Yakuza Kiwami 2 - perfect story and ending ! Song of Life and Yakuza 5 are also amazing ! But after all, there is no weak Yakuza game ! Amazing franchise 🤩
@@ErekLadd that's fair, it was definitely on the leaner side content wise. i did REALLY love the battle arena though, being able to fight as all those different characters was a blast. sujimon in infinite wealth went crazy hard for side content too, it's kind of wild that game also has the dondoko island stuff
I remember asking someone from the yakuza community whats the difference between 0 and kawami and he said 0 was a party and kawami is the morning after, i love like a dragon and yakuza 5
Good start to the video, I also binged the Yakuza games after playing Like a Dragon in 2021 and Yup, not a bad game in the series. I have the original Yakuza on PS2, and hope to get to it this year 👍 Kiryu is the bomb, am I right, Majima is a close second, and Ichiban os basically who I'd be if I grew up in the Yakuza 😂😂 Well done on being brave enough to rank these, because like you say, they're all bangers. I don't think there's a more consistent franchise in the entire history of video games. My top 3 are - 3. Infinite Wealth 2. Yakuza 0 1. Like a Dragon But hot damn, the whole franchise is so hard to separate 😎👍
Totally agree!! Majima is so good. Such a great character!! I’d have to say Akiyama is probably my second fave. But yeah, not a bad game in the series. Amazing!!
Yakuza 6 will always hold a special place in my heart as it's the first game in the series I played. I went in blind not knowing anything about the series. It blew me away.
Love the Yakuza series! I just got into it when 0 came out and I've been playing it as they come out ever since. I still haven't played 5 or Isshin because I don't want to reach emotional burn out with the series. Also I'm surprised 6 is so high! My ranking would probably be 1. Yakuza 0 2. Like a Dragon(If it had Infinite Wealth's combat improvements it would probably be 1) 3. Gaiden(The length was extremely good for the story they wanted to tell and also I needed that extremely hard cry the ending gave me) 4. LaD IW(While everything is incredibly good it is the first time I felt like the ending left some loose ends and the dual protags made the story feel a little unbalanced pacing wise) 5. Yakuza 4 6. Yakuza Kiwami(I wasn't prepared for all the relationships and characters from 0 to be gone so I was a little harsh on this one originally) 7 Yakuza 6 8. Yakuza 3 9.Yakuza Kiwami 2 If we add in Judgment, Lost Judgment, and the Kaito Files they would probably take 4, 2, 5, and move everything else down accordingly.
@@CaptainEffort All the games are great so I would probably put it in A tier if all games I've ever played are considered, but among the Yakuza games it felt the weakest story wise to me. I may also be influenced a little bit by the complete drop off of Kaoru's relationship in 3.
@@theoneguy420 Fair enough, I made my ranking as I was playing them, so Kaoru dipping in 3 didn't affect my ranking of 2. If anything it affected my ranking of 3. And it's funny lol, for me 2 has one of my favorite stories. I think it's because the melodramatic soap opera writing really isn't my thing, so 2 having a much simpler story keeps that at a minimum compared to the others.
I've never played a game in the series except a bit of Ishin, but now I know that this was the worst point to start. Definitely interested in Yakuza Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth. Loved this ranking man! Always so fun to watch!
As a Yakuza fan I fully approve this list, great. The only thing is - playing all part in a row it's not the wisest decision, to say the least. I think that all has been merged into one infinite game with criminal drama, betrayals and goofy sidequests. But I'm impressed what you've done.
I just started with the Yakuza series. I'm about 45 hours into Like a Dragon and I'm hooked. I picked up Zero a while ago but I haven't played it yet. This video definitely makes me want to binge the series now lol especially with how low Like a Dragon ranked compared to the other games
@@ErekLadd Judgement is very good, Lost Judgement is top 3 material. You can also try Lost Paradise, who is absolutely not set in the Yakuza world (but in the Hokuto no Ken one) but is definitly a Yakuza game (Ken shiro is voiced by Kyriu's actor, and the the game is really good, a lot bloodiest tho)
Just finally getting to this as I wanted to really see what you had to say!!! GREAT VIDEO! I can't wait to do my own version once I finish the series! I think your list is great and makes total sense!
I was stressed that the Judgement games weren't on here. Glad to hear you're already rectifying that lol. Don't forget that the 2024 RGG summit is this Friday 9/20. There are no currently announced games so everything they talk about will be brand new. I'm hoping they announce Judgement 3, Kiwami 3, and/or a remake of Kenzin or the PSP games!! But honestly, they could release Majima Making Toast and I'll still pre-order it.
I also binged through the Yakuza games they are incredible! I'm so glad you also rank 6 so highly I remember when it released it was bashed a little for not being as good as 2 kiwami. I'd probably swap 4 and 5 around I felt like 5 was too mini game heavy and didn't quite hit as hard as 4. But yeah 3 is the most dated those animations are poor haha. We have the same top 3 but I'd swap 6 with 2.
Yeah I loved 6. I ended up really bonding with those characters more than I thought I would. Such a great game!!! 5 was a bit too mini game heavy but I didn't mind it. Super compelling storyline though!!
Damn, you played the games in a span of 3 months without experiencing series fatigue or burnout?! That's impressive, it took me twice as long to get from 0 to 7 😅
100% - No burnout or fatigue. I really only felt it once I got to Ishin and I think that's because it was just so different. I considered it to be like one long story rather than seperate games!
Awesome ranking list! After hearing you gush about this series, it really makes me wanna get stuck into it! Shame it's not on Switch, but fingers crossed for Yakuza/Like A Dragon on Switch 2! 🤞
Nice video! I love the Yakuza series man. My personal ranking would look like this: 1. Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth 2. Yakuza Like A Dragon 3. Lost Judgment 4. Yakuza 5 5. Yakuza Kiwami 2 6. Judgment 7. Yakuza 0 8. Yakuza 6 9. Gaiden 10. Yakuza Kiwami 11. Yakuza 4 12. Yakuza 3 I still need to play Dead Souls and Ishin.
