askchapo

yes, yes they are.

Start with Yakuza 0, given it's a modern prequel that actually sets out the whole lore/ongoing storyline and tone. If you like the beat-em-up gameplay and actually want to see the story the whole way through, move on to Kiwami 1 and 2, but note that they're remakes of PS2 games if they seem light on or janky. Then feel free to play the HD collection if you really want to slog it out through the whole series - I hear 3 is especially rough, never played it myself.

Otherwise, you can pretty much safely move from 0 to Like a Dragon / 7 given the hard reboot in terms of protagonist and genre/playstyle (becomes turn-based combat with what I think is a pretty funny storyline justification). 0 gives you the backstory, lore and location knowledge that you really appreciate when starting from the Like a Dragon 'chapter'.

Also feel free to play spinoffs whenever/any time after 0. Judgment is like a full story spinoff but same locations, Ishin is "what if but samurai" so character knowledge improves it, Gaiden kinda spoils 7 so is best played between Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth.

also, Nugget best boy and Omlette best girl

They are the some of the most fun games I've ever played.

If you like brawlers start with Yakuza 0 or Like a dragon: the man who erased his name.

If you like turn based rpgs, start with Yakuza: like a dragon.

Start with Yakuza 0 or Yakuza Kiwami. Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the first game so obviously a good place to start, but Yakuza 0 is better imo. 0 is set before the first game so you don't need to know anything about the series to jump in. It was the first one I played and it's amazing

Yes. I started with like a Dragon (yakuza 7), but definetly reccomend starting at 0. My big problem with starting with 7 is that there's a huge level spike right at the end that really sucks if it's your first game.

You can get through them fairly quickly but If you're a completionist or get sucked into mini games you're going to lose days of your life.

i hope this answers any further queries

cw: eggs

Yeah, they're great, although I fell off the series hard after 7. I don't have a problem with turn based gameplay, but you should at least acknowledge some of the progress made in that genre since the 90s.

Starting with 0 is a good idea, but it might ruin the rest of the series a little because it's the best one, or at least very close to the top. Especially 3 is going to be tough to play afterwards considering it was the first PS3 one, never got a remake, and is generally considered the worst in the series.

Yakuza 1 on ps2 because of the really funny dub. It's a great starting place, though technically the later games are improved upon in just about every aspect.

On second thought, Yakuza 1 might be passable just by watching a cutscene supercut on YouTube.

Do you think I would like them?

Considering the handful of games I've seen you talking about, probably not.

Then again, I've only really played Kiwami.