Originally posted on 25 March 2016
Source: page 14-15

Ryu Encyclopaedia

Ryu ga Gotoku 2

A clash between the dragons of East and West!

Ryu ga Gotoku 2
Platform: PlayStation 2
Release: 7/12/2006
Price: 6,800 JPY (tax excl.)
Ryu ga Gotoku 2 the Best
Platform: PlayStation 2
Release: 6/12/2007
Price: 1,800 JPY (tax excl.)
Ryu ga Gotoku 1&2 HD Edition
Platform: PlayStation 3/Wii U
Release: 1/11/2012 / 8/8/2013
Price: 4,980 JPY (tax excl.)
Ryu ga Gotoku 1&2 HD Edition (Playstation 3 the Best)
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release: 11/12/2014
Price: 1,800 JPY (tax excl.)

The second game in the series, set a year after the events of Ryu ga Gotoku. The setting of the story has expanded greatly, with Osaka's Sotenbori and Shinseicho, containing Tsutenkaku, alongside Tokyo's Kamurocho. The magnificent story unfurls as you travel between these two huge red light districts. One of the biggest changes from the previous game is the strengthening of the battle system. During a rush combo or a finishing blow, pressing a directional key allows you to perform a punch or kick on a different target, and a new feature - "being attacked from all sides" - has been added, meaning that when you are grabbing or being grabbed by an enemy you can attack foes that are behind you. This means that even when you are surrounded by many enemies they are easier to deal with, increasing the exhilaration of battle. The cabaret club substories have also greatly evolved from the last game. Now, not only can you befriend hostesses, but you can also take a rundown club and rebuild it, a new element which received high praise.

Story and character correlation chart

A year has passed since the incident surrounding the Tojo Clan and its missing 10 billion. Kazuma Kiryu and Haruka Sawamura live a modest yet happy life. However, when Yukio Terada, fifth chairman of the Tojo Clan, is struck down by a bullet from the Omi Alliance, the largest organisation in Kansai, the gears of fate being to move once more for Kiryu.

Respecting Terada's dying wish, the Tojo Clan decides to exchange sake with the Omi Alliance in a deal that aims to avoid all-out war. Charged with the important role of securing the deal, Kiryu heads for Kansai with Daigo, son of Sohei Dojima, boss of the Dojima Family. At Omi headquarters, it becomes clear that the chain of events was caused by Ryuji Goda, known as the "Dragon of Kansai" and second chairman of the Omi Alliance's Goryu-kai, acting on his own. Lamenting the present, uncontrollable state of the organisation and wishing for a balance between east and west, Jin Goda, fifth chairman of the Omi Alliance, readily consents to the plan. However, a raid by Ryuji throws everything into disarray. In the worst possible turn of events, this is the ember which ignites war between Kanto and Kansai...

Amidst all of this, Kaoru Sayama, a detective with the prefectural police known as the "yakuza-hunter", travels with Kiryu under the pretext of protecting him. Her true intention, however, is to figure out the truth behind the deaths of her parents, concealed by the Tojo Clan, and her own past.

The feud between the Tojo Clan and second generation Goryu-kai intensifies. Amidst the turmoil of their conflict, a string of incidents occur including Daigo's kidnapping, the Omi Alliance's Sengoku Family's raid on Kamurocho, and a coup d'etat by Koji Shindo, chairman of the second Nishikiyama Family. It also comes to light that a criminal organisation known as the Jingweon have secretly been operating behind the scenes as part of the conflict.

At the same time, Makoto Date, a detective who quit after the incident a year earlier, is pursuing the Jingweon alongside Jiro Kawara, his senior from the public safety department. 23 years ago the Jingweon, who were targeting Kamurocho, were exterminated by the Dojima Family. Survivors of the group had infiltrated the police and Omi Alliance, plotting their revenge in secret.

Sayama, moving alongside Kiryu, realises as these truths come to the surface that she is somehow tied to the Jingweon. Then, in the middle of the war, Kawara takes a bullet meant for Sayama and confesses to her that her mother is Jeong Suyeon, wife of the Jingweon boss, and that her father is Suyeon's saviour, Kawara himself.

More and more truths come to light. Sayama learns that she and Ryuji, a central figure in the war, are half siblings. As destinies collide, Kiryu and Ryuji have a one-on-one fight at Kamurocho Hills, the place chosen as their final showdown. The moment Kiryu takes command in the life-and-death fight, Terada, who was thought to be dead, appears. He, too, is a survivor of the Jingweon, going so far as to even fake his death in order to exact his revenge. Showing them the remote control to a time bomb that he holds in his hand, Terada means to drown Kamurocho in a sea of flames. It is at this moment that Ryo Takashima of the Omi Alliance shows up, explaining that he collaborated with the Jingweon in order to destroy the Tojo Clan. Now that he has no further use for Terada he mercilessly shoots him, but Terada musters the last of his strength and activates the bomb. The panicked Takashima takes Sayama hostage and attempts to kill Kiryu, but Ryuji, refusing to allow it, attacks Takashima in order to protect his only sister, taking bullets but still defeating him.

Though Kiryu and Ryuji are riddled with wounds, and despite Sayama's protests, their final battle commences. Their decisive fight is won by Kiryu. By this time, there are two minutes left on the timer of the bomb. Making her mind up, Sayama nestles close to Kiryu, who doesn't have enough strength left to move, and the two share a passionate kiss. The timer announces the end... but the explosion never comes. Terada had thrown away his position within the Jingweon, his gratitude to Shintaro Kazama, who had saved him long ago, winning out. The huge war of so many losses draws to an end and, under the guidance of Daigo, taking his position as sixth chairman, the Tojo Clan begins to move ahead under a new order...

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