The Like a Dragon (龍が如く, Ryū ga Gotoku) series, previously marketed outside of Asia as the Yakuza series, is a series of video games created by Toshihiro Nagoshi for Sega. Its first game was released in 2005, and the series is still ongoing, featuring over two dozen games. It is a multiplatform series, with most games being released for PlayStation, Windows, Xbox, and occasionally Nintendo systems.
From 2008 on, almost all video games in the series featured Koi-Koi and Oicho-Kabu as minigames that players can play against non-player characters to gamble in-game money.
Notes about the particular Koi-Koi rules used in most video games in the series:
A lot of details of the Oicho-Kabu rules are notably different from those described on its Fuda Wiki articles.
General rule notes:
Yaku rule notes:
Oicho-Kabu can be played either with kabufuda or hanafuda, depending on the game settings.
An overview and comparison of the hanafuda terminology used in the game.
| In-game Japanese | In-game English | Fuda Wiki term |
|---|---|---|
| 親 (oya) | dealer | (same) |
| 「こい」をする (“koi” o suru) |
Call Koi | Koi-Koi |
| 「こい」をしない (“koi” o shinai) |
Don’t Call Koi | Shōbu |
¶ Card terms |
||
| カス札 (kasu fuda) | junk card | Chaff |
| タン札 (tan fuda) | poetry ribbon card | Ribbon |
| 10点札 (jutten fuda) | 10-point card | Animal |
| 20点札 (nijutten fuda) | 20-point card | Bright |
| 菊に盃 (kiku ni sakazuki) |
Sake Cup | (same) |
| 萩に猪 (hagi ni inoshishi) |
Boar with Clover | Boar |
| 紅葉に鹿 (momiji ni shika) |
Deer with Maple | Deer |
| 牡丹に蝶 (botan ni chō) |
Butterfly with Peony | Butterflies |
| 芒に月 (susuki ni tsuki) |
Moon over Pampas | Full Moon |
| 桜に幕 (sakura ni maku) |
Curtain with Sakura | Curtain |
| 柳に小野道風 (yanagi ni Ono no Tōfū) |
Rain Man | (same) |
¶ Yaku names |
||
| カス (kasu) | Junk | Chaff |
| タン (tan) | Poetry Ribbons | Ribbons |
| タネ (tane) | Variety | Animals |
| 旬 (shun) | Season | Cards of the Month |
| 青短 (aotan) | Blue Poetry Ribbons | Blue Ribbons |
| 赤短 (akatan) | Red Poetry Ribbons | Poetry Ribbons |
| 猪鹿蝶 (ino-shika-chō) | Boar, Deer, Butterfly | Boar-Deer-Butterfly |
| 月見酒 (tsukimi-zake) | Moon Viewing | Moon Viewing Sake |
| 花見酒 (hanami-zake) | Cherry Blossom Viewing | Flower Viewing Sake |
| 三光 (sankō) | Three Lights | Three Brights |
| 雨四光 (ame shikō) | Rainy Four Lights | Rainy Four Brights |
| 四光 (shikō) | Four Lights | Four Brights |
| 五光 (gokō) | Five Lights | Five Brights |
| 手四 (teshi) | Four of a Kind | (same) |
| 食付 (kuttsuki) | Four Pairs | (same) |
Oicho-Kabu terminology is as much as possible replaced with regular numbers rather than traditional Japanese (number) terms. E.g. Japanese versions of the games use the special number names (“Buta” through “Kabu”), but they are translated as “Zero” through “Nine” in English.
| In-game Japanese | In-game English | Fuda Wiki term |
|---|---|---|
| 親 (oya) | dealer | (same) |
| シッピン (shippin) | Four-One | 4 and 1 |
| クッピン (kuppin) | Nine-One | 9 and 1 |
| アラシ (arashi) | 3 of a Kind | Three of a Kind |
| ドシッピン (doshippin) | Ten-Ten-One | |
| シロクの逃げ (shiroku no nige, “four-six escape”) |
Four-Six |
The following is a chronological list of video games in the series starting in 2008, including which hanafuda games are playable, and on what gaming platforms they are available.
| PC | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Koi-Koi | Oicho-Kabu | Windows | PS3 | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | Switch | Switch 2 |
| 2008 | Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! (Japan only) |
✅ | ❌ | ❌ | PS3 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2009 | Yakuza 3 | ✅ | ✅ | Win | PS3 | PS4 | ❌ | XBO | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2010 | Yakuza 4 | ✅ | ✅ | Win | PS3 | PS4 | ❌ | XBO | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2011 | Yakuza: Dead Scrolls | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | PS3 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2012 | Yakuza 5 | ✅ | ✅ | Win | PS3 | PS4 | ❌ | XBO | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2014 | Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! (Japan only) |
✅ | ✅ | ❌ | PS3 | PS4 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2015 | Yakuza 0 | ✅ | ✅ | Win | PS3 | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | ❌ | Swi2 |
| 2016 | Yakuza Kiwami (Yakuza 1 remake) |
✅ | ✅ | Win | PS3 | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | Swi | Swi2 |
| 2016 | Yakuza 6: The Song of Life | ❌ | ❌ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | ❌ | XBO | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2016 | Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Yakuza 2 remake) |
✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | ❌ | Swi2 |
| 2018 | Judgment | ✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | ❌ | XBSX | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2020 | Yakuza: Like a Dragon | ✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2021 | Lost Judgment | ✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2023 | Like a Dragon: Ishin! (remake of 2014 title) |
✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2023 | Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name | ✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2024 | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | ✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2025 | Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii | ✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | XBO | XBSX | ❌ | ❌ |
| 2026 | Yakuza Kiwami 3 (Yakuza 3 remake) |
✅ | ✅ | Win | ❌ | PS4 | PS5 | ❌ | XBSX | ❌ | Swi2 |
The lists exludes the Yakuza (2005) and Yakuza 2 (2006), which are both on PlayStation 2, Playstation 3, and WiiU, and do not feature hanafuda/kabufuda.
Also excluded are two Japan-only PSP games and a free-to-play mobile game, which do not feature hanafuda/kabufuda either.