Such a great series. I had a similar experience. Started with like a dragon and then played the whole series starting with 0. Lost judgement is amazing too
Like a Dragon was my first Yakuza game too. I had the highest tier of Playstation Plus and Games Pass for about a year. Every now and then when I couldn't find something to watch on RUclips, I'd search Playstation Plus catalog and GamesPass with zero intention of actually playing anything. But then I saw Like A Dragon and noticed I could stream it immediately and didn’t have to download it. So I played for about 15 minutes and immediately fell in love with the game. I played up until the part where it told me to make 3 million yen. So I gave up. A year later the exact same thing happened. I was looking for something to watch on RUclips and couldn't find anything. So I checked Playstation catalog and found Lost Judgment. I watched the trailer and was so DESPERATELY bored I downloaded it and gave it a chance. Then about 10 to 15 hours in, I happened to walk into Survive Bar and recognized the face of the Bartender and I thought to myself, "WAIT A MINUTE, IS THIS A FUCKING YAKUZA GAME?!?!?!?!!??!" And after THAT moment of walking into Survive I was hooked on the whole franchise. I re downloaded Like A Dragon on Playstation and ended up getting the platinum trophy. Then i got Infinite Wealth and I platinum'ed that too. I still haven't gotten the platinum for Lost Judgment, but I did finish the original Judgment and plan on 100%ing it as well. I actually just finished Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 1 this week And just ordered Kiwami 2 and the Remastered Collection tonight. I plan on getting the platinum in all these games
All of these games are so great. My top 3 are : Yakuza Kiwami 2 Yakuza dead souls And Yakuza 0. A lot of people say Yakuza dead souls is one of the worst games without actually playing it. I played with low expectations and was genuinely blown away (though that's because i like zombies mayhe a bit too much) . Glad that you played the game before ranking it lile everyone else
Honestly I did really enjoy dead souls! Not the best game in the series but it has some great moments. If anything it’s just to play a quirky spin off.
Love to finally see some Yakuza 6 love. Haven't seen a lot of praise for the game. I do however think they should have left Kiryu with 6, perfect ending IMO
Interesting!! I thought it was a pretty near perfect game. Would be interested to know what people didn’t like. Definitely a fitting end to Kiryu’s story but I’m here for whatever comes next.
@@ErekLaddit's not that it wasn't liked. I think there was just better games. Like other games did more. I felt in 6 if you aren't in kamurocho then the other city is kind of lacking outside of the story.
Wow I can see now why you were so keen on me jumping into zero. Absolutely fantastic game. Can't wait to play more.... Awesome list can't wait to play more.
Im actually quite high on Ishin, I'd put it 3rd. Some of the side quests are not that great, but I really enjoyed the main story and the historical setting, Ryoma Sakamoto was a great choice of an protagonist, I liked it so much that I went out of my way to study further the real story of the period
I've recently gotten hooked on Yakuza 0. It helps that it runs incredibly well on the Steam Deck. I plan to work my way through the series, but there's no way I'm getting through it as quick as you did, Erek. How many hours do think you've put into the series as a whole, just out of curiosity so I know what I'm getting myself into 😂
Awesome!!! Yeah I played every single game on steam deck. Most of them (if not all) are deck certified so I had zero issues. As far as time, I played story only for every game. Each game ranged between 15-22 hours with Infinite Wealth taking me the most at 34 hours. So we could average like maybe 130-140 hours for the series playing story only - aside from the side content of Infinite Wealth that is must play IMO.
@ErekLadd yeah, I bought almost all the games between a couple Steam sales because they all are Deck verified besides 6. 6 says unsupported, but did it run fine on the Deck?
To let you know, the Kiwami remakes actually have a lot of differences between them. Kiwami 2 actually cut a 3rd explorable city that was in the original PS2 game P.S seeing Yakuza 6 up so high was a surprise I think a lot of RGG fans have it either pretty low or somewhere in the middle.
@ErekLadd You're welcome. This video was really fun seeing a newcomers' perspective of the series, If you're interested, there are very lovey videos by Civit and Tehsnaker with retrospectives on the PS2 versions of Yakuza 1 and 2 in which they analyze and critique some of the changes that the Kiwami games made. There's also a video called The Kiwami Rant by imontheedgeofmyseat, which is a critique video that's a bit more humorous but still gets the points across nicely.
Hello, a suggestion is to play judgement, it's in the yakuza verse but with none of the original cast or protagonists, still, one of the best narratives of all time
Kind of a late comment but I’d like to say that this was a great video and so fun to listen to! I actually disagree with basically the entirety of your list except for Yakuza 0’s placement, however it was still very interesting to hear your rankings and opinions on this series because it’s so different! Very fun to hear your takes! And as you said, there is no bad game in the series. My list would be: 1. Yakuza 0 2. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (IW and 0 are kinda interchangeable it depends on my mood) 3. Yakuza 5 4. Yakuza: Like a Dragon 5. Yakuza Kiwami 2 6. Yakuza 4 7. Yakuza 3 8. Yakuza 6 9. Yakuza Kiwami 1 Idk where to place Gaiden cause it was so short (also I haven’t played dead souls and I’m still playing ishin)
I started from the beginning because I heard yakuza on ps2 had a similar feel to my favorite game on Dreamcast, Shenmue. I was instantly hooked. It would be really hard for me to rank all of them but my favorite one is definitely yakuza 3
including judgment for me: 1) yakuza 0 (one of the best games ever) 2) lost judgment (best investigative action) 3) like a dragon infinite wealth 4) kiwami 2 5) judgment 6) yakuza like a dragon 7) Gaiden 8) kiwami 1 9) yakuza 6 10) Ishin 11) yakuza 5 12) yakuza 4 13) yakuza 3 14) dead soul
It's interesting how differently people view the series. No list is the same. Mine: 1.Y0 2.Y7 3.Y1/K1 4.Gaiden 5.Y2/K2 6.Y8 7.Y3 8.Y6 9.Y5 10. Y4 11.Inshin(I'd put the 2 Judgement games above it) 12. Didn't play Dead Souls yet
So I actually ranked them as I played through them for the first time. I started with 0, and made my way through the series before 7 released, so I have all of them ranked except for 7, 8, and the spin-offs. Tho I plan on tackling the Judgement series, Ishin, and ofc 7 and 8 soon. I know my ranking might be... controversial. But either way: 1. Yakuza Kiwami 2 2. Yakuza 0 3. Yakuza 5 4. Yakuza 3 5. Yakuza 4 6. Yakuza 6 7. Yakuza Kiwami I know Kiwami being so low might upset some people, but frankly it doesn't hold up compared to 0 imo, not in the story or in a lot of the mechanics. I actually almost gave up on the series during Kiwami, as the soap opera story and dialogue were really killing me. Maybe I eventually just got used to it, as the other entries also have some truly awful soap opera writing, but Kiwami was the toughest for me to get through. My guess is that it's because I was coming from 0, arguably the best in the series. So my expectations were high. Probably should replay them at some point to get a more balanced opinion, but for now this is the ranking.
