Yakuza Karaoke Tier List (4K Sub Special)

[@gokudoni]

My sincere apologies for the stuttering footage on ocassion. I've fully exported the video seven separate times, with different resolutions, capturing new footage to splice be spliced in, I even tried using different builds of the editing software, but it persisted nonetheless. I've spent the last two weeks tirelessly working on this special (on top of preparing for my thesis defence) just in case we hit the milestone early. Lower visual fidelity is something frequent on the channel, as my laptop wasn't intended for gaming, but at the end of the day, it's the content behind it that counts, right? I hope this doesn't hinder your enjoyment of the topic and celebration. I'm doing the best I can! Love you all and thank you for everything

[@feliperantoni]

Finally the most important yakuza video

[@authurstretchygreenthing8464]

So little fun fact about Kamurochi Lullaby. It actually first appeared in Yakuza 2. The original one for the PS2. It's in a Kamurocho substory called The Enka Life. Basically, if you walk around Champion District, a man in a blue suit will run towards you. If you choose to help him, you will get into a fight with the thug chasing him, and after beating up the thug and accepting the blue suited man's offer for a drink, he'll reveal himself as Chikamatsu, an old-fashioned Enka singer who wants to sell a lot of records. Basically, a shady guy who said he'd help him with his record numbers was suddenly nabbed by a Yakuza family, and that family has been hounding Chikamatsu in order to force him into another genre that will actually sell (in 2006, mind). So Kiryu beats up the Yakuza boss' henchmen, to make them listen to Chikamatsu's Enka song, which reveals itself to be Kamurocho Lullaby. Then it became a karaoke song for Yakuza 3 when the minigame was invented and approved by SEGA during development following the success of "Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan!" It's a little known substory, and although it doesn't have much to it, it's an interesting origin point for what has essentially become a karaoke staple until about Yakuza 5 or so. And yeah, it was made to be short, unfortunately.

[@thatrandomcrit5823]

Man, they reused karaoke from before it even existed in the series 💀 pinnacle of RGG model of game making

[@xXRealXx]

​@@thatrandomcrit5823gotta give it to them, it is very efficient

[@gianncmedina7805]

This Has to be the Epitome of RGG its Tradition at this point I aint even mad 😂 I love it

[@zerir.3726]

even if its a boring substory as an enka lover it was peak... to me....

[@johnsison4260]

Pure Love in Kamurocho (Akiyama-Hana) is severely underrated in my opinion - such a classy song, can’t help but sway to it

[@FelixLikesCurry]

Today is a Diamond and Hands will always be S Tier for me

[@marleonka.]

I honestly love the Karaoke songs from Y6, they need to come back in some shape or form, there's so many good unique ones. Like a Butterfly has to be my absolute favorite, but Brand New Stage and Fork in the Road are great too!

[@marleonka.]

especially Riona's version from Y6 is outstanding in me eyes, her perfromance is really stellar

[@cesh-do5sk]

now like a butterfly akame ver is so top

[@TakayukiYagamiReal]

MIDNIGHT SHADOWWW KIRISSAAKKUU yeah, that's all i know.

[@noiceguy8478]

AKUSERU, KISHIMU HIGHWAY CITY

[@HeavenlyEchoVirus]

X3 Shine is definitely Yuki’s absolute favourite song.

[@NyomiHendon]

I am a major Haurka simp so I love all her songs, and I love the happy vibe songs the most but I found myself agreeing with most of your list (I would just put all of Haruka's songs in S)

[@gokudoni]

Fair point! If the positivity that radiates from them can even impress a brooding metalhead like me, then there's something truly special about these performances

[@zitopanimations4369]

Gokudoni uploads and i click

[@azuresapphire220]

We are simple beings

[@NakamuraRyousuke]

Listening to the songs in the game versus the final studio recording definitely changes the experience. Heartbreak Mermaid will always be S tier on my list and it's partially because I enjoy the in game version with Majima chanting in the background. If I had never played the game and simply listened to the studio recording, I probably wouldn't feel the same way. So Much More! and Get to the Top! really grew on me after repeated listening and after the discovery of an All Stars Version with male MCs chanting in the background. I strongly agree with your take on Where Has Your Touch Gone? in that it really could have been a radio hit. I really wished this song had a longer version of it.

