Hey again, Chicken here.

Hope you've all been good, and that you're staying safe and chill as usual.

Update from last post: Still feeling poorly from lack of sleep, but a bit better than when I made the previous post!

Today marks the 7th attempt at requesting for Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Perhaps most of you already know, but Like a Dragon is also the 7th game of the series. The reason why I number each of these posts is to personally keep track how many times I've written down the request, and to make sure I don't write the same thing each time. I can be a bit forgetful, moreso with the lack of sleep these days...

Also EDIT: IT'S ON SALE!!!

For those uninitiated to Yakuza, the game is basically like a scorsese gangster movie, where every 30 minutes in you are interrupted by an episode of the simpsons. (and guess what... I love scorsese movies and simpsons episodes.)

So, what makes this game and series shine for you?:

As you already know from my previous posts, I love Yakuza as a series. I'll try to summarise my previous points.

1) The games are all fantastically written and have a well thought out story. It can be gritty and intense, and it can be hilariously carefree.

2) Gorgeous cinematography and hype battle scenes. Also, brilliant emotional voice acting. Some highlights of mine from previous titles include facing down Kuze and Majima. I was also in tears about Makimura Makoto. ;;

3) Soundtrack that gets you PUMPED, sad, happy and laughing into oblivion.

4) The sheer vastness of activities you can do. (Eg. With Yakuza 0 alone you have access to mini games such as: Running a cabaret club, real estate, Playing UFO Crane Catching, Arcade Games, Gambling Games, Pool, Casino Games, Darts, Batting Cages, Bowling, Catfight Bets, Pocket Circuit, Participating in Shogi, Mahjong, Card Collecting, Telephone Club, Karaoke, Disco, Fishing, sneaking challenges, training sessions.)

5) Epic, memorable and hilarious side quests that have me cackling for decades (and sticks with me). For example, I can never unsee this particular cutscene.

6) Open World brimming with beautiful, crazy, stylish, tragic and all kinds of other things between. Its got glitz, glamor, decadence and can also be very rough and brutal.

What really makes me excited about Yakuza 7 is all of the above, aaaaaaand:

The fact that its got RPG mechanics and a brand new protagonist and narrative to follow. Ichiban's hair is goofy as hell and I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it, but I love it lmao. From what I hear, he's also a more approachable, unprofessional, and flawed character than Kiryu, who is one of my favorite characters. I love characters that are flawed, they feel more human to me. I can already imagine this game having a lot of drama and heart like previous titles before it.

Ichiban is also super nerdy, and I dig that. He builds his heroic impulses around a lifelong love of Dragon Quest, to the point where every time he enters street combat, he imagines that he’s fighting monsters and evil creatures. It's kind of interesting, and it makes me wonder if it's only him that sees the world and fights in this way. It also shows in the now "turn-based" JRPG combat, a genre I absolutely adore.

Like a Dragon seems to have several brand new features that look extremely exciting. You can summon various people and creatures using your telephone, kind of like a stand or a persona. There's also a mechanic called Life Experience that Ichiban needs to nurture throughout the gameplay, as it would boost his stats as he battles across various dungeons and through real life situations. You can romance different team members (and it can turn out terribly for you like in persona if you decide to date, say, many members of your team). Also, you can go-kart, and play a traditional movie theatre minigame too, where you have to fight to stay awake! Also, this cutscene. Pure gold.

TLDR; In this particular title, you play as unemployed former yakuza with chuunibyou syndrome, and will be facing off against the Omi Alliance man , among other interesting folk.

Why are you having trouble affording it? Why can’t you just "buy it"?

Since before my last request, google has done nothing but show adverts of Yakuza: Like a Dragon available to purchase... and it hurts since I cannot afford it at present. Google enjoys tormenting me.

I work on an assistant teacher's salary in Japan (I may as well be labelled a teacher though because of everything I do), which isn't very much. While I'm lucky to have a job as it is at the moment, the salary is mostly going towards paying off student debts, rent, gas/electric bills. The little that me and my partner are saving up in terms of cash is going towards a place to live together once our work program is over. The savings are also going towards documents to finalize our marriage at the registry office, and towards our visa after our work program concludes, since we are both from 2 different countries.

We can't really afford to even get wedding bands at the moment. We won't bother with a ceremony until post corona/post getting an apartment/post gaining stability in jobs/home etc. The work program ends on August 2021, but our current visa expires on April 2020. We don't live anywhere near our embassies to have our notaries signed or our visa handled, so we have to travel by multiple trains and buses to get there and back. The travel is long and is expensive, and it has us travelling between regions. Presently, we are stressed and worried... and trying to figure out a plan on how to do this during a worldwide pandemic as safely as possible (especially with health risks and going completely broke from making the trip there and back), as we need those documents before our contract ends. Our contract doesn't allow us to have a car. Even if we did have a car, the trip is very costly.

Having the game would help more than you know. I could relax and blow off some steam after a really long day at school teaching, and use the time playing to continue practicing my Japanese listening skills even while at home. I'm doing everything possible to stay immersed with learning Japanese, and this would be something that would help.

その他 (Other):

Here's my Steam ID if you want to take a look at my profile. You're always welcome to message me here, on discord, or on steam.

I won't be requesting games for quite a while once I finish requesting for Yakuza: Like a Dragon, since I'll be primarily focused on completing the game, the marriage, work, and other things too. I might even post updates of where I'm at in-game, but probably in the Yakuza subreddit and probably trying to keep spoiler-free.

I promise to pay this forward one day if someone ever gifts me the game. When that happens, I'll make sure to make the giveaway and have the amount of this future price set at the same price as Yakuza: Like a Dragon! Just know... I cannot do this until I am financially stable... but consider this a promise that will be upheld.

This sub can hold me accountable for this promise, but I'll be sure to keep to the promise made anyway as thanks to everyone for being so welcoming and kind since I joined this subreddit!

Thanks for reading, and take care people.

Chickenarla / Carliewarliee

P.s. If some of the sentences don't make sense, I apologize in advance. I've been living off 3-hour sleep every day for almost 3 weeks now, and it's taken a toll on my health. I don't know what is causing it, but I have a doctors appointment tomorrow!