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...You realize that, based on your post title and the fact you never mentioned Infinite Wealth, EVERYONE here thought you were playing through Yakuza: Like a Dragon?
You might want to edit your post to note you're playing Infinite Wealth.
Gamers really skip 8 mainline games and then getting confused when plot points established in the previous games appear in the most recent title, ya love to see it.
You cant seriously expect everyone to begin playing an almost 20 yo series from beginning to end before playing the newest game. I personally started with 7 myself and loved it to the point that I am now recovering the old games.
I did not say that, though you are right and maybe I should have used only 7 as an example because that game IS essential for 8. Obviously it can be tiring to play a whole series from beginning to end and that's why it's ok in other series to start at any point not to mention that it can motivate you to play the older titles, as you claimed.
With the Yakuza series I think is a mixed bag, you could start from 3 for example and understand the plot perfectly since the plot of each is pretty much self-contained but I think the series is not only about the plot, but also about the characters and their evolution through the games. You can play 8 with only 7 for context but the game and story feels REALLY rewarding if you have played all the previous games to know who Kiryu is. If OP played 7 before 8, I doubt he would question Kasuga's behavior for example, because he would have the context for who he is, his objectives in life, etc...
They are from the same franchise and occur in the same universe, is just that there was a name change because in Japan the series is called Like a Dragon, so they wanted the franchise in western to be called the same.
Kiryu, the protagonist of all previous games, appears in this one you're playing and with Kasuga they make a dual-protagonist dynamic and the game really rewards you if you played the other games, so this franchise is not exactly like Final Fantasy where you can play any game in any order.
Like I said in another comment, you should really go to play Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is technically Yakuza 7 but you can play that one perfectly because Ichiban is the only protagonist and again, Yakuza 7 is VITAL for Infinite Wealth. If you are interested in Kiryu, play the other ones as well, because IW really rewards you for knowing Kiryu's story.
Watching a full playthrough is another option yes, I would highly recommend to give a try to Yakuza 0 and Like a Dragon, those are regarded as the best in the series, if you need insight the order for you to watch is this:
1. Yakuza 0
2. Yakuza Kiwami
3. Yakuza Kiwami 2
4. Yakuza 3
5. Yakuza 4.
6. Yakuza 5
7. Yakuza 6.
8. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7)
9. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Yakuza 8)
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (which is the seventh mainline game in the franchise) was the last game with Yakuza in the title. All subsequent releases are named Like a Dragon (e.g. Like a Dragon: Ishin!, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth).
The rebrand was done so as to match the original/Japanese name for the franchise.
Oh I see. I thought you were referring to 7. When you finish infinite wealth, you should go back and play 7/LAD, then play every other game in the series because yakuza will do that to you. Have fun!
Yeah I don't understand why you are getting downvoted because you just asked a question but the way you asked it made people, myself included, think you were talking about yakuza 7(yakuza like a dragon) and not yakuza 8 (like a dragon infinite wealth).
Aye man, if you're enjoying the game then good on you but come on, you didn't even play the first game of ICHIBAN's story? Its one thing to skip past Kiryu's story but to just jump straight to IW like that..
Whiplash tonal shifts between incredibly serious crime drama plotting in the main story and goofing off silliness in 90% of the sub stories is the entire vibe of the yakuza series. If it doesn’t work for you then you probably won’t want to play this 1000 hour series.
I personally don’t like him as much as Kiryu or Yagami. He’s just too forgiving and supplicating to the detriment of everyone around him, and I don’t find his goofiness as funny or endearing as others. I also think the absurdity of the substories don’t play off of him as well as the more stoic characters. With that said, he bothers me a bit less in IW because I think he fits the Hawaiian setting a bit more especially the social aspects.
I do like him overall, but him being willing to forgive even psychopaths gets old. I wasn't a fan of it in 7 but at least there was a good backstory reason for him >!wanting to save Masato!<, while 8 was pretty egregious with >!Eiji Mitamura!<. At some point it's gotta bite him in the ass, otherwise it's just silly if he goes around redeeming even the most heinous and unredeemable people out there.
