Spare a thought for the western Yakuza player first introduced to series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu in 2017 with prequel Yakuza 0. Continuing his story would then mean following up with the original PS2 entry's remake, Yakuza Kiwami – but after that, they would be forced to skip a decade's worth of instalments, hastening his farewell bow in Yakuza 6. It's quite an adjustment, with The Song Of Life picking up with the Dragon of Dojima suddenly well past his prime. The game's opening chapter finds him in the hospital, a result of the long, bruising showdown that concluded Yakuza 5 – and once control is eventually passed over to the player, it turns out he can barely run for a few seconds without panting then doubling over in exhaustion.
It's not the most flattering way to kick off a swansong, certainly compared to those given to other ageing male video game protagonists such as Nathan Drake or Kratos. But then, Yakuza's world has always more closely resembled the real one, where both progress and decline are products of time's relentless march. So it's only right that, at the end of a three-year prison sentence, Kiryu should return to a changed world. The power of the Tojo Clan, his former yakuza family, has further diminished, with the ruthless Siao Triad muscling in on Kamurocho. Even this familiar stomping ground has lost real estate. Its north side, home to the hotel district and Kamurocho Hills, is closed off for construction, albeit not so much for narrative reasons as RGG Studio running out of time to build the whole district from the ground up in the new Dragon Engine.
