Dead Souls was a peculiar (and non-canonical)Yakuza spinoff that attempted to capitalize on a demand for zombie apocalypse games. Critics gaveDead Souls the worst Metascore of the series, but reviews are mixed rather than outright negative, with the biggest beef simply being that it places too much emphasis onYakuza's subpar gunplay. It's not a fatal flaw, but critics say thatDead Souls is likely only worth a look if you already like the series—it can be fun, but it's not a great entry point because it's not very representative of what the series is like.

"It's a fun game if you are already a Yakuza fan. It's just a rather awful introduction to the Yakuza franchise." —Cheat Code Central

The very firstYakuza game introduced us to the man who's been the face of the franchise for nearly its entire run: Kazuma Kiryu, the most honorable gangster who ever lived. Kiryu, a member of the Tojo clan, takes the blame for a murder his friend committed, and spends ten years in prison for it. But now, as Kiryu returns from prison, 10 million yen is missing from the Tojo vault, and Kiryu has stumbled upon a young girl named Haruka who may be the key to getting it back.

Critics were all over the place on this first game. It earned a number of raves for its storytelling and world-building, but also just as many scathing takedowns for its wonky controls and repetitive gameplay.

"A good story, decent length and immersive gameplay make the game shine, but lots of loading, vague subquests and camera control hold it back somewhat." —DailyGame

After the events of the first game, Kiryu has left the gangster life behind and is trying to live peacefully with his adopted daughter Haruka. But the chairman of his old clan needs his help to prevent an all-out war with a rival clan, even as mysterious members of a Korean organization stoke the flames.Yakuza 2 has a similar spread of review scores as its predecessor, with critics divided largely along the same lines—whether they could enjoy the story on its own terms, or if the game's mechanical limitations got in the way.

"Many will be put off by Yakuza 2's lengthy cutscenes, or bored by the lack of variety in the gameplay; but for those for which the game clicks, it is a title that will be hard to forget. The boldness of its narrative and the confidence of its mechanics make Yakuza 2 a slice of Japanese gaming that is well worth experiencing." —D+Pad Magazine

Yakuza 6 was intended to be the swan song for longtime series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, but as we so often see when a franchise tries to move on with a new face, it didn't quite take. Kiryu returned in this small-scale spinoff, which shows what our favorite gangster with a heart of gold got up to in betweenYakuza 6 andYakuza: Infinite Wealth, the 8th mainline title in the series. Critics generally enjoyedLike a Dragon Gaiden, but there was some debate on whether the relatively small scope of this title, compared with the mainline games, justified its price tag.

"The perfect slice of Kiryu for returning fans, Like A Dragon Gaiden is a piece of fantastic filler to keep players entertained while they wait for the bigger games to follow. Those new to the franchise need not apply." —Player 2

The fourth mainline game in the series gave us another immensely complicated Japanese crime story and introduced some new wrinkles to the series along the way—the biggest being thatYakuza 4 is split into four parts, each with a different player character. Kiryu is still one of them, of course, but the other three are completely new characters we hadn't previously met. Critics began to feel like the series was showing its age here, as it really didn't change the franchise formula much beyond adding the extra player characters. It was a big shakeup, but maybe not the kind the series needed at that particular moment.

"Yakuza 4 still looks and plays great, but it's a little too similar to its predecessor to stand on its own as well as Yakuza 3." —Gamer Limit

For thoseYakuza fans who prefer the old brawler combat of the originalYakuza games to the series' more recent turn-based battles, Sega's got the new spinoffLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. The new game features fan-favorite Goro Majima as the player character and the return of that classicYakuza brawler fighting system. Stranded on a small Hawaiian island with no memory of his past or how he got there, Majima's quest to find out what's going on will see him become captain to a crew of pirates as he becomes embroiled in a strange battle between ex-yakuza forces and some locals.

"While Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii retreads some familiar ground, it is hard to deny what a joyful experience it is. It's as though Ryu ga Gatoku Studio knew gamers needed a bit more stupidity in their lives, decided One Piece and Like a Dragon should have a baby, and boom — you get this delightful oddball spinoff that is just fun." —RPGamer

In the firstYakuza game released for PlayStation 3, we catch up with Kiryu as he runs a small orphanage on the island of Okinawa. But he runs afoul of the local yakuza, who want to repurpose the land the orphanage is on for an oceanside resort complex. Kiryu resists their plans, but it turns out that there's a much bigger conspiracy at play—one that will require Kiryu to dive headfirst back into the world of organized crime. Some critics took issue withYakuza 3 being a brawler—a genre that fell out of favor during the PS3 era—as well as its long-winded storytelling, but the majority embraced the game's oddly antiquated nature.

