Trevor Phillips vs Goro Majima (Grand Theft Auto vs Like A Dragon) VS Prediction Blog

"He was indeed a 'monster'. Sanity was no friend of his." 

Trevor Phillips, the psychopathic drug kingpin of Los Santos Goro Majima, the Mad Dog rampaging through Kamurocho

The criminal world can be a dangerous place, with many violent people trying to kill others to get to the top. These two are well known for that, being feared not only for their violence, but also their sheer love of chaos and destruction. But under these fronts lie devious criminals with massive amounts of loyalty to their allies, who put on these masks of insanity to make them unpredictable to the criminal worlds around them. So, in this battle of east vs west crime sandbox games, could Trevor put the Mad Dog of Shimano down for good, or will Majima put an end to this mad man’s rampage? Let’s find out. 

Before We Begin

For Trevor, this blog will be sticking mainly to information within the “HD Universe” of the Grand Theft Auto series, which essentially means anything released before GTA IV is off the table. The world of GTA separates itself into several eras that essentially act as reboots of the continuity of the series, and while there are a couple small nods to earlier games in GTA V, these are mostly just small easter eggs rather than confirmation the games are the same timeline. This will also include details from GTA Online, as the story of it is still officially canon to this universe, as well as whatever supplemental material is out there, though obviously without including stuff added via cheat codes, mods, and such.

As for Majima, this will be discussing all canon material for the Yakuza series, including the mainline titles, the various spin off games and remakes, and other material like the live action movie and stage play, which are a thing if you didn’t know. This won’t include details from definitively non-canon material like Yakuza: Dead Souls or the various special modes in each game, such as the Climax Battles or Ultimate Matches, nor will this feature scaling or equipment from crossovers like Project X Zone 2, Binary Domain, or SEGA Heroes. 

Finally, to be in line with Death Battle’s rules regarding characters with heavy player customization, they will be composited between any variance in player choices in their game’s stories. I’ll also assume all stats are at their peakest naturally possible performance, and all equipment they’re naturally able to receive will be included. Also full spoilers for both series will be found here, so be wary.

(note: this blog is older and might not reflect up to date information regarding these two)

Background

Trevor Phillips

“Me. I'm not rational. I don't care if you're useful or not. I feel like taking you out, so that's what I'm doing”

In the world of Grand Theft Auto, many criminals have made their marks in a variety of locations and timelines. These include the gangbanger Carl Johnson, the Slavic ex-child soldier Niko Bellic, and many others. But No character in the series better embodies the spirit of unrelenting chaos and violence better than a man who built his criminal enterprise off the backs of a betrayal that happened during a seemingly simple bank job just south of Canada. That man is known as Trevor Phillips.

Trevor’s upbringing wasn’t a particularly pleasant one. Born to abusive parents close to the border of Canada, Trevor had many rage issues from a young age, having allegedly beaten up people and teachers over slights. He’d end up sent to a military academy and set to become an Air Force pilot, only to be denied at the last minute due to a psychiatric evaluation. He’d end up becoming a drifter, committing various petty crimes with no real goal in life, until he ended up meeting a fellow criminal named Michael Townley, whom he’d end up saving the hide of after a botched cargo smuggling job, leading to the two forming a criminal partnership and friendship. They’d do various jobs throughout the next few years, becoming infamous bank robbers with a man named Brad and the help of their planner, Lester Crest. However, while this was going on, Michael had ended up falling in love with a stripper named Amanda, and after the two had kids, Michael began to feel as though he ought to be retiring from his criminal life, which caused some friction with Trevor despite their bond.  This all would come to a head during a simple job where the robbing of a cash depot would lead to Michael getting shot and assumed dead, Brad getting arrested, Lester going into hiding, and Trevor being forced to flee, his riches getting seized by the police in the process.

After this, Trevor would flee the authorities and make his way to the rural town of Sandy Shores just south of Los Santos, at which he’d establish a new criminal empire on arms struggling and crystal meth production, which he named Trevor Phillips Industry. He’d affiliate himself with many of the local gangs, gain several lackeys in the form of the paranoid conspiracy theorist Ron, the inexperienced and naive wanderer Wade, and the fairly skilled meth cook Chef. He’d briefly run into an issue where a heist helmed by some mute guys ended in a near arrest, but things would go fine for him until one day when he was railing the girlfriend of some washed up biker gang leader, at which he’d see a new report that seemed to hint his long lost buddy Michael was back from the dead. After taking a moment to take it in, he’d kinda snap, killing the biker gang leader and proceeding to do a massive cleanup of all of the other gangs in Sandy Shores, intending to become the lead criminal in the area before he’d leave to find his now not dead buddy. After cleaning up, he’d take Floyd with him to the city of Los Santos to find Michael, now going by the last name de Santa due to taking a deal with the FIB to hide his identity for witness protection (or so he says).

After the friends reunited, Trevor would end up getting dragged into Michael’s dealing with the FIB on various covert missions, as well as meeting Franklin Clinton, a gangbanger with dreams of making it big that Michael had taken on as a protege of sorts. He’d initially pilot a helicopter that stole a captive from a rival agency for their own torture, which Trevor obliged with, only to let the poor guy go after he was tortured. He’d also help Franklin with some business, managing to get him out of an attempted drug scam. Trevor would then attempt to take a big score of stealing a device from a military tanker ship, only to be stopped by Lester before he could sell it because it was a WMD that could render the entire crew enemies of the state. He’d help Michale with some further jobs for the FIB to rob an armored truck and took a job for a rich billionaire named Devin Weston involving a mass smuggling of cars, before he’d help Michael in a job to kill a witness that would implicate a Mexican cartel boss by the name of Martin Madrazo. However, in negotiations for payment over this, Trevor witnessed Martin mistreating his wife, Patricia. Upset over this and the payment negotiation not going well, he’d assault Martin, cut off his ear, and kidnap his wife, forcing him and Michael to go back to Sandy Shores to wait for the heat to die down. 

While out in the country, Trevor would do more business, as he’d rob a cargo plane, kill some of the survivors of his earlier rampage, and would rob a bank while in bomb suits and carrying a minigun. He’d later end up robbing a train with Michael, but unknown to him, Michael only grabbed a small artifact, intending to use it to repay Martin and let the heat die down. Trevor was reluctant to do this, as he had gained an odd relationship with Patricia, but he’d reluctantly acquiesce to this plan after Michale promised they’d do one last big job: robbing the Union Depository, a central bank and gold storage depot that was infamously unbreakable. Trevor would agree to this, taking over a strip club and surveying the bank, but one talk with Michael over the possibility of breaking Brad out and continuing their crime spree led to an argument, which eventually led to Trevor deducing the truth of the heist that had gone wrong. In reality, Michael had always intended the heist to be a setup, where the FIB would kill Trevor and get him out of his life of crime, only for it to go wrong due to Brad making a misstep. Enraged at this betrayal, Trevor would go back to the site of their heist to confirm the truth by digging up Michael’s grave, finding Brad dead in his place. Michael, who had followed him, would try to explain himself, but Trevor had none of it, and the two would have a standoff that was broken up due to a gang of triads, who were tired of Trevor’s various criminal dealing inadvertently fucking them over. They’d end up capturing Michael, believing he would offer leverage over Trevor, but this new feud led to Trevor ignoring the threat, leading to Franklin being forced to save him from the Triads.

After this, Trevor would reconnect with Michael, and even saved him from a shootout between several government agencies, but with the clear intention of ditching him the second the Union Depository job was over. After the job ends with the crew taking in millions, Franklin was approached by Devin Weston and the FIB agents Michael was working for, and they’d tell Franklin to kill Michael and Trevor respectively. What happens next depends on player choice. In Ending A, Franklin agreed to the plan to kill Trevor, with Michael assisting, and while Trevor did try to run away from them through an oil field, he’d end up crashing into an oil tanker that would engulf him in oil, leading to his death by fire when one of the other two takes the shot. In Ending B, Franklin opts to kill Michael, but Trevor refuses to play along with the betrayal and cuts ties with him after the fact, leaving Franklin to do the deed alone. Finally, in the canonical ending, Ending C, Franklin says nuts to both of those choices and teams up with Michael and Trevor to fight off a mass wave of goons, before they’d go out to kill all the other guys that attempted to betray them, with Trevor killing Steve Haines, the less respectable of the aforementioned FIB agents. He’d then end up kidnapping Devin Weston from his home, and drive him to a cliff on the outskirts of the city, and after the three gave him some parting words, they’d push him in a car he was trapped in into the water below, killing him. After this, Trevor would seemingly go clean, abandoning his criminal enterprises to become a lifestyle coach in Los Santos. Though whether this is a permanent position or just a rest before his next big blowup has yet to be seen, as if there’s one thing Trevor wouldn’t do, it’s stay quiet forever.

Goro Majima

“Forget money. A yakuza ain't worth dust without strength. Ya let that slip, someone else is gonna come gunnin' for your spot.”

In the streets of Tokyo, no one is more feared than the Yakuza Tojo Clan, with many of the families within it running the town and vying for control of the streets. There have been many criminals who have cemented their place in legend thanks to their involvement in the many trials and tribulations the clan has gone through, but not many of the legends the clan has taken under its wing are more feared than the patriarch of the Majima Family, the Mad Dog of Shimano, Goro Majima. 

Though not all legends are legendary forever. Not too much is known about his early life, but at a young life he ended up joining the Yakuza, climbing up the ranks and becoming a prominent member as young as his 20s, along with his blood brother Taiga Saejima, part of a different family. However, one day the two would end up taking a fateful job, where they were to kill the head of a rival family in a hit. On the day of the hit, Majima was approached by his superiors and instructed not to participate, in order to not draw joint responsibility on both of the brother’s families. When Majima refused to abandon Saejima, he’d end up getting captured and tortured, eventually leading to his eye getting gouged out. As this happened, Saejima ended up doing the hit on his own, taking the fallout alone and receiving a death penalty. After this and enduring a year of torture, he’d end up exiled from the Tojo and made to work for a rival in the Omi Alliance, under the blood brothers Tsukasa Sagawa and Futoshi Shimano. He was then instructed that if he ever wanted to rejoin  the Tojo, he’d have to earn 100 million yen as the manager of a cabaret club.

