Run the Series: Yakuza
I’ve Spent Too Much of My Life on These Games So You Don’t Have To (But You Probably Should)
The recent release of Yakuza Zero in the US has seen a significant increase in interest in the series as a whole, a welcome change form its relative years of lingering in near obscurity with a small fanbase constantly questioning if the latest version would even be released outside of Japan. As this is the sixth of seventh (depending on how you count, more on that later) game in the series, there is a lot of potential catching up to do, so as a fan of the series since its initial run, I figured I would write a quick guide to the series, and maybe let people know which ones they need to play, and which ones they can skip.
Sidenote: If you want to hear me and a friend talk on a podcast about this series in like 2013, head over here for that (note, link is directly to MP3, and spoilers abound).
Yakuza
Release Date: 2005 (JP) 2006 (Everywhere else)
System: PS2, with HD rereleases in Japan for Ps3 and WiiU. A full remake called Kiwami is already available in Japan, coming to NA and EU in summer of 2017, using the Yakuza 5 engine.
Engine: Yakuza 1
As shown above, one of the first lessons of the Yakuza series is that the Japanese covers are always way better. The series is quite popular in Japan, where it is known as Ryu ga Gotoku (traslation: “Like a Dragon”, and yes, even the name for the series is better), and is all over the place over there. Corporate tie ins are all over the place, and there was even a live action movie adaptation directed by Takashi Miike of all people (which makes an odd amount of sense, given his ties to the actual Yakuza).
This game is focuses on Kazuma Kiryu, who is fresh out of a 10 year long stint in jail after taking the fallfor the murder of the head of the Dojima clan. In reality, the murder was committed by his best friend, Nikishi, who killed him after he attempted to sexual assault Yumi. If you’ve played Yakuza 0, both of these characters should be familiar as Kiryu’s childhood friends from his orphanage, who grew up under the watchful eye of Kazama, who in all likelihood killed their parents. Before going to jail, Kazuma was engaged to Yumi to be married, and when he gets out, she is missing.
The general plot focuses on everyone trying to recover a boatload of cash that went missing along with the head of the entire Tojo Clan (which is basically the over-clan of the Tokyo Yakuza in the series, with smaller groups like the Dojima family under it). Additionally, the Omi Alliance (who are the Tojo equivalent in Osaka) and the Triads are out to get the cash.
Wtihout getting too much into the plot, this is also the game where Kazuma is introduced to the girl who becomes his adopted daughter, Haruka. Haruka is a mainstay of the series, to the point where I had to remind myself when playing Zero that she wasn’t even born at the time the game takes place. She works as a moral compass and a daughter for Kiryu throughout the series, and seeing her grow up is one of the lovely pleasures of the series.
In terms of how the game plays, there are some interesting quirks. Battles take place on a separate screen from wandering around Kamurocho, and are basically randomly occurring, similar to many JRPGs. The absurd level of detail in the environment is there from the start, with liquors being lovingly modeled and described, and much of the neighborhood being relatively well modeled, for a PS2 game. The camera in these areas is fixed, similar to the early Resident Evil games, though without the tank controls for Kiryu and with the environment being mostly 3d modeled.
Of all the games, this is probably the quickest one to complete, due to a relative scarcity of minigames and such to complete. There are a few there, but each game in the series (with the notable exception of the Western release of 3) has introduced more and more. So don’t expect karaoke, shogi, mahjong, or any of the hostess stuff here. The locker keys were present in this one, being random keys you find throughout the game that open up lockers in the middle of Kamurocho for prizes.
As hinted by the US cover, when shit gets real, shirts come off. This is a recurring motif in the series, to the point that (minor Zero spoilers) when Kiryu fights a higher up in the Clan at the end of Chapter 1 of Zero, and said higher up takes off his shirt, Kiryu keeping his shirt on is one of the funniest underplayed jokes in the series. He basically is saying “nah, dogg, you ain’t the main boss for me to fight,” and it is such a subtle massive diss.
