Ranking All RGG Games From Worst To Best (Top 15 RGG Games)

So here it is, a ranking video that I have been wanting to do for quite some time and that is ranking every RGG Game. A now very popular developer by Sega. So enjoy the list and I would love to hear your list in the comments!
Introduction/Context/History: 00:00
Ranking start with the WORST: 04:35
BEST: 36:06
#likeadragon #yakuza #lostjudgement

[@loloshua]

I like how he refers to Kabukicho as "the Yakuza gate"

[@KhaledSham]

"YakOOza gate"

[@jamiesnack]

@@KhaledSham he says yakuza like the ps2 dub yuya

[@raydiiradius]

@@KhaledShamYaghkughzu

[@KhaledSham]

@@jamiesnack "You retar_ded or just deaf?"

[@SimpaticoReal]

Yakuza 0 will always hold a special place in my heart, from not knowing what to expect from the game to full blown loving the characters, shedding a tear at the connection between Makoto and Majima/Tachibana, and not shutting up about the franchise to everyone I know. I kid you not when I say that when I finished 0, I stood up from my chair, drove to Best Buy and bought Kiwami 1 on the spot. It was just that damn good for me. Bricks

[@siiparch]

Literally had this exact experience. Started with 0, finished and after 20 minutes of crying bought kiwami 1

[@cam_drew_it]

Same lol im so glad i got into this series

[@alexhamilton3522]

The Japanese really know how to tell a darn good story.

[@austinwalker2000]

@@alexhamilton3522 yup a bit off topic but they're also really good at the horror genre as well

[@nafeeahnaf6296]

Same, halfway through Y0 I downloaded Kiwami knowing this is a series that I absolutely need to play start till the end

[@imontheedgeofmyseat]

I can not agree with lost judgment’s placement

[@hakunamatata7056]

I can beside combat Lost Judgment is a mid tier game

[@trickmaster5632]

Lost judgment is the best Yakuza game in my opinion

[@shunakiyama6275]

@@hakunamatata7056 lost judgment is fantastic, besidea he didn't even mention the 8 different school stories that are like 20 extra hours of fun gameplay and decent stories

[@Trilliman707]

Sam's especially putting it b4 kiwami? that's garbage I honestly enjoyed lost judgment more than the first but the story was lacking best chapter was the high school chapters rest where dumb bit made up for it due to the packed content fight system literally the best fight system that I ever played in a rgg game snd the features and gameplay all superior over the original but incredibly lacking in the story tho only down fall

[@ornix5761]

@@trickmaster5632 lost judgment have the best and most deep combat idk why he says yakuza 0 one is better when i have over 300 hours in that game and is limited and slow af compared to lost judgment

[@JMacNBA]

Lost Judgment is top tier for me. I thought Kuwana and the overall plot were really good and it had the best gameplay

[@morriganrenfield8240]

The villain was totally forgettable for me

[@BluGiant14]

Just bought Judgement and Lost after a long time not playing Yakuza games. Looking forward to both of them

[@1eye1tear95]

@@morriganrenfield8240 how

[@azuresapphire220]

@@morriganrenfield8240 Soma and Kuwana not memorable enough?

[@fernandooctavio4105]

@@azuresapphire220 right? even akutsu is memorable lol

[@itnomadx7514]

Lost judgment placement made me roll my eyes

[@audiogarden1]

No way Lost Judgement is that low. It's top 3 RGG for sure.

[@NeroV1L3]

Hard cap

[@vampmusic1337]

when it comes out on PC it will definitely be in the top 3

[@NeroV1L3]

@@vampmusic1337 how? Graphics don't mean much

[@dmcfail987]

@@NeroV1L3 definitely is top 10

[@salmon_wine]

@@NeroV1L3 Forsure, they don't, but god damn if Yakuza games dont look so good for the hardware they are usually on. So getting the highest graphical fidelity, and 60fps gameplay, makes the games shine on PC. Except fucking Kiwami 2, where trying to use a controller to play the game is like trying to fuck a wasp nest. My camera controls are permanently rotated- not flipped, rotated. So down on right stick moves the camera left, and left moves the camera up; literally cannot find a fix.

[@yrh002b8]

The beautiful thing about Yakuza series is everyone list will be different 😆

[@jasonschutz5293]

5 was my introduction from a let's play I watched like 20 minutes and then instantly purchased the game. Since them I have played everyone of them and I agree like a dragon and zero are the absolute best. I really hope you continue to do developer game rankings as I know alot of people who do not know the older games from some of their fav developers like Bethesda, Broward, etc. Keep up the great vids man.

[@cytrusmalina]

I started my journey with the Yakuza games just two weeks ago, because Yakuza like a dragon was on ps5 for free. Damn, I fell in love with the characters and with the storyline, it is one of the best games i've ever played. I probably will play the other yakuza games at some point, but i can't wait to see Ichiban and his gang in Yakuza 8!😍

[@blacklist4502]

I actually started with LAD too. U should seriously play 0 kiwami and kiwami2 in that order. It's the best trilogy of any game I've ever played.

[@jarynlandrum7474]

Bricks!! thanks for the spoiler free rankings. I’m on the last chapter of like a dragon. It’s my first yakuza game and I’ve fallen in love with the series. Seeing kiryu appear as a secret badass to help ichi made me wanna know more. Glad to know 0 Kiwani 1 n 2 are so great. I’m hype for all the more !!

[@NotSt6]

Dawg the fact that 4 and 5 are above Kiwami 1 I can’t understand that tbh and also lost judgement placement just makes no sense either

[@Trilliman707]

I agree

[@roshaanreddy8107]

I agree with lost judgment one

[@NotSt6]

@@roshaanreddy8107 kiwami 1 is way better than 4 and that’s just a fact 5 is alright but still not as good as kiwami

[@roshaanreddy8107]

@@NotSt6 agrees even though I like 5 more than Kiwami personally

[@NeroV1L3]

Lost judgment had a garbage plot and for a series focused on story obviously it's going to rank low

[@02337755]

So glad you updated your review. Thanks!

