I spent a lot of time editing this review with Pangburn and discussing the game's various aspects thoroughly with him. Thanks again for all the help!
I’ll get my major gripes out of the way first: many of them are due to potential areas of improvement in Yakuza 0’s combat. I admit that I’m not a huge fan of the Style System, which felt underwhelming to me because it usually results in spreading myself too thin while locking the best abilities until the very late game. Money is a bit harder to come by in the early game (unless you can consistently win against the roaming enemy Mr Shakedown, who can just as easily bankrupt you upon defeat if you aren’t prepared with the adequate combat upgrades), and each combat style is tuned to adapt for specific situations (i.e. Rush Style is agile and allows Kiryu to quickly slip behind single enemies and bog them down with attacks, while Beast Style is often better at handling multiple foes by picking up large objects and swinging them for effective crowd control). However, a lot of the valuable defining traits for specific styles (i.e. Iron Gut on Beast Style to guard against knife/gun attacks, or Quickstep Blow on Rush Style for quick evasion into powerful attacks) cost significantly more than previous steps (2 million yen for Rank 2 abilities to 30 million yen for the above Rank 3 abilities), so I felt incentivized to invest equally into the different styles instead of trying to specialize. As a result, my characters felt somewhat lacking through most of the game’s runtime, since I had to split my investments equally between the different styles to accommodate for different situations (and thus often lacking crucial abilities). Eventually, the three-style system becomes effectively superseded once your protagonists finish their main side-quest lines and unlock a “true” 4th style reminiscent of prior entries in the series that combines traits of the previous styles, which to me seems to only further highlight how insignificant progress within the style system can feel.
Enemy variety is also rather bland in the Yakuza games (most likely due to the beat-em-up structure), which in turn further homogenizes combat. Most enemies are simple grunts around your size that will charge at you with standard close range attacks. Some will try and stagger you with knives and swords, a few have tasers on hand, and near the late game, a couple of enemies will have guns. While tasers and guns can stunlock you and force you to mash to stand back up, you can just pay for the corresponding expensive upgrade in each style to nullify stuns altogether. As such, I ended up fighting every enemy as if they were functionally the same, and once I purchased the necessary unlocks, tearing through them like paper became a simple task. The only time I had to accommodate for a different enemy type occurred during specific story missions, where sometimes larger grunts with superarmor appear that actively require baiting and punishing. Otherwise, most non-boss combat starts to all blend together, and it never quite hits that sweet spot between mindlessly mashing to take out scores of enemies or getting tossed around like a salad by guns and tasers.
There’s also a weapons system involved in all this, but it feels rather extraneous. There’s never any real need for weapons given the functional homogeneity of most of the enemies. Moreover, many of the combat scenes in the game are placed in locations with plenty of breakable loose objects lying astray that often serve that exact purpose as is. Additionally, weapons have a durability counter, and to repair weapons, you either have to use Repair Kits (which are obtained randomly from Dream Machines) or trek to the local Dragon & Tiger. The actual fees involved are a trifle considering how much money you’ll end up earning, but having to waste tons of time farming Repair Kits from Dream Machines to fix your weapon in the middle of combat or spend time outside of combat walking back and forth from the Dragon & Tiger is a pain in the ass. As such, I basically never bothered with weapons in-game, save for the one quest with Simon where you have to purchase and farm weapons & materials/recipes from Dragon and Tiger (and that is a whole different time-consuming RNG endeavor altogether, though again, it never felt crucial due to how little I used weapons).
If there’s one silver lining to all this, it’s that the combat never truly felt like a significant barrier to me due to its simplicity. It becomes pretty straightforward to cheese and simplify combat once you figure out the easiest strategies for each protagonist. Majima’s Breaker style was fantastic at stunlocking enemies due to how many hitboxes got thrown out in each cycle, and later on, Slugger became my go-to because the extended X-X-X-Y-Y cartwheel combo broke every enemy’s stance and was actually positive on hit in every story fight I encountered on Normal difficulty. Meanwhile, Kiryu’s Beast style quickly became my mainstay; picking up large objects and batting away foes was a bit too overpowered most of the time. As mentioned previously, the quick crowd control options, alongside better defensive tools such as superarmor, provided Beast Style with most of the utility necessary to clear the majority of the game’s standard fights. Thus, even if combat was uninteresting most of the time, it was at least over quickly enough to where I could proceed with little stress, especially when utilizing stamina drink stockpiles for powering through damage.
I’ll give Yakuza 0 some credit though, as a few of the boss fights were engaging enough to leave a mark on me. The Kuze fights are a huge highlight here, considering that his first fight resulted in my first game-over, and it was extremely satisfying performing visibly better with each consecutive fight, especially since a few of these fights are no-frills 1v1 fights that forced me to rely upon more of my toolkit. In particular, I found Kuze and other bosses to be far more aggressive and willing to combo me for larger damage margins and chipping away at my health while I was knocked down. Defensively, they were more up to par too, with much more emphasis placed upon quick dodges and guards to nullify my lighter attacks. The final boss fight for Kiryu takes the cake for my favorite boss encounter overall given how the different phases mirror Kiryu’s own abilities, and it put a smile on my face when I realized that they were willing to pull the exact same stunts that I had also been abusing in combat. In particular, I couldn’t stop smirking during the second phase of the final boss, when my opponent began picking up tables and chairs to slam and hurl at me. It’s a very visceral yet humanizing way to top off the game, and I do wish that more of the other fights had enemies that were willing to resort to similar underhanded tactics to highlight just how dirty the crime world can get.
That said, you’re not really here for the mostly inoffensive combat: the real bulk of the game is everything else, more specifically the various interactions between every other system in the game including the different connecting narratives and side/substories. Perhaps that is the true strength behind the franchise: no one system stands out above the others, and as a result it becomes something much more than the sum of its parts. It may sound like a weakness, and it is a major weakness of many games that try to do everything at once, yet Yakuza 0 escapes this pitfall because everything is seamlessly and inexorably linked.
A lot of this is in part due to the centralization of progression systems within the game. Everything is linked to exorbitant amounts of money, which is not only thematically appropriate but also results in all grinding leading to the same collected pool. Money can be earned through fights, certain sidegames, and most importantly, Kiryu’s real estate and Majima’s cabaret club. In turn, money is used to upgrade your characters (and weapons) for fights, pay for entering certain sidegames as well as upgrading necessary materials for better performance, and paying for properties and staff in your respective side gigs. I was afraid at first that the existence of all these different activities would result in a million different systems that I’d have to memorize and optimize for different purposes, but since they all feed back into the same resource, everything you do ultimately results in some form of progress towards the same end goal, resulting in a much more focused experience than what I had first assumed on a surface level.
To expand upon the two main side stories, Kiryu and Majima must essentially fight rival head honchos of each section of Kamurocho/Sotenbori through the collection of landshare/influence. Kiryu can purchase certain properties in each area to later invest and gain dividends, while Majima can partner with properties to increase Club Sunshine’s fanbase and gain more notoriety during cabaret club nights. As the player gains more control over each sector, more of the background behind the opposing head honchos is revealed until inevitable confrontation occurs, usually in the form of a minigame/street fight for Kiryu and a “club battle” for Majima where Club Sunshine must outcompete its opposition while enduring enemy abilities. These side stories feed right into the overall progression system, since they provide a reliable source of income as well as an incentive to engage in outside activities and explore the two hub areas for staff and valuable resources. As mentioned previously, the definitive and more overpowered 4th fighting style unlocked from completion is a great cherry on top of this whole endeavor.
Aiding all of this are the numerous substories scattered throughout the two main hubs. No side quests are marked immediately on the map with markers when you first start new chapters; instead, you have to unlock them by stumbling into the correct section of Kamurocho/Sotenbori or by engaging in certain activities long enough. Once you do unlock these side quests, actually fulfilling them is simple enough, since blue question box markers will appear on the map showing you where to head next to progress. The result is that exploration in the overworld opens up fairly organically; the player is incentivized to wander about naturally without any pressure to eliminate all the lit up checkpoints on the map from the start. Additionally, side quests often are completed in spurts, and players often have to travel outside of a given quest’s area to activate its next section on the map, meaning that they have a choice of whether or not they want to continue seeing the quest through at that very moment or spend time elsewhere and return to that sidequest later. Finally, completing sidequests can lead to unlocking other related side quests as well as gaining aforementioned helpful staff, properties, and useful items (such as an encounter finder, to track down street fights more easily). Yet, there’s no single substory that feels so important in terms of personal or monetary gain that players have to go out of their way to fulfill all necessary conditions for it. By doing this, Yakuza 0 never imposes and merely suggests; players can complete and explore as much as they wish with little negative externalities if they choose not to go all the way.
To add on the above, the actual activities themselves are designed in a way where there’s just enough depth to allow for significant improvement if players choose to dedicate more time to their favorite pastimes, but again, not too much depth to where it takes an eternity and a half to master certain activities. For instance, consider the bowling minigame. It’s quite simple to pick up: you can adjust your ball’s weight, starting position, trajectory, and power, with the obvious caveat that heavier balls are tougher to aim but better at retaining momentum. You don’t necessarily need to keep close track of every option to succeed and best your buddies in three-frame sets, but there are nice little side rewards in the form of completion points (CP) (which can be used at shrines to unlock unnecessary yet helpful little abilities such as longer dashing times and more Nouveau Riche encounters to fight for more cash) for bowling ten strikes. Further plays also increase friendship with the attendant there, which will result in a sidequest that allows you to recruit a chicken as staff for your real estate firm once you bowl a turkey. There’s also a separate side mode called Split Game where you have to more carefully aim your ball across special split pin arrangements that allows you to earn more cash and a potential CP. Again, there’s plenty of optional rewards that are great for upgrading your character and systems if you choose to invest a bit of time here and there, but even then, more grindy minigames are optional to the point where they become unobtrusive; as such, you can switch between a multitude of different activities with little consequence whenever your current focus starts to wear you down.
The story can also be thought of as another of the game’s smaller systems, thanks to how it never feels particularly intrusive. After clearing the first chain of events in Chapter 1 as well as the associated tutorials, the main introductions take a step back and you can begin messing around with the aforementioned sidequests and minigames. The game is very good at telegraphing exactly when the player needs to be committed to the story and when they are free to meander about; at no point does the game ever feel like it is forcing you to put down what you are doing at that exact moment in time to return to the main storyline. At the same time, progressing through the story events is greatly streamlined whenever the player needs to do so. Therefore, despite the main storyline’s linearity, the game manages to retain a visage of non-linearity; the wide variety of activities available at any given time allow you to swap between the story and optional content effortlessly at your heart’s content.
Just as there’s a balance between story progression and player-driven exploration, there’s a certain balance struck in the game’s tone that’s present throughout each narrative thread weaving into one another that exemplifies an undercurrent of sincerity. The central plotline jumps back and forth between Kiryu’s struggles escaping the Dojima family after being framed for murder, and Majima’s struggles serving as a blackmailed affiliate of his old yakuza family while seeking release from his gilded cage. Both are constantly caught in increasingly absurd scenarios by old friends and random strangers alike, and play fantastic straight men juxtaposed to the sticky situations that they must resolve. Alongside this, RGG Studio balances frenzied street brawls between topless yakuza members with dramatic scenes of characters pouring their hearts out. Even the substories carefully walk this tightrope between cheesiness and earnestness: one of my personal favorites has to be Stadium Jumper Strut, where you have to escort a guy whose dream is to walk across Iwao Bridge. He begs for Majima’s assistance, for every time he tries, he is beaten up by thugs because he refuses to take off his stajun jacket that’s riling them up. It’s an absolutely ridiculous premise, yet even I had to admit that sealing the deal with the life lesson of “pursuing dreams regardless of what others think” put a smile on my face. Camp meets candor time and time again, and as a result, Yakuza 0 never feels too sarcastic or too overbearing; it’s a cozy and compelling mix that kept me hooked during every story beat throughout.
There’s so much more I could say regarding Yakuza’s imperfections thanks to its many ambitions. There’s a forced stealth section that feels a bit clumsy since you have to guide and protect an escort at the same time. To do so, you must hide amongst crowds to avoid detection by patrolling foes, and this becomes a bit awkward since enemies can spot you from far away and enter/leaving crowds has a noticeably long animation with a forced delay between entering and leaving, so staying out of these optional fights is much more tricky in practice. Majima’s cabaret management progression feels not quite as well-integrated, since it’s actually possible to keep gaining fans by playing the club minigame over and over without purchasing properties, and the final stretch requires a bit more grinding as preparation to avoid your hostesses losing all their HP from the opposing club’s special ability. Finally, special moves can be taught by mentors through their respective side missions, and while Majima’s mentor missions are fantastic (Fei Hu’s lessons are a thrill, having to adapt against his quick Kali Sticks and Nunchakus), Kiryu’s mentor missions feel a bit squandered and too by-the-books. My favorite mentor missions there would have to be Miss Tatsu’s training, which involves puzzles where you have to destroy crates for money while eliminating mannequins with guns. It’s a bit more clunky than expected, since you often don’t have enough time to react and throw/dodge when picking up boxes to attack these targets, but it’s definitely an interesting thought exercise of what could have been and it helps that it’s accompanied by a track that quite frankly puts the main Beast Style theme to shame.