Also of significant note is that this is the only game in the entire series to feature a dub for the western release. This dub has long had a weird relationship to the fandom, with lots of people deriding it as being unnecessary and awkward, but honestly, it has its charms. Mark Hamill does a great job as Goro Majima, who in this game is allied with the Omi and is an enemy of Kazuma, but one who clearly has some past relationship with him. Goro Majima is basically the frenemy of the series, and hearing Mark Hamill slip into the Joker voice to yell “MOTHERFUCKER!” is one of the subtle joys of the game.
As noted above, this one has been remade as Yakuza Kiwami, which is already out in Japan and scheduled for a western release in the summer of 2017, last I heard. This uses the same engine as Zero, and should be a good time, so you can probably skip playing the PS2 version unless you want to be a completionist.
Yakuza 2
Release Date: 2006 (JP) 2008 (Everywhere else)
System: PS2, with HD rereleases in Japan for Ps3 and WiiU.
Engine: Yakuza 1
Yakuza 2 picks up right after the first game, and still largely takes place in Kamurocho, but now also includes Sotenbori in Osaka, which Goro Majima inhabits in Zero. This game uses the same camera system and random battle format of the first game, but introduces a ton of extra minigames, including a version of the hostess mode. This mode changes significantly between iterations later, and here involves both running the club and talking to the hostesses and trying to date them, which is completely optional.
In terms of characters, most of the major players are back, with Goro moving into full frenemy territory, and becoming a partial ally for Kiryu. The newest important character to be introduced is Ryuji Goda, who is the beast of a dude pictured on the left on the Japanese cover. His blonde hair should possibly ring a bell for anybody who played Zero, as the story about the guy who steals other kids’ pants centers on a young Ryuji, who is only a few years younger than Kiryu. Also introduced in this game (or given more attention) is Daigo Dojima, the son of the previously murdered head of the Dojima clan, who becomes an ally for Kiryu.
This game is definitely a worthy follow-up to the first one, expanding on what worked there and just being an overall good time for fans. The game is no longer dubbed in the western releases, but the subtitling is pretty good. The conversations occurring on the street have no audio files (this is like the first thing I noticed, in the positive, that is changed in Zero), but are subtitled so you can understand them.
The problem with this one is its relative rarity for western players. Sega kinda took a bath on the first game, making way too many copies and spending way too much on the dub, and did not cut a profit, to the point where most western fans were surprised we even got 2 at all. So in reaction, they didn’t print a lot of copies of 2, which meant its price eventually skyrocketed on the second hand market. There was eventually a reprint, but beware the expense even then.
Yakuza 3
Release Date: 2009 (JP) 2010 (Everywhere else)
System: PS3
Engine: Yakuza 3
So OK, I like this game a lot, but I have to warn everyone, Sega really botched the localization. The translation itself is fine, no doubt, but for some reason, Sega took out a lot of the minigames that had previously been in 2 for this version, including mahjong and shogi. The locations these games were played in are still there, but you just don’t do anything in those locations. This did lead to a hilarious quest that was supposed to introduce mahjong to the player, but in the mangled US version, you just go to the location and it gives you the key you were supposed to win by playing mahjong.
If you can deal with the missing features, it is still a pretty darn fun game. The new engine means they can have people you fight actually appear on the street, and have you fight in the environment. The camera works now like the one in Zero (which makes sense, as Zero is using basically the same engine), allowing the player to see a lot more detail in the new version of Kamurocho. Additionally, the game moves partially to a neighborhood of Okinawa, where Kiryu has retired to after trying to leave the Yakuza game entirely. He now runs an orphanage with Haraka, and some of the msot adorable sidestories in the game focus on the orphanage and Kiryu helping the kids deal with their problems.
Given the Okinawa location, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that US relations come into play, and the CIA even feature into the plot. Like each game in the series, the scope of the plot has gotten a bit bigger, and is kinda ridiculous at this point, but that is OK because these games are always a bit ridiculous at their cores.
