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[GymWolf]

Yes that's the song I pick. It's my fav track

Spoiler

i also love that shit, too much time combining bracelets and earrings to upgrade the girls does that to a man

 

[DanEON]

I also never played any Yakuza game. Where should I start? With 0? Or with Like a Dragon like OP?

 

[GymWolf]

I also never played any Yakuza game. Where should I start? With 0? Or with Like a Dragon like OP?

 

[diffusionx]

Welcome, you're in for a wild ride!

Personally, before starting Infinite Wealth, I'd recommend playing the Yakuza series games. While LAD focuses on Ichiban and there is no need for any prior knowledge, the sequel includes a LOT of Kiryu story, so almost half of the game plot will be lost on you.

Start with Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2, those are the modern remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2 and they are great.
You can also start with Yakuza 0, it is a prequel, but it can be safely played after 1 and 2.
Then I'd personally watch the summary of 3-4-5 on Youtube, as those are PS3-ass games and kinda hard to get into.

Then play Yakuza 6 and The Man Who Erased His Name.

And THEN you can play Infinite Wealth and it will hit you like a truck.

"bro if you want to really enjoy this one game you need to spend 200-300 hours playing 5 different games"

yakuza fans are something else

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I played about half of this and want to get back to it. But man! I really hate turn based combat, but I'm also not a huge fan of the regular Yakuza combat. ha!
I just like all the weird stuff and being in the world.

 

[geary]

Yakuza games were always seen as great games by almost every gamer that played them, but why none of them appear in tops as masterpieces, must play, GOTY games? Is it the silliness which detract them to be seen as the great ones?

 

[Sethbacca]

I've been picking at this since I preordered my Pro since I wanted to wait to play some of the other new stuff I've purchased (FF7R, Outlaws). I'm having a great time with it but haven't gotten a lot of hours in yet because other life obligations call my name. I'm really enjoying just how wacky it is though, and it is my first Yakuza game.

 

[SolidQ]

I'd personally suggest starting with Zero*), it gives a lot of context to the events of 1.

Never understand, who request start from middle(any games), it's like you're read book from middle. If you want whole story, backstory, even sidestories, just start from Yakuza 0, there alot mentions in every game.
LAD, it's have own story, but for people who play previous games, feels much better. Example sidestory about Ono michio, where man mention Kiryu, from Yakuza6

 

[Comandr]

Yakuza games were always seen as great games by almost every gamer that played them, but why none of them appear in tops as masterpieces, must play, GOTY games? Is it the silliness which detract them to be seen as the great ones?

I would definitely not like the games as much without the silly stuff. I don’t think these games would be anywhere near as popular if they were just played completely straight.

I think there’s also a notion out there that the yakuza series is just some kind of GTA clone and that turns a lot of people off from even looking into them. Anecdotal- but most of my friends that I introduced the games to thought this. I’m not sure why.

 

[nowhat]

Yakuza games were always seen as great games by almost every gamer that played them, but why none of them appear in tops as masterpieces, must play, GOTY games? Is it the silliness which detract them to be seen as the great ones?

They can be incredibly silly. They can also be incredibly serious. And often at the same time. This doesn't work with many people. Also the pacing can be really off, it can take a lot of time for the game to really pick up. And when it does, it may again lull for quite a while before you really get back into the action.

Which is where the side quests and activities come into play. Yakuza doesn't rival many/any contemporary games when it comes to map size, but when it comes to map density, it pretty much is unrivaled. There's so much to do, and many of the minigames would qualify as low-price releases themselves. I guess for many this is just too chaotic, but once you get into it, it's like the cotton candy of video games. Not very healthy, and may not keep you full all the time, but oh so sweet.

 

[acidagfc]

"bro if you want to really enjoy this one game you need to spend 200-300 hours playing 5 different games"

yakuza fans are something else

Because they are all amazing! And you would enjoy the story so much more, when you know the context.

Really, all the Kiryu bits in IW will make little sense, if you have not played Yakuza games before LAD. And there is almost half of the game of those bits.

 

[Comandr]

"bro if you want to really enjoy this one game you need to spend 200-300 hours playing 5 different games"

yakuza fans are something else

I mean- OP has jumped straight into like.. Harry Potter and the half blood prince- or right to Infinity War without any previous history in their respective series.

You CAN obviously just watch them and enjoy them as stand alone products but they are by definition the culmination of their previous works, and thus, the experience and payoff is infinitely magnified by seeing those previous works.

 

[Fbh]

Any example?

Well for one I think the combat is much better. The first one was carried by fun animations and classes but was overall a very basic turn based system. This time around they've added a lot more depth by letting you move around, making positioning way more important, adding more interactivity with the environments (like in the older games) and more. I actually think the combat system is so fun now that I wouldn't mind if a more classic Fantasy style JRPG took elements from it.