"A big, exciting martial arts film wrapped up in one of the most brilliantly stupid and consistently entertaining game worlds you'll ever find. Graphically, it might be a bit last-gen, but we doubt you'll care when you can beat men to death with bikes." —GamesRadar

This spinoff title is, functionally, aYakuza game through and through. It follows theYakuza template very closely, but there aren't any familiar faces here becauseJudgment is an entirely fresh crime drama story that just happens to take place in theYakuza universe. Instead of Kiryu as our hero, the player character here is Takayuki Yagami, a former lawyer who now works as a private investigator. In a sense, it's as thoughJudgment has all the trappings ofYakuza, but without any of the baggage—something critics appreciated greatly, given how labyrinthine the franchise's main plot can be. But while reviewers enjoyed spending time with new faces,Judgment's new detective gameplay mechanics weren't as well received.

"A great Yakuza spinoff that stumbles over its well-meant but clunky detective gameplay. More doing, less talking, and a sense of humour could've elevated it." –Playstation Official Magazine UK

After the success of the acclaimed prequelYakuza 0, Sega decided to remake the originalYakuza game from the ground up in order to turn that rather clunky old PS2 game into something more on par with the series' modern standards. Don't call it a remaster:Yakuza Kiwami includes a completely revamped combat system, all new sidequests, and a number of additional scenes for the main storyline. And, for good measure, it includes fan-favorite supporting character Goro Majima, who was absent from this one the first time around. Critics enjoyedYakuza Kiwami as a much-improved version of the original game, but there was some grumbling that it still felt antiquated afterYakuza 0.

"As a remake, Kiwami is a triumphant success. Not only is it leaps and bounds more playable than the PS2 original, the additional scenes help flesh out character motivations. This all makes the story of Kiryu's rise feel more special, and it's a perfect continuation for those who recently played Yakuza 0." —Game Informer

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is anotherYakuza spinoff title, but one that has a rather distinctive identity of its own. It's a historical epic that takes place in Japan in the 1860s, which means it has a fresh cast of characters, all-new locations, and an original battle system. But its tie to the rest of theYakuza franchise is an aesthetic one. The player character, Sakamoto Ryoma, bears the same face and voice actor as Kazuma Kiryu, and he's hardly the only familiar face who will pop up.Ishin is unusual also because the Western release is a remake of a PS3/PS4 title that was never released outside Japan. While critics overall enjoyedLike a Dragon: Ishin! as a massive change of pace for the series, some expressed frustration that it still feels like a relic from an older, clunkier era of the franchise.

"The long overdue samurai spin-off is classic Yakuza under its period dressing but also underwhelming as a current-gen remake." —Alan Wen, Eurogamer

In this sequel to the spinoffJudgment, we catch up with private detective Takayuki Yagami as he looks into something pretty unusual for theYakuza franchise: high school bullying. The situation is a very serious one, with multiple dead students and a number of shady goings on, and Yagami will have to use all his detective tricks to unravel this mess, including going undercover at a school. 

While critics consideredLost Judgment an improvement over its predecessor in most ways, the story's subject matter proved divisive. Some reviewers felt it was too sensitive of a topic for a series this silly to handle well, but others thought it was an exceptional tale for the franchise to tell.

"Its detective elements may be lacking and its third act is slow, but it more than makes up for it, offering spectacle-heavy set pieces, an engrossing mystery, and a bounty of fantastic side missions. Whether a diehard fan of the Yakuza franchise or a newcomer looking to see what all the fuss is about, Lost Judgment is a thrilling adventure that shouldn't be missed." —Game Rant

The fifth mainline game in theYakuza franchise finds Kiryu having to help the Tojo clan deal with a hostile takeover attempt by an old rival clan.Yakuza 5 takes a similar approach toYakuza 4 in its story structure, breaking down the plot into five parts with five different player characters, including Kiryu and, for the first time, his adopted daughter Haruka, who's old and capable enough at this point to help with the family business. Despite being a PS3 game released a year after the PS4 launched, critics generally adoredYakuza 5 even as they noted how dated it felt.

