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Fun Club A simple question of preference: Grand Theft Auto or Yakuza/Like A Dragon?

Which franchise do you prefer?

  • Total voters
    80
Derachi

Derachi

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This is not a scientific survey or anything, I just want to know: which video game franchise do you prefer, Grand Theft Auto or Yakuza/Like A Dragon?

For this question, assume I’m asking about the franchise as a whole, including spin-offs, but not including same-studio, same-engine games with similar structures. So I’m including, for example, Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars and Yakuza Dead Souls, but I’m not counting Red Dead Redemption or Judgment.
 
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I haven’t played a single Yakuza game but it’s already exponentially more charming than any GTA from what I’ve seen of it, so I pick that.
 
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GTA who?
 
Yakuza by a pretty wide margin. Characters, tone, gameplay etc. just appeal more to me. And I do love going back and revisiting Kamurocho, seeing how it changes over the years.

Don't tell Derachi though.

edit: ah fuck
 
I've not played much of GTA, but from what I've seen it's not exactly a series for me. Not only is it yet another huge open world that lacks in actual content, unlike Yakuza, which can have 2 streets and fill them with so much stuff you'll spend 20 hours on them, but the content that's there is rarely for me.

Like, I'm sure GTA has some good humor and satire, but what I've seen is not only too on-the-nose, but also can straight-up be really bad (I'd say offensive, but it really isn't, it's just boomer humor). Yakuza isn't perfect, and definitely romanticizes some stuff that maybe shouldn't be portrayed that way, but LaD specifically goes out of its way to defend minorities, immigrants, and sex workers.
 
Yakuza by a very wide margin, but they're honestly so different and appealing to such different sensibilities that they don't feel very comparable outside of a cursory look at their settings.
 
The Like a Dragon series is filled with gritty crime drama and silly charm that perfectly balance each other out, mixed with a satirical take on modern Japan and pop culture.

Grand Theft Auto is just mean-spirited, still relies on South Park-level satire that was dated in 2005, and GTAV in particular controls like absolute shit.
 
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Derachi, colourised, ca. 2023.
 
Only one of those gives you a chicken to manage your real estate. So Yakuza is obviously the superior choice.
 
Hot take- GTA felt subversive about 25 years ago, tired 15 years ago and just boring to me now.
 
I only played first 4 Yakuza (first two games on PS2) and Lost Souls (couldn't finish the 4th game). All four were great beat em up games with heavy story but they hardly evolved in 4 entries. Combat pretty much remained same in all 4 games. And the story in 3rd and 4th games were hard to keep track of.

They are nothing alike GTA games though, it's very hard for me to compare them. They're not fully open world and the only vehicle in the games are bicycles which you can't use for traversal. But there are other games that have hand to hand combat very similar to Yakuza, so I shall compare to them. Is Yakuza (1 to 4) a better brawler than... Sleeping Dogs and Arkham series? The answer is... Sorry Kiryu-san but Sleeping Dog's hand to hand combat is still unmatched.
 
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GTA V is rad as hell, but Yakuza is a top 3 video game franchise for me. That’s my pick, but both are great.
 
Yakuza games look super low budget and keep using the same location. There's one character who has a low res texture jacket, and they never bothered fixing it in multiple games. I don't know how people pay 60 or 70 Euros for that.
 
I’m not massively fussed by the GTA games, I prefer Yakuza, mostly down to the classic arcade games haha.
 
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Haven't played very much of either so I said No Preference. Based on observation, both seem like comfort food, just for different types of people.

On the podcast Triple Click, Maddy Myers said that she recently started GTA V for the first time (I think) and couldn't get over how in an early scene you play as a character just watching TV and you can press a button to drink beer and another to take a hit of a joint. To paraphrase, she said "I get how this is a fantasy when you're a teenager, but I'm an adult. If I want to drink a beer, smoke weed, and watch TV I can very easily." Just thought that was a funny observation, and raises the question of what kind of fantasy GTA really fulfills.

No similar story about Yakuza. Looks stupid in a fun way.
 
Two very different games, but the choice is easy, Like a Dragon.

Nothing against GTA, I think Vice City is a great game, but everything that game after was pretty whatever. Still haven’t played GTA V, but you know, the series isn’t for me anymore.

