Best Yakuza Games

Why it's here: The best place to start and the best game in the series, full stop. You run 1988 Kamurocho as Kiryu and Sotenbori as Majima, and the money-first progression means every brawl literally pays for your next skill. The side content is the real hook: the cabaret club and real estate ventures are full management systems with their own casts, not filler, and the substory list is the strongest in the series. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is grind-heavy skill progression late on. Clear it fully anyway; this one is 100% worth the price.

Why it's here: The biggest game in the series and the RPG era at full power. Ichiban and Kiryu split a Hawaii-sized adventure where the job system finally has depth worth theorycrafting, and Dondoko Island is a resort-building game hiding inside the one you bought. I ran the side systems against the review corpus and almost none of it lands as padding: Sujimon battles, the island and the drink links all track and pay out. Steam reviews are polarized on one point, the drawn-out story and a New Game Plus locked behind DLC. On PS Plus Extra, the value question answers itself.

Why it's here: The remake that shows the Dragon Engine at its best, and the fight worth the ticket: Kiryu against Ryuji Goda, the series' best rivalry. Sotenbori and Kamurocho both return, the cabaret club minigame from 0 comes back with a full storyline, and the bundled Majima Saga is short but genuine extra content. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is that combat feels simplified next to 0's four styles, and that is a fair read. Play it straight after Kiwami; the story earns the momentum.

Why it's here: The no-padding entry, and proof the series can do short. Gaiden covers what Kiryu did between 6 and Infinite Wealth in a deliberately compact clear, with an Agent gadget style that changes how every fight opens and an ending players consistently call one of the most emotional in the series. Steam reviews' one recurring gripe is the length, which is the point: nearly everything here is trackable, finishable content. On PS Plus Extra, this is the easiest full clear on the list. Start it only after Yakuza 6 spoiler-wise.

Why it's here: The detective spin-off that stands completely alone. Yagami tails suspects, picks locks and argues cases through the same Kamurocho the mainline games brawl across, and the friendship and side-case systems fill the district with content that mostly earns its place. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is the repetitive tailing missions, and they do drag the middle chapters. If you want a series entry point with zero homework, this is it, and the sequel improves on nearly every system it starts.

Why it's here: The best combat in the brawler half of the series, and my pick for its best side system anywhere: the School Stories network, a full second investigation layer of clubs, cases and bosses that reviewers consistently count as genuine content, not padding. The main story swings darker than the series usually goes. Steam reviews' recurring complaints are the PC DRM and a back half some players call bloated. For completionists the school content alone justifies the run; couldn't recommend the full clear more.

Why it's here: Majima with a pirate ship, played entirely for fun. The Goro Pirates recruit crew across Hawaii, naval battles break up the brawling, and the tone commits to absurdity in a way the mainline entries only visit. Steam reviews split cleanly: strong praise for the humor and side content, recurring complaints that the story is thin and the ship combat shallow. Judge it as the series' dessert course, not a mainline meal, and it lands. Play Infinite Wealth first; half the jokes depend on it.

Why it's here: The most game in any single Yakuza release: five protagonists, five cities, and side content that swallows entire genres, taxi driving for Kiryu, hunting in the snow, a full idol rhythm layer for Haruka. I separate that honestly: the protagonist stories and their side jobs are genuine content, while Steam reviews fairly flag stretches of the finale and some repeated minigames as bloat. The remaster runs clean. Budget it like two games and the scale becomes the reward instead of the obstacle.

Why it's here: Kiryu's last chapter as the series lead, and the entry that trades breadth for weight. The Dragon Engine debut moves between Kamurocho and the small harbor town of Onomichi, where the clan creator and spearfishing carry the side content. Steam reviews consistently praise the emotional ending and flag the thinner substory list, the fair trade this entry makes. The completion file is the shortest of the mainline brawlers, which suits a finale. Come to it in order; the ending only pays if you did.

Why it's here: The pivot that saved the series: combat goes turn-based, Ichiban Kasuga takes the lead, and Yokohama's Isezaki Ijincho becomes the biggest map the series had shipped. The business management minigame is a genuine second game, and the party drink links do real character work between fights. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is late difficulty spikes that force level grinding before the final stretch. On PS Plus Extra, it is the cheapest way to meet the series' best new protagonist.

Why it's here: Four protagonists, one conspiracy, and the entry where Kamurocho grows vertical: rooftops, sewers and an underground mall layer new routes over the familiar map. Akiyama is the standout, the loan shark whose fighting style and story Steam reviewers consistently rate above the game containing them. The recurring complaint is pacing, with stretches players call dragged out between the perspective switches. The remaster is the smoothest way through the saga's middle. Worth clearing for the cast more than the checklist.

Why it's here: Where Kiryu's actual story starts, rebuilt in 0's engine with the Majima Everywhere system stalking you between story beats. As a remake of a 2005 game it shows its skeleton: substories are thinner than 0's and Steam reviews' recurring complaint is boss difficulty spikes, with several noting it does not surpass its prequel. Play it as chapter two of the saga rather than a standalone and it works exactly as intended. Short enough that the platinum is a reasonable ask.

Why it's here: The newest release on this list and the most contested. The 2026 remake gives Yakuza 3's story modern combat and visuals, the Morning Glory orphanage content players consistently praise, and Dark Ties, a genuinely new story led by Mine. The recurring complaints in Steam reviews are cut substories and recast characters, and the mixed reception is real. For a first run through this part of the saga I would still take it over the 2020 remaster; veterans who know the original should read the cuts list first.

Why it's here: The samurai detour: 1860s Kyo, the series cast recast as historical figures, and four combat styles that swap swords and revolvers into the brawling. Substories and friendships carry the usual density, and another chicken can absolutely run your farm. Steam reception is the most polarized on this list: fans praise the setting and story, the recurring complaints are clunky combat and grind. On PS Plus Extra it is an easy add for series fans; as a first entry, start elsewhere on this list.