3 is a solid game, partially hurt by its missing content, but still worth playing. The new engine revolutionized the series, and is the core engine powering the games all the way through Zero, so it’s nice to see where that comes from. Sega actually made enough copies of this one as well, so it isn’t too hard to track down.
Yakuza 4
Release Date: 2010 (JP) 2011 (Everywhere else)
System: PS3
Engine: Yakuza 3
So given the ridiculous scope creep of the previous games, Yakuza 4 takes a different approach and introduces for the first time in the series, multiple playable characters. You still play as Kiryu, but three new characters have been introduced, and this changes the game significantly. I need to confess that while I own this one, I haven’t played much of it, but I intend to rectify that at some point. I Yawas having some series fatigue at the time it came out, so I didn’t put more than a few hours into it.
The engine remains largely the same as the previous game, which isn’t surprising given the annual release schedule of the series. This time, thankfully, Sega didn’t ax too many of the additional minigames at least, having heard the minor uproar over that in the previous games from their few dedicated fans.
A funny note in this one is how Kiryu acquires new moves. As he sees people doing things on the street, he pulls out his cellphone and films them, and writes quick blog entries about what he saw, which leads to him learning a new move. This is hilarious in action and needs to be seen to be believed.
Yakuza: Dead Souls
(way better Japanese title: OF THE END)
Release Date: 2011 (JP) 2012 (Everywhere else)
System: PS3
Engine: Yakuza 3
OK, so there is a lot of debate about whether or not OF THE END even is canon to the rest of the series. The game itself plays it completely straight, not even laughing all that much at the ridiculousness of its premise, a viral outbreak in Kamurocho causing zombies to take over. For obvious reasons, guns are a lot more important in this game, and the four playable characters area greatest hits of the series, with Kiryu being joined by Goro Majima, Ryuji Goda (from 2) and Shun Akiyama (from 4).
The reason there is any debate about the canonicity of the game is that Yakuza 5 makes a few oblique references to “that event last year” that seem to hint that the outbreak did happen, but it isn’t really talked about as much as you might think an outbreak would be. Also, later games (specifically Zero) make some callbacks to the zombies (in the Miracle Johnson quest) that are at very least winking references for fans. All will be solved if a canon game ever shows us Ryuji Goda in the present, as his hand is replaced with a goddamn chaingun in the OF THE END
Regardless of any of that, the game is ridiculous as a whole. Lots of tunnels under Kamurocho being overrun with zombies, and lots of gunplay, and a pretty good time. Not really super urgent to play, but once you’ve played the rest of the series, this one is a fun change of pace, while still clearly being a Yakuza game.
Yakuza 5
Release Date: 2012 (JP) 2015 (Everywhere else)
System: PS3
Engine: Yakuza 5
This one blows the series out, scale-wise, in a big way, moving to five different locations, 3 of which are entirely new. This is the only game in the series I don’t own. It was only released online in the US, three years after its original release, so I don’t know a lot about it at this point, though I plan to rectify that soon. It did get a new engine though, so that is a thing, and allowed them to easily up-port the next few games to the PS4.
Yakuza Zero
Release Date: 2015 (JP) 2017 (Everywhere else)
System: PS3 (Japan only) and PS4
Engine: Yakuza 5
The game people are finally playing in this series in the US, which is really heartening as a fan. The game is somewhat hampered by being a PS3 title, but along with the upcoming Kiwami is Sega actually putting the 5 engine to use. Major callbacks to note in this game include:
- Origin stories for Kiryu and Majima
- A young Ryuji Goda being a silly bully
- Developing of the Nishiki and Kiryu relationship as brothers
- A trip back to Kamurocho and Sotenburi in the 80s
- Possible references to the zombies from OF THE END
- Meeting the head of the Dojima family
It’s a great entry point for new players, but full of lots of little details that call back to the earlier games for long time fans. Kamurocho might be different in the 80s, but it still feels like home.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Release Date: 2016 (JP) 2018 (Everywhere else)
System: PS4
Engine: Yakuza 6
The most recent game in the series, released in Japan only a few months ago, but not due in the West till next year. Features a guest appearance from Beat Takeshi, a well-known actor in a variety of Yakuza flicks (as well as all sorts of other media) as well as Battle Royale (and a whole bunch of other movies and TV shows and so on); unfortunately he’s also known to be a Japanese political conservative, but the less said about that the better.
