Now an older man at 48, Kazuma Kiryu is at odds with the world around him. Fresh out of prison, he learns that Haruka, the orphan girl he has protected since the first game, is in a coma after a hit-and-run car accident, and has left behind a newborn son, Haruto.

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It’s not long before Kiryu is plunged back into the criminal underworld, as he takes Haruto on a trip across Japan to Hiroshima to discover the mystery behind Haruka’s tragic circumstances.By now we know what to expect from a Yakuza game – exceptional storytelling, visceral violence and absurdist humor – but Yakuza 6: The Song of Life ups the ante in terms of production.Built in the all-new Dragon Engine, for the first time it offers a near-seamless experience, allowing Kiryu to enter buildings, shops and restaurants with no loading screen (except for when entering some cut-scenes or accessing certain mini-games). Random street battles occur seamlessly too, with the added bonus that you can now choose to run away from a fight. The new engine can also handle more on-screen characters, so get ready to brawl with dozens of enemies at once.Some of the modern enhancements are more practical: You can now set waypoints on the map for easier navigation, while autosave means no more hunting for a phone box.The fight system has been overhauled too. Kiryu has just one fighting style available this time, but a skill tree now lets you customize your abilities more deeply, while a new Heat Mode grants powerful move sets and lets Kiryu automatically pick up items to brandish as weapons.The cast of top-level real-life actors has grown, too, with Yakuza movie king “Beat” Takeshi Kitano appearing in photo-real form in a central role.If there’s a weak spot it’s that several of the series’ staple mini-games now rely on QTEs. Working out at the RIZAP gym, engaging in live chat at an internet cafe, pacifying a baby – all done with simple QTE button presses. As for the usually deep but fun hostess management sim, this has been replaced with a simpler and less interesting card-based game. Perhaps it’s a lot to ask for a brand-new engine to offer both an open playfield and a variety of complex mini-games, but it definitely feels like a missed opportunity.Still, few game series offer the chance to follow one character from youth to a ripened age, and here we see the forte of the Yakuza series: its movie-grade storytelling and its impeccable sense of place. As the thrilling crime drama unfolds in the bustling streets of Tokyo’s Kamurocho and the serene coastal countryside of Hiroshima’s Onomichi, Yakuza 6 offers a glimpse of landscapes rarely explored in videogames, and which are well worth a visit.

Daniel is Chief Editor at IGN Japan. He does not run a hostess bar.