If you want to fully explore the lore of the series (and spend months/years doing so, probably) start with Zero, then Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 (the remastered, extended editions of 1 and 2) then 3, 4, etc…
If you just want to hop in to the modern day, start with Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It’s basically a reboot of the series, new main character, new combat system. The game should key you in on any important stuff from previous games that you need to know.
While I agree that you could jump in with Yakuza: LAD, I think it might be worth playing the earlier games for Infinite Wealth because Kiryu is one of the main characters. There will probably be a lot of references to the previous games because of Kiryu’s bucket list.
If you want to fully explore the lore of the series (and spend months/years doing so, probably) start with Zero, then Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 (the remastered, extended editions of 1 and 2) then 3, 4, etc…
If you just want to hop in to the modern day, start with Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It’s basically a reboot of the series, new main character, new combat system. The game should key you in on any important stuff from previous games that you need to know.
While I agree that you could jump in with Yakuza: LAD, I think it might be worth playing the earlier games for Infinite Wealth because Kiryu is one of the main characters. There will probably be a lot of references to the previous games because of Kiryu’s bucket list.