One thing you can notice is that among the three lieutants, kiryu despises the other two but eventually pays his respect to kuze and calls him sir even after all the shit they went through, which adds another set of depth to this fight.
Yeah, I completely missed it the first time, but after playing more games and coming to recognize the term "aniki", it threw me to hear Kiryu say it to Kuze.
Kuze is very nicely set up, he starts out as the most hateable and vile of the lieutenants. But as the story progresses, while the other lieutenants try to manipulate, backstab and blackmail their way through everything, Kuze was always transparent with what he wanted, using only his fists (well, that and a steel pipe) and honest determination to get what he wanted. Much like a certain Kiryu also handles his situations.
@@Aywusgod Pretty much, yeah. Kuze starts out as seeming the most dislikeable because you (and Kiryu) don't know better at that point. He's a direct, brute opponent, someone who you either beat down or get beaten down by, no frills. He's an obvious obstacle right from the start, a tenacious one you start getting angry at because he won't stay down. By the end you (and Kiryu) know that a man who just wants to beat you down and keeps coming back for more is the least vile type of opponent you could find in the yakuza world.
One of my favorite parts of the game is how they first presented Kuze as this one dimensional asshole whose sole characteristic was being an obstacle in kiryu’s path, then showed he was probably the most honorable out of the three lieutenants.
@@shadytriceratops yea but the shibusawa and awano fights will never match up to the kuze vs kiryu rivalry, he may not be the strongest but Kuze is a G
I love how simple this fight is. No fancy settting, no squad of Yakuza in the background cheering him on, just two guys in an empty street. Edit: And it's also down the street from where he got beat up in front of everyone in his 3rd fight.
Kuze's line about stepping into the deepest darkest pit of the Yakuza world was all too true. For the next nearly 30 or so years he was in a pit of carnage.
melvin Abdoelkarim I meant that kuze is respected by kiryu. Kiryu shows very little respect towards awano and shibusawa in their encounters throughout the game
@@nguyenquyetthang1326 the Counter Hook is a hook to the side/chest, and has its own animation. The Tiger Drop is a lunge & cross to the solar plexus, which is what Kiryu did in the QTE
What's more impressive is he hit Kiryu back right after the Tiger Drop, and the hit was powerful to stun Kiryu for a while. And the fact that this is in QTE means Kuze canonically survived the Tiger Drop from young, despite inexperienced, Kiryu.
I don't believe its a Tiger Drop since he doesnt know how to a tiger drop at 0. It's just a normal punch to the stomach but with the animation of a tiger drop.
@C tbh, i still highly doubt he will fall with a tiger drop, he tanked a fuck ton of kiryu punches, which alot of other people couldnt, having a punch to the stomach is already a painful attack, just less painful that the tiger drop, he took the most beatdown from kiryu aside from shibusawa. who almost got killed by kiryu's punch. weakened and hard to breath, yes but im sure he wont stop after that attack
BangkokHard lol I meant from kicking his ass. Kuze had a LOT of determination. He was stripped of his position as lieutenant, chopped off his pinky, yet it seems like he came back stronger every time. Kyru is well known for bouncing back in a similar fashion throughout the series and I love it
@@a130inthesky Actually Kiryu by the end of 0 straight up said he learned a lot about being Yakuzua (thanks to Kuze who at the end of there final fight respect)
You're 100% right. Both Majima and Kiryu have a primary influence on their actions. Majima's primary influence is Nishitani. Kiryu's primary influence is Kuze. I can't decide on whether or not they each have a secondary influence, too. Majima's being Sera, for sure. And Tachibana possibly being Kiryu's
Mark F it’s definitely multiple characters, but those characters were written well nonetheless. 0 gave us so much insight on how the characters were established. I’m pretty picky about prequels, so I was a little skeptical before I bought it, but it definitely delivered
It's neat mainly because the one aspect that's often forgotten about in Campbell's Hero's Journey is the hero abandoning his original father for a second one that ultimately molds them to becoming a stronger person. Kazama played Kiryu like a pawn here, Sawano was right about Kazama knowing all too well that his actions would force Tachibana and Makoto into the crossfire. Kuze on the other hand recognized Kiryu's strength for what it was, and ultimately respected him for it.
