Yakuza Series Starter Guide | Welcome to Kamurocho
- Thread starter IrishNinja
- Start date
Smooth Operator
Member
Great thread for a great saga, thanks IrishNinja
Yakuza 0 ? Yakuza 6 ? Kiwami ?
Yakuza 0 ? Yakuza 6 ? Kiwami ?
matrix-cat
Member
Just wanted to post my favourite Yakuza gif:
They traditionally keep the crazy nutso action stuff in gameplay in this series, with the cutscenes being comparatively more realistic, but I feel like they loosened up on the rules a little bit with Yakuza 5 in the best possible way
They traditionally keep the crazy nutso action stuff in gameplay in this series, with the cutscenes being comparatively more realistic, but I feel like they loosened up on the rules a little bit with Yakuza 5 in the best possible way
semiconscious
Member
great post! &, yeah, i'm ready! 
...
...Shadowman16
Member
Just wanted to post my favourite Yakuza gif:
They traditionally keep the crazy nutso action stuff in gameplay in this series, with the cutscenes being comparatively more realistic, but I feel like they loosened up on the rules a little bit with Yakuza 5 in the best possible way
That gif never fails to crack me up. An epic moment in an epic battle.
Chronospherics
Member
I really like the series but I've missed and forgotten so much of it. I don't remember much of Yakuza 1 or 2 as my sister played it with myself watching, when I was 14 years old or so. Long time ago now and I don't want to go back to it especially.
I really enjoyed 3, but struggled to get through number 4. I didn't like the character switching and really just wanted to play a single character. I wouldn't mind if that were Akiyama but I just like to connect with a single character.
That's also why I didn't pick up 5, though I guess I should go back and just suck it up. Character switching is fine so long as you like all of the characters, but with such variance that seems unlikely for me.
Either way, I'm going to pick up Zero since Kazuma Kiryu and Majima interest me the most. Maybe I'll watch the plot synopsis of 1 and 2 again and pick up number 5. Do I need to play number four?
I really enjoyed 3, but struggled to get through number 4. I didn't like the character switching and really just wanted to play a single character. I wouldn't mind if that were Akiyama but I just like to connect with a single character.
That's also why I didn't pick up 5, though I guess I should go back and just suck it up. Character switching is fine so long as you like all of the characters, but with such variance that seems unlikely for me.
Either way, I'm going to pick up Zero since Kazuma Kiryu and Majima interest me the most. Maybe I'll watch the plot synopsis of 1 and 2 again and pick up number 5. Do I need to play number four?
purseowner
Member
Great thread. Currently playing through Ishin, which is just as glorious as the main series entries so far!
Shadowman16
Member
If you want to understand how some of the characters got to be in the position/location they are in 5, you really should play 4 since the two lightly tie into each other. Likewise, if 6 ever gets released in English, you'd really need to play 5, since the intro of 6 takes place right after 5.
Shadowman16
Member
No, perfectly fine to do - Three of the four characters in 4 are brand new, and while there are some carry overs in the story from the first three games the links are fairly minimal so you can easily start from 4 and understand the series just fine.
matrix-cat
Member
It's a great idea, I'd highly recommend it. It introduces three new characters to the series, so it's the best point to jump in short of starting from the beginning. The game even comes with some nice recap videos you can access from the main menu if you want to catch up with what went on in the first three games.
please start with 4
Son Of Sparda
Member
How do you guys feel about starting with 5 instead of 4? Just looking at the game descriptions it seems much more appealing to me. More cities (this really appeals to me), more stuff, better reviews etc. I mean, I could just play both but I don't know if I'll ever have the time to do that, seeing as they both look like they're really long (and then 0's coming out, which also seems really cool).
UnluckyKate
Member
5 is more diverse but not as good. Also the characters arc are nowhere as good.
Honestly try 4 first. It's really AMAZING and without argument possible the best place to start because it introduce 3 new characters before the main character
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
5 is the stronger game in my opinion for sure.
The main issue with starting with 5 is story wise. While all the games have standalone stories, 5's builds on past character stuff more heavily than 4 does. 4 eases new players in by starting with a brand new character, while 5 throws players right into Kazuma Kiryu's ongoing story.
But you can definitely start with 5 and follow things just fine; there will just be various places where you won't necessarily be getting the full context for everything. The larger number of cities, playable characters and side activities probably make it the most fun game in the series on that level, so it's a good game to understand why people love the franchise so much.
Son Of Sparda
Member
Honestly I wouldn't recommend jumping straight to 5. If you just want to try a Yakuza game for now (before Y0) then I recommend Y4. It's just much more beginner friendly and introduces a lot of new characters for the first time, which will help you get more invested into the game.
