So You Wanna Play Yakuza…

Few series meteoric rises have been more surprising than that of Sega’s “Like a Dragon” franchise (also known as Yakuza in the west for many years). The games combine a very serious Japanese B movie plot with zany side quests and activities to distract you along the way. It’s pretty incredible that this series ever caught on here, but RGG Studios’ hard work has left us with some of the best titles in modern gaming.

The games are very wrapped up in contemporary Japanese culture with the tightly focused maps being amalgamations of real life Japanese party districts. Kiryu’s adventures rescuing the always beleaguered Tojo Clan (just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in!) and protecting his family leave us wanting for more. In an era where AAA studios take years to produce underwhelming titles, Kiryu and his friends rarely leave us dissatisfied.

This has left a lot of us here in the west interested in dropping into the franchise but unclear on where to start. The size of the series is daunting: you have the Kiryu focused Yakuza titles and their many remasters or remakes, plus the Judgement and Gaiden spinoff games. Additionally, the series completely switches genres and introduces a new main character in Ichiban after Yakuza 6, adding to the confusion.

In this article, I will make my case for the best order to play the series in. For those who would like to stop reading now, that is:

  1. Yakuza 0

  2. Yakuza Kiwami

  3. Yakuza Kiwami 2

  4. Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 remastered

  5. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

  6. Judgement

  7. Yakuza: Like a Dragon

  8. Lost Judgement

  9. Like a Dragon: Gaiden

  10. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Technically you can play any game at any time. The Yakuza games are made with the idea that this could be a players’ first rodeo. But this is not the ideal way to do it because unlike other long running series like Final Fantasy or Zelda, each title is not a completely self contained story. It’s more like Metal Gear Solid. Recurring characters like Daigo, Akiyama, Date, Haruka, Saejima, and Majima all have characters arcs and relationships with Kiryu that go back several games if you’re just jumping in at, say, Yakuza 5. You will miss out on the context behind certain conversations and actions. Even the major plots of a game can be driven due to what happened in a prior title.

So while it’s not absolutely essential that you play the past titles, it is the optimal route, and all of the titles are available in at least remastered form on Xbox and PlayStation. Your best bet is to start with Yakuza 0 which came out on the PS4. This is technically a prequel to the original Yakuza game, but it functions independently on its own, and most importantly, is a super fun game. You will know after beating up street hooligans and singing karaoke with Kiryu and Majima for 50-70h if the series is for you so it’s a good one and done if it’s not.

After that you will move onto Kiwami and Kiwami 2. Both of these are top to bottom remakes of the PS2 titles, with Kiwami being in the 0 engine and 2 in the 6 “dragon engine”. Kiwami is very short since the bones of the game are the PS2 original, and this could be played directly after 0. In many ways it feels like a DLC to 0 even though it came first. Kiwami 2 on the other hand is a long undertaking, but is considered by many to be one of the best games in the series.

Where a lot of people get discouraged or tripped up is the next 3 titles. All 3 of these games came out on PS3, and like every Sony exclusive developer during that era, they got better at making games for the notoriously complex console over time. Yakuza 3 feels like a step down especially after Kiwami 2 with simpler sub-stories and clunky combat.

The games are remastered and so they look like a PS4 title, but 3 and 4 don’t play like one. My advice to you is to power through: lower the difficulty if you have to and just mainline the stories and sub-stories as you unlock them. You can completely ignore all of the staple mini games like Cabaret Club - they are too clunky and dated in these games.

Doing this will dramatically shorten how long it takes to beat 3 and 4 while still getting to play their excellent stories. As bad of a reputation as 3’s combat cops, if you do all of the very easy sub-stories you come across you will be adequately leveled to take on anybody. 5 is actually a very polished game on its own, but easily one of the most bloated in the franchise. It came out when studios had figured out how to make games on the PS3 work.

Once you’ve knocked these out you’re back at the modern era of gaming with Yakuza 6. 6 has a new engine (the dragon engine), so it’s a bit clunky, but nothing like 3. From there you should be sufficiently committed/addicted to seeing the series through. The size and scope of the Yakuza franchise can be daunting, but if you take it one game at a time you will experience some of the best stories and gameplay in the last 20 years. Next time you see Yakuza 0 on sale, give it a download and join us!

Will
Writer
Will
Blogger