I always enjoy watching Yakuza ranking videos, and hear peoples' reasoning as to why they place certain games over others. I'll be honest, I will never ever understand why people rank Yakuza 4 over Yakuza 3. I agree that Yakuza 3's gameplay wasn't the greatest, but the story was really good, and arguably one of the most important games in the entire series, because it basically shows Kiryu's motivation for what he does throughout the rest of the series. To me Yakuza 4 had a really forgettable story, and it's honestly the only game in the series where I actually don't remember much about the plot, even though I've played it multiple times. It's also puzzling that they introduced a new character in Tanimura, yet he was never heard from again. Then again, the same thing happened in Yakuza 5 with Shinada lol
Fair enough!!! I loved infinite wealth but I just didn’t click with Ichiban’s portion of the story, especially on the second play through. But when Kiryu was the main focus, I was glued to it!
7:28 I actually DESPISE turn based games. Like a Dragon was just so good that it got me into the franchise. Even though I gave up on it for a year and only came back after finishing Lost Judgment
I legit adore the series and I love every single one of the games on here. It’s hard to rank (well besides 3-5, loved them and 3 legit made me cry but I like the wackiness and zany stuff of everything else from 0 onward) because they’re all legitimately so good and have their own zaniness When it comes to even the worse entry (mainly 3 but solely because it’s gameplay is outdated and kinda trash lol) they’re all at the least 8 or 9 and above for me personally
Also started playing from scratch in april. But I've only gotten as far as Yakuza 6, playing Ishin now. So far my ranking would be from best to worst: Y0, Y5, Kiwami, Y4, Kiwami 2, Y3, Y6.
My top is: 1. Yakuza 6 2. Yakuza 0 3. Judgment 4. Yakuza: Like a Dragon 5. Yakuza 4 6. Yakuza Kiwami 2 7. Yakuza 2 8. Yakuza 9. Yakuza 5 10. Yakuza Kiwami I didn't play Lost Judgment, Like a Dragon Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden or Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth yet.
My list goes 1. Infinite wealth 2. 0 3. yakuza 7 4.Yakuza Kiwami 2 5. Yakuza Kiwami 6. Yakuza 4 7. Yakuza 6 8. Yakuza Gaiden the made who erased his name 9. Yakuza 3 10. Ishin 11. Yakuza 5 12. Dead souls 9.
You putting dead souls, ishin and y3 last had me sitting there like 😦😦😦 (I know that this is your subjective list, absolutely no hate!! Those games are just very dear to me
Infinite Wealth is No.1 for me, amazing. My only gripe is lack of Club Sega games, they could always add more later.. But, are they prepared to have a game that good though? I suppose gotta keep the gaming industry fair and not make your game too good.. Literally just a few more arcades is all it needs, bit like Lost Judgment has.
I'm going to upset pretty much every Yakuza fan out there. So, a few things. 1)I won't include the spinoffs like you have. No Ishin, no Dead Souls. I will not play them, nor do I ever plan to. 2)So, since we're not counting the Judgment games, I won't list them here. 3)I'm really, REALLY going to upset every fan here, so uh, buckle up. From Top to Bottom, Worst to Best: Yakuza 7/Like A Dragon Yakuza 5 Yakuza 0 Yakuza 4 Yakuza Kiwami Yakuza 3 Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Yakuza Kiwami 2 And the Best Out of the Kiryu Saga Overall: Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
10:38 I liked Yakuza Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth the Same. Infinite Wealth had better gameplay. Like a Dragon had a better story (and especially ending) But Infinite Wealth is what really got me interested in Kiryu. I never cared for Kiryu before, but Infinite Wealth sparked my curiosity so much that I gave Kiwami a 2nd chance. I don't mind movies with subtitles, but I DESPISE games with subtitles (For some reason) I actually Bought Yakuza Kiwami in 2016, but gave up during Sera's funeral because I hated the subtitles. Then I bought Yakuza 0 in 2018 and gave up immediately. It was only aftwe Infinite Wealth that I gave the originals another chance. Infinite Wealth sparked my curiosity so hard that I almost didn't even realize I was reading everything. (I still hope and pray to GOD we'll get and english dubbing of every original game) nothing is gonna change my mind. I'll take shitty voice acting over reading EVERY single time
Interesting. I started with like a dragon on game pass and enjoyed it a lot. Randomly downloaded another, which ended up being Yakuza 3. I thought the setting in Okinawa would give a cool vibe, but so far it’s not really hitting. Perhaps I’ll download kiwami 1 and 2, or just start with 0
I’m currently playing Judgement right now and loving it! Just hit chapter 8 and then will move onto Lost Judgement. I’ll make a video on my thoughts after I finish those two!
thx for your list. my experience is almost the same. last year my first game was like a dragon. this year i played infinite wealth and thats the reason i wanted to play every single game before. to now i played kiwami 1+2, yakuza 3 (yes its the weakest game), 4,5,0 and right now i am in the middle of 6. in my eyes part 4 is way better than 5 and perhaps also the first one. 2, 4 and zero are right now my favs (in the main series, the 2 ichiban games are for me in another league, also like the grandios judgement games) ah and no!!!! i would not play zero as the first game. there are some spoilers for yakuza 4 and 5.
