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With the Like a Dragon/Yakuza franchise receiving three special announcements at RGG Summit 2022, many players will be looking to try the series out for the first time.
It might be challenging to find a good place to start. With a game franchise like Yakuza, it’s not always clear if someone should start with the first game released or somewhere else.
Fans will be spoiled with Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden, and Like a Dragon/Yakuza 8 launching over the next few years. There are many storylines to play through, characters to meet, tragic moments to experience, and hilarious side stories to take part in.
The Like a Dragon/Yakuza franchise technically begins with Yakuza 0
Yakuza / Ryu ga Gotoku first appeared in 2006 on the PlayStation 2, and the open-world action-adventure genre will never be the same again. While the PlayStation 2 game might be a neat place to start, as that is the first game in the series, why put yourself through that? Instead, consider Yakuza 0.
The game was released in 2015 and served as a prequel to the franchise. It allows players to dive deep into the 1980s in Japan when everything changes for Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima.
It’s the perfect place to start for players to get to know Kazuma Kiryu and learn what shaped him into the man he is. Players get to experience both Kiryu and Majima’s storylines and see how the two become linked together as well. Majima comes out of nowhere early in the first game and is an absolute lunatic.
How did he lose his eye? How did he become a maniac? Why is he so obsessed with Kiryu? Yakuza 0 answers many questions about these two characters. The two protagonists have their cities to explore, and the story is incredibly captivating. It also features one of the greatest antagonists, Daisaku Kuze.
From there, it’s easy enough to play Yakuza Kiwami (a complete remake of the original game), then Kiwami 2, 3, 4, 5 remasters, 6: The Song of Life, and then Like a Dragon.
While this game is technically optional, it’s ultimately the best place to start for the Kazuma Kiryu saga. However, he’s not the only protagonist of this franchise. After all, in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Kasuga Ichiban becomes the protagonist.
It’s also been confirmed that while Like a Dragon 8 will feature both Kiryu and Ichiban as protagonists, it will be primarily about Kasuga. It’s his story, and he’s still the new focus of the franchise.
Another solid option is to start with Yakuza: Like a Dragon, starring Kasuga Ichiban
Not everyone is a fan of the beat ‘em up action of the Kazuma Kiryu games, and that's where Yakuza: Like a Dragon comes in. Kasuga’s initial outing is a turn-based RPG that combines Dragon Quest and Persona elements, creating one amazing role-playing game.
Kasuga Ichiban repeatedly mentions Dragon Quest in the game as a die-hard fan of the RPG series. Like Kiryu, he also goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit and is an orphan, much like the Dragon of Dojima. Their stories, however, are considerably different.
Taking place mainly in Iszeaki Ijincho, it also heads back to Kamurocho and Sotenbori. Ichiban Kasuga is an entirely different character than Kiryu, but they both have a powerful sense of justice and high moral fiber.
It’s a completely different game style as an RPG, and it’s a terrific place to start. Kasuga will be the protagonist for the foreseeable future, as Kiryu badly wanted to leave the world of violence behind and find peace.
RPGs are easier to get into compared to the potential difficulty of action-based combat of Kiryu’s adventures. You can take your time and plan your actions instead of needing to always be in the thick of combat. It also has terrific minigames like karaoke, hilarious side missions, and great conversations between the parties.
Ichiban Kasuga is a brand-new protagonist, and players don’t have to keep up with seven games of lore at that point. It isn’t filled with many cameos, so players don’t have to spend time researching everyone who shows up.
You can play the game without further knowledge of the series and have fun. From there, playing 0, Kiwami, and the rest of the games at your leisure is excellent.
No matter how much experience you have in the Yakuza series, these two games are ideal starting points. Kiwami wouldn’t be a bad start, but you would miss out on all of the prequel experiences, and it’s 100% worth going through.
Both Kiryu and Kasuga are both excellent protagonists, but Kasuga, as a whole, is far more relatable. He’s a man who has lost his way and doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life anymore.
Players quickly meet him when he’s at his lowest point, and it’s pretty endearing. The older, down-on-their-luck cast of this most recent entry in the series has often been said to be relatable.
Fans won’t have to wait long for another game, as two side-stories are coming soon, with Ishin and Kiryu’s Like a Dragon: Gaiden in 2023 and 2024, bringing the next mainline entry into the series. The best part is that both games are accessible on several platforms and reasonably priced.
