Yakuza Kiwami: Story Bosses and the Fights That Can Stop Your Run

Yakuza Kiwami: Story Bosses and the Fights That Can Stop Your Run All right, let's go through Kiwami's story fights properly. Not just “get Tiger Drop” and leave somebody in Chapter 3 wondering how that is supposed to help them right now. Some fights are difficult because Kiryu is still missing important upgrades. Some put a boss in a room full of people with weapons. Others punish the perfectly understandable urge to keep attacking until something falls over. The answer changes depending on the fight. Here is what to prepare, what to watch, and how to get through the story without needing a completely finished Dragon style from the beginning. Boss names, locations, and late-game encounters are discussed below. That includes the final fights, so stop at the chapter you need if you are playing for the first time. BEFORE THE FIRST REAL WALL Buy Essence of Extreme Brawler, Essence of Extreme Rush, and Essence of Extreme Beast from the Soul tree early. The prison tutorial does not mean the weakened Kiryu automatically keeps every move after the time jump. When a boss stops fighting, slumps over, and starts healing, match the recovery aura: • Blue: Brawler. • Purple/pink: Rush. • Yellow: Beast. • Red: Dragon. Have enough Heat, approach in the matching style, and use the Heat Action prompt. The red Dragon finisher is a separate late unlock and requires Climax Heat. If you do not have it, an available ordinary Heat Action can interrupt recovery too. A weapon is useful for giving you another option. Do not confuse a boss's ordinary fighting aura with this recovery state. A glowing enemy who is actively swinging at you is not necessarily offering a Kiwami finisher. The [combat FAQ](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/181171-yakuza-kiwami/faqs/75194/faq) and [Heat Action requirements](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/181171-yakuza-kiwami/faqs/75194/heat-actions) explain the distinction. Bring health and Heat recovery. Toughness restores health, Tauriner restores Heat, and Staminan restores both. Use a drink before one more combination can kill you, not after you have already been knocked down with no room for another mistake. Spend your experience. Increase health and attack, develop your quicksteps, and read what the defensive abilities actually do. A pocket full of unused experience will not keep Kiryu alive. Also check your equipment. Charismatic Photo, Charismatic Autobiography, and Champion's Ring can make enemies more aggressive. They are poor choices if your current problem is that nobody gives you time to move. CHAPTER 1: HIRATA AND INMATE 1356 The Peace Finance fight teaches your basic combinations, grabs, and environmental weapons. Follow the tutorial tasks before trying to finish everybody. Hirata has a golf club, but the room also gives Kiryu things to use against him. The later Hirata encounter is another chance to practice moving around a weapon swing rather than running straight into it. In prison, deal with the ordinary inmates before focusing on Inmate 1356. His fork gives him a weapon, not permission to ignore your own spacing. Use short attacks after he misses and follow the Kiwami tutorial when it appears. These fights are about learning the difference between attacking, defending, and recognizing a prompt. Do not take the early version of Dragon as a promise that it will feel the same when Kiryu returns to Kamurocho. [Opening fights and tutorial sequence](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter1.html) CHAPTER 2: MAJIMA, ABE, YUYA, AND STARDUST The first Majima fight after prison is meant to show how much Kiryu has lost. You can win, but losing also allows the story to continue. It is not a mandatory early-game skill test you must beat before you are allowed to play the rest of Kiwami. Against Abe, do not keep punching his guard and absorbing the retaliation. Throws and nearby street objects give you alternatives. Yuya is a power fighter. Respect his grabs, move around his attacks, and use the opening after a missed combination. If your punches are being blocked, change position or try a grab instead of repeating the exact same string. Watch for his mid-fight QTE. His recovery opening is blue, so use Brawler's Kiwami finisher if you have bought it. Inside Stardust, clear the smaller Shimano Family enemies and especially the knife carrier before concentrating on Takahashi. Kazuki and Yuya help, and a partner holding an enemy can give you a team Heat Action. Takahashi's recovery aura is purple, meaning Rush. There are recovery items inside the club. Look around instead of assuming the supplies you brought are all you have. [Chapter 2 encounters](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter2.html) CHAPTER 3: THE FUNERAL AND SHIMANO Before the long