Highlights

• Yakuza franchise, now known as Like a Dragon, has gained popularity in the West with its compelling storylines and quirky gameplay.
• Yakuza Kiwami is a highly praised remake of the original game, improving visuals and adding depth to the plot.
• Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a spin-off with great combat and storytelling, setting the stage for the upcoming Infinite Wealth.

The Yakuza franchise – now known as Like a Dragon – has always been a big hit in Japan, but it took the series longer to find its feet and its fandom in the West. The games follow the main protagonist Kiryu Kazuma, an on/off Yakuza (depending on the title), as he faces various personal and professional dilemmas in regards to both those he cares for and his ties to the Tojo Clan. The Yakuza games have plenty of drama, with compelling storylines and deep plots, as well as a great deal of quirkiness that makes these games stand out from the crowd.

At this point, Sega's license has yet to produce a bad mainline entry, but they are hardly all equal either. What are the best Yakuza games?

Updated December 2, 2023 by Mark Sammut: Infinite Wealth is set to launch during the first few months of 2024, and the sequel will need to be amazing to unseat the best Like a Dragon games of all time. In November 2023, Sega also released Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, a spin-off that is still canon.

14 Yakuza

Metascore: 75

Yakuza first kicked its way onto the PlayStation 2 in 2006, having released in Japan the year prior to this. The game was critically acclaimed in Japan, and while it received favorable reviews in the West, it didn't quite hit the same highs, with the gameplay being fairly tedious.

The game offered up an open-world area to explore, with arcade-style combat that everyone fell in love with. The combat featured ragdoll physics, and players could use items from the environment to beat the hell out of their opponents. Fans also loved the insight into the yakuza lifestyle of Japan, as well as the heavy dose of Japanese quirkiness.

Yakuza's biggest issue is that its remake, Kiwami, exists and is superior in nearly every way. At this point, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to track down the PS2 original.

13 Yakuza 2

Metascore: 77

Given the popularity of the first title, it was no surprise to fans that Yakuza received a sequel, with the second entry coming out on the PlayStation 2 in 2008. Once again, fans step into the role of Kiryu Kazuma, but Yakuza 2 opened up a whole new area based in Osaka for players to explore, alongside the pre-existing setting of Kamurocho.

For the first time in the series, Western audiences could switch between Japanese and English audio. Sega went all out to improve the combat system and the general gameplay. The sequel even included new mini-games, while the story added a brand-new love interest for Kiryu.

Similar to its predecessor, Yakuza 2 cannot really be recommended in this day and age due to Yakuza Kiwami 2.

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11 Yakuza 3

Metascore: 79

Yakuza 3 brought the franchise to the PS3, and it certainly benefited from the console's improved hardware. Because of the more powerful console, the game featured a lot of additional features and enhanced gameplay, such as seamless battles, chase battles, and optional first-person view.

While this next title added a host of new content and delivered more of the quirky, amusing humor mixed with gritty yakuza melodrama that players loved, some content was cut prior to the Western release, so it was not the full version. While the combat system was fairly simple and nowadays feels dated when compared to the remakes, it was nevertheless a step up from the first two entries in the series.

10 Yakuza Kiwami

Metascore: 81

Fans were delighted when Sega released a remake of the original Yakuza titled Yakuza Kiwami. Debuting in 2017 in the West, Yakuza Kiwami was highly praised for the improvements it made to the original game, helping to solidify the franchise's increase in popularity worldwide.

As well as getting a much-needed glow-up in its visuals, the game featured new cutscenes that made the plot all the more in-depth and fleshed the characters out a great deal. Additionally, Kiwami borrowed a lot from the previously released Yakuza 0, such as utilizing the improved combat mechanics that helped propel the prequel into the limelight.

While certainly the best way to experience the franchise's original story, Kiwami has quite a few frustrating moments, particularly when it comes to its boss fights. The optional content is also not quite up to the same standards as Yakuza 0 or Kiwami 2, and the same can be said for the combat. As most people will likely play this entry right after Yakuza 0, the game's flaws tend to stand out even more since it does feel like a downgrade in a number of areas.

9 Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

Metascore: 79

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a smaller Yakuza package than the numbered entries, and it certainly comes across as a spin-off designed to set the stage for 2024's Infinite Wealth. The main campaign can be completed in roughly 10 hours, and quite a lot of the optional content is unspectacular by the franchise's high standards (although there are still a few great side-stories).

Even if it is not as filling as standard Yakuza games, The Man Who Erased His Name knocks it out of the park in the areas that matter the most: combat and storytelling. The former not only marks a return to real-time action but arguably perfects that gameplay formula thanks to the inclusion of the Agent style. The plot fills in Kiryu's life after the end of Yakuza 6, and things get silly and awesome in ways that only Like a Dragon can find.

8 Yakuza 4

Metascore: 78

Yakuza 4 was the second title in the franchise to be released for the PlayStation 3, with it hitting Western shores in 2011. It was the first Yakuza title that Daisuke Sato did not work on, the chief designer of the original Yakuza game. Although he skipped Yakuza 4, he returned for Yakuza 5 and has since become a producer for the franchise.

This new installment allowed players to follow four different characters as the story progressed, each with their own fighting style. However, the storyline was arguably not as in-depth or engaging as the previous entries due to the inclusion of multiple protagonists, which spread the narrative a bit too thin. Still, this is a fun entry that holds up reasonably well, especially since a remastered version is available on modern hardware.