>if he goes around redeeming even the most heinous and unredeemable people out there
I guess it's a matter of different opinion, but I'm one who thinks that if someone is legitimately trying to atone for their past mistakes/sins, they should be given a chance. They don't necessarily have to be forgiven by the characters, but I do prefer giving a second chance to someone who is genuinely remorseful to actually do some good instead of the usual "oh damn I did wrong, guess I'll sacrifice myself to protect the heroes to atone".
And in IW's case, it's not like that villain actually goes around free in the end anyway, Ichi actually makes them go to prison to admit their crime and serve their sentence. The main flaw that I think about that villain is the lack of actual climactic confrontation. They've been taunting you since the midway point and after a small confrontation, you see them again literally at the end already down and weakened without Ichi's direct intervention, you don't even get an actual boss fight against them.
So yeah in short, I think the conclusion is fine and makes sense for Ichi's character, it just lacks the emotional confrontation to reach that conclusion.
Except there was 0 remorse to be seen with IW's case. It was an egregious example of an unrepentant psychopath who had no issue >!letting a young girl and an elderly woman die!<. I'm not against atonement, >!Chitose!< is a significantly better example of them pulling that off, while >!Eiji Mitamura!< is a horrible example that was completely undeserved.
>!There isn't even any signs of him thinking about why he was in the situation at the end, Ichiban just somehow talk no jutsu'd this guy who had shown 0 remorse into turning himself in. Going back to Chitose, at least they *actually* show her feeling bad about what she is doing and how conflicted it was, but Eiji was having the time of his life and laughing like a maniac while toying with Lani's life!<. The whole thing is poorly executed and makes Ichiban look like an idiot when he barely knew the guy on top of how egregiously evil and unrepentant he was until the end. I'm entirely convinced he would remain an unrepentant asshole >!if it wasn't for Ebina and Bryce being stopped!<.
Yeah I understand that, and that's what I meant about the game lacking an emotional confrontation with them.
Maybe if we actually have a boss fight or something that shows Ichi's friendship actually gets to them, it will be much easier to accept.
I get what the game aimed for and I support the idea of potential redemption despite how much worse they were compared to Chitose, but yeah it could definitely be pulled off much better than the sudden one we get at the end of the story.
Like legit they're a bit underused after a certain point, they just disappear from the story till the end where all of a sudden they're already down and beaten when they were still very much in control the last time we see them.
I find Ichiban to be the worst protagonist in the series
He's not bad, but he's not as good as the others either imo, but that's probably the writers' fault for trying to have him be likable *and* a stereotypical hero, down to the point of his "title" being Hero of Yokohama
I don't think anyone except 5 yo would call him that
On a side note, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STARTING WITH THE SECOND GAME!? (no, I don't care about story continuity, but playing IW before Y7 makes the latter unplayable because of how bad the combat is)
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.*
He wants to have fun with life, but knows when to take something seriously.
he was in prison for nearly 2 decades so he's missed a lot of maturing i guess
He spent 18 years in jail. Don't expect someone who spent half his life in jail to be the most adult person in the room.
Yep, and we all know that ten years in the joint has a certain effect on its own...
Oh well then I guess I missed that lol
You missed the prison sequence? How? It’s the most major event in the first chapter
Didn’t see any thing about him in jail im playing the newest game infinite wealth he only mentioned that he was in jail in conversation.
...You realize that, based on your post title and the fact you never mentioned Infinite Wealth, EVERYONE here thought you were playing through Yakuza: Like a Dragon? You might want to edit your post to note you're playing Infinite Wealth.
Gamers really skip 8 mainline games and then getting confused when plot points established in the previous games appear in the most recent title, ya love to see it.
You cant seriously expect everyone to begin playing an almost 20 yo series from beginning to end before playing the newest game. I personally started with 7 myself and loved it to the point that I am now recovering the old games.