escape, Yasuda is an early warning about enemies who do not reliably flinch when hit. Short attacks, throws when available, and a yellow Beast finisher during his recovery are safer than trying to win a punching contest. During the escape, use furniture and other objects to clear groups. Prioritize enemies carrying blades, collect the recovery items along the route, and do not spend your entire supply on ordinary enemies when a boss is still ahead. Majima appears during the escape too. Use the available furniture to make space, then deal with him without letting surrounding enemies hit you from behind. His recovery opportunity here is blue, so switch to Brawler. Then comes Shimano. He is large, slow, and very willing to keep attacking through your punches. That last part is what makes this fight frustrating if you are trying to play it like an ordinary street encounter. Bait a sequence, move out of its path, and punish the end. Do not step in after the first swing just because it missed. Take a short combination from the side or back, then leave before he turns it into a grab or another heavy attack. Rush is useful for getting into position. You can stay with it for short combinations or switch to Brawler for your punish. The important part is leaving yourself an exit. His recovery aura is purple. Having the Rush finisher and enough Heat stops him undoing the damage you just worked for. If you missed that upgrade, use a suitable ordinary Heat Action instead of standing there watching his bar refill. The fight is slow enough that patience matters more than forcing damage. Get two safe hits, reset, and do it again. [Funeral route and Shimano mechanics](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter3.html) [Shimano fight reference](https://supersoluce.com/soluce/yakuza-kiwami/tojo-clan-shimano-family-patriarch-futoshi-shimano) CHAPTER 4: HAYASHI AT ARES Hayashi arrives with six men. Do not treat the opening as a duel while all six take turns interrupting you. Move toward the furniture and use Beast to thin out the group. Sofas and chairs are there to help. Clear the room enough that you can actually see Hayashi's approach. Against Hayashi himself, watch for the forward kick that breaks your guard and the backfist that can stun you. Holding block forever is not a complete answer. Let him commit, quickstep off his line, and attack while he is recovering. Use short combinations instead of spending the whole opening on a long windup. If he has regained his stance, stop forcing the exchange and reposition. His recovery aura is yellow. Switch to Beast for the Kiwami finisher, even if you used Rush to dodge and Brawler to attack. Your best movement style does not have to be your finishing style. [Ares fight](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter4.html) CHAPTER 5: THE THREE COLISEUM FIGHTS The story tournament makes you remove your equipment. Bring recovery items before agreeing to fight, and remember to put your regular equipment back on afterward. Daniel Feldman is a wrestler. Avoid standing in front of him trading blows or feeding him repeated grabs. Move around his attacks and punish his recovery. His healing aura is purple, so use Rush. Gaowayan Pramuk is the Muay Thai fighter. His kicks and fast follow-ups make reckless approaches expensive. Defend or evade the sequence, then respond with a controlled combination. Brawler gives you a useful middle ground here. His healing aura is yellow, so use Beast for that opening. Gary Buster Holmes is the third opponent. Watch for his raised-arm counter stance. The obvious-looking opening is a trap if you walk in and punch it. Wait for a real attack to finish, then punish. Keep away from his grabs and recover quickly if he knocks you down. Gary's healing opening is blue. Use Brawler's finisher rather than letting the last fight turn into another full health bar of work. These are three separate opponents with different rhythms. Do not carry the exact timing from the first fight into the next one without watching what the new opponent does. [Tournament opponents](https://neoseeker.com/yakuza-kiwami/walkthrough/Chapter5) [Recovery colors and counter stance](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter5.html) CHAPTER 5: MAJIMA AT THE BATTING CENTER Restock before this fight. Getting through the Coliseum does not mean you are ready to walk straight into another boss with an empty inventory. Majima has seven men with him. Clear them while keeping enough distance from Majima that he is not cutting through every attack you start. Use the bats and other available weapons to reduce the crowd, but do not assume the weapons lying around will be enough to carry the entire boss fight. He begins with his knife and later switches to Slugger. The bat phase changes the reach and timing, so do not keep dodging as though you are still