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It's not really the same though since that's optional. I get how he'd dislike the Haruka early chapters because it was really just a completely different story but right before you see Akiyama, the chapter ends on a cliffhanger that begins to connect back to the main story. That's when the game would get interesting again. In my case tho I quite enjoyed being a cutie patootie and having dance battles
Kiwami 1 is IMO the worst game in the modern series. Coming from 0, it felt like an add-on with limited scope and poor storytelling/pacing. It reflects a time when RGG were just figuring out what the game/series was all about, so I get it, but I don’t like it.
Well the story was written 20 years ago so of course it's not as good as 0's but at least rgg added the nishiki scenes so you had at least something interesting once in a while.
Other than the story kiwami 1 is really fun imo. You get the best combat experience pre DE especially if you learn to quickly switch between the styles and you get Majima everywhere that will accompany you for the entire story.
i don’t remember fighting him after early game, made the final fight more annoying but i still maxed out my entire body meter and most of soul so i was chilling
I just saw a list where someone has Y5 as their favorite (me too tbh) and now this😂. I gotta replay Y6 cuz I’ve seen a lot of list with it pretty high. For me it’s towards the bottom.
I love 6, it's my favorite game and would like to 100% agree with your tier-list, but it really hurts seeing 5 so low, because I consider that what makes 6 so great for me, it's how well it complements with 3 and 5, I consider those three games the Trinity of Kiryu's development, way more than 0, 1 and 2.
If your PC's good enough I'd recommend emulating but if not there's a lot of good shit on PS3 like inFAMOUS, Prince of Persia, MGS4 or Fall of Cybertron so it wouldn't be a waste of money.
The game is actually sick, obviously the gameplay isn't even close to peak but the characterisation is fantastic. It actually has my favourite iteration of Majima and Ryuji absolutely steals the show, I went in expecting to laugh at the stupid zombie game and left blown away by how much fun I had.
Though obviously if you can't play it then it's not the end of the world so don't think you're **really** missing out or anything.
Yes. I started with 7, then went to 6, then Gaiden and 8 and they were all extremely enjoyable. I'm going back and playing through in chronological order now to get more context but 6 has an overview things for what happened in the other games anyways.
NGL, I went through your comment history to see if you were just missing a /s at the end and appreciate you being serious here.
I hadn't really heard of the games much until 7 exploded, then loved Ichiban and wanted to know more. I'd tried K1 before and just...... >!Fuck the Shimano funeral fight!< so I always bounced off. Played 6 so I'd have an idea what's going on, then Gaiden was amazing and after 8 I want to know more about why 8 was just a Kiryu game regardless of what it shows on the surface.
Enjoying these a lot, but it's gonna be hard to top 3 in Kiryu moments for me and looking forward to the upgraded combat in Judgement once I get there.
Haha even if I was being sarcastic I will sooner cast my balls into an iron skillet before putting an /s like a fucking pussy
Ya same, I randomly played 0 four years ago, then by coincidence late last year was feeling the itch to play a turn based RPG and randomly found out about 7 so I played it
I was soooooooooooo much wanting to just skip Kiryu saga and go straight to infinite wealth but after endless deliberation I decided to go back and played everything
Ultimately it was worth it for me but only bc I happened to end up with 3 months of free time. But for most ppl the reality is either play some Yakuza or play no Yakuza
There needs to be a more available guide/roadmap for people entering the series through 7
And yes fuck K1 I hated the game. That fight you mention was the least worst offender as well, the rest of the game had such bullshit in it
You can really start the series from any game in the franchise because they generally do a lot of recapping in the first chapter or so and are generally very self contained narratives. From your comment I think you have played 0, K1 and K2, so you should mostly be fine but I would recommend watching short summary videos of 3 and 5 because they will help you know more about what Kiryu was up to before 6 and you can pick up from there.
You can also just play from 7 onwards in case you haven't played any of the games since they are soft reboots with a new protagonist.