[@tazmania4513]

Bricks! Really nice video! Started watching and by my suprise stayed till the end. Really nice explained. Enjoyed it and will get 0, 1 and 2 now that they are in offer.

[@sleepedge8257]

I can mostly agree with this list but ranking Lost Judgment that low is criminal. Easily one of the best games ever made.

[@aca5863]

I dont get why you put judgement above lost judgement even tho lost judgement fixed alot of things from its predecesor especially the combat system and It has way More mini games than the original

[@NeroV1L3]

The story is significantly worse along with the characters being wasted in lost judgment like Higashi

[@hoovyaj]

No damn way you rank Lost Judgment that low, like dude look at that final boss and unwavering belief playing on the background, absolutely epic. But i do agree Judgment has a better story than the sequel.

[@nicoburger2091]

You do a really good job with your delivery! Very fun to listen to and kept me engaged the whole time. Thanks!

[@JoDaEpicGuy]

Bricks! First video of yours I’ve seen, and even though I don’t agree with parts of the list I still enjoyed the video!

[@MrBoggy101]

I have some qualms with this list, but I appreciate it and it's interesting to hear your point of view on everything

[@spine--damaged]

One thing I don't see people commenting is that RGG reeeealy needs to acknowledge that people actually run a lot faster than their running animations do on Yakuza and Judgment games. When the characters are sprinting there should be a lot more stage traversed. It just looks awkward and wrong.

[@TrvisXXIII]

Wish I got a solo video on the judgement series, was looking for that on your channel

[@RossWyatt]

I'm seriously glad I saw your link to this new video from your old Ranking vid. I'm gonna subscribe to not miss anything. I remember my first Yakuza game I ever played was when I rented OG Yakuza 2 from like... I want to say Star Video, because I specifically remember the graveyard... which was as far as my 10 year old self got. (I know, I know). I have a super softspot for Kiwami 1, as it's the first Yakuza game I ever beat from beginning to end. Would you recommend playing Super Monkeyball? Is there a top one you could recommend for me? I hope to see you keep up Yakuza content. I still gotta beat FoTNS and the first Judgement.

[@justoohey9]

Bricks baby. Finished 0 a couple weeks ago and bought every main Yakuza entry immediately afterwards. Only about a third through kiwami 2 and it's already been such a fucking ride. Great video!

[@Trilliman707]

kiwami 2 is my favorite yakuzs game mainline yakuza game

[@Contiiiii]

This man called the hunting in Yakuza 5 good hunting simulation I cannot trust him

[@supersaiyansnack201]

Love your reviews but I really love the judgment games I wish they had a little more content and costumes you could wear after beating the main story I hope you cover the kaito dlc that’s coming out in the spring

[@judgekazzy3980]

Bricks out, KIDOOOOO But seriously, wonderful review man. Made me want to stop studying and go 100% Yak5 or finish my second playthrough of LAD.

[@karamitros20]

Bricks yeah! First game in the series I played was like a dragon, and became one of my best games ever. Going through Zero now. Its excellent and more Sexy, but from my perspective I prefer the turn based

[@speeddemonji9547]

>I didn't have to grind in other yakuza games haha blatant lie..... kiwami is right there... Edit: >combat of lost judgment doesnt feel as good as judgement lol what? Lost Judgment is far more fluid and responsive than judgment ever was, as judgment still had the issues of K2 having blocks that ruin the momentum of combat (and discourage use of crane), whereas in lost judgment the game controls wonderfully (first time for a dragon engine game)

[@dakarai47]

I started with yakuza 7 and i never looked back, beautiful series

[@shir5144]

Bricks! Thanks for the spoiler free ranking tho, i started playing Yakuza games with Zero and I'm absolutely loving it so far.. right now I'm playing Kiwami 2 and k can't really wait to play the rest of them I might try the judgment games too, they seem fun

[@smoke2729]

Absolutely pick up the judgement games. This guy doesn’t know what he is talking about.

[@morriganrenfield8240]

@@smoke2729 orrrr he just don’t rate ‘em high

[@Snakeskin94]

Lost Judgment is top tier- above average (for this series) side content, and you beat the shit out of bullies. What's not to love? Also, about Kiwami, sure the graphics are better, but the story beats were better in the PS2 version- they didn't over use Majima either.

[@dreamdesigner4492]

Yakuza 0 is the best for me so far even if the only reason is cause of goro majimas representation. Im finishing lost judgement and the only yakuza game I have left is LAD. Im really hoping I enjoy it and your video made me have high hopes for it🙏

[@Anglerbe]

32:43 I was going to make the same comment about the individual stories in Y5 being good, but the ending not really coming together in a fully coherent way. The finale really hits you like a ton of bricks ;) Y5 is still arguably my favorite game in the series though. It was the first one I ever played, and while I think it has some pacing issues occasionally, it's insane how much content there is, and how good most of it is. I love all of the characters and their side stories, the Saejima hunting village one being my favorite (actually, that's one of my favorite parts of the whole series). And the combat is tied with 0 for being some of the best in the series imo. Honestly even when the story starts to get a little ridiculous at the end I still think its cool and enjoyable to see the characters come together, and it doesn't diminish my enjoyment. In contrast, I think the ridiculousness of the Kiwami 2 ending on the roof before the final boss fight took me out of it a little bit, and dampened what would otherwise have been one of the best endings in the series for me. And Yakuza 4's story is such nonstop nonsense that I gave up on trying to follow it, lol. I never played the OG 1 and 2, just the Kiwamis. I'm not particularly a fan of either of them, and I would actually consider ranking them below 3, if not for how painfully clunky and not-fun I found 3's combat to be. Kiwami 1 is a step backward from 0 in a whole bunch of ways gameplay-wise, and the attempt to balance staying faithful to the OG with accommodating new developments from later games in the series causes some serious tonal dissonance. In particular, the way Majima is portrayed in the new side content as a batshit goofy comic relief character doesn't mesh too well with how unsypmathetically sadistic and cruel he is in the main story cutscenes. I've seen some people try to dismiss this kind of criticism as coming from new players who hopped on board with 0 who don't understand Majima's character in the previous games, but I think 0's portrayal of Majima is way more consistent with the rest of the series compared to 1/Kiwami. The latter is the odd one out, and I really think they should have taken more liberties in that regard. As for Kiwami 2, I don't like the new combat system and I think the story has serious pacing issues. It might be an oversimplification to say this but I think Ryuji Goda is the only thing I really liked about K2. Not a fan of Y6 either; I think that game's story is a mess and it doesn't treat Kiryu's character very well.

