DroidKnight said:
I have only played Yakuza 7 Like a Dragon. It was the RPG/turnbase that lured me in. But I've heard such great things about the whole series in this thread and decided that I will step outside my comfort zone and check them all out. I hate that I can't get physical copies, but I will be picking up the digital versions as they go on sale. I picked up the Yakuza Remastered Collection last week when it was on sale. I also purchased Ishin today. I'll still need Zero, Kiwami 1 & 2, 6, and Gaiden. I'll probably end up playing Infinite Wealth first and later will slowly play the rest in order. |
It's a fun series. My ranking for the games in the series I have played so far, from best to worst:
- Zero- Excellent game. It's a bit outdated compared to the more recent entries in terms of mechanics, but the storyline is fantastic, the combat is excellent with 2 playable characters each having 4 fighting styles they can switch between resulting in 8 total styles to switch between to cut down on combat fatigue, and it has the best minigame in the whole series with Majima's hostess club management minigame.
- Ishin remake- Very good game. Loved the mid 1800's setting during the twilight years of the Tokugawa Shogunate leading up to the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration. Good storyline, fun combat, best in the series imo. Some fun side quests and minigames.
- Kiwami 2- Not quite as good as Zero in terms of story, but as it was remade after 6, it has the updated Dragon engine and various quality of life improvements missing from the earlier games that 6 introduced.
- Kiwami 1- They released Kiwami 1 before Yakuza 6, so the mechanics and engine were only updated to Zeros standards, so it feels a bit outdated. Story isn't quite as good as Zero or 2, but still pretty good
- Yakuza 4- I really enjoyed the story on this one, not quite up there with Zero or 2, but still very good overall. Really dug the addition of new playable characters with Saejima, Akiyama, and Tanimura. However, it's feeling quite outdated in terms of combat and quality of life, I really think 3, 4, and 5 deserve the Kiwami remake treatment like 1 and 2 got.
- Yakuza 3- Shares the outdated issues with 4, but felt even more outdated to me. I really dug the orphanage stuff, papa Kiryu is great, but the game deserves better than the outdated combat and mechanics, so I have to rank it at the bottom of the 5 I have completed so far.
I'm not quite halfway done with 5 so far, but from what I've played I think I will end up placing it between Kiwami 1 and 4. On the plus side I think the story is great so far, but I was disappointed to learn that Tanimura from 4, who I liked alot, got replaced by a baseball player playable character in 5. Maybe I will like him once I get to his chapter, but I really don't know why they got rid of Tanimura, he had a unique personality and a unique combat style in the franchise. At the very least they should work him into the Judgment spinoff series I think, since he is a detective like Yagami in Judgment (though Tanimura is a police detective and Yagami is a private detective).
Last edited by shikamaru317 - on 15 February 2024
