Can I Skip To Yakuza 3 4 5?

[pjedilord]

I have only played Yakuza 0 and was thinking of skipping to Yakuza 3 4 5?
Insted of others? Or not good idea not playing Yakuza 1,2?
Are the side missions great in 3,4,5, like Yakuza 0? and ok story?

[archmag]

Why do you want to skip them? There is a timeline of 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7 and if you skip some of them you will not understand few mentions of the story or some characters in further games. It's better to play them in order to follow the story. Or at least play them all in different order to get a feeling of collecting the puzzle from random pieces, but still play all of them.

Initially I played 0, 1, 2 and then started 7. I was confused by some characters who seemed to be main characters of the previous titles but who I knew nothing about. So I went back and playing through previous titles before completing the 7th. Completed 3 and 4, playing 5th now. 3 hard a slow start but eventually sped up and story was interesting. 4 introduced several new interesting characters. 5 is improving on the story of those new characters. 1 and 2 were better mechanics wise than 3 and 4 because they were remakes and not remasters.

Personally I enjoy all of them but neither was as fun as the first game in this series that I played (0). Side missions became serious (or maybe I grew accustomed to them and they don't seem as ridiculous as in the first game), characters became serious, whole series after 0 became serious. Still fun though and I don't see a reason to skip any of the games that I played.

[archmag]

Originally posted by pjedilord:

So story wise important not to skip 1 and 2?

A part of the story becomes an introduction for characters in 4th. You get small recap in each game but without you experiencing what actually happened there it does not look that interesting.

3,4,5 can get great value on sale and not sure if 1 and 2 was worth playing for story
or side missions , combat?

1 and 2 are better quality and price seems to be almost the same for each. There are many side missions in all games although minigames become stale after you play them all in zero (very rarely new minigames are added, there are the same darts, pool, casino, batting center, etc in each game), combat changes in each game (sometimes for better sometimes for worse), story in each game is about Tojo clan having troubles and Kiryu and other characters coming to help it either by dealing with its enemies or fixing the problems inside the clan. But there are so many ways that Tojo clan fails, it is surprising that it still stands in each game.

Personally I am tired of Kiryu with his huge but almost always the same set of moves in battle so 4th was a really interesting game for me because it introduced 3 new playable characters. I did enjoy playing through 1 and 2 though even though it was mostly Kiryu there.

Unless there is a specific problem which does not let you play 1 and 2, like your PC can't run them while it can run 3, 4, 5, I don't see a reason why you should skip them.

[Sm Izumi]

You can skip 7 it's a casual rpg with boomer tier ♥♥♥♥ post meme. The most boring game i've ever played in the series.

K1 is mediocre too, in a way it spits on the original PS2 gameplay removing the style of combat of kiryu and replace it by the generic 0 styles with nerfs. Majima is everywhere is the most retarded, unbalanced and unfun thing i've ever seen in the series.

If you don't use cheats and play on the hardest difficulty, your premium game will be, every 30-40seconds of roaming you'll get a fight against a 6-8 HP bar majima that will last at least 4-6mins depending on the setting and your fighting style (even when spamming your most broken moves on him) due to the silly reduce damages on same heat moves.

Very FUN gameplay. Thanks SEGA.

i'd recommand give a try on emulator with the OG Yakuza game.

K2 is ok but broken overall if you don't count judgement it's basically the only decent Dragon engine gameplay.

3 is the black sheep, you'll like or hate it, you must be a good gamer to do that one.

4-5 Pure joy, the best gameplay with 0. Lot's of content, story of 4 is stupid but after 2 it's just a silly 12yr old kojima writing level of story so you don't have to pay much attention to it.

6 is mediocre, you play only kiryu, most of the stuff you could do before is cut content or not available due to them rushing the game. New engine is riddled with bugs. combat system is horrible and basically all you do is drink soda, get power up, take a bike and OS everyone period until you get a boss, spam dragon heat and OS the Boss with mashing....

