Top 10 Best Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku Games

Few game franchises can go from brutal street brawls to karaoke disasters to deeply emotional crime drama without making the player question the tonal whiplash, and Ryu Ga Gotoku somehow makes that chaos feel completely normal. This is one of my favorite video game series, and it still feels absurdly overlooked for how much style, heart, comedy, and fist-to-face therapy it packs into every corner of its cities. Fans know the routine: you come for the crime saga, then lose three hours helping a stranger, managing a business, or trying to nail one more song at the bar.

That mix of serious storytelling and glorious nonsense is exactly why picking the best game in the series can start a debate faster than a random street fight. Vote for the Ryu Ga Gotoku game you love most, back up your favorite in the comments, and try not to get sidetracked by fifty substories on the way down the page.

The Top Ten

  1. Yakuza 0/Ryu Ga Gotoku 0

    All these games are AMAZING, but to me, Yakuza 0 was PHENOMENAL! This whole series is really underrated! I would have put this as one of the best games in 2016 or 2017.

  2. Yakuza 5/Ryu Ga Gotoku 5

    Biggest game ever in the Yakuza franchise, dubbed the "San Andreas" of the series by the creator, and for good reason.

    You get five characters in five different cities, all with their own little job missions and side missions on top of it.

    It might not be as polished as 0, but damn, you're getting bang for your buck.

    Plenty of fantastic content, minigames, side activities, and five characters to play as with unique locations. The main story is great, with only the villains' introductions being somewhat cheesy. Out of playing from Y0 to Y7, this is by far the best one in the series, in my opinion.

  3. Yakuza 3/Ryu Ga Gotoku 3

    Besides the combat being broken and unfair, which needs some getting used to, it's a fine title. Okinawa is the comfiest location in the series, and Kiryu's story in this one feels much more personal than it was in Yakuza 2 or 4.

    My first one!

  4. Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku

  5. Yakuza 2/Ryu Ga Gotoku 2

    A lot of fans call it the best one. I can't really agree, but it's still amazing!

  6. Yakuza 4/Ryu Ga Gotoku 4

  7. Like a Dragon: Ishin!/Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!

  8. Yakuza: Like a Dragon/Ryu Ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue

  9. Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!

  10. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth/Ryu Ga Gotoku 8

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Yakuza Kiwami 2

  12. ?

    Yakuza Kiwami

    13. The Contenders

  13. Yakuza: Dead Souls/Ryu Ga Gotoku OF THE END

  14. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life/Ryu Ga Gotoku 6: Inochi no Uta

  15. Kurohyo 2: Ryu Ga Gotoku Ashura Hen

  16. Kurohyo: Ryu Ga Gotoku Shinsho

  17. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii/Ryu Ga Gotoku 8 Gaiden: Pirates in Hawaii

  18. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name/Ryu Ga Gotoku 7 Gaiden: Na o Keshita Otoko

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