It's time for another round of Pick One — New Year's edition! This week, to mark the removal of various Yakuza games from Xbox Game Pass (don't worry, you can still grab a couple of them at a major discount for the next few days), we thought we'd take a look at the franchise on Xbox so far.
We're not including spin-offs in this list, so the likes of Judgment and Lost Judgment don't make the cut. So with that said, out of just the mainline entries, which is your favourite? Remember, you can only pick one!
Let's take a look at what we're working with:
Yakuza 0
Play as Kazuma Kiryu and discover how he finds himself in a world of trouble when a simple debt collection goes wrong and his mark winds up murdered. Then, step into the silver-toed shoes of Goro Majima and explore his “normal” life as the proprietor of a cabaret club.
Yakuza Kiwami
To save his best friend, Kazuma Kiryu takes the fall for a crime he didn’t commit, and ends up with a 10-year prison sentence. After being released, Kiryu finds himself expelled from his yakuza family, and alone in a world he no longer recognizes.
Yakuza Kiwami 2
The Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance are on the brink of war. Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, enters as a broker of peace, but Ryuji Goda, the Dragon of Kansai, will stop at nothing to start an all-out war. In this world, there can only be one dragon.
Yakuza 3 Remastered
A year after the Kanto-Kansai all-out war, Kazuma Kiryu and Haruka Sawamura have left the unforgiving streets of Kamurocho for the island of Okinawa to run the Morning Glory Orphanage. Despite his efforts, shadows of Kiryu's past threaten to entangle the Morning Glory Orphanage in a deadly power struggle involving the Tojo Clan and political world.
Yakuza 4 Remastered
2010, Tokyo. A shooting incident one night in a red-light district sets the city swirling with human desires and clamor. It was supposed to be a "common incident" for this town... until the appearance of one woman burdened with sorrow.
Yakuza 5 Remastered
In December 2012, Kazuma Kiryu left his past as a "legendary yakuza" and his place of peace in Okinawa. He now spends his days as a cab driver in a corner of Fukuoka's red-light district, hiding his true identity. All for the sake of fulfilling the "dream" of an important person.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
How far would you go for family? Step into Japan's criminal underworld with fists swinging in this explosive action brawler starring legendary yakuza, Kazuma Kiryu, who is hellbent on uncovering the truth behind a tragic accident that left his daughter comatose.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Become Ichiban Kasuga, a low-ranking yakuza grunt left on the brink of death by the man he trusted most. Take up your legendary bat and get ready to crack some underworld skulls in dynamic RPG combat set against the backdrop of modern-day Japan in Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Let us know which of these Xbox Yakuza games is your favourite below.
Comments 24
The turn based one. They’re all top shelf though.
Yakuza 0 for me. I had heard of it, but it felt like starting the MCU with Civil War. You didn't know the fine details. This game was the perfect entry. I have completed 4 games now (0, 1, 2 and Like a Dragon) and searching for time to start with the third. Great series.
Like a Dragon; I like turn based JRPGs
Probably Y4 though I haven't played the remaster, I played the original on PS3. Might have picked Kiwami 2 (because Sayama Kauru is smoking hot lol) but they cut quite a lot of content from it compared to the original PS2 version. Adding clan creator did not make up for it.
Best to Worst: 0, Like a Dragon, 6, 1, 2, 5, 3, 4 … probably.
Like a Dragon is absolute perfection with my favourite protagonist of all time. That said, 0 is my favourite game. What a fantastic series.
I hope Ichiban gets his own seven part arc. Love that guy.
Okay, I need help.
I’ve never played a Yakuza game and likely only have time for one of them with all the other games in my backlog.
Based on these results it looks like either 0 or Like a Dragon. But the question is, which one?
@Kienda Like a Dragon is a turned based JRPG 0 is an action beatem up style. Does that help?
@Kienda 0 has a perfect story in my opinion with really fun action combat. LaD has a perfect protaganist with really fun JRPG elements. So whichever one suits your fancy.
I freaking loved LaD. That made me buy the rest of the games, excluding Judgment, at less than $50 on the countdown sale
Yakuza 0 was the best for me. Perfect introduction to the series. The impact of the events on the first game have more impact if you played 0 first, I liked that experience
I've only played Like a Dragon and I love that one. Once I finished it I tried Zero but couldn't get into it.
@XBontendo @mousieone thanks. I’m leaning towards 0 for the ‘authentic’ Yakuza experience. Also, it might be worth beginning there because if I really enjoy the game I’m likely to be playing more than one.
My favorite isn’t on this list :/
It’s judgment 1, which is a yakuza game.
@Kienda As i said in my comment, I started with 0. Like a Dragon can be perceived as a sequel to the series, with some guest appearances or notices. 0 is the perfect start imo
Might be an unfair take but i only played Like a Dragon and a bit of zero. The protagonist of Like a Dragon is SO much more likeable than the protagonist from the rest of the series, though, that I can't see myself liking the other games as much as I liked LaD.
I still plan to play through all of them... someday... damned backlog...
Played each Kiryu Yakuza, and loved all for their story. Also really enjoyed like a dragon until the point where you fight Goro and Taiga where my story progress came to a sudden halt and I can grind my way through the 50 lvl battle tower to have a chance. I just hate stuff like this and don't have the time for it.
Anybody know a good cheese for that boss fight?
0 is still my favorite in the series but Like a Dragon is a great soft reboot and one veterans and newcomers can enjoy equally since the story and characters are new.
@tameshiyaku I just leveled up like crazy by that point but helps to know the weaknesses even if higher level. I think I used all my phone call summons on these, but here is a more though through strategy:
https://samurai-gamers.com/yakuza-like-a-dragon/goro-majima-and-taiga-saejima-boss-guide/
For what it’s worth all my leveling up to that point was done in the sewers killing the bums that give tons of XP. I didn’t grind the tower until after I was post-game.
Playing through them right now. I've currently at 5, and I played Dead Souls. I'd have to say it's between 0 and Kiwami 2 for me
I'm playing them all in chronological order, currently finishing Yakuza 3. Right now I'd say 0 is my favorite one and 3 is the worst of them so far.
I'm loving the series though, can't wait to see what happens in the next entries!
I played all of them plus the two Judgment games throughout last year, with the exception of Like a Dragon, which I’m playing right now. My favorite one is Yakuza 5. I love how much content is in the game; the mini-games are among the best in the franchise, playing as different characters was fun, and I loved the multiple cities featured throughout the game. Yakuza 0 was paced better and had a better story, and both Judgment games were excellent, but I spent the most amount of time with Yakuza 5. The Yakuza games are fantastic, and should be tried out by everyone.
I’ve only played 0 and LaD so far. Out of those two, Like a Dragon is my favourite by far, even though I’m normally not a fan of turn based RPGs.
I hope to find time to play some more games in the series (including Judgment) this year, but there are so many games in my backlog and these games are very time consuming.
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