The Ultimate Battle: Unveiling the Toughest Yakuza Games Ever, Ranked!

Highlights

The Yakuza series is well-known and praised for its captivating stories and depiction of Tokyo's red-light district.

Certain Yakuza games provide a user-friendly experience, allowing players to easily dive in, while others present a formidable test. Titles like Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami 2 offer less demanding gameplay as players can rely on potent abilities and upgrades, enabling smoother completion.

The Yakuza series has gained fame and acclaim from both fans and critics for several reasons, such as its engaging narratives and stunning portrayal of Tokyo's red-light district. One aspect that often goes unnoticed is the level of difficulty, possibly because most of the games are accessible and easy to play, even for those unfamiliar with action games.

However, this does not mean that all the games are a walk in the park. Some of them either present a challenging start or gradually increase the difficulty as the story unfolds. It is time to delve deeper into the true extent of these games' challenges.

The Kiwami remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2 will be the focus as opposed to the original games, and only mainline entries will be included.

8 Yakuza 6

Given all that Kiryu had endured in Yakuza 6, it's not surprising that he possesses immense strength. However, this aspect of his character ultimately made the combat system in the game somewhat monotonous and excessively easy. To begin with, the Extreme Heat Mode, which grants Kiryu the ability to defeat enemies with a single strike, is accessible early on, thereby diminishing the overall challenge. Furthermore, the boss battles are more manageable this time around, primarily because each boss only has one health bar. This diminishes their intimidation factor compared to previous bosses who could withstand considerably more damage, rendering the eventual victory all the more gratifying.

7 Yakuza 5

: The developers of Ry Ga Gotoku seemed to be aware of the game's ease, as they included Training Gear that could lower Kiryu's stats. Some players even recommend having it equipped from the very beginning. However, the true specialness of the game lies in its storyline rather than its gameplay, considering it was promoted as the culmination of Kiryu's journey.

Yakuza 5 offers players a vast array of additional moves to master, greatly enhancing gameplay and potentially making it effortless. Many of these techniques are immensely powerful, to the extent that they can completely disrupt game balance. A prime illustration of this is the Tiger Drop, acquired from Sosuke, which essentially functions as a parry with a reasonably lenient timing window.

6 Yakuza Kiwami 2

It's also quite easy to become overly powerful in the game due to the mechanics of the food system, which grants beneficial effects and boosts to the player's stats, making battles against bosses incredibly easy. Additionally, the frequent random encounters constantly provide experience points, ensuring that the player is always adequately prepared for the upcoming challenges. Although there are still a few areas in the game, such as the Coliseum, where a decent level of challenge is presented, these moments are rare occurrences.

While there are numerous missions in Yakuza Kiwami 2 that truly challenge Kiryu to his limits, this primarily applies to the side content, such as the Bouncer Missions. These missions compel players to utilize all the abilities and techniques that Kiryu has acquired in order to survive. As for the main fights, apart from the initial ones that may catch players off guard, they become considerably easier as Kiryu's upgrades make him exceptionally powerful.

5 Yakuza 4

There are still a few bosses with multiple health bars who can be quite stubborn to defeat, but having a weapon or two handy significantly reduces the level of difficulty for Kiryu. Additionally, there are numerous chance encounters that swiftly enhance Kiryu's strength, which is ironically contrary to the original Yakuza 2's approach of limiting these fights at certain points to prevent this from happening.

Choosing any difficulty other than Hard makes Yakuza 4 a straightforward experience. However, opting for the more challenging option introduces formidable foes with substantial HP pools, making them quite challenging to defeat. On Hard difficulty, the Seajima prison break stands out as one of the most chaotic areas, punishing inattentive players. Additionally, Tanimura's final confrontation demands the consumption of multiple healing drinks to emerge victorious.

4 Yakuza 0

For the majority of the game, the most challenging situations arise when confronting large gatherings of adversaries who thoroughly enjoy obstructing attacks. However, the rest of the gameplay is relatively straightforward, particularly on the Normal and Easy difficulty settings. It is worth mentioning that the Saito boss battle on Hard presents one of the most formidable encounters within the entire series, evoking a sensation reminiscent of a boss character extracted directly from the Dark Souls franchise.

With its captivating narrative and unforgettable characters, Yakuza 0 stands as the most cherished and renowned installment in the series. While the game maintains a relatively balanced difficulty throughout, there are a few instances where the challenge intensifies. For those embarking on this adventure with no prior knowledge of the series, navigating through the game may prove to be much more challenging, as it does not provide sufficient guidance on the optimal strategies for survival.

The game becomes much easier with the inventory of healing items and weapons, like the zap gun, that are essential for boss fights. However, players must actively search for these resources. Additionally, there are certain weapons, such as the powerful shotgun, that can swiftly take down large groups of enemies with just one shot.

3 Yakuza Kiwami

The revamped edition of the original Yakuza game gradually becomes more manageable as you progress, but there's no denying that the initial hours can be immensely challenging due to Kiryu's significantly reduced power. The Beast style, once a formidable asset, has been toned down to the point of near-uselessness. Moreover, even the Dragon style feels somewhat impractical and slow during the early stages of the game.

The game also introduces a larger quantity of enemies simultaneously, exceeding the number faced in Yakuza 0. Consequently, the player will unavoidably sustain a substantial amount of damage in any given battle. However, once players successfully navigate through the initial stages of the game and familiarize themselves with the controls and mechanics, they will embark on a challenging but ultimately gratifying journey.

2 Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Yakuza: Like a Dragon, although technically belonging to the mainline games, revolutionized various aspects compared to its predecessors. Not only did it introduce a fresh protagonist named Ichiban, known for his distinct fuzzy hair, but the game also deviated from its action-packed combat style and embraced a turn-based system. Inspired by classic RPGs, Yakuza: Like a Dragon offers a highly challenging gameplay experience.

1 Yakuza 3

As the story progresses, the enemies will level up, requiring players to invest a significant amount of time in upgrading their gear and earning experience points. This is essential to avoid being overwhelmed by the increasingly powerful foes. Although there is a blocking mechanism in place, it functions as a "perfect block" with a very narrow timing window, making it extremely challenging to execute successfully. Yakuza: Like a Dragon successfully combines the compelling narrative of the Yakuza series with turn-based RPG combat, while also retaining the punishing difficulty that has become synonymous with this genre.

In most Yakuza games, players could often get by by mindlessly mashing buttons and occasionally dodging attacks, without needing to put much thought into their actions. However, Yakuza 3 takes a different approach. In this game, enemies in Yakuza 3 are proficient at blocking and adopt a more strategic approach to their attacks. Consequently, players will need to develop the habit of evading strikes at the very last second, in order to create an opportunity to retaliate. This applies to both regular thugs and formidable bosses.

In Yakuza 3, regular attacks may seem ineffective, so it is highly recommended to focus on learning powerful Heat Moves like the lethal Cigarette Mastery attack available through the Inner Fighter minigame. The game's difficulty level makes it feel unfair compared to other entries in the series. Fortunately, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios addressed many of the frustrating aspects in the later games, improving the overall experience.