All Yakuza Games in Order: Chronological & Story Order Explained (2025 Guide)

The Yakuza series, now officially known as Like a Dragon, stands as one of SEGA’s most iconic and emotional franchises. What began as a gritty action-drama on the PlayStation 2 has evolved into a sprawling saga about loyalty, redemption, and the human stories hidden in Japan’s criminal underworld.

Whether you’re new to the series or returning to revisit Kiryu and Ichiban’s journeys, this gaming guide will help you understand all Yakuza games in order, both chronologically and by release.

Yakuza Games in Chronological Order

If you’d rather see how the franchise evolved visually and narratively, here are all the Yakuza games in order based on the release timeline:

We also recently covered the best games like Civilisation on our official website, which may spark your interest.

Yakuza Games in Story Order

Now that you know about the All Yakuza games in order, here's more information on the 12 games in the main Yakuza storyline. Playing them sequentially will help you better grasp the game's plot, making the overall experience even more fun. Here are all the main story Yakuza games in order -

1. Yakuza 0 (2015) / Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut (2025)

Although it was the sixth game released, Yakuza 0 is the earliest story in the timeline. Set in 1988 during Japan’s economic boom, it follows two young yakuza: Kazuma Kiryu, who is framed for a murder tied to a valuable piece of land called the Empty Lot, and Goro Majima, exiled from his family and forced to carry out a mysterious assassination. The story shows how both men become the complex figures central to later games. It is the first and the most important Yakuza game in order.

2. Yakuza (2005) / Yakuza Kiwami (2016)

The original Yakuza, remade as Yakuza Kiwami, begins in 1995 with Kiryu taking the blame for the murder of his patriarch, Sohei Dojima, to protect his best friend, Akira Nishikiyama. Released from prison a decade later, Kiryu returns to a changed Kamurocho where ten billion yen has vanished from the Tojo Clan’s accounts. His search for answers introduces Haruka, a young girl with a mysterious pendant, and leads to a tragic showdown with Nishikiyama.

3. Yakuza 2 (2006) / Yakuza Kiwami 2 (2017)

Set a year later, Yakuza 2 finds Kiryu drawn back into clan politics when Tojo Clan chairman Yukio Terada is assassinated. To prevent war with the rival Omi Alliance, Kiryu helps Daigo Dojima assume leadership. He clashes with Ryuji Goda, the Omi’s “Dragon of Kansai,” and partners with Osaka detective Kaoru Sayama in a story that expands the series beyond Tokyo.

4. Yakuza 3 (2009)

By 2007, Kiryu had left the yakuza world behind to run the Morning Glory Orphanage in Okinawa. His peace is disrupted when politicians and developers attempt to seize the orphanage’s land for a resort project. The Yakuza 3 story weaves local conflicts into the larger power struggles of the Tojo Clan, blending personal and political stakes.

5. Yakuza 4 (2010)

Set a year later, Yakuza 4 broadens the narrative with four playable protagonists: loan shark Shun Akiyama, escaped convict Taiga Saejima, corrupt detective Masayoshi Tanimura, and Kiryu himself. Their interconnected stories reveal a 25-year conspiracy within the Tojo Clan. The multi-character format adds new perspectives and sets the tone for later ensemble storytelling.

6. Yakuza 5 (2012)

The most ambitious of the Kiryu-era titles, Yakuza 5 features five protagonists and five cities across Japan. Set in 2012, it follows Kiryu working as a taxi driver in Fukuoka, Saejima escaping prison again, Akiyama helping Haruka, now a teenage pop idol and newcomer Tatsuo Shinada, a disgraced baseball player seeking redemption. Together, their stories expose a plot threatening another war between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance.

7. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (2016)

Presented as Kiryu’s farewell, The Song of Life begins with him serving prison time for his past crimes. When he’s released in 2016, Haruka is in a coma after a hit-and-run, leaving behind a baby named Haruto. Kiryu’s search for the child’s father takes him to Hiroshima, where he uncovers the truth about Haruka’s disappearance and becomes entangled in a struggle involving rival gangs and government corruption.

8. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020)

Yakuza: Like a Dragon marks a new beginning for the franchise, introducing Ichiban Kasuga as the protagonist and replacing the real-time combat with turn-based RPG battles. Once a low-ranking member of the Arakawa Family, Kasuga served 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. On release, he finds the Tojo Clan dismantled and Japan’s underworld transformed. After being betrayed by his former boss, he builds a party of unlikely allies in Yokohama’s Isezaki Ijincho and uncovers a vast political conspiracy.

9. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (2024)

The latest mainline entry, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, reunites Kasuga and Kiryu as dual protagonists in a sprawling story set across Japan and Hawaii. Kasuga searches for his long-lost mother while Kiryu, now battling cancer, takes on one last mission tied to his mysterious benefactors. The game deepens the emotional weight of both characters’ arcs and represents the franchise’s most ambitious scope to date.

10. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (2025)

Set in 2025, the Pirate Yazkua in Hawaii edition steps into Goro Majima's steel-toe boots. It explores his lost memory when he reinvented himself as a legendary pirate.

Yakuza Mobile/ Side Canon Titles

These three Yakuza games in order are technically part of the main canon but are considered as side stories. They do not have any significant impact on the main continuity.

1. Ryū ga Gotoku Online (2018) – spans multiple eras, partly canon
2. Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō (2010) – PSP side story
3. Kurohyō 2: Ryū ga Gotoku Ashura Hen (2012) – PSP sequel

Yakuza Alternate-Era Spin-Offs (Non-Canon to Main Timeline)

Here's a list of Yazkua games in order, that take place in either historical or alternate universes and cannot be placed alongside the main timeline.

1. Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! (2008) – set in 1605

2. Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! (2014 / 2023 remake) – set in the 1860s

3. Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (2018) – alternate universe

4. Streets of Kamurocho (2020) – parody / non-canon beat-’em-up

5. Dark Ties (2026) – unknown continuity

Yakuza Parallel Continuity Titles

Three Yakuza games in order do not fit into the Kiryu/Ichiban timeline. They include -

1. Yakuza: Dead Souls (2011) – zombie non-canon

2. Judgment (2018) – same world, separate timeline

3. Lost Judgment (2021) – sequel to Judgment, separate continuity

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