Like a Dragon though is way more up my ally and it’s amazing.
 
those poll results are making my day right now just saying

folks are allowed to prefer whichever franchise they want but it does feel good to know I’m among likeminded folks
 
GTA just because there are so many Yakuza games they start to feel like factory assembled products. It feels that every six months Sega announces another Yakuza.
There's a line where enough is enough and they have really crossed that.
 
Enpsty said:
GTA just because there are so many Yakuza games they start to feel like factory assembled products. It feels that every six months Sega announces another Yakuza.
There's a line where enough is enough and they have really crossed that.
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You know, I absolutely love the Yakuza/LaD franchise with every fibre of my being

But I agree! They should limit themselves to like, 1 a year
 
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Yakuza, easily. I prefer its sincerity to GTA's cynicism and sex / toilet humor everywhere, and it's also got poor controls relative to other third-person shooters, imo.
Yamanoi said:
Yakuza games look super low budget and keep using the same location. There's one character who has a low res texture jacket, and they never bothered fixing it in multiple games. I don't know how people pay 60 or 70 Euros for that.
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You've ruined me. Each time I replay Yakuza 0 now, I'm gonna expect Yamanoi to walk over to the Dragon Quest substory just to tell everyone standing in line that the game isn't worth ¥7000, not even in the bubble economy.
 
Enpsty said:
GTA just because there are so many Yakuza games they start to feel like factory assembled products. It feels that every six months Sega announces another Yakuza.
There's a line where enough is enough and they have really crossed that.
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There have been 9 new Yakuza games in the last decade, and that's using the absolute broadest definition including kiwami games and judgement titles. The actual new titles come along every 3-4 years. Yakuza 6 was in 2016, 7 was in 2020, and 8 is in 2024 witha short midquel side game having releases this year.
 
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Yakuza by a mile. There are some aspects of GTA I really appreciate, but the writing and humour are a frequent miss for me.

Also as far as I know GTA does not have:
  • Two hunks ripping their shirts off in near-unison for a climactic throwdown
  • Banks of lockers to open for sick prizes
  • Babies to hand off to onlookers before you beat the shit out of people
  • Onomichio
  • Crazy Astro whips
  • Yamanoi
 
Linkstrikesback said:
There have been 9 new Yakuza games in the last decade, and that's using the absolute broadest definition including kiwami games and judgement titles. The actual new titles come along every 3-4 years.
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Since Yakuza 0 there are 9 Yakuza games. Just this year we had Ishin and the man who erased his name. You may count them as spinoffs, but there are Yakuza games at heart. Oversaturation never help a franchise. Never. And I predict that sooner or later people will grow tired of them and Sega will have themselves to blame. In fact I'll take an avatar bet that Infinite Wealth would be a commercial disappointment.
 
Linkstrikesback said:
There have been 9 new Yakuza games in the last decade, and that's using the absolute broadest definition including kiwami games and judgement titles. The actual new titles come along every 3-4 years. Yakuza 6 was in 2016, 7 was in 2020, and 8 is in 2024 witha short midquel side game having releases this year.
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I actually do think oversaturation is a valid complaint about the Yakuza franchise. You can try to math it out and say there’s only one a year but the games are long and it’s very easy to burn out on them. Also, if anyone is coming to the franchise now, it’s a little daunting having there be so many released so often. It sometimes results in folks just not getting into it, which is frankly a shame
 
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Weird comparison. The only similarities are that they are about crimes.

Either way, I vote Yakuza... Tentatively. I like the series enough, but honestly I think a good chunk of the games and stories are garbage and most of my enjoyment comes from vibes. Except 7. 7 is mostly just solid.
 
The only time I've played a GTA game was when my friend would bring his PSP to school and we would go on carnage runs in GTA: Liberty City Stories during study hall and see who would survive the longest. As for Yakuza, I've never played a game in the series and they don't really seem that appealing. I would be willing to give it a shot if one released on the Switch, but it doesn't matter to me if the series never comes to Nintendo's systems.

So I picked neither.
 
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They both haven't really grabbed me but GTA is possibly the most boring video game series of all time, so I'll pick no preference with a tentative edge to the 'Kuza.
 