Yet at the end of the day, I have to wonder how much these nitpicks matter in the overall scheme of things. I came into Yakuza 0 wanting to fight Kuze and experience a change in pace, and I left feeling quite emotionally invested and fulfilled considering how much time I wasted cheering to x3 Shine and flaunting my new disco moves toLet’s Dance I Wanna Take You Home. While I have to admit that I can’t see myself 100%ing the game anytime soon, and I’m not quite ready to dive into the rest of the series lest the experience begins to outstay its welcome, I’m more than content leaving everything as it stands. It’s obviously doing something right if I’ve managed to spend over 70 hours messing around with everything that even mildly interested me without any single aspect feeling too disjointed or particularly irritating. My fears that Yakuza 0’s wide appeal was an indicator of numerous hours of padding and shallow interaction between systems appear to have been unfounded, and needless to say, I can wholeheartedly recommend Yakuza 0 despite the rough patches. I’m looking forward to the inevitable YaKuze spinoff where we get to play as the old man in the profession where men tend to die young.
I’ll get my major gripes out of the way first: many of them are due to potential areas of improvement in Yakuza 0’s combat. I admit that I’m not a huge fan of the Style System, which felt underwhelming to me because it usually results in spreading myself too thin while locking the best abilities until the very late game. Money is a bit harder to come by in the early game (unless you can consistently win against the roaming enemy Mr Shakedown, who can just as easily bankrupt you upon defeat if you aren’t prepared with the adequate combat upgrades), and each combat style is tuned to adapt for specific situations (i.e. Rush Style is agile and allows Kiryu to quickly slip behind single enemies and bog them down with attacks, while Beast Style is often better at handling multiple foes by picking up large objects and swinging them for effective crowd control). However, a lot of the valuable defining traits for specific styles (i.e. Iron Gut on Beast Style to guard against knife/gun attacks, or Quickstep Blow on Rush Style for quick evasion into powerful attacks) cost significantly more than previous steps (2 million yen for Rank 2 abilities to 30 million yen for the above Rank 3 abilities), so I felt incentivized to invest equally into the different styles instead of trying to specialize. As a result, my characters felt somewhat lacking through most of the game’s runtime, since I had to split my investments equally between the different styles to accommodate for different situations (and thus often lacking crucial abilities). Eventually, the three-style system becomes effectively superseded once your protagonists finish their main side-quest lines and unlock a “true” 4th style reminiscent of prior entries in the series that combines traits of the previous styles, which to me seems to only further highlight how insignificant progress within the style system can feel.
Enemy variety is also rather bland in the Yakuza games (most likely due to the beat-em-up structure), which in turn further homogenizes combat. Most enemies are simple grunts around your size that will charge at you with standard close range attacks. Some will try and stagger you with knives and swords, a few have tasers on hand, and near the late game, a couple of enemies will have guns. While tasers and guns can stunlock you and force you to mash to stand back up, you can just pay for the corresponding expensive upgrade in each style to nullify stuns altogether. As such, I ended up fighting every enemy as if they were functionally the same, and once I purchased the necessary unlocks, tearing through them like paper became a simple task. The only time I had to accommodate for a different enemy type occurred during specific story missions, where sometimes larger grunts with superarmor appear that actively require baiting and punishing. Otherwise, most non-boss combat starts to all blend together, and it never quite hits that sweet spot between mindlessly mashing to take out scores of enemies or getting tossed around like a salad by guns and tasers.
There’s also a weapons system involved in all this, but it feels rather extraneous. There’s never any real need for weapons given the functional homogeneity of most of the enemies. Moreover, many of the combat scenes in the game are placed in locations with plenty of breakable loose objects lying astray that often serve that exact purpose as is. Additionally, weapons have a durability counter, and to repair weapons, you either have to use Repair Kits (which are obtained randomly from Dream Machines) or trek to the local Dragon & Tiger. The actual fees involved are a trifle considering how much money you’ll end up earning, but having to waste tons of time farming Repair Kits from Dream Machines to fix your weapon in the middle of combat or spend time outside of combat walking back and forth from the Dragon & Tiger is a pain in the ass. As such, I basically never bothered with weapons in-game, save for the one quest with Simon where you have to purchase and farm weapons & materials/recipes from Dragon and Tiger (and that is a whole different time-consuming RNG endeavor altogether, though again, it never felt crucial due to how little I used weapons).
If there’s one silver lining to all this, it’s that the combat never truly felt like a significant barrier to me due to its simplicity. It becomes pretty straightforward to cheese and simplify combat once you figure out the easiest strategies for each protagonist. Majima’s Breaker style was fantastic at stunlocking enemies due to how many hitboxes got thrown out in each cycle, and later on, Slugger became my go-to because the extended X-X-X-Y-Y cartwheel combo broke every enemy’s stance and was actually positive on hit in every story fight I encountered on Normal difficulty. Meanwhile, Kiryu’s Beast style quickly became my mainstay; picking up large objects and batting away foes was a bit too overpowered most of the time. As mentioned previously, the quick crowd control options, alongside better defensive tools such as superarmor, provided Beast Style with most of the utility necessary to clear the majority of the game’s standard fights. Thus, even if combat was uninteresting most of the time, it was at least over quickly enough to where I could proceed with little stress, especially when utilizing stamina drink stockpiles for powering through damage.
I’ll give Yakuza 0 some credit though, as a few of the boss fights were engaging enough to leave a mark on me. The Kuze fights are a huge highlight here, considering that his first fight resulted in my first game-over, and it was extremely satisfying performing visibly better with each consecutive fight, especially since a few of these fights are no-frills 1v1 fights that forced me to rely upon more of my toolkit. In particular, I found Kuze and other bosses to be far more aggressive and willing to combo me for larger damage margins and chipping away at my health while I was knocked down. Defensively, they were more up to par too, with much more emphasis placed upon quick dodges and guards to nullify my lighter attacks. The final boss fight for Kiryu takes the cake for my favorite boss encounter overall given how the different phases mirror Kiryu’s own abilities, and it put a smile on my face when I realized that they were willing to pull the exact same stunts that I had also been abusing in combat. In particular, I couldn’t stop smirking during the second phase of the final boss, when my opponent began picking up tables and chairs to slam and hurl at me. It’s a very visceral yet humanizing way to top off the game, and I do wish that more of the other fights had enemies that were willing to resort to similar underhanded tactics to highlight just how dirty the crime world can get.
That said, you’re not really here for the mostly inoffensive combat: the real bulk of the game is everything else, more specifically the various interactions between every other system in the game including the different connecting narratives and side/substories. Perhaps that is the true strength behind the franchise: no one system stands out above the others, and as a result it becomes something much more than the sum of its parts. It may sound like a weakness, and it is a major weakness of many games that try to do everything at once, yet Yakuza 0 escapes this pitfall because everything is seamlessly and inexorably linked.
A lot of this is in part due to the centralization of progression systems within the game. Everything is linked to exorbitant amounts of money, which is not only thematically appropriate but also results in all grinding leading to the same collected pool. Money can be earned through fights, certain sidegames, and most importantly, Kiryu’s real estate and Majima’s cabaret club. In turn, money is used to upgrade your characters (and weapons) for fights, pay for entering certain sidegames as well as upgrading necessary materials for better performance, and paying for properties and staff in your respective side gigs. I was afraid at first that the existence of all these different activities would result in a million different systems that I’d have to memorize and optimize for different purposes, but since they all feed back into the same resource, everything you do ultimately results in some form of progress towards the same end goal, resulting in a much more focused experience than what I had first assumed on a surface level.
To expand upon the two main side stories, Kiryu and Majima must essentially fight rival head honchos of each section of Kamurocho/Sotenbori through the collection of landshare/influence. Kiryu can purchase certain properties in each area to later invest and gain dividends, while Majima can partner with properties to increase Club Sunshine’s fanbase and gain more notoriety during cabaret club nights. As the player gains more control over each sector, more of the background behind the opposing head honchos is revealed until inevitable confrontation occurs, usually in the form of a minigame/street fight for Kiryu and a “club battle” for Majima where Club Sunshine must outcompete its opposition while enduring enemy abilities. These side stories feed right into the overall progression system, since they provide a reliable source of income as well as an incentive to engage in outside activities and explore the two hub areas for staff and valuable resources. As mentioned previously, the definitive and more overpowered 4th fighting style unlocked from completion is a great cherry on top of this whole endeavor.
Aiding all of this are the numerous substories scattered throughout the two main hubs. No side quests are marked immediately on the map with markers when you first start new chapters; instead, you have to unlock them by stumbling into the correct section of Kamurocho/Sotenbori or by engaging in certain activities long enough. Once you do unlock these side quests, actually fulfilling them is simple enough, since blue question box markers will appear on the map showing you where to head next to progress. The result is that exploration in the overworld opens up fairly organically; the player is incentivized to wander about naturally without any pressure to eliminate all the lit up checkpoints on the map from the start. Additionally, side quests often are completed in spurts, and players often have to travel outside of a given quest’s area to activate its next section on the map, meaning that they have a choice of whether or not they want to continue seeing the quest through at that very moment or spend time elsewhere and return to that sidequest later. Finally, completing sidequests can lead to unlocking other related side quests as well as gaining aforementioned helpful staff, properties, and useful items (such as an encounter finder, to track down street fights more easily). Yet, there’s no single substory that feels so important in terms of personal or monetary gain that players have to go out of their way to fulfill all necessary conditions for it. By doing this, Yakuza 0 never imposes and merely suggests; players can complete and explore as much as they wish with little negative externalities if they choose not to go all the way.
To add on the above, the actual activities themselves are designed in a way where there’s just enough depth to allow for significant improvement if players choose to dedicate more time to their favorite pastimes, but again, not too much depth to where it takes an eternity and a half to master certain activities. For instance, consider the bowling minigame. It’s quite simple to pick up: you can adjust your ball’s weight, starting position, trajectory, and power, with the obvious caveat that heavier balls are tougher to aim but better at retaining momentum. You don’t necessarily need to keep close track of every option to succeed and best your buddies in three-frame sets, but there are nice little side rewards in the form of completion points (CP) (which can be used at shrines to unlock unnecessary yet helpful little abilities such as longer dashing times and more Nouveau Riche encounters to fight for more cash) for bowling ten strikes. Further plays also increase friendship with the attendant there, which will result in a sidequest that allows you to recruit a chicken as staff for your real estate firm once you bowl a turkey. There’s also a separate side mode called Split Game where you have to more carefully aim your ball across special split pin arrangements that allows you to earn more cash and a potential CP. Again, there’s plenty of optional rewards that are great for upgrading your character and systems if you choose to invest a bit of time here and there, but even then, more grindy minigames are optional to the point where they become unobtrusive; as such, you can switch between a multitude of different activities with little consequence whenever your current focus starts to wear you down.
The story can also be thought of as another of the game’s smaller systems, thanks to how it never feels particularly intrusive. After clearing the first chain of events in Chapter 1 as well as the associated tutorials, the main introductions take a step back and you can begin messing around with the aforementioned sidequests and minigames. The game is very good at telegraphing exactly when the player needs to be committed to the story and when they are free to meander about; at no point does the game ever feel like it is forcing you to put down what you are doing at that exact moment in time to return to the main storyline. At the same time, progressing through the story events is greatly streamlined whenever the player needs to do so. Therefore, despite the main storyline’s linearity, the game manages to retain a visage of non-linearity; the wide variety of activities available at any given time allow you to swap between the story and optional content effortlessly at your heart’s content.
Just as there’s a balance between story progression and player-driven exploration, there’s a certain balance struck in the game’s tone that’s present throughout each narrative thread weaving into one another that exemplifies an undercurrent of sincerity. The central plotline jumps back and forth between Kiryu’s struggles escaping the Dojima family after being framed for murder, and Majima’s struggles serving as a blackmailed affiliate of his old yakuza family while seeking release from his gilded cage. Both are constantly caught in increasingly absurd scenarios by old friends and random strangers alike, and play fantastic straight men juxtaposed to the sticky situations that they must resolve. Alongside this, RGG Studio balances frenzied street brawls between topless yakuza members with dramatic scenes of characters pouring their hearts out. Even the substories carefully walk this tightrope between cheesiness and earnestness: one of my personal favorites has to be Stadium Jumper Strut, where you have to escort a guy whose dream is to walk across Iwao Bridge. He begs for Majima’s assistance, for every time he tries, he is beaten up by thugs because he refuses to take off his stajun jacket that’s riling them up. It’s an absolutely ridiculous premise, yet even I had to admit that sealing the deal with the life lesson of “pursuing dreams regardless of what others think” put a smile on my face. Camp meets candor time and time again, and as a result, Yakuza 0 never feels too sarcastic or too overbearing; it’s a cozy and compelling mix that kept me hooked during every story beat throughout.
