Get up to speed on your Yakuza lore with Sega’s helpful character maps and timeline

Yakuza is a multifaceted series with lots of things going on behind the scenes. If it feels a little intimidating to just jump into, know that you’re not alone. Since Yakuza Kiwami there have been years worth of narrative in-game that you’ve missed out on, and there’s a lot to go through before you get to the upcoming Yakuza 6: The Song of Life on Mar. 20. Luckily, Sega has put together a special “Yakuza Experience” site with a character map and timeline to help fill in the blanks and introduce you to some very special individuals. 

Yakuza is a multifaceted series with lots of things going on behind the scenes. If it feels a little intimidating to just jump into, know that you’re not alone. Since Yakuza Kiwami there have been years worth of narrative in-game that you’ve missed out on, and there’s a lot to go through before you get to the upcoming Yakuza 6: The Song of Life on Mar. 20. Luckily, Sega has put together a special “Yakuza Experience” site with a character map and timeline to help fill in the blanks and introduce you to some very special individuals. 

The site is full of info on pretty much everything you need to know about the Dragon of Dojima himself, Kazuma Kiryu, and the rest of the characters in Yakuza. There’s also an interactive set of motion comics as well as a 360-degree view of the Kamurocho district, where much of the Yakuza story takes place across the different games.

It’s actually a very helpful combination of entertainment, research material and more for anyone looking to get into the Yakuza games, which is a very good idea—you’re missing out if you’ve never played one. 

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is the latest game to be added to the long-running series, which started back on PlayStation 2. It’s the seventh main entry in the series. It’s already out in Japan, but it’s planned for a worldwide release on Mar. 20. 

You technically have time to finish all the other games before this one releases, but it’s a feat perhaps even Kiryu couldn’t accomplish, unless you’re just going to speed through them all, and that isn’t recommended for a series of this caliber.