Humdinger
Gold Member
Really informative and positive thread. Thank you IrishNinja, Son of Sparda, and everyone else who contributed. I love seeing quality threads devoted to games like this, which might otherwise fly under the radar. It was certainly flying under the radar for me, before GAF threads like this brought it to my attention.
When I had seen Yakuza videos in the past, my first impression was "GTA in Japan," which didn't interest me (not a fan of GTA). So thanks for letting me know I'm wrong. I'm glad. I'm always looking for new and interesting games to play, and Yakuza looks like a good one.
It's been a while since I played a brawler. I think the last one was Buffy the Vampire slayer on the original Xbox, lol (great game). I will have to do some finger push-ups to get in shape.
When I had seen Yakuza videos in the past, my first impression was "GTA in Japan," which didn't interest me (not a fan of GTA). So thanks for letting me know I'm wrong. I'm glad. I'm always looking for new and interesting games to play, and Yakuza looks like a good one.
It's been a while since I played a brawler. I think the last one was Buffy the Vampire slayer on the original Xbox, lol (great game). I will have to do some finger push-ups to get in shape.
Mr. Nice_Guy
Member
the king.
2>>4>1>>5>3
Truth.
Also absolutely incredible work OP. I've never seen a better intro guide to a series. Will be sharing this around since I've been pimping Yakuza 0 like it's my job.
Shadowman16
Member
Great job on the thread guys!
I really should play Y3 but I can't find the motivation as I keep reading negative impressions about it
3 is far from a bad game, its just not as good as the other games in the series (excluding Of The End/Dead Souls). Its just that the story can go from fairly boring to some (orphan stuff, a plot point about the Okinawa Miliary base/resort that drags on for a bit). But when the action starts getting good it doesn't stop. That I think the antagonist of 3 is way better than others in the series - certainly better than anyone that 5 came up with, and better than most of 4's as well (no wonder why they reuse him to such great effect in Ishin). Seriously, if you like the series definitely give it a shot.
Son Of Sparda
Member
^^
I agree. Yakuza 3 is an amazing game. It's just not a very good entry point, that's all.
I agree. Yakuza 3 is an amazing game. It's just not a very good entry point, that's all.
I was hoping to see you here man. Fingers crossed that we managed to give you a better idea on what Yakuza is and what you can expect from it. Don't hesitate to ask any questions if you want to know more
Oh, please do!
I speel my dreenk
Member
Watching an LP of 4 a while ago got me really interested in the series, and this year I finally decided to dive in - and this OP is soundly reaffirming my decision! I'm almost finished with 1 (and loving it), and have 2 through 5 lined up ready to go, as a sort of ongoing project over the next year. It's always fun to be introduced to a new thing where you suddenly have an entire body of work to go back through.
Remapped88
Member
So glad someone made a thread because I'm playing through the series right now! I have and beaten 1&2 while they came out long ago but never had a PS3 so I didn't get to play 3-5 till now since I bought one off my brother a month ago. I actually just beat Yakuza 3 a few days ago and was worried I wasn't gonna like it since I heard a lot of people said it wasn't great....really glad I did! Maybe I'm in the minority since I loved it and enjoyed the slower "Super Dadman" parts and I thought the main villain was pretty great. I do agree that it DEFINITELY isn't a good starting point at all since it could bore newer people/potential fans but it still is a amazing game itself...just with a pretty slow intro that gets better as it goes along.
I'm going through 4 right now and I just got to the point where Saejima arrived at Kamurocho. From what I've played from 4 though just is wow, soooo much smoother and I love the improvements to the gameplay which seems to get better with each entry. Really loving the differences in Akiyama and Saejima so far and I can't wait to play as the other new guy and Kiryu once again in the later chapters. It's looking to be my 2nd favorite Yakuza game so far (like many others, 2 was my fav....sooo good!) so I'm hoping to finishing both this and 5 before 0 drops in January......so f'in hype for that!!
Again, much thanks for making this thread and I hope it really helps people get hyped to buy Yakuza 0!
I'm going through 4 right now and I just got to the point where Saejima arrived at Kamurocho. From what I've played from 4 though just is wow, soooo much smoother and I love the improvements to the gameplay which seems to get better with each entry. Really loving the differences in Akiyama and Saejima so far and I can't wait to play as the other new guy and Kiryu once again in the later chapters. It's looking to be my 2nd favorite Yakuza game so far (like many others, 2 was my fav....sooo good!) so I'm hoping to finishing both this and 5 before 0 drops in January......so f'in hype for that!!
Again, much thanks for making this thread and I hope it really helps people get hyped to buy Yakuza 0!
Son Of Sparda
Member
Thanks for the impressions man. It's always great to see more people get into Yakuza. Can't wait to hear your full thoughts on Y4 once you've finished it. It's my favorite one in the main series thus far, though I'm expecting that to change with Y0!
Shadowman16
Member
I disagree, 3 is the best Yakuza game after 2. Come at me mutha fuckas!