Good thoughts!! P.S. catching up on all your comments now. I literally just put out a judgment video about an hour ago you may find interesting as well!
@@ErekLadd Dude I literally lost my passion for gaming for years. LIke a Dragon got me interested in games again, but I gave up on it before I finished. But something about Lost Judgment totally reinvigotared my passion. Like even beyond Yakuza games. I've aged games I've never thought I would like after playing Lost Judgment. And Lost Judgment made me go back to Like A Dragon and finish it
Played these all over the past like 18 months... Still don't get how everyone's favourite is 0, to be fair it was my first one I played, as I wanted to play chronologically, and it has a great story and combat is good, but it was paced so poorly imo, so long winded and the side stuff was too much, but felt like you needed to do it. I feel like the pacing of every other game was so much better, aside from 5, that had bad pacing, but it was good overall.
Honestly I have no clue. I was so invested I just had to know what happened with each game! Every time I’d roll credits I’d start a new game straight away!!
@@bhabhutiji1169 cope with your horrible taste and objectively wrong opinion son. Two of the highest selling, highest rated, most critically acclaimed and fun games in the franchise. Cope harder.
@@saulgoodmanskin cope with your delusion and pathetic skills in gaming that you enjoy a turn based game son, cry hard kid. Nobody is playing that crap apart of you in your moms basement boy. Pathetic taste , absolutely gone case lmfao
What’s your favorite game in the series? 🤔 Let me know!
yakuza 0
gaiden and infinite wealth are diabolically low on ur list lol
So far, either Judgment or Gaiden or Infinite Wealth.
Toss up in between 5 and 3. I think the best writing for Kiryu is in 5 while 3 has the best tragic villain written
Yakuza Kiwami 2 - perfect story and ending ! Song of Life and Yakuza 5 are also amazing ! But after all, there is no weak Yakuza game ! Amazing franchise 🤩
gaiden at 8 hurts me a little. never cried that much for a video game before.
I know right? Seriously ugly cried so hard. Only ranked so low purely because substance vs the other games but I LOVED it.
@@ErekLadd that's fair, it was definitely on the leaner side content wise. i did REALLY love the battle arena though, being able to fight as all those different characters was a blast. sujimon in infinite wealth went crazy hard for side content too, it's kind of wild that game also has the dondoko island stuff
@@feelyourlines I know right? SO much stuff it’s overwhelming in infinite wealth 🤣
Rated low doesn't mean much in yakuza series. They all good. If it was a tier list, i doubt any of the mainline games would be lower than A.
@@morganf.1562 100% agree. No bad games in the series and nothing lower than A rank if we were to go that route. So true.
Playing all these games in 4 months is absolutely insane
I played all of them in one month.
Pretty much hit one game a week. So much fun!
Agreed!
You can't make them in one week. It's like you never played them. If you didn't met Horimoto you didn't play Yakuza 3.@@ErekLadd
Yakuza 0 took me a year
I remember asking someone from the yakuza community whats the difference between 0 and kawami and he said 0 was a party and kawami is the morning after, i love like a dragon and yakuza 5
Noone could describe it better hahahaha, i love both games, i feel they have the best kiryu combatwise
I love seeing videos like this where your passion is so obvious! I also love that you binged this series when you got into it haha
Yeah it was so good once I started I couldn’t stop!!
I'd love to comment on Infinite Wealth, but I've been on Dondoko Island for 20 hours and I may never leave
I couldn’t leave soon enough 🤣 I wasn’t super keen on it but it seems cool if you’re into that kind of thing!!
Bro I was not ready for how in-depth that mini game was. Literally could be a game all on its own.
Same , i spent around 20 hrs in dondokp island 😂
Yakuza 0 is masterpiece
Totally agree!!!
Good start to the video, I also binged the Yakuza games after playing Like a Dragon in 2021 and Yup, not a bad game in the series.
I have the original Yakuza on PS2, and hope to get to it this year 👍
Kiryu is the bomb, am I right, Majima is a close second, and Ichiban os basically who I'd be if I grew up in the Yakuza 😂😂
Well done on being brave enough to rank these, because like you say, they're all bangers. I don't think there's a more consistent franchise in the entire history of video games.
My top 3 are -
3. Infinite Wealth
2. Yakuza 0
1. Like a Dragon
But hot damn, the whole franchise is so hard to separate 😎👍
Totally agree!! Majima is so good. Such a great character!! I’d have to say Akiyama is probably my second fave. But yeah, not a bad game in the series. Amazing!!
Yakuza 6 will always hold a special place in my heart as it's the first game in the series I played. I went in blind not knowing anything about the series. It blew me away.
Love the Yakuza series! I just got into it when 0 came out and I've been playing it as they come out ever since. I still haven't played 5 or Isshin because I don't want to reach emotional burn out with the series. Also I'm surprised 6 is so high!
My ranking would probably be
1. Yakuza 0
2. Like a Dragon(If it had Infinite Wealth's combat improvements it would probably be 1)
3. Gaiden(The length was extremely good for the story they wanted to tell and also I needed that extremely hard cry the ending gave me)
4. LaD IW(While everything is incredibly good it is the first time I felt like the ending left some loose ends and the dual protags made the story feel a little unbalanced pacing wise)
5. Yakuza 4
6. Yakuza Kiwami(I wasn't prepared for all the relationships and characters from 0 to be gone so I was a little harsh on this one originally)
7 Yakuza 6
8. Yakuza 3
9.Yakuza Kiwami 2
If we add in Judgment, Lost Judgment, and the Kaito Files they would probably take 4, 2, 5, and move everything else down accordingly.
Great ranking! Really love hearing your thoughts. I hope you can get to 5 eventually - I really enjoyed that one. And Ishin as well!
@@ErekLadd I've been working on my backlog recently so they've got a pretty good chance! Can't wait for your thoughts on the Judgment games!
Damn man, Kiwami 2 at the bottom? Usually people put 2 super high, I'm surprised.