The game is a hot seller in Japan right now, and on a recent trip over there, I saw signs and ads for it everywhere. I am hyped about the arcade in this one, as it includes a Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown and Puyo Puyo in addition to the 4 games in Zero. So yeah, super hyped.
The Games the US is Never Going to Get
Even with as relatively good as Sega has been about getting the main series over to the US, there are a number of Yakuza games that we are just never gonna see over here. These are quickly discussed below, but reminder not to get any hopes up, because these are just not gonna happen here.
Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan!
A 17th century version of the story, with analogues for Kiryu and Haruka, just like 400 years earlier. Released early in the PS3’s lifespan, but mostly using a slightly upgraded Yakuza 1 engine.
Kurohyo: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsho 1 and 2
PSP games centered on a character not really present in the rest of the series named Tatsuya. First one was released in 2010, second in 2012; neither showed up outside of Japan. Tatsuya does have some amazing hair though (see left), so that is probably worth noting. From the only person I have talked to who has played this game, it’s pretty skippable.
Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin!
Set in the mid to late 19th Century, this one also stars a Kiryu analogue, this time named Sakamoto Ryoma. Released for the PS3 and PS4, using the Yakuza 5 engine. Never leaving Japan.
Series Ranking
It’s hard for me to rank the series, as honestly I would just tell people to play the main series in order if they can. If you don’t have that attention span (I get it, 100%), I would say play whichever you feel like. Assuming Kiwami is a good remake of 1, I would say starting with that and Zero are the best places for a modern player to jump in. If you don’t mind the limitations of the PS2, 2 is an amazing game with a lot of fun to it. Luckily, every iteration of the main series includes a Recap function to catch you up on the tale if you haven’t played the previous games, so that is convenient.
For my personal rankings (just based on the ones I have played a decent amount of):
- Yakuza 2 was the one that solidified me as a fan.
- Yakuza 0 is an amazing refresh for the series
- Yakuza 1 for being where it all got started
- Yakuza Dead Souls (OF THE END, dammit)
- Yakuza 3 which would be higher if it hadn’t been so weirdly chopped up.
Honestly, it’s hard for me to even make that call, though.
The Personal Experience of Kamurocho
As any Yakuza fan will tell you, Kamurocho is based largely on a specific area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, known as Kabukicho. What’s shocking, having now gone to the neighborhood in real life, is how much the games match the actual city, to the point where as a person who had never been there in real life, I had no problem navigating the area just based on memory.
The streets just feel almost exactly the same as they do in the game, which is probably the strangest direct experience of a simulacrum that I have ever had. Of course, it also meant I geeked out and smiled like a giddy idiot the whole time.
This got even stranger for me when I came to Theater Square, the home of a giant movie theater and bowling alley in the games, but not so much any more in reality.
For the first time in my life, I found myself in a place where I knew what it should be like deep down, but the reality was suddenly different. So my “memory” of a virtual place now had a jarring dissonance with the reality in front of me, and I felt very out of place. Given how close the rest of the area is, I find myself wondering if this change will be reflected in Yakuza 6.
This isn’t the only difference, honestly, but it was the first one I noticed, ad the most jarring. Some other notable differences are that Golden Gai, which is the Champion District in the games, is in a different location than its virtual counterpart and somewhat larger. The batting cages are also in a different area, and actually on the second floor of an arcade.
Overall, though, it’s shocking how closely the games match the actual area, and I have heard that the Osaka locations match just as eerily. It’s worth checking out if you happen to be a damn nerd like I am. Also there is a Sega arcade there (where there is a giant pachinko parlor in the games) where they have a Yakuza merch shop going, so I now own Dojima and Majima family pins, which I will gladly wear on my jacket till someone recognizes them and geeks out as much as I do. This may never happen.
I am OK with that.