7. Takes the worst of Yakuza writting and couple it with non gameplay, cause it's an rpg, you can't visit the city without an XP wall, activities are boring, all you do is grind EXP, spam the same move over and over for 5 mins on classic encounters and on Boss you do the same, spam the moves for 35mins cause the only diff between a Boss and a mook are the HP pool. It's the only yakuza i only bought on PS4 then didn't took on PC, i cracked it.

Kenzan and Ishin are getting a translation and i highly recommend looking out for them when the time comes. Ishin is trully a masterpiece, better than 0.

Black panther is also available on PSP emu partially translated, this spin off is great, nice story, combat system is entierly changed, if you like def jam games it has a similar style, it's from the same team of devs.

[MisterPool]

Originally posted by pjedilord:

Thanks great reply, why Yakuza 2 broken?
So i should skip to 3?

The short, obvious answer is "Yes". You can skip any/all of them, but why would you want to? The entire saga is excellent. Game play varies since we're talking about games that span three different PS versions (although Y1 and Y2 were orignally on PS2 the remasters were made for PS3 and PS4). If you're only in it for the brawling Y0 is the best. If you're in it for the story then you should see it all.

[MisterPool]

Originally posted by pjedilord:

Whats wrong with the battles in the other games? hard on easy?

As someone pointed out elsewhere Y3 probably has the most challenging combat, even on easy. The rest have simpler/shorter/smaller skill progression systems. Y0 gives you the most options, and they are all pretty fun.

[0JMachine]

3 can easily be the starting point. it's fairly self contained and all you really need to know is your character is an ex yakuza known as a legend who wants to retire and run an orphanage only to have circumstances force him back into that world.

of course you can also watch the videos in the game that will retell the first two games for ya as well for additional side info. i think all in all you might be a bit in the dark for a couple minor things but the narrative will explain why it matters since japan loves exposition.

[0JMachine]

also don't play 0 without playing at least 4. too many spoilers in that game from majimas side otherwise. I also say if you play kiwami 2 to avoid the majima side story until you beat 0 due to it's massive spoilers.

[archmag]

Originally posted by 0JMachine:

also don't play 0 without playing at least 4. too many spoilers in that game from majimas side otherwise. I also say if you play kiwami 2 to avoid the majima side story until you beat 0 due to it's massive spoilers.

That's not spoilers. That's how Majima is introduced and later in 4th additional info about that introduction is discovered. If you play 4 and then 0 after it this way you will spoil the Majima introduction because you will know all additional info from the beginning instead of it remaining a mystery. 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7 is the normal way to play (well, provided you play 1 and 2 kiwami versions on steam and not the original ones).

[0JMachine]

Originally posted by archmag:

Originally posted by 0JMachine:

also don't play 0 without playing at least 4. too many spoilers in that game from majimas side otherwise. I also say if you play kiwami 2 to avoid the majima side story until you beat 0 due to it's massive spoilers.

That's not spoilers. That's how Majima is introduced and later in 4th additional info about that introduction is discovered. If you play 4 and then 0 after it this way you will spoil the Majima introduction because you will know all additional info from the beginning instead of it remaining a mystery. 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7 is the normal way to play (well, provided you play 1 and 2 kiwami versions on steam and not the original ones).

0 literally came out after 5. I also just recently ahve been playing each game back to back. there are numerous spoilers if you play 0 first. I'm currently on 6 again and imo the optimal spoiler free way to play the series is:

1-2 (main story not majima's stuff)-3-4-5 and 0 in whatever order you want-majima saga in kiwami 2-6.

0 spoils parts of the previous games in it's side missions (2's main villain being one of them) and spoils a big part of 4 because it assumes you already played the first 5 games. I'd go further in depth but well... they would be spoilers.

[archmag]

Originally posted by 0JMachine:

0 spoils parts of the previous games in it's side missions (2's main villain being one of them) and spoils a big part of 4 because it assumes you already played the first 5 games. I'd go further in depth but well... they would be spoilers.