There’s so much more I could say regarding Yakuza’s imperfections thanks to its many ambitions. There’s a forced stealth section that feels a bit clumsy since you have to guide and protect an escort at the same time. To do so, you must hide amongst crowds to avoid detection by patrolling foes, and this becomes a bit awkward since enemies can spot you from far away and enter/leaving crowds has a noticeably long animation with a forced delay between entering and leaving, so staying out of these optional fights is much more tricky in practice. Majima’s cabaret management progression feels not quite as well-integrated, since it’s actually possible to keep gaining fans by playing the club minigame over and over without purchasing properties, and the final stretch requires a bit more grinding as preparation to avoid your hostesses losing all their HP from the opposing club’s special ability. Finally, special moves can be taught by mentors through their respective side missions, and while Majima’s mentor missions are fantastic (Fei Hu’s lessons are a thrill, having to adapt against his quick Kali Sticks and Nunchakus), Kiryu’s mentor missions feel a bit squandered and too by-the-books. My favorite mentor missions there would have to be Miss Tatsu’s training, which involves puzzles where you have to destroy crates for money while eliminating mannequins with guns. It’s a bit more clunky than expected, since you often don’t have enough time to react and throw/dodge when picking up boxes to attack these targets, but it’s definitely an interesting thought exercise of what could have been and it helps that it’s accompanied by a track that quite frankly puts the main Beast Style theme to shame.
Yet at the end of the day, I have to wonder how much these nitpicks matter in the overall scheme of things. I came into Yakuza 0 wanting to fight Kuze and experience a change in pace, and I left feeling quite emotionally invested and fulfilled considering how much time I wasted cheering to x3 Shine and flaunting my new disco moves to
After a great experience playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon, I gave a chance to Yakuza 0.
The game is divided in two parts, which one is dedicated to one carachter. Each "part" has your own map and both of them are incredible.
The battle system is fun but really easy. I bought a lot of medice and I never got close to die in the game. It was a walk in the park.
The story is AMAZING! One of the best ever told in the video game history.
It's really good to see that everyone can play this game now. It doesn't matter if you have Xbox Game Pass or Playstation Plus, you'll find all Yakuza games on your library.
Please, do yourself a favor and play Yakuza!
The game is divided in two parts, which one is dedicated to one carachter. Each "part" has your own map and both of them are incredible.
The battle system is fun but really easy. I bought a lot of medice and I never got close to die in the game. It was a walk in the park.
The story is AMAZING! One of the best ever told in the video game history.
It's really good to see that everyone can play this game now. It doesn't matter if you have Xbox Game Pass or Playstation Plus, you'll find all Yakuza games on your library.
Please, do yourself a favor and play Yakuza!
So, after playing all of the mainline Yakuza titles prior to this in release order, I’ve finally arrived at Yakuza 0. I do like this game, but I don’t really get it like most others. People online and my friends had kept telling me about how good this game is, but I didn’t always see it. For a while during my playthrough, I was skeptical of all the praise Yakuza 0 had received, although now that I’ve reached the end, I understand it a lot better now.
Starting with the combat, I found myself enjoying it as it feels very arcadey and flows well. Heat actions did feel overly long at times, which isn’t a problem exclusive to this game, however it felt particularly annoying here. Overall, I didn’t have as much fun with Kiryu’s new styles as I did in Yakuza 5. For the record, I didn’t bother with any of the Legend styles. I thought the grinding for them was a bit too much. Majima is simply fantastic though, with a varied moveset that’s very fun to experiment with. As for the bosses, most of them were pretty solid, with only a few that were… just okay. Kuze especially was a fun boss to repeat. Like I said, I had a good time with the gameplay, but I definitely prefer Yakuza 5’s or even Yakuza 2’s.
Moving onto the story, it was great and serves well as a prequel without needing to retcon past stories for fanservice. The pacing in the beginning is a bit slow, though I can look past that since the rest of the story is so engaging. Each of the new characters are also al interesting in their own right. I really love Tachibana and Makoto’s roles in the narrative. Characters are killed off in a meaningful way, which similarly reminded me of Yakuza 1 in ways. And oh boy the finale. It’d be difficult for me to put my thoughts on it into words, so I’ll just say it’s done extremely well.
Looking at the presentation, it is insanely colorful and stylish, much like the previous entries. I was wholly surprised at how consistent it performs on PS4 due to this too. Yakuza 0 doesn’t have my favorite aesthetics in the series, especially compared to Yakuza 2 and 5, but damn is it amazing nonetheless. The music has prominent electronic and dubstep, with some great themes on top of it. Although I would still say it’s not as memorable as 1-3’s to me.
In summary, I really do owe this game a lot in the end, as it’s the entire reason I even got interested in this franchise in the first place. Yakuza 0’s popularity is what sparked my interest initially, and it’s led me to this point where I absolutely fell in love with the series as a whole. While I may not have appreciated this as much as others have, it was still a blast to play through. It’s an excellent Yakuza title all the way through. Next I tackle Yakuza Kiwami. And boy, do I have some things to say about that fucking remake.
Starting with the combat, I found myself enjoying it as it feels very arcadey and flows well. Heat actions did feel overly long at times, which isn’t a problem exclusive to this game, however it felt particularly annoying here. Overall, I didn’t have as much fun with Kiryu’s new styles as I did in Yakuza 5. For the record, I didn’t bother with any of the Legend styles. I thought the grinding for them was a bit too much. Majima is simply fantastic though, with a varied moveset that’s very fun to experiment with. As for the bosses, most of them were pretty solid, with only a few that were… just okay. Kuze especially was a fun boss to repeat. Like I said, I had a good time with the gameplay, but I definitely prefer Yakuza 5’s or even Yakuza 2’s.
Moving onto the story, it was great and serves well as a prequel without needing to retcon past stories for fanservice. The pacing in the beginning is a bit slow, though I can look past that since the rest of the story is so engaging. Each of the new characters are also al interesting in their own right. I really love Tachibana and Makoto’s roles in the narrative. Characters are killed off in a meaningful way, which similarly reminded me of Yakuza 1 in ways. And oh boy the finale. It’d be difficult for me to put my thoughts on it into words, so I’ll just say it’s done extremely well.
Looking at the presentation, it is insanely colorful and stylish, much like the previous entries. I was wholly surprised at how consistent it performs on PS4 due to this too. Yakuza 0 doesn’t have my favorite aesthetics in the series, especially compared to Yakuza 2 and 5, but damn is it amazing nonetheless. The music has prominent electronic and dubstep, with some great themes on top of it. Although I would still say it’s not as memorable as 1-3’s to me.
In summary, I really do owe this game a lot in the end, as it’s the entire reason I even got interested in this franchise in the first place. Yakuza 0’s popularity is what sparked my interest initially, and it’s led me to this point where I absolutely fell in love with the series as a whole. While I may not have appreciated this as much as others have, it was still a blast to play through. It’s an excellent Yakuza title all the way through. Next I tackle Yakuza Kiwami. And boy, do I have some things to say about that fucking remake.
This review contains spoilers
Now outta my way, YOU MEAT SACKS!
Yakuza 0 is the most popular entry of the franchise and it is widely considered to be the best one. After beating Yakuza 0, it became one of those games where i sit through the credits looking like a sad idiot, and that's one of the highest praises that i could give to a videogame. It's also a game where it felt like the hours flew by, i could sit down, boot up the game and then BOOM! 4 hours gone.
You have 2 playable protags: Kiryu and Majima. Yakuza 0 is a prequel set in 1988 where we get to see Kiryu before he became the dragon of dojima and Majima before he became the mad dog of shimano. Both Kiryu and Majima have multiple fighting styles that you can switch whenever you want during fights. I already talked about Kiryu's fighting styles on my kiwami review so i'm not gonna do that again.
Thug style is quicker and more accurate than Kiryu's brawler style but it does less damage and it doesn't have a very wide range making it not good against group of enemies, but if you're fighting only 1 enemy then you can easily kick their ass.
Slugger style is absolutely op, you have a bat that is good for literally everything, and slugger can tear down bosses with ez.
Breaker style is EASILY my favorite style in the entire game, even tho it isn't very good against bosses, it makes fighting groups of enemies a walk in the park. I didn't unlock the 4th style because the management games really suck! But you know what doesn't suck? That's right the disco minigame. On the disco minigame you get to pick between a bunch of songs that have 3 difficulties, and once you pick a song it is time to murder the dance floor! You take control of a silly little avatar that you have to move and hit a button on the tile it shows up on. The more steps your avatar takes the more points you get when you hit a button on the correct time. You can also have dance battles but no matter how hard you try you will never beat the GOAT Miracle Johnson.
You also have a fever meter which is really helpful to earn some points. Also quick hot take but queen of the passion is the best disco song, and yes i even prefer it over friday night. The bosses in this game were surprising really great, all the yakuza games i've played so far had mostly alright bosses with some exceptions of course. Anyways here are my favorite bosses of the game:
1.Keiji Shibusawa and Lao Gui.
It's very hard for me to decide which i one i prefer, they both have sick ass movesets that change and dope arenas that also change! Both of them also have amazing boss intros and an awesome theme.
2.Hiroki Awano
FINALLY I GET TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THIS CLOWN
3.Kuze (final fight)
Oath of enma is genuinely a top 3 boss theme for me, and goddamn this fight made me realise how fucking cool Kuze is.
4.Homare Nishitani
Majima before Majima
5.Masaru Sera
Sera has one of the coolest fighting styles imo and i personally found this to be the hardest boss in the game.
The substories in this game are on par with Y5's substories which is saying a lot! More games should have sidequests where you have a dance battle with Michael Jackson. ALSO MY BOI SHINJI GOT HIS OWN SUBSTORY.
Ok now lets talk about the story, and oh boi what a story. Kiryu and Majima have fantastic stories filled with amazing characters that are brought to life by awesome voice acting. Most of Kiryu's story is in kamurocho but most of Majima's story is in sotenbori which is a new city. Kiryu's story is fricking amazing. My favorite side character in this game is Tachibana.
At first Tachibana had an air of sketchiness to him and i never would have thought that this dude would later earn my trust and get me on the verge of tears TWICE. I still get sad knowing that Tachibana died before seeing his sister. Even Kiryu shed tears when Tachibana died.Y0 has some gud villains like Sagawa or Shibusawa but the one that stands on top for me is Kuze. At the start of the game Kuze is presented as an asshole but as you progress through the story and after so many fights with him, you discover that Kuze is the most respectable dojima family lieutenant and he is easily the most memorable out of the 3. If you pay attention on the dialogue of the final Kuze fight, you would notice that Kiryu starts to call him sir, so yeah even Kiryu respects Kuze. Shibusawa started off as the most respectable lieutenant but it turns out that he is a dick! But something good that Shibusawa did was getting his ass beaten by Kiryu which made Kiryu become the dragon of dojima. Awano is still a bit of an asshole but he gained a bit of respect when he saved Majima. Another scene that got me on the verge of tears on Kiryu's story is the last scene with Nishiki and Kiryu on chapter 6, this scene hits harder when you know the events of kiwami 1, and this scene in particular is when i started falling in love with Y0's story.Now its time for Majima's story which i personally found to be better than Kiryu's story. I am used to the crazy Majima that everyone knows and love, but like i mentioned before we see Majima before he becomes the mad dog of shimano which was very intriguing. My fav part about Majima's story is Makoto, a blind girl who is very important to the story of the game. Majima was hired to kill Makoto but he couldn't do it, but instead he did the opposite and helped her, and why did he do that? Love. Sadly at the end of the game Majima cuts his ties with Makoto, because he knows that being with Makoto could put her in danger. Wen Hai Lee was also an interesting character, he was an ally to Majima and Makoto and he also looks like a discount Saejima, but sadly he went out with a bang. Sagawa is a very underrated villain, similar to Kuze he is a character that i first despised but at the end he grew on me. I could keep gushing on and on about this game's story and characters, Y0 has without a doubt one of my favorite stories in videogames and Majima is easily one of my fav characters oat.
You can't make a review about a yakuza game without talking about its music. So is the Yakuza 0 ost any good? Well out of all the yakuza games i played this has my favorite ost out of all of them, and that is really impressive considering that both yakuza 4 and 5 are in my top 10 videogame OSTs. Anyways here are my favorite songs:
Pledge of demon is one of the 2 boss themes of Kuze, and this theme in particular certainly makes you feel like you are fighting a badass old man.
Reign plays when you kick everyones ass on the dojima hq as Majima, and oh my god this god tier song just made that already amazing moment so much better
Oath of enma is Kuze's 2nd boss theme and it only plays during his final fight, and i personally think that this is a better boss theme than pledge of the demon.
I've already said this before but i'll say it louder, QUEEN OF THE PASSION IS THE BEST DISCO SONG!
With vengeance is Awano's boss theme and it is on par with oath of enma for me.
Two dragons is Shibusawa's boss theme and idk man they just cooked with the boss themes of all 3 lieutenants.
Firelight plays during the 8th long battle and similar to reign it makes an already amazing moment even better. The leveling system is one of complaints about the game, i wasn't a very big fan of it and i wish they kept the leveling system of yakuza 4 and 5. Another complaint i have is that the 4th styles are locked behind those stupid and unfun management minigames. I don't have any other complaints about this game. It is crazy that i bought this game for 5 euros, for such a cheap price i got an excellent game that easily sneaked into my favorites.
10/10 not my favorite yakuza game but it is my favorite 2015 game
Yakuza 0 is the most popular entry of the franchise and it is widely considered to be the best one. After beating Yakuza 0, it became one of those games where i sit through the credits looking like a sad idiot, and that's one of the highest praises that i could give to a videogame. It's also a game where it felt like the hours flew by, i could sit down, boot up the game and then BOOM! 4 hours gone.