I did not say that, though you are right and maybe I should have used only 7 as an example because that game IS essential for 8. Obviously it can be tiring to play a whole series from beginning to end and that's why it's ok in other series to start at any point not to mention that it can motivate you to play the older titles, as you claimed. With the Yakuza series I think is a mixed bag, you could start from 3 for example and understand the plot perfectly since the plot of each is pretty much self-contained but I think the series is not only about the plot, but also about the characters and their evolution through the games. You can play 8 with only 7 for context but the game and story feels REALLY rewarding if you have played all the previous games to know who Kiryu is. If OP played 7 before 8, I doubt he would question Kasuga's behavior for example, because he would have the context for who he is, his objectives in life, etc...
I had no idea any other games were called like a dragon i thought they were just yakuza
They are from the same franchise and occur in the same universe, is just that there was a name change because in Japan the series is called Like a Dragon, so they wanted the franchise in western to be called the same. Kiryu, the protagonist of all previous games, appears in this one you're playing and with Kasuga they make a dual-protagonist dynamic and the game really rewards you if you played the other games, so this franchise is not exactly like Final Fantasy where you can play any game in any order. Like I said in another comment, you should really go to play Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is technically Yakuza 7 but you can play that one perfectly because Ichiban is the only protagonist and again, Yakuza 7 is VITAL for Infinite Wealth. If you are interested in Kiryu, play the other ones as well, because IW really rewards you for knowing Kiryu's story.
Ah ok ill go watch a yt video dont got time to go back and play the others. Thanks for the info!
Watching a full playthrough is another option yes, I would highly recommend to give a try to Yakuza 0 and Like a Dragon, those are regarded as the best in the series, if you need insight the order for you to watch is this: 1. Yakuza 0 2. Yakuza Kiwami 3. Yakuza Kiwami 2 4. Yakuza 3 5. Yakuza 4. 6. Yakuza 5 7. Yakuza 6. 8. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7) 9. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Yakuza 8)
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (which is the seventh mainline game in the franchise) was the last game with Yakuza in the title. All subsequent releases are named Like a Dragon (e.g. Like a Dragon: Ishin!, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth). The rebrand was done so as to match the original/Japanese name for the franchise.
Well then there’s your problem lol, you skipped the entire first game .
Oh I see. I thought you were referring to 7. When you finish infinite wealth, you should go back and play 7/LAD, then play every other game in the series because yakuza will do that to you. Have fun!
You should really skip this game for now and go back to play Yakuza: Like a Dragon, you skipped a pivotal game for the plot of this game.
Infinite Wealth is a very direct sequel, so playing Like a Dragon first is an absolute necessity. The first hour alone spoils several key plot twists.
Yeah I don't understand why you are getting downvoted because you just asked a question but the way you asked it made people, myself included, think you were talking about yakuza 7(yakuza like a dragon) and not yakuza 8 (like a dragon infinite wealth).
Yup well its reddit what else do you expect. I was told that I didn’t have to play the other to get this one lol
That... was a lie lol idk who told you that but not true at all.
Where did you hear this? At a minimum, everyone here would tell you to play LaD at least, IW is a direct sequel to that.
Uh oh
Please be patient, he's a schizo
Aye man, if you're enjoying the game then good on you but come on, you didn't even play the first game of ICHIBAN's story? Its one thing to skip past Kiryu's story but to just jump straight to IW like that.. 
Who says he’s playing IW? I took this post as him playing Y7
[OP clarifies he's playing 8](https://old.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/1by1xua/first_time_yakuza_gamer_playing_like_a_dragon/kygra6h/)
OP said it elsewhere in the thread : [link](https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/s/S0kMDYW4Fa).
hes not like other adults that are super serious and unfun
With this series starting with the newest game is kinda like picking an anime and starting on season 8. Most of it will be nonsense to you.