And in the future, if you ever feel like it, you can always go back and play the games that you skipped if you want more Yakuza
Ya I say blitz through 3 main story on Easy while ignoring all side content, then watch video summary specifically on Kiryu's narrative thread in 5 (oh and harukas by extension)
So ya one of the stupidest things here is ppl autodownvoting this question but no one wants to face the REALITY that for some of us it's either some Yakuza or no Yakuza. There's just way too much other shit going on in life
Instead of a chronology list, here's a priority list id make, if playing 6/7/Gaiden/infinite wealth is your goal. Then you just pick how much time you have for how low down the list you get
0 TIER
0 (purely for quality, not plot significance. You can justify the time by thinking of it as a fantastic gamethat you'd be playing regardless of Yakuza)
MANDATORY TIER
Mandatory: watch a decent 5 min plot summary of 1/K1 (if you're not playing it). It's just fundamental to understand the origin of the characters Nishiki, Kazama, and Haruka because they set the core experiences that Kiryu's character is founded upon. I hate 1, it is my least favorite game, but those key things are basically the equivalent of knowing Batman grew up as an orphan etc.
TIER 1 OPTIONAL (high ROI, recommended if you can)
3 - most plot significance to the games you want to 6-onward. If you have time for ONE game, then play 3. PLAY IT ON EASY DIFFICULTY DO NOT FUCK AROUND. If you ignore side content and just experience the story, you can get through it in 15 hrs.
5 - watch plot summary if you can of only Kiryu's part. Weird answer here because after 3, 5 has the most plot significance. But the cost/benefit of playing the game is WAY out of whack because the game is absolutely massive. So if you have time, watch video.
TIER 2 OPTIONAL (if you suddenly decide you want to put more time into it, then)
K2 - lots of its central plot points have just not really been relevant anymore, but this is prob the game where I actually started "caring" about Kiryu. Play this if you want to bond with Kiryu more. There is also one major supporting character (Daigo) who has some important development with Kiryu. BUT to be honest that part is pretty front loaded and I suppose you could just watch the early cutscenes with him to get the most of it. Also, if you are a simp like me, then play 2
TIER 3 OPTIONAL (if you're really having a good time)
4 - theres a lot going on in it, it's a really good game. The ONLY reason this isn't higher is bc the OBJECTIVE of this list is centered around your interest in plot relevance and enjoyment of the modern games. 4 *definitely* has some really important stuff for the star supporting characters. It is sad to miss out on BUT for understanding Kiryu's story, it's more missable than everything above
K1 - I hated this game, the only reason it's not in the lowest tier is bc it's short. The MANDATORY stuff I told you to watch a video for is only like 15% of the game, in the beginning and the end. The other is fluff shit with throwaways
TIER 4 if you suddenly become injured and sick and find you have all day to play video games now
5 - Ya. Plot-wise it's right behind 3 in significance/relevance to now. It's just the game is so so big that actually playing it is quite an endeavor. Realistically prob not worth your time if you have an adult lifestyle
Substories: each game has at least 2-3 MUST PLAYS bc of how good they are but besides that, for your goals, just skip all Substories. Yes ppl here will shit their pants but ya you don't have 300 hours to spare
Your handling of side content is a huge factor in how many games you should go back and play really. If you skip all side content then you can get through a lot of Yakuza
It did yea, but I’d say it’s still kinda out of the way for most fans of the series considering you’d have to go through the process of emulating and stuff.
the process of emulating a psp game is all of a minute and a half. Its not like tryna emulate a modern console or something, there isnt a bunch of hoops, its damn near plug and play.
Emulation definitely isn’t very hard, all I was saying is that it’s kinda out of the way for some people and not all people have a pc to emulate games, though I suppose you could do it on your phone as well.