@@CaptainEffort All the games are great so I would probably put it in A tier if all games I've ever played are considered, but among the Yakuza games it felt the weakest story wise to me. I may also be influenced a little bit by the complete drop off of Kaoru's relationship in 3.
@@theoneguy420 Fair enough, I made my ranking as I was playing them, so Kaoru dipping in 3 didn't affect my ranking of 2. If anything it affected my ranking of 3.
And it's funny lol, for me 2 has one of my favorite stories. I think it's because the melodramatic soap opera writing really isn't my thing, so 2 having a much simpler story keeps that at a minimum compared to the others.
I've never played a game in the series except a bit of Ishin, but now I know that this was the worst point to start. Definitely interested in Yakuza Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth.
Loved this ranking man! Always so fun to watch!
You'll love Like A Dragon & Infinite Wealth!! If you get a chance to play Zero I highly recommend that as well.
Glad to hear you fell into the Yakuza rabbit hole! They are indeed amazing, wholly Japanese, and quirky beyond belief. 😄
So true!! Very Japanese and I LOVE it!!!!
I feel good that I chose to play Yakuza 0 first with 0 knowledge of the series because a lot of people say it’s the best
Definitely agree. I had it recommended to me to play first as well and I’m glad I did!
As a Yakuza fan I fully approve this list, great. The only thing is - playing all part in a row it's not the wisest decision, to say the least. I think that all has been merged into one infinite game with criminal drama, betrayals and goofy sidequests. But I'm impressed what you've done.
It's been one heck of a ride that's for sure!
Immediately subscribed. You seem cool. I only follow a few gaming channels and you just earned a spot. Keep up the great content.
Thanks! That's very kind of you. Appreciate the support!
I just started with the Yakuza series. I'm about 45 hours into Like a Dragon and I'm hooked. I picked up Zero a while ago but I haven't played it yet. This video definitely makes me want to binge the series now lol especially with how low Like a Dragon ranked compared to the other games
Definitely would play Zero next! Like A Dragon is really great and a good entry point into the series though.
Can't wait to dive deeper into this series! I've only played like a dragon and now started judgment. Great video
Nice!!!! I'm really enjoying Judgement right now. About 14 hours in!
@@ErekLadd Judgement is very good, Lost Judgement is top 3 material. You can also try Lost Paradise, who is absolutely not set in the Yakuza world (but in the Hokuto no Ken one) but is definitly a Yakuza game (Ken shiro is voiced by Kyriu's actor, and the the game is really good, a lot bloodiest tho)
Great review of all the Yakuza games! I just finished Yakuza 0 - have a looooong way ahead of me! Gonna enjoy it!
Thanks!! Hope you enjoy the series - so much goodness there!
Your joy over finding this series makes me so happy! Will want to hear your opinons on majima pirate game once it drops
Just finally getting to this as I wanted to really see what you had to say!!! GREAT VIDEO! I can't wait to do my own version once I finish the series! I think your list is great and makes total sense!
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on all of the games!!
I was stressed that the Judgement games weren't on here. Glad to hear you're already rectifying that lol. Don't forget that the 2024 RGG summit is this Friday 9/20. There are no currently announced games so everything they talk about will be brand new. I'm hoping they announce Judgement 3, Kiwami 3, and/or a remake of Kenzin or the PSP games!! But honestly, they could release Majima Making Toast and I'll still pre-order it.
I've since finished both Judgement games and made a video on them so you might be interested in that! But yes - super excited for the RGG summit!!
Could you have ever predicted the new lad installment being majima as captain Jack sparrow
I also binged through the Yakuza games they are incredible!
I'm so glad you also rank 6 so highly I remember when it released it was bashed a little for not being as good as 2 kiwami.
I'd probably swap 4 and 5 around I felt like 5 was too mini game heavy and didn't quite hit as hard as 4. But yeah 3 is the most dated those animations are poor haha.
We have the same top 3 but I'd swap 6 with 2.
Yeah I loved 6. I ended up really bonding with those characters more than I thought I would. Such a great game!!! 5 was a bit too mini game heavy but I didn't mind it. Super compelling storyline though!!
Don't get me started on the campaign when you have no money that was brutal haha
Do you have fists of the North Star? That’s made by the yakuza folks and kiryu voice actor voices the main character
Damn, you played the games in a span of 3 months without experiencing series fatigue or burnout?! That's impressive, it took me twice as long to get from 0 to 7 😅
100% - No burnout or fatigue. I really only felt it once I got to Ishin and I think that's because it was just so different. I considered it to be like one long story rather than seperate games!
Awesome ranking list! After hearing you gush about this series, it really makes me wanna get stuck into it! Shame it's not on Switch, but fingers crossed for Yakuza/Like A Dragon on Switch 2! 🤞
@@uppernimbus fingers crossed!!!! Would be great!!
Nice video! I love the Yakuza series man.
My personal ranking would look like this:
1. Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth
2. Yakuza Like A Dragon
3. Lost Judgment
4. Yakuza 5
5. Yakuza Kiwami 2
6. Judgment
7. Yakuza 0
8. Yakuza 6
9. Gaiden
10. Yakuza Kiwami
11. Yakuza 4
12. Yakuza 3
I still need to play Dead Souls and Ishin.
Great ranking!!! Super keen to move to Lost Judgement next. Really enjoying Judgement right now. Definitely play Ishin, super fun!