They also made it easier to avoid unnecessary fights which was a major annoyance for me in the first one. You need to get a lot closer to enemies now to get into a fight, which is nice as in the first one the invisible area around enemies that would trigger combat was way too big and it often made it impossible to avoid fights even if you tried to sidestep a round enemies. Sometimes I'd just want to go to a store or restaurant and I'd have to go through 2-3 unavoidable fights to get there.

They also added a mechanic called "Smackdown" which lets you basically one shot a group of enemies if they are significantly lower level than you, which means that even if you get into a fight you couldn't avoid you don't need to waste time fighting enemies that will give you next to no xp or money.

I also never played any Yakuza game. Where should I start? With 0? Or with Like a Dragon like OP?

It really depends if you want a starting point to play through the entire franchise or if you just want a starting point to get into the modern iteration of it and keep up with new releases.

If you want to play through the older games and experience the real time action era of the franchise (Yakuza 0-6) then both 0 or Kiwami 1 are a good starting point.
If you'd rather just want to get into the more contemporary games with their turn based RPG approach then Like a Dragoon works well as an entry point too.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Ichiban >>> Kiryu

 

[Nankatsu]

I love Ichiban and his last two games, but you can see the series started to get soft once he got introduced and Nagoshi also got away.

 

[Bridges]

Always happy to see others see the light. I started my Yakuza journey during covid when they first put Y0 onto Game Pass. Played the rest sequentially and finally got through LAD back in January. Truly an incredible series.

I haven't played infinite wealth yet but I do recommend going back to the Kiryu games first because they kick ass

 

[mayham2199]

I played about half of this and want to get back to it. But man! I really hate turn based combat, but I'm also not a huge fan of the regular Yakuza combat. ha!
I just like all the weird stuff and being in the world.

Maybe just put it on easy mode so you can blast through all the combat. I love these games but I've never been a fan of the side quest stuff. I just enjoy the main story and the combat.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Wait, this song is the one you pick out when this banger will live rent free in your head for the rest of your life?

What an absolute banger.

 

[Comandr]

What an absolute banger.

When you discover it in the game, your life will change.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

I just finished Like a Dragon after 61 hours:

This thread also sums it up very nicely: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/desp...le-aged-guy-things-according-to-devs.1674619/

The game is just so...mature (and goofy at the same time). The MQ is grounded in reality, with characters not being some caricatures of normal people. They act normal, speak normal, it's a pleasure to learn more about them as you advance in the Bond Level. Side-quests are also incredible: helping girl raise money for her brother's operation ; helping the homeless guy turn his life around. I mean...is it really so hard to put mature themes in games? Because here you have a bunch of devs that managed to do it, and at the same time also putting more lighter things e.g. minigames.

Two nitpicks from my side:

1. Business management minigame is obligatory - good luck going through a game without the income stream from Ichiban Confections. Everything cost money, including fast travel. Want best weapons? Cool, spend over 20 million yen to upgrade the workshop. Want to advance the plot? That will be 3 million yen.
2. Difficulty spike at the end of chapter 12 (*THAT* fight), afterwards all bosses become just HP sponges, they can't hurt you much but you still take 5 minutes with OP attacks to bring them down

Now I probably need to play the whole series, fml.

Yeah...that was my first entry as well.

Game was awesome and my goty...two years in a row.

Loved that game, the follow up was great, AND it introduced me to the series which I am about 65% of the way through. Wish I would have played them all in order but still a great ride!

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

ive only ever played yakuza demos, and have been waiting to start the series "the right way", you know playing the oldest titles first... but im just gonna jump to zero and see how it goes.

 

[DanEON]

Well for one I think the combat is much better. The first one was carried by fun animations and classes but was overall a very basic turn based system. This time around they've added a lot more depth by letting you move around, making positioning way more important, adding more interactivity with the environments (like in the older games) and more. I actually think the combat system is so fun now that I wouldn't mind if a more classic Fantasy style JRPG took elements from it.

They also made it easier to avoid unnecessary fights which was a major annoyance for me in the first one. You need to get a lot closer to enemies now to get into a fight, which is nice as in the first one the invisible area around enemies that would trigger combat was way too big and it often made it impossible to avoid fights even if you tried to sidestep a round enemies. Sometimes I'd just want to go to a store or restaurant and I'd have to go through 2-3 unavoidable fights to get there.

They also added a mechanic called "Smackdown" which lets you basically one shot a group of enemies if they are significantly lower level than you, which means that even if you get into a fight you couldn't avoid you don't need to waste time fighting enemies that will give you next to no xp or money.