[@NikolaiVi]

45:51 Thanks for basically manifesting into reality a comeback of Pride from Despair lmao

[@ALiteralBaby]

Oh man if only this vid was released a few months later and you got to bless your ears with Akame's like a butterfly version from Like a dragon Gaiden.

[@cjvoerman5591]

So, I’m watching this from the perspective of someone who’s now played Gaiden. And I gotta say, Akame’s rendition of Like a Butterfly is S-tier worthy.

[@sheevpalps3846]

Fair I still prefer Saki and Riona’s though

[@firenter]

I played through all the Kiryu Saga, 7 & Ishin over the course of the last year or so and I was mostly focused on the story so karaoke fell by the wayside mostly. The only songs I remember were the ones that instantly stuck in my head (or were rammed into it by the Idol section of 5) such as Judgement, Bakamitai, 24 Hour Cinderella, So Much More, Loneliness Loop, Machine Gun Kiss, Today Is A Diamond, Iji Sakura, Samurai Ondo and Kokyou Ni Nishiki Oh and also Like A Butterfly, the hell was that rapping bit?

[@hurdyu4146]

Story wise ( as I can overlook many things about the games if they story is good enough) is the Yakuza series worth playing all the way through for the story? I just finished kiwami after 0 and been hooked & want to finish the series but worried that it might not be as good as 0 and kiwami for me as those two are equally great for the story in my opinion

[@firenter]

@@hurdyu4146 Just go for it, there are some slight ups and downs but averaged out, the quality of the story is consistent IMO

[@xXRealXx]

​@@hurdyu4146every yakuza game is good. Some are worse than others, but they are all worth a playthrough (or more!). Yakuza 5 comes very close to 0 imo

[@heartlessangel2910]

Shoutout to Boiled Curry. She’s done wonderful covers of Baka Mitai, Like a Butterfly, So Much More and even 24 Hour Cinderella.

[@OysterBoyo]

Another banger of a video. You're great brother, and I agree with every song!

[@BigBoss_893]

We’ll i’ve definitely got a bunch of new bands to listen to after hearing your comparisons

[@fredaaooliveira7698]

I think it's a cool idea to make a tier list of boss themes from all games! who knows for a next special...

[@kasugaichibum]

I never thought about the point you made about Adachi and Nanba's cover of MGK and Bakamitai, respectively, not really sounding like their characters voice! Adachi's version has always been my favourite... but this does make me think about the versions a little bit more deeply.... 🤔 I was surprised at how much i liked the Ishin songs, particularly Saejima(Shinpachi's) song because I've not really liked his voice beforehand. That song is one of my favourite! I honestly love so many songs in this series and many are mainstays in my spotify playlist!

[@Dom50525]

Awesome video, I really enjoyed it, thanks to you I discovered a few songs I did not know before 😁. And also respect to your laptop, my longest render was about 16 minutes and that alone was a huuuge pain. I feel ya bro 🤘

[@faiz4317]

Congrats on 4K! Love Your Content

[@GunGun-cf3ss]

In glory I'll return is my absolute favorite recently

[@ficz9596]

Just realized you're croatian from the most recent post, didn't know there were Yakuza fans among us haha. Keep up the good work! Samo jako brate!

[@badobada4541]

The future i dreamed of just hits different

[@yof2210]

I'm gonna have some appreciation for the Dub version of Yakuza 7 songs Kaji Tang goofy yet hopefull singing is amazing and really fits Ichi in "Future i dreamed of" Also Robbie Daymonds take on "Hell's Stew" is genuinely my favorite in the series the man's is an amazing vocalist

[@hjblacdes61]

yeah same. its got an amateurish vibe thats really charming to me. The Japanese dubs sound so polished and professional and not that thats bad. I just really like how the english dub really sells the "friends having fun singing in a bar" vibe

[@xXRealXx]

The English version of Bakamitai in Yakuza: Like A Dragon is really well done imo. Well translated and well sang too

