Good Entry Point to Yakuza Series?

[Taco]

I've been interested in this game series for a while now but haven't got around to checking it out yet. Is this one a good entry point to the series? I plan on playing the others currently available on steam later on, but am I missing out or not gonna understand stuff if I start here?

[brbrbrbrbr]

The best starting point is Yakuza 0. But if you want to skip Kiryu story then hop on Yakuza 7. Some characters from previous games will appear in Y7 but it won't ruin your experience.

[Sixtyfivekills]

I'm at chapter 10, which is like 2/3rd of the story, and so far its been pretty safe. I know certain characters will appear later, but I wonder how they're gonna handle them.

[TataruTaru]

While I really do love this game, I don't think this is a good entry point. It's very different from the other 7 games, mostly in the way of combat, also the way you interact with the Yakuza in this game feels quite different from other games.

So while I agree that this is a great game, I'm not sure it really reflects the rest of the series.

[Geist]

To me it seems like it can be played on its own. But do not expect the rest of the series to be like this.

[Eiden Salman]

yes, Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Yakuza 0 are good entry points

[AllstarBrose]

As someone who's played through the entire main series including both the originals and remakes of the first and second games, this game is not a good entry point in the series. In fact, it's the most callback heavy game of them all. While the gameplay and main cast is new, the plot relies directly on the player knowing the events of past games. The player is expected to know certain characters and events and why they are so important to the world. I believe the best starting point is the original games on PS2 (which if you can run this game, you can emulate it) or 0, which I would HIGHLY recommend playing again after playing through 1-5. If you play this game you can easily have a great time with it, however there will probably be several points where you'll be a little lost and a lot (and I mean A LOT) of moments will lose their significance to you.

[Taco]

Is it worth doing the ps2 versions of 1 and 2 or should I just play Kiwami? Would you recommend 0 after the others or go ahead and start with it?

[KharnTheKhan]

Originally posted by Taco:

Is it worth doing the ps2 versions of 1 and 2 or should I just play Kiwami? Would you recommend 0 after the others or go ahead and start with it?

Id say go with the updated ones(Kiwamis), New Soundtrack,New Graphics, A new engine and a few new minigames, But same story etc, I started with 0 it just adds more character development to the story of 1 so youre not clueless going in as in later games youll see those characters again and get to follow their journey

[AllstarBrose]

Originally posted by Taco:

Is it worth doing the ps2 versions of 1 and 2 or should I just play Kiwami? Would you recommend 0 after the others or go ahead and start with it?

If you plan on playing every game in the series, I highly recommend playing the PS2 versions first. 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2 rely on a lot of callbacks that you wouldn't know as a new player, plus the experience of going from 2 to 3 is much more cohesive and feels wayyyy better than Kiwami 2 to 3.

[brbrbrbrbr]

Originally posted by Dan K Memes™:

Originally posted by Taco:

Is it worth doing the ps2 versions of 1 and 2 or should I just play Kiwami? Would you recommend 0 after the others or go ahead and start with it?

If you plan on playing every game in the series, I highly recommend playing the PS2 versions first. 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2 rely on a lot of callbacks that you wouldn't know as a new player, plus the experience of going from 2 to 3 is much more cohesive and feels wayyyy better than Kiwami 2 to 3.

...kiwamis are just remasters of og yakuza 1 and 2.. + they have additional content. If u skip ps2 games and play kiwamis u won't miss anything.

[AllstarBrose]

Originally posted by Brbrbrbr:

Originally posted by Dan K Memes™:

If you plan on playing every game in the series, I highly recommend playing the PS2 versions first. 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2 rely on a lot of callbacks that you wouldn't know as a new player, plus the experience of going from 2 to 3 is much more cohesive and feels wayyyy better than Kiwami 2 to 3.

...kiwamis are just remasters of og yakuza 1 and 2.. + they have additional content. If u skip ps2 games and play kiwamis u won't miss anything.

Not true, in fact it's the opposite case for 2 since Kiwami 2 cuts out a decent amount of content.

All of the games have very different vibes from each other too, and while the first game is a little rough around the edges, it's still highly worth playing (especially because it's not super long since they don't pad it out with extra unnecessary content like Majima Everywhere or some substories that they made mandatory).
2 on the other hand is a vital playing experience, especially because of the differences between it and its remake. There's more unique content throughout OG2 and the story has better pacing again due to less content bloat and the side area of Sotenbori not being cut. Again, it's not a super long game so I would recommend playing it as well.

[FissionChips]

As a person who has struggled to get into the previous Yakuza games due to the combo driven/button mashy play-style, I can 100% say that this game has converted me.

The combat controls in this game are not at all indicative of the previous games, but the rest of it perfectly matches up. I'm really impressed with this game. It's taken more hours out of me than I had anticipated giving it.

[Yuga-Suggah]

Honestly, every Yakuza game is a good starting off point as the series either tells you stuff you need to know to enjoy the game, or the game itself is meant to be a starting off point. The only games I would say are weird to really start on are Yakuza 5 because its a true sequel to Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 6 because its the last game with Kiryu as the main character.

And honestly, this game is mostly a soft reboot of the series, so if want to play this game first, you wont end up disappointed.

[0JMachine]

i've been playing since the terrible english dub days on ps2. my honest optimal play order is:
kiwami 1, kiwami 2 (main game no majima story), 3, 4, 5, 0, Kiwami 2 majima story, 6 , 7 A lot of people are forgetting how much 0 spoils parts of 2, 4, and 5 it seems.

[Fuhrer]

Originally posted by Taco:

Is it worth doing the ps2 versions of 1 and 2 or should I just play Kiwami? Would you recommend 0 after the others or go ahead and start with it?

Neither.

The originals are really crusty, and Kiwami is just Yakuza 0 with worse and less... everything. 0 is absolutely my recommendation - it's both a great starting point, and perhaps the best the series has to offer.