Ryu Ga Gotoku: Beyond The Game would have been better off as an original series.

 

The Ryu Ga Gotoku series of video games has always held a special place in my heart ever since I played the original back in 2005 on the PS2. It's one of my favourite game franchises of all time, even after being disappointed with 7 and Infinite Wealth. So, when it was announced that Amazon were making a TV mini-series about the franchise, I was extremely cautious. After watching it all from start to finish, I was left with very mixed feelings. 

The mini-series re-treads familiar ground as it covers the events of the original game, plus some events that happened prior to it. However, far too much has been changed to call it a faithful adaptation. For example, Nishiki still has a sister in the series, but Yuko's place is taken by Miho, an entirely different character. Like Yuko, Miho wounds up hospitalised, but the circumstances are vastly different. Kiryu in the adaptation, pledges to get the money for a much needed surgery to aid Miho by fighting in an underground arena for Sohei Dojima. Dojima attempts to manipulate Nishiki by falsely claiming that he has found an organ donor and that he shall earn the money needed for the surgery if Nishiki drugs Kiryu and makes him lose the fight. Nishiki attempts this, but is caught and thwarted. It is after he learns that Dojima lied to him, that he begins his infamous downfall. Miho dies before Dojima is killed by Nishiki, which differs from Yuko still being around in the game after the fact. In the game, Nishiki is conned by Matsushige, one of his own subordinates who he enlists to help earn the 30 million yen required to perform the surgery Yuko needs. Matsushige used the money to pay off his debts instead before taunting Nishiki after Yuko's death, which combined with Nishiki's inferiority complex, causes the latter to snap and stab the former to death in a fit of rage. 

The character of Kyohei Jingu and the MIA is completely absent from the adaptation and the large sum of money, which was stolen from the Tojo clan's reserves in the game, is instead stolen from the Omi alliance. This also leads to Yumi's character getting changed a fair deal as she is not the motivation for Nishiki shooting Dojima and thereby, Kiryu going to jail via taking the fall for his best friend. In the game, Yumi pretends to be her own sister, Mizuki, whereas, Aiko is her sister in the mini-series and it's due to her actions that the Omi Alliance goes after the missing money.

Shimano is a completely different character. In the game, he is a massive, bald headed, ruthless and violent patriarch of the Shimano family. The one in the mini-series has a full head of hair, facial hair and is quite cowardly. This change did not sit well with me, although, I think that the Shimano in the adaptation is meant to be an entirely different character anyways. 

I did not enjoy the Florist of Sai being just a money obsessed former crooked cop. Whilst I appreciate getting some form of background for a mysterious figure that holds a ton of information, this was truly disappointing, as was how he was handled altogether. In the games, he was obsessed with gardening, which led to him being labelled the Florist as he gave away police info using flower bouquets. His wife also abandoned him, which is tragic. Makoto Date also was the one to bust him in the game, another element missing in the adaptation. His base was simply in the basement of millennium tower unlike the complex underground facility beneath the city that is accessed through the park in the game. For someone with access to camera's throughout the city, you would also expect him to be able to know when someone is after him. The addition of the underground fighting also takes the place of the coliseum, which is a shame, but I guess it makes it feel more grounded.

Oh! Taiga Saejima also had a baffling appearance for whatever reason. I'm truly not sure what the writers were smoking when they thought that having Saejima in the mini-series show up out of the blue, when he should be in jail by the time of the events of it. He also looked terrible and didn't do much of anything at all.

I could go on and on about every change made, but I want to be at least a little positive. 

There was some great camera shots showcased throughout the mini-series. One of the highlights of the adaptation was the cinematography. Although, at times things might have gotten a little too dark to the point where it was hard to see what was taking place on screen. I loved the top down shot from the final episode where the camera follows Kiryu down the stairs as she surveys the aftermath of carnage in millennium tower. The colour grading was pretty neat too, with the cold blue hues giving it a creepy, tense vibe before the reveal. 

Ryoma Takeuchi did a fine job in what is a difficult role as Kiryu Kazuma. He had a great screen presence, carrying the scenes that he appeared in with tremendous aplomb. I appreciate the fact that he clearly got in tremendous shape for the role, even though he still appeared much smaller in muscle mass than the Kiryu of the games. He had some heavy shoes to fill and he did his best to do so, I can't fault his effort and he seemed cool. He would not have been my first choice for the role, but then again, Kiryu is a tough character to cast with him being so iconic and unique. 

Kenta Kaku is a rising star and his performance showed exactly why. Akira Nishikiyama is a difficult character to portray due to him completely changing personalities after the Dojima incident and Kenta managed to pull off the character transformation incredibly well. He made the downfall of Nishiki a truly tragic tale. I do not fault him for the writing of the finale nor the changes made which I didn't enjoy. 

Munetaka Aoki is a truly underappreciated performer who often gets overlooked due to him rarely being the leading man of his projects. However, he almost always delivers brilliant performances and I was excited to see what he could do as beloved fan favourite, Goro Majima. I was extremely disappointed by just how little of him we got. What we did get, I thoroughly enjoyed, especially hearing him say "Kiryu-chan" like in the game. 

Overall, I can't say that I didn't get any enjoyment out of the adaptation because I did when I binged the entire thing. However, I would honestly recommend playing the games instead as too much is changed and not a lot of it, if even is good. It would have been better off as an original Ip and not using the established and beloved franchise as a platform.