Majima is easily one of the most beloved characters in the Yakuza series, with his crazy personality serving as a mask to cover his true personality at times. So, it's only a given that players would want to witness the evolution of this character from a once-sensible person into a complete madman.
This is where Yakuza 0 comes into the picture, showing the life of Goro Majima before he became the eccentric personality players all know and love. The manner in which his character develops is easily the highlight of this game, and players can cement this transformation by acquiring the Mad Dog of Shimano style, which is incredibly entertaining to use in battle.
Here's a guide on how players can progress through the Cabaret Club Czar side quest in order to unlock this brilliant style.
Updated on September 21st, 2021 by Ritwik Mitra: Yakuza 0 is full to the brim with amazing side activities that are quite a blast to play through. This is the norm with every Yakuza game, but Yakuza 0 takes this up a notch by including major side activities for both main characters that allow players to gain a ton of money, engage in entertaining fights, and unlock new movesets as well!
The latter is especially important to unlock the full potential of the game's combat system, with Majima's Mad Dog of Shimano style being locked behind the completion of the Cabaret Club Czar sidequest. Here's how players can ace this side activity to unlock one of Majima's iconic combat styles.
Things To Keep In Mind For Majima's Mad Dog Of Shimano Combat Style
- This combat style is a fan-favorite, with most people encountering this fighting style during the iconic boss fight against Majima in the batting cages that occurs in Yakuza 1 and Yakuza Kiwami.
- This combat style only has two Heat Moves, but both of them are excellent. The first one is the classic Dagger Heat Move next to a wall, where Majima pushes the enemy towards the wall before stabbing them in the hand. The second Heat Move is way more useful and can be activated if players are around three or more enemies. Here, Majima will start jumping around and slashing enemies... before kicking his dagger at a third one and uttering a disdainful taunt as they pull the weapon out.
- Starting a combo with light attacks and following it up with a strong one allows Majima to dash around enemies and hit them with each successive use of a strong attack. However, this move uses up Heat, so it should be used wisely.
- Pressing the grab button when Majima is lower than three Heat bars makes Majima do a basic low kick that doesn't hit for too much damage. However, pressing this button at three Heat bars leads to Majima doing his classic dagger spin move that hits all enemies around him but drains all his heat. This move is only good when Majima is surrounded and needs some breathing room.
- The most useful move in the Mad Dog of Shimano combat style that most players aren't aware of is an incredible counter. While the timing is tight, targeting an enemy and pressing the strong attack button right before they land an attack will lead to Majima countering for massive damage. It requires no Heat and is easily one of, if not the strongest move in the entire game. However, the timing of this move is tighter than Tiger Drop and will require some practice to master.
Get Familiar With The Gestures Of The Hostesses
The first thing players will have to keep track of while managing the cabaret is understanding the gestures of the hostesses and helping them out in a pinch.
By nailing this gesture quickly, players can boost the health of the hostess and improve the mood of the guests as well. This will make the act of progressing through the cabaret minigame all the more manageable.
Hand Signals
- Guest Glass: The hostess makes an 'L' shape with her thumb and forefinger.
- Ladies Drink: The hostess mimics the shape of a small shot glass.
- Refill Ice: The hostess puts her hand in a horizontal position with her thumb and little finger sticking out.
- Ashtray: The hostess uses both her hands to form a circle.
- Tower: The hostess mimics the act of a cloth being wrung dry.
Always Opt For The Special Training Whenever It's Available
The platinum hostesses that Majima can recruit for the club will end up serving the biggest and most important roles in the establishment, reigning in most of the cast and satisfying wealthier guests.
In order to maximize the efficiency of these hostesses — while getting to know them in the process — the player should always opt for special training in order to level up their best employees even faster. It's recommended to just check a guide for the best responses since some of the best replies can be rather obtuse.
Dress Up The Platinum Hostesses Appropriately To Maximize Their Stats
While the act of dressing up girls in order to improve their appearance might sound rather odd, it's honestly rather hypnotic how Yakuza 0 manages to integrate this gameplay mechanic into Majima's side quest in a seamless fashion.
However, just making the hostesses look good isn't the only goal of dressing them up. Players also need to ensure that at least three of the four stats — Cute, Beauty, Sexy, and Funny — are maxed out for the platinum hostesses. This is very much possible with proper diligence.
Unlock As Many Hostesses As Possible
The biggest key to success in the Cabaret Club Czar questline is to accumulate as many hostesses as possible. This is done in order to keep a fresh and diverse line of hostesses that can step up to the challenge at any moment, helping Majima edge closer to attaining his Mad Dog of Shimano style.
Whether it be through completing substories, roaming around Sotenbori, or using CP — the road to beating the Five Stars of Sotenbori will become easier to travel with a retinue of efficient hostesses.
Best Hostesses Found In The Game
- Shizuka
- Seiko
- Koizumi
- Akina
- Etsuko
- Dolly
- Unknown
- Isobe
- Akemi
- Junko
Partner Up To Gain More Fans Easily
If playing the cabaret minigame over and over again in order to get fans is getting somewhat tiring, players can use the extra funds they have at their disposal for a time-effective task.
Each area that the rival cabaret clubs control has various buildings and the like that Club Sunshine can partner up with in order to gain more fans without having to initiate the minigame. It's a great way to progress the questline if the player is just shy of triggering the Rival Battle against a particular cabaret club owner.
Use Fever Time Wisely
Fever Time is a mechanic that players must master if they wish to best a rival during a battle. Each level of Fever Time corresponds to the number of seats that will enter party mode after this move is triggered, with the three levels allowing for two, four, and six tables to enter party mode respectively.
Fever Mode doesn't need to be hoarded — Wealthy and Mega-Rich clients should be the utmost priority and be sent into Fever Time as soon as possible to maximize the amount of income that can be earned from these customers. Along with this, Fever Time increases the HP of the hostesses, maxes out the mood of guests, and protects customers from being poached by clients during Money Battles.
Just keep in mind that earnings attained through Fever Time don't contribute to the recharging of this move. That's reserved only for normal tables and clients that enter party mode after being asked to stay, as opposed to being forced into Party Mode through the activation of Fever Time.
Hoard CP To Unlock The Full Potential Of This Style
After facing the Five Stars of Sotenbori in battle, Majima will finally unlock the final confrontation in The Grand. Accomplishing the same will unlock the Mad Dog of Shimano style after hours of work.
However, this secret style will still have some segments that are blocked off. These locks can only be opened by investing a substantial amount of CP into Majima's character, which can take a lot of time.
Yakuza 0 was released on March 12, 2015, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Amazon Luna.