What order to play the Yakuza / Like a Dragon games in

There are plenty of Yakuza / Like a Dragon games, but what’s the best order to play them in? Truly, you can play them in whatever order you want, but the story is going to get incredibly confusing, if you just pick a random game and go from there. In the past, I wrote a guide on where players should start, because there are two excellent starting points, depending on which protagonist you prefer to play as.

However, the best overall order to play the Yakuza games is still going to always start with Kiryu Kazuma. What changes is what order you play them in. Either way, you’ll still come to the wacky, but emotionally charged adventures of Kasuga Ichiban. Here’s our take on the best order to play the Yakuza / Like a Dragon games in.

---

What is the best order to play the Yakuza / Like a Dragon games in?

When considering what order to play the Yakuza games in, there are a couple of things you really have to consider. While I do think 7, 8, 0-6 is also valid (starting with Kasuga and going back to Kiryu), I think that’s more for people who prefer turn-based RPGs, and want to get their feet wet. Here are the two main options, as far as I can see.

There are a few starts, and we've highlighted what we think the best are (Image via SEGA)

• Chronological
• Alternate/Retail Release

This doesn’t count any of the side games (Yakuza of the Dead, Isshin!, Kenzan!), nor does it count the incredible Judgment games, or Lost Paradise (Fist of the North Star, but make it Kiryu). Below we’ll go over the play order, and why you should consider it.

The only exception to the side games, is I would recommend playing Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name between Yakuza 6 and 7, to help tell the story of what happened to Kiryu after the events of 6. If you have a PlayStation 3, and want to play something ridiculous, play Yakuza: Dead Souls/Yakuza of the Dead after 4.

---

1) Chronological release order tells the Yakuza / Like a Dragon story in a coherent manner

0 is not only amazing, it's inexpensive, and lets you play as both Majima and Kiryu (Image via SEGA)

Chronological order:

• 0 (or Director’s Cut)
• (Kiwami )1
• (Kiwami) 2
• (Kiwami - when it releases) 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7 (Yakuza: Like a Dragon)
• 8 (Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth)

The Chronological release order focuses on the order in which the story actually takes place. Most of these games take place in the year they were developed/released, with the obvious exception of Yakuza 0. That takes place in the 1980s, and serves as a prequel to the franchise.

It also allowed players to not only control Kiryu Kazuma, but Goro Majima, the currently most-popular character in the series, according to the 2025 fan poll. It sets the stage for many of the events that take place in the first game, and, in a way, helps rationalize the actions of the primary antagonist.

This order is also a sort of time capsule for Japan, going through the decades that this series has existed in. 0-6 all focus on Kiryu Kazuma, though Yakuza 4 and 5 offer quite a few protagonists to play throughout the run time. Some fans were disappointed by this, but that’s another discussion for another day.

Then, when you get to the more modern titles, Kiryu Kazuma is starting to wear down, and we start to see things from the perspective of Kasuga Ichiban, who is now the main protagonist of the series. This order tells the story the way it was meant to be told, and keeps all the events of the franchise in an easy-to-understand chronology.

---

2) Alternate/retail release offers players the order fans originally experienced the games in

Alternatively, you can play retail release, and see the story the way die-hard fans did (Image via SEGA)

Alternate order

• (Kiwami) 1
• (Kiwami) 2
• (Kiwami - when it releases) 3
• 4
• 5
• 0
• 6
• 7 (Yakuza: Like a Dragon)
• 8 (Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth)

If you want to play the game in the order in which they were released, you’ve got a completely different track to go down: retail release order. As seen above, you’d start with Yakuza 1 (or Kiwami 1 if you prefer), all the way up to 5, and then backtrack to 0. 0 dropped for the PlayStation 3 and 4 originally, and then we received Song of Life (Yakuza 6).

Then a few years later, we got the Kasuga Ichiban games, in Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth. I suppose this is more for the purist, who wants to play the games the way the majority of fans do, but I do not personally prefer this order. I think chronological order is the best way, but I can see the appeal of retail release order.

However, one important thing for this order is that it gives players more context when going into 0. You'll be able to watch events happen and go "Oh, hey! So that's when that happened!", and it will feel pretty great. This is the primary version to go this way, from a story perspective.

---

Check out our other Yakuza guides and features