Punching bag
Yakuza Kiwami’s bro-turned-foe decides enough is enough in this brooding flashback sequence
Shame on Dojima for driving Nishikiyama to murder once, shame on Nishiki for being driven to murder twice. The picture is remarkably similar to Dojima’s death near the start of the game: Nishikiyama looking unhinged in a dimly lit office. This time Nishiki doesn’t have Kiryu to support him (or indeed spend ten years behind bars for him) and everything goes even more horribly wrong.
Nothing says ‘no more Mr Nice Guy’ quite like slicking your hair
FORMAT PS4 / PUB SEGA, DEEP SILVER / DEV RYU GA GOTOKU STUDIO / RELEASED 2017
back with the blood of your enemies, and the change in appearance lets us know all Nishiki’s other scenes are divided into before and after this homicidal epiphany. The jump from whimpering at Kashiwagi’s feet to unloading a clip into a guy feels whiplash-inducing but this scene connects the dots with gruesome flair. It’s also an incredible speedrun of the Five Stages Of Grief.
This is the point at which we witness the exact moment he snaps as everything finally catches up with him. The grovelling Nishiki from previous flashbacks becomes the cold-hearted figure we’ve been encountering in-game. His voice is low and eerily steady, his bloodsplattered face set in an expression of resolve. No longer will he be pushed around, looked down on, or treated as inferior to Kiryu. It’s an uncomfortable glimpse into Nishiki’s mind as what started out as the setup for a suicide culminates in a more internalised act of selfmurder. And regular murder. Cathartic as it is, there’s really no turning back from this point.