[@vincehill4224]

Bricks! I know like a dragon is good but I’m still having a hard time letting go of the old combat the story perfect characters amazing but being limited to turns after playing a game series with super free feeling combat is daunting for me personally and I’ve been playing in small burst compared to the previous games

[@julinofooly]

Thank you for making me feel better bout not buying any of the random monkey ball remakes

[@mnam5822]

Yakuza 0 is so damn good, the story is amazing, the combat system is good, and the bosses are not so annoying to fight. Like for kiwami 1, i literally had to beat bosses by running around and use the medium attack to get heat bar then use the heat action to drain health, but for yakuza 0, the bosses are not too annoying, other than kuze at first. i mean he still beatable but it just that when u just started playing its a bit hard. but other than that, bosses are not too bad, still strong and still show their power but not making them look like some big mouth that just run and shoot or try to outnumber u like jingu or arase of kiwami 1. but both games still good for story tho.

[@djangofett4879]

Kiwami 1 reuses some of the bosses fighting styles from zero

[@mnam5822]

@@djangofett4879 kiwami 1 reuse MOST bosses style from the older games also, the whole game is just all reused animations, even shimano use his base as mr shakedown but worse

[@RobertEdwinHouse9]

Skill issue

[@guy229]

Try tiger drop

[@thorstenbrandt6256]

The hard part for Like a Dragon was the grinding you had to do to have a chance at the final Millenium Towwer. I spend hours in the sewers for materials to upgrade all my weapons and gear to max and even then it was hardcore. And it was really grinding, not playing. I knew the layout of the sewers and where which enemy will appear so I did it while working with half an eye on the screen max. Other than that I really like the game

[@Xtguccigamer]

Damn fr lmao 💀 idk you just gotta play, then do the battle arena, then you shoulda been good💀

[@thebinksake8741]

I didn't bother fighting amon in that game for that exact reason, just finished the main quests+ sidequests and call it a day

[@DavidJohnson-zu4or]

Bricks! Like a dragon is by far one of my favorite games, not just yakuza games. The story is amazing

[@ImpactTurns]

Biggest flaw I could remember with Yakuza 5 is that there’s no new game plus using your premium adventure file 😩

[@HupCapNinja]

You can. Just go to your hide out or something and create clear data.

[@mehdielkarimi8638]

Breaks this video was good I really enjoyed it

[@Relaxingsounds-rs1ix]

yakuza ishin, yakuza gaiden and yakuza like a dragon 8, what did you prefer of all this new ones

[@sleep5778]

2:03: "They [RGG] are Sega's leading studio." Sonic Team: "Am I a joke to you?" Me: "Yes."

[@merkfoolsallday]

Funny that people like me are still finding you from that original yakuza tier list to this day! Lol I just found you from lookin up yakuza tier list and now I’m binging all the vids 😂😂

[@dgc1570]

What area was that? I'm kinda curious now that you've brought it up

[@midgy3484]

I bought zero and Kiwami, I played zero and bought them all! I’m on kiwami 2 chapter 6 I believe!

[@alexhamilton3522]

The yakuza series story is so moving it will tear your heart out and stitch it back in later. Then repeat. Bricks.

[@andresrios4514]

Bricks! I recently got into the yakuza series and I’m loving every second of it ❤ looking forward to ishin!

[@spencerpatrick6034]

In regards to ryuji in K2, there's a sub story in 0 where goro meets a fifth grade, pants stealing ryuji

[@Draffut2003]

Just picking up this series. I hated Kiwami 1, but am loving Kiwami 2. Will be intersting to see where 4, 6, and judgement fall for me.

[@ichibankasuga5607]

I stopped watching when you said that the combat in Lost Judgment is inferior to the previous game. Improvements to returning styles, new styles and also, it doesn't have the mortal wounds bullshit. I don't think you've played or understood most of the games you comment on. There's no reason to watch someone like that. Good Yakuza videos comes from Devilleon7, Dantedevil12, Pius Lee, imontheedgeofmyseat and a few others that I can't remember the name of right now. Goodbye.

[@NeroV1L3]

Keep crying

[@Khemikal_X]

Like anybody cares he stopped watching.

[@johnnylancenese]

You made the comment that Yakuza doesn't force you into different playstyles, but I would say making you play the different characters and their different styles would count.

[@NeroV1L3]

No because outside of Haruka all of them still play like a Yakuza game

[@Eclectic.Nostalgia]

Of all the Yakuza games I played, Like a Dragon by far is the most enjoyable Yakuza game I have ever played.

[@Al-ji4gd]

Having Lost Judgement that low is insane to me.

[@Snubmeister]

Playing through the whole series in order on gamepass!

[@Taxman5scotty]

Me too!