Can just take a moment to consider the fact that Kiryu took over Kuzes mentality with the line:"You better hit like you're tryin' to kill me!" throughout the series with :"If you want to die, then come at me!" ?
AFRO THUNDER not only during the fight, but real weather transitions during the game and not that wait stuff at the telephone...I think it’d be very cool to see some rain walking around sotenbori or kamurocho, cloudy, or even fog...
@@yuripetrenko7910 The issue is that you literally only spend 1-2 days per chapter, regardless of how many hours you waste in Side stuff, it is still all within the same day it started
Omni Beta that would be an issue. There are options though. They could do weather transitions during freeroam in between missions, but keep the day setting the same. They could have fixed weather settings for different story parts, like what they do with time of day, and have transitioning weather in adventure mode.
When the music starts playing and realized it's a completely different one, multiple emotions just surges through you. You realize this is really the last time you're going see "Dojima Family Lieutenant, Tojo Clan. Daisaku Kuze" You realize despite running to him so many times, you're going to miss fighting him. You realize that he's really giving it all, and not being a pushover. You realize that Kuze might be an antagonist, but he's not a villain. You realize that, just like Kiryu, Kuze is a proper, and honorable Yakuza, especially compared to Awano and Shibusawa.
"I, Kazuma Kiyru, have never killed a single person." "We found Kuze dead in an alley full of shotgun shells, stab wounds, and burned with hot water." "That's completely unrelated to what I just said."
6:17 it's because he has endless money to eat with his real estate business. What you thought he was gonna eat that chicken he won when he was bowling? Nah man he put that chicken to work so he can get more money to invest in himself in
No fancy punches. No overreacted reactions. No exagerated kicks. No overly dramatic lines. Just 2 hard made yakuzas, fighting with all they got, with their best efforts to survive.
I gotta say, this fight made me respect Kuze a lot more. Like yeah he's vicious but he soon realizes no matter how many times he fights Kiryu, he just doesn't stand a chance. In the end he commends Kiryu for being so strong, and even after all the shit he and the Dojima Family put him through, Kiryu shows respect back.
For a real scale of how tough Kuze is compared to "those idiots downstairs", During the Punch Trade QTE, you can clearly see Kiryu doing the Tiger Drop and Kuze survives
I'm sorry bro. But kuze is the realist yakuza in the series. After playing yak 0. I really couldn't take any of the other yakuza bosses seriously compared to the dojima lieutenants. Maybe ryuji in 2 but that's it.
When I played 5, it made me really curious as to how Kuze would react so someone like, say, Aoyama, or even Daigo's actions in 4. He'd probably puke seeing the Tojo Clan in that state.
I really liked Kuze tbh. He was honestly the best antagonistic force in Yakuza Zero imo, none of the others even the final bosses made me like them the way Kuze did. He had this wonderful setup of being just an asshole with minimal character but as the game went on and built up to this point he showed character, and he was very honorable to the point that even Kiryu still called him "sir" despite his actions throughout. It's just DAMN, he was great
I will forever love the relationship between Kiryu and Kuze throughout 0. What starts off as a simple antagonistic scuffle with Kuze forcing authority on Kiryu blows up into a battle of ideologues and what it means to be a man. Both are made stronger from their numerous fights and both retain respect for the other after it's all said and done. Kuze may still have blood on his hands and is certain no saint but god damn if he is not one of the most fleshed out and likable antagonists this series has ever had. Fuck I love this game!
6:35 I like Kuze equating Kiryu’s strength to a seal being broken. It’s an apt description coming from someone who fought Kiryu five times in his youth.
I was really tearing the whole fight, Kuze was indeed an asshole like both, but he had something different: he was always himself, he never got corrupted like Shibusawa or became too lustful like Awano, he remained himself every time i fought him, he never bowed back and in the end, he didn't seem to fight Kiryu because pure revenge and pride, he knew a new generation of Yakuzas was going to be doomed if there was nobody who punched his way to protect his family, and he found it in Kiryu and wven more. What a man. A *REAL YAKUZA.*
tbf, brawler is street fighting, so rush would be more appropriate since its more boxing. I only used rush, without any heat actions performed during the fight, nor health items/ weapons equipped or in the ground. The first kuze fight i did the same, so i liked a lot that way. I was on hard, so ended up with close to 1 HP.
