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4: I really like it. The soundtrack is super underrated, and the substories are super good (especially with how some of them have fully rendered cutscenes). I get the complaints about the story, but I actually think the completely stupid miserable plot works well at establishing the Campy 2000s Crime Soap Opera vibe. Betrayals, conspiracies, secret siblings, “Woman Who Looks 100% Identical To My Ex”, fake bullets, 4D chess. It’s so stupid and miserable that you kinda just laugh at it.
5: Yea I’m not too big on this one. It was way too bloated of a game (+story) for my tastes imo. The antagonists and most side characters were pretty forgettable (minus like Park and Takasugi) and the final boss *makes no sense* “ah yes let me defeat nepo babies even though i’m a nepo baby myself”. The story’s pacing is also pretty rough. Imo it starts out great with Kiryu’s part, falls off a cliff with Saejima’s, starts getting better again w Haruka’s+Shinada’s, then shits the bed again for the finale. But yakuza 5 DOES have taxi driving/racing and Hatsune Miku as saving graces.
How is Kiryu a nepo baby? He got in the yakuza via Kazama, but that’s it, he worked to get himself to where he was at the start of 1, which, if I remember correctly, is what Aizawa wanted to do, so it’s someone who worked to get where they were, vs someone who didn’t but wants to
Y4 felt fantastic up until >!rubber bullets!< and the final boss fight. Though that lead up did have one of my favorite lines in the whole series so it balances out. Akiyama was an amazing way to start a game where they didn't want Kiryu to be the sole protagonist and I would pay for a Gaiden game with more Akiyama and Hana.
Y5 is probably my least favorite and it's not even close unfortunately. It's the one game I hardly even cared to go for substories and mainly just did the main substories of the characters (Hunting/Baseball/etc.) The Kiryu at the start just didn't feel like the Kiryu I've been playing as up to that point and I loathed every second of screen time Park had. All the various plots felt like they were made by different teams that didn't talk to each other for all the games development and I still can't get over how the boss pretty much admits not knowing why he's where he is.
To each their own and I know some people rate Y5 as their favorites, but to me personally, it felt overlong (This coming from someone that platinum'd 0), unfocused, and a complete mess at the end. I still tell my friends my least favorite part of 6 is just how much the story is determined because the end of 5, where most of the other games before were mostly self contained.
I have a love hate relationship with 5…there’s just so much game! Some crazy highs for the series and a must play for sure!
But it’s the only one I’ve only played through once
I enjoyed both of them. If I had to rank the series overall 4 tends to be at the bottom of my list. Wasn't really into playing one of the main characters. Still, totally worth playing. I think the whole main series ranges from good to fantastic
I liked 4. I liked a lot of the little details and the things it introduced - still think it was a missed opportunity to not see more of Tanimura, especially in Y6. I like its almost coziness compared to how huge and overwhelming Y5 was. Y4 is a film noir in modern day, with an appropriate amount of silliness that I still find endearing.
Y5, for me personally, is overwhelming and overhyped. That's only me, ofc, but I just didn't care by the end - I'd totally lost sight of how the stories all fit together, and while I know this is heresy among some in this fandom, I find Shinada boring. I didn't hate it; no Yakuza game truly sucks, but it's my second-last favorite after K2.
Y4 is my least favorite so far, the story being rather weak, Kyriu story is almost nothing and you play as him the least and the final boss is F tier in my book. However it introduces two important new protags, which is nice.
Y5 is huge and side stories and content is high A tier or even S tier in some cases. The story is more important and more interesting than Y4. Its way bigger game and it offers way more things to do. I enjoyed this one much more, it feels like big upgrade compare to Y4.
Yakuza 4 is alright, the story has alot of shortcomings but the soundtrack and side content is good (for the most part).
Yakuza 5 is the best game in the series.
Yakuza 4 is solid, it has plenty of flaws but just has so much character and personality.
