Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has some of the more unusual mini-games in the series. Pump some iron in the RIZAP gym sim! Flirt with JAV stars in VR Chat! Re-enact The Bad News Bears with Baseball! But Clan Creator stands out over the rest as it has a story behind it.
Kiryu has to form his own street gang to take down JUSTIS, a group that rose from the ashes of the color gangs the protagonist wrecked in the original Yakuza. It’s essentially a little real-time strategy game, deploying different units of Rushers, Heavies, Grenadiers and more against JUSTIS, alongside their Leaders. While all members have their perks, some are better than others.
9 Pocket Circuit Fighter
The slot car racing enthusiast from Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami has aged well between those games and Yakuza 6. While he has more than his fair share of wrinkles, he’s a good leading man for the early stages of the game. Complete his substory in Chapter 5, then go to his Tofu store and talk to him to make him part of the clan.
He’s a Rusher type who’s quick on his feet and with his attacks, with as much defense as a wet paper bag. It’s worth it for his Essence of Offense skill, which refreshes the Deployment Gauge by 70 points. It means Kiryu can either send out more grunts to overwhelm foes, or bring out another leader. He’s also cheap to use, costing only 20 Deployment Points to send out.
8 Yoshikawa
Yoshikawa is another good early contender. He’s a Heavy: a big, lumbering tank that hits hard, and can handle big damage, while being slow as molasses. At 30 Deployment Points, he’s pretty cheap to send out as well. His big advantage is his Skill: Essence of Surprise. Once activated, it’ll stun every foe on screen and slow them down for a while.
That’ll make them easier for Yoshikawa and everyone else in the clan to take down and get the advantage. Complete the "Toru Yano of the Six Lunatics" mission to make him part of the team. There are other fighters who have this skill, like Ibuchi and BUSHI, but they’re either unlocked much later in the game, or cost more to deploy (70 and 60 points respectively).
7 Samurai
Despite his name, Samurai isn't a swordsman. He doesn't even favor hand-to-hand combat most of the time. Instead, he’s a Grenadier: a grenade thrower who causes great splash damage but doesn't do so well when enemies get in his face. It’s best to keep him and the other Grenadiers at a distance to back up the Rushers and Heavies.
He costs 40 Points to deploy and comes with a handy Skill: Essence of Grand Army. It’ll halve deployment costs for 10 seconds, giving the player a good window to overwhelm foes with more grunts or bring in an extra leader. Beat Tetsuya Naito, then go to Southwest Hana-no-Kubo to find Samurai. Fight him, win, and he’ll join Kiryu’s clan.
6 Hiroshi Tanahashi
For an ex-yakuza, Kiryu has some interesting connections. He can add New Japan pro-wrestlers like EVIL and Yuji Nagata to his side. JUSTIS has the company's top stars in the aforementioned Toru Yano and Tetsuya Naito, among others, but if Kiryu’s clan can beat them, they’ll switch sides. They’re pretty tough contenders too, with some hard-hitting Skill attacks.
The best of the bunch is the Once-in-a-Century Ace Hiroshi Tanahashi. In story, he’s one of JUSTIS' more conflicted members. In gameplay, he’s a Heavy that costs 60 points to deploy, and is a must-add member. His Warrior of Love Skill will instantly revive fallen leaders and give everyone else a little health boost. Throw in a second healer for a bigger health boost, and together they'll keep everyone in the fight going.
5 Hashimoto
Unlike other healers, Hashimoto would be a solid option to back up Tanahashi and is a sturdy addition on his own too. He combines the Grenadier's splash damage with the upfront offense of a Brawler. Even so, he’s the most expensive of the Recruitable Leaders at 60 points, putting him on par with Tanahashi and much of the New Japan Gang. Beat the TenCozy team, then go to the south end of Second Hill St to recruit him.
If the player has the space for Hashimoto, they’ll get the best healer in the game. His True Essence of Healing will give all allies a big health boost. If they can’t spare the space for him, then Masao will do. He's a plain brawler and doesn't heal allies as much. Despite that, his skill still covers everyone on the field, he's available from the start, and he's cheap to deploy.
4 Daigo Dojima
By the later stages of the game, the player’s clan will be big enough to take on the Amon gang. Jō Amon and his family were designed to be the hardest fights in the Yakuza series, even in Clan Creator form. They’re bad enough that the player may require Clan Creator Codes. If the player speaks to Masao at La Pente, they’ll get to input a code to get an extra clan member. They often have the best skills, while also costing a lot to deploy to balance them out.
Daigo Dojima, a Rusher-Grenadier type, will ease that high cost by adding 150 extra Deployment Points with his Sixth Chairman’s Dignity Skill. His C-type (m5bxokqrsielv19d) costs 40 points to deploy, R-Type (the6thheadoftojo) costs 70, and his SR-Type (kiryusavemepleaz) costs 100! This type gains Gunner abilities too, where he can shoot from a distance. Though he's still one of the two most expensive Clan Leaders. The other gauge-burner is....
3 Kazuma Kiryu
Kiryu can also join in the fracas on the field, but not by default funnily enough. He has to enter a code to deploy himself alongside his clan. It makes sense from a tactical POV, as generals rarely if ever go out into battle directly. If he does take part, he’ll fight as a standard Brawler at C-Type (s66x7baqn4ecaee9) and R-Type (norestforkazumak), with the speed of a Rusher at SR-Type (atpercentdragon).
They cost 50, 80, and 100(!) Deployment Points respectively to deploy. Players will really need a big gauge to use him. If they do make that investment, he’ll help them out with the Dragon of Dojima Skill. It grants a 50% attack power boost and super armor for 10 seconds, briefly turning everyone in the clan into a tank. Used at the right time, it can be enough to turn the tide in the player’s favor.
2 Makoto Date
Clan characters can earn more XP if they’re arranged with ones they know on the hierarchy. For example, Kiryu and Daigo Dojima will get better quicker if they’re connected to each other. Another character that gets on well with the series’ lead is Makoto Date, the grouchy cop-turned-journalist that’s delivered assistance and exposition at key moments throughout the series.
He’s a Gunner at C-Type (uvhvd2h7wi95ghnl) and R-Type (detectivemandate), then gets Heavy abilities at SR-Type (datewithmako2018) to make him better at getting up close and personal. They cost 40, 70, and 90 points in that order to deploy. To make up for that cost, his Muscle Party skill will make the whole clan invincible for 10 seconds. If Kiryu’s skill didn’t already turn everyone into tanks, Date will put it in bold.
1 Satsuki
Satsuki is the leader behind JUSTIS, and the only one who isn't based on a wrestler. He’s also can’t be unlocked after being defeated like them either. The player has to enter another code to enlist him. He’s a Heavy at C-Type (pnjtef9stvonk4u9), then a Brawler-Heavy combo at R-Type (mystrymansatsuki), costing 50 and 80 points to deploy each.
This makes him better at getting upfront with enemies than Date, while having the same Muscle Party Skill. If the player has space on their Deployment Gauge, they could deploy both him and Date together to make everyone invulnerable for a combined 20 seconds at a time. Throw in Hashimoto and Tanahashi, then Daigo to increase the Deployment Gauge, and their combined powers may be enough in the late game to overcome the hardest Clan missions.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.