fighting the same attacks. Stay outside the full sequence, move in after the last swing, and take a short punish. Trying to interrupt the bat combination with ordinary punches is a good way to spend the next several seconds on the floor. Use your own weapon Heat Actions when you have an opening. Watch the multi-input QTE rather than relaxing after the first prompt. His recovery openings in this encounter are yellow, so Beast is the Kiwami answer. The mistake to avoid is arriving underprepared, surviving the knife phase, then panicking through the bat phase because all your healing is already gone. [Batting-center encounter](https://supersoluce.com/soluce/yakuza-kiwami/tojo-clan-shimano-family-captain-goro-majima-2) CHAPTER 6: TAKASHI, THE GANGS, AND SHOTA Takashi uses a bat at the batting center. Furniture gives you a quick way to take control, and his purple recovery aura calls for Rush. The B-King fight follows. Avoid the leader's sliding attack rather than relying on an ordinary block. Clear the other enemies and use the environment before concentrating on him. At Debolah, remove the Atobe Family members around Asai. The tables help with groups, and the railing gives you environmental Heat Action opportunities against ordinary enemies. Asai carries a knife and has a blue recovery opening. Shota is the last named opponent in the chapter, backed by three men. Date is helping you, so use opportunities created when he holds someone. Clear the support, then focus on Shota. His recovery aura is yellow. This chapter is a good place to stop treating every encounter as a boss duel. The room, the support enemies, and your ally matter as much as the leader's health bar. [Chapter 6 combat encounters](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter6.html) CHAPTER 7: GUNMEN AND KOJI SHINDO The Stardust fight introduces a group where guns can keep interrupting everything you try. Close the distance on gunmen with Rush, use furniture to break up the group, and use Komaki Shot Stopper if you have learned it and meet its Heat conditions. That move is a Heat Action against a gun-wielding enemy. It is not a passive ability that makes bullets harmless. [Stardust encounter](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/181171-yakuza-kiwami/faqs/75194/chapter-7-the-dragon-and-the-koi) At Serena, clear the indoor fight, then expect another battle outside against Shindo and a much larger group. Deal with his men first. Armed enemies are worth removing quickly both because they are dangerous and because you can use the weapons they drop. Do not get so fixed on Shindo that a swordsman behind you keeps resetting your attack. Shindo's blade makes ordinary guarding unreliable unless you have equipment that permits guarding bladed attacks, such as Gauntlets. Dodge the sequence, move behind him, and use a short combination or weapon Heat Action. His recovery aura is purple. Keep enough Heat for Rush's finisher. A room full of enemies can tempt you to spend every bit of it early, but leave yourself a plan for stopping the boss's recovery. [Shindo fight and blade defense](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter7.html) CHAPTER 8: THE GANG LEADERS AND AKAI BROTHERS Work through the Blue Zs at Children's Park, the White Edge group in the Champion District, and then Bloody Eye at Debolah. The Blue Z leader carries a stun gun. Do not let a supposedly minor fight take half your supplies through repeated stuns. The Blue Z leader's recovery is blue; Yuji Shiraki's is yellow. The Akai Brothers are the real problem. One keeps moving and attacking with a breakdancing moveset. The larger brother likes to grab, creating an opening for their combined attack. Clear the ordinary gang members with furniture first. Then try to keep both brothers in view and avoid standing between them. Being grabbed while the other brother is free to attack is the situation you are trying to prevent. Focus your damage instead of leaving both brothers alive with almost-empty bars. Removing one takes their teamwork out of the fight. If the larger brother keeps catching you, prioritize him rather than repeatedly chasing the dancer through the room. Use Heat Actions to secure damage when their movement makes ordinary combinations unreliable. The dancing brother has a purple recovery aura; the larger brother has yellow. Match the target you are actually finishing. If this is where you are stuck, spend time on health, attack upgrades, and Komaki's training instead of repeating the same underpowered attempt. [Gang sequence and recovery colors](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter8.html) [Akai Brothers encounter](https://supersoluce.com/soluce/yakuza-kiwami/bloody-eye-leaders-akai-brothers) CHAPTER 9: LAU KA LONG Save and stock up before entering the restaurant. This is a long battle followed by a boss and then