Majima would reluctantly take the job, managing to turn the struggling Cabaret Grand into a staple of nightlife in Sotenbori as its “Lord of the Night”. Though he played nice to the customers and staff, he secretly resented his position, wanting nothing more than to get out from under the thumb of Sagawa. As such, one night when Sagawa threatened to expand the goal, Majima would end up taking a deal to get out of the debt: perform a hit on a man named Makoto Makimura, for unknown reasons. Majima was initially under the assumption that Makoto was a violent pimp, but he’d end up discovering that she was actually a blind girl working under a masseuse that was using her name as an alias. In a moment of blind instinct, he’d end up protecting the girl, inadvertently plunging himself directly into a vast conspiracy to gain some land she had inadvertently inherited. 

This situation led to a lot of suffering that Majima experienced, between watching several people he respected die, getting branded an insubordinate and having multiple manhunts of people trying to kill him, and having Makoto nearly end up captured by the Tojo clan. He’d eventually end up discovering that his tormentors, Sagawa and Shimano, had masterminded their entire plot hinging on Majima not wanting to kill Makoto, and therefore he had been playing into their manipulations from the start, he’d grow a bit despondent and done with his lot in life. However, after Makoto was put into critical condition by the Tojo, something in him ended up snapping. He went on a massive rampage through the headquarters of the Tojo Clan, stopping just short of killing their leader, Sohei Dojima, which he was only brought down from by learning Makoto had recovered and was in a coma. After this, he’d end up manipulating Shimano into letting him back into the clan, and inadvertently leading to Sagawa’s death. He’d then resolve to hide his true self under a veil of insanity, making himself impossible to predict, and therefore impossible to manipulate, inspired by several men who had died throughout his journey. 

Majima would climb back into prominence, becoming a feared criminal throughout the next few years, leading the Majima family in the Tojo Clan. He’d end up briefly getting a fascination with trying to fight another rising star in the Yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu, and would put him through a lot of fights to satisfy his own lust for battle and make sure ten years in the joint hadn’t made him a pussy. After the events of Yakuza 1 ended with Kiryu getting caught in an explosion that blew up a lot of money and the top of the Millenium Tower, Majima would briefly leave the Tojo clan, ostensibly due to having issues with it’s then new chairman Yukio Terada, and made a construction company with his now out of a job family members called Majima Construction to make Kamurocho Hills, a skyscraper even bigger than the Millenium Tower. His leaving was also caused by one of his underlings getting tricked by Dio into nearly starting the big conspiracy of the second game, during which he also briefly reunited with his old flame Makoto, but it’s kind of hard to incorporate that whole deal naturally here so it’s just getting a slight mention. Regardless, when Kiryu ended up wrapped up with the Tojo after Terada’s death and a large conspiracy of a Koreon crime family that the Tojo had wiped out coming back for revenge, he’d reencounter Majima, and the two would fight again, and optionally engage in a bout of tower defense. After all that business was concluded, Kiryu would end up encouraging Majima to rejoin the Tojo, as his recent new appointment of chairman, Daigo Dojima, needed all the help he could get in trying to run the clan as a newcomer. After a year, Kiryu would take his help in unveiling yet another conspiracy involving an orphanage, an international crime ring, and Albert Wesker, which is a long story that he wasn’t a huge part of.

After all that ended, Majima’s family would get involved in a massive conspiracy that pushed his brother, Saejima, into escaping prison and coming to Kamurocho. The two brothers would be reunited, and after a dustup in a batting cage, they’d make up, having both realized neither really betrayed each other during the business with Saejima’s hit. After it was later revealed that the hit wasn’t even one that Saejima killed anyone on due to unknowingly packing rubber bullets (long story), Majima would end up arrested in a complicated scheme by Daigo to get some money from the world’s most epic loan shark, Shun Akiyama, but he’d be released just fine after Saejima was given his own family. Saejima would then end up turning himself in to do the rest of his sentence that didn’t include the death penalty, but he ends up busting out again upon learning that Majima had seemingly died. In reality, Majima had been nearly assassinated during an attempted negotiation with another family and went into hiding, during which he had made contact with an ex of his, Mirei Park, who he dated at some point between Yakuza 0 and 1 and had broken up with due to her not telling him she had an abortion until after she had done it. This contact was an attempt to draw out yet another conspiracy within the Tojo, but long story short, it failed, Park died, and Majima ended up captured and tortured. Saejima would end up forced into a battle with Majima, with the expectation that one of them die or Haruko, Kiryu’s adoptive daughter and then upcoming idol, would be shot by a sniper. However, the oath brothers would fight  to a draw, to give a helpful former baseball player (long story) enough time to beat up the sniper about to kill Haruko, after which this plot fell apart due to various displays of violence. 

Majima would later end up arrested due to the Tojo Clan getting framed for setting fire to part of the city, but that got resolved by Kiryu punching shit (long story). Much later, Majima would end up involved in one last big conspiracy that involved a governor trying to stamp out crime with illicit means (long story). He’d go into hiding once again, fighting some schizophrenic guy and his buddies in the process, which ended in the Tojo clan being forced to dissolve for good. He’d then state he was going to go with some guys to form a more legitimate business in security, though we have yet to see how that plays out. Regardless, whether he’s on the side of the Tojo, the Omi, or on his own, Goro Majima is a legendary fighter that can truly show how dangerous a mad dog rampaging can be.

Intelligence & Skill

Trevor Phillips

Despite his appearances as a violent psychopath, Trevor is actually fairly intelligent. He had been enrolled in a military academy for 4 years, has a college degree in an unknown field, and was set to become an Air Force pilot before he was denied due to a psychiatric evaluation. He regularly demonstrates knowledge of very eloquent words, and once calculated the worth of a cart full of gold bars faster than a bank manager could. His skill is in more than just the academics, as he’s very skilled in all things criminal. He’s run his personal criminal enterprise for years without getting caught by the police, recognised someone he was about to sell drugs to was a narc just from some minor wordings and got away from their attempts to arrest him, and he figured out that a drug dealer had attempted to hand over a fake brick of cocaine. He’s managed to shoot his way through verifiable armies of goons at many points, whether that be gang members, cops, bikers, and even private military soldiers, and he was part of an infamous bank robbing crew that played a part in several heists that earned him millions.

Intelligence & Skill

Despite his appearances, Majima is very intelligent under the surface. He regularly shows a good amount of cunning in social situations, with his unpredictability giving him a leg up over other people as a way to keep himself unpredictable. He’s a surprisingly skilled business owner, as he was able to bring two struggling Cabaret clubs into prominence thanks to his skill in running them, and was later able to run his self-titled construction company well, and this skill has led to his family regularly being seen as the big money earners of the Clan. He’s also a skilled criminal, as he’d been able to work around and recognise many complicated conspiracies, which has led to him being seen as a reliable ally to many top members of the Clan.

Equipment

Trevor Phillips

Weapons

Trevor has about 56 separate weapons available to him. He’s able to swap between them and carry all of them on his person, along with a sizable pool of ammunition for the guns (9999 bullets per gun at the end of the game), and many of them allow for him to further modify them with weapon mods to improve their performance. That being said, nothing that’s exclusive to GTA Online will be on here, as Trevor cannot access them within the story mode, meaning him having access to them is fairly questionable.

Melee

Antique Cavalry Dagger 

Based on knives used in the American Civil War, Though the description says it’s Swiss in origin, so it might be just from the same era. Regardless, I’m surprised it doesn’t just turn to dust from being used as an actual weapon if it is that old.

Baseball Bat

A mainstay for the series, this is an aluminum baseball bat with leather grip that can smack foes very easily. There’s some artwork showing it as a wooden one, but in game this is the only type.

Broken Bottle 

This is a broken glass bottle that, while not as fancy as the other options, can get the job done with killing foes just as easily.

Crowbar

A metal tool whose intended use is prying open boxes, but can pry open skulls just as easily. The color scheme looks familiar, though it might take me half my life to think of why.

Golf Club

An iron used for hitting golf balls pretty far, which is a sport Trevor has some experience in. Though he can use it for the slightly less gentlemanly sport of beating people to death.

Hammer 

A tool with the intended use of hammering in nails that can hammer in skulls easily as well.

Hatchet 

A small easy to conceal ax that can chop into skin far easier than wood.

Knife

Another mainstay for the series, this is a combat knife made of carbon steel and is serrated, to give extra damage. It also can be used underwater, to deal with sharks.

Knuckle Dusters 

A pair of brass knuckles which can give his fist attacks more of an oomph. He can also customize them with a variety of designs, though they functionally all act the same.

Machete 

A modern blade which has a modern finish on a classic design, offering a way to hack apart vegetation or people equally easily. 

Nightstick

A polycarbonate club typically wielded by police officers, and can smack people on both sides of the law pretty well.

Handguns

All of the pistols except for the Marksman Pistol, SNS Pistol, and the Stun Gun can be equipped with a suppressor that silences the noise of the gun at the cost of slightly lowering damage, and all of them except the aforementioned ones and the Vintage Pistol can be equipped with a flashlight for seeing in the dark.

AP Pistol 

An amalgamation of the Colt SCAMP and the OTs-33 Pernach, this high-penetration, fully-automatic pistol fires up to 36 9x18 rounds fairly rapidly, making it the best pistol for drive by shooting.

Combat Pistol 

Resembling a combination of an HK P2000 combined with a Beretta Px4 Storm, this is a semi automatic pistol designed for law enforcement and personal defense use, holding a total of 16 rounds and firing 9mm ACB rounds.

Heavy Pistol 

This is a heavyweight handgun based on the the Entreprise Wide Body 1911, and has a higher range and accuracy than other pistols, though it does have higher recoil that lowers the rate of fire. It can hold up to 36 rounds and has a red dot sight that helps accuracy.

