| “ | Rather lose an eye than bow to you, bitch. | „ |
| ~ Goro Majima before losing his eyeball in his past |
Goro Majima (真島 吾朗, Majima Gorō) is a major character in the Yakuza video game series. He is one of the two protagonists of Yakuza 0 (along with Kazuma Kiryu) the first game of the remaster series, a major antagonist in Yakuza and its remake Yakuza Kiwami and a major supporting character for the rest of the series.
In Yakuza 0 Majima was a former member of the Shimano Family, a high ranking fraction of the Tojo Clan, the most influential yakuza in Eastern Japan. He was expelled after refusing to follow orders from a higher up and as a punishment had his eye taken out and was imprisoned in a place called "the hole" where the Tojo Clan keeps prisoners. Majima was kept in The Hole for an entire year and was frequently tortured. After being released from The Hole Majima was placed in Sotenbori under the supervision of Tsukasa Sagawa, a member of the powerful Yakuza: the Omi Alliance and also a close friend of Shimano, the patriach of the Shimano Family. Sagawa made Majima the manager of The Grand, a cabaret club he owned. Majima was determined to rejoin the Shimano Family and Sagawa promised him he would speak to Shimano and get that to happen if Majima murdered a man named Makoto Makimura. It later turned out that Makoto Makimura was actually a blind woman who was being hunted by multiple Yakuzas and so Majima took it upon himself to protect Makoto from the hunting and free her from it. In the end he succeeds, but after being reinstalled into the Shimano Family decided never to see Makoto again to keep her out of Yakuza affairs.
In Yakuza and its remake Yakuza Kiwami, Majima has been granted his own family in the Tojo Clan, the Majima Family that is a division of Shimano's. When ten billion yen is stolen from the Tojo Clan, Majima plans to aquire it and rise to power within the clan. He meets Kazuma Kiryu after he spends ten years in jail and upon seeing that Kiryu has gotten weaker after his sentence harrasses him into fighting him to train him so that one day he may fight and defeat Kiryu at his fullest strength.
In Yakuza 2 and its remake Yakuza Kiwami 2, Majima leaves the Tojo Clan and starts a construction company: Majima Construction. Kiryu persuades Majima to help him prevent the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance going to war as gang warfare in Japan is known to take the lives of multiple civilians and not just those in the gangs.
Goro in the main series is famously voiced by Hidenari Ugaki (宇垣秀成 Ugaki Hidenari). In the English-dubbed version of Yakuza 1, he was voiced by Mark Hamill.
History
While much of Goro's past is unknown, Goro was first seen talking with Taiga Saejima about an upcoming hit on behalf the Tojo clan as they plan to promote the Sasai family to a higher position by launching a hit on the Ueno Seiwa family Patriarch who was released from prison and planning to rebuild his clan. Bringing with him 6 disposable revolvers, they planned a hit with Majima making protests about not telling Yasuko about that both of them are likely to end up in prison for their assassination and Saejima brushing him off. On the day of the hit, however, Majima received a phone call from Shibata as cut a deal with Shimano to forbid Majima going to the assassination as the Dojima Family did not want to hold joint responsibility and letting Taiga going off to make the move that would shake the clan for years to come. Despite his best efforts, he was bested and Shibata uses a dagger to remove one eye from Majima before leaving him at the mercy of the cruel Shimano who was infuriated for his failure to obey orders. But was joined back to Tojo Clan and had the nickname"The Mad Dog of Shimano" and was Patriarch of Shimano Family's Majima Family. He met his rival and friend, Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima. Majima then became the Captain of the Tojo Clan.
Fighting Style
Yakuza 0
Majima makes his canonical playable debut with the ability to switch between different fighting styles never displayed in the series before. Mirroring Kiryu, his has four styles revolving around a default balanced style that is effective in most, if not all situations; a style focused on power that relies on slow but immensely strong attacks and increases resistance to enemy attacks; a style focused on speed to hit enemies quickly while dodging just as fast to avoid being hit; and a secret, legendary fighting style that the character in question will canonically adopt as their fighting style for the rest of the series.
