Yakuza for Dummies

[Sarah Valentine]

I've been feeling uninspired and insufficiently entertained by so many of the games I've played lately. Watching VG's Shenmue streams has got me thinking about the much-lauded Yakuza franchise. I haven't played any of them so at the very least it'll be something new, and I hear they're pretty funny to boot.

Those of you who have played the series or are very knowledgeable about them, I ask you: what do you think is the best Yakuza game for a newcomer?

[Althena]

If you want to start chronologically, 0 is the first. Kiwami is a remaster of the first game, (Yakuza 1) so if you play that first, you may understand some callbacks made in 0. I've never played the remaster but I've heard good things.

[The Grimace]

I'll have to refer back to this.

I've always heard great things about Yakuza, but I've never played any. At some point I need to remedy that.

[Sarah Valentine]

If you want to start chronologically, 0 is the first. Kiwami is a remaster of the first game, (Yakuza 1) so if you play that first, you may understand some callbacks made in 0. I've never played the remaster but I've heard good things.

I'm less interested in chronological order than I am in which game has the best chance of holding my attention. However it would be nice to start with a Yakuza game that I can follow the plot of without having played previous ones first. I was looking at the Wikipedia list of games in the series and was kinda let down when I saw the first games weren't available on PC. Thanks for letting me know about the remaster!

[Althena]

The Yakuza games are good but I'm old-fashioned and like the classics, and I'll always prefer Shenmue. I'd recommend playing them for yourself, there's a lot of stuff not covered in my streams.

[Sarah Valentine]

I'm old fashioned and like the classics too, but the ones I most enjoyed I've already replayed over and over into the ground. That's why I'm looking to get into a series I've never played or seen many videos of. As much as I've come to enjoy your Shenmue streams, I'm afraid that alone is enough for me to not feel like playing through them myself. It's like I'm burned out on anything familiar and just looking for something new and engaging.

[Althena]

Entirely fair. You'll enjoy the Yakuza games.

[Sarah Valentine]

I have acquired Yakuza Kiwami and it just finished installing. Time to see what the hype is all about!

[Althena]

Enjoy, and let us know your thoughts in a thread here!

[Sarah Valentine]

You want me to post it here or start a new topic?

[Althena]

I'd say make a new thread about your impressions!

[Sarah Valentine]

I gotta say that I'm really enjoying Yakuza Kiwami. I've been taking notes here and there cuz when I'm done with the game, I'ma write a whole-ass review about it lol

[Skunkworks]

I’ve been watching the Yakuza Papers films (Battles without Honor or Humanity). They also make me want to play yakuza/shenmue games.

[Sarah Valentine]

The adventure continues! I'm havin an absolute ball with this game. Every time I think there's something I don't care about, I get sucked in! Hostess clubs? I don't care much for dating sims... WHAM both girls at affection rank S. Pocket Circuit? Isn't that just watching little cars race without controlling them? WHAM finished the whole Pocket Circuit storyline. Mahjong? Uhh, okay you got me there, I don't play Mahjong at all. But everything else is great! I'm 2/3 of the way through the main story chapters now and I've been writing/revising my review as I go, so you can expect a thread about it to pop up soon!