Such a great series. I had a similar experience. Started with like a dragon and then played the whole series starting with 0. Lost judgement is amazing too
Like a Dragon was my first Yakuza game too. I had the highest tier of Playstation Plus and Games Pass for about a year. Every now and then when I couldn't find something to watch on RUclips, I'd search Playstation Plus catalog and GamesPass with zero intention of actually playing anything. But then I saw Like A Dragon and noticed I could stream it immediately and didn’t have to download it. So I played for about 15 minutes and immediately fell in love with the game. I played up until the part where it told me to make 3 million yen. So I gave up. A year later the exact same thing happened. I was looking for something to watch on RUclips and couldn't find anything. So I checked Playstation catalog and found Lost Judgment. I watched the trailer and was so DESPERATELY bored I downloaded it and gave it a chance. Then about 10 to 15 hours in, I happened to walk into Survive Bar and recognized the face of the Bartender and I thought to myself, "WAIT A MINUTE, IS THIS A FUCKING YAKUZA GAME?!?!?!?!!??!" And after THAT moment of walking into Survive I was hooked on the whole franchise. I re downloaded Like A Dragon on Playstation and ended up getting the platinum trophy. Then i got Infinite Wealth and I platinum'ed that too. I still haven't gotten the platinum for Lost Judgment, but I did finish the original Judgment and plan on 100%ing it as well. I actually just finished Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 1 this week
And just ordered Kiwami 2 and the Remastered Collection tonight. I plan on getting the platinum in all these games
All of these games are so great. My top 3 are :
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza dead souls
And Yakuza 0.
A lot of people say Yakuza dead souls is one of the worst games without actually playing it. I played with low expectations and was genuinely blown away (though that's because i like zombies mayhe a bit too much) . Glad that you played the game before ranking it lile everyone else
Honestly I did really enjoy dead souls! Not the best game in the series but it has some great moments. If anything it’s just to play a quirky spin off.
Love to finally see some Yakuza 6 love. Haven't seen a lot of praise for the game. I do however think they should have left Kiryu with 6, perfect ending IMO
Interesting!! I thought it was a pretty near perfect game. Would be interested to know what people didn’t like. Definitely a fitting end to Kiryu’s story but I’m here for whatever comes next.
@@ErekLaddit's not that it wasn't liked. I think there was just better games. Like other games did more. I felt in 6 if you aren't in kamurocho then the other city is kind of lacking outside of the story.
Wow I can see now why you were so keen on me jumping into zero. Absolutely fantastic game. Can't wait to play more....
Awesome list can't wait to play more.
Hope you're enjoying Zero!!!
@@ErekLadd so far it's been amazing
Yakuza 0 is one of the best video games ever made that just happens to be a Yakuza game.
Im actually quite high on Ishin, I'd put it 3rd. Some of the side quests are not that great, but I really enjoyed the main story and the historical setting, Ryoma Sakamoto was a great choice of an protagonist, I liked it so much that I went out of my way to study further the real story of the period
I actually liked the idol minigame in yakuza 5 and the new characters in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. And Infinite Wealth too
I've recently gotten hooked on Yakuza 0. It helps that it runs incredibly well on the Steam Deck. I plan to work my way through the series, but there's no way I'm getting through it as quick as you did, Erek. How many hours do think you've put into the series as a whole, just out of curiosity so I know what I'm getting myself into 😂
Awesome!!! Yeah I played every single game on steam deck. Most of them (if not all) are deck certified so I had zero issues. As far as time, I played story only for every game. Each game ranged between 15-22 hours with Infinite Wealth taking me the most at 34 hours. So we could average like maybe 130-140 hours for the series playing story only - aside from the side content of Infinite Wealth that is must play IMO.
@ErekLadd yeah, I bought almost all the games between a couple Steam sales because they all are Deck verified besides 6. 6 says unsupported, but did it run fine on the Deck?
@@bloodless653 sorry for the late reply - yes it ran totally fine on deck!!!
@@ErekLadd totally good, dude! Thanks for taking the time to reply! And keep up the great work!
To let you know, the Kiwami remakes actually have a lot of differences between them. Kiwami 2 actually cut a 3rd explorable city that was in the original PS2 game
P.S seeing Yakuza 6 up so high was a surprise I think a lot of RGG fans have it either pretty low or somewhere in the middle.
Interesting! I did not know that. I need to go and play the original 1 & 2 to compare. Thanks for watching!
@ErekLadd You're welcome. This video was really fun seeing a newcomers' perspective of the series, If you're interested, there are very lovey videos by Civit and Tehsnaker with retrospectives on the PS2 versions of Yakuza 1 and 2 in which they analyze and critique some of the changes that the Kiwami games made.
There's also a video called The Kiwami Rant by imontheedgeofmyseat, which is a critique video that's a bit more humorous but still gets the points across nicely.
@@mrflithyslug9891 Thanks! Will check those out!
i haven't played them all but for the ones I have you pretty much hit it right on the money.
Hello, a suggestion is to play judgement, it's in the yakuza verse but with none of the original cast or protagonists, still, one of the best narratives of all time
Kind of a late comment but I’d like to say that this was a great video and so fun to listen to!
I actually disagree with basically the entirety of your list except for Yakuza 0’s placement, however it was still very interesting to hear your rankings and opinions on this series because it’s so different! Very fun to hear your takes! And as you said, there is no bad game in the series.
My list would be:
1. Yakuza 0
2. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (IW and 0 are kinda interchangeable it depends on my mood)
3. Yakuza 5
4. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
5. Yakuza Kiwami 2
6. Yakuza 4
7. Yakuza 3
8. Yakuza 6
9. Yakuza Kiwami 1
Idk where to place Gaiden cause it was so short (also I haven’t played dead souls and I’m still playing ishin)
I started from the beginning because I heard yakuza on ps2 had a similar feel to my favorite game on Dreamcast, Shenmue. I was instantly hooked. It would be really hard for me to rank all of them but my favorite one is definitely yakuza 3
From a technical, amount of fun and gameplay standpoint, Lost Judgement is the best they've ever done. I consider it part of the yakuza franchise.
I like your ranking. Please do “rank yakuza protagonist” next video.
including judgment for me:
1) yakuza 0 (one of the best games ever)
2) lost judgment (best investigative action)
3) like a dragon infinite wealth
4) kiwami 2
5) judgment
6) yakuza like a dragon
7) Gaiden
8) kiwami 1
9) yakuza 6
10) Ishin
11) yakuza 5
12) yakuza 4
13) yakuza 3
14) dead soul
I never played the games but i honestly can't wait to see the 1st episode of the show when it comes out lol
It's interesting how differently people view the series. No list is the same.
