100%, but that doesn’t take away from the overall experience. It's a great entry in the series, even if it feels like the end of an era for the Dragon of Dojima.
Steam User 11
Actual masterpiece cried genuine tears at the end and i dont cry, the only other game to make me cry was Infinite Wealth. Highly recommend.
Steam User 10
Pros:
- The game is gorgeous because it uses the same Dragon Engine as Yakuza Kiwami 2. Seeing Kiryu in high definition is always a joy. I loved taking screenshots of this game.
- Substories, Characters, and cinematography are simply top-tier. Aside from the aesthetics brought about by the dragon engine, RGG studios really put a lot of effort into making this a hype game.
- Clan creator mini-game is actually a lot better than in YK2. I loved the Majima Construction aspect in YK2, but the gameplay itself wasn’t my kind of flavor. This one is much easier to stomach and the accompanying story is pretty fun.
- You get to chat with Anri Okita and Yua Mikami.
- Ono-Michio is one of the greatest video game characters ever created.
Cons:
- Still the same Dragon Engine problems. This game actually came before YK2, so it was even less-optimized. There was a bit of pop-in with the video game assets (I am playing from an HDD, not an SSD, but no other Yakuza game had pop-ins as big as entire buildings). Movement is still a bit slip-and-slidey and the combat is trimmed down. This game really feels like a dry-run for the Dragon Engine.
- Probably my least favorite game in terms of side-content and post-game content. Once you finish the main story, there isn’t much else to do in this game. There’s no pool mini-game. No cabaret club mini-game. You can only play as Kiryu so I already maxed out his stats before I finished the main plot. This game really shaves off a lot of content from the previous games despite being in a better game engine.
- I know it’s a staple of the series, but this game really has an absurd plot. Who knew that having sex could lead to pregnancy?! Whaaaa?!
- Considering it’s an end to the Kiryu saga, a lot of characters built up over the games are forgotten and delegated to EXTREMELY minor roles. Sad to see, but I heard they have bigger roles in Yakuza: Like A Dragon so I can’t wait to play it.
This is my least-liked game in the series overall. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad game, but if I had to choose between playing Yakuza 3 or yakuza 6, I would choose Okinawa Daddy Kiryu any day. Plot-wise a very solid game, but it just lacks a bit of the side-stuff that I really enjoy from the series.
Steam User 8
I'm not salty at all that Majima progressively gets less and less screentime for each installment; I can't wait for him to be in the next game for just a still image.
Steam User 9
Yakuza 6 serves as the conclusion to the main Yakuza story, and man does it show. This game feels more like a movie with how cinematic it is, which I personally don't mind but some scenes do go on for quite a bit. After playing through Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5, it is very satisfying going back to just playing as Kiryu alone through this story. Graphically it's a huge step up from Yakuza 5, and the game is extremely pretty and gorgeous to look at. The combat feels a bit slower than previous games since this is a new engine, but it's satisfying nonetheless. And since this is a new engine, mechanically it's a massive improvement from previous games, as you can now save wherever and enter buildings without load screens. The minigames are fun, and compared to Yakuza 5 it doesn't feel bloated at all. Very emotional game overall, and it was satisfying going through the end and seeing all the characters we've come to love across the other games have some form of closure in regards to their goals (for the most part). Had a blast playing this and looking forward to see what's to come in the future.
Steam User 7
With the hindsight of current Yakuza releases, it's painfully jarring to see what damage the plot beats of this game have done to the narratives of future games (Gaiden and ESPECIALLY Infinite Wealth).
Spoilers, obviously:
This game leaves me incredibly mixed. I think they damaged Haruka's character beyond repair, with her making decisions more stupid as a nearly fully grown woman than she would have as a child. Kiryu decides to take responsibility for Haruka outing him as her adoptive father by....running away to jail and letting everything go to ♥♥♥♥ and, again, with the hindsight of future games, makes a life altering decision that comes off as so stupid that it effectively ruined his life from this game onward. I also don't know why you'd make a final Kiryu game and just...write out all of the people relevant to Kiryu's life aside from Date and Haruka?
And yet, I can't help but love this game. There's a beauty to its smaller scale, the more intimate, smaller Kamurocho to signify a city that's seen better days. The more somber tone that conveys the painful passage of time and the transition to a new game engine that signifies the end of an era and the birth of a new one. Onomichi is a wonderful town, on par with Nagasugai for my favorite location in the franchise aesthetically and atmospherically.
The soundtrack is by far one of my absolute favorites in the series.
I initially hated the combat at first, but lately I've found it to be one of my favorites in the series. I do like juggling, but straight up grounded combat where Kiryu beats his enemies down suits him the best.
Despite my many, MANY issues with the story, I love the Hirose boys, I love this game's antagonists and I love Kiryu's role as a grandfather and experiencing the complex emotions of seeing his adopted daughter become a mother. I love the culmination of a decade of story telling that ends with Kiryu putting his life on the line for the people important to him to keep them away from the Yakuza life that ended up haunting him and keeping him away from a life of peace.
Yakuza 6 is a game that leaves me with conflicting feelings, but a game that I still hold dear to my heart.