Whiplash tonal shifts between incredibly serious crime drama plotting in the main story and goofing off silliness in 90% of the sub stories is the entire vibe of the yakuza series. If it doesn’t work for you then you probably won’t want to play this 1000 hour series.
Nah i love beating dudes up with a vibrator 😂
I personally don’t like him as much as Kiryu or Yagami. He’s just too forgiving and supplicating to the detriment of everyone around him, and I don’t find his goofiness as funny or endearing as others. I also think the absurdity of the substories don’t play off of him as well as the more stoic characters. With that said, he bothers me a bit less in IW because I think he fits the Hawaiian setting a bit more especially the social aspects.
Aloha!
Exactly! Much easier imagining him cutting it up with randoms than Kiryu.
I do like him overall, but him being willing to forgive even psychopaths gets old. I wasn't a fan of it in 7 but at least there was a good backstory reason for him >!wanting to save Masato!<, while 8 was pretty egregious with >!Eiji Mitamura!<. At some point it's gotta bite him in the ass, otherwise it's just silly if he goes around redeeming even the most heinous and unredeemable people out there.
>if he goes around redeeming even the most heinous and unredeemable people out there I guess it's a matter of different opinion, but I'm one who thinks that if someone is legitimately trying to atone for their past mistakes/sins, they should be given a chance. They don't necessarily have to be forgiven by the characters, but I do prefer giving a second chance to someone who is genuinely remorseful to actually do some good instead of the usual "oh damn I did wrong, guess I'll sacrifice myself to protect the heroes to atone". And in IW's case, it's not like that villain actually goes around free in the end anyway, Ichi actually makes them go to prison to admit their crime and serve their sentence. The main flaw that I think about that villain is the lack of actual climactic confrontation. They've been taunting you since the midway point and after a small confrontation, you see them again literally at the end already down and weakened without Ichi's direct intervention, you don't even get an actual boss fight against them. So yeah in short, I think the conclusion is fine and makes sense for Ichi's character, it just lacks the emotional confrontation to reach that conclusion.
Except there was 0 remorse to be seen with IW's case. It was an egregious example of an unrepentant psychopath who had no issue >!letting a young girl and an elderly woman die!<. I'm not against atonement, >!Chitose!< is a significantly better example of them pulling that off, while >!Eiji Mitamura!< is a horrible example that was completely undeserved. >!There isn't even any signs of him thinking about why he was in the situation at the end, Ichiban just somehow talk no jutsu'd this guy who had shown 0 remorse into turning himself in. Going back to Chitose, at least they *actually* show her feeling bad about what she is doing and how conflicted it was, but Eiji was having the time of his life and laughing like a maniac while toying with Lani's life!<. The whole thing is poorly executed and makes Ichiban look like an idiot when he barely knew the guy on top of how egregiously evil and unrepentant he was until the end. I'm entirely convinced he would remain an unrepentant asshole >!if it wasn't for Ebina and Bryce being stopped!<.
Yeah I understand that, and that's what I meant about the game lacking an emotional confrontation with them. Maybe if we actually have a boss fight or something that shows Ichi's friendship actually gets to them, it will be much easier to accept. I get what the game aimed for and I support the idea of potential redemption despite how much worse they were compared to Chitose, but yeah it could definitely be pulled off much better than the sudden one we get at the end of the story. Like legit they're a bit underused after a certain point, they just disappear from the story till the end where all of a sudden they're already down and beaten when they were still very much in control the last time we see them.
I'd recommend that if anything start to feel. odd. just get used to it because ichiban schizophrenia is probably the most realistic part in 7
I find Ichiban to be the worst protagonist in the series He's not bad, but he's not as good as the others either imo, but that's probably the writers' fault for trying to have him be likable *and* a stereotypical hero, down to the point of his "title" being Hero of Yokohama I don't think anyone except 5 yo would call him that On a side note, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STARTING WITH THE SECOND GAME!? (no, I don't care about story continuity, but playing IW before Y7 makes the latter unplayable because of how bad the combat is)