With RGG handling Virtua Fighter 6, and Kiryu frequently being suggested as Tekken DLC, the thought of a Yakuza fighting game has always been in my head so this is what I think/what I would want it to look like. This is mostly for fun so : P



For one, if there was a story mode Ichiban would HAVE to be the MC. In fact maybe thats why this is a fighting game, Ichiban got addicted to Virtua Fighter and Street Fighter and started seeing everything as a Fighter lol. I imagine the base roster size would be around the same size as VF5, that being 20-ish characters which is small for sure, but FG rosters these days are around that size so I'm setting the base roster at 23. 

  
As for DLC seasons, I think 5 in total is just about the right number? SF5 had 5 seasons of DLC, Tekken 7 had 4, and KOF 15 had 2- except those 2 seasons had 20 characters in total which is about 5 seasons if we stick to 4 per season. Thus, 5 seasons of DLC seems about right? 

  
Now for some explanations.



**BASE ROSTER**

I anted to have a good mix of reps for every mainline game. Ichiban's core group had to be here if he was going to be the MC. Plus they all have interesting fighting styles/present the essential archetypes of any good fighting game. Ichiban's the all rounder (although we could also give him a few command grabs maybe?), Nanba's the zoner (the way he zones would prolly have to change tho considering the differences between 3D fighters and 2D fighters), Adachi's the grappler, Saeko's the agile/fast fighter, and Zhao's a stance user. Easy! 

  
The rest of them are fairly obvious I think, Kiryu HAD to be base roster. No WAY he wasn't. Majima was another easy pick. After them, Akiyama had the most staying power as a character considering his appearances in basically every game after 4 (he wasn't in 7 but he was supposed to be iirc so I'll still count that). Hana's lowk here cause we need more female characters, but also she's a female sumo wrestler and thats rather rare, so it'll be good to have her. 

  
A Yakuza game is nothing without a good villain however, So I wanted to make sure to add at least a few in here since they're arguably as iconic as the MC's themselves. Ryuji and Mine are usually touted as the most famous, plus the rather dubious means behind their "deaths" gives them a good reason to be here fighting everyone (not to say a character needs to be alive to be in here, but it def gives them a better chance I think). After them, Joongi's a fan favorite I think? And with Joongi here we're giving rep to both 6 and Y:LAD so he's gotta be here. Finally, Shishido and Yamai are another pair of fan favorites who def deserve to be here. And again, they both could play rather interesting. In fact, maybe Yamai could act sort of as a summoner character to represent the fact he came from the turn based games. 



These last few picks are mostly here cause of one of three reasons. A) They fit the story, B) They have a fun playstyle, or C) I wanted them in the game but for one reason or another I couldn't justify them being DLC picks. Gary Buster Holmes and Kashiwagi are the last points.

  
Kashiwagi def could've been DLC, but I wanted to have a few deeper cuts for the DLC, thus me putting him in the main roster. GBH is also base roster cause I feel like no one would buy him for DLC, yet I did kinda thing he deserved a spot in the game since he's been here since the start lol. Thus, base roster for him.

  
Seonhee, Sawashiro, and Haruka are here for the 2nd reason. Seonhee's a fan favorite so I had to put her here if I was bringing in Joongi, and her assassin job could make her a fun character to play as. Sawashiro's weapon master schtick is a similar thing, plus I love Sawashiro as a character so I wanted him here, and I think he deserves a chance on here lol. Haruka is a dancer, and I've always liked to think she learned techniques and stuff from all her "uncles" so she could be a fun amalgamation of all the main protags. Give her a few weapon based techniques based on Majima and Shinada, maybe a few wrestling/grappling moves from Saejima and Tanimura. Hell, give her a more basic tiger drop like Kiryu had back in 0 lol. 

  
Finally, the Judge Men give me the chance to talk about the story/the main antagonist. I don't wanna bore you guys with whats essentially a fanfic but I'm sort of imagining Jo Amon's setting up a tournament for one reason or another (its basic, sure, but it IS a fighting game so :P), and The Judge Men were hired to look into it by some other conflicting faction. Whatever the case, they're base roster, plus they represent the biggest spinoff so I felt they deserved a spot. 

  
**DLC**

The 4 Celestial Beasts - The Mad Dragon of Kamurocho, The Savage Tiger of Sasai, The Vermillion Bird of Justice, and the Turtle Shield of Little Asia. The theming was most of why I wanted to save Yagami for DLC, even if he + the Judge Men could've held down a season of  their own lol. Same story for Saejima honestly. Tatsuya and Tanimura (lol both T names) could've def gotten on the base roster, but you can't put all your fan favorites in the base roster so they're both here lol. 

  
Fists of the Forefathers - Nothing much to write here, they're basically just the characters featured in Daigo's poundmate summon, but they'd all prolly have fun playstyles, and I like Watase so he's here too even if he isn't as old as them. 

  
Island Lifers - Lowk, I have a feeling if this DLC season dropped it would flop, but I dunno, the theme feels too on brand to ignore. I like the 4 of them too, plus I feel like people would be satisfied with the previous 2 DLC's so I feel like by the 3rd DLC I'm allowed to have a little fun with it lol.

  
Legends of the 80s - This one would def be hyped asf I... think. But also, getting all 3 actors on board would prolly be EXPENSIVE so them being DLC felt right. Nishitani's here since I think? people like him? I dunno but he'd be fun to get here and there wasn't anywhere else I could put him so :P 

  
Boss Rush - Nishiki HAS to be in this game (sidenote, I couldn't find slicked back hair Nishiki so 80s Nishiki's here lol) and I think he's the perfect DLC. Besides him, Boss Rush is kinda where I threw in some other villains I thought were missing/people liked. I didn't play Kurohyou but that guy's the main villain and he looks sick asf so he's here. Plus from what little I've seen he's kinda giving Akuma and if someone's giving off Akuma they automatically have to be in a fighting game. I don't make the rules. Kuroiwa's a fan favorite I think, and I dunno about Aizawa but I do know most people think his boss fight was fun so he can get in here, sure. 

  
Honorable Mentions/Boss Rush #2 - It was kinda hard to choose between Kuroiwa and Kuwana but in the end I decided the Mole was the better pick to rep a Judgement Villain. After him, I was def tempted to put Soma here instead of Kuwana but I think Kuwana was the one who left a bigger memory in everyone + he kinda WAS the final boss of LJ so he's my first honorable mention. After him, originally this was Tendo but I decided to go with Arai instead since for one thing, I feel like we have enough rep for the turn based games/for 7 and 8 in terms of villains. Plus, Tendo's another boxer (and not a super unique one at that ngl) so Arai's here to rep 4. I still haven't played Kurohyou but I'm pretty sure that guy's the main villain? so he can show up here, sure. Finally, it'd prolly make more sense to put Ebina here honestly, but I really like Danny Trejo/Dwight and he'd prolly have a sick fighting style considering the dual machetes so he's here instead. 



**STAGES**

Finally, the stages. There's a few pretty obvious ones I could think of, Millenium tower (both in front of it and on its roof), Morning Glory, Theater Square, Cabaret Grand, The Castle, Tojo Clan HQ, I feel like I'm missing some but those are the ones that would def have to be in the game. Personally, I think a lot in the Champion district would go hard lowk, maybe you could have the color gangs surround you to act as a boundary, heck, you could even get Komaki in the background watching/reacting to your character fight lol. 

  
Thats kinda everything I've been thinking off. Thoughts? Opinions? Violent reactions? I'm curious on what you guys think!

What would you want to see in a Yakuza fighting game?