@@PauloRicardo-md4ji No heat actions? Nah, its barely Yakuza then. I just did Jingu and I would rather eat a shoe than do that crap no healing or in a single style lol but thats getting off-topic.
Kiwami could have benefitted from reworked boss fights. Some of the fights seem almost even MORE annoying than their PS2 counterparts, somehow, despite the additional tools you have.
Seafarinhare Honestly one of the bad parts about Kiwami is the fact that some bosses use the same move sets from other bosses or even from Majima's dance style from Yakuza 0.
@@shabu9ine916 Possibly because it's the first game in the entire series to run on a completely new engine and I wouldn't say that it's shit, I mean the combat took some getting used to but the new engine really grew on me
Kiryu is Kuze's masterpiece. I think deep down he resents and respects Kiryu because Kiryu is something he always wanted to be in his youth but could not. Straight up Yakuza
I just realize something, during the QTE just before Kuze charges at Kiryu, you could see Kiryu fighting stance looking like the Dragon of Dojima stance. So that tells me Kiryu has finally awakened himself and perfecting his brawler style to become the legendary fighting style he uses throughout the game of Y1 to Y5. Which is where you should be able to get the 4th style before this face off after dealing with the real estate mini game.
@@elliotaddler2302 Well the game is very easy without the real estate unlockables anyway. If they made real estate easier than their wouldn't be any challenge.
@@WThroatthen* there* but yeah, even though it was annoying, with how strong the Legend styles are, it was probably for the best they were kept behind a repetitive mini game
Going into this fight I had no health items at all, and I started with half health or so. And yet, I felt an obligation not to use a weapon. I had about 10 slime guns in my inventory, but I stuck to my fists. It’s weird how Yakuza 0 made me respect a villain so goddamn much that I refused to use a weapon against him.
Really? I’m the opposite. First fight I’m using items. Also, it sadly took three games (Lost Judge / Judgment / Yakuza 0), but I noticed the pattern to every boss fight is dodge, dodge, dodge, punch, punch. Seems ppl are happy, but I would say RGG has some of the worst boss fights in any game I’ve ever played. Unless my game is bugging. I cannot combo, I cannot grapple, I cannot do anything but one or two punches. It’s why I’m using items. Fight takes way too long otherwise. With the constant barrage of the same combo again and again, I’m kind of bewildered ppl enjoy this so much. To each their own, but still, truly surprised.
@@irritatingtruth9121 If you punch them head on, yeah, you probably won’t get far, or if you attack during armoured moves or phases. The main trick is to dodge behind for a good combo. As for their bosses being bad, I’m gonna heavily disagree, even though kiwami has some stinkers, and 4’s final boss actually being one of the worst gaming experiences of all time lmfao.
Dude I finally got the game this afternoon after school, man this game is fun! I already beat the Dojima family and Kuze once and made it Majima's chapter. The gameplay is just too much fun and I think I'm going to enjoy playing Majima a little more than Kiryu.
I'll give this much to Kuze, he was freakin persistent. Often I would end a fight with him and say "dude, just take the L" but then he comes back like five minutes later
I just realized Kiryu began to take his trademark "Come like you're trying to kill me!" after Kuze said it here. A respect for his involuntary "aniki".
I wish Kuze were the final boss of Kiryu's story. The way you kept beating him, yet he kept coming back for more even stronger than before reminds me of a Shonen anime protagonist. This stubborn attitude made him my favorite antagonist from this game, which is an impressive feat since I hated him so much at first.
I think everyone (me included) hated Kuze at first, but as we saw his determination he just really managed to change how people viewed him. Definitely the best Y0 antagonist to me!
This BGM is my favorite in Yakuza 0 so far, it gives more emotion and last boss vibe for some reason. Even more with that one and only QTE that shows how much these two characters grow to that point and unleashed the beast inside Kiryu. The afterword also makes Kuze looks like Kiryu's last wall saying "If you can't beat me, you're not worthy to proceed"
It’s interesting that Kuze says “殺す気でかかってこいや” literal translation “Come at me *like* you’re going to kill me” not “come and kill me”. He knows Kiryuu well enough by now. Just thought that was a neat little thing
Two men beating the shit out of each other in the streets of Kamurocho fighting for what they stand for, if that ain't the most Yakuza thing ever I don't know what is...