[@mar6539]

I love these videos so much. I swear you could talkhours straight and I would listen. ✌️

[@bm_burger]

The Majima analysis was brilliant, I was totally in the cacophony camp until you re-examined it. I kind of wanna defend "I Wanna Change Myself" a bit, at least from a character perspective. By being a bubbly and generic sounding pop-song, there's this impeccable vibe (specifically with the Kiyru accompaniment) of a parent enjoying their child's favorite music. Like the feeling your daughter is super into "Let it Go", you're sick of it, but the enthusiasm your child has for the song is SO contagious you sort of fall in love with it again. I think it contrasts really greatly with Kiyru's choice of song, the narrative and musically more mature Kamurocho Lullaby. There's a feeling when I played the song that this may indeed be Haruka's happiest memory. When she became an idol in 5, I think it seemed random to a lot of people, but for me personally I was like "ah yeah that song from Yakuza 3 kind of set this up." You could say that ANY song Haruka sings pre-5 has this vibe but there's something so unabashedly pop about this particular one that really sells it for me.

[@elijahhaynes216]

42:09 STAY!! NO CHANGE

[@vytosan]

48:14 but why does she tilt her head to one side and then wink with the other eye also what do you think about nishikis version of judgement

[@gokudoni]

Because idol magic. Though, now that you pointed it out, it will definitely bother me on subsequent playthroughs hahah. As for Nishiki's version, it's kind of like Shinada's version of Machine Gun Kiss. More emphasis on emotion than technique, but a memorable display regardless.

[@mementomemescooks]

Another amazing video yet again Thank you ❤😳❤ Love the stuff you make 😭

[@jack0slack]

Random observation: One thing I also feel minor key and major key did in Yakuza 5 was assign ownership of the Princess League songs. Because I Have You and So Much More feel like Haruka’s songs because of that major key. Loneliness Loop, though? That’s T-Set’s song, with Haruka trying to keep up.

[@melancholiclonging8641]

I've only played 0-6 so far but my favorites rn are: 1. Pure Love in Kamurocho (Akiyama and Hana) 2. Tonight 3. Baka Mitai (Akiyama) 4. As Long as You're Happy 5. Machine Gun Kiss (No preference. I like all renditions) 6. Like a Butterfly (Kirara) 7. Judgement 8. 24 Hour Cinderella That's just the karaoke tho. This whole series has great music all around. My favorite song is probably the ending theme for Yakuza 3.

[@h0lysh1ft]

Good to see more Like a Butterfly appreciation, though my favorite version is Aika's, I like her voice (and character) the most out of Kiwami 2's hostess cast

[@SlimJimGames]

Wanted to pop in to say since Gaiden released, Akame's version of Like a Butterfly easily jumped to the top of those in both languages (not including Kiryu)

[@ahmeliuh]

Wooo! Good job on 4k!

[@Milty2001]

For me machine gun kiss was my first ever karaoke song that i played in yakuza 5, there's just something cool about kiryu putting so much power in holding the microphone while the guitar riff is playing, sure judgment is his favorite karaoke song cannon wise but machine gun kiss is just awesome, sadly its over shadowed by baka matai

[@michaeldagadagn307]

Midnight shadow kirisaku Akuseru kishimu Highway city Joshuseki utsumuku omae no ROGUE iro no urei

[@Bluepancho]

About Like a butterfly, I was wondering if it wasn't more a reference to the japanese band m.o.v.e. that did a lot of the initial D OST. The guy always wear crazy glasses and has weird rapped lyrics often in english while the girl sings a more melodic part

[@ajbolt7]

As Long As You're Happy is the most emotionally moving karaoke in the entire series. Genuine gutpunch especially if you were expecting Majima to sing Cinderella or something again

[@phamtomlord2579]

Fly High like a Butterfly Ichiban Edition is something else

[@chelsea6671]

Running through 0 in Premium Adventure now and X3 Shine and Heartbreak Mermaid, I've tried to get 90 forever. The best I got on either is 88. Those last couple lines of notes mess me up. Also I feel like the latter could've been a disco song. It always had that feel to me.

[@pavlissimus599]

"Ichizu Samurai" - epic karaoke (both Ishin! and Gaiden versions) with epic video. Why ignored here?

[@askamikaze3936]

I cant take Kamurocho Lullaby seriously, Kiryu looks like Mike Wazowski while holding that microphone.

[@RoboticEdward]

How'd you rank the English versions of the LaD7 Karaoke tracks? I think some kinda falter which is a result of the seiyuu being trained to sing as well as act so the dub cast is kinda positioned unfavorably (heck for Spring Breeze they had to modify the pitch for Saeko's actress could keep up), but I do think English Baka Mitai and Zhao's Hell's Stew stand out.

[@gokudoni]

While I think their versions are commendable, I've always had an issue with songs conceived on a specific language being transposed to a different one. Nothing against the singers, nor the versions that were introduced, it's just that these songs lose quite a bit of impact when they're sung in other languages (like putting the emphasis on the wrong syllables in order to fully replicate the original). Though in Yakuza, they've done a great job in making the new versions stand out, since the songs aren't directly translated into English but expand on the core ideas instead. Basically, they're all solid.

[@xXRealXx]

All Haruka's songs from the Princess League go to S tier for me. Because I Have You makes me cry, especially when I think back to Yakuza 5's ending and Yakuza 6 (it's beginning and ending too, or just the whole game in general). As Long As You're Happy also makes me cry. TONIGHT restart from this night also makes me cry thinking back to 0 and Kiwami (why Nishiki, why?). Oh I also like the Dream song from Yakuza 5's ending, but I'm pretty salty that it's just a cutscene and not a hard sync game, because I was really hoping for some boss fight like song for Haruka. Would've made the ending so much more satisfying for me. Let's see... Shine is up there, maybe even S tier. Euro shine is... Well I played Kiwami first, but I grew to like 0's version more. Koyuki's version is also nice. The rest... Well I guess I agree with your list on those, but maybe not, I would need more time to think on it, and this is all that came to my mind right now. Edit: oh, and yes, I very much agree that the best version of Like a Butterfly is the Kirara version. Ichiban's singing in Like a Butterly just makes me laugh my ass off lmfao. Oh, and I like Kiwami 2's Like a Butterfly more than 6's.

[@blametheghost]

I think mt favorite songs (karaoke or not) from yakuza is machine gun kiss, friday night, koi no disco queen, judgement, a fan mix of haruka and majimas get to the top (which is actually really adorable) and a few more actually God why does Sega properties always have good songs in them, its like they make the games for fun and the music is their main goal

[@darektrankiewicz880]

Nice job!

[@metalrob6713]

"Tonight" from Yakuza Kiwami just broke my heart❤😥

[@dopey473]

You know he's a metalhead when he overanalyzes Majima's mad screeching (I'm a metalhead and I adore Majima's version too lol)

[@chelsea6671]

Also, the version of Machine Gun Kiss with Haruka is iconic.

[@LinkinMark1994]

Bro the Shinto priest waving from the audience gets me every time 😂 Glad you saved the best for last!

[@eneteachedos]

Like a butterfly is a node to m.o.v.e , is very similar to tracks like dogfight

[@Stryder624]

Why was their a toe fungus ad at the start of the video when i clicked on it 😭🤣

[@ShockInazuma]

Majima's version of Get to the Top being S Tier? Now that’s what I like to see. Truly a song of all time.

[@thekingofcookies4877]

Yeahhh the live action part of the samurai song really caught me off guard

[@kirbyinhalesjotaro4471]

Today is a Diamond will always be my favorite karaoke song

[@laddjuuzo4998]

Hmm. I think you'll be my go to Yakuza content guy. Good job on your videos 🤝 also just realized I was the 777th like.

