Yakuza / Like a Dragon (龍が如く)

The series plays out almost entirely in Kamurochō, a stand-in for Kabukichō rebuilt with survey-grade precision: the signs, the vending machines, the alleys. It is the only game where you can spend three hours playing shogi, baseball and karaoke before picking the plot back up.

The tone embraces that gap between underworld tragedy and the total absurdity of the side quests, and that is exactly what built its Western reputation, where it broke through late. In 2020 the series swapped real-time combat for a turn-based system and changed protagonists, a risky bet that won it its widest audience.