Marksman Pistol 

Based on the Thompson/Center Contender G2, a pistol primarily used for hunting, this is a pistol that has a highly damaging bullet that can penetrate multiple enemies, though it only has a single shot before reloading and is inaccurate at anywhere beyond close range.

Pistol 

Modeled after a Taurus PT92AF, this is a .45 caliber combat pistol with a magazine capacity of 16, which is treated as the stock pistol. Though the other pistols out class it in damage, it’s still a reliable fallback option.

Pistol .50 

Based on a highly modified Desert Eagle, this is a high-impact pistol that delivers immense power, and can hit higher ranges than most pistols, but with extremely strong recoil and a lower maximum clip size at 12 rounds.

SNS Pistol 

Based on a Heckler & Koch P7M10, this is a short range pistol that has the lowest range of any non shotgun and has low damage, as well as having a low clip size of 12 rounds. It’s kind of the worst gun in the game mechanically. 

Stun Gun

Based on a TASER 7, this is an electric stun gun which can shock people with thousands of volts of electricity, bringing them to the ground and even killing basic civilians in the process, which kinda goes against the idea of using a taser in the first place. 

Vintage Pistol 

This custom made pistol is mostly based on the FN Model 1922, and offers roughly middle of the road damage in comparison to the other options, and has a lower clip size of only 14 bullets at a maximum.

Shotguns

All of the shotguns except for the Musket and the Sawed Off Shotgun can be equipped with a suppressor that silences the noise of the gun at the cost of slightly lowering damage and a flashlight for seeing in the dark, and all but the above 2 and the Pump Shotgun can be equipped with a grip that improves accuracy and stability.

Assault Shotgun 

Based on the Turkish shotgun UTAS UTS-15, this is a shotgun that has the unique draw of firing fully automatically, allowing for a quick amount of bullets to be fired at close range. Initially this comes with the drawback of a low clip size, but the extended clip allows for a total of 32 shells to be fired before needing to reload, abiding this weakness.

Bullpup Shotgun

Based on the Kel-Tec KSG, this gun has a lower damage per shot and firing speed than others, but makes up for that by having a higher clip size of 14 and slightly better accuracy when fired.

Heavy Shotgun 

Mainly based on the Russian Saiga 12, this gun has the unique factor of firing slugs instead of pellets, meaning it deals full damage on hit instead of hitting with a bunch of pellets. This makes it better at hitting at range, though it does do less damage overall than a full pellet hit with other shotguns. It also holds a maximum of 12 rounds.

Musket

This is a flintlock musket used at the time of the American Revolutionary War, with it specifically being based on British Brown Bess muskets. It can fire a heavily damaging bullet comparable to sniper rifles which can kill most in one shot and penetrate through up to 4 people, though with the obvious drawback of having only one bullet and needing about 5 seconds to reload.

Pump Shotgun 

This is modeled after the Mossberg 590, and is roughly the average shotgun for the game, offering decent damage at close range with a maximum of 8 shells to a clip.

Sawed-Off Shotgun

Based on a shortened Mossberg 500, this gun offers high damage within close range, and it is compact enough to be fired while riding on motorcycles, though it is limited to just 8 shells a clip.

Submachine Guns/Light Machine Guns

Assault SMG 

Based on a Magpul PDR, this gun is a good all around specializer, firing a maximum of 60 rounds per clip. It can be upgraded with a suppressor, flashlight, and scope to extend its field of view when fired.

Combat MG 

Based on the Mark 48 machine gun, a larger-caliber derivative of the M249, this is a lightweight, compact machine gun that can deal a lot of damage to even aircraft with it’’s massive 200 round clips, though it is slower at reloading and gives a hit to maneuverability.

Combat PDW 

A hybrid weapon primarily based on the SIG MPX and the Heckler & Koch MP5m, this gun has high damage and comes with an in-built suppressor, though it has a lower firing rate that makes it overall a bit less deadly than its contemporaries. It can hold a maximum of 60 rounds a clip, and can be modified with a flashlight, scope, and grip.

Gusenberg Sweeper 

Based on the Thompson Submachine Gun, which is more commonly known as a Tommy Gun, this is famous mainly for its use in 1920s gangster culture. It has high damage per second, but it also has a wider bullet spread and slightly lower magazine capacity at 50 rounds.

Machine Pistol 

Based on an Intratec TEC-9 Mini, this gun is deceptively powerful, having one of the fastest firing speeds among the SMGs. Though it has the drawback of the lowest clip size, only carrying up to 20 rounds before needing to reload. 

MG 

Based on the PK Machine gun, this gun is a decent stock option, and can carry a maximum of 100 rounds per clip.

Micro SMG 

Based on the ever popular in crime fiction Uzi, this gun is the average selection of the SMGs, offering a high rate of fire at the cost of lower damage per shot and low magazine size at only 30 rounds. It can be upgraded with a suppressor, scope, and flashlight.

SMG 

Based on the MP5A3, this is another average SMG. It has a maximum capacity of 60 rounds, and can be modified with a flashlight, scope, and suppressor.

Assault Rifles

All of these can hold a maximum of 60 rounds a clip, and can be modified with a flashlight, scope, and suppressor, as well as a grip for all but the Advanced Rifle.

Advanced Rifle

Based on the CTAR-21, a carbine variant of the Israeli TAR-21, this is a balanced and effective weapon amidst its class, only really having a weakness in reduced overall accuracy and higher spread. It can hold 60 rounds a clip, and can be modified with a flashlight, scope, and suppressor.

Assault Rifle 

Based on the Type 56-2, a Chinese version of the AK-47, this falls a bit behind other options in its class, but can offer better range at long distances. 

Bullpup Rifle 

This is based on a mish-mash of various elements of Chinese assault rifles, including a QBZ-95-1, a Type 86S, a QBZ-95 and a Brazilian LAPA FA-03. It has less damage and accuracy but more damage per shot. 

Carbine Rifle 

This is a combination of elements from various variations on the AR-15, and can be very accurate with a quick rate of fire.

Special Carbine

Based on the Heckler & Koch G36C, this gun has a high rate of fire at slightly higher damage per shot.

Sniper Rifles

These rifles can all be equipped with thermal vision, which is normally inaccessible to the player in free roam, but they can be used on certain missions, which means Trevor should be able to use it in a situation where gameplay mechanics aren’t restricting him.

Sniper Rifle

Based on the AW-F Arctic Warfare, this rifle offers an ability to fire at up to 1500 meters away in game, which is almost a mile away, though the real life equivalent can fire from over double that at 3,943 meters. It can carry 10 rounds a clip, though it does need a moment per shot to change the bolt, and can be equipped with a suppressor and an advanced scope, offering more of a zoom.

Heavy Sniper

Based on the high caliber Barrett M82 rifle, this gun can fire faster and far more powerful shots than the stock Sniper at the same in-game range, able to one shot anything in the game and significantly damage even vehicles. Though it has a lower clip size at 6 maximum. It can also equip the advanced scope as above.

Marksman Rifle

Based on the M39 EMR, this rifle has a lower damage per shot and scope magnification than either of the above options, though it does have a high firing speed, making it better at dealing with medium ranges than the other snipers. It has a maximum of 16 shots per clip and can be equipped with a flashlight, suppressor, and grip.

Heavy Weapons

Rocket Launcher

Based on the RPG-7, this is a heavily destructive weapon that launches an explosive rocket capable of destroying most vehicles in a single shot, including planes and helicopters.

Homing Launcher 

 Based on the SA-7 Grail, this fires a rocket, which uses an inbuilt computer to track and home in on anything it’s aimed at, which even includes planes. It’s possible to dodge them, but this is difficult with anything but the fastest of aircraft.

Firework Launcher 

Built out of what appears to be random junk, this fires rockets into the sky and really isn’t built to do much more than that. Though they can still bring an unarmored opponent to half health. 

Grenade Launcher 

Based on the Milkor MGL multi shot launcher, this fires a pipe bomb in a small arc, instantly detonating on hitting people or vehicles, and otherwise detonating 1 second after hitting the ground. It can hold up to 10 40mm grenades a clip, and can be modified to include a grip, flashlight, and scope.

Minigun

Modeled after the M134 Minigun, this is a devastating 6-barrel machine gun which fires at 3000 rounds per minute and does not need to reload, just taking bullets from its ammo pool directly. They can cause vehicles to explode in just a couple shots and shred through the health of any people faced with it.

Railgun 

This high tech weapon fires kinetic energy penetrator rounds at speeds faster than most bullets, launching them hard enough to create a small explosion that can kill enemies and destroy vehicles in one shot. 

Thrown Weapons

For all of the objects listed here besides the Jerry Can and the Proximity Mines, Trevor can carry up to 25 of them at a time.

Grenade

Based on the M61 grenade, this is something he can toss behind cover that will explode shortly after. Trevor can “overcook” them to make them explode faster by holding them in place for a bit before throwing, though doing it too long will make them explode on him.

Jerry Can

Using this, Trevor can spread around a trail of petrol, which will ignite into flames when shot at. Though the can itself can explode if it’s shot at.

Molotov Cocktail

An ignited beer bottle which on impact, will spread out a two meter wide area of flames, which can cause anyone who steps in it to be lit alight. 

Proximity Mine

This is a motion sensing landmine that can be placed on the ground to explode whenever someone walks close to it, or on a car to explode whenever someone attempts to drive it. They’re as powerful as his other bombs, but he can only carry 5 of them at a time.

Sticky Bomb

This is a C4 explosive that can be placed on any surface, which it will stick to, and can then be remotely detonated at will. Up to 20 of these bombs can be placed and be active at once, and when activated, they will all successfully detonate in the order they were placed.

Tear Gas

This is a gas grenade that will expand a cloud of tear gas, intended to force people out of areas, as prolonged exposure within the cloud will eventually cause asphyxiation and death.