Never understood why people compare these games. They have 2 things in common: They take place in cities, and the stories revolve around crime. And there's a billion other games that share these things in common as well. As for me, I like LaD more. Never got grabbed by the story of GTA and grinding for cash in Online seems like a chore that tries to get you to buy their subscription service and paid currency.
 
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The only reason why there's been oversaturation this year is because of Ishin, which is an odd case given that it's technically just a remaster in Japan. Bigger deal for everyone else since it wasn't localized, but it also wasn't exactly a big project for RGG. That's kinda the case for Yakuza in general, the delayed localizations have led to oversaturation in the west despite development not really being that crazy.

  • 2014: Ishin
  • 2015: Yakuza 0
  • 2016: Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza 6
  • 2017: Yakuza Kiwami 2
  • 2018: Judgment
  • 2019: Yakuza 3-5 Remasters
  • 2020: Yakuza 7
  • 2021: Lost Judgment
  • 2022: Lost Judgment DLC
  • 2023: Ishin Kiwami, Gaiden
  • 2024: Infinite Wealth, ???
It's still a lot, but Ishin's importance in the west as a new release is inflating things a fair bit. Treat it as closer to the Yakuza 3-5 remasters or Yakuza Kiwami (which is probably where it falls in terms of development costs, I'm guessing) and suddenly things don't look anywhere near as bad. Financial years also play a role in this: Ishin didn't release the same year as Gaiden or Infinite Wealth under that calendar.

Enpsty said:
Since Yakuza 0 there are 9 Yakuza games. Just this year we had Ishin and the man who erased his name. You may count them as spinoffs, but there are Yakuza games at heart. Oversaturation never help a franchise. Never. And I predict that sooner or later people will grow tired of them and Sega will have themselves to blame. In fact I'll take an avatar bet that Infinite Wealth would be a commercial disappointment.
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I don't think Infinite Wealth is the one to be making this bet on, it's getting a lot of very positive press. It even got a nominated for most anticipated game at the GOTYs. If they push something out too soon after Infinite Wealth, I'd say that runs a lot of risk of being a disappointment, but Infinite Wealth itself is positioned pretty well, all things considered.
 
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Aurc said:
Yakuza, easily. I prefer its sincerity to GTA's cynicism and sex / toilet humor everywhere, and it's also got poor controls relative to other third-person shooters, imo.

You've ruined me. Each time I replay Yakuza 0 now, I'm gonna expect Yamanoi to walk over to the Dragon Quest substory just to tell everyone standing in line that the game isn't worth ¥7000, not even in the bubble economy.
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Good. We should support series like GTA who support our Nintendo platform rather than Yakuza or Like a Dragon. I don't know about you, but I pay attention to Japanese sales and a game selling in Japan is all that matters for my enjoyment. Due to that, GTA is my favorite.
 
Yamanoi said:
Good. We should support series like GTA who support our Nintendo platform rather than Yakuza or Like a Dragon. I don't know about you, but I pay attention to Japanese sales and a game selling in Japan is all that matters for my enjoyment. Due to that, GTA is my favorite.
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See you taking down the Five Billionaires in Kamurocho.

($EGA, Rock$tar, $ony, Micro$oft, Ubi$oft)

"Say $70 one more time. I dare you, I double dare you."

YtmOqlq_d.webp
 
Yakuza clears really easily, it's just written so well and I like action games.

I really want to like GTA more, but the scripts and writing are kind of just really bad. Like, even on top of being cynical and mean spirited, they just are poorly written and realized.
 
I’ve never played any LAD game, although Yakuza LAD looks cool and I want to try it. I’ve only played GTA III and half of IV. So I voted no preference.