You have 2 playable protags: Kiryu and Majima. Yakuza 0 is a prequel set in 1988 where we get to see Kiryu before he became the dragon of dojima and Majima before he became the mad dog of shimano. Both Kiryu and Majima have multiple fighting styles that you can switch whenever you want during fights. I already talked about Kiryu's fighting styles on my kiwami review so i'm not gonna do that again.
Thug style is quicker and more accurate than Kiryu's brawler style but it does less damage and it doesn't have a very wide range making it not good against group of enemies, but if you're fighting only 1 enemy then you can easily kick their ass.
Slugger style is absolutely op, you have a bat that is good for literally everything, and slugger can tear down bosses with ez.
Breaker style is EASILY my favorite style in the entire game, even tho it isn't very good against bosses, it makes fighting groups of enemies a walk in the park. I didn't unlock the 4th style because the management games really suck! But you know what doesn't suck? That's right the disco minigame. On the disco minigame you get to pick between a bunch of songs that have 3 difficulties, and once you pick a song it is time to murder the dance floor! You take control of a silly little avatar that you have to move and hit a button on the tile it shows up on. The more steps your avatar takes the more points you get when you hit a button on the correct time. You can also have dance battles but no matter how hard you try you will never beat the GOAT Miracle Johnson.
You also have a fever meter which is really helpful to earn some points. Also quick hot take but queen of the passion is the best disco song, and yes i even prefer it over friday night. The bosses in this game were surprising really great, all the yakuza games i've played so far had mostly alright bosses with some exceptions of course. Anyways here are my favorite bosses of the game:
1.Keiji Shibusawa and Lao Gui.
It's very hard for me to decide which i one i prefer, they both have sick ass movesets that change and dope arenas that also change! Both of them also have amazing boss intros and an awesome theme.
2.Hiroki Awano
FINALLY I GET TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THIS CLOWN
3.Kuze (final fight)
Oath of enma is genuinely a top 3 boss theme for me, and goddamn this fight made me realise how fucking cool Kuze is.
4.Homare Nishitani
Majima before Majima
5.Masaru Sera
Sera has one of the coolest fighting styles imo and i personally found this to be the hardest boss in the game.
The substories in this game are on par with Y5's substories which is saying a lot! More games should have sidequests where you have a dance battle with Michael Jackson. ALSO MY BOI SHINJI GOT HIS OWN SUBSTORY.
Ok now lets talk about the story, and oh boi what a story. Kiryu and Majima have fantastic stories filled with amazing characters that are brought to life by awesome voice acting. Most of Kiryu's story is in kamurocho but most of Majima's story is in sotenbori which is a new city. Kiryu's story is fricking amazing. My favorite side character in this game is Tachibana.
At first Tachibana had an air of sketchiness to him and i never would have thought that this dude would later earn my trust and get me on the verge of tears TWICE. I still get sad knowing that Tachibana died before seeing his sister. Even Kiryu shed tears when Tachibana died.Y0 has some gud villains like Sagawa or Shibusawa but the one that stands on top for me is Kuze. At the start of the game Kuze is presented as an asshole but as you progress through the story and after so many fights with him, you discover that Kuze is the most respectable dojima family lieutenant and he is easily the most memorable out of the 3. If you pay attention on the dialogue of the final Kuze fight, you would notice that Kiryu starts to call him sir, so yeah even Kiryu respects Kuze. Shibusawa started off as the most respectable lieutenant but it turns out that he is a dick! But something good that Shibusawa did was getting his ass beaten by Kiryu which made Kiryu become the dragon of dojima. Awano is still a bit of an asshole but he gained a bit of respect when he saved Majima. Another scene that got me on the verge of tears on Kiryu's story is the last scene with Nishiki and Kiryu on chapter 6, this scene hits harder when you know the events of kiwami 1, and this scene in particular is when i started falling in love with Y0's story.Now its time for Majima's story which i personally found to be better than Kiryu's story. I am used to the crazy Majima that everyone knows and love, but like i mentioned before we see Majima before he becomes the mad dog of shimano which was very intriguing. My fav part about Majima's story is Makoto, a blind girl who is very important to the story of the game. Majima was hired to kill Makoto but he couldn't do it, but instead he did the opposite and helped her, and why did he do that? Love. Sadly at the end of the game Majima cuts his ties with Makoto, because he knows that being with Makoto could put her in danger. Wen Hai Lee was also an interesting character, he was an ally to Majima and Makoto and he also looks like a discount Saejima, but sadly he went out with a bang. Sagawa is a very underrated villain, similar to Kuze he is a character that i first despised but at the end he grew on me. I could keep gushing on and on about this game's story and characters, Y0 has without a doubt one of my favorite stories in videogames and Majima is easily one of my fav characters oat.
You can't make a review about a yakuza game without talking about its music. So is the Yakuza 0 ost any good? Well out of all the yakuza games i played this has my favorite ost out of all of them, and that is really impressive considering that both yakuza 4 and 5 are in my top 10 videogame OSTs. Anyways here are my favorite songs:
Pledge of demon is one of the 2 boss themes of Kuze, and this theme in particular certainly makes you feel like you are fighting a badass old man.
Reign plays when you kick everyones ass on the dojima hq as Majima, and oh my god this god tier song just made that already amazing moment so much better
Oath of enma is Kuze's 2nd boss theme and it only plays during his final fight, and i personally think that this is a better boss theme than pledge of the demon.
I've already said this before but i'll say it louder, QUEEN OF THE PASSION IS THE BEST DISCO SONG!
With vengeance is Awano's boss theme and it is on par with oath of enma for me.
Two dragons is Shibusawa's boss theme and idk man they just cooked with the boss themes of all 3 lieutenants.
Firelight plays during the 8th long battle and similar to reign it makes an already amazing moment even better. The leveling system is one of complaints about the game, i wasn't a very big fan of it and i wish they kept the leveling system of yakuza 4 and 5. Another complaint i have is that the 4th styles are locked behind those stupid and unfun management minigames. I don't have any other complaints about this game. It is crazy that i bought this game for 5 euros, for such a cheap price i got an excellent game that easily sneaked into my favorites.
10/10 not my favorite yakuza game but it is my favorite 2015 game
Genuinely was not expecting to enjoy this game by the end. Sincerely doubted it, had to shelve it a few times to keep the strongest sense of charity going. And to be fair to part of Y0, I certainly was uncharitable towards that spirit at many points. Granted, Yakuza 0 really did not do me many favors.
Still, I do walk out of the end amazed by the final steps of the journey, where the game ultimately ties back to that central theme of becoming like a dragon in many many ways. Defining, redefining, and creating character rationale for that "way of the yakuza". Majima especially was the heart of the game that I centered myself around, being the particular character exploration that I found interesting. There's so many wonderful boys rock moments that I had to get in the jive for, as well as a few rare, but excellent energized and choreographed scenes. Presentation in general for Yakuza does not pull punches.
But god it was GRUELING for me to get that far. The ending gates of "holy shit it's finally coming together" is barred by actually just awful awful combat, so dysfunctional and a complete mess to try to take seriously that you might as well put it on Easy and chug health potions. And also some of the worst pacing I've had to set myself up to, and I've been playing some long rpgs lately!!! The beginning chapters, especially with Kiryu, are actual chores in setup and production, and even in the more well put together back half, there'll still be extraordinarily dumb moments because they simply did not know how to deal with a lot of the characters they just threw at you.
And to make matters worse for me, the game's more problematic elements were more than just sour points. Y0 will bend itself over backwards to force you into some substories and a lot of the humor blew right past me but the required ones had some deeply disgusting elements. I don't think a lot of it, or really any, could be said as malicious, but it's certainly very Japan culture to have the one black person you ever see for example be the 'mass murderer' in an underground fighting ring.
I lay this out on the table though, mostly because most people don't (yakuza twitter is a menace), but also because I do think the journey is worth trudging through. It should also be noted I came with my own biases too, because I'm just tired of years being near fratty bro culture (college years i was stuck with a lot of frat roommates) and as I transition I just am kind of averse to bro vibes first. So knowing that, and the fact that I still thought the last few hours were unparalled fucking A energy, I think people should at least give this one a shot.
Do actually like, skip the substories if the humor doesn't work for you like I did.
More misc thoughts:
-Kiryu extremely a hottie, made my SO swoon every time he was on camera. Still team majima though!!
-I really really liked the majima minigame. That was some seriously good down to earth dialogue with the girls and is maybe the only time Y0 has an even somewhat pleasant lens on women in the game. Emphasis on somewhat there's like 5 asterisks there.
-What is this game's obsession with <5f reactable tracking moves on bosses lol. I just laughed every time I found one and there were more than 5!
Still, I do walk out of the end amazed by the final steps of the journey, where the game ultimately ties back to that central theme of becoming like a dragon in many many ways. Defining, redefining, and creating character rationale for that "way of the yakuza". Majima especially was the heart of the game that I centered myself around, being the particular character exploration that I found interesting. There's so many wonderful boys rock moments that I had to get in the jive for, as well as a few rare, but excellent energized and choreographed scenes. Presentation in general for Yakuza does not pull punches.
But god it was GRUELING for me to get that far. The ending gates of "holy shit it's finally coming together" is barred by actually just awful awful combat, so dysfunctional and a complete mess to try to take seriously that you might as well put it on Easy and chug health potions. And also some of the worst pacing I've had to set myself up to, and I've been playing some long rpgs lately!!! The beginning chapters, especially with Kiryu, are actual chores in setup and production, and even in the more well put together back half, there'll still be extraordinarily dumb moments because they simply did not know how to deal with a lot of the characters they just threw at you.
And to make matters worse for me, the game's more problematic elements were more than just sour points. Y0 will bend itself over backwards to force you into some substories and a lot of the humor blew right past me but the required ones had some deeply disgusting elements. I don't think a lot of it, or really any, could be said as malicious, but it's certainly very Japan culture to have the one black person you ever see for example be the 'mass murderer' in an underground fighting ring.
I lay this out on the table though, mostly because most people don't (yakuza twitter is a menace), but also because I do think the journey is worth trudging through. It should also be noted I came with my own biases too, because I'm just tired of years being near fratty bro culture (college years i was stuck with a lot of frat roommates) and as I transition I just am kind of averse to bro vibes first. So knowing that, and the fact that I still thought the last few hours were unparalled fucking A energy, I think people should at least give this one a shot.
Do actually like, skip the substories if the humor doesn't work for you like I did.
More misc thoughts:
-Kiryu extremely a hottie, made my SO swoon every time he was on camera. Still team majima though!!
-I really really liked the majima minigame. That was some seriously good down to earth dialogue with the girls and is maybe the only time Y0 has an even somewhat pleasant lens on women in the game. Emphasis on somewhat there's like 5 asterisks there.
-What is this game's obsession with <5f reactable tracking moves on bosses lol. I just laughed every time I found one and there were more than 5!
He's a freak out the sheeeets and the other guy gets his own cinematic with dramatic lighting just to spout "Moshi moshi?" to the fairer sex. It's time to get acquainted with- wait, what? Oh, it's a common entry point for the series. I'll try not to bring up content from the other games. That said, most of the major players from Yakuza 3 to 5 were still not brought back. I'm satisfied with the substory cameos, though. People were fucking crazy in the late 90s. They had more money and adult entertainment than they knew what to do with. They do know, actually, but I don't think I'm strong enough to give the deets.
After Yakuza 3... this is a strong contender for best story, so far. 3 had tourists, kids and pets roaming the streets of Japan and it's kinda weird they stopped existing afterwards, but now stray cats and dogs can be found again. Fittingly, Majima doesn't sport the role of the straight man that Kiryu has wink wink, actively splashing fuel to the fire. Though when push comes to shove, this Kiryu can be less straight...the man.... less man straight well it's Yakuza bruv when you kill a man he dies and when you give him backshots your name is Mr. Shakedown.
I played Kiwami, but I was glad to see the combat again here. We are eating! But is it good? This is more confirmation that the moveset never was the problem. We were warned, this is what happens when you give a chimpanzee a machine gun. The random super armor on enemies was especially egregious this time around. Is this how disco forged our men? I have that crazy theory that Kiryu can only sprint in this game because he's... under 30 years old! Supposedly. But then he kinda rember in future entries. Never tell him to take a hike, because chances are, he's in Beast style and will actually grab a hike and maul you with it.
It's weird thinking of this Majima as one people may have gotten to know first. But they are very unlucky!! That is the peak of his career. His styles also have nada to do with the true dawg of Shimano. A bat and dance moves? Can't I use a knife and ninjutsu? What's the point in showing the watermelon flashback if not to instill in the player's head that he must be an expert knife user that can fruit ninja irl. Riddle me this. Why is Kiryu's real estate better than Majima's real dump of a club? Because an eye for business has less worth than two forced to commit yubitsume that's enough yakuzing cya next entry or my name isn't goror majimer, the Apex Predator named Princess.
After Yakuza 3... this is a strong contender for best story, so far. 3 had tourists, kids and pets roaming the streets of Japan and it's kinda weird they stopped existing afterwards, but now stray cats and dogs can be found again. Fittingly, Majima doesn't sport the role of the straight man that Kiryu has wink wink, actively splashing fuel to the fire. Though when push comes to shove, this Kiryu can be less straight...the man.... less man straight well it's Yakuza bruv when you kill a man he dies and when you give him backshots your name is Mr. Shakedown.
