When talking about the best video game protagonists, one quickly lands on Kratos, Geralt, or Arthur Morgan. But for MeinMMO editor Niko, it can be no one less than the ex-gangster of an action RPG series, who experiences completely absurd adventures.
There are many great protagonists in video games. With Kratos, you feel quite powerful, especially since the soft reboot in 2018, and with Geralt from The Witcher, you have a cool witcher who always has the right line on his lips (at least if you choose the right answer).
But for me, these two and many other well-known protagonists are only secondary. Because the best protagonist I have ever played is Kazuma Kiryu from the Yakuza or Like-a-Dragon series.
You can play his younger self in Yakuza 0:
He helps everyone, even if he doesn’t look like it
Who is Kazuma Kiryu anyway? For 20 years, the now 55-year-old has been causing trouble, not just in Tokyo. Even in the first part of the Yakuza series, which was released in 2005 on the PlayStation 2, you played as the Japanese ex-gangster who is released from prison after a long time. He went to jail for a friend whose sister was sick in the hospital.
And that describes Kiryu quite well. Even though he looks like someone who wants to hit anyone on the street, he mostly does good. He even founds an orphanage within the series. He has a rather atypical code for Yakuza standards: He does not kill (even if many of his actions should actually end fatally).
Even though he would never say it himself: He is an unconditional hero, almost the romantic idea behind the Yakuza as folk heroes (via University of California Press). He specifically stands in the series as a contrast to the other Yakuza, who are mostly nasty criminals willing to do anything for money.
I really like this theme, it shows an ideal idea and how it does not work in reality, because Kiryu is no longer a Yakuza even in the first part. His unconditional heroism
can stand out especially in one aspect, namely in the side quests.
No matter what absurd things happen to him, he always stays cool
What is so special about the side quests? In the game series, you encounter countless absurd people and situations in various side quests, also called substories. Most of the time, Kiryu helps them by beating up a few gangsters or playing one of the countless mini-games, such as karaoke.
Kiryu is often not entirely neutral. He sees someone who may not conform to the common norm, and in his thoughts, he thinks of a fitting stereotype. Yet he helps nevertheless and often returns as a naive ex-gangster with a life lesson.
He does not understand many things or cannot grasp them, but he never judges them. Like in a classic RPG, he is the shining knight who helps the people who have a quest for him.
I grew fond of him especially because of the absurd stories. Often he seems completely overwhelmed, just like one does when in a social interaction not knowing how to react. This makes him human despite his few words.
This is also the reason why the few emotional moments work for me. I have rarely been so sad in a game as I was in a moment from Like a Dragon Gaiden The Man Who Erased His Name (terrible name, I know). Without giving too much away: Kiryu is shown a video of the children from his orphanage, and he starts to cry bitterly.
And to be honest: There are only very few video game scenes that, in my opinion, are so well synchronized. I can’t even think of games where people cry so realistically.
This is not just a sad moment but also a beautiful one, because you see how Kiryu has helped the children and how he inspires them to become better people. And that is exactly what the series and Kiryu mean to me: One should try to do good, no matter in what situation one finds oneself.
Kiryu is not the best written, but he doesn’t have to be
Characters like Geralt in Witcher 3 are better written characters on paper. They have more nuances than Kiryu, more character
. But for me, this is not always relevant for a protagonist that I am playing myself. Kiryu is like Superman. He shows how people should be. I simply always feel comfortable when I control him.
In Yakuza 0 and 1, it is often mentioned that Kiryu had the greatest potential to lead his own department of the Yakuza clan. But he is not the person for it. He simply cannot look away when someone needs help.
Yes, beating up gangsters is fun, and Kiryu also has very versatile moves for that, but the best moments are those in which Kiryu is a hero. Sometimes he saves a dog, sometimes a homeless person from nasty guys. And exactly then, the punches you throw as a player are the most fun. Besides the protagonist, I also fell in love with the open world: Ubisoft has destroyed open worlds, but the world of a great action RPG still captivates me to this day
