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Internationally, theLike A Dragonseries has only gone from strength to strength. While always enjoying a steady pace in Japan, the series hit worldwide fame with Yakuza 0 and has only grown in prestige since. While Kazuma Kiryu has stolen the hearts of players for years, protagonist Ichiban Kasuga’s run is now firmly in swing.
Beginning back in 2005 with seemingly endless stories centered around getting scammed, the Like A Dragon games have grown immensely in scale, with more people to meet, places to see, and characters to play with each new entry. Play times have shot up, too, so we’re going to break down just how much time you have to dedicate to this wonderful set of games.
While the games originally went by the title ‘Yakuza’ internationally, this was changed to ‘Like A Dragon’ with the seventh mainline entry to align with the Japanese title. You canlearn more about the name change here.
How Long Does It Take To Beat Every Mainline Like A Dragon Game?
Comprising the mainline series of Like A Dragon areeight games, beginning in 2005 up to the latest release of Infinite Wealth in 2024.
That’s almost 20 years of roaming the streets of Japan (and now Hawaii), yet those familiar areas never grew stale. Check out the table below for the rough length of each game.
Due to being the most readily available versions, we’ve used the Kiwami remakes for this article.
31.5
142
18
82.5
18.5
77.5
16.5
105
20.5
95
36
156
53.5
45
102
56
125
Play times tend to fluctuate a lot there, ebbing and flowing between high and low across entries rather than a steady growth or decline.
A large part of that is due to the new playable characters added in various games. Yakuza 0 has both Kiryu and Majima, and as a result almost doubles the playtime of the original Yakuza.
Meanwhile,Yakuza 5 comes in at a whopping 156 hours to 100 percentdue to having five playable characters. To date, Yakuza 5 is also the longest entry in the series.
As a result of all this, it would take around260 hours just to get through the (great) stories of each gameand a total of938.5 hours to see everything they have to offer. That’s a pretty long time!
How Long Does It Take To Beat Every Spin-Off Like A Dragon Game?
When it comes to spin-offs, the Like A Dragon series (at least internationally) is much more limited,comprising only four gamesthat you may still purchase. To their credit, though, these games are also all dramatically different from the other games in the series while still offering plenty to sink your teeth into.
Judgment and Lost Judgment, though not bearing the ‘Like A Dragon’ name, share the same world and frequently feature cameos from the other games in the series.
23.5
129
12
32
27.5
100
24
103
Ishin! is a remakeof the earlier Ishin game, set during the Edo period of Japan. A far cry from the streets players are used to but filled with faces you will otherwise recognize.
Judgment featuresnewcomer Takayuki Yagamias a detective, with the typical Like A Dragon formula twisted into a legal thriller. It’s fun stuff, even if they’ve struggled with being able to use actor Takuya Kimura’s likeness.
Gaiden, as you’ve probably seen, is exceedingly shorter than any other entry in the series, even when pushing for 100 percent,clocking in at only 32 hours. The game is intended more as a send-off for Kiryu, being his final entry with his signature brawling style.
In total, it would takeabout 87 hours to complete these four spin-offs and 364 in total to finish them entirely.
