After not touching the series for over a year, stomping through good ol' Kamurocho just felt right. It's especially appropriate to do so with the first ever title in the franchise. As a veteran of the series, it's striking just how many things the team got right on their first try. Kiryu's style is here in its most basic form, yet extremely satisfying, despite the jankiness, some of which not even the later titles managed to shed. Most importantly, the series' heart is here, its lust for life and joy of new experiences already present.

It's not flawless, as noted with the not-so-stellar combat, the english dub adds a b-movie feel (charm, even?) which often takes out of the scene; in Nishiki's case it tackles you from the top of the Millennium Tower straight into Gachimuchi. The "Ten years in the joint made you a fucking pussy" line is delivered with a tone not too dissimilar to what you might hear on an adult video.

That said, I cannot be mad at this game. Despite its hiccups it's elevated in many regards. The essence of the city, the people who inhabit it, their lives, their tribulations and triumphs, the music that fills your ears whenever a fight breaks out, and the heartful story: that of a man of two halves, ruthless gangster and kind soul, a chimera who has to fight harder than everyone to get what he wants, ending up with a bittersweet taste in his mouth when everything's done.

Any Yakuza/RGG fan owes it to themselves to play the original, especially now that the Yakuza: Restored project is complete. The series was just as soulful in 2005 as it is today; go see for yourself. As the game would say: have no regrets!