Majima is skilled in the use of many weapons, including nunchaku, swords, knives, and batons. Compared to Kiryu's brute swinging, Majima wields them with proper technique and training.
Balanced - Thug
Majima's canonical style throughout Yakuza 0. A basic yet powerful style relying on rough martial arts and street fighting. Majima's fighting ability is more refined in comparison to Kiryu's, using agile punches and kicks to take down enemies, and later in the game, string together very long combos with the "Combo Boost" set of abilities. This style has many hidden tricks and underhanded abilities, and represents Majima's elegant and professional yet brutal handling of foes as Sotenbori's Lord of the Night. Active abilities and attacks exclusive to Thug are titled "Secret of the Night Lord", with many named after a snake theme. After unlocking a certain ability, Majima is able to gain Heat from simply blocking enemy attacks. Exclusive to Thug is the ability "Insight", allowing Majima to see hidden weapons on enemies as they vividly glow (yellow being melee weapons, while red indicates firearms). He is then able to perform a Heat move that steals said weapons from the enemy in question. The mastery "Red Snake" grants Majima increased damage output when low on health.
As a balanced style that bears blue Heat as with other playable characters' styles, Thug is Majima's counterpart to Kiryu's Brawler style. The theme song for this style is titled One-Eyed Assassin.
Power - Slugger
The second fighting style that Majima learns in the game: A Power style that focuses on brute strength and is marked by Majima's use of a bat. Slow but powerful, Majima emphasizes his skill with a variety of weapons in combination with his simple yet effective metal bat to create an entirely new form of martial arts said to be more dangerous than anything he could achieve with a sword. Many attacks can be charged for maximum damage and the ability to attack through enemies' guards.
Active abilities and attacks exclusive to Slugger are titled "Weapon Master". The Pummeling Bat exclusive to Slugger style has infinite durability among weapons, and not only is it instrumental to the style at a fundamental level, the damage inflicted with it is considerable. Taunting in Slugger style has Majima thrust the bat and spin it, dealing a small amount of damage to enemies from mid-range and knocking them back.
Majima may use other weapons with infinite durability other than the Pummeling Bat, such as Tonfa, 1-Handed Sticks, Poles, and Katanas, though his full moveset lies in the bat alone.
As a power style that bears yellow Heat, Slugger is Majima's counterpart to Kiryu's Beast style. The theme song for this style is titled One-Eyed Slugger.
Speed - Breaker
The third fighting style that Majima learns in the game: A capoeira-like style that combines martial arts and breakdancing. The Breaker style is best known for its ability to quickly stun enemies with a flurry of dance moves, landing hits a very rapid rate with many spinning techniques, as well as its emphasis on Majima's agility and unconventional means of fighting. His movement speed is increased while using this style. Active abilities and attacks exclusive to Breaker are titled "Secrets of the Strut" This style doesn't have a grab; in place of it, he has a back-flipping kick (unlocked with the ability "Rolling Snake"). The "Pose Soul" set of abilities allow Majima to gain Heat from posing during his combos, while "Linger" allows Majima to gain Heat from dancing in place. While in 2nd Gear, Majima can grab downed enemies by their legs, though depending on how strong they are, the enemy is liable to break free and kick Majima down. While he cannot pick up weapons in this style, his wide and fast attacks are likely to send objects within the environment flying, hitting enemies.
As a speed style that bears magenta Heat, Breaker is Majima's counterpart to Kiryu's Rush style. The theme song for this style is titled One-Eyed Dancer.
