8 Best Progression Systems In The Like A Dragon Series, Ranked

The Yakuza/Like a Dragon games are known for featuring satisfying progression loops as players get stronger with each confrontation and level up various powerful skills to take out their opponents in style. While simply acquiring experience is a tried-and-tested method, other games have tried experimenting with the progression system.

This is why most fans love the Yakuza series, since it never rests on its laurels. Instead, these games try to do something different in each entry while still letting players explore familiar locations and interact with notable characters.

8

Yakuza Kiwami

A Simple Experience System Where Players Can Fight Majima Numerous Times To Get Stronger

Given how basic the first Yakuza game was compared to its sequels, it’s easy to see why the developers felt that the Kiwami remake needed to do something special. This led to the introduction of the three styles from Yakuza 0 for Kiryu along with his patented Dragon Style that had been significantly neutered.

However, Majima decided to help him in this goal by ambushing Kiryu whenever he could and helping him hone his craft. Not only was this a great way to acquire experience points, but fulfilling certain conditions helped players unlock the Dragon Style moves. This could be a bit of a grind though, but fans who love Majima’s wacky character won’t mind fighting him numerous times to help Kiryu get stronger in no time.

7

Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life

Five Kinds Of Experience That Can Be Used To Upgrade Skills

The shift to the new Dragon Engine was challenging in Yakuza 6, which is why some areas of Kamurocho aren’t accessible like the Champion District. However, RGG Studio should still be lauded for trying to innovate on other aspects of the game, including the leveling system.

Kiryu can acquire experience in five different verticals to unlock a varied set of skills, with players being encouraged to hit up restaurants and exploit meal combos to increase their XP gain. While this encourages players to use digestives and scarf down as much food as possible, it still feels more refreshing and involving than just acquiring experience the traditional way, which can still be achieved by going through the main story, winning battles, and completing substories.

6

Yakuza Kiwami 2

Making Progress In The Story And Eating Food Is A Must For Kiryu To Improve

With RGG Studio getting more competent at using the Dragon Engine, Yakuza Kiwami 2 felt like a marked improvement over the sixth mainline entry that came before it. The progression system was similar to Yakuza 6, which can be both a good and bad thing in the eyes of many.

Either way, fans will know the drill at this point. They must complete a bevy of activities in the game world to optimize their XP gains, and players are encouraged to find as many bountiful meal combos as possible to optimize the money they spend on food.

5

Judgment

Everything Players Accomplish In The World Garners SP

Players who want their character’s progress to feel as natural as possible will find Judgment to be right up their alley. All upgrades are dictated by a universal resource called SP, which can help lawyer-turned-detective Yagami unlock moves and strengthen his stats to make combat and other activities more manageable.

It’s a simple and stress-free way to earn upgrades early on, but fans will be forced to grind after a point to acquire the SP needed for the top-tier upgrades. This can be frustrating, especially with the limited plays of Paradise VR ensuring that players will be struggling for funds along with SP gains in the late game.

4

Lost Judgment

Pretty Much Similar To Its Predecessor, With Players Earning Valuable SP As They Interact With The Game World

Lost Judgment is an improvement over its sequel, boasting more combat styles and numerous opportunities to earn SP. While the tradeoff is that the game may become a bit too easy after a point, that’s something Yakuza fans treasure as a reward for their hard work.

In the right hands, Yagami can turn into an unstoppable force of nature who can do no wrong. It helps that the side activities are rewarding enough that players are incentivized to find everything possible in and around the game world.

3

Yakuza: Like A Dragon

The Shift To The JRPG Genre Means That Ichiban And The Party Gains XP With Each Encounter

Yakuza: Like a Dragon‘s scintillating JRPG elements are executed perfectly. Fans were genuinely impressed to see just how smooth the genre transition was, silencing a lot of their doubts in no time.

In traditional JRPG fashion, players acquired experience to level up their character and the job they had equipped. Being forced into encounters against weak opposition was a pain, but the game made up for it with a litany of interesting jobs, ensuring that combat remained fresh till the very end.

2

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

A Wider Variety Of Jobs Gives Players More Avenues To Explore As They Gain Experience

After Yakuza: Like a Dragon was a major success, RGG Studio was emboldened to stick to the JRPG format for their mainline entries. While Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth may seem like the same game in Hawaii for some, the refined combat and extended collection of jobs ensured that players would love this sequel just as much as they loved the previous game, if not more.

Just like the previous game, a major part of the gameplay loop is getting into fights and acquiring valuable experience points. Players can check out the new jobs featured in this game and make the most of their high-level abilities to punish enemies, although some challenging bosses can still be a pain to deal with.

1

Yakuza 0

Takes Place During An Economic Bubble, Which Is Why Players Literally Invest In Their Characters To Get Stronger

Not only is Yakuza 0 the perfect entry point into this series, but the game also makes the most of its time period. Since it took place during Japan’s economic bubble, money is plentiful and governs everything from the items the protagonists can buy to the abilities they can acquire.

To make money farming easier, both characters get to enjoy engaging side activities that give them a massive payout as they make progress. It may be weird to invest in Kiryu and Majima’s stats, but this is something fans will get used to in no time as the money starts flowing in.