Do I have to play past entries?

[Magos Flibble]

Heya. Only Yakuza/LaD game i've played was Yakuza 0. Loved it.

I'm not entirely interested in playing 1-6 (?). I am interested in the others like Yakuza: LaD/ Infinite Wealth/Man Who Erased Name, this one and the Judgement games.

Would I need to play 1-6 for story context or could i just drop in from Yakuza: Like a Dragon and go from there?

[Valk]

This game is a side-story to Infinite Wealth. It is going to spoil major parts of IW most likely, and would make a lot more sense with IW's context due to that at a guess.

[Magos Flibble]

Originally posted by Valk:

This game is a side-story to Infinite Wealth. It is going to spoil major parts of IW most likely, and would make a lot more sense with IW's context due to that at a guess.

Fair enough. Inf Wea is one I'm interested in so I will deffo do that before this one.

[Dama]

Usually I'd say play the others but looking at the premise with Majima losing his memories and whatnot this seems pretty detached from the other games, although of course im sure you will get more out of it having played previous games but that goes for any sequel.

However since you are interested in the games post Y6 it may be worth at least playing Like A Dragon, Gaiden and Infinite Wealth. But I THINK it may not matter as much for this one as it did for Gaiden which kinda required you to know Kiryus journey to really get anything from its story.

Remember I am assuming though, the game was only just announced so I could be quite wrong.

[Valk]

Originally posted by Magos Flibble:

Originally posted by Valk:

This game is a side-story to Infinite Wealth. It is going to spoil major parts of IW most likely, and would make a lot more sense with IW's context due to that at a guess.

Fair enough. Inf Wea is one I'm interested in so I will deffo do that before this one.

Infinite wealth is also a direct sequel to Y:LAD and makes a lot more sense with Y:LAD's context.
Kiryu side of IW probably won't hit home that much without his saga either. Still playable and enjoyable without it, but far less impactful.

I also do find it kind of strange that you'd say you loved 0 but have no intention of playing any of the other games though. Its more of the same with various ups and downs. 0 isn't the be-all-end-all of the series after all.

[Magos Flibble]

Originally posted by Valk:

Originally posted by Magos Flibble:

Fair enough. Inf Wea is one I'm interested in so I will deffo do that before this one.

Infinite wealth is also a direct sequel to Y:LAD and makes a lot more sense with Y:LAD's context.
Kiryu side of IW probably won't hit home that much without his saga either. Still playable and enjoyable without it, but far less impactful.

I also do find it kind of strange that you'd say you loved 0 but have no intention of playing any of the other games though. Its more of the same with various ups and downs. 0 isn't the be-all-end-all of the series after all.

Oh I know, I could be convinced to play 1 and 2 but I just dunno if I wanna commit to every one since it's a pretty large franchise. Had my eyes on Y:LaD but never bit the bullet. This game looks particularly intriguing so I figured it might be a good time to start playing some of them.

[Valk]

Originally posted by Magos Flibble:

Originally posted by Valk:

Infinite wealth is also a direct sequel to Y:LAD and makes a lot more sense with Y:LAD's context.
Kiryu side of IW probably won't hit home that much without his saga either. Still playable and enjoyable without it, but far less impactful.

I also do find it kind of strange that you'd say you loved 0 but have no intention of playing any of the other games though. Its more of the same with various ups and downs. 0 isn't the be-all-end-all of the series after all.

Oh I know, I could be convinced to play 1 and 2 but I just dunno if I wanna commit to every one since it's a pretty large franchise. Had my eyes on Y:LaD but never bit the bullet. This game looks particularly intriguing so I figured it might be a good time to start playing some of them.

Tbh could think of it this way. It is a long franchise, but you don't have to play them all at once. You could just play one of them here and there, and you'll still eventually catch up on the games. They take significantly longer to make than to beat. Plus, that way, you'll be able to pick the games up significantly cheaper by the time you get around to them.

[Sir Ballgor]

I don't think so other than Infinite Wealth. However, there is a fair amount of YT videos explaining some of the key-points in the Yakuza-franchise lore and they do a decent job. I also think the game does an okay job explaining the key plot-points of anything relevant from previous games.

[🇩🇪🦀「Eric」🐢🇩]

you should play 1-8 though

[crazyfool_sb]

I would, they are fun. You loved yakuza 0 but don't want to play the rest of them? Yeah, if you play the others then you will understand more. If you don't play them, there are things you will either have to look up or just accept not understanding. Just go ahead and play them all, you won't regret it.

[Armless Kirby]

theyre all worth playing and will make your experience in the newer games especially 7 gaiden and 8 better

[󠀡󠀡Neodymetrick]

Definetly not.

[Valk]

Originally posted by ุุุุ:

Definetly not.

You say that despite this literally being a gaiden game meaning it will play off the story of 8...

[Lizard]

Originally posted by 🇩🇪🦀「Eric」🐢🇩:

you should play 1-8 though

Forgetting about 0... go sit in the corner and think about what you have done.

[Sentient_Toaster]

LAD -> (optionally TMWEHN) -> IW is fine; they're aware that not everybody will have played the previous games. There are probably plenty of summary videos on Youtube if you really want to know their plots.

Of the previous, Kiryu-centric games, I didn't bother finishing Y3/Y4 (very dated gameplay IMHO + old engine). Did finish Y0/K1/K2/Y5/Y6.

There are a lot of references to the previous games in IW, but many in the forms of in-game memories and follow-up; they'll just hit less if you didn't play 'em.

[Dama]

Originally posted by Sentient_Toaster:

I didn't bother finishing Y3/Y4 (very dated gameplay IMHO + old engine).

Yakuza 4 has some of the best combat in the series, Akiyama is a beast in that game. Ill give you 3 even though story wise its the most important for Kiryu and shouldnt be skipped either.