Legend - Mad Dog of Shimano
The final, optional fighting style that Majima unlocks after finishing the Nightlife Island substory. A style whose moveset is based off Majima's attacks as a boss throughout the series, the Mad Dog style is very elegant yet deadly. In combat, Majima relies on his signature "Shadowblade Knife", utilizing slick and acrobatic fighting techniques. A unique passive ability for this style is "Mad Dog's Darkness", which allows certain upgrades and abilities from Majima's three other styles to be applied to Mad Dog. Active abilities and attacks exclusive to Mad Dog are titled "Mad Dog Tricks". Every combo in Mad Dog style ends with the trick "Savage"; Majima lunges forward, delivers a large slash, and rolls to save his momentum. After Savage, Majima is able to run very fast as long as he does not stop moving, and can even perform "Chomp", a reiteration of Savage that unleashes lunging slash after slash at the cost of Heat per attack. He is also able to cancel out of combos with dodges. While he cannot grab in this style, Majima performs a low sweeping kick, and if he is in 3rd Gear, he will instead use the trick "Frenzy", performing a spinning attack that hits all surrounding enemies and granting him invincibility at the cost of all of his Heat. While blocking, Majima can expend Heat to perform "Shadow Trail": a very quick and long-distance dodge/quickstep that causes him to slide almost instantly and leave a temporary afterimage. He cannot pick up and use environmental objects, but can equip custom knives and swords to integrate into his attacks. His taunt actually drains Heat, but has a chance to restore it as well.
Being the style he takes on later in life, this is similar to Kiryu's Dragon of Dojima style, and bears dark purple and black Heat. The theme song for this style is titled Receive You The Subtype, continuing the tradition of Majima possessing his own incarnation of the first game's main theme Receive You.
Yakuza Kiwami
Majima's default fighting style when fought is the Mad Dog style, but when low on health, he enters Heat mode with another style. In the first encounter at the batting cages, Majima switches to Slugger style, and in the second encounter at Shangri-La, he switches to Thug after he and Kiryu fall through the floor. While they may seem like downgrades, in Yakuza Kiwami, both styles are actually more powerful than Mad Dog.
While in Slugger style, Majima cannot be interrupted during combos unlike Mad Dog, and his heavy damage and wide swings may cause Kiryu to lose large chunks of health if he is caught in a single combo. Two hits from Slugger style are able to break through Kiryu's guard.
While in Thug style, Majima's long-winded and relentless attacks with very few openings can allow him to get many hits in on Kiryu if not careful, while his ability to recover from parries and single hits increases in speed. His dodging speed and distance are also enhanced, allowing him to get behind Kiryu very easily and attack the moment he approaches.
In the Majima Everywhere mode, Majima may utilize all of his fighting styles depending on the encounter, including Breaker.
Yakuza 1 onwards
During most of the series Majima is shown to be a vicious and aggressive fighter, often using his agility and nimbleness to move fast and land precise strikes. He always fights using his favoured knife which he often uses in a chain of combos that must be evaded through specific button input sequences. He is shown to counter quick and can also spin like a tornado while hacking at his opponent. Due to the use of his knife he rarely uses punches and thus his style is a mix of kicks and slashes. Because of his knife it is impossible to block him unless one acquires the necessary skills to parry blades.
Yakuza 5
Majima is somehow capable of creating shadow doppelgangers while he himself turns into a dark figure all of whom can hack at Saejima. It is hinted he is able to create these copies through sheer speed.
Crosspedia Entry
Head of the Majima family, a group directly affiliated with the Tojo Clan.
Once a member of the Shimano Family, his insanely aggressive combat style earned him the nickname "The Mad Dog of the Shimano Family". Although even his own men are reportedly terrified of him, he also brings a kind of purity into the battle, as he appreciates those who can fight well and accept defeat with good grace. He has a strong sense of duty, excellent judgement, and keen instincts.
He lost his eye defending the honor of his blood brother Taiga Saejima. While he is friendly with Kazuma, calling him pet names like "Kazzy", he also views him as his main rival.
Goro has no interest in postion or titles, and he even left the Tojo Clan for a while. It was Kazuma who persuaded him to come back, and he now uses his diverse talents to support the clan once more.
