TheYakuzafranchise, also known asLike a Dragon, is filled with dozens upon dozens of minigames, with each entry adding even more, as RGG Studios lets newer devs test their skills by developing new ones. With this many minigames available, many players debate over which ones are the best and which ones have less-than-ideal quality.
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BecauseYakuzaminigames tend to center themselves around taking mundane everyday tasks and adding a Sega-gameplay flair to them, it is easier than one would think to decide which minigames reign above the others as the best in the franchise. All one has to do is remember this company’s arcade routes and choose which feels the most intense.
10Cannonball Training
The Sword Is Mightier Than the Gun
Appearance
Like a Dragon: Ishin
Every game in theYakuzafranchise includes a baseball minigame.Yakuza 5even centered an entire character around the idea of playing baseball. However, the old ball and stick game just isn’t enough for some players, who crave a more exciting style of minigame. That’s where the Cannonball Training minigame inLike a Dragon: Ishincomes in. Instead of merely hitting baseballs, here the samurai Ryoma will have to slice apart cannonballs coming firing right at him.
This fun twist on the baseball minigame is a welcome change of pace after nearly 15 games of the same formula. There’s even a secondary mode to this minigame where, instead of slicing apart the cannonballs, you must shoot them with a revolver. Unfortunately, though, this minigame must rank low on our list as at the end of the day you are pressing only a single button.
9Biker Gang
Lost Judgment
Have you ever wanted the pure joy of going on a Mad Max-styled road rage, but aren’t in the mood for a post-apocalyptic game? Well, the Biker Gang races inLost Judgmentmay just be for you. This minigame will have you customize your bike before sending you along the highway to wreck and destroy your opponents before engaging in a fierce 1v1 race to the finish line.
While this minigame is incredibly fun the first few times you play it, by the time you’ve gotten to the end of the Biker Gang storyline, you see how repetitive it is. Thus, it must rank at the bottom of this list.
Lovely for Friday Night Gaming
Nearly every game in theLike a Dragonfranchise includes some form of rhythm game. Some, likeYakuza 0, even include multiple. The Disco minigame inYakuza 0is very different from the franchise’s famous karaoke sequences. Here the player must move their analog stick across a disco floor while also pressing buttons in time with the beat simultaneously.
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This is one of the most intense rhythm minigames in the franchise and will take you several attempts to get it right, but the satisfaction of achieving a great score on these songs is a great reward for that effort. Sadly, that initial effort means it must rank lower on this list compared to other pick-up-and-play minigames.
7Skateboarding
The Most Radical Experience on PS5
Activision might never make a new Pro Skater game again, but thankfully, RGG Studios is here to help fill that void via the Skateboarding minigame fromLost Judgment. This minigame places the player in a small skate park with the sole task of getting as many points as possible in a few minutes. You can gain these points by doing tricks, collecting coins, and just overall being stylish with your boarding.
This minigame is one of the most fun distractions RGG Studios has ever put into aYakuzagame. The pure joy of unlocking new tracks to skate on and obliterating the score requirements is a joy that never fades. Which more than solidifies the minigame’s placement on this list.
Little Mac Wishes He Was Here
Next up is a minigame so good that they made an entire DLC fighting style about it. The boxing minigame inLost Judgmentcaptures all the bygone fun of Wii Sports boxing and combines it with the visual flair expected of the Like a Dragon franchise. You’ll be ducking, dodging, and launching a flurry of punches at your opponents at high speeds all while energetic music hypes you up.
The minigame is surprisingly expansive for aYakuzaminigame, as it includes dozens of opponents of varying difficulties for the player to take down, allowing for hours of fun.
5Spear Fishing
The Beauty of the Deep Sea
Aside from the actual arcade games, very few minigames in theYakuzafranchise truly manage to capture the feeling of a classic Sega title. This next minigame, Spear Fishing, and every minigame placed above it in this list are the exception as it would feel right at home among classic titles like Out Run.
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The content of Spear Fishing puts the player in a first-person Rail-Shooter reminiscent of old tiles like House of the Dead. Here the player will have to hunt down as many fish as possible before eventually encountering a boss fight against a killer shark! Despite the boss fight, this minigame is a relaxing time and one of the highlights ofYakuza 6.
4Tatsuya Noodles
Don’t Serve Them Too Cold
Appearances
Yakuza 5and the Japanese-exclusive PSP games, allow players to run their own noodle serving stand. When running this stand, the player will be given orders by up to five customers that they will have to fulfill diner dash-style. While this minigame may seem simple, it quickly turns into fast-paced chaos as multiple customers give their orders at once, which you must handle simultaneously. This tense pace and the fun visual of Kiryu in an apron places this minigame near the top of this list.The franchise’ssamurai-themed spinoffLike a Dragon: Ishinalso featured a variant of this minigame. However, that version was more of a Simon Says variant, which required you to press buttons at a fast pace.
3Can Quest
Always Recycle, Kids
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Next up on the list is the most exciting activity possible: recycling! 2019’sYakuza: Like a DragonCan Quest minigame has the player take a break from the game’sFinal Fantasy Job-styled gameplay and puts the player on a bike and has them rush through the crowded streets of Yokohama collecting garbage, all while other homeless people and garbage trucks attempt to steal those cans from you. A playthrough of Can Quest is tense, fast-paced, and a grand fun distraction from the main game.
Can Quest should be the blueprint for allLike a Dragonminigames going forward. Taking mundane activities like recycling and making them a radical and fun gameplay experience is what people think of when the term “Yakuza Minigame” is brought up.
2Crazy Delivery
Almost Feels Like Driving a Taxi
The one thing more fun than recycling cans is, of course, being an Uber Eats delivery person.Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealthfeatures a successor to the Can Quest minigame known as Crazy Delivery. This Crazy Taxi-inspired minigame has the player biking around the streets of Hawaii picking up trails of food to deliver to customers.
Points are determined by how fast you can deliver food as well as how many cool tricks you can perform while doing it. Leading to an extremely fun experience that expands upon everything that made Can Quest great to begin with.
The world ofLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealthis filled with many interesting and fun experiences, with this minigame standing out as one of the coolest features in the game.
Dame Da Ne
Every Yakuza Game
Anyone who has ever heard of theYakuzafranchise knows that karaoke would be placed near the top of this list. While this minigame may be a simple rhythm game, it has led to many iconic music videos, memes, and even insightful character studies about the cast of the franchise.
Almost every fan of this franchise can recite Baka Mitai and Machine Gun Kiss by memory alone and each new game gives us at least one amazing song. For that alone, Karaoke lands at the top of this list as one of the best minigames in theYakuzafranchise.
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