Vehicles

Now it would obviously be a bit much to discuss literally every single vehicle in the game, so I’m only going to be including vehicles he ends up having the possession of himself at some point in the story mode of the game. Additionally, all of them can be upgraded with various modifications, but that’s not too relevant to them from a VS stance, so this will be a more general overview of them. 

Bodhi

Trevor’s main vehicle of choice, this is a truck that has good off road capabilities and acceleration, though the fact the top is open does leave him open in gunfights, and it does occasionally show itself to have ignition problems.

Hot Rod Blazer

Given to Trevor by Ron if he survives the final mission, this is a custom quad bike that has good all around stats, though the sensitive turning and low stability can make it easy to go flying if it crashes.

Faggio

This is a scooter which Trevor can be riding in a red color when swapping to him, during which he is chasing another guy on a scooter and proclaiming them to be “scooter brothers”. This is a reference to a fairly famous GTA 4 video of someone doing the same. As it is a scooter, it’s not really as good as most other bikes in the game, but it is funny. 

Ruffian

A bike which Trevor stole during the Paleto Score Setup, which he used to race Michael away from the bank. It’s one of the fastest bikes in the game, though it does suffer a bit in terms of cornering ability.

Sanchez (livery)

A dirt bike which Trevor used to chase down a crashing passenger plane, and later to board the Merryweather train. Technically he did destroy it in the later instance, but it’s fairly common in his area so he could get access to it very easily, so whatever. It’s basically what you’d expect from a dirtbike, having decent acceleration and being good off road.

Speedo

A black cargo delivery van which has bulletproof tires, which he can be seen using in certain character swap scenes. It is a staple of any shady business deal, and offers decent speed and power for a van. 

Super Diamond

A fancy white car which Trevor can get after optionally saving a groom from being literally tied up on his wedding day during a random event. It has very high acceleration and speeds, and is pretty durable in crashes, but its handling is pretty poor.

Frogger

A helicopter which was initially used as part of an FIB mission, which Trevor stole and personalized as payment, and would be used for most missions going forward. It can fly pretty fast, carry up to 4 people, and has a winch that can lower people down.

Cuban 800

A red light twin-engine plane which he initially got in claiming an airfield from bikers, and would later use for several gun and drug running side activities. It’s mainly used for transport and air dropping illicit materials, but one time he used it as an improvised bomber to blow up people. 

Other

Body Armor

Bullet proof vests which Trevor can put on to negate a certain amount of damage. The best of them is Super Heavy Armor, which gives an extra 100% armor bar, meaning it essentially gives him a second health bar. 

Parachute

This lets Trevor float down from far heights safely. He can carry up to 2 at a time, and he is able to fire one handed weapons while floating down, though the chute itself can be shot to send him plummeting down.

Goro Majima

Demonfire Dagger

This is Majima’s most iconic and recurring weapon, used as part of his Mad Dog of Shimano. It is a tantō, a traditional Japanese short sword with a covering for the blade. He shows a lot of skill with the blade, whether that be slashing, stabbing, or tossing it into people.

Pummeling Bat

Used in Slugger Style, this is an unbreakable metal bat which he shows a good amount of skill with, often tossing it around in ways clearly not intentional.

Baseballs

On the topic of the sport, in the movie, not only does Majima spend a decent amount of time using a bat as a weapon, which is interesting considering it came out 8 years before Yakuza 0 and Kiwami would make that more of a regular part of his arsenal, but he also shows proficiency in hitting the balls hard enough to hurt people. (also if you’re wondering why his eyepatch is wrong, basically the guy who was playing Majima was blind in his right eye and they just thought it’d be easier to swap the eyepatch instead of making him act blind)

Disguises

As part of the Majima Everywhere system of Yakuza Kiwami, Majima took on a variety of outfits to disguise himself to kill Kiryu, including a police officer, a zombie, a gaudy idol, a taxi driver, the mysterious Hannya-Man, and the lovely hostess Goromi. 

Vehicles

Majima’s utilized several different vehicles over the years. In the original game, he drives a truck into the Shangri-La soapland, and he would later drive a pink one to save Kiryu from a group of agents. He also once hijacked a taxi to get Kiryu to fight him. 

Construction Helmet

Seen in the second game, Majima wore one of these for the entire game due to now running a construction company. It’s presumably pretty hard.

Inventory

In Yakuza 0, since he is a playable protagonist, Majima is able to carry a variety of objects with him, most of which was sourced from the weapon shop Dragon & Tiger, which allowed him to send out agents to find stuff worldwide. He has 15 slots in 0 to put his equipment in, meaning he can potentially get up to 25 weapons and equipable objects, with the others being in a storage system accessed by going to a payphone somehow. While he hasn’t utilized a lot of these since Yakuza 0, there’s no reason to assume most of them aren’t stuff he would still have access to. Also there are certain objects that Kiryu gets, but the game allows for swapping equipment between them, so he’d also get access to them. The full list of items he can use is here, so this is going to stick mainly to the highlights.

Other Melee Weapons

In Yakuza 0, Majima is capable of wielding a variety of other weaponry. He can swap between 3 weapons at a time, but he has to manually go into the inventory to pull out others, so out of gameplay he could likely swap between as many as he wants. What is a problem is that most of the weapons listed here have a limited durability, and those that aren’t are relatively weaker. But in the interest of being a bit more concise with this, I’ll give a big list of most of them now since they don’t really offer too much to discuss individually.

• Pipes/Batons - Lumber, Iron Pipe, Superalloy Pipe, Sturdy Iron Pipe & Extremely Sturdy Iron Pipe (unbreakable), Police Baton (can stun on hit), Modified Police Baton (can stun & Shock on hit)

• Umbrellas - Gentleman's Umbrella, Colorful Parasol (causes random effects on hit), Antique Oilpaper Umbrella (cause knockback on hit)

• Blackjacks - Blackjack, Ballbuster (cause knockback on hit), Golden Blackjack (cause knockback on hit & gives extra money when defeating enemies)

• Daggers - Dagger, Masterwork Dagger, Legendary Shintogo, Goemon, Dragon God Short Sword

• Knives - Sturdy Knife & Extremely Sturdy Knife (unbreakable), Butterfly Knife, Super Spicy Knife (burns on hit)

• Broadswords - Chinese Broadsword, Lotus Clan Broadsword, General Guan's Broadsword

• Stun Guns (all shock on impact) - Old Stun Gun, Stun Gun, Hyper Stun Gun

• Bats - Extremely Sturdy Bat (unbreakable), Metal Bat, Spiked Bat (can stagger on hit), Patriarch's Bat (prevents accidentally striking walls, Superalloy Bat, (can block bullets when blocking), Legendary Kinryu Bat

• Golf Clubs - Wooden Driver, Metal Iron, Patriarch's Driver, Dragon Driver

• Swords - Sturdy Wooden Katana & Extremely Sturdy Wooden Katana (unbreakable), Wooden Katana, Nameless Katana, Yoshiyuki, Photon Blade Prototype (can stun on hit), Sakura Storm, Sacred Wooden Katana (more powerful with low health), Sunburst (can knockdown on hit), Morning Tempest (cause knockback on hit), Dragon Slayer, Celestial Steed, Ama no Murakumo (shoots shockwave projectiles)

• Hammers - Sturdy Iron Hammer & Extremely Sturdy Iron Hammer (unbreakable), Big Festival Fan (cause knockback on hit), Iron Hammer, Warning Sign (can break guard), Fortune Mallet , Frozen Tuna, Raging Dragon Hammer

• Longswords - Yagyu Greatsword, Exorcism Greatsword (more powerful with low health)

• Staffs - Long Lumber, Sturdy Pole & Extremely Sturdy Pole (unbreakable), Six-Fluted Pole, Collapsible Steel Staff, Sacred Wooden Staff, Thunder God Staff (can shock on hit)

• Spears - Assassin's Spear, L Photon Blade Prototype, Cleaving Pole, Great Marlin (More powerful with low health), Mighty Dragon Spear

• Knuckles - Brass Knuckles, Sturdy Brass Knuckles & Extremely Sturdy Brass Knuckles (unbreakable), Steel Knuckles, Konpeito (More powerful in fights with more enemies), Dragon Grudge Fists

• Bagh Naka (Indian Spiked knuckles designed to be covert) - Bagh Naka & Tiger Bagh Naka (stagger on hit), Assassin's Bagh Naka (poison on hit)

• Unorthodox - Modified Lighter (can burn on hit), Modified Deluxe Lighter (can burn & shock on hit), Bottomless Lighter (unbreakable, can burn people), Modified Bottomless Lighter (unbreakable, can burn & shock people), Slime Spray (can slip people on hit), Venom Spray (can poison on hit), Table Salt, Master Ball, Firecracker, Steel Business Card

• Tonfa - Sturdy Tonfa & Extremely Sturdy Tonfa (unbreakable), Wooden Tonfa, Carbon Tonfa, Steel Tonfa, Slashing Tonfa (can stagger on hit), Steel Crowbar, Yinglong Tonfa, Dragon Horn

• Nunchaku - Sturdy Nunchaku & Extremely Sturdy Nunchaku (unbreakable), Wooden Nunchaku, Carbon Nunchaku, Frozen Sardines, SPARK 15000V (shock on hit), Sickle Nunchaku, Daikon Nunchaku, Dynamite Nunchaku (cause knockback on hit), Dragon Nunchaku, Baiken

• Kali Sticks - Sturdy Kali Sticks & Extremely Sturdy Kali Sticks (unbreakable), Double Slats, Wooden Kali Sticks, Spiked Taiko Sticks, Double Feathered Fans (stun on hit), Twin Dragon Sticks, Musashi's Wooden Katana

• Dual Swords - Double Chinese Broadswords, Guan & Lotus Broadswords

Ranged Weapons

These guns all have infinite durability, but have a limited amount of bullets they can fire 

Handguns

• Modified Model Gun - Based on the SIG-Sauer P226, and the name implies it’s a modified airsoft gun that is firing actual bullets, with a clip of 10 rounds.

• Drow-Z - A tranquilizer gun that can cause people hit by it to go to sleep, and can carry 18 rounds a clip.