[@PaydayPerry]

Okay, i'm gonna give it my own little list starting from best, i notice the vastly diffrent views here. Note: I will be going by Gameplay primarily, story 2nd. 1. Yakuza 0. My starting point, and reason for becoming a megafan. Always loved beatemups since i was a mere child with a ps1 and ps2, shame how there almost isnt any beatemups nowadays, dunno why, hack n slashes are still a thing (God of war, Metal Gear Rising etc.) So imagine how happy i was when i found the series in 2018. I'm glad to have started it when i did. Everything is great, story, combat, music, you name it. 2. Yakuza 5. I consider 5 and 0 to be equals but considering the nature of lists, i guess i'll have to put them in diffrent slots, but seriously 5 is great, definitely the most ambitious game with the amount of content and cities. (Dont like Shinada tho, rip tanimura :c) 3. Lost Judgment. I dont care what anyone says, to me, LJ is the FIRST Dragon engine game with Genuinely great combat to me, i love it for that reason. So yeah, you're not gonna see any DE games high up, this is the exception. The story is definitely better in Judgment, but this is very much good enough, especially considering the amount of combat improvements far outweigh the loss of story quality. 4. Yakuza 4. Here is where i'd put Ishin if it were on the list, but the vid didnt include those i wont either, but Ishin is part of golden age engine (0,5,K1,ishin), it's great. Yakuza is good, silly story but good, the new char who made the biggest impression on me was tanimura, he seemed pretty cold, not very talkative and his fightstyle was really cool, i liked that about, and i missed him a lot in 5. Akiyama is probably the one with best charisma and personality though, also For Faith FTW. 5. Yakuza Kiwami 1. Good game, fast paced combat, with a lot of advanced techs with style switching and those "Time for" buffs, got nothing on 0 storywise, but it's good enough. Has my favorite majima moment so +rep 6. Fist of the northstar: Lost Paradise. I've never watched or seen much of FOTNS, only a few little memes. I played a demo of some FOTNS game on xbox though. Either way, I liked the combat a lot, biggest gripe is the length of some of the secret techniques animations (the equivalent for heat actions), atleast combat wise. Another one is the lack of a sprint button, especially since it came out after Ishin (when the sprint button first appeared). Car upgrading was a little tedious too, like you need to buy/find the blueprint, get the parts AND pay for the the actual upgrade too, i feel one or 2 of all that was enough. Besides that though I liked everything, combat, music, story, wasnt really grindy either, i lvld up a lot by fighting higher lvl enemies in the wasteland. 7. Judgment Great story, but combat wise its much inferior to LJ. It has a diffrent vibe, and color pallet, I dunno which i prefer, probably Judgments. It's a dragon engine game so its not gonna be extremely high on my list. 8. Yakuza 6. Now, I actually prefer 6 over K2 combat wise for some reason, mostly because of charge attacks work, and because of how that exheat thousand fucking fists heat action's trigger point work, that whole heat rush is way better here. Story is better here too, to me at least. 9. Yakuza Kiwami 2 Eh, its okay, dragon engine made combat feel slow af, not as satisfying, crunchy, felt more like punching blow up dolls (not that i'd know anything about that). Weird and wacky ass ragdolls, that were funny at first but annoying and immersion breaking soon after. Need to play it in 30fps for the most optimal and stable combat experience, and seriously who wants to put themselves through that in this modern age of gaming if thry can avoid it, oh and punching someone who's blocking is the worst feeling in the world, completely ruins the flow. (btw all of this can be applied to 6) 10. Yakuza 7. Honestly, amazing story, almost as good as 0, great music, hilarious substories, buuuuut goddamn, i do not like turnbased. As mention previous, Yakuza is the only games i can go to for a good, thrilling, beatemup experience, and yakuza is now taking that away from me :(. There's plenty of issues i have with it, here's 3 examples. One, Immersion, i hate how everyone is just walking around, staring at eachother, and how the summons thing is, well a thing, like, you can call a fucking tiger, it pops out of thin air and fucks someone up, or that fucking adachi hells wheel heat action. I just, cant get behind it. I mean, yakuza has never been realistic i know but, this is on a whole diffrent level, from crime drama with gritty, brutal fighting to fantasy, enemies tanking satelite lasers and whatever else. I KNOW yakuza has always had silly things, but those are USUALLY deligated to substories only. Like for example, let's say there's a really awesome, amazing and emotional cutscene, music start both sides shit talking eachother, ready to kick it into high gear, i'm starting to feel the moment, getting into it, hyped as fuck about getting to kick this guy's ass. Fight starts, first thing i see is a staring contest , then im seeing a fucking idol waving her wand, shooting magic a homeless dude burping over him, a security guard grabbing him, and they start spinning like a wheel together so fast smoke starts to come then i call up a masochistic dude on the phone and he rolls up on a red carpet getting fucking whipped to next week by a dominatrix while screaming in pleasure. ( Now thats not verbatim everything tha happened, im sure theres some errors in that recollection as its bern a while, but that shit can definetly happen.) That just completely ruins the moment for me. I KNOW thats supposedly just Ichibans imagination, but wtf else is he really doing when i call up a satelite laser or summoning a tiger, I cant really fill in the gaps and that just ruins my immersion. Two, Grind and a lot of it, not fun and trust me YOU NEED TO after like the first half of the game is done. Its not very fun doing the same moves over again in a 30 min boss fight, because its like, the only viable option on this tanky asboss that has a shit ton of resistance to anything else, thats not what i consider a fun, difficult and thrilling late game boss fight. Phew holy fuck, sorry about that rant, bet no one'll read the whole thing. 11. Yakuza 3. Do I really need to say anything? No game here is a bad game, but this is kinda tedious a lot of the time, and a lot of substories are really bland. I feel bad putting 7 so low btw, it's just, like im going by gameplay first and foremost, and i really didnt find the main gameplay, that being the combat, all that fun, in general it is a better game all in all than, k2 and 6 if you'd divide them all in to diffrent categories points for each aspect. Hell, if combat was excluded from the equation and we'd talk about everything else only, Yakuza 7 would prob be Nr 1 or 2, def top 3. TL;DR they are all good games, play em, though if you have to skip one, skip 3. Also, bricks :P

[@jessetheanimenerd3304]

As someone who plays Yakuza for the story and not the gameplay, this list physically pains me lmao. At least we can both agree that Yakuza 0 is top tier in both.