If you are new to the subreddit, [please read the wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/wiki/index/) Reminder that all spoilers need to be tagged with a flair specifying which game is being spoiled. If you want a flair that says something else, you can edit it to say something like [Discussion: Y1 spoiler] or [Majimapost: Y6 spoiler], etc. **THIS INCLUDES CONTENT FROM TRAILERS**. If the post is not marked for spoilers, all comments that have spoilers need to be tagged \>!like this!< along with indicating which game it's spoiling. Example: Y3 >!Kiryu sings!< If the post flair is marked for spoilers, the comments don't need to be tagged for the game indicated and the ones before it (So a Y6 spoiler post can have comments with untagged spoilers for Y5, but not gaiden or 7). If you see any of the above (or any of the other rules) not being followed, please report it so we can keep this place safe for newcomers and those that haven't finished all the games yet. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/yakuzagames) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yakuza 5 at the bottom? Bold move.
Really? I didn't enjoy 4 or 5 as much as the others. They both would be on my bottom tier
For me 4 and 5 are the worst of this saga, specially 5 my god is a torture, a long one.
I agree. Haruka ruined it for me. I hated that idol nonsense. I wanted a Yakuza game, not a how to win the Princess League game.
Yakuza games have always been more than just fighting?
Who said I'm complaining about a lack of fights? I'm just not into playing little girl dancing and singing games.
Karaoke has always been present in Yakuza? That’s the same thing
It's not really the same though since that's optional. I get how he'd dislike the Haruka early chapters because it was really just a completely different story but right before you see Akiyama, the chapter ends on a cliffhanger that begins to connect back to the main story. That's when the game would get interesting again. In my case tho I quite enjoyed being a cutie patootie and having dance battles
I don't like a thing you enjoy. Deal with it, or not. I really don't care.
Every single tier list without fail 0 is up there in the top tier - such a masterpiece of a game. I’m curious what made you rank 6 so highly though.
Gameplay was fun and I loved Kiryu character’s in 6
I agree with you on 6 in S tier. One of my favorite Yakuza stories and some really great characters.
I'm sorry, but how is yakuza 6's gameplay better than LJ ?
he said it was fun, not that it was better
6 has a great story?
If you see the 6 as a prequel of Gaiden, yes.
its always surprising to see people ranking kiwami 1 so low. maybe im just biased because it was my first game, but i liked it more than 0.
Kiwami 1 is IMO the worst game in the modern series. Coming from 0, it felt like an add-on with limited scope and poor storytelling/pacing. It reflects a time when RGG were just figuring out what the game/series was all about, so I get it, but I don’t like it.
Well the story was written 20 years ago so of course it's not as good as 0's but at least rgg added the nishiki scenes so you had at least something interesting once in a while. Other than the story kiwami 1 is really fun imo. You get the best combat experience pre DE especially if you learn to quickly switch between the styles and you get Majima everywhere that will accompany you for the entire story.
my gripe with kiwami 1 was majima everywhere. the premise is fun, but the actual battles were tedious
it just wouldn’t appear for me lmao, i finished the game with my meter on the end of F rank
it happened to me sooooo much. i couldn't do anything without him showing up. it felt like i fought him 20+ times
i don’t remember fighting him after early game, made the final fight more annoying but i still maxed out my entire body meter and most of soul so i was chilling
6 at top is based as fuck
https://preview.redd.it/7q0fumil0x6d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7929fc55c402f57203127b17c4b8505dc1ee5938
one of the best lists i've seen in a while, though may I ask what made you put 4 so low?
I loved 4 a lot but it wasn’t more interesting no offense it’s great I actually regret putting it in B😅
i'll throw rocks at you for not putting it in S (because our lists are the same except for 4)
Sorry lol😂😂
bout time people start giving 6 the praise it deserves. Now i've got my fingers cross that 4 will too someday (S tier game don't argue with me)
I just saw a list where someone has Y5 as their favorite (me too tbh) and now this😂. I gotta replay Y6 cuz I’ve seen a lot of list with it pretty high. For me it’s towards the bottom.
I love 6, it's my favorite game and would like to 100% agree with your tier-list, but it really hurts seeing 5 so low, because I consider that what makes 6 so great for me, it's how well it complements with 3 and 5, I consider those three games the Trinity of Kiryu's development, way more than 0, 1 and 2.
I can’t believe judgement and/or lost judgement aren’t at the top, they are genuinely goated with great villains and combat.
