Ranking the Yakuza/Like a Dragon Games
10. Yakuza 3
Sorry, but this one sucks. I get the appeal of Ryukyu beach feel, which pulls the player away from the intensity of Kamuro. The game feels like a filler all the way through, while the remaster of the game fares the worst with its advancing age. Other than a single key death in the game (not the one at the end) and the overarching “Kiryu as orphanage owner,” the game feels completely replaceable.
9. Yakuza 4
I felt that the fourth game was ultimately brought down by the relatively simplistic tank mechanics of Saejima’s fighting style. It was unpleasant all the way through. The gameplay is somewhat redeemed by Akiyama, whose taekwondo-style play is exciting, and whose personality is also really entertaining.
8. Yakuza 6
The game looks wonderful. I also don’t tend to find the story to be as bad as some reviewers note. The unfolding mystery in this game actually seems to presage the Judgment series. But the ending was ho-hum and certain elements felt quickly thrown together. This was not an optimal end to the Kiryu saga (does it have to end?), and it’s a good thing that he’s back for the upcoming Like a Dragon 8.
7. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
I don’t think history is going to be as kind to this game as we think today. Ichigo isn’t an altogether bad character and his support party is passable. Yet, the actual mechanics of the gameplay are extremely simplistic, and the story wears out its welcome quickly. This is one of the few Yakuza experiences that became an insufferable slog.
6. Yakuza Kiwami 2
The Jingweon plot point was intriguing, the actual gameplay was top notch and the main antagonist, Ryuji, was solid. Yet the weight of the overarching narrative isn’t quite as strong as the remainder of the list. The best part of this game is the new Majima arc that wraps up Yakuza 0 with a neat bow.
5. Yakuza Kiwami
While the actual game is relatively threadbare, given that it’s a very faithful rendition of the original, the additions to the first game’s story were excellent. Having played through the entire series, I also find it hard to pull apart Yakuza 0 and Kiwami, which feel completely complementary. Without 0, this is a worse game. With it, Nishikiyama rockets toward the top of Yakuza memorability.
4. Yakuza 5
Yakuza 5’s leap in quality over its two immediate predecessors were immeasurable. I also liked Haruka’s rhythm-based story. I do believe that her ending was somewhat unfulfilling, though, which severely degraded her character arc. As with the previous game, Yakuza 4, we have to deal with Saejima again, but at least he’s only 1/5 of the narrative, rather than 1/4.
3. Judgment
At least, in my own opinion, the Judgment series has completely eclipsed the original Yakuza/Like a Dragon parent series in quality. The narrative is tight and focused here. I am also a fan of JRPGs, but I think Like a Dragon’s battle system is fairly simplistic, offering only pandering notes to fans. Thankfully, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio gave us this spin-off where we can scratch our beat-em-up itch. It also gave us a substantially intriguing story about a serial killer and its, wait for it, connections to organized crime.
2. Yakuza 0
The consensus crowd favorite pick, Yakuza 0 is a uniformly excellent experience, and part of that comes down to alternating Kamuro and Sotenburi as venues, and Majima and Kiryu as protagonists. I had played the series in chronological order, not release order, and my experience was all the better for it. Had I played in release order, I would have considered Majima little more than an annoyance. Instead, I see him as the gangster heart of the series – the Vegeta to Kiryu’s Son Goku. A year ago, I would have shot Yakuza 0 to number one with a bullet, but a new contender has stolen the crown.
1. Lost Judgment
I don’t think it’s the recency effect at play. I think Lost Judgment is quite legitimately the most polished and intriguing Yakuza/Like a Dragon experience. Whether you play through just the main story or drift through the side missions, it never feels like it meanders. Lost Judgment takes a couple hits among fandom for its “less important” story compared to the first Judgment, but that hasn’t stopped fans’ high placement of Yakuza 0, considering that game centered around a battle for a plot of land little bigger than a postage stamp. It’s the execution that matters, and this story’s dealings with school bullying sticks the landing in the biggest way.
