Yakuza Series Starter Guide | Welcome to Kamurocho

I started with Yakuza 3 and highly recommend newcomers to start there. You can watch the cinema sequences from 1 and 2 in this game to catch up with the story. 4 and 5 are much better than 3 but I would still recommend playing 3 to get slowly get soaked into the Yakuza universe.

Can't wait for 0 and 6 :)
 
SephLuis said:
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.
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Much thanks to the Ishin guide because I'm really thinking about getting it in December if I can. It's a shame that it didn't come out west because if it did, I think it would've done pretty well on the PS4 since there wasn't much character action games on the system when it came out. I think Sega kinda dropped the ball on that one but I guess I understand their reason since the series doesn't do well in the west. :(

Also you ranking 2 = 0 is getting me more hyped! Really hope it does well so 6 can come out overseas too.
 
Likewise, it's not Shenmue
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Hmmmm.


Awesome thread though. The only Yakuza game I really played a lot of was Yakuza 2 and I sometimes get the itch to jump back in but the sheer breadth of the games can be off-putting at times.
 
Hassun said:
Hmmmm.


Awesome thread though. The only Yakuza game I really played a lot of was Yakuza 2 and I sometimes get the itch to jump back in but the sheer breadth of the games can be off-putting at times.
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Don't let the numbers intimidate you. Start with Y4 if you have a PS3 or Y0 if you are a PS4 player. Story in Yakuza games are very much self contained and Y4 and Y0 are both amazing entry points.
 
so happy this thread's bringing folks over! and yeah, 4 is such a highlight. i love kazzy-chan but man was it refreshing to switch up styles/characters!

and we have an excellent Ishin OT, but maybe a thread to promote that awesome guide & KHH's ongoing effort to fansub cutscenes on YT as well? that's pretty much what my kenzan! one is.
 
firehawk12 said:
How many pages of debate will there about whether or not Yakuza 3/4 is the worst game in the series? lol
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if you don't like Yakuza 4 you probably won't like Yakuza. it's the second best game in the series while 3 is the weakest.
 
I keep hoping they will port the entire series to Steam. I have finished 1 and 3 and partially finished 2 and 4. I will probably buy 0 day one since I have really enjoyed my time with the series, but it bums me out to not have finished every game.
 
For people who can't get enough of the comparison pics :)
hIVdanW.jpg
 
*standing ovation*

Nicely done OT! And a great way of getting the ball rolling when it comes to hyping up this great series.
 
This is exactly the kind of thread I was looking for just the other day. I've been looking to get into the series for a little bit and have been checking eBay every day in hopes of snagging cheap copies of 3 & 4.

Thanks for the rundown.
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to make this thread and (hopefully) clear up some of the confusion that surrounds this franchise. The Yakuza series is a favorite of mine, and urge EVERYONE with a passing interest in Japanese culture who likes brawlers, RPG's, adventure games, and character dramas to buy Yakuza 0 when it launches in January. It's a fantastic title, and having owned every single game in the Ryu Ga Gotoku series to date (imports and all) I can confidently say that Yakuza 0 is my favorite.
Well, until Yakuza 6 comes out next month that is! ;)
 
Oh man, just started Saejima's "Dojo" management thing in Yakuza 4 and it seems pretty interesting. I honestly didn't even know about this till it came up in the game but for those who've played it...is it pretty deep? I've always loved the simulations parts of Boxing/Wrestling/UFC games and I was just wondering if was worth my time here. I had fun with Akiyama's Hostess club thing so I can see myself doing this dojo thing a lot more if it's great.

Really love the effort Sega puts into the mini-games/side quests in this series!
 
KuwabaraTheMan said:
The graphics are rough, and 1 had a very poor localization, but the core games are still fun, and the stories are great (especially 2, which is the high point of the series).

Going back to them after newer games will definitely feel like a step back though because of how much each game has improved on the previous one in the game play department.

.
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IrishNinja said:
awesome! and i think so, but there's some stuff to bear in mind: 1 is dubbed, and has loading around the city, controls a bit stiffer/wonky, etc. It's why many of us are hoping Kiwami (a complete HD redo of 1) gets localized as well, 2 improves these things a whole lot but i wanna say you're still not gonna see sidequests/etc on the map as later installments do.
the series basically gets better as it goes, control-wise and variety of mini-games/etc


!
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Much obliged guys :)
 
Remapped88 said:
Oh man, just started Saejima's "Dojo" management thing in Yakuza 4 and it seems pretty interesting. I honestly didn't even know about this till it came up in the game but for those who've played it...is it pretty deep? I've always loved the simulations parts of Boxing/Wrestling/UFC games and I was just wondering if was worth my time here. I had fun with Akiyama's Hostess club thing so I can see myself doing this dojo thing a lot more if it's great.