[@PaydayPerry]

@@jessetheanimenerd3304 Indeed, that is one of the peak in terms of gameplay AND story after all.

[@Al-ji4gd]

@@jessetheanimenerd3304 Lol why would you play Yakuza for the story? Most of the games have mid stories. The only decent stories are 0, 6 and the Judgment games.

[@jessetheanimenerd3304]

@@Al-ji4gd Entirely subjective, that's why.

[@blackhaircurse]

bricks hi thanks for awesome content

[@rbossempire5466]

Bricks, im playing yak 7 atm so got high hopes. Not sure how i feel about turn based after 6 beat em up games ill get used to it tho since i like turn based games normally

[@stephenmifs]

Just finished Ishin. Where would you place it? I have only finished 0, 3 and 7 and i agree with where they were in your list. I started fist of the north star and judgment but lost interest and never completed them. Oh and bricks too!

[@ivangambino4135]

Aint no fuckin way kiwami 2 is above lost judgment

[@betaubtesfaultier3607]

I'm still waiting for a video, where Yakuza 3 isn't on the last ranks...😢

[@yellaturd]

I recently played through the series, starting at 0 and worked my way to "Like a Dragon" which I'm playing currently. Yakuza 3 was the only game I felt was not worth playing. I enjoy the games for the characters and the whacky moments rather than the combat so I played through most games on easy. To me it just felt better for Kiryu to be super powerful and not struggle. The combat in Yakuza 3, even on easy was so unpleasant that I stopped a few hours in and moved on to Y4.

[@OndoginReverse]

Lost judgment is my favorite RGG game, most refined combat in the series

[@wisdomrain1239]

Bricks, good list I mostly agreed with your placements of everything!

[@naethanks]

I feel like lots of people recommend playing 0 first, I personally wouldn't recommend that. Because it's so fucking good. Having played the best game in the franchise playing through the other games feels slightly disappointing.

[@jingleballs9935]

Nah I’m having fun with kiwami

[@addisonvaughan99]

1. Yakuza Like A Dragon: My third Yakuza game (don’t ask) absolutely loved the shit outta of it, I felt pretty attached to most (if not all) of the characters, especially Ichiban, the Ichiban Holdings mini game was unique, felt similar to estate business, the boss fights were fun, getting to fight Kiryu was something I wasn’t expecting, it was also a pleasant surprise getting my ass tiger dropped from here to Sotenbori. Overall, I like it the most due to the characters. 2. Kiwami 2: After my song of praises to Yakuza 7, idk what to say other than the final boss is noice, drinking muscle soda and watching my enemies fly into the afterlife was also great. 3. Yakuza 0: There’s just something so fun about watching enemies explode with money, I liked the plot of this one and I thought the estate business mini game was dope, cabaret club? Not so much, I like the Kiwami 2 version of that better (didn’t stop me from getting Mad Dog of Shimano style tho) 4. Judgement: The side cases, the side cases were fun. I also liked the fighting styles, although it seemed half of the EX actions were just reused heat actions of Akiyama. Still, tiger style is hella fun to use. 5. Kiwami: Loved the shit outta of this one too, can’t exactly remember why, maybe it’s cuz I only got 37h on this one compared to 51h on Kiwami 2, 63h on Yakuza 0 and 94h on Yakuza 7. 6. Yakuza 5: Hakura’s part is why this isn’t higher, Kiryu’s part was fun, Saejima’s part was decent, Akiyama’s part was unnecessarily short and Shinada’s part was ok. 7. Yakuza 4: This one’s rated low cuz the final boss is a giant pain in the ass and Saejima’s part drove me to delete the game twice. Didn’t help it with Kuze Jr, Saito the true final boss. 8. Yakuza 6: The plot was whacky as shit and I loved it, but half the time I had to tear out my own eyeballs to remain entertained with this combat, there’s only so many reused assets and no ground heat actions a man can take. ???. Lost Judgement: I’m only on chapter 2 here, this dancing club is driving me insane. Gaiden and Infinite wealth are gonna cost me my bank account, so I haven’t played them yet, as for why I didn’t play 3: Didn’t wanna, I’d like to have enough money left over to eat this month.

[@moister3727]

Yakuza 5 is nuts. An amazing game for sure.

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

While I agree with your high praise of 0, I have to disagree on it having the best combat, though for purely subjective reasons. While I love Majima's combat, I don't enjoy Kiryu's at all. To the extent that it actually drags the game down for me. In every other way I agree that 0 is an utter masterpiece, but I just don't like how Kiryu fights in it. On the other hand, I utterly adore Kiryu's combat in Kiwami. Rush style is just so damn fun. It's kind of funny because I tried to get into the series with Kiwami and found the prologue so dull it put me off the game completely. Then I tried 0 and was hooked by the time you're doing karaoke with Nishiki. Stopped playing 0 after the second Majima chapter and went back to Kiwami. Felt like if it was the more dull of the two by far, I'd get it out of the way first so 0 would just feel like an upgrade. Ended up getting hooked on Kiwami's combat, making me love both games in the end. Just started Like a Dragon the other day but so far I agree that it's better than 0, which is saying something. Still not as batshit ridiculous as 0 though (the fact that you literally infuse the power of money into yourself to get stronger is fucking hilarious. Not even just a game mechanic, it's actually canon lore that Kiryu at least, literally absorbs money to gain physical power in 0 and that is both the best and dumbest thing ever, fittingly Yakuza)

[@nameunknown8441]

I loved Yakuza Like a Dragon, but it can’t top 0 for me. The story of Kasuga is just as good as (if not better than) Kiryu’s story in 0, but then you remember 0 has Majima’s story which is over the top. The combat mechanics of Like a Dragon I do enjoy, but I do prefer the mechanics of the older Yakuzas as you defeated waves of enemies on your own. The secondary events on Like a Dragon are better, but I started playing Yakuza for the main story, so it does hold a special place for me.