• 9mm Automatic Pistol - Based on the Makarov PM, it can hold 10 bullets and is used by most members of the Yakuza throughout the series.

• Antique Gun - Based on the Colt 1860 Army revolver, it has 6 bullets and made a previous appearance in the Edo period set spin off Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin!

• Double Action Revolver -  Based on a Nambu Model 60/Smith & Wesson Model 36 hybrid revolver, it has 6 bullets and is typically used by police officers throughout the series.

• Mr. Random - A colorful pistol which can cause random effects when shot at people, including knockback, shock, and poison, and has 25 bullets in its clip.

• Tiger's Bane - A powerful pistol said to have the stopping force to fell a tiger in one shot, which has 10 bullets.

• Golden Pistol - After defeating Amon, you gain access to this, which is quite powerful and has infinite ammo.

Shotguns

Most of these are based on the Baikal MP-133 shotgun

• Slime Gun - A sawed off shotgun which can slip enemies hit by it and can burn through Mr Shakedown’s health. Can carry 16 shells in a clip. 

• Zap Gun - Another sawed off shotgun which can shock enemies hit by it, and can likewise melt through Mr Shakedown’s health. Can carry 18 shells in a clip.

• Smoke Gun - A launcher originally used to fire smoke cartridges, but some sort of modification now allows it to fire rounds that cause small smoke explosions that lead to heightened knockback. Can carry 20 rounds.

• Golden Shotgun - This gold plated shotgun has 99 shells and can double money earned from defeating enemies, though its damage can leave something to be desired.

• Broken M1985 115 - A broken full stock shotgun which can carry 10 rounds.

• Expulsion S-12 - A stronger full stock shotgun which can carry 18 rounds.

• MJM56-55 Exorcist - A pretty powerful full stock shotgun which can carry 21 rounds and looks similar to the shotgun he used in the non-canon Dead Souls. 

• Golden Rifle - This gold plated Coach Gun which, despite the name, is a double barrel shotgun that is pretty powerful and somehow carries 12 rounds.

Launchers

These are literal 17th century naval cannons Majima pulls out of nowhere to blow up people. Somehow. They are pretty bulky, but they definitely pack a punch.

• Marlin Cannon - An actual fish that can somehow launch up to 7 cannonballs, though it is the weakest of the three in terms of damage.

• Cannon - The standard cannon, which can launch up to 4 shots.

• Destroyer of Lands - A special engraved cannon which takes a bit to fire, but that blast is the strongest of the three. It can carry 5 shots.

Gear

You can only equip one of these at a time. Some of them offer differing amounts of defense, but I’m going to opt to only list the ones that have specific effects and separate them by that since it’s more interesting.

• Resistance to slashing attacks - Fighter's Binding, Fearless Binding, Chain Mail, Antique Chain Mail, Chain Shirt

• Resistance to stunning attacks - Regal Chain Shirt

• Resistance to bullets - Celestial Garb, Jet Black Jacket

• Resistance to fire - Fireproof Shirt, Metal Jacket

• Resistance to shock & gain more money on defeat of enemies - Insulated Shirt 

• Resistance to all of the above - Dragon Shirt

• Resistance to being grabbed - Training Gear

• Resistance to bullets & double weapon durability - Dragon Mail, Military Jacket

• Resistance to slashing & bullets - Makoto Surcoat

• Reduces money loss against Mr Shakedown - Secret Stash Binding

• Reduces Heat loss due to being attacked - Fur Belly Warmer, Dragon's Binding 

• Reduces Heat loss due to time - Battle Mail

• Gain more money on defeat of enemies - Lucky Binding, Gambler's Binding, Avarice Shirt, 

• Increased thrown weapon damage and knockback on enemies - Baseball Shirt , Yakuza Training Gear

• Lowers defense but causes heat to rise faster - Bloody Binding

• More attack power with more enemies - Elder's Belly Warmer

• Allows quicker switching of styles - Quick-Change Clothes

• Causes other enemies to fall when you fall - Tour T-Shirt

• Damages enemies who damage you - Wild Shirt

Accessories

You can only equip two of these at a time. Much like above, I’m only listing the ones that have specific effects and separate them by that since it’s more interesting, and leaving out a few that wouldn’t really be that relevant to a fight.

• Resistance to stun - Headgear

• Resistance to slashing - Gauntlets

• Resistance to bullets - Bulletproof Glass Amulet

• Resistance to foot sweeps - Steel Shin Guards, High-Tech Shin Guards

• Increased thrown weapon damage & resistance to slashing - High-Tech Arm Guards

• Reduces money loss when defeated by Mr Shakedown - Secret Wallet, Security Wallet

• Increases thrown weapon damage - Springy Arm Guards

• Increases Weapon Damage - Amon Sunglasses

• Increases damage of Thug Style - Thug’s Necklace 

• Increases damage of Breaker Style - Breaker’s Necklace

• Increases damage of Slugger Style - Slugger’s Necklace

• Increases damage of Legend Style - Mad Dog Collar

• Causes enemies get angrier - Rage Ring

• Causes enemies to hang back instead of rushing you - Tattered Scarf, Goddess of Children Amulet

• Causes enemies to attack more frequently in battles - Champion's Ring

• Causes random encounters to not see you as well - Head Honcho Scarf

• Causes random encounters to not happen at all - Beads of Good Fortune

• Drunkenness goes away faster - Alertness Hood

• Silences the sound of you running - Silent Shoes

• Enemies have a hard time escaping being grabbed - Hercules Gloves

• Makes annoying sound that makes enemies spot you faster - Mew Shoes

• Drains Heat from enemies he grabs - Leech Gloves

• Recovers health when standing still - Tourmaline Bracelet, Magnetic Necklace

• Will allow him to survive a mortal blow with 1 HP, destroying the stone in the process - Sacrifice Stone, Stone of Enduring

• More attack power with more enemies and lower health - Payback Ring

• Causes enemies to swarm you in battle - Charismatic Photo, Charismatic Autobiography

• Prevents Heat from increasing during battle - Calming Towel

• Enemies will show up on the minimap - Encounter Finder

• Heat will increase when health is low - Berserker Charm

• More damage on thrown enemies - Black Belt

• More attack power and Heat while drunk - Boozer Belt

• Escape grabs easier - Immovable Belt

• Double Weapon Durability - Sprite Belt

• Causes other enemies to fall when you fall - Collateral Damage Belt

Consumables

He has a separate inventory for consumables, which can hold up to 20 individual items at once in Yakuza 0, but this got buffed to 5-10 of each item in Kiwami 2. He can consume any of these at any time for sustenance. There’s a lot of stuff here, but not a lot of it is stuff that needs specific elaboration, so the full list of them is here, and I’ll just be sticking with highlights.

• Toughness Lite/Z/ZZ/Emperor/Infinity - Heals him progressively more, with Infinity being to max

• Tauriner /+/++/Maximum - Raises Heat progressively more, with Maximum being to max

• Staminan Light/X/XX/Royale/Spark - Heals and raises heat progressively more, with Spark being to max

• AppStimRx - Lowers health

• Tatsu Brand Drink - Bring Heat to max

• Incomparable Habu Drink - Bring Health and Heat max

• Various food - Heals

• Various alcoholic drinks - Heals and make him drunk

• Super Turmeric No. 1, Suntory Oolong Tea, 7 Up, Mountain Dew - Heals and brings drunk levels down

• Legendary Drinker of Ryukyu - Brings drunk levels down significantly

Abilities

Trevor Phillips

Brawling Skills

Trevor regularly shows a decent grasp of punching blokes, regularly able to knock out people in a single punch, and he was implied to have won many bar fights.

Weapon Mastery

Trevor shows a great amount of skill in the usage of weapons, as he can accurately shoot with any of the various guns he gets his hands on. He’s also skilled at taking cover and even blind firing fairly accurately somehow.

Stealth

GTA V characters are able to use stealth to sneak up on people and knock them out in a single hit. Trevor has used this several times despite his usual tactics, as he’s used it to sneak into a biker camp to blow them all up, sneak into a celebrity’s mansion to steal clothes for some old guys that made a celebrity museum, and to optionally sneak into Devon Weston’s mansion to kidnap him.

Vehicular Mastery

As it is in the name of the game, Trevor is naturally pretty adept at driving, able to drive all sorts of cars, trucks, bikes, motorcycles, and other land vehicles pretty well. He can make good car chases against people, sometimes gunning down people as he does so, regularly manages to make it away from massive police chases, boarded a train by riding a bike on top of it, kept up a chase on two guys in supercars while posing as cops, and he can optionally win several street races against other drivers. Thanks to his past as a pilot, he’s also very good at flying, as he managed to take off in a plane while under fire, outmaneuvered military pilots in helicopters while in one not capable of fighting, and flew a crop duster fast enough to intercept a military weapons transport plane. Finally, he’s pretty good when it comes to sea travel, as he’s stolen and piloted a submarine, and is also capable of outrunning police while on the sea. 

Regeneration

By standing still or getting behind cover, Trevor can slowly regenerate up to half of his health bar. He can also do it by going to a soda machine, driving an ambulance, or sleeping, but those obviously are not going to be advised in a fight.

Goro Majima

Master Martial Artist

Majima has regularly shown a lot of skill in fighting. Even in his youth he’s taken on large groups of enemies on his own with little issue, and he regularly keeps up with guys that have casually done the same. He defeated Lao Gui, who was described as the deadliest assassin in all of Asia, and bested a younger Komaki, who is one of the most legendary fighters in the world, and later taught Kiryu many of his more infamous tricks, like the legendary Tiger Drop.

Fighting Styles

In Yakuza 0 and Kiwami, Majima has 4 distinct fighting styles that he can swap between. Each of them offers several drawbacks and benefits, and they all can be devastating to face.

Thug Style

Majima’s main fighting style for most of the events of 0, this is a basic yet powerful style relying on rough martial arts and street fighting, utilizing a variety of underhanded tricks like bone breakers, counters, and pressure point attacks. It’s the most balanced of his styles. He’d also get some pointers from the master martial artist Sotaro Komaki, who’d later teach Kiryu many of his moves.