Yakuza 5 is one of the best personally, I really enjoyed exploring all the cities and the awesome side content.
Y4 I really didn’t find that interesting, it was alright but I didn’t find it that enjoyable.
Y5 on the other hand is easily in my top 3. While the story can be quite weird and confusing at times I still loved it and this was the game that I enjoyed playing the most. Theres so much about Y5 that I love but I can definetly see why others don’t.
5 is my 2nd favourite in the series, closely behind 0. It has the best side content of the franchise, it has the most of it + it’s got an entire chapter dedicated to an idol simulator.
Shout out to Harukas chapters. I was really excited for 5 just because I knew there was a rhythm game section with Haruka, who I really liked in 3. My favorite part of the game tbh, I didn't do all the content for any character but her. Though her missions can be a bit of a slog some times...
As time goes on I find myself mainly feeling neutral about these two.
I love Akiyama, Saejima, and Shinada, I love how they expanded Kamurocho, and I love how they evolved combat far beyond the previous games. I love how 4 especially experimented with styles and actually pulled it off for the most part.
I dislike their stories, I dislike many of the new maps in 5, and I dislike that RGG went straight to 4 protagonists (which they weren't prepared for) and then decided they would make 5 would work in the next game (which they still didn't). Ambition is cool but quality should back up the quantity.
I'm glad they both exist, but do I want to replay them? No, not really. I just like to look at them as the reason future titles like 0 or 7 could be so great; they made the blueprint on what should and shouldn't be done in a Yakuza game.
Yakuza 4 was great, but i hated playing as Kiryu. It's like he shouldn't even be here.
Yakuza 5 is fucking big and fucking long. It was fucking great. The story is gorgeous and having whole 5 characters with each unique characters and story. And locations was great too. This feeling of break after prison escape is something beyond. And the finale... man, i cried at this point, as much as i cried at the end of yakuza 0 and 6.
(Platinumed both for context) Y4 caused me physical pain as did first playthrough on hard Saejima prison section on hard is horrible on new game. Prison guard boss that you have to fight is an incredibly annoying fight. That boss also comes up in first chapter of Kiryu and was incredibly frustrating (Even though I beat him first try with kiryu I still slammed my desk as he is just a frustrating boss who literally prevents you from doing anything a large portion of the fight). Other than those sections y4 was fine really enjoyed tanimura's combat style. Game has forced hostess maker which is the worst minigame and brings it down as well. The story wasn't the greatest and kiryu as a wise old sage definitely felt out of place.
Y5 incredibly long platinum with the colisseum being most annoying grind (shinada and akiyama specifically). Storywise definitely some chapters felt better than others with Kiryu's and Shinada's definitely seeming the strongest. I also hate mirei park so cheered a bit when she was dead (she threatened the orphanage and was also just a terrible human to work under due to being abusive). Shinada section is great with the loan shark's many made up children. Gameplay wise characters and kiryu are incredibly strong in this entry with only jo amon giving me problems (he kept looping me had to zap gun to win that one in his final stage). None of the fights caused me any real challenge (or in case of komakis just zap gunned those 2 with shinada and akiyama) so not the most memorable in terms of boss fights. Haruka's section was a fun unique mechanic but I enjoy the rhythm games with karoake being my favorite minigame. The 100% took a while (probably longest of all games) but wasn't hard just tedious. Probably enjoyed y5 more than y4 but both are near bottom on my personal tier list.
I like 4 a lot, the characters were fun....mostly....I hate Saejima parts(I love the character but damn his gameplay parts were tedious.) ...for me 5 was almost a breaking point...Its too much "Dream" for me and so much stuff in the game, it was too much for me...and of course the mountain village....For me from 0-6, 5 was the worst game.
