Yakuza 1 would be a good ending if that was the end of Kiryu's story and Yakuza 2 focused on someone else.

Yakuza 2 would be a good ending if Kiryu died on the exploding rooftop

Yakuza 3 would be a good ending if Kiryu focused on the Orphanage for the rest of his days

Yakuza 4 would be a good ending if Kiryu wasn't in it

Yakuza 5 would be a good ending if Haruka didn't dox herself for zero reason

Yakuza 6 shouldn't exist

Yakuza 7 would be a good ending if 6 wasn't half assed

Yakuza 8 would be a good ending if Kiryu's importance as a character ended in 1.

Are the Yakuza games good? What would be a good one to start with the franchise? I dislike old games so keep that in mind please.

>>715754407
Start with 0 and go all the way up to Infinite Wealth. Play the remakes/remasters, the old games (especially PS2) aged like milk

>>715754248 (OP)
Playing through Yakuza 6 felt like a fever dream. I don't remember anything from it besides putting on the Ono Michio costume. My entire playthrough was motivated by sunk-cost fallacy of playing all the previous games beforehand and desperately wanting to close it out. I don't even remember what the final plot climax was. Something about a boat? I don't care enough.
I just gave up shortly after starting Y7. Thanks for reading my blog

>>715754407
annoying elitist millennials will tell you to play the PS2 games but they fucking suck.
play 0 like any sane human being then if you like it play kiwami 1 then 2. you will know where to go from there.

>gaiden ends with Kiryu leaving the Yumi ring at the altar where they should've been married
>Both families dissolved
>Amazing grace in the credits like in Yakuza 1, bringing it all full circle
>they still fucking bring him back for more in 8
sega is addicted to writing half an ending for kiryu and then dragging him back into shit immediately after

>>715754407
>Are the Yakuza games good?
At the worst, the game pads out whether that be combat or cutscenes. At best, it's an engaging beat em up with great characters to be invested in
>What would be a good one to start with the franchise?
Depends, if you want to feel superior to everyone in a thread (though nobody will care) play all the games in release order, starting with the PS2 title. If you want to experience the peak of the franchise and move on, play Yakuza 0. If you want to enjoy the story and treat it like your favorite soap opera Do what >>715754776 said. If you just want to see the current state of the franchise, play Infinite Wealth.
>I dislike old games, so keep that in mind, please.
Old is subjective, so I can't help you in that case unless you're more specific.

>I dislike old games so keep that in mind please.

>>715754248 (OP)

Kiryu's last game should have been 3.
Even the characters tell him he should have walked away.

why was kiryu obsessed with being the tojo clan's janny anyway

>>715754248 (OP)
I do agree Kiryu had no need to be playable in Yakuza 4

>2025... iyu amu forugottenu....

>>715755842
Why wasn't he the main MC in the Judgement series?

>>715756096
would have been kino to fully flesh out his character in a game like that but i think they wanted to separate judgment from yakuza as much as they could while still getting away with asset recycling

>>715755076
They're raping his corpse at this point, just let the man go already

>>715754953
ps2 yakuza 2 is better than kiwami 2 thoughever

>>715755482
in 2 he felt he owed the clan after causing so much trouble in 1
in 3 he's forced to get involved because the deed to his land was stolen
after that, fuck if I know.

>>715754248 (OP)
The ending is the least important part of a story. None of that shit matters at all.

>>715754248 (OP)
Yakuza 0 would be a good ending if Kiryu stayed a civilian

>>715754407
they aren't good games. but the stories can carry the shit gameplay sometimes.