Current Events > Are all the Yakuza games as good as 0?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Because holy crap am I enjoying 0. I'm on Chapter 11 now just fought through The Bed of Styx and the game is just constantly blowing me away with the story, the style, and how enjoyable that pool minigame is.
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People often agree that 0 was the best of them, though they remade 1 into Kiwami 1 using the same combat system, i.e. all 4 combat styles.

They remade 2 into Kiwami 2 using the 6'th combat system, i.e. only one combat style. If you liked 0, definitely check out Kiwami 1 and 2, though I found Kiwami 2 to be better than 1.

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Nah 0 is the pinnacle but they're all still pretty good, I'd recommend playing at least Kiwami 1 and 2 afterwards because 2 is another standout and the remake runs in a different engine (along with 6) and plays pretty differently.

Like a Dragon also comes out later this year with a new cast and is a turn based RPG so hopefully that'll turn out well

Kiwami 1 is basically "0, but a little worse in every way" but K2 is a very good game. I haven't played the rest of the series.

Honestly, K1 was kinda a slog for me to get through. It's very obviously a remake of a ps2 game in terms of writing, mission design, etc.


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K1 is still my favorite. Story is great

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I haven't started 6 yet, but 0 is definitely better than all the other games imo. Kiwami and Kiwami 2 are almost as fun but the rest of the games are kind of a mess

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I'm playing Xbox, so Kiwami 1 and 2 are on Game Pass but 6 isn't available. Looking forward to Like a Dragon
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I've played every game released in the West including the original PS2 versions of 1 & 2. 0 is my personal favorite of the series, and if you like that then you should absolutely play Kiwami 1 & 2. Kiwami 1 in particular is a much shorter game content and story wise than 0 so keep that in mind going in. Kiwami 2 is a top-tier game in the series as well and brings back the Osaka locale.

3-6 vary in quality a bit with 3 being the weakest in my opinion but still a very solid game overall. 5 is probably my second favorite game in the series since there's so much to do. It had some pretty unique gameplay segments for the series so I enjoyed how it changed things up a bit. I'm not sure if 3-6 are available on xbox though.

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Just from watching them they all seem worth a play although yeah 0 seems to be near perfect for the series overall. If you care about the characters then that alone should make you want to play the sequels.

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kirby chao198 posted...

People often agree that 0 was the best of them, though they remade 1 into Kiwami 1 using the same combat system, i.e. all 4 combat styles.

They remade 2 into Kiwami 2 using the 6'th combat system, i.e. only one combat style. If you liked 0, definitely check out Kiwami 1 and 2, though I found Kiwami 2 to be better than 1.

Should they be played in that order as well? 0 then Kiwami 1 and then 2? I know they are highly acclaimed and with them or at least some coming to Gamepass then I want to try them out. I thought I had also read that they aren't numbered the same way the story takes place, so I just want to make sure I play them in the correct order.

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Gamerguymass posted...

Should they be played in that order as well? 0 then Kiwami 1 and then 2? I know they are highly acclaimed and with them or at least some coming to Gamepass then I want to try them out. I thought I had also read that they aren't numbered the same way the story takes place, so I just want to make sure I play them in the correct order.

My understanding is that 0 is a prequel, Kiwami 1 and 2 are remakes of the original 1 and 2
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3 had a terrible original western release, and I still haven't played the updated version they recently released, and 4 has the just about the worst retcon I have ever seen in any media, ever.

But 0 is definitely one of the better titles, 2 and 5 are definitely some of the other well liked titles.

0>5>6>2>1>3>4

Gamerguymass posted...

Should they be played in that order as well? 0 then Kiwami 1 and then 2? I know they are highly acclaimed and with them or at least some coming to Gamepass then I want to try them out. I thought I had also read that they aren't numbered the same way the story takes place, so I just want to make sure I play them in the correct order.

0 is a prequel, but one I would definitely recommend playing first.

I didn't care much for a character in Yakuza 1, but 0 adds quite a lot to him character wise so going from there to Kiwami 1 works better than starting from 1.

My friends who went from 0>Kiwami had a better connection with the plot than I initially did.