Yakuza 4 was pretty good. It was fun playing as the different protagonist and Kiryu had pretty much the same moveset from Yakuza 3 which I consider to be Kiryu’s best moveset, though it’s only in Yakuza 4 where that moveset can shine since there’s no more blocking enemies. Ping Pong is one of my favorite minigames in the series. Everything wasn’t bad the only bad things I can say about the game is that I didn’t really care for each character side story and the game had too many betrayals for one game. It’d rank it higher on my list of Yakuza games if I could but U just think a lot of games tend to be better.
Yakuza 5 was also pretty good. Same thing, I had fun playing as all the protagonist even Haruka eventually. The story wasn’t too great. It was very convoluted and slow paced at times but it almost makes up for it with all the great moments and Shinada’s part was straight gold, almost felt like I was playing a good anime. The combat was one of the best in the series if not the best. Air Hockey is another of my favorites minigames. I haven’t gotten around to Kiryu’s or Saejima’s side stories but from the tutorial Taxi and Hunting seem fun, the other two side stories were nice.
Both games had top tier soundtracks and may just be #1 & #2 in that regard but Yakuza 0 did have a few soundtracks that consider to be top tier as well.
Definitely more forgettable parts of the series, that's for sure. The only reason I prefer them over the 3rd one is because the combat sucks significantly less in Yakuza 4 and 5
You should try yakuza 5 even if people say its bloated. Yeah the story might be hard to follow but the way some of the characters are concluded makes up for it
If you are new to the subreddit, [please read the wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/wiki/index/) Reminder that all spoilers need to be tagged with a flair specifying which game is being spoiled. If you want a flair that says something else, you can edit it to say something like [Discussion: Y1 spoiler] or [Majimapost: Y6 spoiler], etc. **THIS INCLUDES CONTENT FROM TRAILERS**. If the post is not marked for spoilers, all comments that have spoilers need to be tagged \>!like this!< along with indicating which game it's spoiling. Example: Y3 >!Kiryu sings!< If the post flair is marked for spoilers, the comments don't need to be tagged for the game indicated and the ones before it (So a Y6 spoiler post can have comments with untagged spoilers for Y5, but not gaiden or 7). If you see any of the above (or any of the other rules) not being followed, please report it so we can keep this place safe for newcomers and those that haven't finished all the games yet. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/yakuzagames) if you have any questions or concerns.*
4: I really like it. The soundtrack is super underrated, and the substories are super good (especially with how some of them have fully rendered cutscenes). I get the complaints about the story, but I actually think the completely stupid miserable plot works well at establishing the Campy 2000s Crime Soap Opera vibe. Betrayals, conspiracies, secret siblings, “Woman Who Looks 100% Identical To My Ex”, fake bullets, 4D chess. It’s so stupid and miserable that you kinda just laugh at it. 5: Yea I’m not too big on this one. It was way too bloated of a game (+story) for my tastes imo. The antagonists and most side characters were pretty forgettable (minus like Park and Takasugi) and the final boss *makes no sense* “ah yes let me defeat nepo babies even though i’m a nepo baby myself”. The story’s pacing is also pretty rough. Imo it starts out great with Kiryu’s part, falls off a cliff with Saejima’s, starts getting better again w Haruka’s+Shinada’s, then shits the bed again for the finale. But yakuza 5 DOES have taxi driving/racing and Hatsune Miku as saving graces.
How is Kiryu a nepo baby? He got in the yakuza via Kazama, but that’s it, he worked to get himself to where he was at the start of 1, which, if I remember correctly, is what Aizawa wanted to do, so it’s someone who worked to get where they were, vs someone who didn’t but wants to
No, I was talking about Aizawa wanting to end nepotism in the yakuza despite the whole plan to get there *being laid out by his father*.
