Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku in Japan), a 2005 PlayStation 2 game, is the origin of a long-running and adored video game series that chronicles the numerous feuds and intrigues of yakuza families in the fictional Tokyo district of Kamurocho. (In 2022, the series was renamed to Like a Dragon, which is Ryu ga Gotoku translated into English.)
The games are notable for being simultaneously theatrical, action-packed, cinematic, and purposefully ridiculous. (You are missing out on a significant portion of the humor in the games if you ignore the side quests.) It took the franchise years to gain the recognition it now has outside of Japan, but thanks to an uncannily steady stream of localized re-releases, spinoffs, and new titles, such as the recently revealed Majima-focused upcoming game from RGG Studio, its fame continues to rise. Like a Dragon: Yakuza, an Amazon Prime TV series adaption, will also launch on the streaming site in late October.
In such an expansive narrative, where is the best place for an interested novice to begin? We would suggest starting with Yakuza 0 to follow the story chronologically or starting with Yakuza: Like a Dragon to explore the world from the perspective of a new generation. If you wish to watch the complete series from the beginning, you may find the correct series chronology below.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon Games in Chronological Order:
- Yakuza 0
- Yakuza / Yakuza Kiwami
- Yakuza 2 / Yakuza Kiwami 2
- Yakuza 3
- Yakuza 4
- Yakuza 5
- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
How Many games are like Yakuza/Like a Dragon?
Since the series launch in 2005, Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku studio have released nine core Yakuza/Like Dragon titles, two remakes (Yakuza Kiwami, 2016; Yakuza Kiwami 2, 2017; a third is planned); and ten spinoffs. Originally exclusive to the PlayStation, they were eventually released on Xbox and PC. Ever 2002 Yakuza: Like a Dragon, all new games have been released concurrently on all platforms, with the Nintendo Switch being an exception. Nonetheless, Yakuza Kiwami will be the first Like a Dragon game to receive a Switch port in October 2024, as revealed in the Nintendo Direct starting in August 2024.
Like a Dragon has an enormous number of radically diverse spinoff games in addition to its mainstream games. Two PlayStation Portable exclusive games, Kurohyō: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsho (2010) and Kurohyō 2: Ryu ga Gotoku Ashura Hen (2012), feature Tatsuya Ukyo, a brand-new character. Takayuki Yagami, a lawyer turned investigator who is looking into peculiar killings in Kamurocho, is another new character in Judgment (2018) and Lost Judgment (2021). He has a passing relationship with Kiryu and the others because he comes into contact with Tojo Clan subsidiary families.
Then there is the zombie-infested 2011 offshoot Yakuza: Dead Souls, which has the original cast in a postapocalyptic environment. In 2018, Yakuza Online, a free-to-play trading card game accessible on PC and mobile devices, soft-launched Ichiban Kasuga, the main character of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. With Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (2018), the well-liked Japanese series Fist of the North Star got a Yakuza makeover, incorporating gameplay mechanics and a similar structure to Kiryu’s games.
Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! (2008) and Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! (2014) are two spin-off games that follow historical people as their main protagonists and are set in earlier Japanese times. The latter was published in 2023 as Like a Dragon: Ishin! in the West. Lastly (for the time being, anyway), Yakuza: The Movie and Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name (2023) were both published by RGG. Like a Dragon and tells Kiryu’s story after Yakuza 6: The Song of Life’s tragic conclusion.
Yakuza/Like a Dragon: What Comes Next?
The tale of Like a Dragon is far from ending. After its January release, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth shot to the top of our list of the best games of the year and became the fastest-selling title in the series. Masayoshi Yokoyama, the director of the game series, has revealed that a new game is being worked on. The next game is officially confirmed to be Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which will launch on February 28, 2025, after being unveiled at the Tokyo Games Show on September 20. Fans would be “surprised” by the new news, as RGG had predicted, and it was most definitely not incorrect.
Soon after the pivotal battle on Nele Island from Infinite Wealth, Goro Majima appears to be starting his One Piece reign in Hawaii in the future game, which is bringing back real-time brawler gameplay. Another show that is partially based on the original 2005 Yakuza game is a live-action adaptation series that will debut in two parts on Amazon Prime later this year, on October 25 and November 1. Starring as Kiryu is Ryoma Takeuchi (Kamen Rider Drive), and it is directed by Masaharu Take (Netflix’s The Naked Director). “It is enough for me; the presentation is faithful to the games, and my performance was faithful to Kiryu,” stated the Sega game makers. Takeuchi said in July to IGN.
