Summary
On this week’s TheGamer roundtable, we asked the most important question during this illustriousLike a Dragon Week: WhichLike a Dragongame should you start with? Answering that question, we had Guides Lead Meg Pelliccio, Features Lead Jade King, and myself, all trying to convince Features Editor and Senior Producer Eric Switzer, who has never yakked an uza in his life. you may check out the video above for our full debate or read on for a summary.
Meg and Jade are OG superfans from way before the Like a Dragon series (back then known as Yakuza) gained any cultural foothold in the West, while I’m a relative newcomer, starting when Ichiban did withYakuza: Like a Dragon. Meg put forward Yakuza Kiwami (a remake of the first game released), Jade put forward Yakuza 0 (the first game chronologically), and I went for my own starting point, Yakuza: Like a Dragon (the start of a new era).
Why Should You Start With Yakuza Kiwami?
The argument Meg puts forward is simple, yet sound. Kiwami is the first game, therefore you should start with it. Yes, technically Kiwami itself is not the actual first game released, but as a remake of the first game, it’s a more modernised and less clunky version of the narrative experience. You start reading a book on the first page, and therefore, you should start Like a Dragon with Kiwami.
As well as the narrative reasons to see the story in the order it was intended, it also serves as an introduction to a world of high concepts and low morals - every subsequent game expects some knowledge of the adventure you’re in for, but Kiwami is the first dance for everyone. Bonus points: it has a great introduction to Majima, too.
Why Should You Start With Yakuza 0?
Jade’s argument is not only similarly simple and similarly sound, it’s similarly similar. While Meg asks you to start at book one, page one, Jade asks you to start at a book later in the series that is actually a prologue for the whole journey. To see the story in order, 0 is the starting point.
But it’s not just from narrative linearity that 0 is a good choice. It has a unique atmosphere thanks to being more of a period piece than a reflection of modern society, and it lets its characters off the leash even more than usual, so if you’re into the madcap adventures you’ve heard about and want some ‘80s flavoured dance moves, 0 throws you into the thick of it
While 0 is first chronologically, it was written after several character arcs have been established, and thus, it plays some characters and incidents for and against type with this knowledge. As a result, there are moments in 0 that are supposed to be special for players that don’t mean much to newcomers. However, because the Like a Dragon series is such a tangled web, you also get the reverse - if you do start with 0, then when Kiwami starters meet characters for the first time, you already know their backstory, and that can make a moment that means little to other players more special to you.
Why Should You Start With Yakuza: Like a Dragon?
My argument is based a little less on the overall order. Yakuza: Like a Dragon was the first game I played, and it made me fall in love with the series, so I know it can work for other people too. With a new protagonist, you don’t feel as lost and instead feel like you’re being ushered into a vibrant world you’ve heard so much about. Sure, you don’t get all the references, but it’s a pleasure just to be here.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is also more modern and polished, and while we typically think of turn-based games as being more dated, Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s is highly intuitive and still feels dynamic. It’s less overwhelming than the battle stances of Kiryu’s games and still blends movement and action well by letting you grab environmental objects. This is built on further inInfinite Wealth, the natural destination after Like a Dragon has won your heart, which is arguably the apex of the entire series.
After we’d all put forward our points, it was clear there was something of an ideological divide. Kiwami and 0 both represent jumping off points - these are the games to play if you intend on playing through every other game in the series afterwards. You either start with Kiwami and play through it in release order as intended, or you start at 0 and play through in chronological order. It’s a choice betweenThe Phantom Menace and A New Hope.
The problem is, it’s difficult to plan for that. If you don’t like Kiwami or 0, then regardless of how great your friends say the series is or whatever else compelled you to start, you’re unlikely to pick up any of the others, rendering the whole thing pointless. Yakuza: Like a Dragon avoids that issue by introducing Ichiban as it offers a clean break. The only game after that is Infinite Wealth, and you’re all caught up.
Of course, the flipside to this is there are some major narrative moments in Ichiban’s games that lose their weight when you don’t understand the context, and as Infinite Wealth explores a lot of Kiryu’s memories, some major plot beats are recited for you blow by blow. Choosing to start with Like a Dragon means you’ve got a duo of excellent games ahead of you, and you’re not even playing it to get to Infinite Wealth, it’s just a great starting point in its own right. But unlike the other two, it makes it much harder to return to where it all began and see it all.
And really, that is the solution. Just as it was when we debatedthe best Pokemon game to start with, the right answer is to go back in time and fall in love with these games as a kid. Failing that, try Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Like a Dragon Week
Like a Dragon Week is TheGamer’s celebration of all things Yakuza/Like a Dragon, with features, interviews, and opinions on Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s massively popular series of action-adventue brawlers.