Slugger Style

Learned from Fei Hu, a specialist in acquiring and using equipment, this style uses a baseball bat and several other weapons in order to create a massively powerful form. Though it does have a drawback in that many of the stronger moves require a bit to charge up, and he can be left open if he whiffs a strike.

Breaker Style

Learned from a set of street performers led by Areshi, this allows him to utilize a combination of martial arts and breakdancing to overwhelm foes with a massive amount of unpredictable spinning and movement, essentially weaponizing his agility itself. Though it does rely heavily on momentum, needing to build up a bit to get into the devastating moves.

Legend / Mad Dog of Shimano Style

This is Majima’s ultimate style in 0, and would become his main fighting style for the rest of the series. The style is very elegant and chaotic yet deadly. Majima relies on his signature Demonfire Dagger in this style, utilizing slick and acrobatic fighting techniques to confuse and disorient his opponents as he slashes them up, and can be seen as the culmination and combination of all of his other styles, combining the underhanded tactics of Thug, the weapon expertise of Slugger, and the unconventional movements of Breaker

Acrobatics

Majima’s most notable skill is his agility. He’s able to jump through the air, flip around, move quick enough to leave afterimages, quickly dash across short distances, and twirl around fast enough to become a spinning top of death. 

Stealth

Despite how loud he can get while fighting, Majima has demonstrated a surprisingly strong mastery of stealth. In his youth, he was able to move with Makoto around a group of gangsters looking for her, even managing to sneak up on and eliminate a few of them himself. More infamously, he can sneak up and get the drop on Kiryu in several ways.

Power Mimicry 

During Yakuza 0, Majima and Kiryu end up learning two of their fighting styles from watching others perform them. And in other games, several other characters demonstrate the ability to learn a fighting move just by watching people do a similar action.

Accelerated Development

In Yakuza 0, the level up system takes the form of the two literally investing in themselves, by putting real world money into their energy somehow. I don’t know how this works, but it does. 

Dragon Twister

Seen in Kiwami 2’s Clan Creator mode, this ability when activated allows him to send out a small tornado of wind to blow away foes.

Aura Clones

First seen in Yakuza 5, Majima activates this ability to create 4 clones of himself that can attack on their own, as he engulfs himself in a glowy aura that lets him blend in with them. The clones all die in one hit, and despawn if Majima himself takes a hit.

Forms

Trevor Phillips

Red Mist

When activating this, Trevor will enter an enraged state in which he does double damage to enemies while taking half damage himself. The main benefit is that it also allows him to endure events that would otherwise kill him, like explosions or being set on fire, effectively making him invulnerable. Though he is only immune to the actual damage itself, meaning he still gets physically knocked back by explosions, for instance. When maxed, the mode lasts for about 30 seconds before receding. The bar can be refilled by taking damage, scoring headshots or explosion kills, and maintaining high speeds in vehicles

On Rampages, he enters a special state where he’s completely invulnerable for a period of time, and can trigger the normal rage state to get the damage boost. Though it is unclear how long the potential time limit of this is, as well as if he could just trigger the state at will.

Goro Majima

Heat Mode

Heat is a power most Yakuza characters can tap into, with playable characters using it in a gauge that goes up as you deal and take damage, and are able to unleash devastating attacks by spending it. As boss, he ends up entering a special mode when at low health where he increases his strength and speed while emitting an energy aura, which is usually purple. He can also heal himself using heat, though it does leave him open for a counter attack.

Feats

Trevor Phillips

Overall

• Ran a successful drug enterprise for many years

• Successfully played a part in many heists

• Regularly escapes from cop chases and military outposts

• Wiped out the Lost MC, the O’Neils, and the Aztecas

• Killed Johnny Klebitz, Terry Thorpe, Clay Simons, Steve Haines, Joe & Josef

• Knows when the Merryweather fleet is here, bro

(Note: some of the in-game feats will have clips showing them be done by other characters, but Trevor mechanically controls the same as them, so he is capable of them as well.)

Power

• Overpowered Johnny Klebitz and stomped on his head hard enough to crush his skull 

• Knocks out fully grown men in a single punch

• Dug up a grave in frozen ground in a relatively short amount of time

• Pushed a cart full of gold bars

• Can knock out Michael & Franklin in one hit

• Can pick up and throw people over bridges

• Can hit vehicles hard enough to dent metal and eventually cause mechanical damage

• Can physically kill a variety of wild animals, including cougars, sharks, and killer whales 

• Casually carries a variety of heavy weapons

• Blew up a house by leaving a gas trail to the meth lab below it

• Explosives are typically able to destroy cars in a single blast (0.01 tons of TNT)

• Can destroy the doors to armored vehicles 

• 4 sticky bombs were able to blow up a freighter ship hard enough to sink it

• 2 sticky bombs caused a chain reaction that blew up several floors of a skyscraper (0.32 tons of TNT)

• Plane bomb can cause this much damage (0.42 tons of TNT)

Speed

• Can dodge rockets fired by RPGs (Mach 0.9)

• Air Force pilots are typically trained to react up to Mach 2

• Can pilot to dodge homing rockets

• Can pilot and maneuver the P-996 LAZER, and the IRL plane based on it can hit a top speed of Mach 2.05 

• Homing Launcher is based on the SA-7 Grail, which can launch rockets at 430-500 m/s (Mach 1.2-1.4)

• Miniguns have a muzzle velocity of 853 m/s (Mach 2.4)

• Railgun can fire at 2000 m/s (Mach 5.8)

Durability

• Can survive a variety of violent car crashes

• Can survive getting shot with all the guns of the game

• Can survive being set on fire

• Crashed a plane into another plane

• Jumped off a bridge into water from a train about to crash

• Red Mist enables him to tank attacks he’d otherwise die to, including his own explosives

Feats

Overall

• Became Patriarch of the Majima family

• Led Club Sunshine to defeat the Five Stars monopoly on clubs

• Kept up with Kiryu Kazuma & Ichiban’s Party

• Stalemated Taiga Saejima twice

• Defeated Hiroki Awano, Lao Gui, Kei Ibuchi

• Caused an economic recession

Power

• Broke a neon sign over a man’s head.

• Same, with a bicycle.

• Hits a guy with a baton so hard he flips

• Kicked a man over a railing

• Catches a sword in his teeth and holds it against a person swinging down.

• Punches a man hard enough that he flies back and knocks over two other guys.

• Punches a man several feet back after taking a stab in the stomach.

• Lifted a Manhole Cover

• Nearly beat a man to death with an umbrella

• Nearly beat a man to death with a bat

• The man did seem to die in the original version of the scene 

• Hit the back of a guy’s head hard enough to send a baseball that was about to hit his face flying out of the batting cage

• Smacked a baseball hard enough to rapidly spin on another guy’s face and knock him out

• Knocked out two guys wearing helmets

• Smacked a hole in a wall with a bat

• Slammed Kiryu into a door hard enough to shatter the glass on it

• Punched hole in the floor of a building that led into the basement (0.13-0.39 tons of TNT)

Speed

• Moves fast enough to leave an afterimage trail

• Dodged spikes tossed by Lao Gui

• Dodged a near point blank pistol shot from Lao Gui (Mach 9.42)

• Dodged close ranged pistol shots from Kei Ibuchi (Mach 9.53)

• Dodged yet another pistol shot from a random mook (Mach 9.79)

Durability

• Taken hits from Kiryu and Saejima

• Can survive all of this and get back up seconds later no worse for wear

• Survived getting his eye gouged out

• Endured a year of non-stop torture

• Close to a car bomb going off

• Laughed off being hit in the head by a pitching machine

• Took hits from Awano, who can punch hard enough to leave a crater in a wall

• Shot in the gut before falling into the ocean and was fine with some bandaging

• Crashed a truck through the front door of a building

• Jumped out a window and crashed into stuff offscreen

Scaling

Trevor Phillips

Michael & Franklin

The other two playable protagonists of GTA V. The three protagonists mechanically move the same and are generally capable of the same feats in gameplay, along with having the same weaponry. Trevor is also typically portrayed as the strongest of the three in direct combat, implying he’s also superior to them physically.

• Michael shot down a private jet with a sniper rifle

• Michael endured torture from the triads

• Franklin survived getting atomically roasted by Lamar

• Franklin was in close range to an explosion and was only briefly knocked out

The GTA Online Protagonist

The protagonist of GTA Online, which takes place both before and after the events of GTA V, for some reason. Much like Michael & Franklin, the GTA Online protagonist mechanically moves the same as them, along with having a lot of the same weaponry. 

• Can fly a jet fast enough to dodge satellite laser blasts (0.128 c) (See Before the Verdict)

Niko, Johnny, & Luis

The first thing Trevor does is easily kill Johnny Klebitz, who was one of the protagonists of GTA 4’s story expansions. While it is unclear if he was still as strong as he was in his own game, given he had fallen off into drugs in the intervening years, the universe of GTA is full of people that are typically portrayed as normal humans, their capabilities aren’t too out of line with what the V cast can do, and the fact Trevor was able to easily kill him at all gives plenty of reason enough to assume he’s at least comparable. And the GTA 4 protagonists should roughly scale to each other, as they mechanically act the same and confront each other several times throughout their stories, which all took place concurrently.

• All three can survive being flung out of their cars at high speeds

• While Trevor did die to a similar impact, that is likely more down to the difference between the games’ physics itself and not the 4 cast being tougher in universe

• Niko easily overpowered Brucie, who can bench 450 pounds and do 2000 push ups in a day

• Johnny has knocked out police officers in one punch

• Luis survived being in close proximity to a grenade exploding hard enough to blow apart the front of a plane

Huang Lee

The protagonist of GTA: Chinatown Wars, a game for mobile game systems which takes place in Liberty City a year after the events of GTA 4. While he never interacts with the other series protagonists, he’s also not treated as if he’s above the other protagonists of his universe, and once again, they’re all portrayed as fairly grounded humans, meaning anything he does should be comparable to the others listed here.