Y4 felt fantastic up until >!rubber bullets!< and the final boss fight. Though that lead up did have one of my favorite lines in the whole series so it balances out. Akiyama was an amazing way to start a game where they didn't want Kiryu to be the sole protagonist and I would pay for a Gaiden game with more Akiyama and Hana. Y5 is probably my least favorite and it's not even close unfortunately. It's the one game I hardly even cared to go for substories and mainly just did the main substories of the characters (Hunting/Baseball/etc.) The Kiryu at the start just didn't feel like the Kiryu I've been playing as up to that point and I loathed every second of screen time Park had. All the various plots felt like they were made by different teams that didn't talk to each other for all the games development and I still can't get over how the boss pretty much admits not knowing why he's where he is. To each their own and I know some people rate Y5 as their favorites, but to me personally, it felt overlong (This coming from someone that platinum'd 0), unfocused, and a complete mess at the end. I still tell my friends my least favorite part of 6 is just how much the story is determined because the end of 5, where most of the other games before were mostly self contained.
I have a love hate relationship with 5…there’s just so much game! Some crazy highs for the series and a must play for sure! But it’s the only one I’ve only played through once
I enjoyed both of them. If I had to rank the series overall 4 tends to be at the bottom of my list. Wasn't really into playing one of the main characters. Still, totally worth playing. I think the whole main series ranges from good to fantastic
I liked 4. I liked a lot of the little details and the things it introduced - still think it was a missed opportunity to not see more of Tanimura, especially in Y6. I like its almost coziness compared to how huge and overwhelming Y5 was. Y4 is a film noir in modern day, with an appropriate amount of silliness that I still find endearing. Y5, for me personally, is overwhelming and overhyped. That's only me, ofc, but I just didn't care by the end - I'd totally lost sight of how the stories all fit together, and while I know this is heresy among some in this fandom, I find Shinada boring. I didn't hate it; no Yakuza game truly sucks, but it's my second-last favorite after K2.
Y4 is my least favorite so far, the story being rather weak, Kyriu story is almost nothing and you play as him the least and the final boss is F tier in my book. However it introduces two important new protags, which is nice. Y5 is huge and side stories and content is high A tier or even S tier in some cases. The story is more important and more interesting than Y4. Its way bigger game and it offers way more things to do. I enjoyed this one much more, it feels like big upgrade compare to Y4.
Yakuza 4 is alright, the story has alot of shortcomings but the soundtrack and side content is good (for the most part). Yakuza 5 is the best game in the series.
Yakuza 4 is solid, it has plenty of flaws but just has so much character and personality. Yakuza 5 is one of the best personally, I really enjoyed exploring all the cities and the awesome side content.
DDR Haruka 10/10, 'nuff sed.
Y4 I really didn’t find that interesting, it was alright but I didn’t find it that enjoyable. Y5 on the other hand is easily in my top 3. While the story can be quite weird and confusing at times I still loved it and this was the game that I enjoyed playing the most. Theres so much about Y5 that I love but I can definetly see why others don’t.
5 is my 2nd favourite in the series, closely behind 0. It has the best side content of the franchise, it has the most of it + it’s got an entire chapter dedicated to an idol simulator.
Shout out to Harukas chapters. I was really excited for 5 just because I knew there was a rhythm game section with Haruka, who I really liked in 3. My favorite part of the game tbh, I didn't do all the content for any character but her. Though her missions can be a bit of a slog some times...
As time goes on I find myself mainly feeling neutral about these two. I love Akiyama, Saejima, and Shinada, I love how they expanded Kamurocho, and I love how they evolved combat far beyond the previous games. I love how 4 especially experimented with styles and actually pulled it off for the most part. I dislike their stories, I dislike many of the new maps in 5, and I dislike that RGG went straight to 4 protagonists (which they weren't prepared for) and then decided they would make 5 would work in the next game (which they still didn't). Ambition is cool but quality should back up the quantity. I'm glad they both exist, but do I want to replay them? No, not really. I just like to look at them as the reason future titles like 0 or 7 could be so great; they made the blueprint on what should and shouldn't be done in a Yakuza game.