You seem to be confusing spoilers with references. Main villain of 2 is not spoiled, you see his early days, because surprise, it is a prequel. There is nothing saying he is a villain or something and even if you guess he is a villain it does not matter as you know it when you simply look at the initial screen of the game. If you play it after the 2nd you lose the anticipations of, "this guy will be someone important in the future". And there will be no "hey, I remember this guy that I helped in 0". It can count as a reference to the 2nd game, but in no way it is a spoiler. Also I wouldn't call him main villain, more like main rival in that game.

Remake of the 1st also has an important part of Majima story that certainly should be played after the 0 otherwise it won't make sense at all. Otherwise there is just some random character that likes to attack you for no reason.

3 can easily be the starting point.

If you are trying to avoid spoilers how can you suggest 3 as a starting point? Other than Kiryu there is also Haruka and it is not that simple with her. Imagine playing the 1st after the 3rd and just meeting Haruka's mother. You instantly spoil her story in the 1st by playing the 3rd before it

0 does not spoil anything about 4. It tells the same story from Majima's side while in 4 you see it from Saejima's side. Saejima's side has a continuation and actual explanation of what happened while in Majima's side it's only the beginning of his story and that's all. So it's really hard to count Majima's side as a spoiler, on the opposite, 4th spoils everything about the event that started Majima's story instead of it remaining a mystery until both characters are introduced.

Originally posted by 0JMachine:

0 literally came out after 5. I also just recently ahve been playing each game back to back. there are numerous spoilers if you play 0 first.

It does not matter when it came out. It was designed as a backstory for certain characters so playing it later only confuses things instead of giving you a sequential introduction. Kiwami 1 and 2 have actual references to 0 (Kiryu's club substory, quiz about how it was in the past for an actress about phones, taxis, etc) so playing them after 0 makes total sense. I would understand if you were talking about original 1 and 2 which couldn't have any reference to 0. But with remakes it is different.

Anyway, you can play it as Star Wars movie by playing later parts before the early ones, but the normal way that makes sense is their numerical order. Timeline becomes easy to understand, events follow from one to another instead of jumping back and forth in time, Kamurocho evolves with traffic appearing on the streets and shops changing, new subcharacters (members of Club Stardust), large buildings appearing, Tojo clan's story going forward with all main characters aging and leaders , events in one game triggering other main character stories (like going from events at the end of 1 to one main character in 4). You get a continuous story that is easy to follow instead of several pieces of the puzzle that you need to keep in your memory for quite some time to be able to piece them together.

[idingknowdat]

I just started the Yakuza series a few months ago, starting with 0, and continued onward numerically. I actually just finished 5 last night. Having seen the "full story" so far, I do NOT recommend skipping any of them. There are neat story tidbits that carry over, and will pay off as you go. I will even go far as saying that there was one sequel that I didn't particularly like, but the sequels after that actually helped me appreciate it MUCH more.

[0JMachine]

Originally posted by archmag:

Originally posted by 0JMachine:

0 spoils parts of the previous games in it's side missions (2's main villain being one of them) and spoils a big part of 4 because it assumes you already played the first 5 games. I'd go further in depth but well... they would be spoilers.

You seem to be confusing spoilers with references. Main villain of 2 is not spoiled, you see his early days, because surprise, it is a prequel. There is nothing saying he is a villain or something and even if you guess he is a villain it does not matter as you know it when you simply look at the initial screen of the game. If you play it after the 2nd you lose the anticipations of, "this guy will be someone important in the future". And there will be no "hey, I remember this guy that I helped in 0". It can count as a reference to the 2nd game, but in no way it is a spoiler. Also I wouldn't call him main villain, more like main rival in that game.

Remake of the 1st also has an important part of Majima story that certainly should be played after the 0 otherwise it won't make sense at all. Otherwise there is just some random character that likes to attack you for no reason.

3 can easily be the starting point.