[@SAMURAI-qd6vw]

My ranking: 1.Yakuza 0 2.Yakuza: Like a dragon (not finished) 3.Yakuza Kiwami 2 4.Yakuza Kiwami 5.Yakuza 6 6.Yakuza 4 7.Yakuza 5 8.Yakuza 3 Judgement and Lost Judgement not played yet All Yakuza games are great and Akiyama is one of my favorite characters in this game series but playing multiple characters was not really fun for me.

[@philliplahm6264]

Yakuza 0 (the first Yakuza game I played) is probably my favourite game in general, the only game that compares is Skyrim. Ps. Bricks

[@phill93]

If youre a yakuza fan you'll play every yakuza, no question asked.. ahaha i found thos series from a italian streamer of a italian magazine he work for! And it became my fav videogame series

[@marianomorD]

Brick! Started with 0 and in love with this universe. Should I skip 3 and 4? Not having to much time for gaming this days with my 2 year old Lil boy. Thanks for the content :)

[@doginhat13]

No Just put it to easy and enjoy the story

[@marianomorD]

@@doginhat13 thanks for your insight!

[@alonemax2912]

You might skip 3, but 4 is very important to the series and one of the best Yakuza games in my opinion. Honestly, if you really like this universe, it's not worth it to skip any part, all of them have great and memorable moments. Just slow playthrough is worth it, it's best to play Yakuza with no rush in my opinion.

[@marianomorD]

Thanks alonemax for your thoughts. Think you're tottally right. Wanna share with you all that while we ate chatting here , I'm playing kiwami 2 AND ve been lucky enough to found YAKUZA SUNSET substory. It was marvelous, enlightening, as if the game heard me and was answering muy prayers. Are you familiar with that substory? Now, between that and your advices, theres no doubt in my mind. As a good Bourbon, I ll give this universe the full lenght treatment, the time AND space ir deserves, the respect it also give us every inch of story, every single playthrough. Gratefull to you! Blessings!

[@doginhat13]

@@marianomorD 3 is probably the most important

[@cpt.zangscarlet1898]

I'm not saying 5 was bad, but it was the only one where the story pacing exhausted me mentally. It was so long compared to the others, and if 'slow-burn' could be used to describe the pacing of any of the others, this one would be a 'snail's-pace'. I'm all for stories taking their time, but I guess I was conditioned by the length of previous titles, because my god does 5 drag. Every time I felt some culmination of events in a character's story section, it ended and started fresh with the next character; new piece of the pie that doesn't evoke much until they're all put together to form the whole. It gave me very little to feel invested in until the last act. The other games' stories felt like a 500m dash, whereas 5 felt like a pentathlon. (Don't get me started with that Majima plot thread that was thrown in there for I'm guessing fan service or something, cause that led to absolutely nothing when all was said and done. Just a convenient thread to justify character proximity and relations I guess).

[@wilderfrompr]

For me it's 1) Yakuza 0, 2) Like a Dragon, 3) Yakuza Kiwami 2. But they're all pretty great games.

[@edwardsuou]

Kiwami 2 is a game so strange it’s very hard to rank it. It’s very fun and much more memorable than the first Kiwami. Still you have very questionable choices and some lows very hard to tolerate like the Majima saga alongside a messy story with a lot of generic characters (with few impressive exceptions as well don’t get me wrong). The gameplay is definitely half baked though.... I played Judgment before this and it was so traumatic I never felt so betrayed (not even with the unbalanced Y3 combat). It’s like they put a bunch of random stuff from the Y6 system (and also some great stuff) and called it a day. They still did a major improvement over 6 but it’s still unbelievably messy. I honestly think it’s way better than K1 but it’s still not a game I would think is one of the best even compared with less shiny games.

[@wilderfrompr]

@@edwardsuou I started the series with Kiwami 1, then Yakuza 0, then Kiwami 2. Majima is my favorite character. I really hate the fighting in all the Yakuza games except the Judgement games but I've never really enjoyed this style of fighting. But that's fine. I still really enjoy all the Yakuza games but definitely not for the fighting. I prefer the style of fighting in Dying Light 1, Far Cry 3 & 4, Fall Out 4 (when it wasn't crashing to desk top), Ghost Recon Breakpoint, the new Spiderman games, etc. Kiwami 2 has the most memorable story to me and I liked the real estate game. I had the most fun playing Yakuza 0 with it's silly cabaret games. I enjoyed Like a Dragon more than I thought I would. It made me laugh a lot and I got a kick out of doing an RPG for the first time since I was a little kid playing Final Fantasy games. The stories of all the games had parts that irritated me but I don't mind suspending disbelief somewhat when playing games or watching movies. Over all I had a good time exploring Japan, enjoying some stories that were interesting but kind of dumb and then lots of funny little side quests. I'm thinking you and I have different things we're looking for in games but we're both still fans of Yakuza for whatever reason. How about your favorite Yakuza games and why? Nice chatting with you Edward.

