Itās my least favorite game in the series next to 6, mainly because the pacing is so goddamn terrible. The combat is pretty damn amazing though, right behind 0 and Kiwami 1ās stance system.
TIERS WITH PERSONAL BIAS:
Yakuza 2/Yakuza Kiwami 2. Itās the first game in the series I played many years ago, and the story and pacing is fantastic throughout.
Yakuza 3. While the combat isnāt as good as it is in other games of the series, it being a direct sequel to 2 was amazing to me at the time because the story picks up right where 2 left off. Awesome game. RIKIYAAAAAA
Yakuza Kiwami 1. People like Zero over this game but Iām not sure why, the combat is really similar to 0ās but instead of leveling up via money doing the terribly boring and lame construction/hostess bullshit you level up in more traditional ways like you did in older series of the games. Beating the shit out of people and doing quests. I also liked seeing where things started between Kiryu and his buddy.
Yakuza Zero. I liked everything about it except for leveling up via money, which Iāve complained about before.
Yakuza 4. This is the first time you could play as characters other than Kiryu. I typically liked the Yakuza games where the focus is on Kiryu because they feel moreā¦focused. Akiyama is awesome but I didnāt find the cop to be fun to play as even with the parry gimmicks and that one dude whoās Majimaās BROTHER is slow as molasses. The story involving him is really cool though.
Yakuza 6. They introduced really cool combat with 5 and the Kiwami games but then in typical Yakuza series fashion they threw it all out the window forā¦automatic heat moves after you fill up your heat gauge. I forget the name of it, but once your heat gauge fills up you turn into Rambo with a click of a button and just run through everything coupled with automatic heat moves that take the satisfaction out of doing them. Combat took a step back and the way they ended Kiryuās story was pretty lame imo.
Yakuza 5. Awesome graphics that pushed the PS3, fantastic combat, coupled with absolutely dogshit pacing that brings the entire experience down. The setpieces are a highlight of the series though. Thereās a fight at the docks against literally a 100 yakuza, and another near the end of the game where you fight against 100ās of dudes at once. Itās pretty awesome stuff.
Yakuza: Dead Souls. This is the only one I havenāt finished next to the original Yakuza on PS2 and itās mainly because of the DOGSHIT FPS. It runs like crap in combat at pretty much all times. It had the Yakuza charm with the sidequests and the like, but the FPS and constant slowdown drove me nuts. Binary Domain was 100X more enjoyable a third-person shooter, but it also had immense slowdown against certain bosses as well.
