Despite only recently reaching mainstream success in the west, the Yakuza series has been around for over 15 years. Sega's open-world action series has undergone major changes in the past few years, all culminating in the recently released Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the seventh main entry in the series.
Given this, it can be daunting to newcomers entering the series to know the chronological order in which to play the main entries in the Yakuza series. This is especially true given how Sega has returned to previous titles in recent years with the Yakuza Kiwami remakes of the first two entries, and Yakuza 0, a full prequel set 20 year before the events of the first game.
Yakuza 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2
While it wasn't initially released until 2015 to mark the original game's 10th anniversary, Yakuza 0 is ultimately the very earliest entry in the Yakuza franchise. Set in 1988, during Japan's "economic bubble period," Yakuza 0 follows franchise protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, an up-and-coming yakuza who is suspected of murder after a man in Kamurocho's "Empty Lot," a small plot of land many of the city's major yakuza families are fighting for control over. Meanwhile in Osaka, a cabaret club owner named Goro Majima is given a mission to assassinate a woman called Makoto Makimura in order to be reinstated as a yakuza. After learning that the woman is an innocent, blind receptionist, Majima seeks to uncover why the hit was put on her head in the first place.
When it released in the west in 2017, Yakuza became the first Yakuza game to see major mainstream success in large part due to the game's placement as a prequel to the entire franchise. No prior knowledge of the Yakuza series is needed to enjoy this game, and the game does an excellent job of introducing series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima, one of the series' most beloved recurring characters.
Following Yakuza 0 is none other than the first Yakuza game, which received a remake in the form of Yakuza Kiwami in 2016 (later released in the west in 2017). Yakuza Kiwami starts in 1995, seven years after Yakuza 0, when Kazuma Kiryu takes the blame for his sworn brother, Akira Nishikiyama, after he murders a high-ranking yakuza. Ten years later, Kiryu returns from prison to find that Nishikiyama is now a high-ranking yakuza himself, and soon finds himself involved in a conspiracy surrounding 10 billion yen that was stolen from Kiryu's former clan.
Following this is Yakuza Kiwami 2, which is a remake of Yakuza 2 released in 2018. This entry is set only one year after the events of Yakuza Kiwami, with Kiryu now living with Haruka Sawamura, the daughter of his now deceased love interest who he met during the events of the first game. Kiryu is brought back into the fold this time by his former family, the Tojo clan, after its leader is assassinated by a rival group. Kiryu is tasked with bringing finding a new captain for the clan while preventing a war with the Omi Alliance.
Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, Yakuza 5
After Yakuza 2, the Yakuza series saw a huge step up in production value, mainly thanks to the introduction of the PlayStation 3, which is what Yakuza 3 debuted on when it released in 2009 in Japan. Set in 2008, Yakuza 3 opens with Kazuma Kiryu living his new life as the owner of Sunshine Orphanage (or Morning Glory Orphanage) in Okinawa. That is, until the Tojo clan leader that Kiryu helped appoint in Yakuza 2, Daigo Dojima, is attacked by a man resembling Kiryu's deceased father.
Yakuza 4 symbolized even more change coming off of Yakuza 3's relatively simple story-line (as far as these games go anyways.) The game, first released on PS3 in 2010, introduced 3 other playable characters alongside Kiryu this time. Those being loan shark Shun Akiyama, Goro Majima's sworn brother Taiga Saejima, and kind-hearted cop Masayoshi Tanimura. Flashbacks in Yakuza 4 also feature some of the earliest scenes in the franchise's timeline, including how Yakuza 0's Goro Majima ended up joining the Tojo clan.
Yakuza 5, released in 2012, continues the story arcs introduced in Yakuza 4. This time, however, Tanimura has been replaced by none other than Kiryu's adopted daughter, Haruka Sawamura, and Tatsuo Shinada, a pro baseball player who is being manipulated by the head of the Tojo clan.
Yakuza 6, Judgment, Like a Dragon
Finally, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life released in 2016 in Japan and set in the same year, and it is the final main entry to star franchise protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. After she inexplicably leaves Sunshine Orphanage, Kiryu returns from prison once again to learn that his daughter, Haruka, has been attacked in a hit-and-run case. It's only when he arrives at the scene that he also learns that in her time away from the orphanage, Haruka has given birth to a baby boy named Haruto. Kiryu soon embarks to Hiroshima to track down the identity of Haruto's father as he waits for Haruka to recover from her comatose state.
As Yakuza 6 was the final entry in Kazuma Kiryu's saga, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio decided to take a break from the traditional Yakuza formula before moving straight on to the seventh game. What came of this is Judgment, a detective game spin-off set in Kamurocho. Judgment, set in 2018, centers around Takeyuki Yagami, a detective living in Kamurocho who is investigating a case surrounding the murders of yakuza members, which ties into a case that cost him his badge three years ago.
Last, but not least, there's Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the latest entry in the Yakuza series released in 2020. This entry marks a major transition from the series, not only changing the protagonist from Kazuma Kiryu to Ichiban Kasuga, but also taking the beat-em-up gameplay style of mainline entries and replacing it with a turn-based battle system.
Like a Dragon brings the Yakuza series up to date with the current day, as it is set in 2020. The future is open to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, which has already revealed that it is working on another mainline Yakuza game. From this line-up, it's clear to see why fans have grown so attached to the world and cast of Yakuza. The game truly feels like a journey through the lives of these fully fleshed out characters in their adventures through the Japanese criminal underworld.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The PlayStation 5 version will release on March 2nd 2021.