If you are trying to avoid spoilers how can you suggest 3 as a starting point? Other than Kiryu there is also Haruka and it is not that simple with her. Imagine playing the 1st after the 3rd and just meeting Haruka's mother. You instantly spoil her story in the 1st by playing the 3rd before it

0 does not spoil anything about 4. It tells the same story from Majima's side while in 4 you see it from Saejima's side. Saejima's side has a continuation and actual explanation of what happened while in Majima's side it's only the beginning of his story and that's all. So it's really hard to count Majima's side as a spoiler, on the opposite, 4th spoils everything about the event that started Majima's story instead of it remaining a mystery until both characters are introduced.

Originally posted by 0JMachine:

0 literally came out after 5. I also just recently ahve been playing each game back to back. there are numerous spoilers if you play 0 first.

It does not matter when it came out. It was designed as a backstory for certain characters so playing it later only confuses things instead of giving you a sequential introduction. Kiwami 1 and 2 have actual references to 0 (Kiryu's club substory, quiz about how it was in the past for an actress about phones, taxis, etc) so playing them after 0 makes total sense. I would understand if you were talking about original 1 and 2 which couldn't have any reference to 0. But with remakes it is different.

Anyway, you can play it as Star Wars movie by playing later parts before the early ones, but the normal way that makes sense is their numerical order. Timeline becomes easy to understand, events follow from one to another instead of jumping back and forth in time, Kamurocho evolves with traffic appearing on the streets and shops changing, new subcharacters (members of Club Stardust), large buildings appearing, Tojo clan's story going forward with all main characters aging and leaders , events in one game triggering other main character stories (like going from events at the end of 1 to one main character in 4). You get a continuous story that is easy to follow instead of several pieces of the puzzle that you need to keep in your memory for quite some time to be able to piece them together.

it's heavily implied that character is gonna be a big name in a later game and with his antics and dialogue in 0 ya... think what you want but when you see him in 2 you'll know. as for the majima thing in 1? have you played the ps2 version? they are already seen as buddy buddy. it doesn't feel like some rando trying to pick fights. he know's kiryu's history, he also says he likes a challenge and purposefully fights you so you become worth a real fight as he puts it. you don't need 0 to understand why at all.
0 spoils a decent chunk of part 2 in yakuza 4. in fact it repeats scenes and history. playing 0 first will dull that part of the narrative.

i suggest 3 because you can literally watch summaries of the first 2 games with enough information to not get lost. is it optimal? not at all but it's still fine to do so.

either way i've been playing the games back to back and i stand by what i said. 0 is there for 1 reason: a way to get backstory since they needed more time to get 6 done. the fact it became so popular doesn't change that. it assumes you already played the first 5. to that effect just as it spoils the other games, it also leaves you questioning things done in the side missions and even the way the narrative has exposition about how the 2 will become legendary yakuza.

you can disagree all you want but that won't change the fact it's not optimal at all to start with 0.

[archmag]

either way i've been playing the games back to back and i stand by what i said.

I played them in timeline order and it gave a good experience. I never played them back to back because I got burned out in the middle of 2nd so took a break for few months. I think 3-4-5 weren't released yet and my PC was not able to play 7th. Then I upgraded the PC and went straight into 7, enjoyed it but then got confused by some characters who I didn't know about and went back to complete the earlier games before finishing it. There were no spoilers in their literal sense when I played through the series in this order, when in earlier game you spoil the events of further games. You find nothing about character's future when playing 0, while in each further game you get some info about their past in recap or character description.

0 spoils a decent chunk of part 2 in yakuza 4. in fact it repeats scenes and history. playing 0 first will dull that part of the narrative.

Sorry, but where exactly does it spoil 4? It starts after the event of Saejima killing spree and tells Majima's story after he was tortured. It does not explain what exactly happened there, it does not go into details of that event, different characters are there. In 4th it finally explains what exactly happened and removes the mystery of why it had to happen that way. If you play 4th before 0 you spoil all the mystery about the event, not the other way around.

it's heavily implied that character is gonna be a big name in a later game and with his antics and dialogue in 0 ya... think what you want but when you see him in 2 you'll know.

