“The Yakuza series itself was originally created with the concept of ‘Japanese people making a game for Japanese people,’ so we never imagined it would be accepted globally.”

Besides it being GTA with likeable protagonists, the specific Japanese stuff is what I really enjoy about it. The setting feels authentic because everything is in kanji, the onigiri aren’t jelly donuts, the characters and situations feel culturally different to me (American), and the social issues raised in the game lead me to learn about things going on in Japan, and now Hawaii since I’m working on Infinite Wealth now.

Much the way Golden Kamuy anime/manga got me interested in different Asian minority cultures, Yakuza has exposed me to many things I wouldn’t otherwise hear about in Western media or things made for a more generic audience. I wouldn’t call myself a weeb, so much as I just like to learn about anything I’ve never heard of before, and having media targeted to specific audiences makes me investigate questions about what comes up I’m unfamiliar with.

Plus I think the games just kick ass even if you aren’t interested in that stuff! A lot of story elements are still generic, but there’s a ton of fun fights, finishing moves, leveling up, a billion mini games, karaoke, and so on.

And yet they apply shitty performance sucking DRM.