Yakuza games ranked: Every Like A Dragon game from worst to best

Every family has an odd one out. Yakuza: Dead Souls is a zombie survival game with a goofy story. There's fun to be had here, but it has undeniably poor controls. I know most Yakuza minigames feel good enough to be their own experience, but this one should've been a minigame and only a minigame.

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is made for hardcore Yakuza fans only, and essentially bridges Kiryu’s story between Yakuza 6 and Infinite Wealth. There are plenty of references here to the older games which will go over your head if you haven’t played them. The ending here is excellent, but the story overall is on the weaker side, and as such has been filled out with mandatory side quests that are frankly not up to the series standard. Many will see you running around and fighting gangs, or battling through the coliseum. Great if you love the series, but one to play after you’ve finished the others.

Yakuza 3

In Yakuza 3 we see a softer side to Kiryu as he helps out the orphans, and runs the home for the most part. The yakuza get involved, but it’s a much tighter story than fans were used to, focusing on character development with less of the bombastic boss fights that the series is known for. It’s great to learn more about Kiryu’s connection to Haruka and Morning Sun, but it's not the best place to start.

Yakuza Kiwami

As with most original games, it sets the tone for the series, introducing us to Haruka, who is pivotal to Kiryu’s story. However, it is almost unplayable by today’s standards, but you can play Yakuza: Kiwami for a far more polished version of the game’s story. You can see that the series hasn’t found its feet yet with this one, but Kiwami will still give you a great experience, and prepare you for later plotlines.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Yakuza 6 features the series' best-known actors, including Beat Takeshi and Tatsuya Fujiwara from Battle Royale. It’s another tight story, which focuses on finding Haruka after the yakuza tries to hunt her down and her son Haruto. Set in the small town of Onomichi, it has one of the smaller maps, but it does have a number of the series’ best boss fights and bombastic twists. It's not a bad place to start to get a grip on what the series is about, but it lacks some of the goofy charm the series is known for.

Yakuza Kiwami 2

The second Yakuza remake is where the series truly takes on its final form. It introduces the Omi Alliance, a long-term rival Yakuza faction, an imposing new antagonist, and a tight story. This is the kind of game that can make you a Yakuza fan for life, and is a decent place to start if you want to jump straight into the action.

Yakuza 5

Yakuza 5 is divisive among fans, as it is the longest game with the most locations and playable characters. This does mean the story is rather bloated, but you will get to explore Fukuoka, a village in Hokkaido, Sapporo, Osaka, and, of course, Tokyo as you play through the story. One chapter also focuses entirely on Haruka, with rhythm-action combat. This is the best game if you like variety, but you might find it drags on too long.

Like A Dragon: Ishin!

The only feudal entry in the series that we Western players have access to, Like A Dragon: Ishin! is the familiar Yakuza action formula with a few combat twists, set in feudal Japan. It does what it says on the tin, but you shouldn't underestimate the quality of the story, as it's up there with the best in the series. If you want to play a Yakuza game without investing in the long series, this standalone game is a great choice.

Yakuza 0

Long-term fans of the series always wanted to know how Kiryu and everyone’s favorite character Majima ended up as part of the Japanese mafia, and Yakuza 0 answers that question for you. It is very character-focused and yet still has amazing boss fights. As a prequel to the series, it is also one of the best places to start, showing you a bit of everything and leaving you wanting so much more.

Yakuza 7: Like A Dragon

Like A Dragon marks the start of a new era for the Yakuza series, it’s removing the Yakuza name, Kazuma Kiryu is no longer our protagonist, and it’s not even an action game anymore. Instead, we follow Ichiban Kasuga, another member of the yakuza, in this turn-based RPG. Fans were cautious of this complete change in tone, but it still keeps all that goofy Yakuza style and has an amazing story at its core that leads into Infinite Wealth. If it didn't have a few main story difficulty jumps, it'd be a sublime experience from start to finish.

Yakuza 4

Yakuza 4 brought a number of new features to the series that people absolutely loved, and helped cement the game in people’s hearts as one of the best. It features multiple locations and multiple playable protagonists, but as the first entry to do so, it felt fresh and not bloated at this time, and it also introduced a number of fan-favorite characters in the series. One of the key games in the series that feels the most Yakuza-y.

Like A Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth (The Best Yakuza Game)

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth feels like the culimination of everything RGG Studio has been working toward. Yakuza: Like A Dragon was a great introduction to Ichiban and his gang, and Infinite Wealth takes the hijinks to Hawaii, reintroduces a familiar fan-favorite character, delivers an even bigger story, and finally nails those turn-based RPG mechanics. This is one of the biggest and best adventures in the series, and shouldn't be missed by anyone.