I'm a strong supporter of giving every game a chance even if I don't like the game. I'm currently playing Yakuza 1 on PS2, I have a friend who really loves the series so I thought I'd try it because I had never played much of them.

It started out really cool, the combat was fun and the story was cool but as the story goes further and the game gets harder, the combat started to fall apart for me as well as the story and at this point I just kind of want it to end...

I'm in Chapter 23 now, fighting Lou Ka Long, which I guess is about 60% into the game? I don't know, is it worth finishing now?

Kazuma would never just quit. A man must finish what he starts!

I didn't like this series till 3. The combat is much tighter and the story is more interesting.

@corevi: I've heard the same from my friend that loves the series but I don't have access to a PS3 anymore so 1 and 2 are my only options at the moment unfortunately.

@baka_shinji17: That is true, he does fight a lot of dudes and there's no way to flee...

I think you should totally finish it if you intend on playing the other games in the series. As @corevi said, the combat and story both get a lot better. The heat actions get especially ridiculous starting in 3. Although in 2 (my personal favorite), there is a quick time event where you jump on a huge chandelier and punch it until it falls on a bunch of dudes below you...

...yeah, maybe you should finish it and play Yakuza 2 at least. That game is all sorts of great.

I thought 1 was fine. But I relied on dodging and blocking more than I did in 4. But if you're not enjoying it then stop playing I guesd?

My suggestion is stock up on staminan royales at the drug store south of purgatory and have weapons. Makes things easier (as does armor).

The end is quite ridiculous and over the top that I found it worth it. But the dip on fun begins right after where you are at. That said, I loved that section due to the Kill Bill vibe

God those games get tough around the end. Keep at it though and like the poster above me said, stock up on staminan royales. I like stocking up on bento boxes too, those heal a lot of health.

Personally I started with Yakuza 3, which sucked me deep into the series, so if the PS2 titles aren't doing it for you, please give one of the PS3 games a shot. They're similar, but I think the combat is deeper.

Bought yakuza 3 and 4 as used games because i wanted to try out the series. In the end I didnt like the gameplay that much. In a way I expected something like sleeping dogs (when it comes to fighting) but the fights feel a lot more akward than the ones in sleeping dog.

Also actually read that the creator of these games dislikes GTA games. Which I find to be a bit odd since yakuza games are in a way somewhat similiar in design to GTA games. Though the world size is much smaller and you dont drive vehicles around.

You're close enough, finish the game because the story starts getting really good again soon. Then you can move on to 2, which really spruces up the combat and still has the best story in the series. The combat in Yakuza 2 is pretty much identical to the PS3 games, they fixed all the issues 1 had.

@red_piano: I'd probably finish it since you're close to finishing it. Just a reminder if you thought of moving on to the ps3 games they have a recap mode which basically summarizes the events of Yakuza 2 if you wanted to continue the series. I think Yakuza 2 is pretty hard to find now a days.

2 is hard to find. Its 40-50 bux on ebay these days.