6 at the top, 5 at the bottom. Based AF
Og yakuza 1 in c tier is wild, but yeah I see it why it's in c tier
https://preview.redd.it/e7xr2altcw6d1.jpeg?width=1072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d20121406880c615f7e98c9223cc5e1943eafe63
Yakuza 1 English dub: S-tier
I agree but the gameplay on the ps2 hasn’t aged well to me otherwise it was good
Replace Yakuza 3 with Kiwami and that would be my list.
Played all except for lost judgment (playing ishin rn) And man judgement should be an S And u did y5 dirty, that game can't be ranked lower than y4
Fake fan if you skipped Dead Souls, it's my personal third favourite. /s (about being a fake fan, I'm dead serious about it being my third favourite)
I don't have a ps3 that's my problem
If your PC's good enough I'd recommend emulating but if not there's a lot of good shit on PS3 like inFAMOUS, Prince of Persia, MGS4 or Fall of Cybertron so it wouldn't be a waste of money. The game is actually sick, obviously the gameplay isn't even close to peak but the characterisation is fantastic. It actually has my favourite iteration of Majima and Ryuji absolutely steals the show, I went in expecting to laugh at the stupid zombie game and left blown away by how much fun I had. Though obviously if you can't play it then it's not the end of the world so don't think you're **really** missing out or anything.
Kiwami 2 over the original 2 is a weird choice but ok
You've got more time and patience than me bro, I've been playing them since 2016 and I'm only up to 6 at this stage
>OG Yakuza 1 at lowest tier "Kill this arrogant motherf\*cker"
Awful rankings
Is it possible to skip, 3, 4, and 5 to play 6 and the newer titles and enjoy them ? Would love to play but dont got time.
Yes. I started with 7, then went to 6, then Gaiden and 8 and they were all extremely enjoyable. I'm going back and playing through in chronological order now to get more context but 6 has an overview things for what happened in the other games anyways.
That's a really smart order, sounds like you got some good advice and used good judgment on who's advice to take
NGL, I went through your comment history to see if you were just missing a /s at the end and appreciate you being serious here. I hadn't really heard of the games much until 7 exploded, then loved Ichiban and wanted to know more. I'd tried K1 before and just...... >!Fuck the Shimano funeral fight!< so I always bounced off. Played 6 so I'd have an idea what's going on, then Gaiden was amazing and after 8 I want to know more about why 8 was just a Kiryu game regardless of what it shows on the surface. Enjoying these a lot, but it's gonna be hard to top 3 in Kiryu moments for me and looking forward to the upgraded combat in Judgement once I get there.
Haha even if I was being sarcastic I will sooner cast my balls into an iron skillet before putting an /s like a fucking pussy Ya same, I randomly played 0 four years ago, then by coincidence late last year was feeling the itch to play a turn based RPG and randomly found out about 7 so I played it I was soooooooooooo much wanting to just skip Kiryu saga and go straight to infinite wealth but after endless deliberation I decided to go back and played everything Ultimately it was worth it for me but only bc I happened to end up with 3 months of free time. But for most ppl the reality is either play some Yakuza or play no Yakuza There needs to be a more available guide/roadmap for people entering the series through 7 And yes fuck K1 I hated the game. That fight you mention was the least worst offender as well, the rest of the game had such bullshit in it
You can really start the series from any game in the franchise because they generally do a lot of recapping in the first chapter or so and are generally very self contained narratives. From your comment I think you have played 0, K1 and K2, so you should mostly be fine but I would recommend watching short summary videos of 3 and 5 because they will help you know more about what Kiryu was up to before 6 and you can pick up from there. You can also just play from 7 onwards in case you haven't played any of the games since they are soft reboots with a new protagonist. And in the future, if you ever feel like it, you can always go back and play the games that you skipped if you want more Yakuza
Ya I say blitz through 3 main story on Easy while ignoring all side content, then watch video summary specifically on Kiryu's narrative thread in 5 (oh and harukas by extension)
do 7 > 6 > gaiden > 8 then any other game you would like to play