2>3>5>1>4
Eh, I can't even rank the Yakuza games, the more I think about it, the only ones I can legit hate on in parts is Dead Souls (Controls and super repetitive/cheap gameplay) and Yakuza 1 (controls have aged very poorly, but Kiwami now exists so that problem has been rectified). 3 is ace, especially if you get the Japanese one that doesn't have all the content hacked out of it. Just could have done without some of that boring political talk at points. Still has some of my favourite bosses and characters in the game (and Daigo actually does something badass in the end), and that soundtrack...
So yeah, I agree and disagree at the same time!
I could agree with that as well tbh. I can't think of many other series that are so consistently enjoyable with each entry for me. I don't hate any of them at all, I love them all dearly, even Dead Souls which is like the Yakuza teams quirky budget PS2 zombie game, controls and all
Yakuza 3 means a lot to me because of how much it adds to Kazumas characters, especially everything in Okinawa and the orphanage. I guess I just really love the stoic bastard and I prefer playing the games where it focus' on him. I like the additional characters in 4 and 5 too but mostly the series is about him for me and that was such a great 'Kazuma' Yakuza game IMO.
I disagree, 3 is the best Yakuza game after 2. Come at me mutha fuckas!
2>3>5>1>4
I've only played 3-5, but 4 is the best of out bunch IMO. I guess multiple protagonists might be something a few of the original fans dislike.
IronicSonic
Member
More Yakuza is always good
Day 0
Day 0
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Great topic.
Yakuza needs as much lovin' as it can get. Yakuza 5 was an excellent game, here's hoping 0 doesn't disappoint.
Yakuza needs as much lovin' as it can get. Yakuza 5 was an excellent game, here's hoping 0 doesn't disappoint.
Son Of Sparda
Member
4 as the worst game in the series?I disagree, 3 is the best Yakuza game after 2. Come at me mutha fuckas!
2>3>5>1>4
spleenpoker
Member
Fantastic thread. Always been interested in the Yakuza series. Will give this a read later. Unfortunately I don't have a ps4 anymore but will get a pro next year. I will however be buying Yakuza 0 day 1 to show support so hopefully 1 and 2 HD will come to the west.
Great topic OP.
Also:
Yakuza Ishin Guide
I think the guide is complete enough for people to be able to play Ishin. The game really deserves more players, it's amazing.
Regarding the main series, the best ones are:
2=0 > 4 > Kiwami > 5 > 1 > 3
You're all in for a great adventure with Y0
Who never fished a couple of zombies before. The protags of RE are specialists on this too.
Also:
Yakuza Ishin Guide
I think the guide is complete enough for people to be able to play Ishin. The game really deserves more players, it's amazing.
Regarding the main series, the best ones are:
2=0 > 4 > Kiwami > 5 > 1 > 3
You're all in for a great adventure with Y0
Who never fished a couple of zombies before. The protags of RE are specialists on this too.
Great thread. I've been doing my part and telling my friends to get 0.
I only started the series in September but since then I've played through them all. What a ride!
Definitely this, I'm ashamed I didn't play them sooner.
I only started the series in September but since then I've played through them all. What a ride!
Definitely this, I'm ashamed I didn't play them sooner.
lucebuce12
Member
4 as the worst game in the series?
For me yeah it is. But don't mistake that as dislike. I love it, it just has the story I like the least of all the games.
Also, not to spoil anything but if you want to get even more out of combat then I strongly recommend you to finish each characters Sphere Grid. *Wink Wink*
I though you were trying to sell me on Yakuza and not make me running away screaming from it.
I have Yakuza 3 (disc) and Yakuza 4 (digital) for my PS3. Is 3 or 4 the better starting point? I'm interested in 0 though probably not at launch. Too much to play, too much to do, not enough money and time.
Son Of Sparda
Member
^^
Start with Y4. It's a very good entry point.
Start with Y4. It's a very good entry point.
Honestly, I can understand that. But still, the game started with Akiyama! The GOAT character in the series
lucebuce12
Member
4 is definitely a better starting point. It introduces 3 new characters, has a cast of mainly new people and new villains so the story is much easier to get into than 3.
It also refines quite a lot on what Y3 added.
You might as well start with the games you already have. Even if Yakuza 0 is a prequel story-wise, the game mechanics and visuals are more advanced than 3 and 4, and obviously 1 and 2. Because the games weren't created in a vacuum, I would recommend playing in release order if possible. You'll miss out on a lot of nudge nudge wink wink things starting with 0.
This is why even though I haven't played many games in the series I have always had an interest and love for them. The focus on brawling is such a good change of pace.
Excited for Yakuza 6 in a couple of weeks. After playing the demo it may be hard to go back to older games which feel a bit stiffer in comparison. The physics and rage mode in 6 is incredibly hype!
Case in point:
