TheYakuza Remastered Collection’s release marks anauspicious moment for the series. For the first time ever, you may now play the entire series from start to finish on the PS4. That alone is reason enough to grab a PS4 in my eyes, even as the console generation comes to a close. Western markets took a while to warm to the series, but increasingly more are starting to be drawn to these legendary games. There’s never been a better time to get started with theYakuzafranchise.
Personally, I arrived late to theYakuzagames,only getting started with the series about three years ago. It only took a small taste before the hunger set in, though, and I’ve since played through every mainline game to completion. Few series are as underrated as this one, even as those ratings continue to increase.
The question remains for those getting started with theYakuzaseries, however: where should you begin? These are very story-driven games, featuring a continuing narrative and persistent character arcs. As such, the typical response of “start with the latest and see if you like it” won’t necessarily work here.
[pullquote]“This is not aboutifyou should play theYakuzagames, because that answer is an instant, resounding, unflinchingYES."[/pullquote]
This narrows down the answer to one of a few options. Let’s go over their pros and cons, and by the end, a newcomer to the series should be able to make an educated decision on where to start with theYakuzagames.
I must preface this with a disclaimer: all these statements are based on my experience with the PS4 releases. I can’t speak to the quality of the PC ports where applicable. If you plan to use a different platform, I’d encourage researching the condition of the port first to help figure out which platform is right for you.
Finally, this is aboutwhereto start. This is not aboutifyou should play theYakuzagames, because that answer is an instant, resounding, unflinchingYES. Even the weakest title in the franchise features a pretty good story, fun combat, and lots of entertaining gameplay to hook you in. If you’re still looking for specifics on “why,” allow me to direct you to thevideo that spurred me to keep going with the series.
Allow me to be your guide into this wild world, and I strongly suspect you’ll find yourself having a blast. I’ll include a TL;DR at the end for brevity’s sake, as well. Let’s begin!
Yakuza Kiwami(If You Want to Start From the Beginning)
The remake of the first game is the obvious choice for beginning yourYakuzaexperience. Great pains were taken to match the story, cinematic direction, pacing and setpiece encounters of the original release. As such, it still feels very authentic when placed side-by-side its PS2 progenitor. Throw in the combat, mini-games, and general game design improvements fromYakuza0and beyond, and you’ve got a very good starting point.Kiwamiis a fun game with a story that should be more than enough to draw you in to the rest of the series.Here’s our full reviewfrom when the game first launched in 2017.
This comes with caveats, however. Some boss encounters in the original suffered tremendously from frustrating enemies and patterns. It’s not particularly fun to have a room full of enemies shooting you or tossing grenades your way, especially at the climax of major story points. Despite the fact that encounter design in the series has improved drastically,Kiwamiremains authentic, which means those rougher fights are preserved.
As for the story, I think it’s paced just a little off. There’s a lot of big twists and reveals in the latter quarter of the game compared to the rest. It was enough to keep me going, but I do think it could’ve been balanced better. The inclusion of the Majima Everywhere system, on the other hand, really breaks the existing story. Scenes featuring Majima from the original game are incredibly memorable, leading to why he became such a fan favorite in the first place. In order to make them line up more with Majima’s heavier activity inKiwami, the development team had to shoehorn in a couple scenes that don’t really work that well, leaving the whole thing feeling weaker.
Despite these complaints,Yakuza Kiwamiis still a solid place to start the series. If you aren’t completely sold on experiencing the series, some of the little irritants might dampen your drive to continue. But for those who have strong interest and some knowledge ofYakuzagoing in, this is a fine choice.
(Note: Kiwami means “Extreme” in Japanese)
Yakuza 0(If You Want to Start With the Best)
Yakuza 0is arguably one of (if not the) strongest titles in the franchise, and my personal favorite. I have very little to criticize here about the game itself, honestly. The combat is excellent, with a variety of styles across two very different playable characters. The writing is exceptional, the story is engaging and well-executed, the side stories are absolutely hilarious, and a wealth of content abounds for those willing to seek it out. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this is one of my favorite games of all time. Butdon’t just take my word for it.
So with that glowing praise out of the way, should you start playing the series withYakuza 0? For the vast majority of people, I would absolutely say yes. Familiarity with the characters and world isn’t a requirement, as it’s a prequel to the original game. We learn what we need to immediately from the outset, with crucial backstory given as the game progresses. Kiryu and Majima spend the narrative growing as characters into what they would later become. Between that and the general quality of the game, it’s almost a no-brainer to suggest it as the starting point.
Here’s the caveat, then:Yakuza 0is loaded with little nods, references, and easter eggs that call forward to what will happen in the later games. These largely make sense and work nicely in the moment, but a lot of the impact or recognition will be lost on those that are new to the series. This isn’t too much of an issue and doesn’t weaken the delivery of the story, so there’s no fear of that. Still, that emotional recognition and glimpses of what is to come – or what could have been, in at least one case – means that the game has that little extra punch for recurringYakuzaplayers. Even just playing throughKiwamiwill help the connection to a couple of core moments and characters in0.
As such, my recommendation to start here is “Yes, but…”. If you are brand new to the series and don’t know what to expect, and want to start on the strongest footing? PlayYakuza 0first. If you’re only looking for a single game to play without committing to the series? PlayYakuza 0first. Even slightly unsure where you stand? Just playYakuza 0first.
But! If you are a little more familiar with the series or have dabbled in a later game and want to start fresh? Consider starting withKiwami, and come back to0afterwards. If you’re already committed to playing the whole series and don’t mind dealing with a few irritants, start withKiwamiand come back to0afterwards.
Yakuza 0is absolutely amazing, but it’s just that little bitmoreamazing if you come in armed with the foreknowledge to appreciate the nods it has to the series' future.
Judgment(If You Want to Start With Something Different)
It would be remiss of me to write this article without covering all the potential access points one might have to theYakuzaseries, which happens to includeJudgment(known asJudge Eyesin Japan). SinceDualShockersgaveJudgmentour2019 Game of the Year Award, those reading this may very well want to know where that factors in.
Judgmentis an excellent game, and completely deserving of theaccolades given to it(and I should know, since I pushed hard for it to win the staff vote). Most of what I said about the qualities ofYakuza 0are echoed forJudgment. This is some of theYakuzateam’s finest writing, with excellent presentation and a wealth of content. It’s a fantastic, self-contained story set in the same general locale as theYakuzatitles. My only nitpick would be that I personally prefer the combat flow in0more. Your attacks inJudgmenttend to have longer and stiffer animations and wind-up, even with attack speed upgrades. That among other things made me less enthused by the overall flow of combat. Still, that does not makeJudgmenta lackluster experience by any stretch.
[pullquote]“Many of the hallmarks in writing and characters exist in both [JudgmentandYakuza], but it’s not exactly a great primer to the series."[/pullquote]
So, why have I listedJudgmentnot being aYakuzagame as both a pro and con? Well, this article is about getting started with theYakuzaseries, after all. Playing throughJudgmentin its entirety grants almost no knowledge of theYakuzastory, aside from a general sense of geography and a veiled reference or two. Many of the hallmarks in writing and characters exist in both, but it’s not exactly a great primer. If you’re still looking to get intoYakuza,Judgmentisn’t truly helpful in that front regardless of if you play it first or not.
With that said, it isn’t completely useless, or I wouldn’t deign to include it here. Mechanically and in gameplay terms,Judgmentplays very much like aYakuzagame. It has the same wealth and diversity of content or distractions. The same cinematic flair and detailing is retained. It has the same flashy and over the top brawler combat. Familiarity withYakuzagameplay going intoJudgmentwill help you feel right at home, and vice versa. There is definitely some merit to beginning your journey here, andJudgmentis absolutely a game that you should play regardless. It’s also theonly one with an English dubsince the original release, which can make it a little more accessible for some.
To summarize, then:Judgmentis a good primer for the gameplay mechanics ofYakuza. Should you want to play a solid standalone game to completion and test the waters on if the gameplay is right for you,Judgmentfits the bill. But for starting with theYakuzaseries explicitly, this is not the ideal choice.
Yakuza[PS2] (If You REALLY Want to Start from the Beginning)
It’d be remiss of me not to speak of the truest place to get started withYakuza, which is the first game on PlayStation 2. This one is only for the dedicated, but it is still a completely valid choice. And hey, what better place is there to start than the very beginning in every sense of the word?
The originalYakuzais still a strong game, otherwise it wouldn’t have propelled the series as far as it did (even ifYakuza 2did the real heavy lifting on that front). Concessions made forKiwamiaren’t present here, so the story remains unaltered and flows a little better. The originalYakuzahas weathered the test of time decently, and is still quite playable for those with a PS2 to run it. It’s not a bad experience at all…but as your firstYakuzagame in 2020? Well, we’ve come a long way in terms of game design and presentation.
Yakuzaon the PS2 is the only game in the series to feature an English dub outside ofJudgment. Now granted, it’s a pretty awful dub that completely misses the mark in tone for a lot of characters and moments. But itdoesfeatureMark Hamill as Goro Majima, and he absolutely kills it in that role. If there’s anything that the original offers which the others don’t, it’s Hamill’s Majima scenes. For everything else? This is a negative point.
All those other negatives about design and boss fights that I brought up forKiwamiare obviously the case here. It’s rough, unpolished, and still finding its feet. But for all that…Yakuzaremains pretty good. If you’re the kind of person who likes to dive deep into a series history and see where it all began, then you might even consider starting here.
To briefly summarize: if you’re going in blind to the series, start withYakuza 0. If you only want to play a singleYakuzatitle at first, go forYakuza 0. If you know a little bit about it or have dabbled in the series and want to start at the beginning, start withYakuza Kiwami. If you’re just looking for an excellent stand-alone game to try series' staples on for size, start withJudgment. But if you’re truly dedicated to the experience, try the PS2Yakuzarelease to see just how far the series has come.
And that’s about it. Now get out there and play someYakuza! Then you can join me in waiting impatiently for the English release ofYakuza 7…which, coincidentally, might be a good starting place also. I’ll be sure to let you know.