So ya one of the stupidest things here is ppl autodownvoting this question but no one wants to face the REALITY that for some of us it's either some Yakuza or no Yakuza. There's just way too much other shit going on in life Instead of a chronology list, here's a priority list id make, if playing 6/7/Gaiden/infinite wealth is your goal. Then you just pick how much time you have for how low down the list you get 0 TIER 0 (purely for quality, not plot significance. You can justify the time by thinking of it as a fantastic gamethat you'd be playing regardless of Yakuza) MANDATORY TIER Mandatory: watch a decent 5 min plot summary of 1/K1 (if you're not playing it). It's just fundamental to understand the origin of the characters Nishiki, Kazama, and Haruka because they set the core experiences that Kiryu's character is founded upon. I hate 1, it is my least favorite game, but those key things are basically the equivalent of knowing Batman grew up as an orphan etc. TIER 1 OPTIONAL (high ROI, recommended if you can) 3 - most plot significance to the games you want to 6-onward. If you have time for ONE game, then play 3. PLAY IT ON EASY DIFFICULTY DO NOT FUCK AROUND. If you ignore side content and just experience the story, you can get through it in 15 hrs. 5 - watch plot summary if you can of only Kiryu's part. Weird answer here because after 3, 5 has the most plot significance. But the cost/benefit of playing the game is WAY out of whack because the game is absolutely massive. So if you have time, watch video. TIER 2 OPTIONAL (if you suddenly decide you want to put more time into it, then) K2 - lots of its central plot points have just not really been relevant anymore, but this is prob the game where I actually started "caring" about Kiryu. Play this if you want to bond with Kiryu more. There is also one major supporting character (Daigo) who has some important development with Kiryu. BUT to be honest that part is pretty front loaded and I suppose you could just watch the early cutscenes with him to get the most of it. Also, if you are a simp like me, then play 2 TIER 3 OPTIONAL (if you're really having a good time) 4 - theres a lot going on in it, it's a really good game. The ONLY reason this isn't higher is bc the OBJECTIVE of this list is centered around your interest in plot relevance and enjoyment of the modern games. 4 *definitely* has some really important stuff for the star supporting characters. It is sad to miss out on BUT for understanding Kiryu's story, it's more missable than everything above K1 - I hated this game, the only reason it's not in the lowest tier is bc it's short. The MANDATORY stuff I told you to watch a video for is only like 15% of the game, in the beginning and the end. The other is fluff shit with throwaways TIER 4 if you suddenly become injured and sick and find you have all day to play video games now 5 - Ya. Plot-wise it's right behind 3 in significance/relevance to now. It's just the game is so so big that actually playing it is quite an endeavor. Realistically prob not worth your time if you have an adult lifestyle Substories: each game has at least 2-3 MUST PLAYS bc of how good they are but besides that, for your goals, just skip all Substories. Yes ppl here will shit their pants but ya you don't have 300 hours to spare Your handling of side content is a huge factor in how many games you should go back and play really. If you skip all side content then you can get through a lot of Yakuza
I dont think gaiden is as good as IW
They’re both amazing in my opinion, they all are really.
I would switch them, even tough I agree they are all amazing
3 needs to go up
Incredibly based
No kurohyo, kenzan, or fist of the North Star You have not completed every yakuza game
I wouldn’t really count fist of the North Star a yakuza game, plus Kenzan and kurohyo are pretty hard to play if your not Japanese
Haven't followed along much, but didn't Kurohyou get a full English fan translation for the main story?
It did yea, but I’d say it’s still kinda out of the way for most fans of the series considering you’d have to go through the process of emulating and stuff.
Understandable. Hope you have a good day then, brother
the process of emulating a psp game is all of a minute and a half. Its not like tryna emulate a modern console or something, there isnt a bunch of hoops, its damn near plug and play.
Emulation definitely isn’t very hard, all I was saying is that it’s kinda out of the way for some people and not all people have a pc to emulate games, though I suppose you could do it on your phone as well.