"Yakuza 5 makes up for its modest shortcomings with enthralling diversions and eye-popping settings that compel one to look at travel deals to Japan." —GameSpot

AfterYakuza 4 and5 featured a number of different player characters,Yakuza 6 brought the focus back entirely to Kiryu for a story that starts personal (Haruka has gone missing, and some yakuza are involved) and grows into something epic as Kiryu falls down another conspiracy-filled rabbit hole. Originally intended to serve as a sendoff for Kiryu,Yakuza 6 was praised by critics as a worthy goodbye to everyone's favorite gangster with a heart of gold, with its sentimentality more than making up for the fact that it has many of the same drawbacks as its predecessors.

"It's not the biggest nor the best game in the series. But whether you're calming a crying baby with motion controls or bashing a gangster's head in with a bicycle, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a poignant, bloody, and altogether brilliant send-off." —The Verge

AfterYakuza 6, Sega attempted a soft reboot of the series withYakuza: Like a Dragon (fun fact: that subtitle is actually the translation of the Japanese name of the franchise).Like a Dragon introduced a new main protagonist named Ichiban Kasuge, who has a very different sort of vibe from Kiryu but a strangely similar backstory. Like Kiryu, he spent a long time in prison after voluntarily taking the blame for a murder he didn't commit, only to be betrayed by the person he was covering for. But more shocking than the change in hero is thatYakuza: Like a Dragon swaps the franchise's signature brawler gameplay for turn-based RPG combat, a design choice that proved to be the biggest sticking point with critics who were otherwise enthusiastic about the story and new characters.

"The turn-based battles don't fully convince but the new protagonist and bizarre mini-games still feel distinctively and entertainingly Yakuza." —Metro GameCentral

Like the previousYakuza Kiwami, this title is a remake of the franchise's first sequel that was released on PlayStation 2.Yakuza Kiwami 2, like the previous remake, adds a whole pile of quality-of-life features that were included in more recent releases, and expands the plot in order to incorporate elements introduced in later games and the prequelYakuza 0—including a new mini campaign in which you play as Goro Majima. In essence, it's that old PS2 classic brought up to more modern standards. Critics embraced this one as a very well put-together revival of a cult classic that improves the experience in just about every way—even if there's still some residual PS2 jankiness to the whole affair.

"Adding to a growing list of great PS4 remakes, Yakuza: Kiwami 2 is up there with the best games in SEGA's series. While PS2-era design does rear its ugly head now and again, another brilliantly dramatic story steals the spotlight. Throw in some superb optional content, and you've got a prime Yakuza package that's ultimately very difficult to fault." —Push Square

As theYakuza series transitioned from PS3 to PS4, Sega apparently decided that the long-running series needed a fresh entry point for folks who hadn't played the series before. EnterYakuza 0, a prequel that takes place in 1988, nearly two decades before the events of the first game. While the setup here—Kiryu is framed for murder and exiled from his yakuza clan—is a fairly standard-sounding premise for this series, critics appreciated that the '80s setting and a much younger Kiryu makeYakuza 0 fairly distinctive among the mainline games in the series. At the same time, however, there was a bit of exhaustion among reviewers with just how many fist fights you'll get into every time you try to walk anywhere.

"As an origin story, Yakuza 0 is a perfect starting point for series newcomers, and a wonderful look in to the past for those already familiar with Yakuza. While its combat can become a slog, soaking up the sights and sounds of a 1980s Tokyo criminal underground is enchanting." —Critical Hit

The franchise's new main hero, Ichiban Kasuga, returns alongside an overhauled version ofYakuza: Like a Dragon's turn-based combat system in the ninth mainline game in the series—and the first to take us beyond the islands of Japan. Kasuga teams up with the beloved Kazuma Kiryu, back from retirement once again, in Honolulu as they search for Kasuga's long-lost mom. As always, there's a lot more going on than it initially seems, and our heroes will have to go down quite a rabbit hole to solve it.Infinite Wealth received the most enthusiastic reviews of any game in the franchise thus far, with critics loving the updates to the combat system, the better and more interesting side activities, and how the series has evolved from brawler to RPG.

"An incredibly high quality experience that doubles down on everything that was beloved about the previous entry, Infinite Wealth completes the series' transformation into a genre-leading RPG franchise." —GamingBolt