Mine:
1.Y0
2.Y7
3.Y1/K1
4.Gaiden
5.Y2/K2
6.Y8
7.Y3
8.Y6
9.Y5
10. Y4
11.Inshin(I'd put the 2 Judgement games above it)
12. Didn't play Dead Souls yet
If you enjoyed the Yakuza games, highly recommend you check out the judgment games (which spun out of yakuza)
Yep I’m on chapter 9 of judgment right now! Loving it!
So I actually ranked them as I played through them for the first time. I started with 0, and made my way through the series before 7 released, so I have all of them ranked except for 7, 8, and the spin-offs. Tho I plan on tackling the Judgement series, Ishin, and ofc 7 and 8 soon. I know my ranking might be... controversial. But either way:
1. Yakuza Kiwami 2
2. Yakuza 0
3. Yakuza 5
4. Yakuza 3
5. Yakuza 4
6. Yakuza 6
7. Yakuza Kiwami
I know Kiwami being so low might upset some people, but frankly it doesn't hold up compared to 0 imo, not in the story or in a lot of the mechanics. I actually almost gave up on the series during Kiwami, as the soap opera story and dialogue were really killing me. Maybe I eventually just got used to it, as the other entries also have some truly awful soap opera writing, but Kiwami was the toughest for me to get through. My guess is that it's because I was coming from 0, arguably the best in the series. So my expectations were high. Probably should replay them at some point to get a more balanced opinion, but for now this is the ranking.
I can’t believe you put yakuza 3 AT 10 THATS CRAZY definitely top 5 for me
Story it's top 3 IMO but man it feels clunky to play especially coming off Kiwami 2.
@@EchoFoxtrot21 yeah i agree with that
Storylines:
Which one is the happiest? Which one is the saddest?
I always enjoy watching Yakuza ranking videos, and hear peoples' reasoning as to why they place certain games over others. I'll be honest, I will never ever understand why people rank Yakuza 4 over Yakuza 3. I agree that Yakuza 3's gameplay wasn't the greatest, but the story was really good, and arguably one of the most important games in the entire series, because it basically shows Kiryu's motivation for what he does throughout the rest of the series. To me Yakuza 4 had a really forgettable story, and it's honestly the only game in the series where I actually don't remember much about the plot, even though I've played it multiple times. It's also puzzling that they introduced a new character in Tanimura, yet he was never heard from again. Then again, the same thing happened in Yakuza 5 with Shinada lol
I swear I watch these ranking videos just so I can get mad. Low rankings for 3 and 4 always hurt. 6 being so high gets a few redemption points though.
dude amazing list loved the video but imo i could not put kiwami 2 over inf wealth
Fair enough!!! I loved infinite wealth but I just didn’t click with Ichiban’s portion of the story, especially on the second play through. But when Kiryu was the main focus, I was glued to it!
@@ErekLadd yeah kiryu story really carried it for me but part 2 of Ichibans story was a great payoff
Yakuza 6? Never expected
7:28 I actually DESPISE turn based games. Like a Dragon was just so good that it got me into the franchise. Even though I gave up on it for a year and only came back after finishing Lost Judgment
I legit adore the series and I love every single one of the games on here. It’s hard to rank (well besides 3-5, loved them and 3 legit made me cry but I like the wackiness and zany stuff of everything else from 0 onward) because they’re all legitimately so good and have their own zaniness
When it comes to even the worse entry (mainly 3 but solely because it’s gameplay is outdated and kinda trash lol) they’re all at the least 8 or 9 and above for me personally
Also started playing from scratch in april. But I've only gotten as far as Yakuza 6, playing Ishin now. So far my ranking would be from best to worst: Y0, Y5, Kiwami, Y4, Kiwami 2, Y3, Y6.
New sub. Great vid.
@@ExpectedBoy thank you!!
My top is:
1. Yakuza 6
2. Yakuza 0
3. Judgment
4. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
5. Yakuza 4
6. Yakuza Kiwami 2
7. Yakuza 2
8. Yakuza
9. Yakuza 5
10. Yakuza Kiwami
I didn't play Lost Judgment, Like a Dragon Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden or Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth yet.
My list goes
1. Infinite wealth
2. 0
3. yakuza 7
4.Yakuza Kiwami 2
5. Yakuza Kiwami
6. Yakuza 4
7. Yakuza 6
8. Yakuza Gaiden the made who erased his name
9. Yakuza 3
10. Ishin
11. Yakuza 5
12. Dead souls
9.
Dont forget judgment and my favorite yakuza game , Lost judgment. If you enjoy yakuza you will love these ones
You putting dead souls, ishin and y3 last had me sitting there like 😦😦😦
(I know that this is your subjective list, absolutely no hate!! Those games are just very dear to me
For me :-
Yakuza 0
Yakuza 1
Yakuza 6
Yakuza 2
Yakuza 3
U should play the judgement series. Spinoff in the same world
Yep I have! Video coming this Tuesday about Judgement & Lost Judgement!
Infinite Wealth is No.1 for me, amazing. My only gripe is lack of Club Sega games, they could always add more later.. But, are they prepared to have a game that good though?
I suppose gotta keep the gaming industry fair and not make your game too good.. Literally just a few more arcades is all it needs, bit like Lost Judgment has.
Yakuza 0 is up there with Infinite Wealth
1:02 Oh my fucking God
as yakuza 6 enjoyer goated tier list
Glad you liked it!!!
I'm going to upset pretty much every Yakuza fan out there.
So, a few things.
1)I won't include the spinoffs like you have. No Ishin, no Dead Souls. I will not play them, nor do I ever plan to.
2)So, since we're not counting the Judgment games, I won't list them here.
3)I'm really, REALLY going to upset every fan here, so uh, buckle up.
