This guide is centered around using bowling to earn you cash. How does one do that, you might ask? More likely than not (since 200 is required for completion), you've seen that you receive a Master Ball for getting 150+ on bowling. But did you know that you will get a solid gold trophy for getting a perfect game? This trophy sells for 3 million yen and is repeatable for as many perfect games as you get.

This could also be considered a bowling guide, except I can't really do the split games so.

Now you might be thinking, "Damn, ok easier said than done" and well. Normally you'd be right. This game, though (and Yakuza 3 by extension) actually have a very large margin of error for getting strikes.

12 strikes may seem daunting, but here's an easy way to hit them practically guaranteed every time. First, you want to start on the spot in-between the rightmost ticks, or 5 steps to the right of center. This I'm taking from CyricZ's guide, so there may or may not be a more optimal position. Then, you want to aim at the pocket between the 1 and 3 pins. Once you're there, you just want to hit any power above 80 and you're golden.

All as normal, this is how you're supposed to bowl strikes, as you've likely been told. The trick here is that there is actually a massive window that will still allow you to get a strike. Aiming directly at the 1 and 3 pocket is actually about the furthest right you can aim. Even aiming directly at the 1 pin will still net you a strike.

Not only that, but with this starting position there's (to my knowledge from bowling 10+ perfect games) nowhere you can aim to hit the 1 pin WITHOUT getting a strike. Effectively, you're just aiming anywhere you can hit the 1 pin. You can actually aim pretty damn far to the left before you start losing strike power.

This will still hit a strike, but I'd be cautious about going any lower that 85 power for this. I did it on 83, but I'm not sure how large the margin of error is exactly.

My personal optimal position is to wait for the aim arrows to swing left and try to time it so they point directly at the 1 pin. If you're a bit early, you'll be aiming at the 1 and 3 pocket as before, which will still net you a strike. If you're a bit late, you're still more than likely to hit a strike from the left pocket. The timing window for being in this zone is very generous, likely 2-4 times the window for baseball, so if you can do that, you sure as hell can do this.

The biggest issue comes in if/when you are way too early or way too late. In that case, you will need to add some spin and pray, because you're no longer guaranteed a strike. The tip I have for you in this case is that if you're aiming directly ahead instead of at the pocket, a spin of 2 bars exactly should give you a strike. More left than that and you'll need that much less spin. And if you're aiming directly at the 7 pin (furthest pin on the left) a spin of 2 should similarly do the trick. Adjust as needed.

If all goes right, you should relatively easily be able to bowl a perfect game.

Congratulations! You now are the proud owner of a trophy that will sell for the same amount the most lucrative side story gives you! Repeat bowling as many times as you want. Hell, keep all of the trophies you earn if that's your thing.

Now go off and make some money!