[@edwardsuou]

@@wilderfrompr my favorite games from RGG studio so far are definitely Judgment and Y0 alongside Like a dragon which I’m playing right now. (I enjoy every single game even Y3 and Kiwami 1) The reason is simply because of characters (In Y0 you have probably best Majima, a very solid Kiryu and some of the best not main characters, in Judgment you have a lesson how to make a legendary protagonist right in his first entry while in Like a dragon you have the most vulnerable and human characters). These are my favorites among the ones I played (no original Ps2 games, no Y4 and Y5 and just played very shortly three chapters in 6, currently playing Y7 and no spin off other than Judgment). The reason I connect with this kind of games is that the story is always just a bunch of random stuff but that is to flesh out characters. I mean it’s nice to have a good story from time to time like in Judgment but it’s much more important to have good characters, heavy development and focus on motivations and choices. About Majima I think he’s a very inconsistent character. In some games they did an amazing job in others he just feels like a aimless madman. I would never say he’s a good character overall, even defining him as a character is a tough job. That’s because the writers did a complete 180 change at some point meaning Majima from 0 is simply someone completely different than him in the Kiwami games. He needed a direction but he got none. “It’s in character for him to act out of character” that’s because from game to game he is a different character depending on how the writers felt like at the time. On the other hand the combat in a action adventure video game has to have one feature for me: that is that you can change your experience dramatically depending on how you play (your expertise in videogames in general) and also you have to be able to become more and more proficient using everything you got to do a clean fight every time (meaning you have to have just the essential features and a counter to any situation). That is so you can feel empowered when you are a bit into the game and you learned it. I have a very love and hate relationship with K2 and I honestly think most of everything they nailed variety and look. This game has a very intense story complemented with the presentation. At the same time it’s hard to really hard to see a cohesive work, you have so much screen time to characters who ultimately don’t matter, you have lighting like change of mind and sloppy motivations. Why should Kaoru and Ryuji for instance even care for each other when they don’t know each other at all? Also the gameplay is just broken in its balance and it’s hard to enjoy at high levels since the game just throws bullshit at you. (It’s fine one time only with Amon it’s fucking not with characters who tiger drop you constantly in tournaments and other optional challenges. Also also when you have almost no option once the enemy has a weapon since he’s immune to almost everything.

[@wilderfrompr]

@@edwardsuou Nice. Thanks for that answer. K2 does have a powerful story. The fights pissed me off so much I wanted to throw my controller sometimes. And I think all the games either have something really dumb in the story or odd choices made by characters that don't seem to make much sense. But I accept that as the odd Yakuza flavor and just roll with it. Regarding the character arch for the mad man Majima, Yakuza 0 was written long after Yakuza 1 & 2 were remade into the Kiwami games. So it made sense to me that they would want to try to present a different side of Kiryu and Majima as less jaded. Less beaten down by the world. A real contrast to the hard asses they'd become later. They were both soft. I just finished the Judgement games recently. Really liked them. For the first time the fighting felt fun to me. Not sure why but everything just clicked. And I do like the shifting perspective to some mostly law abiding citizens for a change. Like a Dragon is great. If you do go back and finish Yakuza 6, let the end credits run for like an hour. If I recall correctly there's 3 extra scenes in the credits. Let it keep running until they finally get back to Kiryu again. I wish there were more games like Yakuza. I'm from a tiny island in the Carribean. I've often thought it would be great if they had Kiryu or Ichiban take a trip to Puerto Rico for some future installment.

[@edwardsuou]

@@wilderfrompr Thanks for the advices and the exchange, you seem a very nice person. I think Judgment has the most intuitive gameplay and some of the strongest moves you can do them very easily. That gameplay is just good, some issues in high levels but overall it works for almost everyone. That’s why I hate K2 combat that much, almost nothing works as well and the issues are just too heavy. I don’t really agree on Majima making sense but that’s fine. I mean Kiryu in 0 completely makes sense as his younger most naive version but Majima is just a different person than in the Kiwami games. I doubt we will see anything Yakuza related outside of Japan, but I would love to see RGG try to convey their style in a foreign setting for a new series (they were able to start the Judgment series after all). (I’m from Italy by the way) I feel like that would probably not happen soon considering the main reason RGG studio had success both in Japan and outside is their masterfully recreation of the Japanese setting. What I love is no Japan per se but in general is the contemporary setting with relatable characters and problems (that’s the one thing Like a dragon does best) that’s because I become super tired of heavily fantasy games and medieval settings.

[@harrymitchell3885]

finally someone agrees with me on lost judgment, i just cant say the story is the best ever , even if the gameplay is pretty good

[@Rider-yb3sd]

Man I must admit that I addicted to 0, K1, K2, 7 but K1 is debatable but story wise 4 of this is my top

[@Khemikal_X]

I agree with this list 100% Started with 0, never played monkey ball or the cover shooter. Judgment was kinda good, but lost judgment was a huge disappointment in so many ways. Side content was annoying and QTEs were the absolute worst in LJ. And yagami is a lame character after you've been drone racing and creeping around a hs in tight pants and a leather jacket as a middle aged man. Yakuza 7 and 8 I've dumped 200hrs in each game. I've modded Y0 and Like a dragon. Garden is very good even though the story is short I managed to get a solid 60 hrs bc the side content is great. Y3 is clunky, but I like how different the game is. It's story is the most essential in the grand plot. Y6 is very similar to 3 in the plot and type of story. Kiwami games are amazing stories with difficult gameplay. 4 and 5 were good but mentally draining for me. I rushed through both of them and missed a lot of the side content. I remember I completed Saigima's hunting quest before I moved to the next chapter. It was great. The cop in 4 was the most forgettable character to me. The baseball guy in 5 was actually great with a cool story but he came so late and it just felt like a disconnected part of the game. I hated haruka gameplay. 0 1 and 2 have the best story with solid brawling gameplay. It's kiryu and majima's OG storyline in the Yakuza organization. Next 7, gaiden, and 8 are awesome games with a solid Yakuza Storyline. Judgment is for children. 4 and 5 are heavy hitters for the OG American players before the games were remastered. 6 was the swan song 3 is a harbinger of decades past.

[@canadian0099]

I enjoyed your video! But for me, Yakuza Like A Dragon was one of the weakest IMO. At first I was really enjoying it, but when i hit a certain point I was just done. I think some may know what area I mean. Yakuza O, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Yakuza 5 are still my top 3.