I played Kiwami, but I was glad to see the combat again here. We are eating! But is it good? This is more confirmation that the moveset never was the problem. We were warned, this is what happens when you give a chimpanzee a machine gun. The random super armor on enemies was especially egregious this time around. Is this how disco forged our men? I have that crazy theory that Kiryu can only sprint in this game because he's... under 30 years old! Supposedly. But then he kinda rember in future entries. Never tell him to take a hike, because chances are, he's in Beast style and will actually grab a hike and maul you with it.
It's weird thinking of this Majima as one people may have gotten to know first. But they are very unlucky!! That is the peak of his career. His styles also have nada to do with the true dawg of Shimano. A bat and dance moves? Can't I use a knife and ninjutsu? What's the point in showing the watermelon flashback if not to instill in the player's head that he must be an expert knife user that can fruit ninja irl. Riddle me this. Why is Kiryu's real estate better than Majima's real dump of a club? Because an eye for business has less worth than two forced to commit yubitsume that's enough yakuzing cya next entry or my name isn't goror majimer, the Apex Predator named Princess.
i could smell kiryu's cologne mixed with cigarettes during the whole game i swear to you
My first Yakuza game, i was expecting great things and it gave my 10 times that.
Yakuza 0 is such a rollercoaster of emotions and craziness that I can't get here and not write a great review about it. I love my boys Kiryu and Majima. I love doing sub-stories and side content for hours and hours. I love grinding like a mobile game in my real estate and cabaret. I just love it all.
Therefore, instead of reading reviews, go all out and play it, i swear to you, it's definitely one hell of a game.
Yakuza 0 is such a rollercoaster of emotions and craziness that I can't get here and not write a great review about it. I love my boys Kiryu and Majima. I love doing sub-stories and side content for hours and hours. I love grinding like a mobile game in my real estate and cabaret. I just love it all.
Therefore, instead of reading reviews, go all out and play it, i swear to you, it's definitely one hell of a game.
I couldn't have started the yakuza series in a better way. Even if you're not interested in playing the other games in the series, please give this one a chance, there is not another series like Yakuza on the market.
eu sempre tive a visão de que yakuza era super bizarro e engraçado, mas nunca tinha dado uma chance real para a franquia.
Isso mudou depois de eu me interessar por obras japonesas e com subtexto de organizações criminosas, eu sei que é específico, mas foi justamente isso que fez eu me interessar pela franquia.
Quando eu comecei a jogar yakuza, logo de cara, a primeira coisa que eu reparei foi a sua ambientação e o seu combate, que por mais diferente que pareça, fica extremamente divertido depois de dominado.
A historia do jogo é o seu maior charme, e me quebrou completamente, pois eu esperava algo bobo, e acabei descobrindo um jogo muito sério e bem feito.
Hoje, depois de consumir a maior parte dos jogos da franquia, percebo como esse meu preconceito com o jogo era bobo, obvio que existem momentos enfadonhos, mas não é o cerne do jogo e nem sua totalidade.
amo o majima, casa comigo cara!!!
Isso mudou depois de eu me interessar por obras japonesas e com subtexto de organizações criminosas, eu sei que é específico, mas foi justamente isso que fez eu me interessar pela franquia.
Quando eu comecei a jogar yakuza, logo de cara, a primeira coisa que eu reparei foi a sua ambientação e o seu combate, que por mais diferente que pareça, fica extremamente divertido depois de dominado.
A historia do jogo é o seu maior charme, e me quebrou completamente, pois eu esperava algo bobo, e acabei descobrindo um jogo muito sério e bem feito.
Hoje, depois de consumir a maior parte dos jogos da franquia, percebo como esse meu preconceito com o jogo era bobo, obvio que existem momentos enfadonhos, mas não é o cerne do jogo e nem sua totalidade.
amo o majima, casa comigo cara!!!
To have a game cater to my wishes of punching a hole straight through some guy's head just for looking at me funny is really all that I needed currently. But, for this game to offer up a metric ton of bananas side content with it was giving way more beyond any and all expectations, not to mention the genuinely thrilling plot to boot as well.
There's something so inherently batshit about how serious the main plotline is in comparison to how extremely unserious the other 85% of the game is. Everything is so masterfully exaggerated, from doing the most simple tasks, to the wildly different mini-games, to breaking someone's head open over Kiryu's kneecap. It's got a punch that will leave a lasting impression, mixed with such an emotionally delicate storyline that finally smashes together in the climax. This game is rad as fuck and holds absolutely nothing back.
Having known really nothing about this series going in, it's interesting to see the origin story of characters you've only ever seen in passing through various youtube clips and meme gifs. Oh, how joyous it is to finally understand the context of said moments and realizing that, nope, this game is just as batshit insane as it looks on the outside. Somehow they've made it work, while the bulk of your hourly playtime is coming from the business and substory segments of the game, it's sparsely broken up by the very serious crime soap opera that would often lead to some doom and gloom without the karaoke and disco mini-games to bleach your eyeballs afterwards. It never really felt like anything was overstaying its welcome, (save for the end, but I'll get there), and the pacing was completely self-driven. If you want to shotgun this plot rather quickly, by all means, but the benefits you get from some of the substories are more than worth it. Especially with the business ventures. Sure, there’s a person who is terrified and starving in a storage unit waiting for you to get back to them, but god damn it, someone has to take their hostesses on dates.
I feel like once you do a mini-game you don't.. really have to do it again, but they're interesting time wasters for sure. You can pretty much do anything from bowling, to poker, or pocket circuit racing or even watch a wide range of girls try their best to look cutesy sexy and totally not like they're trapped in a bathroom at gunpoint. I do however find it really funny that most of these activities lead to smaller plot threads that neither of the characters really have any business learning or caring about. Oh, you want to do some little mini-car racing for a bit? Well, the owner of the establishment is a lonely guy who doesn't understand his worth and could use a self-confidence boost. Oh, you want to eat some sushi because your health is a bit low? Well, the owner is a dickhead to his nice employee that should be treated way better for the amount of effort she puts towards running the restaurant when he's not around. It's so funny, every time. The phone mini-game would be less ass without the RNG substory elements added to it, however I do wish that there were more karaoke and disco songs though.
I did enjoy the combat for the most part, but to say it's perfect would be a bit of a lie. It's pretty simplistic by nature, but has huge room for growth. When you upgrade your characters, you really do feel more powerful with every heat action or special ability unlocked. I love the various styles you can pick from and how each one may affect different bosses in different ways, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't tend to lean towards some over others. The Brawler style for Kiryu has the fast paced wombo combo dream for me that the Beast style lacks, without losing the strength behind the punch that Rush often would. I knew that if a bicycle was in range, that shit would be done in 30 seconds flat. That being said, I think I much preferred playing as Majima, as his three styles were bonkers BUSTED. Making him a lot easier to play and also a ton of fun as well. The combos that the Slugger style offers are just satisfying to pull off, with devastating results. The Breaker style would go absolutely nutty if you pulled a string of attacks off correctly. I don't think I game over'd once as Majima, it was only ever as Kiryu. Kiryu is supposed to be the main character of the whole series and I played him like straight ass the whole time. Sorry, man. This doesn't even mention the final styles of each character as well, a very worthwhile reward for putting up with the long as shit business segments that ate up most of my playtime. It was such a treat to run away from Mr. Shakedown with full pants for 90% of the game, to finally get the pleasure of breaking his spine in half once the characters were fully upgraded. The combat can get repetitive at times, especially near the end, but it never truly stopped being fun. However, the bosses always felt like a special occasion. Except the one, or two technically, optional bosses. Not sure what the lore on that was about yet but you can add this game to the list of RPGs with some of the most dogass optional bosses you've ever seen.
I'm so glad they added the ability to avoid battles by using money, but it doesn't quite work all the time if you're a little late on the draw, which is when the combat would drive me bananas. Near the end of the game, the regular enemies beef up to annoying amounts of health and attack you in droves. It makes trying to waste time and partake in business activities a nightmare sometimes. Boy, do I love getting sandwiched between a triangle of 3 dudes that are just punching me endlessly with perfect succession. Or how the later game bosses really love to somehow skate behind you and kick you into a stun that takes what seems like an eternity to break out of. This was pretty constant in the end-game, but for the most part it’s not really an issue. It’s very fun to punch into enemies and then break their bones with heat actions nonetheless.
I think most of my gripes actually come from a money balancing issue I ran into while playing. Majima seems to obtain money at a much more exponentially insane rate in comparison to Kiryu. His business mini-game is also much more interactive and while it takes longer to get through a cabaret session, the profits for defeating a Star are always humongous. The only real issue I had with it was the atrocious fashion you had to put some of those poor women through for the best results, but it’s the 80’s I guess. Anyways, he gets money insanely quickly which in turn upgrades him at a much faster rate. Kiryu on the other hand has to invest into his business, which means saving a lot of his money to advance the real estate rather than himself. Not to mention, Majima doesn’t have to invest in Mr. Moneybags nearly as much as Kiryu does, which I found odd. I ended up getting through the Cabaret plot line rather quickly, while the real estate seemed like it took ages. There was a good chunk of gameplay near the end where I’d have to go find things to do while I waited for my profits to come in, which kind of sucked and it left Kiryu behind in terms of his upgrades. Which is realistically why I probably preferred one character’s playstyle a lot more than the other.
The substories in this game are goofy as hell and I like them for the most part, but I do think we could have done with a bit less of them to be honest. Some of the best involve bowling for a turkey and some of the worst includes Kiryu buying pornography for.. a child. But, for the most part, they all end in exactly the same way with the exact same lessons to be learned for the random Joe and Smough you came across. Someone needs help with something, it turns out there’s a big miscommunication, shenanigans ensue, some dudes try to kick your ass, then rinse and repeat. Either have less substories in my opinion or, at the very least, shake up the formula on a lot of them so that the next one doesn’t feel exactly the same as the last one. They’re pretty funny at first, but later on I had to speedrun the dialogue on them to not feel like I was going absolutely insane.
All in all though, the narrative is masterfully told and definitely the best part of the game. You knew when the Japanese voice acting started, you were in for some popcorn munching shit. It starts off the rails almost immediately for both characters and never really stops. You have Kiryu thrown into what seems like a battle royale where everyone and their mom is coming for his ass no matter what he does, fighting for his damn life every second of the day. Then every so often, you switch to Majima’s much more kind-hearted, but desperate segments that contrast so well with what I can only assume his character is like in the other games. (An insane madlad.) The buildup of tension is heart pounding and it never falters. The OST fuckin’ rips. It’s just absolutely jaw dropping from the beginning and ends on such a refreshingly tender note. I’m sure there was a lot of contextual air that I was missing having played the prequel before everything else, but I am pilled enough to finally try out all the other games that came before this one.
Baka Mitai (I’ve Been a Fool) for leaving this unplayed in my Steam library for so long.
Edit: Used to be a 4.5 star rating, but I stopped doing halfsies.
There's something so inherently batshit about how serious the main plotline is in comparison to how extremely unserious the other 85% of the game is. Everything is so masterfully exaggerated, from doing the most simple tasks, to the wildly different mini-games, to breaking someone's head open over Kiryu's kneecap. It's got a punch that will leave a lasting impression, mixed with such an emotionally delicate storyline that finally smashes together in the climax. This game is rad as fuck and holds absolutely nothing back.
Having known really nothing about this series going in, it's interesting to see the origin story of characters you've only ever seen in passing through various youtube clips and meme gifs. Oh, how joyous it is to finally understand the context of said moments and realizing that, nope, this game is just as batshit insane as it looks on the outside. Somehow they've made it work, while the bulk of your hourly playtime is coming from the business and substory segments of the game, it's sparsely broken up by the very serious crime soap opera that would often lead to some doom and gloom without the karaoke and disco mini-games to bleach your eyeballs afterwards. It never really felt like anything was overstaying its welcome, (save for the end, but I'll get there), and the pacing was completely self-driven. If you want to shotgun this plot rather quickly, by all means, but the benefits you get from some of the substories are more than worth it. Especially with the business ventures. Sure, there’s a person who is terrified and starving in a storage unit waiting for you to get back to them, but god damn it, someone has to take their hostesses on dates.
I feel like once you do a mini-game you don't.. really have to do it again, but they're interesting time wasters for sure. You can pretty much do anything from bowling, to poker, or pocket circuit racing or even watch a wide range of girls try their best to look cutesy sexy and totally not like they're trapped in a bathroom at gunpoint. I do however find it really funny that most of these activities lead to smaller plot threads that neither of the characters really have any business learning or caring about. Oh, you want to do some little mini-car racing for a bit? Well, the owner of the establishment is a lonely guy who doesn't understand his worth and could use a self-confidence boost. Oh, you want to eat some sushi because your health is a bit low? Well, the owner is a dickhead to his nice employee that should be treated way better for the amount of effort she puts towards running the restaurant when he's not around. It's so funny, every time. The phone mini-game would be less ass without the RNG substory elements added to it, however I do wish that there were more karaoke and disco songs though.