Really love the effort Sega puts into the mini-games/side quests in this series!
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Its somewhat deep. I want to say there is an optimal way of proceeding with training most? of the characters to make things easier, but you'll probably be training the last two characters for a while before they start winning lots of tournaments. It is a decent side activity though which I probably sunk a good 5-10 hours on all things said and done.
 
Great OT!
I'm about to play Yakuza 5 again. I lost my 60h save month ago and didn't have the courage to come back and finish it (I spend so much time on extra activities I didn't have the chance to see all the main story :( )
So yea, thanks for the reminder :)
 
eliochip said:
Did that Yakuza game for psp ever come out in the states? it looked amazing.
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Nope, Japan only. And they got a sequel that added more content including Osaka from Yakuza 2. Its the only released game in the series I've not played yet, but it does look really good.
 
Shadowman16 said:
Its somewhat deep. I want to say there is an optimal way of proceeding with training most? of the characters to make things easier, but you'll probably be training the last two characters for a while before they start winning lots of tournaments. It is a decent side activity though which I probably sunk a good 5-10 hours on all things said and done.
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Much thanks man, now I'm really looking forward into playing it more. :)
 
Shadowman16 said:
Nope, Japan only. And they got a sequel that added more content including Osaka from Yakuza 2. Its the only released game in the series I've not played yet, but it does look really good.
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You should import it. It's not that bad. Bit more janky than the main entries, and the fighting system is tweaked slightly, but there's still a lot going on in the two games. An English patch is in the works for the first game.
 
MadClacker said:
You should import it. It's not that bad. Bit more janky than the main entries, and the fighting system is tweaked slightly, but there's still a lot going on in the two games. An English patch is in the works for the first game.
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I've already imported both. I've 100% finished the story and side missions in the first game, but for whatever reason I've never got round to starting the second game (I'm staring right at it as I type this!). And since 6 is out so soon I won't get round to it anytime soon!
 
The fan translation for Yakuza Black Panther may actually release in a couple months from now. Only expect the main campaign to be translated though.
 
olimpia84 said:
I started with Yakuza 3 and highly recommend newcomers to start there. You can watch the cinema sequences from 1 and 2 in this game to catch up with the story. 4 and 5 are much better than 3 but I would still recommend playing 3 to get slowly get soaked into the Yakuza universe.

Can't wait for 0 and 6 :)
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I actually really liked 3. I prefer that to 4 or 5 from the story perspective as I like that focus on Kazuma. Kiryu is a great character and people starting with 4 or 5 won't quite get that point. Personally I think if people can they should start with 1 and Sega really should bring 1&2 out for PS2 on PS4 games.
 
I've recently restarted 5 because my old ps3 died a few months ago. I didn't get that far (I vaguely remember
a spirit prison
?

I love this series and everything but the load times in and out of combat are getting really tiresome. I believe 6 will get rid of these? If so bring on 6!
 
Triteon said:
I've recently restarted 5 because my old ps3 died a few months ago. I didn't get that far (I vaguely remember
a spirit prison
?

I love this series and everything but the load times in and out of combat are getting really tiresome. I believe 6 will get rid of these? If so bring on 6!
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You got up to the beginning of Seijima's chapter (aka Chapter 2) so you didn't get too far in the game.

And yes, for the first time in the series, 6 will have no load times when exploring the city - so you can walk into shops right off of the street without a 10 second load time. Only load times I've seen is when the game transitions from exploring to a set mini game (like Virtua Fighter 5 FS).
 
Amazing thread! GAF doesn't see enough like this.

A series so amazing Sega won't share it with the west. Crazy fun combat, full of massive traffic cone brawls, and so many fun ways to waste time in between. If your ocd about completing and collecting everything these games will keep you busy for a long long time.

Also I think you're a bit harsh on Y1, it's fine if you can deal with PS2 graphics, even if 2 was a big improvement. 3 was personally my least favourite, mostly because of how long the orphanage intro takes, but also for the cut stuff (if I can't blow all my money on an Italian handbag for an escort lady it just doesn't feel like Yakuza), but it was still not bad or anything, just... overreliant on golf.

I still hold out hope for that weird feudal-Japan era spinoff getting a Western release.
 
Triteon said:
I've recently restarted 5 because my old ps3 died a few months ago. I didn't get that far (I vaguely remember
a spirit prison
?

I love this series and everything but the load times in and out of combat are getting really tiresome. I believe 6 will get rid of these? If so bring on 6!
Click to expand...
While 6 is the one that gets rid of them completely, 0 makes them a lot quicker as well (compared to PS3 titles).
 
IrishNinja said:
- What’s New In Yakuza 0's Combat? -
In Yakuza 0 each of these characters have three different play styles which you can switch in between them, real time in midst of battle using D-Pad.
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There is literally nothing you could have said to turn me off the game more than this.

I hate that kind of stance shit.

Looks like Yakuza 0 will be the first yakuza game I will be passing on.
 
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