» In the intro to the game, images of Kazuma hero and fellow Yakuza appear in quick cut sequences as they roll, draw swords, rush into battle and attack. The police lady Kaoru Sayama also does her thing where she holds an uneasy truce and partnership with Kazuma. The intro ends with an image of Haruka being spirited away on a helicopter and the title screen appears.

» Press START and the following selections are rustled up:
NEW GAME.........Normal or Easy modes selectable at the outset
LOAD GAME........Resume a game from memory card save data
OPTIONS..........Set screen aspect ratio, color balance, etc

» Upon starting a new game, a glittering disco ball shines as the camera pulls back to view people dancing and jiving in a club of some sort. The floor is made up of neon lit squares and the year is 1980. It's a veritable disco haze with bright lights, hazy air, and a lot of dancing souls. In the background a man in a trench coat walks and opens a door to get away from the music and goes outside where snow falls. He pulls a gun and slowly opens another door with gun at the ready. He goes inside and does a quick look around but no one's there. He walks to the left and goes deeper into the building and hears a scream from the distance. He turns a corner with gun at the ready and hears a gunshot. More gunshots are heard as he watches one man shoot another man. He ducks behind a wall but peeks out which appears to distract the man on the floor who reaches for his gun. However, the oppressor shoots the man on the floor before walking away. The guy in trench coat (Date) goes to the dying man who points to the stairs from whence he descended and Date runs up into a blazing inferno where flames fill the floor. He runs into a woman with a child holding onto her. He pleads with them to leave but she's unwilling and makes like she's about to jump out the window but he holds her back and convinces her to hand over the boy. He takes him in his arms as she drops to the floor on her knees. In the background sirens, sound out. Fade.

» Cut scene to Date who is older now. He levels a empty gun at the viewer with barrels empty and clicks it shut. He pulls the trigger and the scene shifts again.

» A glittering night city appears and the camera flows through the streets before stopping in front of the Stardust where a man is kicked out by a guy in an burgundy suit. He turns to enter the club again but thugs call out to him and face-off ensues where angry words are spoken. The thugs pull knives and are summarily knocked down by the burgundy suited man. The thugs walk away holding each other and Mr. Burgundy Suit picks up a bowie hunting knife that one of the thugs dropped.

» Cut scene again - A towering office building and a man inside one of the top offices is smoking. A subordinate walks in to report the incident at Stardust and the man gets angry while muttering about Kantou. The subordinate leaves and the man rises to look out his window with cigarette in hand. He drags on it and the camera pans outside again down a few floors to someone else who is talking on his cell phone. Camera pulls out again after his conversation.

» Cut scene. Kazuma is with Haruka and holding a dying guy - other memories appear and fade to a scene of Kazuma holding a dying woman. More dream images appear as a guy points gun at a suitcase of money... Kazuma wakes up and Haruka appears at his doorway to greet him. She's older now and a teenager of sorts with an armful of flowers which she hands over to Kazuma. She then skips out again and closes the door behind her.

» The camera opens up on a cemetery with Kazuma and Haruka. Control is handed over to the player - move Kazuma with the L-analog and Haruka will follow close behind. Press START to view the overhead map with a pulsating red orb straight ahead. That's your target so head on over. They stop in front of a grave and another flashback plays which recounts all of the major events in Kazuma's trek through the first Ryu Ga Gotoku game. His travels are recounted along with the first meeting with Yumi and key events that lead to Kazuma taking the blame for a murder that his friend committed. In the next scene, Kazuma is in jail where he serves 10 years before his eventual release. After the flashback, Kazuma is at the gravesite again. At this point, you're prompted for more history flashback and if you select "Yes," you see Kazuma with Haruka and a dog on the street and he resolves to take care of her like a daughter of sorts. The two walk into a home where they're greeted by gangers wanting to know about the 100 billion yen. More flashbacks are shown including the reunion between Haruka and Yumi, the final battles from the first game, and the powerful resolution of the drama between draqon and carp. The whole introductory sequence takes about 40 minutes to play through entirely and refreshes everyone's memory of the first game and the touching conclusion when Yumi says goodbye to Haruka before dying and Kazuma's resolution to take responsibility for Haruka.

» The camera rests on the cemetery once again and black cars pull up and the man Terada Yukio exits one of the cars and stands to talk with five henchmen in suits of different colors. He turns and walks towards the cemetery while the others wait outside and brandish knives. Inside, Haruka and Kazuma are paying their respects when they're joined by Terada. Kazuma and Terada talk. A gunshot sounds out, birds flutter away, and boss man Terada is clipped in the left arm by five thugs in suits and shades. His security detail outside has apparently been dispatched. Kazuma and Terada face off against them but Kazuma tells Terada to leave and a battle starts between Kazuma and the thugs. Its a training battle where Kazuma gets to strut his stuff and complete the objectives shown on the lower-right portion of the screen. Since it is a training mission, the goons don't fight back and sort of circle him.

TRAINING MISSION Condititions
1) Chain the SQUARE Attack and end them with the TRIANGLE attack five times
2) Grab an enemy and throw or kick him three times
3) Grab a wooden spoon and hit a gangster with it three times
4) Guard against enemy attack three times (L1 trigger)
5) Grab a wooden spoon and ignite a special attack (TRIANGLE button) three times

» After defeating the goons and completing the objectives, the game will prompt if you want to replay the battle. The top option is YES and the bottom is NO. Choose NO if you want to proceed with the proper game instead of playing the training mission all over again.

» Afterwards, Kazuma walks over to Terada who is wounded. A goon runs up and shoots - Kazuma grabs a gun and returns fire but the goon peels off a blast that hits Terada right in the chest. Terada then hands Kazuma a blood-covered will and testament and asks Kazuma to deliver it to Kansai. The camera pulls back as Kazuma holds the dying Terada and the camera flies up to the heavens.

» In the next scene, Kazuma and Haruka are with Terada in the ambulance when he flatlines and the ambulance guy proclaims his death. Kazuma holds the testament in his hands as the ambulance motors to the hospital. He reads the will and the instructions that it gives.

» After the intro, Kazuma is loosed on the city and night time antics are afoot. A buzz may be heard in the background like true city along with snippets of vague conversation and comments. A map on the lower-left corner keeps track of Kazuma's location and shows where passage can be obtained. The objectives are indicated by a pink pulsating sphere on the map. Head towards the first pink sphere and the first proper battle between Kazuma and a few thugs begins. Use all of the skills developed in the training mission to trounce them handily.

» The night time city is a spectacle to behold because of its liveliness and ambience. As the fight commences, a crowd gathers to watch and cheer. After a while, it starts raining and the pedestrians bring out the umbrellas. When you walk into people, they'll flail their arms to catch their balance lest they be knocked off their feet. Some people will also mindlessly walk into you and then say "Hah?" like you were at fault. Kazuma starts the game with 0000 yen. Random battles will ensue when walking further up the avenue but when you beat them, the thugs take on a conciliatory attitude, bow profusely, and even give Kazuma money.

» There are numerous people in Santa costumes who stand around but they're not ringing any bells or collecting for the Salvation army.

» If you let Kazuma stand around without any controller input, he lights up a cigarette and takes a bunch of puffs from it in a casual manner.

» To dodge attacks, press the R1 trigger followed by X and Kiryu will do a shadowy duck move to avoid being hit. It's very useful when surrounded by goons to avoid their concerted attacks.

» After defeating the first boss who wears a puffy white jacket, the two sit down on benches in front of a crackling fire where Kazuma shows him Terada's will with blood still splattered over it and the news slowly gets out. Boss walks away after that with the new info. At this point, you are allowed to save to memory card, with roughly 1:06 hour worth of play time passed.

» Afterwards, puffy jacket boss and Kazuma are on a train motoring to their destination of Kansai. Once they reach their stop, a view of the great city may be seen with a crab neon sign, a Sega arcade, and all the other vibrant sights to see.

» The Kansai area episode starts with Kazuma talking to his new ally in front of a building that houses Moonfront Coffee and "Bookstore" The streets are busy with many people walking around and little conversation bubbles and thoughts may be seen rising above the heads of people. Some citizens stand around talking on their cellphones while others gingerly walk around Ryu.

» Ryu can barrel into people who are standing around and knock them down without any repercussions. The city is neon lit at night with huge displays that overshadow New York's Times Square. Walk to the right and two girls in Santa outfits are standing around gesticulating while a boy in a Santa suit further down is doing the same thing. Walk to the left and the Sammy Ebisu Plaza which houses Club Sega may be entered to check out the amusements in side. A couple of UFO catcher machines are positioned near the door while a few Sweet Candy machines are towards the left wall of the arcade. Inside, it's cabinets all around with people milling about and three girls gathered in front of a UFO catcher machine filled with animal plushes.

» It costs 3 yen to play the UFO catcher machine at Club Sega. To catch your prize, first position the arm horizontally by pressing and holding the O button until it reaches the target area and then position it depth-wise and watch the arm descend and attempt to grasp a plush toy that looks like yellow, blue, black, and pink chicks. The payment of 3 yen allows for three tries and we got a blue chick on our third try. Once the arm drops the prize into the chute, the game rings out with "Congratulations" and the Dual Shock buzzes a little bit to give you a nice jolt. Kazuma can also play an arcade game called YF6 where he battles a sword-wielding attacker from a 1st person perspective as a Tron-like background moves in the distance.

» After having a drink at the Shot Bar Stijl, the Dual Shock begins to tremble slightly, indicating that Kazuma's buzzed.

» Women maintain their balance better than men in the game. We knocked down a lot of men while running around Kansai but most women were rock solid on their feet.

» The first battle starts if you continue walking to the left of the screen with a guy in a purple jacket. When the battle begins, the crowd clears the way and watches the action from the sides. Some people cheer while others appear dour and watch it like it was a couple of geese walking across the road. Kazuma can pull of a triple punch attack followed by a swinging kick by pressing the SQUARE button in sequence and hold the bruiser in a choke hold by pressing the O button and pressing it again to slam the enemy down. When the enemy is beaten, a slow-mo sequence plays where he's lying on the ground - afterwards the thug pays fealty to Kaz and allows him passage further down the road.

» Kazuma may enter the Cabaret Grand to sit with a hostess and watch a stage show where three girls perform while wearing red tops, red skirts, and garters attached to stockings on top of red shoes. Their choreographed routine is simple but enjoyable to watch and chuckle at. To get up to the VIP area of the club, go back outside to talk to the guy in the purple suit and he'll get you access to sit down with a hostess. While seated, a couple of rowdy Yakuza enter the club talking loud and pushing their weight around. Seated nearby is a boss - Ryuuji Gouda - they all sit down and drink with three hostesses. A guy in a loud green shirt says something stupid and the boss tells the girls to leave. The others confront the guy in the green shirt and he immediately gets on his knees, bows over, and asks for forgiveness. Ryuuji Gouda grabs a bottle and drinks - he offers to pour green-shirt-guy a drink and continues pouring to the last drop even though most of it spills on the table. The thug drinks and Ryuuji rises up and crushes the bottle on top of his head. With the broken bottle, Gouda's about to cut the hapless thug when Kazuma mutters from the next booth over, "Kansai."