Kiwami 2 is literal perfection for me in terms of gameplay.

I'm looking forward to getting through the entire series though. It's been a blast so far.

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Trumpo posted...

0>5>6>2>1>3>4

In what universe is 4 the worst Yakuza game?

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Trumpo posted...

0>5>6>2>1>3>4

what the fuck

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Buu_88 posted...

In what universe is 4 the worst Yakuza game?

I can kind of understand him putting it that low because the only game in the series that I liked less than it was 3. The entire 2nd half of the game is kind of trash and the ending felt rushed to me. 4 introduces Akiyama who is one of my favorite characters though

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0 > 4 > K2 > 5 > 6 > 3 > K1

They're all really good, just varying levels of good. K2 and 6 both use a new engine, 6 being the first game to do so, so that one's a little jank. K2 smooths out the jank and the new engine is goddamn gorgeous. 4 and 5 give you four playable characters of varying quality. K1 is pretty bare bones overall as they kept very close to the original other than some new scenes expanding on a certain character.

Jumping from K2 to the remastered but not remade 3 is a bit jarring as 3 was the first PS3 game. I really like the first third or so of 3 which is often disliked from what I've seen but it takes place somewhere that I used to live in my childhood and they nailed the atmosphere and it's super nostalgic.

The biggest piece of advice I'd give you is to maybe not play them all back to back. You might get burnt out on the gameplay and Kamurocho. Space them out a bit. Kamurocho is great as long as you don't get tired of it, it's a character in its own right and seeing it change over the 30 year or so span of the games is cool. Eventually you can navigate it super easy without the map.

Murphiroth posted...

The biggest piece of advice I'd give you is to maybe not play them all back to back.

That shouldn't be an issue; I've got my eyes on Watch Dogs Legion when it comes out this week.
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I honestly don't know why you would play 0 first and then go into 1 because aren't prequels usually enjoyed with the satisfaction of knowing who is who? I played 1 first and I plan to play 0 probably later because if the gamestyle is a bit different, I rather not play the best. So I started with 1. I plan to play 0 eventually though.

dameon_reaper posted...

I honestly don't know why you would play 0 first and then go into 1 because aren't prequels usually enjoyed with the satisfaction of knowing who is who? I played 1 first and I plan to play 0 probably later because if the gamestyle is a bit different, I rather not play the best. So I started with 1. I plan to play 0 eventually though.

They designed Yakuza 0 as a starting point for the series. I started with 0 and have found myself understanding K1 way better due to that. I already knew the characters and relationships. I'm sure I missed a few callbacks or cameos, but nothing that deminished the experience.

I'm probably in the first 3rd of Kiwami 2 because the cabaret club mini game is stealing my attention like crazy.

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dameon_reaper posted...

I honestly don't know why you would play 0 first and then go into 1 because aren't prequels usually enjoyed with the satisfaction of knowing who is who? I played 1 first and I plan to play 0 probably later because if the gamestyle is a bit different, I rather not play the best. So I started with 1. I plan to play 0 eventually though.

It makes way more sense IMO to play 0 first though because Kiwami's added scenes are meant to build off of 0, and playing 0 first makes certain things more impactful. It's not a huge deal to do either order though.

I started at 0 and just finished Kiwami 1 about a week or two ago and I think 0 was a better game. 0 was just an overall better package outside of Kiwami's 1 improved combat. Haven't tried Kiwami 2 yet.

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This may be my bias but I don't rate any Yakuza game less than a 7/10.

Between goofy shit and tear-jerking melodrama, every Yakuzie got something.

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I played through 6 this year and loved it. Started from the beginning on ps2 like 10 years ago. So the build up to it and being able to just play a game focused on Kiryu again was amazing to me. The other characters are good and deep on their own, but I always cared most about Kiryu's part. And him getting just a small chunk was getting old to me.

0 is one the only ones I didn't beat.

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Yakuza 0 is one of the few games where the story actually lives up to the hype or hell surpasses it. People go on about The Witcher 3 but Yakuza 0 was far more engaging and actually has competent gameplay. Havent played the others yet except a small bit of Kiwami 1.