[@typo_3148]

Majima's Get to the top is easily SSS tier, everytime i hear the opening note im expecting a loud screech to grace my presence

[@TalleyBellum]

Majima singing, be it supposedly poorly or with a surprising amount of emotion, is beautiful and it fits his energy Also his black and red outfit goes so fucking hard Not mentioning Greg Chun's beautiful voice singing the English of Baka Mitai is a missed opportunity btw

[@KarMaThr]

no fork in the road? that was second only to today is a diamond in 6

[@kingofcheshire]

Today is a Diamond in S liked and subscribed

[@ryanprasetyo5216]

Fork in The Road is my all time favorite

[@VoltSlash]

Machine Gun Kiss and Judgement tied for first? Yes. That's a well placed sub right there. EDIT: Like a Butterfly is the third one tied for first with me. I've always seen it as a m.o.v.e reference, the band that made all Initial D openings.

[@windwind3170]

The only Yakuza tier list that matters.

[@Weirdgirl213]

I personally rank Zetsuboucho pride at S tier simply for the fact that it’s a great song to work out to. Those chants in the background get me pumped and ready to kick some ass! “Hey boy! Stand up fucker!” HELL YEAH! 🤟🏿🔥🤟🏿🔥 and don’t even get me started on Majima’s interjections! I do agree tho, it needed a better quality cinematic that’s not just scenes from Kiwami.

[@hairy_putin]

Overlooking Saejima's Baka Mitai because of the volume the series uses the song is criminal, it's easily my favourite version, beating out Akiyama's easily. That is to say that I'm not much of a fan of trying too hard to do fancy flairs or trying *too hard* to be different when singing, especially with modern covers of old tracks, it just detracts from the song for me. And don't get me started on ranking Haruka's main tracks below her Princess League tracks, especially using the "I'm a metalhead" line as a defence, because I am too, and I love these songs to bits no less than I love the songs that shaped my music tastes.

[@DarknessshadowKGA]

Shinadas is the weakest!?! Who the hell decided that!?! I’ll fight you!

[@jtdx_]

Hands is hands (😂) down my favourite

[@SonicKick]

All the 6 songs are in S tier thats all that matters to me.

[@randomatomizer6652]

Y-ji Road is underrated.

[@CannoliObi2]

I'm happy to see that another person prefers Baka Mitai Sorrow over the original

[@LANGTVCHANNEL]

For Me S tier in Yakuza/LaD karaoke is 1. Tonight - Kiryu 2. Today Like a Diamond - Kiryu 3. Honolulu City lights - Chitose 4. Bakamitai - Akiyama 5. If I Could Love the One I Love - Joon Gi Han 6. Judgement (Shinpan) - Kiryu & Nishiki 7. Kamurocho Love Story - Akiyama & Hana 8. Like a Butterfly - SeonHee/other singer fits well ft Kiryu

[@sonicslayer0]

All i hear when X3 shine starts is HUA HUA HUA

[@GenAqua]

I love 80's music too

[@besbosever]

Have u heard of babymetal since your a metal head

[@realkingofantarctica]

I stan Shinada's Machine Gun Kiss.

[@Yu_Narukami-P4G]

Where is like a butterfly

[@cadfael3257]

Yeah, loneliness loop is freaking great, sad top tier music

[@deathbutitaint2307]

Rouge of love is S tier

[@HeavenlyEchoVirus]

Heartbreak Mermaid is honestly superior to Lonely Tropical Fish.

[@whirl6680]

Yakuza 3 had the best karaoke songs

[@Janfon1]

Video starts at 2:20

[@Hijikata-T7]

it's kinda hard to follow or asses if we hardly hear the song itself

[@DonVecta]

You should have let the track play a bit to let us listen and then do your review.

[@fernandoruizayala5040]

You completly missed shiawase nara ii sa, it is sooo good and shows how majima feels

[@moehasan7534]

Because I Have You was fucking robbed omg it was a breath of fresh air after the generic first two

[@Mizumoto-chan]

I think you missed Koi no Disco Queen. I'd put it on S tier

[@sshardulxo]

pride from despair a-tier??? imma kms

[@garryhlambert]

akiyama bakamitai>any other version of it

[@MugenHeadNinja]

If Pure Love in Kamurocho isn't top 3 then I'm disliking this video :)

[@kevin-qc9cr]

no like a butterfly? 😥