One of the best fights in the game, up there with Kuze 2, Lao Gui, and Shibusawa. Honestly, Kuze and Lao Gui shouldn't have had less health than the Media King and Tsukiyama since their boss fights were just plain better than those two. If anything, they should have had the third highest amount of health bars in the game, with only Shibusawa (5) and So/Jo Amon (12) having more since the former is the final boss and the latter are the fucking Amon Clan fights.
If you think about it. The 3 Lieutenants were all of the personality traits that Kiryu had throughout the entire franchise. They pretty much showed us how the Dragon of Dojima was made, and why no one (with the exception of 18 Count Saejima ) can beat him down.
Kuze is a fucking G. This nigga just didn't give up and wanted to save his pride more than anything. And the end of the fight made me tear a little bit when Kiryu addressed him as sir and Kuze demanding he go finish the job. After all that beef, there was respect and admiration for each other.
Kuze cannonically straight up ate Tiger Drop and managed to deliver a punch after that. You could say it's imperfect Tiger Drop since Kiryu learned the move 20 years later, but it's still a Tiger Drop
This is still one of my favorite encounters in all of the Yakuza series. Just a straight out brawl in the middle of Tenkaichi Street. The music is also my favorite track from Yakuza 0.
All 3 lieutenant villains are so despising (Especially Awano, imo), which is brilliant for the game. But Kuze... He starts as the first big guy who you just want to smash his head in, but eventually I find that he is actually the coolest and most transparent of the 3. After this fight and its own OST, it just had me respect the man's character regardless.
It's really cool. At the very beginning of the game I hated Kuze and Loved Shibusawa, but then as time went on I realized that Shibusawa was nothing but a pathetic rat. Kuze is the perfect opponent for Kiryu, because both him and Kiryu have extreme willpower. They both fight until the very end. Kiryu beats Kuze but from then on you can see that Kuze has learned to respect Kiryu, and Kiryu respects Kuze. He even calls Kuze "sir" at the end. Loved the character.
I only went to go get the legendary style early on for 2 reasons to kick ass and when fighting kuze only using the legendary style he deserves that much from me
Well it's late I know, but I just went and search for "aniki" since everyone was talking about it, and despite in the game, "aniki" means "sir", it goes way beyond that, as you can state "aniki" in the Yakuza (even irl) as a captain from your family, or you can even say that "aniki" means also "older brother". It's funny how Kiryu does show this much of respect through the entire game to Kuze, and along with me, he also got my respect. May not be the best boss, but surely is someone who wants to surpass Kiryu and doesn't give up until the 5th fight. And also you can see him changing and getting "soft" like Shibusawa said, when he didn't let Tachibana get tortured and even helping Kiryu in the end. You could see that he isn't that much of a scumbag. Just a guy with a pride and trying to protect it, in the most respectful way possible. I'd love to see this guy again someday, even if it's just an Easter Egg. It's also worth mentioning (by what y'all are sayin') that in the 3rd fight, he did get recognition for Kiryu's strength and determination. He may have used his dirty tricks, and the bike one was the dirtiest of them all, but the last two fights you could see they were fair, mainly the last one, since he wanted to solve this once and for all. Somehow reminds me of Goku and Vegeta's rivalry.
An honourable, powerful opponent. Definitely the Wamuu of Yakuza 0. In fact, the whole villain trio of Yakuza 0 reminds me of the Pillar Men. Awano fits as Esidisi, Shibusawa fits as Kars.
Yakuza 0: Brawler, Rush, Beast, Legend Yakuza Kiwami: Brawler, Rush, Beast, Dragon 5:03-5:22 the similar scene against Nishiki So Kuze is actually a neutral guy? Anyway, the backsound is Oath of Enma, if you wonder
Kuze is the most respectable fighter, he reminds me so much of wamuu from jojo, who also indirectly caused the death of a major character that the main character cared about, but even after their final fight, they both respected eachother, also wamuu and kuze has the same "wanting to rise above the ranks " type goal, wamuu wanting to be stronger and looking for rival that can beat or give him a good fight, also kuze and wamuu has alot of "honor" although abit debatable for kuza