[@majorleagueplayer44]

Yakuza 3's combat and graphics do suck a LOT! However, i loved Okinawa and actually found most of the substories in that to be the most memorable in the series (I'm just playing 4 now but compared to the Kiwami's the substories had a lot of depth)

[@xxcvxcvcexxvcx2382]

agree yakuza like adragon is so funnnnn and cool . my fav too

[@kalgeriax1016]

Yakuza 7 is damn good. Like I love Turn Based Games, Yakuza 7 really at top of my favourite game ever. If you played Yakuza 0, you'll find out, Ichiban is basically Majima Goro and Kiryu in one body. It is very solid RPG. I hope future Yakuza improve some stuff. Like the business, it was good but damn I prefer Yakuza 0 business. At least in 0 I can watch videos while waiting. In Yakuza 7 I have constantly watch and manage the business because it was kind short at the same time annoying process. More songs for singers. I feel so disappointing when certain character don't have his own karoeake Improve dungeons, dungeons in Yakuza 7 are so boring.

[@dgc1570]

Preach! They shouldn't have messed with the minigames

[@dravenmartinez6311]

Where is the Kerou/black panther duology(the psp games that were untranslated) edit:nevermind the first is translated

[@ChrisHavok]

I doubt they’ll ever be able to top Yakuza Zero. It’s sad to see Kiryu and the beat ‘em up gameplay go.

[@theystolemypancake]

Imma be honest, Kiwami 1 is great in my opinion, it might feel bland compared to the other games but RGG mainly tried to stay faithful to the original game but with the Yakuza humor

[@lixtrix9897]

I love yakuza 3 probably my favorite

[@Xegethra]

I started playing Yakuza 4 yesterday. Already prefer it over 3. I played the original Yakuza back in 2006, for about 2 hours at a friends' place and enjoyed it, but for some reason never picked up the series until 0 came out, then went to Kiwami 1 and 2 and now going through the games in story order. I could have just played the original PS2 games and got the rest on whatever consoles they may have come on, but since I never took to it I didn't clearly.

[@AwesomeJimJam]

i think if the open world combat brawler stuff never changed from the engine they used in kiwami 1 and yakuza 0, it would be so much better. but considering how boring i find the combat in 6 and kiwami 2 (i think judgement/lost judgement is slightly better but not by a ton), i agree that the rpg direction was a great way to go. i'm also excited to see how they elaborate and add depth to the combat in the next installments. like a dragon also has probably my favorite story out of them all.

[@AwesomeJimJam]

oh also bricks!! bricks!!

[@djangofett4879]

its definitely not boring but it feels a bit sluggish and unresponsive compared to the snappiness of the previous engine. im finishing up 6 right now and i enjoy the combat but its no yakuza zero, 4 or 5. the graphics do look pretty fantastic though

[@lordzekonas1825]

lost judgment is miles better than k2 and 6

[@AwesomeJimJam]

@@lordzekonas1825 combat wise it's definitely lost judgement - judgement - k2/6 (with k2 maybe having the edge, it's been a while since i played them). whatever your feelings are in terms of HOW much better lost judgement is, i think the floaty fighting in the engine is so much worse than it was in y5, y0, yk1.

[@rippedtidegaming1349]

Bricks! I played Yakuza 1 on the PS2 and really enjoyed it. For one reason or another never went back until Judgment. Played (and loved) Judgment and Lost Judgment (Enjoyed Lost Judgment’s main story more I think). Then with PS+ Premium I got 0, Kiwami 1 and 2 and Like a Dragon. After plowing through 0, Kiwami 1 and 2, I subsequently bought 3-6 remastered. I’m currently about half way through 3 and it was super jarring at first but I’m used to it (what the heck did they do to my/Kaz’s girl Sayama?!?).

[@justarandombluebird8222]

What's funny thing is that even the worst yakuza game is still better then newest titles that came this few years LOOKING AT YOU SAINTS ROW

[@jejee4442]

I started with like a dragon, after that I will play yakuza zero 👍🏼

[@jamiesnack]

you included spinoffs but not kurohyou? i am sad bricks

[@marvelboi3416]

I don't see why you don't like the tailing, chasing and flying drones in the Judgment games. He's truly a detective doing his job and its not going to be similar to Yakuza. I truly like it which is the different takes on it because you on the right side of the law. I think they captured the private detective real life job well in the Judgment games. Hey don't like the look of Yakuza 7 Rpg system I wanted the old beat em up brawler style type like the other games. It's the main reason why I'm not going to buy or play it.

[@JellyJman]

Binary Domain is actually a good game. Wish we got a sequel

[@Ocean5ix]

I disagree a bit on Fist of the North Star. Just like you I haven't watched the anime but I thought the game has a few things going for it: First would the fact that it's more Yakuza gameplay and game design. If you're like me you'll jump at every chance to have a new RGG Studios game in line to play and Fist of the North Star is such game. Second, I don't think you need to know and love FOTNS to like the game. Like, it's a goofy, ultraviolent mix of Mad Max with Bruce Lee + anime. If any of that sounds cool to you, then chances are you'll love the game.

[@Fahadalrshidy]

Are you serious?????? You ranked yakuza 5 over judgement 2 and 1 and yakuza 7 2 1 4????? Gotta respect your opinion anyway and thank god u put zero on top (not adding like a dragon) cuz i totally agree with u on that 😂😂😂😂 thx for the video bud

[@Moody.Smiruai]

A cultured Yakuza 7 enjoyer......FINALLY

[@no-lc9en]

LJ is the best RGG game even outshining 0 imo

[@phamtomlord2579]

My personal favorite is Yakuza Kiwami 2, the only decent Kiryu love story, good graphics, badass combat, Majima Saga...

[@LaughsInNervousness]

where the 480p?