Dardan Sandiego said:
Obviously an IP like Yakuza with such a strong presence on Nintendo systems is winning on Famiboards :rolleyes:
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Who can forget the legendary GTA games that came to Nintendo platforms? Iconic titles like checks notes Grand Theft Auto Advance and GTA China Town Wars
 
Enpsty said:
Since Yakuza 0 there are 9 Yakuza games. Just this year we had Ishin and the man who erased his name. You may count them as spinoffs, but there are Yakuza games at heart. Oversaturation never help a franchise. Never. And I predict that sooner or later people will grow tired of them and Sega will have themselves to blame. In fact I'll take an avatar bet that Infinite Wealth would be a commercial disappointment.
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I will bet against you. Sega will be happy with Infinite Wealth, and I'll love it. I want more Ryu Ga Gotoku. I have always felt I never had enough of those games, so back in the day I imported the games from Japan.

Kenzan never made it to the west, and I have the ps3 copy proudly among my few gaming treasures like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Grandia, Shenmue I, Shenmue II and Shining Force 3.
 
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Red Monster said:
Who can forget the legendary GTA games that came to Nintendo platforms? Iconic titles like checks notes Grand Theft Auto Advance and GTA China Town Wars
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Rockstar really put their best foot forward with those games back then but I'm glad that they finally brought the inferior spinoffs to Switch, despite their technical issues.
 
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meatbag said:
I haven’t played a single Yakuza game but it’s already exponentially more charming than any GTA from what I’ve seen of it, so I pick that.
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Same. I lost interest in GTA after Vice Cities. The bigger is better ethos and “this is serious storytelling” that started with San Andreas just didn’t really appeal to me. I’m sure also aging is a part of it too.

I’m much more inclined to give things like Yakuza and Saint’s Row a go these days for that urban open-world with wacky hijinx vibe.
 
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RGG are the best in the business when it comes to cinematic storytelling in games. They didn't really find their footing on that front until Y0, but they've been putting out banger after banger ever since, great games full of charm and some excellent character writing. I finished LaD Gaiden earlier today and cried buckets, they may lean into some goofy soap opera nonsense here and there, but when RGG buckles down and wants to make you feel something, hoo boy.

GTA has always struck me as something so determined to flaunt how "mature" it is that it just wraps around to being juvenile, and I don't really care for most sandbox games to begin with
 
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Where tf are ya'll finding these grounded and emotionally mature GTA games because the last one I played had me roleplaying as Shamu after eating a random plant I found at the bottom of the ocean.
 
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I voted "no preference" because i've never actually played a GTA game so my impression of them could be totally wrong but from what I understand they're very sandboxy style open world games which just doesn't appeal to me

i've played a couple Yakuza games and enjoyed them and although they have plenty of side activities they also have a level of focus in their plot and world design that i'm under the impression GTA just doesn't
 
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Metroid said:
Weird comparison. The only similarities are that they are about crimes.

Either way, I vote Yakuza... Tentatively. I like the series enough, but honestly I think a good chunk of the games and stories are garbage and most of my enjoyment comes from vibes. Except 7. 7 is mostly just solid.
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our battle continues even here
...where's the lie tho, I can't contend with this
I think Rockstar also recognizes within minigames, there's fun to just getting wacky and throwing a bunch of shit at a wall and see what sticks. I think Rockstars usually end up being in service of something or otherwise negligible. Yakuzas become the main star- for better and worse. If a Rockstar mini game doesn't click for me, I find it easier to turn off my brain and just get through it based on ease of access. I'll never get confused.
Sega has other ideas. I still don't know how the hell the motorcycle mini game from Lost Judgment works, and by this point, the thought of going back to it mortifies me. I actually have some pretty detailed takes about minigames, but I'll cut it short as seeing RGG be able to reuse a buncha stuff fairly easily while somehow crafting some of the most mentally taxing shit I've dealt with.
[I now realize you meant games more generally and not games within a game but I agree with you anyway and I typed all that out you can't make me erase it]
as for the stories holy shit, when they get it right, I'm bawling, I'm sobbing, I need three tissues delivered to my nose by 3 equally sensitive therapists. But when it's bad, I just start breaking man, it's like finding out the structure under your house is a thin custard that's been being slurped up without you realizing it. I'm surprised I could move onto Yakuza 6 after 5. And there's just important structural foundations that the story relies upon you trusting that are hollowed from the jump. Akiyama sucks! Screw that guy. But the story relentlessly pushes him in front of me like I wanna be around him.
anyhow yakuza wins my vote, Zhao is my favorite character, and I would steal his look if I had the money.
 
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