7 Lost Judgment

Metascore: 83

Building upon the solid foundations of its predecessor, Lost Judgment offers more of the same, albeit with a few tweaks that help it stand out from both the first game and the Yakuza series. The sequel expands the beat 'em up combat system by giving Takayuki Yagami, the detective protagonist, access to a third fighting style, Snake, to go along with Judgment's Crane and Tiger. The action is fluid and impactful, while Lost Judgment does a far better job of executing its investigation-themed mechanics than the first game.

Lost Judgment's narrative is a bit all over the place, as a bullying case quickly spirals out of control. It is not as strong as Judgment's story, but it is not boring either.

6 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Metascore: 87

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life was released in the West in 2018, and it was the first title in the franchise to be developed exclusively for the PlayStation 4, as well as the first to use the brand-new Dragon Engine. As such, the game looks phenomenally beautiful and fans loved the detail in the characters and environments. This title was highly praised, winning both "Best Storytelling" and "PlayStation Game of the Year" awards at the Golden Joystick Awards.

Due to Yakuza: Like a Dragon switching to a new protagonist, Yakuza 6 seemed destined to be Kiryu's swan song, a prediction that ultimately proved untrue. Nevertheless, the game's story tries to be among the more emotional and weighty in the series, at least when it comes to Kiryu and Haruka. That said, the narrative has some issues and is far from perfect, and fans of the previous entries' secondary characters might be disappointed since they are generally ignored. The same can be said for the combat, which is among the smoothest in the franchise but also rather one-dimensional.

5 Yakuza 5

Metascore: 83

Yakuza 5 debuted in 2015 for PlayStation 3 and was the only localized title in the franchise that didn't get a physical release in Western countries. Sega decided to celebrate the fifth title in the franchise by having this game feature not only five protagonists but also have five areas across Japan that players could visit and explore.

Interestingly, Yakuza 5 was given double the development time of its predecessors and was developed on a brand-new graphics engine. The developers wanted this new installment to be a fresh look at the franchise and aimed the bar at having the best storyline and script to date. Now, an argument could be made that Sega did not quite achieve its goal, especially in the story department. Due to the focus being split among so many protagonists, the campaign is rather inconsistent, delivering great individual moments but a disappointing overall experience.

That said, Yakuza 5 is ambitious and really goes out of its way to create a deep sandbox filled with great side content that might still be the franchise's peak. The combat was also the best in the series at the time of the game's launch, although that is no longer the case.

4 Judgment

Metascore: 85

Judgment is very much a Yakuza game with some stealth and investigation mechanics sprinkled on top, both of which are among the weaker aspects of this package. Judgment's plot is one of the highlights of the entire franchise, a claim that is not made carelessly. Takayuki Yagami finds himself looking into a case of a serial killer operating in Kamurocho, and the investigation quickly drags the detective into the Yakuza world.

Judgment's combat is explosive, robust, and satisfying. Compared to the main games, Judgment plays similarly to Yakuza 0, which is certainly not a bad thing. For those who enjoy Yakuza's goofy side quests, this spin-off should not leave them disappointed.

3 Yakuza Kiwami 2

Metascore: 88

After the massive success of Kiwami, it was no surprise that Sega followed this up with another remake that focused on the franchise's sequel. Much like its remade predecessor, Kiwami 2 not only had a visual uphaul but enhanced gameplay features and added brand-new story content. This entry is also more well-rounded than Kiwami​​​​​​.

This not only cleared up some of the more confusing plot points of the original, but also fleshed out characters, relationships, and story arcs that the other titles had added to the franchise, most notably borrowing from Yakuza 0. The "Majima Saga" story content was also added, allowing players to step into the role of fan-favorite anti-hero Majima Goro once more.

2 Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Metascore: 89

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio decided to mix things up by changing the format of its latest Yakuza title to that of an RPG. Though it was undoubtedly a risk, it paid off massively, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon is one of the best entries in the franchise.

As well as a new genre, the game also introduced players to the new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, a host of other characters, and a new area too — moving part of the gameplay to Yokohama in Isezaki Ijincho. Even with all the changes, there were still plenty of cameos and references to the past titles to keep the older fans happy.

While certainly representing the start of a new era, Like a Dragon is very much a Yakuza game at its heart. Sure, the turn-based combat is new, but the system retains its predecessor's over-the-top and explosive nature. Ichiban is nothing like Kiryu in most ways, but they are both well-written and likable protagonists who blend comedy and drama effortlessly.

1 Yakuza 0

Metascore: 90

In 2015, Sega added a new beginning to the franchise by releasing the prequel title Yakuza 0 for PS4 and PS3 in Japan. Two years later, the former made its way to the West and quickly garnered a reputation as one of the best Yakuza games ever, if not the very best.

Yakuza 0 is attributed to raising the popularity of the franchise outside of Japan, and it is undeniably the fan-favorite game so far. As well as having a younger version of Kiryu as the protagonist, the spotlight was also shared with a younger version of Majima, with the player alternating between the two characters.

Yakuza 0 gave fans a much-needed glimpse behind the mask when it came to Majima and showed how his quirky character came to be. Additionally, this title added a host of fun and interesting gameplay features, story arcs, and side quests that, collectively, still set the bar for the franchise as a whole. Even the beat 'em up combat is better than nearly any other mainline Yakuza game except for maybe The Man Who Erased His Name.

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