I did enjoy the combat for the most part, but to say it's perfect would be a bit of a lie. It's pretty simplistic by nature, but has huge room for growth. When you upgrade your characters, you really do feel more powerful with every heat action or special ability unlocked. I love the various styles you can pick from and how each one may affect different bosses in different ways, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't tend to lean towards some over others. The Brawler style for Kiryu has the fast paced wombo combo dream for me that the Beast style lacks, without losing the strength behind the punch that Rush often would. I knew that if a bicycle was in range, that shit would be done in 30 seconds flat. That being said, I think I much preferred playing as Majima, as his three styles were bonkers BUSTED. Making him a lot easier to play and also a ton of fun as well. The combos that the Slugger style offers are just satisfying to pull off, with devastating results. The Breaker style would go absolutely nutty if you pulled a string of attacks off correctly. I don't think I game over'd once as Majima, it was only ever as Kiryu. Kiryu is supposed to be the main character of the whole series and I played him like straight ass the whole time. Sorry, man. This doesn't even mention the final styles of each character as well, a very worthwhile reward for putting up with the long as shit business segments that ate up most of my playtime. It was such a treat to run away from Mr. Shakedown with full pants for 90% of the game, to finally get the pleasure of breaking his spine in half once the characters were fully upgraded. The combat can get repetitive at times, especially near the end, but it never truly stopped being fun. However, the bosses always felt like a special occasion. Except the one, or two technically, optional bosses. Not sure what the lore on that was about yet but you can add this game to the list of RPGs with some of the most dogass optional bosses you've ever seen.
I'm so glad they added the ability to avoid battles by using money, but it doesn't quite work all the time if you're a little late on the draw, which is when the combat would drive me bananas. Near the end of the game, the regular enemies beef up to annoying amounts of health and attack you in droves. It makes trying to waste time and partake in business activities a nightmare sometimes. Boy, do I love getting sandwiched between a triangle of 3 dudes that are just punching me endlessly with perfect succession. Or how the later game bosses really love to somehow skate behind you and kick you into a stun that takes what seems like an eternity to break out of. This was pretty constant in the end-game, but for the most part it’s not really an issue. It’s very fun to punch into enemies and then break their bones with heat actions nonetheless.
I think most of my gripes actually come from a money balancing issue I ran into while playing. Majima seems to obtain money at a much more exponentially insane rate in comparison to Kiryu. His business mini-game is also much more interactive and while it takes longer to get through a cabaret session, the profits for defeating a Star are always humongous. The only real issue I had with it was the atrocious fashion you had to put some of those poor women through for the best results, but it’s the 80’s I guess. Anyways, he gets money insanely quickly which in turn upgrades him at a much faster rate. Kiryu on the other hand has to invest into his business, which means saving a lot of his money to advance the real estate rather than himself. Not to mention, Majima doesn’t have to invest in Mr. Moneybags nearly as much as Kiryu does, which I found odd. I ended up getting through the Cabaret plot line rather quickly, while the real estate seemed like it took ages. There was a good chunk of gameplay near the end where I’d have to go find things to do while I waited for my profits to come in, which kind of sucked and it left Kiryu behind in terms of his upgrades. Which is realistically why I probably preferred one character’s playstyle a lot more than the other.
The substories in this game are goofy as hell and I like them for the most part, but I do think we could have done with a bit less of them to be honest. Some of the best involve bowling for a turkey and some of the worst includes Kiryu buying pornography for.. a child. But, for the most part, they all end in exactly the same way with the exact same lessons to be learned for the random Joe and Smough you came across. Someone needs help with something, it turns out there’s a big miscommunication, shenanigans ensue, some dudes try to kick your ass, then rinse and repeat. Either have less substories in my opinion or, at the very least, shake up the formula on a lot of them so that the next one doesn’t feel exactly the same as the last one. They’re pretty funny at first, but later on I had to speedrun the dialogue on them to not feel like I was going absolutely insane.
All in all though, the narrative is masterfully told and definitely the best part of the game. You knew when the Japanese voice acting started, you were in for some popcorn munching shit. It starts off the rails almost immediately for both characters and never really stops. You have Kiryu thrown into what seems like a battle royale where everyone and their mom is coming for his ass no matter what he does, fighting for his damn life every second of the day. Then every so often, you switch to Majima’s much more kind-hearted, but desperate segments that contrast so well with what I can only assume his character is like in the other games. (An insane madlad.) The buildup of tension is heart pounding and it never falters. The OST fuckin’ rips. It’s just absolutely jaw dropping from the beginning and ends on such a refreshingly tender note. I’m sure there was a lot of contextual air that I was missing having played the prequel before everything else, but I am pilled enough to finally try out all the other games that came before this one.
Baka Mitai (I’ve Been a Fool) for leaving this unplayed in my Steam library for so long.
Edit: Used to be a 4.5 star rating, but I stopped doing halfsies.
First game I played to the Yakuza series - What was I missing for all these years?
Yakuza 0 focuses on two protagonists, Kiryu Kazuma a young Yakuza who when framed for murder has to go on the run from the Yakuza to clear his name and Majima Goro, an ex-Yakuza who is desperate to get back in and will do almost anything to do it. The story is fantastic, I honestly never expected to be enjoying the storyline as much as I am, the characters are really well fleshed out and it's full of tense, exciting and sometimes emotional moments with some nice twists and turns along the way. While the main storyline is pretty serious there are lots of substories to find that are the complete opposite and are completely daft and hilarious. There are about 100 in all to find that vary from helping to train a shy dominatrix to help produce a tv show. While completely optional the substories are some of Yakuza 0's best content and you can get some good in game rewards for completing them.
The gameplay is essentially like a beat-em up/brawler with some role playing game elements. Each character has their own location to explore which shows up as part of a city map, it's not exactly huge and isn't an open world as most western games know it but it is densely packed with things to see and do. As you travel from mission to mission you will often be ambushed by Yakuza, street gangs and various other ruffians sparking a fight, sometimes this can get annoying when you're just trying to travel from place to place though it is possible to run past them. During a fight you can do basic combat moves such as block, dodge, punch, kick, hold, throw etc. but as you hit enemies without taking damage you build up a bar that lets you unlock heat moves which are one off attacks that use that bar. These heat moves can be brutal, you can stomp on peoples faces, slam their heads in car doors, smash pushbikes over them etc. and it is incredibly satisfying at times. There is also a plethora of weapons to find, buy or craft that can be used in a fight like knives, baseball bats, katanas or even some guns. While each weapon has a certain durability they can really make a difference against some of the tougher opponents and bosses.
Kiryu and Majima both have various fighting styles to switch between they unlock as the story goes on. Each style has it's strength and weaknesses, some are fast, some use items, crowd control and special moves etc. so depending on the situation it's worth swapping between them. The styles can also be upgraded using money to unlock more moves, attack power and health with the more advanced moves being far more expensive.
Though money is gained through combat simply from beating up enemies there are a ton of other ways to gain cash in Yakuza 0 and it's where I have spent the bulk of my time so far because this game has a ton of mini games. They range from darts, pool, Karaoke, fishing, casino gambling, baseball batting, Mahjong to weirder activities such as model car racing, disco dancing, and even cabaret club management. Each mini game is surprisingly good, I spent hours learning how to play Mahjong through the game having never played it before, in some arcades there are even full games of some old Sega megadrive games to play such as Outrun, Super Hang On, Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone. The amount of games to play, things to customize and do is really impressive. Yakuza 0 has a wealth of content and all of it is fantastic.....except catfighting, which is all round terrible both as an idea and for the actual gameplay which is both luck based and rigged against you. Seriously it's awful and only stands out more because the others are pretty well done.
Yakuza 0 originally came out in Japan in 2015 as a cross gen Playstation 3 and 4 game so it is never going to blow anyone away visually. Having said that though it does in fact look great. The protagonist character models are especially impressive at times, both the cities look really good with all their neon signs and bustling streets. Where it is slightly let down is that npc (non player character) models are pretty sub par in most cases, they especially stands out in story scenes. There is also some occasional screen tear when sprinting through busy areas of the cities here and there but neither of these really hurt the game from really looking pretty good. The music and voice acting are both of top notch quality to boot. The game is dubbed in Japanese with English subtitles but the voices of all the characters really match their characters perfectly. Not every character is voiced with characters in substories only getting the odd laughter noise or something as interaction but everyone in the main story is fully voiced.
Essentially if you haven't played a Yakuza game before and have been daunted due to the size of the series 0 being a prequel to them all is a perfect place to jump in and is also just a fantastic game in it's own right. It's serious, quirky, funny and brutal and I highly recommend it.
+ Main story is interesting, emotional and full of twists.
+ Substories are many, varied and hilarious.
+ Combat can be pretty brutal.
+ Great value for money with large amount of great minigames.
+ Visuals, music and voice acting are surprisingly good.
- The catfighting mini game is awful.
- Being ambushed a lot when going from place to place can get annoying.
Yakuza 0 focuses on two protagonists, Kiryu Kazuma a young Yakuza who when framed for murder has to go on the run from the Yakuza to clear his name and Majima Goro, an ex-Yakuza who is desperate to get back in and will do almost anything to do it. The story is fantastic, I honestly never expected to be enjoying the storyline as much as I am, the characters are really well fleshed out and it's full of tense, exciting and sometimes emotional moments with some nice twists and turns along the way. While the main storyline is pretty serious there are lots of substories to find that are the complete opposite and are completely daft and hilarious. There are about 100 in all to find that vary from helping to train a shy dominatrix to help produce a tv show. While completely optional the substories are some of Yakuza 0's best content and you can get some good in game rewards for completing them.
The gameplay is essentially like a beat-em up/brawler with some role playing game elements. Each character has their own location to explore which shows up as part of a city map, it's not exactly huge and isn't an open world as most western games know it but it is densely packed with things to see and do. As you travel from mission to mission you will often be ambushed by Yakuza, street gangs and various other ruffians sparking a fight, sometimes this can get annoying when you're just trying to travel from place to place though it is possible to run past them. During a fight you can do basic combat moves such as block, dodge, punch, kick, hold, throw etc. but as you hit enemies without taking damage you build up a bar that lets you unlock heat moves which are one off attacks that use that bar. These heat moves can be brutal, you can stomp on peoples faces, slam their heads in car doors, smash pushbikes over them etc. and it is incredibly satisfying at times. There is also a plethora of weapons to find, buy or craft that can be used in a fight like knives, baseball bats, katanas or even some guns. While each weapon has a certain durability they can really make a difference against some of the tougher opponents and bosses.
Kiryu and Majima both have various fighting styles to switch between they unlock as the story goes on. Each style has it's strength and weaknesses, some are fast, some use items, crowd control and special moves etc. so depending on the situation it's worth swapping between them. The styles can also be upgraded using money to unlock more moves, attack power and health with the more advanced moves being far more expensive.
Though money is gained through combat simply from beating up enemies there are a ton of other ways to gain cash in Yakuza 0 and it's where I have spent the bulk of my time so far because this game has a ton of mini games. They range from darts, pool, Karaoke, fishing, casino gambling, baseball batting, Mahjong to weirder activities such as model car racing, disco dancing, and even cabaret club management. Each mini game is surprisingly good, I spent hours learning how to play Mahjong through the game having never played it before, in some arcades there are even full games of some old Sega megadrive games to play such as Outrun, Super Hang On, Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone. The amount of games to play, things to customize and do is really impressive. Yakuza 0 has a wealth of content and all of it is fantastic.....except catfighting, which is all round terrible both as an idea and for the actual gameplay which is both luck based and rigged against you. Seriously it's awful and only stands out more because the others are pretty well done.
Yakuza 0 originally came out in Japan in 2015 as a cross gen Playstation 3 and 4 game so it is never going to blow anyone away visually. Having said that though it does in fact look great. The protagonist character models are especially impressive at times, both the cities look really good with all their neon signs and bustling streets. Where it is slightly let down is that npc (non player character) models are pretty sub par in most cases, they especially stands out in story scenes. There is also some occasional screen tear when sprinting through busy areas of the cities here and there but neither of these really hurt the game from really looking pretty good. The music and voice acting are both of top notch quality to boot. The game is dubbed in Japanese with English subtitles but the voices of all the characters really match their characters perfectly. Not every character is voiced with characters in substories only getting the odd laughter noise or something as interaction but everyone in the main story is fully voiced.
Essentially if you haven't played a Yakuza game before and have been daunted due to the size of the series 0 being a prequel to them all is a perfect place to jump in and is also just a fantastic game in it's own right. It's serious, quirky, funny and brutal and I highly recommend it.
+ Main story is interesting, emotional and full of twists.
+ Substories are many, varied and hilarious.
+ Combat can be pretty brutal.
+ Great value for money with large amount of great minigames.
+ Visuals, music and voice acting are surprisingly good.
- The catfighting mini game is awful.
- Being ambushed a lot when going from place to place can get annoying.
Undoubtedly one of the best games i have ever played.
Yakuza 0 features extremely fun combat and multiple combat styles that suit a million different play-styles and allow anyone to play how they want. the music and quick-time events during fights are incredible and add an amazing feeling of flow to every combat encounter, and the boss fights are absolutely amazing.
One of this games most impressive feats is that it has side quests that are actually fun. I often find side quests in games to be extremely boring and uncompelling, often being just fetch quests or just completely uninteresting. But in Yakuza 0, Every side quest is fully voice acted and masterfully crafted and is either compelling, funny, fun, or all of the above. the world is also visually littered with detail everywhere, especially for a game from 2015.
Yakuza 0's most impressive aspect however would have to be its story. I think this is probably one of the best examples of an excellent story that could only be told through a video game. Its extremely long and is so interesting and full of twists and turns that it keeps you on the edge of your seat for the games 30 hour run time. The characters are all so lovingly crafted and filled with personality that despite the ridiculousness of their surroundings at times, they all feel so incredibly real and relatable. This game has the best character writing of any game i have ever played, and has probably permanently raised my standards for games i play in the future.
