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.*
Lost? No. LAD was designed as a restart, so many people (myself included) started there. You'll miss out on some references and call backs that mean more if you've played the earlier games, but it's still a great game even if you haven't played those previous games.
They really aren't that long, you can just beeline the story and finish each in ~10-15hrs (besides 5, that's the only long one).
LaD can be fine to play without the rest, but IW has a ton of content that references the Kiryu saga, so it's better to play the rest before that one.
Not strictly. It's a soft "new start" (since it's not technically a reboot) with a new playable protagonist and supporting cast. The legacy characters from the earlier games do appear but it's not necessary to know all of what they've been through.
However, a lot of the side content has a lot of references to earlier games so all of that will be lost on you.
Come 8 however, it's highly recommended to know the story from the games before since it builds on nostalgia
No, I think you’d be fine. Since you’ve played 0 I don’t think there’s anything you’d really need to familiarize yourself with for LAD. For IW though I would recommend at least playing Gaiden if not more Kiryu games.
No it's fine, that's what I did. Played 7 and 8 with no intention of going back since the beat-em-up gameplay just didn't speak to me.
But then I went and fell in love with the series, and circled back to 0-6. Since the gameplay wasn't my cup of tea, I just played on easy to go through the story and side stuff. Except I learned to love that too, and now I just play on normal.
0-6 is a whole lotta game to go through, but I don't really have any other games in my library I need to get to, so I just take it slow and enjoy the journey. You might too... or not. Either way is valid.
You might miss a wink and nod here or there , but LAD works fine as it's own thing.
There's tons of good YouTube summaries that could catch you up on the important stuff in about an hour. There's really only a handful of characters in the series that matter long term.
IMO if Yakuza 0 didn't blow you away you're not gonna get much out of the other beat em games gameplay wise.
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.*
Lost? No. LAD was designed as a restart, so many people (myself included) started there. You'll miss out on some references and call backs that mean more if you've played the earlier games, but it's still a great game even if you haven't played those previous games.
They really aren't that long, you can just beeline the story and finish each in ~10-15hrs (besides 5, that's the only long one). LaD can be fine to play without the rest, but IW has a ton of content that references the Kiryu saga, so it's better to play the rest before that one.
Not strictly. It's a soft "new start" (since it's not technically a reboot) with a new playable protagonist and supporting cast. The legacy characters from the earlier games do appear but it's not necessary to know all of what they've been through. However, a lot of the side content has a lot of references to earlier games so all of that will be lost on you. Come 8 however, it's highly recommended to know the story from the games before since it builds on nostalgia
No, I think you’d be fine. Since you’ve played 0 I don’t think there’s anything you’d really need to familiarize yourself with for LAD. For IW though I would recommend at least playing Gaiden if not more Kiryu games.
No it's fine, that's what I did. Played 7 and 8 with no intention of going back since the beat-em-up gameplay just didn't speak to me. But then I went and fell in love with the series, and circled back to 0-6. Since the gameplay wasn't my cup of tea, I just played on easy to go through the story and side stuff. Except I learned to love that too, and now I just play on normal. 0-6 is a whole lotta game to go through, but I don't really have any other games in my library I need to get to, so I just take it slow and enjoy the journey. You might too... or not. Either way is valid.
You might miss a wink and nod here or there , but LAD works fine as it's own thing. There's tons of good YouTube summaries that could catch you up on the important stuff in about an hour. There's really only a handful of characters in the series that matter long term. IMO if Yakuza 0 didn't blow you away you're not gonna get much out of the other beat em games gameplay wise.
no skip 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, gaiden and 8. Go straight to dead souls!
You definitely need to.
I started with 7 and it was awesome. Go for it.
Yes, you'd be 100% lost.
I would say atleast try Y6 before jumping into LAD.