the car chase. Beating Lau is not the end of the chapter. Lau's weapons change during the fight. He starts with a polearm, uses paired broadswords later, and also fights barehanded. Do not assume the range you learned in one section applies to the next. Against the polearm, respect the reach. Dodge around the attack rather than walking straight down the weapon's line. Against the paired blades, do not rush into the spinning attacks simply because you want to stop him moving. The room has objects you can use, and a weapon Heat Action gives you reliable damage when normal approaches are being punished. Gauntlets help if you want to guard blades. If you have Tiger Drop and know the timing, his weapon attacks provide counter opportunities, but you do not need to force counters you cannot consistently land. His recovery openings are blue. Use Brawler and stop the healing. Afterward, the chase tests different skills. Use Heat Eye for difficult shots, reload during gaps, and interrupt enemies whose attack circles are about to turn red. Shooting the driver can remove an entire vehicle threat. Rockets can be shot down. Hiding protects Kiryu, but the car can still take damage. On Legend, failure means repeating the preceding restaurant section, so treat the save before entry seriously. [Lau and the chase](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter9.html) [Lau encounter reference](https://supersoluce.com/soluce/yakuza-kiwami/snake-flower-triad-leader-lau-ka-long) CHAPTER 10: KAZUTO ARASE The climb to the roof is a supply-management problem before it becomes a gunfight. Pick up the recovery items along the route and remove armed enemies before they drain your health from outside the camera. On the roof, clear Arase's support. Use the rooftop structures to reduce the angles from which you can be shot while dealing with the other men. Then close on Arase without running straight into his gunfire. Rush helps you move around the shots and reach his side or back. Punish after he commits to firing instead of chasing every evasive movement with a long combination. You can grab him. If he is blocking your punches, a throw and follow-up can be more useful than trying the same string again. Komaki Shot Stopper is another option if you have it available. Do not back away indefinitely. That gives a gun-wielding opponent exactly the fight he wants. Move defensively to get close, then make the opening count. His recovery aura is yellow. Switch to Beast for the Kiwami finisher and stop him recovering the damage you just fought through his evasions to land. [Rooftop route](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter10.html) [Arase's close-range options](https://supersoluce.com/soluce/yakuza-kiwami/tojo-clan-nishikiyama-family-sergeant-kazuto-arase) CHAPTER 11: THE PIER AND SHANGRI-LA At the pier, Majima is helping you. Use the waterside Heat Actions against ordinary enemies and watch Ishikawa, the gunman with the larger health bar. He can fire while getting up, so do not automatically rush straight into every knockdown. Shangri-La ends with another story fight against Majima. This time he begins with Mad Dog and changes to Thug after the fight moves downstairs. Respect the knife phase. Quickstep out of the full attack, then punish the recovery after the spinning sequence instead of trying to interrupt the blades. Gauntlets can help with blade defense, and Tiger Drop is effective if you have learned his timing. Watch the QTE sequence and the floor-collapse transition. A change of room is not permission to put the controller down. In the lower area, adjust to Thug's punches and grabs. Avoid giving him your back, recover from knockdowns, and collect the available healing if you need it. His recovery aura in this encounter is purple. Rush is the matching finisher in both parts. [Chapter 11 encounters and phases](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter11.html) CHAPTER 12: SHIMANO AGAIN The boat battle comes first. Use the gas cylinders and other objects to clear groups, and deal with the grenade thrower rather than letting him attack while you fight everyone else. Environmental throws over the side can quickly remove ordinary enemies. The later Shimano fight starts with a crowd and allied support. Clear enough space that you are not being hit from behind, then work on Shimano. He begins with a katana. After that section, he returns to his unarmed fighting style. You should recognize the basic problem from Chapter 3: long attacks, powerful grabs, and a body that does not politely flinch through every punch. The difference now is Kiryu's available tools. Use improved quicksteps, stronger attacks, and Tiger Drop if you are comfortable with it. You can still win by making Shimano miss and punishing the end of the sequence. His recovery aura is purple. Do not let a familiar boss get