When is best to play this?

[SCREWBWOI]

Never played the Yakuza games but was wondering do you play this first despite being released later and will it spoil the future games?

[junckerkids]

I personally played 0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, 3 remastered , 4 remastered, 5 remastered, 6 and 7.

I feel like playing 0 first, made me appreciate some of the characters more 

Edited August 3, 2023 by junckerkids

[Mr_Bandicoot93]

I started with Judgment. There is another series on the similar genre called Like a Dragon but I don’t know how they are together. I wanted to start with a Yakuza first as well but the platinum anonyment of some minigames scares me off . 

[steveblazinggrin]

There is an arguement for both sides here. You can either play in the canon order (starting with 0), or the release order, (starting with yakuza 1).

 

Personally, I started with 0 and had a great time and it kept me hooked through the rest of the series, providing a good foundation for most of the characters and leading me to enjoy their later appearances. Another point to add, is that the remasters of the first two games (Yakuza Kiwami 1&2) have constant callbacks to Yakuza 0, with the addition of Majima Everywhere and the Majima Saga, which is not nearly as enjoyable if you have not played 0.

 

However, if you're a purist you would probably want to start with the original release of Yakuza 1&2 for the ps2. I would really only suggest this if you are absolutely dedicated to playing the ENTIRE series, as you have to play two somewhat janky ps2 games and then suffer through Yakuza 3 back to back. People will argue that this is the "right" way to play the franchise and gives Yakuza 0 more impact. Once again though, many have started with Yakuza 0 and had a great time with the series, myself included. 

 

 

[sepheroithisgod]

I went Kiwami then 0 then the rest in order. There's a case for both sides here. Yakuza 0 has a lot of references to future titles that you may appreciate better if you have played them first, but at the same time, you could look at it as foreshadowing for future titles and enjoy the payoff that way.

 

0 and Kiwami play very similarly, but 0 is much more refined and offers more content, For this reason, it could be a bit jarring going from 0 to Kiwami and noticing a lot of features are gone.

[LuxQSD1]

I personally played them all in chronological order using in-game years.

 

So Yakuza 0 > Yakuza Kiwami > Yakuza Kiwami 2 > Yakuza 3 > Yakuza 4 > Yakuza: Dead Souls > Yakuza 5 > Yakuza 6 > Judgement > Yakuza: Like a Dragon > Lost Judgement.

 

And I do heavily recommend playing Y:LaD before Lost Judgement as there's a story element in LaD that affects the in-game world on a pretty massive scale. So much so that it's relevant in future games and is mentioned quite a few times in Lost Judgment.

[MrHealthy]

On 8/3/2023 at 11:31 AM, Mr_Bandicoot93 said:

I started with Judgment. There is another series on the similar genre called Like a Dragon but I don’t know how they are together. I wanted to start with a Yakuza first as well but the platinum anonyment of some minigames scares me off . 

 

Like a Dragon is just the Japanese name for the Yakuza series. Or more appropriately it's the original name for the series and it got changed to Yakuza in the west. Going forward Sega is ditching the Yakuza branding for new games and unifying it as Like a Dragon worldwide.

[Fubuki]

Play Yakuza 0 first. The best time would be now.

[Asmund]

On 8/14/2023 at 10:00 PM, LuxQSD1 said:

I personally played them all in chronological order using in-game years.

 

So Yakuza 0 > Yakuza Kiwami > Yakuza Kiwami 2 > Yakuza 3 > Yakuza 4 > Yakuza: Dead Souls > Yakuza 5 > Yakuza 6 > Judgement > Yakuza: Like a Dragon > Lost Judgement.

 

And I do heavily recommend playing Y:LaD before Lost Judgement as there's a story element in LaD that affects the in-game world on a pretty massive scale. So much so that it's relevant in future games and is mentioned quite a few times in Lost Judgment.

Where would you put

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
and
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

edit: Oh and whatre your thoughts on Like a Dragon: Ishin! ( i know it' samurai era, but does it even matter to the story?)

I read that "man who erased" takes place after 6 but before, during, and after like a dragon, so I wanted ur take on how they slide in with the judgement and lost judgements. Getting ready to play yakuza 0 and start this series off so im really wanting to hit it all chronologically

Edited May 7 by Asmund

[LuxQSD1]

7 hours ago, Asmund said:

Where would you put

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
and
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

edit: Oh and whatre your thoughts on Like a Dragon: Ishin! ( i know it' samurai era, but does it even matter to the story?)

I read that "man who erased" takes place after 6 but before, during, and after like a dragon, so I wanted ur take on how they slide in with the judgement and lost judgements. Getting ready to play yakuza 0 and start this series off so im really wanting to hit it all chronologically

Gaiden mostly takes place before and during Yakuza: LaD. I recommend playing it after Yakuza: LaD. Infinite Wealth is last in the timeline so play it after Lost Judgement.

 

As For Kenzan and Ishin: They are samurai spin offs and are not connected to the main Yakuza series plot wise. All the main characters in those are 'played' by the cast in mainline Yakuza series, but they are different people. Their personalities remain mostly the same though. Think of it as characters from the mainline series having acting roles in a samurai drama theatre play. You can play Ishin on its' own as it doesn't reference the mainline plot in any way. All you're missing out on is a few references in Yakuza 0.

 

Also if you want the FULL experience: There are two more PSP games that got a full english translation patch recently. Yakuza: Kurohyou 1 and 2. Similarly to the Judgement spin offs, they aren't related to the main Yakuza plot, but take place in the same universe. You can play it on a PSP or through an emulator.

 

So here's the new revised list for the series in in-game chronological order:

Yakuza 0 > Yakuza Kiwami > Yakuza Kiwami 2 > Yakuza 3 > Yakuza 4 > Yakuza: Dead Souls > Yakuza: Kurohyou > Yakuza: Kurohyou 2 > Yakuza 5 > Yakuza 6 > Judgement > Yakuza: Like a Dragon > LaD Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name > Lost Judgement > LaD: Infinite Wealth

 

Standalone spin offs: LaD: Ishin, Yakuza Kenzan (untranslated so far).

 

Hope you have fun with the series, kyodai~!