It really depends if you want a starting point to play through the entire franchise or if you just want a starting point to get into the modern iteration of it and keep up with new releases.

If you want to play through the older games and experience the real time action era of the franchise (Yakuza 0-6) then both 0 or Kiwami 1 are a good starting point.
If you'd rather just want to get into the more contemporary games with their turn based RPG approach then Like a Dragoon works well as an entry point too.

Well, that's the point, I don't know if I will like the game and want to keep playing the other games. So I would like to play the one that would give a good introduction to the franchise and not be lost in the story.

 

[Chuck Berry]

So I would like to play the one that would give a good introduction to the franchise and not be lost in the story.

Then you want to play Zero, homie

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Well, that's the point, I don't know if I will like the game and want to keep playing the other games. So I would like to play the one that would give a good introduction to the franchise and not be lost in the story.

I do think playing the other games gave me a larger appreciation for the series overall. I will say that for years I was always turned off by the Yakuza games based off of my own bias (looked like Shenmu...no thanks) and I didn't understand how fleshed out the entire universe of the series is even starting from 0.

I played Like a Dragon because I like turn based JRPG's and figured what the heck, i'll give it a try. That's when my mind exploded because Like a Dragon is one of the best JRPG's (im using that term...you can call it an action game or whatever) I have ever played and I realized that I had missed out on 20 years of a series that I could have been enjoying (please keep in mind that LoD has a very different approach to combat compared to the other games that came before it.)

So...if you are like me and don't know if you will like the rest then play Like a Dragon. There is enough of the old game systems and progression in LoD that if you like that game I think you will like playing the others.
If you play LoD and don't like the combat, perfect the other games in the series are action based but still have the same love for the setting, attention to character development, etc etc.

If you play LoD and you don't like the talking, walking around the city, doing Yakuza stuff then you will not like the whole series (imo).

Anyway...you cannot go wrong just giving LoD a try....have fun!

 

[hangdang69]

Hard disagree here. I got halfway through the game and just stopped playing because I became so bored. It became too repetitive and cumbersome and I didn't find the side content to be anything other than tedious most of the time.

I have also played Yakuza 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 and have reached the conclusion that these games spend WAY too much time with dialogue and cutscenes. You get to play the games for 5 minutes at a time in between constant yapping. I think I'm giving up on the series.

 

[LordCBH]

Y:LAD is one of my favorite games of all time. The characters, the story, the gameplay. Adored it.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Thread has caused me to reinstall Zero. Thanks OP.

 

[Fbh]

Well, that's the point, I don't know if I will like the game and want to keep playing the other games. So I would like to play the one that would give a good introduction to the franchise and not be lost in the story.

If you care about not missing absolutely anything about the story I would argue Zero is a good entry point since it's the first game in the timeline.
7 (Like a Dragon) also works because it was a sort of soft reboot focusing on a new cast of characters and introducing a new play style. It's designed for newcomers to be able to enjoy it with no previous knowledge but you'll miss a few details regarding returning characters and past events (while still getting a complete feeling and understandable standalone main story).

I think the biggest difference is that Zero is a an introduction to how Yakuza games used to be: Real time combat and a slightly more grounded tone.
While 7 (Like a Dragon) is an introduction to the present (and probably future) of the franchise: Turn based combat, more silly and over the top.

 

[NanaMiku]

That's a good point.

Judgement is the better game of the 2. In Lost Judgement Yagami just keeps going "is this what dead lady would have wanted?"

Snake style was a good improvement to the combat tho

I think the main story aspect is getting weaker with each game. All other aspects are improving, which is good. They are having trouble coming up with stories after the Tojo-Omi dissolution. I really hate Yagami in Lost Judgment. I actually relate to Kuwana more hahahahah

 

[Metnut]

The whole series might be too much to play but at least playing Yakuza 6 and the Man who Lost his Name before playing Infinite Wealth will help you get 90%+ of the story.

 

[Neilg]

And after 500 hours you should play the spin-offs

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The man who erased his name

This isn't a spinoff, it bridges Yakuza 6 to infinite wealth. It's an essential part of kiryu's story, the others are true spinoffs.

 

[thatsafakewebsitebro]

And after 500 hours you should play the spin-offs

Like a Dragon: Ishin
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The man who erased his name
Lost Judgement
Judgement

Are Judgement and Lost Judgment really spin-offs though? I thought they were a new series separate from the Yakuza games.

 

[NanaMiku]

Are Judgement and Lost Judgment really spin-offs though? I thought they were a new series separate from the Yakuza games.

You could say it's a spinoff. It's the same setting. There's Tojo clan in Judgement. IIRC you can find Yagami office in Yakuza 7 and 8

 

[Power Pro]