From Top to Bottom, Worst to Best:
Yakuza 7/Like A Dragon
Yakuza 5
Yakuza 0
Yakuza 4
Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza 3
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Yakuza Kiwami 2
And the Best Out of the Kiryu Saga Overall:
Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
10:38 I liked Yakuza Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth the Same. Infinite Wealth had better gameplay. Like a Dragon had a better story (and especially ending) But Infinite Wealth is what really got me interested in Kiryu. I never cared for Kiryu before, but Infinite Wealth sparked my curiosity so much that I gave Kiwami a 2nd chance. I don't mind movies with subtitles, but I DESPISE games with subtitles (For some reason) I actually Bought Yakuza Kiwami in 2016, but gave up during Sera's funeral because I hated the subtitles. Then I bought Yakuza 0 in 2018 and gave up immediately. It was only aftwe Infinite Wealth that I gave the originals another chance. Infinite Wealth sparked my curiosity so hard that I almost didn't even realize I was reading everything. (I still hope and pray to GOD we'll get and english dubbing of every original game) nothing is gonna change my mind. I'll take shitty voice acting over reading EVERY single time
I know i'll get flak for this take but Yakuza 4 is my favorite game in the series.
Wow very similar list to mine (2 and 6 in top 3 besides 0).
Just can’t possibly agree with Gaiden at 8. For me it’s easily top 5
Fair enough!! The ending was incredible to say the least. I really enjoyed that game for what it was worth.
you forgot judgement and lost judgement
Interesting. I started with like a dragon on game pass and enjoyed it a lot. Randomly downloaded another, which ended up being Yakuza 3. I thought the setting in Okinawa would give a cool vibe, but so far it’s not really hitting. Perhaps I’ll download kiwami 1 and 2, or just start with 0
Start with 0 and then go 1 & 2!!
I mean... Nothing against your list, but where do the Judgement games fit?😅
I’m currently playing Judgement right now and loving it! Just hit chapter 8 and then will move onto Lost Judgement. I’ll make a video on my thoughts after I finish those two!
I'd swap Yakuza: LAD with Infinite Wealth.
I agree with the list myself
thx for your list. my experience is almost the same. last year my first game was like a dragon. this year i played infinite wealth and thats the reason i wanted to play every single game before. to now i played kiwami 1+2, yakuza 3 (yes its the weakest game), 4,5,0 and right now i am in the middle of 6. in my eyes part 4 is way better than 5 and perhaps also the first one. 2, 4 and zero are right now my favs (in the main series, the 2 ichiban games are for me in another league, also like the grandios judgement games)
ah and no!!!! i would not play zero as the first game. there are some spoilers for yakuza 4 and 5.
Why did u spoil the empty lot in yakuza 0
So far I’ve only played like dragon I really liked it and now I’m playing yakuza 0 but so far I prefer like dragon more I feel it’s underrated
Psp yakuza games are awesome 👏🏼 especially if played on vita
Here's some advice for you newbie.
Ichiban is the best protagonist.
Yagami is by far the coolest.
Kiryu is the favorite of the writers
Good thoughts!!
P.S. catching up on all your comments now.
I literally just put out a judgment video about an hour ago you may find interesting as well!
@@ErekLadd yeah I already decided I'll be subscribing before the end of the video. Thank you for actually reading my comments though
@@ErekLadd good thing you reminded me though, cause I likely would have forgotten to subscribe
@@ErekLadd Dude I literally lost my passion for gaming for years. LIke a Dragon got me interested in games again, but I gave up on it before I finished. But something about Lost Judgment totally reinvigotared my passion. Like even beyond Yakuza games. I've aged games I've never thought I would like after playing Lost Judgment. And Lost Judgment made me go back to Like A Dragon and finish it
Yakuza 0 is a masterpiece
I totally agree with your list but i gaiden should be top 5
L list number 5 is the second best and 2 is goated
I loved Ishin, is like my 3rd place
Played these all over the past like 18 months... Still don't get how everyone's favourite is 0, to be fair it was my first one I played, as I wanted to play chronologically, and it has a great story and combat is good, but it was paced so poorly imo, so long winded and the side stuff was too much, but felt like you needed to do it. I feel like the pacing of every other game was so much better, aside from 5, that had bad pacing, but it was good overall.
My list is probably:
1 - Yakuza 2 Kiwami
2 - Yakuza 6
3 - Infinite Wealth
4 - Gaiden
5 - Yakuza 0
6 - Like a dragon
7 - Yakuza 4
8 - Yakuza Kiwami
9 - Yakuza 5
10 - Yakuza 3
11 - Ishin
Haven't played dead souls
You will love Judgment series bruh. Try it
Finished Judgement already and on chapter 10 of Lost Judgment right now - just paused it to reply to you! Loving it.
@@ErekLadd More darker than Yakuza
🐻🐻🐻🐻
🐻🐻🐻🐻
What about judgement and lost judgement
Mentioned at the end of the video that I was playing judgement (have since finished) and now moved onto lost judgment. So far so good!
Did u say 3 months!! Did you even sleep!????
how did you not get burned out playing the entire series in three months? haha
Honestly I have no clue. I was so invested I just had to know what happened with each game! Every time I’d roll credits I’d start a new game straight away!!
I like yakuza 0 with Kiwami 1 and Kiwami 2 follow like a dragon infinite wealth 8 i see trailer like a dragon pirate yakuza
That list is just wrong
I disagree with some of u choices but i accept it
Infinite wealth and like a dragon suck, why did they implement turn based gameplay into a brawler?
Literally two of the best games, highest selling and critically acclaimed games in the series, but cope.
@@saulgoodmanskin cope with your negative attention span son. 2 of the best games, lmfao joke of the decade
@@bhabhutiji1169 cope with your horrible taste and objectively wrong opinion son. Two of the highest selling, highest rated, most critically acclaimed and fun games in the franchise.
Cope harder.
@@saulgoodmanskin cope with your delusion and pathetic skills in gaming that you enjoy a turn based game son, cry hard kid. Nobody is playing that crap apart of you in your moms basement boy. Pathetic taste , absolutely gone case lmfao
7:15 This was supposed to be number 2
Putting like a dragon at 6 is insane, it has easily the best story
L list. Like a Dragon is literally the best one
All S
100% correct!
Typical list of a person who started to play yakuza with the hype
Why you woudl, play liek a dragon:yakuza first? and even saying it's a good entry point? it's not.Just start with yakuza 0