Do I need to have beaten gaiden / like a dragon ?

[Koda]

Hey, do I need to beat gaiden / like a dragon before i can jump into this one ???

[KaitoKid]

You don't need to at all. You'll probably enjoy it more as the stories do tie in directly to this one, but I'm sure it'll be enjoyable by itself as well.

[󠀡󠀡]

Originally posted by Luna:

Hey, do I need to beat gaiden / like a dragon before i can jump into this one ???

Like a Dragon would have been the best to start with before this, for mainly story and the upgrade from that to Infinite Wealth is so huge ngl. Gaiden doe...I skipped that one same as Ishin. The Prices are not befitting of the products.

[Triple Sombody]

In my personal opinion, if you don't have the time or money to beat Like a Dragon, watch a youtube recap of the LaD story because that's pretty much required if you want context for what could happen in the story, and Gaiden is really only important if you want some context for Kiryu's side of the story.

[Legato Bluesummers]

Originally posted by Triple Sombody:

In my personal opinion, if you don't have the time or money to beat Like a Dragon, watch a youtube recap of the LaD story because that's pretty much required if you want context for what could happen in the story, and Gaiden is really only important if you want some context for Kiryu's side of the story.

like the rest of the series they will probably give the players an opportunity for a recap.

I don't think you necessarily have to play any of the games before this one, every mainline game is mostly self-contained. You will miss out on a bunch of subtle references and wonder who some characters are or their significance to the story, but they've never done it where they player will be completely lost. The main game that this will most likely spoil is Yakuza 7 though. A recap on youtube might not be a bad idea if you're insistent on playing this first. or you could just play this and treat Y7 as a prequel when you get around to it.

[The_K00lDude]

No you don't need to play gaiden just make sure you play the first like a dragon. I've seen the starting cutscene and it heavily references stuff that happened in the previous title.

For gaiden the only benefit is to see kiryu part of the story and how he fits into the picture. (honestly your better just watching a video that sums up the story of this game)

[someoneproud]

You don't have to do anything bro. If you play the 10+th game in a series and skip the rest, there's gonna be things you don't understand/appreciate. This seems pretty obvious, anyone advising otherwise just hasn't noticed what they're missing.

Maybe the game's fine without familiarity with the series but I guarantee it's better with.

[armycat23]

As long as you've beaten Y7(Like a Dragon).....I think you could be alright just by watching the movie scenes in Gaiden.

If you haven't played and beaten Y7......and you're attempting to jump straight into this game(Y8)....(Gaiden is in-between).......it would be like getting the most delicious pizza ever, but only being able to eat the toppings off of it.

[Koda]

Originally posted by someoneproud:

You don't have to do anything bro. If you play the 10+th game in a series and skip the rest, there's gonna be things you don't understand/appreciate. This seems pretty obvious, anyone advising otherwise just hasn't noticed what they're missing.

Maybe the game's fine without familiarity with the series but I guarantee it's better with.

Yeah I have beaten Yakuza 0 - 6, dabbled in 7 as life got in the way but havent got around to ishin just yet same with gaiden. I just wanted to know if I can play this without beating 7

[armycat23]

Originally posted by Luna:

Originally posted by someoneproud:

You don't have to do anything bro. If you play the 10+th game in a series and skip the rest, there's gonna be things you don't understand/appreciate. This seems pretty obvious, anyone advising otherwise just hasn't noticed what they're missing.

Maybe the game's fine without familiarity with the series but I guarantee it's better with.

Yeah I have beaten Yakuza 0 - 6, dabbled in 7 as life got in the way but havent got around to ishin just yet same with gaiden. I just wanted to know if I can play this without beating 7

You caaaaaan technically....

......but I feel that many relationships are not going to impact you much in Y8, especially without the knowledge that comes with Ichiban's revelations about his parents that's revealed in Y7...even later in the game. Y8 will be centered on Ichiban's mother.

Plus, with the things that happens with the side-characters later in Y7....is a HUGE reason why people are glad to see them return. That would be lost on you by going straight to 8.

____________________
Gaiden? You can watch the movie scenes after Y7 and be ok if you don't want to "naturally" see a huge payoff for kiryu, even the biggest payoff thus far in the entire series. as the game progresses.


Watch the Gaiden movie scenes at the least.....or rush through the game "naturally" without trying to do everything.

[someoneproud]

Originally posted by Luna:

Yeah I have beaten Yakuza 0 - 6, dabbled in 7 as life got in the way but havent got around to ishin just yet same with gaiden. I just wanted to know if I can play this without beating 7

I'd still recommend playing through 7 and Gaiden for the best experience, or at least familiarise yourself with what happens in them. There's a good chance the game will come with recap videos but you're still gonna get the best experience by playing them imo.

Ichiban's story is obviously gonna refer to 7 a lot and 7Gaiden is an important part of Kiryu's story that leads directly into 8. Plus they both have some pretty peak character moments that I expect you'd enjoy, seeing as you're already as deep as you are into the series.

I highly doubt Ishin's gonna be referenced at all fwiw, it's excellent but pretty far removed from the rest of the series.

[KaitoKid]

If you beat 0-6 and you care about Kiryu I'd say it's worth to play Gaiden at least. It's short too and tells you a bit of the story of 7. Ishin is not required at all.

[Awt]

You don't NEED to beat anything beforehand. You just won't know why people act the way they act regarding characters you meet for the first time in this game. They might give a little context on who people are relative to the MC. But I expect, like every other Yakuza game, the main story is self-contained.