Yes, it is implied that he will be a big name somewhere in the future, that's called a reference. It does not tell anything about what is going to happen, just implies that there will be something related to this character. You get much bigger spoiler by simply looking at a picture for the game in your library (which is I guess a box cover or something), which clearly shows the rivals for both 1st and 2nd game while it shows allies or a mix of allies and rivals for other games. You get no info about the actual story from 0 or from the picture, so other than the character himself which can be easily spoiled anyway you get no other spoilers.

as for the majima thing in 1? have you played the ps2 version? they are already seen as buddy buddy. it doesn't feel like some rando trying to pick fights. he know's kiryu's history, he also says he likes a challenge and purposefully fights you so you become worth a real fight as he puts it. you don't need 0 to understand why at all.

Exactly, you simply have some rando out of nowhere who already knows Kiryu for whatever reason (their common history is not explained if you start there), it is not clear why he is so crazy about it. And to know why you need to know the story of how Majima became who he is which is explained in 0. So playing it before helps a lot in understanding and accepting the situation. I didn't play PS2 version, I started with whole series on PC and played it in timeline order from 0 to 5 (which I am currently playing), tried to play 7 out of order and got confused with some reappearing characters who I was supposed to know about but didn't because I skipped some games.

There is Kiryu's Cabaret minigame that follows Majima's cabaret minigame from 0 and uses one of the character from it. There is a quiz that I mentioned that talks about taxi habits, shoulder phone and something else that I no longer remember (dresses?) from 0 which you have no way of knowing if you skip 0. For me it is clear that you are supposed to play Kiwami 1 and 2 after playing 0, otherwise you miss a lot of connections to it.

You also suggest skipping Majima's part of the story in 2nd which is essentially a finish to his unfinished business from 0, but it also ties in into his story in 2nd (and you can play it in parallel to the main character when new episodes are unlocked while you progress the story), which only proves that 2 should be played after 0 now and that way you don't have to skip anything.

you can disagree all you want but that won't change the fact it's not optimal at all to start with 0.

Define "optimal". There is no single "optimal" way to play these games now. It changes depending on your intentions. Contradictory to what you initially say as a spoiler free way, for me the spoiler free is the timeline order, you didn't actually provide any spoilers from the 0 that spoil events from further games (main rival from 2nd is introduced but is not a spoiler, main event for one of the characters in 4th is mentioned but a lot of questions about it are left unanswered and later they are uncovered in 4th, so these two are not actually spoilers).

You can certainly play the games out of their timeline if you want, it will simply become a puzzle where you need to remember things from one game and in your memory put them in correct place after you play another game. While it is easy to do with 2 hour long movies like Star wars which you can now watch in release order 4-5-6-1-2-3 or timeline order 1-2-3-4-5-6 or even weird spoiler-free order 4-5-1-2-3-6, it may be harder to do so with 40-100 hour long games that take at least half a year to play through to avoid getting burned out. Following the timeline is a good way to play through these games and it is also a fact, timeline is there for a reason. So I wouldn't insist that there is only one correct way to play these games, making it a puzzle out of them or playing them in order are both good ways, but I personally prefer the second one because it creates a clearer picture that is easier to follow. It is not as scary to play in that order as you try it to sound, it's pretty safe.

[MisterPool]

Originally posted by 0JMachine:

either way i've been playing the games back to back and i stand by what i said. 0 is there for 1 reason: a way to get backstory since they needed more time to get 6 done. the fact it became so popular doesn't change that. it assumes you already played the first 5. to that effect just as it spoils the other games, it also leaves you questioning things done in the side missions and even the way the narrative has exposition about how the 2 will become legendary yakuza.

you can disagree all you want but that won't change the fact it's not optimal at all to start with 0.

...except it's not a fact just because you say it is.

I've played it both ways. I played it before Y6 on original release, and as the prologue to a complete play through when everything was released on PC. The first way works as a flashback with easter eggs for experienced players. The second works as foreshadowing for the remainder of the series.

Saying your preferred order is "optimal" is hogwash. It works either way.

[Elley]

If you're expecting every game to be like 0 you're gonna be disappointed.