• Despite getting grazed in the head by a bullet that knocked him out, was able to bust open the windshield of a car that was sinking underwater and swim to the surface after awakening

• Forced open hatch of a tank despite it sinking underwater

• Was in close proximity to several grenades exploding

• Dodged an RPG missile

• Briefly dodged minigun fire

• Dodged a close range shotgun blast

• Dodged close range pistol fire

Goro Majima

Kiryu Kazuma

The legendary Dragon of Dojima, and the main lead for most of the series. Given there is an entire mechanic centering around Kiryu fighting Majima repeatedly in Yakuza Kiwami, it stands to reason he should scale to Kiryu’s feats.

• Fished up a great white shark

• Later he stopped another shark’s charge by punching it

• Fought a bear

• Endured hit from Kuze with a pipe while he was driving a motorcycle at high speed 

• Casually shattered top half of a stone statue in a single punch

• Fought two tigers, and can hit them hard enough to knock them out and send them flying

• Stopped a charging bull before tossing it to the ground

• Survived top of the Millenium Tower exploding (0.02-0.10 tons of TNT)

• Dodged a close range pistol shot

• Dodged several point blank shots from Andre Richardson (Mach 9.48)

Taiga Saejima

Majima’s oath brother, most infamous for supposedly shooting 18 men, at least before people learned rubber can be shaped like bullets. On at least two different occasions, Majima was able to fight Saejima evenly. Notably, in the first instance, Saejima had gotten out of prison where he had been mistreated for years and a doctor identified him as malnourished, and in the second instance, Majima had just been tortured for several days, and yet in both instances the two were able to fight to a standstill. As such, he definitely should be comparable to Saejima.

• Fought and defeated Yama-oroshi, a giant bear that tanked several rifle bullets with no problem

• Stopped a speeding car dead in its tracks

• Punched the ground hard enough to create a small shockwave that sends people flying into the air

• Can shatter boulders in a single punch (0.085 tons of TNT)

Ichiban’s Party

Ichiban Kasuga is the new series lead as of the Yakuza: Like A Dragon, and is accompanied by a ragtag group of misfits that engage his delusions of being a JRPG protagonist. Majima and Saejima fought the group a bit into the story of 7, and after the end of the fight, the party was more exhausted than them, and the two stated they were holding back in the fight, indicating they should likely be superior to the party’s feats.

• Took on Jo Sawashiro, who shattered the glass in a picture frame with a couple punches

• Fought and defeated a guy in a wrecking ball

• Fought and defeated a guy driving an excavator

• Can parry bullets

The Amon Clan

A clan of powerful, mysterious assassins that has existed for generations, and members of it tend to show up in each game as a superboss you face when trying to get 100% completion. Majima himself has only fought Jo Amon in 0, but every protagonist in the series has had a fight with at least one of them. Additionally, they all have similar training, meaning they should all reasonably scale to each other.

• Shin Amon boasted they could get hit by a dump truck and keep going

• Jo Amon is the only guy in the series able to block Kiryu’s Tiger Drop

Takayuki Yagami

The protagonist of the Judgement spinoff games, in which he’s a detective going around solving crime stuff in Kamurocho. While Majima has never personally met Takayuki, the detective did tangle with Hangman, a guy that Kiryu has also fought, and he later fights members of the Amon clan, who should be comparable to other members, meaning I feel that it’s reasonable to cross scale his feats to the more mainline people.

• On a floor that collapsed to an explosion and recovered quickly

• Was on a bridge that collapsed, before landing on the windshield of a speeding car that flung him off

• Dodged a close pistol shot

Weaknesses

Trevor Phillips

Trevor, despite his destructive capabilities, is still fundamentally a human, meaning he could certainly get put down by a lucky bullet. He is also notably mentally unstable, impulsive, short tempered, and possibly suicidal. This all has caused him to make a variety of mistakes that cause a lot of the issues the protagonists face, whether that be kidnapping a mob boss’s wife because he was slightly rude to him, violently assaulting people over slights, or nearly turning the crew into enemies of the state by selling a WMD to the triads. His weapons also all rely on a limited pool of ammo, and while Red Mist can protect him from death, it’s only for a max of 30 seconds at a time, and he’s still vulnerable to getting tossed around by lethal circumstances not giving him a chance to fight. 

Goro Majima

Majima is far from perfect. For one thing, much like his opponent, he’s typically portrayed as a normal human, as he and other characters in the series can get hurt and killed by a lucky bullet if given the chance. While he can stay level headed, he still has a tendency to be easily angered if something irritates him, and he can be selfless and sacrifice his own safety and even life if it would save those he cares about. His fighting style can also lead to him getting uncontrollably erratic to even himself. And most of his weapons that aren’t his main few have limited durability and ammo which he can’t replenish on his own, meaning if they break he ends up losing access to them. 

Before the Verdict

GTA Online and the Satellite Laser

In GTA Online, you are able to utilize an orbital strike to kill anyone on the map for a small fee. Putting aside the talking points over whether this is balanced and the incredulity of it being a thing in the world of GTA in the first place, the laser is capable of hitting characters at relativistic speeds. While I did include something on how it is possible to dodge the shot with a fast enough plane, the problem is that that’s only through exploiting glitches, and by their nature as glitches, it’s not something that was at all intentional by the creators. This is added to by the fact that many of the glitches that allowed for this have since been patched, and as such the only way to “dodge” the laser now is to enter a location where it can’t hit you in the first place, like inside a building. So managing to physically dodge the strikes from the laser is clearly not something the in lore characters are capable of doing. 

Why Dead Souls isn’t canon

Now, I know some people have made arguments that it’s fine to include Dead Souls as a part of the series. I did establish earlier that it didn’t count for the purposes of this blog, but I feel it’s worth really breaking down why I think it’s not fair in the slightest to include it as if it’s canon.

First of all, yes, the game has been officially declared non canon by the official SEGA website. I’m not sure if there’s any interview snippets from the creators backing this up, but I feel this is a definitive enough word of god statement in regards to it’s official place in the Yakuza timeline. This is added to by the fact that, in Majima & Kiryu’s appearance in the definitely not canon Project X Zone 2, it’s specifically the ones from the universe where the dead rose, which gives further weight to the idea that this universe is itself not canon.

Additionally, some people have argued that there’s technically no story contradiction that including it would bring to the series, but that’s kind of not true. To quote a man that talked about Dragon Ball movies, it’s not that it can’t happen, but more that it would be insane to think of the series if it did. In a series as continuity driven as Yakuza, where people reference plenty of small events in their lives game to game, you’d think someone in the massive cities the series takes place in would mention at some point a fairly massive event that is an outbreak of the living dead, especially the main characters who were very involved in the events of the game, but to my knowledge there’s no such instance, even as a throwaway minor line. And sure, technically Ryuji’s survival could be possible, as he could have just gone into hiding, but not only does he interact with plenty of people over the course of his story that easily could have brought up his survival later (notably, his story starts with him getting expelled from the Omi Alliance, meaning there is potentially an entire crime family that is aware he survived the tower), and yet they don’t, but it would also kinda retroactively suck out a lot of the drama of the ending of Yakuza 2 if it was revealed he didn’t actually die and just got a cool metal arm and went into hiding, and I kinda think it’s a bit disingenuous to the story of that game to assume he lived based on nothing but a non canon zombie shooter that outright ignored canon to put him in. The closest thing the series has gotten to having the events of Dead Souls acknowledged is a sign referencing Gary’s training camp showing up in Yakuza 5, but that’s such a minor and easily missed element that I feel it’s intent is more likely to be either a small easter egg or a reused asset than an actual confirmation the events of the game are canon. 

So yeah, there’s absolutely no reason to treat the events of Yakuza Dead Souls as canon. Word of God has stated it’s not canon, and the story is blatantly incongruent to slot into the story of the series. That being said, the actual feats involved in it can be seen as consistent and in line with what they’ve displayed in later games depending on your definition, but this match would be unchanged by the inclusion of feats from the game, so I ultimately will not include them. 

An elaboration on Yakuza: Like A Dragon

You might have also noticed I didn’t include much in terms of stuff he does within Yakuza 7, such as him being able to summon a moon sized image and unleash lightning. However, this is because Yakuza 7 is from the perspective of Ichiban, a guy who uses his imagination to make fights he’s in more like a video game, hence the wackier tone in comparison to the series’ normal standards. Sure there are a couple things that are acknowledged as real in universe, and stuff that’s fairly in line with the capabilities of people in other material is fine as well. But there’s still clearly stuff in the game that is entirely Ichiban making shit up, so unless you want to accept Kiryu being able to turn into an actual dragon as canon, you can’t just say everything is real, you have to go by a case by case basis. As such, for any instances of a character blatantly displaying capabilities beyond what they do in earlier games, such as Daigo being able to summon the dead and Saejima creating an actual tornado, I assume this will mean the feat was more down to Ichiban imagining it, and as such would be inapplicable. So while the clones are fair game, since Majima had previously demonstrated them in 5, this summon attack definitely falls under being beyond his capabilities. Despite the jokes many have made about him in this game, him being able to summon weather/electricity, create hundreds of knives, or change the moon is not something he is hinted as being capable of anywhere else in the series. 

