Good games like Yakuza on Steam.

[0y4sum1]

I want games focused on history, with charismatic and fun characters like yakuza, any recommendations?

[Mhmmm]

You could try checking out Binary Domain, it's from the same developers, the port isn't that good, but it's playable. I would recommend waiting for a sale though (or getting a Steam key Humble Store for 75% off right now!). It's much shorter game (10-15 hours), it's a third person shooter focused on characters and story.

edit: and sooner or later someone will recommend Sleeping Dogs too - it's more of a GTA and Yakuza mix.

[Broso]

I second Sleeping Dogs, it's really good.

[Thorley23]

I haven't gotten Kiwami yet because I wanted to play Yakuza 0 first, however I have played Yakuza games before on other platforms. A weird suggestion someone has not already made would probably be "Shenmue", Steam has the first two games packaged together here. It's about a martial artist guy tracking down killers. It's also set in Japan, and has a lot of weird little mini-games and things to collect. I won't say it's the same kind of game play as Yakuza, but it's something you might be interested in from your stated desires.

[Nish-Ki]

Sleeping Dogs got a great criminal story.
It ain't no Yakuza, and feels very original compared to any other game.
But not much that's similiar to Yakuza, out there on steam.
I spent about a year playing through all Neptunia titles, and those have funny characters with a history parodying the gaming industry, Consoles and games from well known companies.
Sega even got in the action with one of their titles, it's Protagonist is a girl named Neptune that represents Sega's Console

[Nish-Ki]

She also starts off, most games with a wooden Kitana like the one Kiryu uses to train :P
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1292520791

[Broso]

Nep nep

[mjc0961]

As long as we're just suggesting random 💩 we like such as Neptunia instead of games that actually fulfill the criteria TC provided, Sunset Overdrive is really good.

[lPaladinl]

Originally posted by mjc0961:

As long as we're just suggesting random 💩 we like such as Neptunia instead of games that actually fulfill the criteria TC provided, Sunset Overdrive is really good.

Disgaea is like the Dark Souls of Yakuza.

[Villain]

binary domain(from yakuza dev) was pretty good.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=552424381

[PartTimeCasualGamer]

Originally posted by O Y A S U M I - P U N P U N:

I want games focused on history, with charismatic and fun characters like yakuza, any recommendations?

Mafia 1

[Nens]

Try Shenmue.
Sleeping Dogs is the most mediocre game I ever played and it's not similar to Yakuza in any way.

[Razzee]

I never played them, but "Way of the Samurai" games are very similar to YAKUZA.

[Marauder Shields]

Originally posted by Razzee:

I never played them, but "Way of the Samurai" games are very similar to YAKUZA.

This.

Try Way of the Samurai 4 on Steam. It's pretty close to Yakuza in terms of the overall presentation, and is generally awesome.

There's also Way of the Samurai 3 that's been ported to PC, but the PS3 Japan-only version has some exclusive content that didn't make it to PC port.

You can also try emulating WotS 1 and 2 on PS2, as well as their spiritual successor, Samurai Western.

[Broso]

Originally posted by Nens:

Try Shenmue.
Sleeping Dogs is the most mediocre game I ever played and it's not similar to Yakuza in any way.

Well, that's your opinion. Sleeping Dogs is much less heavy on the minigames but it offers a good story and good gameplay overall. Also, very good atmosphere.

[lPaladinl]

Honestly Yakuza is kind of a one-of-a-kind series.

Sleeping Dogs has some similar presentation with it's story being an Asian themed crime drama (this time in China). I thought it was pretty good, but do note that it's not Yakuza as far as gameplay goes. It's like the recent Batman beat-em-ups with some GTA city elements. Theres no where near as much going on as far as mini-games, but there's plenty of story and side content.

Yakuza might in some ways be a spiritual successor to Shenmue, which is also set in Japan as you try to uncover the murder of your own father. There's a lot of slice of life content that you do, with minigames and side content that involves doing anything but looking for information about your dad. There's even Forklift racing!

The only problem I see with Shenmue is that some people will think it's too archaic. It's a bit rough to play, you have to wait around a lot to trigger the story if all you want to do is the main content. The combat plays out like early Virtua Fighter games. Also while there's plenty of story to go through, the voice acting is wildly odd.

I love Way of the Samurai as well but I am not sure that I can recommend it for people who like Yakuza. It is another Japanese title with some heavy focus on the story, but once again the gameplay is quite different, and personally I think the WotS games all feel much cheaper than Yakuza, if only for their presentation.

Akiba's Trip could almost be recommended just because it's a brawler set in Akihabara? Though that game is about stripping people down to their underwear in public.

I don't really know of anything that has story presentation, beat-em-up RPG mechanics, and a good helping of slice of life side content and minigames like Yakuza does.