If you’re new to the series, you’re likely wondering if you need to play Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon before you take on Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. With a franchise this rich in lore, it’s to be expected that you’ll miss out on a few references if you haven’t played the previous entries. However, you’ll be surprised at how much Infinite Wealth depends on knowledge of past titles.
Do I need to play the other Yakuza games before Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth?
At a minimum, you should play Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name before starting Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Infinite Wealth directly references the events of these games numerous times, and it doesn’t always stop to help you catch up if you missed them.
The Yakuza series is pretty unforgiving to new players in general when it comes to lore, and Infinite Wealth might be the worst offender when it comes to dropping cameos and references without explaining the meaning behind them.
For example, a whole side activity in the game is dedicated to Kiryu reminiscing about his past. However, these memories don’t state which game is being referenced or provide much background on why the situations are significant to Kiryu. You’ll hear about major characters you’ve never met before and events like the Great Dissolution you’ve never seen.
If you want to understand every reference made in the game, you’ll need to play the following games:
- Yakuza 0
- Yakuza (or Yakuza Kiwami)
- Yakuza 2 (or Yakuza Kiwami 2)
- Yakuza 3
- Yakuza 4
- Yakuza: Dead Souls
- Yakuza 5
- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
- Judgment
- Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon
- Lost Judgment
- Like a Dragon: Ishin!
- Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
However, so far, we haven’t found any references to Like a Dragon Kenzan!, Black Panther: Like a Dragon New Chapter, Black Panther, Like a Dragon Ashura Chapter, or Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, so at least you can skip those for now.