To break down a more complicated example, there’s the satellite laser. It is pretty directly acknowledged as existing outside of the battle system, as it’s the reward for finishing the baking company sidequest. It is obviously incredibly powerful if taken literally, and given Majima can directly tank it, you could say this ups his durability considerably. However, given it has a similar presentation to the above summons, and after using it the city around you very visibly is not destroyed, I feel it’s likely that Ichiban is likewise overstating the actual impact of the attack in his head. Some people have suggested that while the impact itself is imaginary, the initial animation of it dispersing clouds is not, and therefore that amount of impact is still usable. However, there’s literally no reason to separate the animation into parts, as at no other point does Ichiban half make up the impact of these attacks. And adding weight to the inconsistency, in the game’s Amon fight, he utilizes a laser that fires using the same attack animation, but in a later game’s Amon fight, their laser is visibly a lot less destructive and doesn’t notably part the clouds. Granted, the Amon’s laser is already pretty inconsistent in the beam size and color, but there’s never been any sort of implication that they have multiple laser satellites, so I feel this is meant to be a single cannon they all use. And even if they did have several, considering their main motivation in previous games was to avenge their clan’s honor after being defeated by Kiryu by killing him, if they were packing multiple cannons, there’d be no reason for Ichiban, a character who Shin only chooses to fight to test his limits, be the only one where they bust their most powerful cannon, instead of the people beforehand who they had actual personal motivation to defeat by any means necessary. It’s definitely not because Ichiban is stronger, since in all of Ichiban’s fights with previous series protagonists, they end with he and his party exhausted and the other characters saying they were holding back, meaning if anything, he should be weaker than the other series leads. Add all this to the fact that the fight with Ichiban is the only instance in the series where the laser is visibly this destructive, even with the inconsistent beam color and stuff, and this all adds further weight to the idea that the actual impact was just made up by Ichiban.

Verdict

(track art by @xenn1849)

Stats

On the face of it, there’s really no question Majima is physically stronger on his own than Trevor. While he does have some impressive displays that would put him well above a normal human, Majima making a hole in the floor of the Shangri-la is far above anything the normal humans of GTA can do on their own. That being said, his weaponry has been shown to cause a similar level of destruction to even this, as his sticky bombs were shown to be capable of a similar level of power to the floor punching, within the 0.3 tons of TNT range. You can arguably get Majima above this level, but keep in mind this was a single explosive of Trevor’s, and most of his other explosive weapons are capable of a similar level of destruction, so it’s conceivable for multiple explosives to go off and create an explosion stronger than that, meaning they’d ultimately be at a comparable level of raw destruction.

Durability is also a bit more complicated than it would seem. Majima is able to take hits from similarly powerful people to himself, meaning his attack potency should scale to his durability. However, Trevor’s Red Mist mode renders him completely invulnerable to circumstances that would kill him, which has been shown to include his own explosives. So it would certainly also apply to the level of power Majima is packing, meaning that gives Trevor a decent option to survive for a while against Majima’s more deadly attacks. Though Majima does likely have an edge in pure pain tolerance, given the sheer amount of shit he can take and keep going

Finally, for speed, this is a bit more clear cut. Trevor does have some pretty consistent evidence that would back up him personally being able to react to up to Mach 2 speeds, which would certainly allow him to keep up with Majima’s movement speeds. But there’s at least 4 consistent feats for Yakuza characters reacting at around Mach 9.5, which is almost 5 times faster than Trevor’s best reaction speeds. This means Majima would likely be able to consistently dodge most of Trevor’s arsenal. Even the Railgun, the fastest weapon Trevor has, is only around Mach 6, which is still about half as fast as the speeds Majima can react to. You could maybe push its speed faster by comparing it to actual railguns, but given those are massive guns on battleships and this is far smaller, that’s pretty questionable. 

The only GTA protagonist Trevor could scale to that can arguably dodge bullets is Huang, who has at least two instances of this. But in both instances, if you go frame by frame, you can see him start to dodge a frame before the gun is fired, implying he’s aim dodging, and therefore is not as impressive as the Yakuza characters, who are explicitly dodging the bullet as it is fired. Additionally, the bullets also pass him far faster than he can move, meaning he’s also not capable of in-tandem movement, which all means he’s likely not anywhere close to the speeds Majima is capable of.

So to break this down, Majima is stronger, more durable, and faster than Trevor on his own, but Trevor’s explosives and invulnerability mode make it so he is capable of hitting similar levels to Majima in those first two categories.

Arsenal & Abilities

In terms of pure weaponry, Trevor definitely has a wider selection of ranged weapons to pull from, while Majima’s packing a greater variety of melee weapons. That being said, a lot of Majima’s stronger melee weapons are limited in durability, meaning he’s likely to eventually lose most of his options, which Trevor doesn’t have to worry about with his weapons. Additionally, while they both have limited ammunition for their guns, Majima’s storage of ammo for his guns is far lower than Trevor’s, which combined with his far lower amount of guns, means that he’s not going to keep up much in an extended firefight. So Trevor ultimately takes versatility in regards to weaponry.

In terms of more equipable equipment, though, Majima definitely holds the edge. Trevor’s armor is pretty useful, but Majima has a far wider swath of potential options to pull from, many of which would help protect him from things like stunning attacks from his Stun Gun, slashing attacks from his knives, and most crucially, bullets. He also has options for making Trevor angrier and harder to control, making him fall when he falls, or potentially surviving a mortal blow and coming back. Though the fact he can only equip a few of them at a time does somewhat hinder how much he’d be able to use them. 

As for vehicles, well, there’s no doubt Trevor has the edge. Majima’s trucks could likely take a beating, but Trevor has way more potential options to use between his various cars and bikes, and he’s shown far greater driving skills than what Majima can do. He’s also the only one of the two with access to air travel, though given his helicopter lacks much in terms of fighting potential, that’s likely only going to be a delaying tactic. He could get to his plane and launch a bomb on Majima, which has been shown to be a bit stronger than anything I could find in Yakuza, meaning it could likely significantly harm or even kill Majima, but there are several issues with this strategy, as A) he’d need to get away from Majima long enough to start flying the plane, B) he’s need to actually hit Majima with the bomb, either by trapping him in something or catching him off guard, and C) Majima has ways to subside the effects of the blast, such as his flame resistant equipment and his stones that can revive him from death. So that’s unlikely to score him the win here.

When it comes to natural abilities, Majima definitely has Trevor beat. His aura clones and tornado are pretty big points to let him cause carnage, but even beyond that, he’s got better skill and options for unarmed fighting, and his displays of stealth far trump anything Trevor’s done. Trevor does have an advantage in driving capabilities as mentioned, and he can naturally heal his own health, but Majima has far more options when it comes to healing, including consumables, rings that do the same thing as Trevor, and even the ability to heal while in heat mode, though it does leave him vulnerable. Though when comparing their forms, Red Mist and Heat Mode are pretty comparable. The ability to become completely invulnerable definitely matches a lot of the raw damage increase that Heat Mode brings, and it’s harder to knock out, but the fact it doesn’t prevent Trevor from being tossed around does mean it can potentially not amount to much. 

Tertiary Factors

When it comes to the two’s experience and intelligence, they both are pretty even. They both are capable of taking on a wide variety of goons on their own, and they’ve both been in the criminal business for a similar amount of time, starting in their 20s and being in their 50s by their most recent appearances. Trevor could likely claim to have to have better schooling, as he’s demonstrated greater intelligence in stuff like math, and he has better known training, having been in the military while Majima seems to just improvise with some pointers.

That being said, in terms of cunning, I feel like Majima would have the edge here. Both have made plenty of complex plans, but Trevor is the one who tends to have his plans blow up in his face more often, whether that be due to his impulsiveness or not accounting for unforeseen consequences. Meanwhile, Majima is actually pretty devious in his plottings, which generally give him what he wants a lot more consistently. This is helped by the fact that Majima is the more overall stable of the two, as he can keep focused and have his emotions not interfere a lot easier, unlike Trevor, who can let his anger cloud his judgment. This all means that if either of the two were to try and do a plot to take the win, Majima’s the one who’s more likely to win. 

Now the dynamic here is likely to be one of long range vs short range, as while they both have methods to keep up for a time in the specialty of the other, they pretty clearly lack the specialty the other does. Trevor is clearly a lot less skilled at brawling than Majima, but Majima is far less skilled than Trevor when it comes to gun combat. So, the question becomes, could Majima reliably close the gap enough to take Trevor down, or could Trevor keep him at range for long enough to overwhelm his options?

Well, I ultimately feel Majima is the most likely to come out on top here. He has the speed to dodge a lot of Trevor’s projectiles, defensive options to heal himself or resist the attacks, and the cunning to not fall for any traps Trevor could set, whether that be sticky bombs or a bombing run. He has also had experience dealing with people who would try to stay back and shoot him, unlike Trevor, who doesn’t really have much experience dealing with a guy that could backflip through his gunfire and give him a good shanking.

Even if I were to not include AP stuff in this discussion, as both series typically portray the characters within them as able to be killed with just a gunshot, Majima’s speed means he’d be able to dodge all of Trevor’s attacks at all but the closest of range, at which point Trevor would be at a disadvantage. And while Trevor could hypothetically dodge some close range knife swipes for a time, he’s ultimately going to get hit and taken down eventually.  

Conclusion

Advantages:

• Red Mist lets him power through anything Majima can throw at him

• Better arsenal of weapons and vehicles

• Can keep up with Majima’s movements

• Weaponry could kill Majima if given the chance…

• Better at fighting at range

• Better training

• Does not condone racism

Disadvantages:

• Physically weaker and less durable without Red Mist

• Slower reaction speeds

• Far less options for defense and healing

• …but Majima could dodge it

• Is a hipster

• Got beaten the shit out of by Mike Ehrmantraut.

Advantages:

• Takes the stat trinity over Trevor in base

• Better abilities and experience

• Far more options for defense and healing

• Better at fighting up close

• Better at dodging and taking attacks

• Would definitely stomp if this was a karaoke battle

• Was voiced by Mark Hammil…

Disadvantages:

• Can’t bypass Red Mist’s invulnerability

• Lesser arsenal of weapons and vehicles

• Trevor potentially has weapons which could kill him

• The Yakuza fanbase

• …Though he has forgotten about it

This match is far from as one sided as it might seem at a glance, as Trevor does have several significant advantages and could likely kill Majima if given the chance. But Majima’s better speed, strength, experience, and craziness would give him everything he needs to shut down Trevor and set his chances of winning alight. I guess that means Trevor just didn’t have what it took to GET to the Top. 

The winner is Goro Majima.

Next Time