Yakuza: Like a Dragon

A Mario Kart-style racer where you fire weapons while driving. Completion requires winning all 4 cups (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Dragon) plus all 6 rival races; the final two rivals only open in Chapter 15. The rival fights are brutally tuned, so a fully upgraded kart is effectively mandatory.

• Buy and fully upgrade a kart as soon as you can afford it — rival races hinge on raw stats and are near-impossible stock.
• Grab every Dragon Ring on the track — they raise top speed and repair your kart's durability.
• Collisions and hits drain durability and cause a time-losing crash, so play corners cleanly and save Shield items.
• For rivals like Jin, run a top kart such as a fully upgraded Crimson Fire, use weapons to disable them, and minimize mistakes.
• Boost start: hold accel right before the '2' in the countdown dissolves (about midway through its animation) to launch ahead of the pack.
• Drift corners with the X button and take an outside-in line — enter wide and cut in to bleed the least speed.
• Light, fast karts suit one-on-one rival races; heavier, sturdier karts fare better in cups crowded with other karts — swap accordingly.
• Jin's Winding Cross is narrow with sharp turns, so a high-grip, fully upgraded Crimson Fire fits best — run the course once or twice first to cut down wall hits.

Ichiban takes over a failing confectionery and runs employees and storefronts to climb to Rank 1 in the stock rankings. You manage the flow of the sales phase, then fend off hecklers in shareholder meetings to grow the company. Hitting Rank 1 unlocks big rewards, including a powerful summon.

• Place employees by stats and store affinity, and reinvest profits into upgrading staff and stores while expanding your storefront count.
• During the sales phase, tap the boost/up arrows to manage customer flow and clear trouble icons quickly.
• Shareholder meetings are a rock-paper-scissors-style battle against five hecklers — match employee card affinities to fill the gauge and rebut them.

A Pokemon-parody bestiary: photograph street enemies during battle to fill the Sujidex. Some Sujimon only appear at certain times, places, or weather, or only in later chapters, so completion is a sizable time sink.

• In battle, use the photo option in the battle menu to capture unregistered enemies — one shot registers them permanently.
• Some appear only at night, in rain, or in specific zones — revisit the same areas at different times of day to fill gaps.
• Tougher enemies appear as the story progresses — mop up missing entries in late chapters and high-level dungeons (e.g. the Sotenbori sewers).

A reaction minigame about not dozing off during old movies. Repel the REM Rams that pop up with the matching button to manage Ichiban's sleep gauge. There are 10 films total, each unlocking only after you clear the previous one.

• Press the button shown over each REM Ram to repel it — if it reads 'RAPID', mash that button five times to clear it.
• Alarm Cocks lower your gauge with their cymbals if ignored, so deal with them alongside the REM Rams.
• Later films throw more at you at once — keep a wide view and clear the nearest threats first.

A part-time minigame where you ride a custom bike, scoop up as many street cans as possible before the timer runs out, and deliver them to the start. Cans become Eco Points to trade with Kan-san for items, and there are competitive courses against rivals.

• Charge boost with the blue energy bottles — you can hold only one, so watch the minimap and always keep one in reserve.
• You can only smash rivals (and make them drop cans) while boosting, so save boost for when a rival is near.
• Chase the 'can girl' marked as a green star on the minimap — each can she drops is worth five.

A parody of Dragon Quest's 'Puff-Puff'. Pay 50,000 yen to a rarely-spawning 'Nigi-Nigi Girl' on the street for a comedic NigiNigi scene and a reward. Spawns are random and rare, so meeting them all takes time.

• Nigi-Nigi Girls spawn randomly on the street — keep an eye on NPCs while exploring and approach one the moment you spot it.
• Each costs 50,000 yen, so build up funds (e.g. via Business Management) before chasing these.

Japanese riichi mahjong, played in four-player hanchan rounds — a series staple gambling minigame. It ties into completion and some rewards, so it pays to get comfortable building yaku.

• Aim for basic yaku (riichi, tanyao, pinfu) for steady wins — chasing big hands risks dealing in.
• Read the in-game rules sheet first to grasp scoring and winning conditions quickly.

Japanese chess, a recurring series board game defined by its 'drop' rule (returning captured pieces to the board). Played one match at a time against the CPU.

• Drops are the heart of shogi — secure your king first, then build your attack.
• Early on, develop your major pieces (rook, bishop) along open lines to seize the initiative.

Koi-Koi played with hanafuda cards: match cards to form yaku, then decide whether to push on ('koi-koi') or cash out for points. Simple rules make it one of the friendlier gambling games.

• When you complete a yaku, weigh reward vs. risk before calling 'koi-koi' — pushing too far can hand the round to your opponent.
• Memorize which cards make each yaku (brights, ribbons, animals) so you can collect with a plan.

Buy chips and play blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker and more. Trade winnings at the counter for prizes, including rare items.

• Blackjack has a low house edge and is the steadiest way to grow chips — follow basic strategy by the dealer's upcard.
• Cash chips into counter prizes — some are gear hard to obtain elsewhere.

Timing-and-aim darts with modes like 501 and Count-Up — steady the swaying reticle and release to hit the segment you want.

• Release when the reticle sits on your target — time it to the moment the sway is smallest.
• In 501 you must land exactly on zero, so plan backward and aim for the double/triple segments.

The series' signature rhythm minigame — hit the incoming notes on the beat for a high score. Y7 features tracks like Ichiban's 'Machine Gun Kiss'.

• Input exactly as the note overlaps the judgment ring — on-beat 'perfect' hits drive your combo and score.
• Harder songs throw rapid and simultaneous inputs — warm up on easier tracks to learn the note flow first.

The classic batting minigame — time your swing to hit pitched balls. Challenge courses ask you to hit set targets or rack up home runs for rewards.

• Swing just before the ball reaches the plate — early courses are mostly straight pitches, so the rhythm is easy to find.
• In challenge courses, aim for the glowing target panels for bonus points and rewards.

An arcade stocked with real SEGA classics — Virtua Fighter 2, Space Harrier and more — plus a UFO Catcher (crane game).

• For the UFO Catcher, line the crane up over the prize's center of mass — set the horizontal and vertical axes carefully before grabbing.
• Some arcade classics give score-based rewards — start with the titles you know to bank them.