Yakuza 0 is overall absolutely incredible and has me incredibly excited to check out the rest of the Yakuza series.
Yakuza 0 features extremely fun combat and multiple combat styles that suit a million different play-styles and allow anyone to play how they want. the music and quick-time events during fights are incredible and add an amazing feeling of flow to every combat encounter, and the boss fights are absolutely amazing.
One of this games most impressive feats is that it has side quests that are actually fun. I often find side quests in games to be extremely boring and uncompelling, often being just fetch quests or just completely uninteresting. But in Yakuza 0, Every side quest is fully voice acted and masterfully crafted and is either compelling, funny, fun, or all of the above. the world is also visually littered with detail everywhere, especially for a game from 2015.
Yakuza 0's most impressive aspect however would have to be its story. I think this is probably one of the best examples of an excellent story that could only be told through a video game. Its extremely long and is so interesting and full of twists and turns that it keeps you on the edge of your seat for the games 30 hour run time. The characters are all so lovingly crafted and filled with personality that despite the ridiculousness of their surroundings at times, they all feel so incredibly real and relatable. This game has the best character writing of any game i have ever played, and has probably permanently raised my standards for games i play in the future.
Yakuza 0 is overall absolutely incredible and has me incredibly excited to check out the rest of the Yakuza series.
Enjoyment - 9/10
Difficulty - 7/10
Holy moly. Why haven't I played these games sooner?! Nights I could be vibing to this series... wasted. Instead, I was probably playing Fantastic 4 for PS2.
🏆
Difficulty - 7/10
Holy moly. Why haven't I played these games sooner?! Nights I could be vibing to this series... wasted. Instead, I was probably playing Fantastic 4 for PS2.
🏆
This was pretty Dame Da-mazing! I loved it when the Dame Da Ne guy said his famous catchphrase "Dame Da Ne" and then made all those guys Dore Da-dead. I also liked the other dude, he was pretty cool, breakdancing all over the place. Overall, I had a really great Baka mi-time with Yakuza 0!
fr though this game rocks, great combat, fantastic story, fun as hell side content, a lot of real good boss fights (with a case of one boss overuse), and as well being a extremely well done introduction to the world of Yakuza. Excited to play the rest soon(ish)!
fr though this game rocks, great combat, fantastic story, fun as hell side content, a lot of real good boss fights (with a case of one boss overuse), and as well being a extremely well done introduction to the world of Yakuza. Excited to play the rest soon(ish)!
Unbelievably pandering to make an entire game based on that Dame Da Ne Guy meme
The Devil May Cry 3 of Yakuza.
Veredito: Ambicioso, defeituoso, e maravilhoso.
Yakuza 0 é o típico jogo que acerta muito e erra muito. Não porque os momentos bons são sempre incríveis e os ruins são sempre uma merda total, não por ser um jogo de extremos. Ele não é. E sim porque ele tenta fazer tudo e às vezes consegue, às vezes não.
O grosso da experiência é um bitemup 3D com foco na história, e essa parte é excelente.
O combate flui redondo e tem bastante profundidade. Estilos de luta diferentes, esquiva, bloqueio, barrinha pra encher e dar golpes especiais que gastam ela, improvisar armas com o que estiver à mão, lutas de chefe, ondas e ondas de inimigos. Tudo bem balanceado, bem testado, sempre com variedade.
Já a história é incrível. Um drama no mundo do crime organizado, com foco nos personagens. São 2 protagonistas, 2 histórias que correm em paralelo, cada uma na sua cidade, com suas próprias reviravoltas, seus próprios problemas. De um lado, Kazuma Kiryu se vê na pior situação possível depois de um serviço que deu errado, e é inspirador ver o quanto ele se desdobra do avesso pra fazer o que acredita ser a coisa certa, mesmo tomando porrada atrás de porrada vindo de todos os lados possíveis. Do outro, Goro Majima se vê sendo explorado e chantageado pelo pior tipo de babaca que existe e, no seu desespero e convicção de sair da merda, ele se vê diante dos dilemas morais mais difíceis e cruéis. No meio disso tudo, um massagista imigrante que tá procurando incansavelmente um cara que ele nem sabe quem é, uma garota cega que não fez nada de errado mas é arrastada pro olho do furacão, uma figura paterna que está na cadeia, e um lotezinho minúsculo e todo fodido que vale mais do que vários anos do meu salário.
Além disso, Yakuza 0 tem uma quantidade OBSCENA de conteúdo não-obrigatório. Não só sidequests de descer a porrada, embora essas também existam aos montes, mas todo tipo de minijogo que você puder imaginar. Autorama, boliche, 2 jogos de ritmo diferentes, gerenciamento de imóveis, gerenciamento de um kyabakura, vários fliperamas com seus próprios jogos, casas de mahjong e shogi, bares com dardos e sinuca, espaços de apostas com pôquer e roleta e vinte-e-um e mais vários outros jogos de azar, TEM COISA PRA CARALHO. E com mais profundidade do que você imagina. Os carros do autorama são customizáveis, e você precisa montar o carro certo pra cada tipo de pista, saber a hora de acelerar e de se deixar ser ultrapassado. A empresa imobiliária e o kyabakura envolvem recrutar e treinar sua equipe, delegar os serviços certos para as pessoas certas, administrar o tempo e os recursos. E em alguma medida, menos ou mais, todos os minijogos têm essa profundidade.
E é aí que mora o calcanhar-de-Aquiles de Yakuza 0. Ele faz muita coisa, ele tenta casar bem a história principal, as minihistórias das sidequests, os minijogos, o bitemup, as duas cidades, o mundo aberto, tudo. E ele é um jogo MUITO BOM, mas daqueles jogos muito bons que também dão muitos tropeços. Em algumas coisas ele é ótimo, noutras ele é só mais ou menos, noutras ele é fraquinho, e não é perfeito em praticamente nada.
Por um lado, isso faz parte da graça. Não gostou do karaoke? Beleza, então tenta bater o recorde no beisebol aí. Seu estilo de porrada é mais força bruta ou mais agilidade? Você troca entre eles com um pressionar de botão. Você quer seguir na história principal ou quer ajudar aquela adolescente que tá sendo forçada a vender as próprias calcinhas usadas contra a vontade dela? A decisão é sua. Yakuza 0 te deixa livre pra fazer o que gosta. Inclusive, ele não é um RPG mas permite muito mais roleplay que vários RPGs por aí, e essa variedade esmagadora é uma das coisas que possibilita isso.
Por outro lado, tem coisa que é indefensável. A câmera às vezes é bem ruim. A conclusão da história do Majima, que tava maravilhosa até quase o último momento, foi amarrada e encerrada meio nas coxas. O minijogo de enviar agentes, para procurarem equipamentos e materiais, tem uma interface HORRENDA. Aliás, vários dos minijogos falham miseravelmente em te explicar como que se joga. Algumas lutas de chefe - estou olhando pra tu, Kuze - são quase idênticas umas às outras. A lista de reclamações continua, e continua, e continua.
Veja, o problema dele não é ser gigantesco, não é ser ambicioso. Isso não é defeito. O problema é que ele não conseguiu dar conta de tudo, ou pelo menos não sem dar uns tropeços aqui e ali.
Mas eu diria que no geral ele se saiu muito bem. É praticamente contra as leis da Física existir um jogo tão denso como este, com tanta coisa legal pra fazer, com um sistema de porrada tão caprichado, uma história tão foda, uma variedade tão ridícula de absurda de incrível, e achar que ele não vai pisar na bola com algumas coisas.
Yakuza 0 é o típico jogo que acerta muito e erra muito. Não porque os momentos bons são sempre incríveis e os ruins são sempre uma merda total, não por ser um jogo de extremos. Ele não é. E sim porque ele tenta fazer tudo e às vezes consegue, às vezes não.
O grosso da experiência é um bitemup 3D com foco na história, e essa parte é excelente.
O combate flui redondo e tem bastante profundidade. Estilos de luta diferentes, esquiva, bloqueio, barrinha pra encher e dar golpes especiais que gastam ela, improvisar armas com o que estiver à mão, lutas de chefe, ondas e ondas de inimigos. Tudo bem balanceado, bem testado, sempre com variedade.
Já a história é incrível. Um drama no mundo do crime organizado, com foco nos personagens. São 2 protagonistas, 2 histórias que correm em paralelo, cada uma na sua cidade, com suas próprias reviravoltas, seus próprios problemas. De um lado, Kazuma Kiryu se vê na pior situação possível depois de um serviço que deu errado, e é inspirador ver o quanto ele se desdobra do avesso pra fazer o que acredita ser a coisa certa, mesmo tomando porrada atrás de porrada vindo de todos os lados possíveis. Do outro, Goro Majima se vê sendo explorado e chantageado pelo pior tipo de babaca que existe e, no seu desespero e convicção de sair da merda, ele se vê diante dos dilemas morais mais difíceis e cruéis. No meio disso tudo, um massagista imigrante que tá procurando incansavelmente um cara que ele nem sabe quem é, uma garota cega que não fez nada de errado mas é arrastada pro olho do furacão, uma figura paterna que está na cadeia, e um lotezinho minúsculo e todo fodido que vale mais do que vários anos do meu salário.
Além disso, Yakuza 0 tem uma quantidade OBSCENA de conteúdo não-obrigatório. Não só sidequests de descer a porrada, embora essas também existam aos montes, mas todo tipo de minijogo que você puder imaginar. Autorama, boliche, 2 jogos de ritmo diferentes, gerenciamento de imóveis, gerenciamento de um kyabakura, vários fliperamas com seus próprios jogos, casas de mahjong e shogi, bares com dardos e sinuca, espaços de apostas com pôquer e roleta e vinte-e-um e mais vários outros jogos de azar, TEM COISA PRA CARALHO. E com mais profundidade do que você imagina. Os carros do autorama são customizáveis, e você precisa montar o carro certo pra cada tipo de pista, saber a hora de acelerar e de se deixar ser ultrapassado. A empresa imobiliária e o kyabakura envolvem recrutar e treinar sua equipe, delegar os serviços certos para as pessoas certas, administrar o tempo e os recursos. E em alguma medida, menos ou mais, todos os minijogos têm essa profundidade.
E é aí que mora o calcanhar-de-Aquiles de Yakuza 0. Ele faz muita coisa, ele tenta casar bem a história principal, as minihistórias das sidequests, os minijogos, o bitemup, as duas cidades, o mundo aberto, tudo. E ele é um jogo MUITO BOM, mas daqueles jogos muito bons que também dão muitos tropeços. Em algumas coisas ele é ótimo, noutras ele é só mais ou menos, noutras ele é fraquinho, e não é perfeito em praticamente nada.
Por um lado, isso faz parte da graça. Não gostou do karaoke? Beleza, então tenta bater o recorde no beisebol aí. Seu estilo de porrada é mais força bruta ou mais agilidade? Você troca entre eles com um pressionar de botão. Você quer seguir na história principal ou quer ajudar aquela adolescente que tá sendo forçada a vender as próprias calcinhas usadas contra a vontade dela? A decisão é sua. Yakuza 0 te deixa livre pra fazer o que gosta. Inclusive, ele não é um RPG mas permite muito mais roleplay que vários RPGs por aí, e essa variedade esmagadora é uma das coisas que possibilita isso.
Por outro lado, tem coisa que é indefensável. A câmera às vezes é bem ruim. A conclusão da história do Majima, que tava maravilhosa até quase o último momento, foi amarrada e encerrada meio nas coxas. O minijogo de enviar agentes, para procurarem equipamentos e materiais, tem uma interface HORRENDA. Aliás, vários dos minijogos falham miseravelmente em te explicar como que se joga. Algumas lutas de chefe - estou olhando pra tu, Kuze - são quase idênticas umas às outras. A lista de reclamações continua, e continua, e continua.
Veja, o problema dele não é ser gigantesco, não é ser ambicioso. Isso não é defeito. O problema é que ele não conseguiu dar conta de tudo, ou pelo menos não sem dar uns tropeços aqui e ali.