free healing because you assume he is already beaten. Stay ready for his grab-related QTE. [Boat battle and Shimano rematch](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter12.html) FINALE: GET READY BEFORE YOU COMMIT Before telling Kazuki you are ready at Stardust, make a separate save and refill your supplies. Repair or replace weapons you intend to use. Equip for survival rather than experience farming. Komaki Shot Stopper is particularly useful for the gunmen ahead. A developed Dragon style and Tiger Drop help, but also bring a practical answer to boss recovery. If Essence of Extreme Dragon is still locked, carry a weapon that gives you a Heat Action you can use against the final opponent. The approach includes multiple enemy groups, not just one boss room. Pick up the recovery items instead of assuming you should save every pickup for later. Later will not help if you die before reaching it. JINGU AND THE TWO MIA COLONELS Do not begin by chasing Jingu around while both bodyguards shoot you. The two colonels are the first problem to solve. Use movement to reduce the number of firing angles, get close, and use Shot Stopper or another available Heat Action. If ordinary combinations keep missing their evasions, a weapon can give you a more useful reach and another way to secure damage. Focus on removing a guard instead of spreading small amounts of damage across all three enemies. Once one guard is down, there is less interference while you finish the other. They get back up once, now using knives. This is part of the fight, not an endless respawn. Stay ready for the transition QTE and deal with their second phase before settling into a duel with Jingu. Continue keeping the opponents in view. Do not chase one knife carrier into a position where the other is behind you and Jingu has a clear shot. Reposition, use Heat to make an opening reliable, and heal before another interruption can kill you. With the guards gone, Jingu is much easier to pressure. Close the distance, avoid his gunfire and explosives, and punish him rather than giving him the whole arena to retreat through. His recovery aura is blue. Use Brawler's Kiwami finisher or another suitable Heat Action promptly. The fight becomes much more manageable when you stop thinking of Jingu as the only target that matters. Remove the interference first. [Jingu and the colonels](https://supersoluce.com/soluce/yakuza-kiwami/kyohei-jingu) [Finale mechanics](https://dswiipspwikips3.jp/yakuza-kiwami/main-story/chapter13.html) NISHIKIYAMA This is the final fight, but it is also a return to a proper one-on-one battle. No bodyguards need clearing before you can concentrate on the person in front of you. Nishiki has a long health bar spread across multiple sections and hits hard enough that low health is dangerous. Do not turn the cleaner arena into an excuse to trade whole combinations. Let him finish his attack, move around it, and punish. Dragon with Tiger Drop is excellent if you have developed it. Rush into a short combination also works, and the furniture gives Beast something useful to do. You are allowed to use all the tools you brought. His recovery aura is red. If you have Essence of Extreme Dragon, enter Dragon with the required Climax Heat and use it. If not, use an ordinary weapon or environmental Heat Action to interrupt the recovery. You are not locked out of finishing the story because you have not completed Majima Everywhere. There are recovery items in the area. Use them, keep enough health to survive a mistake, and watch the transitions and final button-mashing exchange. The temptation is to rush when the last bar is nearly gone. Resist it. One more safe opening is better than throwing away the entire fight because you wanted the final hit immediately. [Final fight and room transitions](https://supersoluce.com/soluce/yakuza-kiwami/tojo-clan-nishikiyama-family-patriarch-akira-nishikiyama) [Dragon recovery interruption](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/181171-yakuza-kiwami/faqs/75194/heat-actions) IF THE SAME FIGHT KEEPS GOING WRONG Ask what is actually beating you. If it is the crowd, stop tunneling on the boss and clear the support. If it is a blade, stop expecting an ordinary guard to solve it. If it is healing, check your finisher upgrade and save enough Heat. If it is a counterattack, shorten the combination. If two mistakes empty your health bar, spend experience on Kiryu before attempting the same fight again. Weapons, healing items, style changes, and environmental attacks are part of the combat. You do not need to avoid them to prove you understood the game. The goal is to recognize what the fight is asking for, take control of that part, and stop giving the boss the same opening every time. Once you do that, even the fights that initially feel like a wall become something you can work through.