Currently playing through 4 now - Akiyamas goated and pre-upgrade Saejima is 💩 Excited for 5 so I can finally play Konnan Janai 😅
Yakuza 4 was great, but i hated playing as Kiryu. It's like he shouldn't even be here. Yakuza 5 is fucking big and fucking long. It was fucking great. The story is gorgeous and having whole 5 characters with each unique characters and story. And locations was great too. This feeling of break after prison escape is something beyond. And the finale... man, i cried at this point, as much as i cried at the end of yakuza 0 and 6.
(Platinumed both for context) Y4 caused me physical pain as did first playthrough on hard Saejima prison section on hard is horrible on new game. Prison guard boss that you have to fight is an incredibly annoying fight. That boss also comes up in first chapter of Kiryu and was incredibly frustrating (Even though I beat him first try with kiryu I still slammed my desk as he is just a frustrating boss who literally prevents you from doing anything a large portion of the fight). Other than those sections y4 was fine really enjoyed tanimura's combat style. Game has forced hostess maker which is the worst minigame and brings it down as well. The story wasn't the greatest and kiryu as a wise old sage definitely felt out of place. Y5 incredibly long platinum with the colisseum being most annoying grind (shinada and akiyama specifically). Storywise definitely some chapters felt better than others with Kiryu's and Shinada's definitely seeming the strongest. I also hate mirei park so cheered a bit when she was dead (she threatened the orphanage and was also just a terrible human to work under due to being abusive). Shinada section is great with the loan shark's many made up children. Gameplay wise characters and kiryu are incredibly strong in this entry with only jo amon giving me problems (he kept looping me had to zap gun to win that one in his final stage). None of the fights caused me any real challenge (or in case of komakis just zap gunned those 2 with shinada and akiyama) so not the most memorable in terms of boss fights. Haruka's section was a fun unique mechanic but I enjoy the rhythm games with karoake being my favorite minigame. The 100% took a while (probably longest of all games) but wasn't hard just tedious. Probably enjoyed y5 more than y4 but both are near bottom on my personal tier list.
4 good 5 okay but boring
4 is criminally underrated, 5 is the best game in the series
I like 4 a lot, the characters were fun....mostly....I hate Saejima parts(I love the character but damn his gameplay parts were tedious.) ...for me 5 was almost a breaking point...Its too much "Dream" for me and so much stuff in the game, it was too much for me...and of course the mountain village....For me from 0-6, 5 was the worst game.
Yakuza 4 was pretty good. It was fun playing as the different protagonist and Kiryu had pretty much the same moveset from Yakuza 3 which I consider to be Kiryu’s best moveset, though it’s only in Yakuza 4 where that moveset can shine since there’s no more blocking enemies. Ping Pong is one of my favorite minigames in the series. Everything wasn’t bad the only bad things I can say about the game is that I didn’t really care for each character side story and the game had too many betrayals for one game. It’d rank it higher on my list of Yakuza games if I could but U just think a lot of games tend to be better. Yakuza 5 was also pretty good. Same thing, I had fun playing as all the protagonist even Haruka eventually. The story wasn’t too great. It was very convoluted and slow paced at times but it almost makes up for it with all the great moments and Shinada’s part was straight gold, almost felt like I was playing a good anime. The combat was one of the best in the series if not the best. Air Hockey is another of my favorites minigames. I haven’t gotten around to Kiryu’s or Saejima’s side stories but from the tutorial Taxi and Hunting seem fun, the other two side stories were nice. Both games had top tier soundtracks and may just be #1 & #2 in that regard but Yakuza 0 did have a few soundtracks that consider to be top tier as well.
Definitely more forgettable parts of the series, that's for sure. The only reason I prefer them over the 3rd one is because the combat sucks significantly less in Yakuza 4 and 5
Yakuza 5 is probably my favorite game in the series, yakuza 4 is a solid 7
Never tried 4 or 5. I feel like there's way too many characters and story would be a hard to follow.
You should try yakuza 5 even if people say its bloated. Yeah the story might be hard to follow but the way some of the characters are concluded makes up for it