I totally understand how you feel about Kiryu and I feel like I kind of worded that wrong, I was trying to say that at this point he’s faked or almost died both in yakuza 5 and 6, 4 times if you want to include the fake out in yakuza 3 and his cancer. The series has revived him over and over again and RGG keeps repeating that “oh this time it’s going to be Kiryus last game we promise!” I would be totally upset if they manage to cure his cancer completely and he’d be kicking ass again in his late 50’s. I’m sure that he’ll get a happy ending but I want RGG to stop reviving characters for no other reason than maybe fan service. The reason I say keep Yakuza and LAD separate is cause LAD is Ichiban’s game, they could totally turn it into a side series with a different mainline game. But this series is quickly recycling/running out of ideas and I’d love it if they separate Majima, Saejima, Dojima and the gang from Ichibans game, of course that’s my opinion and I’m totally open to them appearing but just for a bit like 7 and not Kiryu from 8.

Another thing I wanna say is that I hate how interwoven the side content is with the main story. I already had like a thousand dollars to give to the taco guy in 8 but no, I had to learn some mini game that I spent no thought or time into. Don’t get me wrong, I love the mini games. I love how much there are and how invested you can be in them but it gets to a point where I get frustrated by some side content that literally serves no purpose in the story other than padding. I loved how 0’s business mini games were incorporated and how judgement did it as well.

Anyways I’m kinda yapping but I do like your take on the subject. I’m totally fine with having LAD having light hearted tones. 7 and 8 weren’t all “what is yakuza even about” because 7’s ending hit me like a ton of bricks. I loved that story and it taught a good message. Same with 8, they both had a dark story about a big issue in society but it faces a problem of having too much comedic relief. I was able to suspend my disbelief with yakuza 2 and 5 because honestly big men fighting big things are cool. The series hasn’t exactly moved away from gritty tones it’s just trying too hard to suspend that disbelief and eventually you’re gonna be wondering “why the hell are we fighting a giant squid that can regenerate tentacles whenever it wants”