Do I need to play the Yakuza games to enjoy Like a Dragon Gaiden
Like a Dragon Gaiden launched today on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, and PC. But do I need to play the prior entries in the series to play Gaiden?
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is the ninth mainline entry in the Like a Dragon series (formerly known in English-speaking countries as Yakuza). Kazuma Kiryu – who was the protagonist of the series through the Yakuza era – has returned to star in this side story. Like a Dragon Gaiden takes place between the events of 2016's Yakuza 6: The Song of Life and the upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, with the story covering what Kiryu was up to during 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
The plot of Like a Dragon Gaiden kicks off following Kazuma Kiryu faking his death and going into hiding at the end of Yakuza 6, with the help of the Daidoji Faction. However, an unfortunate side effect of their help in faking his death is that he is now indebted to the faction and must perform missions for them.
With that many game titles mentioned in the opening paragraph, you would probably expect the answer to "do I need to play the Yakuza games to play Like a Dragon Gaiden" to be a resounding yes. But truth be told, it's not quite that simple.
Do I need to play the other games to play Like a Dragon Gaiden
As mentioned above, it's not quite as simple as giving a yes or no answer. Like a Dragon Gaiden is intended by the developers to be a good entry point for the series, but considering the premise alone has a lot of baggage from other titles in the series, it's understandable to think that isn't the case.
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You can technically play the game and understand, and enjoy, the story as a standalone piece. The game's core is built in a way that someone who hasn't played any of these games can get the gist and understand what's going on through the use of flashbacks to prior entries.
But of course, you aren't going to get nearly as much out of Like a Dragon Gaiden unless you've played other entries in the series. The game throws out callbacks to almost every chapter of the franchise, with the game's emotional core being tied to events from Yakuza 1, 3, and 6. There's one scene near the end of the game that had many reviewers – myself included – in tears, but you're not going to get as much out of it if you don't know the characters involved.
But, you'll want to play these games anyway. Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon especially are among the best games ever made. Plus every single one is on Xbox Game Pass (including Like a Dragon Gaiden), so it's never been easier to get into the series.
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