With Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth arriving on January 26, 2024, many players are wondering if they need to play all previous Yakuza or Like a Dragon games to get the most out of the latest chapter of this decades-long story. The short answer is - yes!
Ideally, you would need to complete absolutely all the games in this series, but since that is a feat that will take you an extremely long time and you would much rather have a crash course of lore - check out our list of 5 Yakuza or Like a Dragon games you should have played before Infinite Wealth.
We consider the titles on this list to be crucial for catching up with the story of Infinite Wealth, so check out the games you should play or at least familiarize yourself with their story before embarking on your Hawaiian adventure with Kasuga and Kiryu.
Yakuza Zero (2015)
As it seems now Infinite Wealth will be the swan song of fan favorite Kazuma Kiryu. To better understand his character, it is best to start from the very beginning, at least chronologically. Although Yakuza Zero came out much later in the series, it brings a great origin story for the main character that will help you better understand where he comes from, and even if we might see the final chapter in Kiryu's story in Infinite Wealth, it's not a bad idea to remember his very beginnings.
Yakuza Kiwami (2016)
The very good remake of the first Yakuza game is also an important part of Kiryu's past. We have already seen so many tributes to our favourite Yakuza’s previous adventures, which Infinite Wealth will be full of as well.
While there is no doubt that the later sequels and the events that happened in them are an important part of the story too, it still seems that the events from the first few titles left the biggest mark. So, returning to the first game to learn what happened to Nishikiyama and Yumi, as well as meeting Haruka for the first time, seems like a nice place to start.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (2018)
The final game in the classic Yakuza series was supposed to conclude Kiryu's journey, but as we now know, that was not the case (can someone say fanbase pressure?). Certainly, Yakuza 6 is not the best game in the series, but it offers a key story puzzle piece in which we learn how Kiryu ended up in a situation that is the starting point of his later adventures and a catalyst for the big changes that will follow.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name (2023)
The Gaiden spin-off, which debuted at the end of 2023, fills in the gaps between Yakuza 6 and Like a Dragon RPG. It reintroduced Kiryu as a playable character in another action game that features an extremely important part of the story required for a better understanding of the events that occurred following Yakuza 6 and Kiryu's appearance in the seventh instalment.
This one is a joy to play because it is a shorter and more focused game, so if you only have time for one Yakuza game before Infinite Wealth, this should be it. Completing the story in Like a Dragon Gaiden will also unlock a free demo of Infinite Wealth.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020)
Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth will not only tell Kiryu's story, but it will also be a direct sequel to the seventh game, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which introduced a new protagonist, reckless Ichiban Kasuga, as well as completely new gameplay based on JRPG turn-based battles.
Because Kasuga is the primary character of Infinite Wealth, which also plays like a JRPG like the previous part, finishing 2020’s Like a Dragon before going into Infinite Wealth appears to be a necessity as you need to get to know the new protagonist and get acclimated to the new RPG system.
All Yakuza / Like a Dragon games have always struck a delicate balance between serious, often grim, well-written main stories and the total Japanese-comedy lunacy that is the side content. Like a Dragon (2020) took both elements to the next level, and we believe that Infinite Wealth will turn things up to 11.
So, catch up with the last game, and all other titles from our list, and get ready to laugh and cry… and beat up giant sharks when Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth comes to all old-gen and next-gen consoles as well as the PC later this month.