Mas eu diria que no geral ele se saiu muito bem. É praticamente contra as leis da Física existir um jogo tão denso como este, com tanta coisa legal pra fazer, com um sistema de porrada tão caprichado, uma história tão foda, uma variedade tão ridícula de absurda de incrível, e achar que ele não vai pisar na bola com algumas coisas.
there’s dignity and honor in fighting, depending on who you ask. old men obsess and cling to this ideology, and in some ways it blinds them. blinded from ways of change; ideas that sprout anew in a time of economic boom and societal maturity. the old men consider it noble to defend their decaying ways, yet all the young want to do is break away from such. they fight not out of pretentious beliefs, but out of the need for expression, even if frequently careless. fighting becomes a common resolve between generations. both sides, young and old, fight unbeknownst of the weight they carry, merely knowing they need to fight back. fighting is their lifeblood, fighting is what defines who they are.
but fighting also turns into work. working towards self-righteous pursuit of a measly three squares obviously, but also towards money. money rests as less of an objectified obstacle and more as fuel that drives people’s spirits. in 1988 japan, money does actually make people happy, apparently. though despite what could be inferred… money can’t buy you everything. greed knows no bounds, and thus blurs the line between the economy and violent criminalized pavements. sure, you can pay, but it may only be your fists that let transactions sail, and the cost deadly.
yakuza 0’s ambitious nobility is arguably its defining characteristic. a sublime display of the series’ themes at birth. kamurocho and kansai suddenly become retro, and their industrialized features vanish. the cities proudly wear their grassy riversides and primitive slums on their sleeves. the usual trouble still familiarly runs amok though! style-switching a la DMC lends itself well to the series’ staple combat. always keeping the sense of urgency and energy pulsing throughout the veins of every battle.
fighting is the founding postulation of yakuza’s society. political disputes, romantic conflicts, street confusion, hell even entertainment; all act as open air for violence to spread its wings. y0 paints these outlets similarly to its brethren but in a fresh new-age way. i think some of the praise has been wildly misplaced but it holds weight in where it roots. yakuza 0 is a damn good yakuza game and stands proud as one the defining titles for its generation. not sure what else to say really, everybody gets what makes it so good. one of the only prequels i know that branches out to become a significant starting point for its series. definitely deserves the various titles and acclamation it’s received over the years.
but fighting also turns into work. working towards self-righteous pursuit of a measly three squares obviously, but also towards money. money rests as less of an objectified obstacle and more as fuel that drives people’s spirits. in 1988 japan, money does actually make people happy, apparently. though despite what could be inferred… money can’t buy you everything. greed knows no bounds, and thus blurs the line between the economy and violent criminalized pavements. sure, you can pay, but it may only be your fists that let transactions sail, and the cost deadly.
yakuza 0’s ambitious nobility is arguably its defining characteristic. a sublime display of the series’ themes at birth. kamurocho and kansai suddenly become retro, and their industrialized features vanish. the cities proudly wear their grassy riversides and primitive slums on their sleeves. the usual trouble still familiarly runs amok though! style-switching a la DMC lends itself well to the series’ staple combat. always keeping the sense of urgency and energy pulsing throughout the veins of every battle.
fighting is the founding postulation of yakuza’s society. political disputes, romantic conflicts, street confusion, hell even entertainment; all act as open air for violence to spread its wings. y0 paints these outlets similarly to its brethren but in a fresh new-age way. i think some of the praise has been wildly misplaced but it holds weight in where it roots. yakuza 0 is a damn good yakuza game and stands proud as one the defining titles for its generation. not sure what else to say really, everybody gets what makes it so good. one of the only prequels i know that branches out to become a significant starting point for its series. definitely deserves the various titles and acclamation it’s received over the years.
YOU DON'T GET TO THE TOP BY CRYING
The buildup I experienced going into Yakuza 0 was intense for a multitude of reasons. Not only did my decision to go in release order (LAD notwithstanding) lead to me going through several games before reaching this one, not only did I have to endure trials to play this on PC, which ultimately ended in failure, but because this was built up as the best game in the series and one of the best games ever made. While I don’t think it lives up to THAT high of a standard, it’s still a fantastic game with some of the highest highs the series has ever seen.
To start with the gameplay, it has a pretty interesting innovation with its combat. This game introduces the style system, where you can switch between three different fighting styles for each character, with a fourth one based on their original movesets being unlocked after the Real Estate and Cabaret side games. I really like this system, it adds a good amount of variety to combat while also being really, for lack of a better term, stylish. Also, the more the gap between Yakuza and Devil May Cry is bridged, the better.
I’ll briefly go over each of the main fighting styles, starting with Kiryu’s. Brawler style is cool as a sort of early version of Kiryu’s normal fighting style. I noticed quite a few parallels between it and the Legend style he unlocks later, but with Brawler being quite a bit more scrappy, which is fitting for Kiryu’s place in the story. Rush was my personal favorite to use, especially for 1 on 1 fights. I really like the mobility it offers, and the bobbing and weaving you can do with some moves and the guard almost made me feel like I was playing God Hand at times. I wasn’t a fan of Beast style at first, I didn’t see much utility in the guarding mechanic it had, but once I unlocked more abilities, including some attacks that come out of the guarding stance, I realized that Beast style is completely broken. It was an easy go-to for tearing apart crowds.
Moving onto Majima’s, I feel like Thug is a similar type of early adoption of Majima’s fighting style that Brawler was for Kiryu, though I think Thug’s focus on movement and evasion is a bit more interesting. It feels like a closer equivalent to Rush than Brawler at times. The Slugger style rivals Beast in how meathead-y it can be, even with just the bat by itself. I think it ties in with how Majima has a much emphasis on different weapons between the two. The last one I want to go over is Breaker, which is my favorite in terms of choreography. Incorporating breakdancing into combat is really cool to see, and this is one of my favorite examples of it in a game. Really like the freeze poses too, those are dope. Overall I’m a big fan of the style system, I’m excited to see how the system is expanded on in the Judgment games.
A really cool piece of how it incorporates its mechanics into the story is the role of money. The most brought up example is the progression system, but it’s a recurring thread through every facet of the game. Most of the key facets of the plot are about making money and buying properties, it forms a handful of the villains’ ideologies, and a good chunk of the substories focus on money. It’s really cool that the focus on money, as symbolism of Japan’s bubble economy at the time, has a really large presence.
But the most notable one is its skill trees, which has a lot going for it. I think its structure is the best middle ground the series has had between the freeform skill orb system in 4 and the more linear progression of the other games in the series. I still think 4 has my favorite leveling system for how much freedom you have with spending orbs, but I see a lot of value in the skill tree. Speaking of value, I do like the idea of making money the indicator of your progress. Like I said, money is a large aspect of 0’s story and time period, so tying that into your growth for both characters is really neat. I also like how this means progression isn’t just tied to combat or substories. You can get tons of money from selling items, gambling in the Fate Extra catfighting ring, or engaging in each of the characters’ main side stories. Going through them as you move forward makes the feeling of progression satisfying in a pretty unique way for the series.
So there's all sorts of systems that help you make money and support this system really well. However, there's one teensy-weensy but ever so crucial tiny, little detail. None of them matter. For the purposes of gaining money, every single one of these methods is completely irrelevant. And that's all because of one man. Or rather, because of four men…
I like Mr Shakedown in theory, having a superboss walk down the street with steep consequences for losing, while resulting in a massive payout if you beat him. They even have funny little stories as you fight them. In execution, his presence completely ruins the progression of the game. It doesn’t take long for the fights to become incredibly easy to exploit, completely eliminating the risk element of the risk-reward system and making for a painfully easy way to get billions of yen in no time flat. It makes it so that any money management from the side games is nonexistent, making the possibility of doing them all in one go rather than doing them over the course of the game much easier, and, more importantly, you can max out skill trees incredibly fast. I feel like the team was slightly aware of this, so they had to balance the skill tree around him by making sharp price hikes in abilities, especially for Kiryu. But then the result of that is feeling the need to grind out Mr Shakedown to get anywhere close to getting more skills. Being able to max yourself out this easily, alongside the side modes for each character (which are much easier to do all in one go than people would have you believe), leads to the bosses feeling like complete jokes until the very last chapter of the game. This is by far the most exploitable progression system in the series, to the point that it was incredibly hard to ignore. I feel like the game would be better off without that system in place.
But let’s put all of that aside because, as much as I really like it, the gameplay isn’t really the main appeal of the series, the story is. I was originally going to start this by hardening my stance on its role as a starting point, (To summarize, I think starting with the originals is the best way to go about it, but if you start with 0 or LAD like I did, I won’t hold it against you) but I think focusing on that will distract from how it being the 6th title impacted the way I perceive the story. I think the game’s structure is the best execution of having multiple protagonists that they’ve done in the series. Frequently switching back and forth between Kiryu and Majima does wonders for holding my interest in both of them, especially with the TV serial style they’re going for with this. Kiryu’s side of the story is pretty awesome. It’s interesting to see Kiryu in a state where he’s still learning and not anywhere close to the level of dominance that he has in the other titles. It’s cool seeing the way he’s influenced by the people closest to him, and those that challenge him throughout the game. However, I felt that Majima’s side was much stronger in this regard. It might be a stretch to say, but this almost feels more like Majima’s story than Kiryu’s at points. My main intrigue for this was due to seeing him before the events of this game in Yakuza 4, and I’m glad to see they really capitalized on that. Seeing Majima start to cut loose due to his personal stake in the events of the story is the coolest thing. All of Majima’s dialogue in the final chapter had me absolutely giddy.
The villain lineup was also pretty good, I’ll go through each of them briefly. Kuze is great, easily my favorite of the three lieutenants. I love how persistent he is, he’s like a rival character in an action game that’s constantly testing Kiryu. He also happens to have the best boss theme in the game, but that’s besides the point. Shibusawa is pretty neat too, though I feel like he could’ve had a closer dynamic with Kiryu before the very end, like what Kiryu had with Kuze. Kuze and Shibusawa sort of remind me of Saix and Xemnas from Kingdom Hearts II, where the latter has a more imposing role in the narrative, but the former feels more like the main antagonist through his relationship with the MC. The third lieutenant, Awano was a bit of a letdown tbh. His speech to Kiryu was fantastic, but it feels like they didn’t know what to do with him after that point and kind of forced him into a boss fight. The last one I want to mention, Sagawa, is my favorite villain of the entire game. In each scene he’s in, he exudes so much pressure from his calm expressions and the way he talks. Every exchange he has with Majima feels like he’s seeing right through him and has him completely under his thumb. It makes it all the more interesting to see the kind of impact he has on Majima as a character. And that’s the key part of Yakuza 0, we get to see how the people that Kiryu and Majima meet and the actions they take influence them, and form the way they understand the world and themselves. But as satisfying as their growth is, all of it has a tinge of sadness to it, with the knowledge of what’s to come.
I think the most important part of having the context of the whole series as I played, was the way it unmasked the tale’s true nature. All the way through to the credits, Yakuza 0 is a tragedy. When I saw those very scenes of their growth, like any scene with Kiryu and Nishikiyama, or the epilogues of both protags’ stories, I found myself constantly thinking of what they would become in the future, how their decisions to follow these paths would lead to them being thrown into a world that will tear them apart, one that they can’t escape from no matter how many times they pull through. The dark undercurrents of every event, no matter how lighthearted or exhilarating a moment could be, really stung in so many moments. Even if you played 0 first, I urge you to go through it one more time after 5 just to feel the impact of this.
But beyond all the great writing, fun combat or tragic undertones, this game reminded me of my deep love for a series that, relatively speaking, I’ve only recently been acquainted with. I know it sounds superficial, but all of the the small moments of noticing references to past games, like certain music tracks or appearances of characters, and recognizing how the people that Kiryu, Majima and the others met over the course of these twin journeys made them into the people that are so close to my heart, it all really got to me. No amount of critiques I have, even the most damning ones, are going to change that for me. This and Like A Dragon make me really excited for the future of the franchise, and all of the twists and turns that come with it. I’m really happy that I got a chance to go through this series. RGG studios, for whatever your future has in store, I’ll receive you, cause you always brighten my life.
The buildup I experienced going into Yakuza 0 was intense for a multitude of reasons. Not only did my decision to go in release order (LAD notwithstanding) lead to me going through several games before reaching this one, not only did I have to endure trials to play this on PC, which ultimately ended in failure, but because this was built up as the best game in the series and one of the best games ever made. While I don’t think it lives up to THAT high of a standard, it’s still a fantastic game with some of the highest highs the series has ever seen.
To start with the gameplay, it has a pretty interesting innovation with its combat. This game introduces the style system, where you can switch between three different fighting styles for each character, with a fourth one based on their original movesets being unlocked after the Real Estate and Cabaret side games. I really like this system, it adds a good amount of variety to combat while also being really, for lack of a better term, stylish. Also, the more the gap between Yakuza and Devil May Cry is bridged, the better.
I’ll briefly go over each of the main fighting styles, starting with Kiryu’s. Brawler style is cool as a sort of early version of Kiryu’s normal fighting style. I noticed quite a few parallels between it and the Legend style he unlocks later, but with Brawler being quite a bit more scrappy, which is fitting for Kiryu’s place in the story. Rush was my personal favorite to use, especially for 1 on 1 fights. I really like the mobility it offers, and the bobbing and weaving you can do with some moves and the guard almost made me feel like I was playing God Hand at times. I wasn’t a fan of Beast style at first, I didn’t see much utility in the guarding mechanic it had, but once I unlocked more abilities, including some attacks that come out of the guarding stance, I realized that Beast style is completely broken. It was an easy go-to for tearing apart crowds.
Moving onto Majima’s, I feel like Thug is a similar type of early adoption of Majima’s fighting style that Brawler was for Kiryu, though I think Thug’s focus on movement and evasion is a bit more interesting. It feels like a closer equivalent to Rush than Brawler at times. The Slugger style rivals Beast in how meathead-y it can be, even with just the bat by itself. I think it ties in with how Majima has a much emphasis on different weapons between the two. The last one I want to go over is Breaker, which is my favorite in terms of choreography. Incorporating breakdancing into combat is really cool to see, and this is one of my favorite examples of it in a game. Really like the freeze poses too, those are dope. Overall I’m a big fan of the style system, I’m excited to see how the system is expanded on in the Judgment games.
A really cool piece of how it incorporates its mechanics into the story is the role of money. The most brought up example is the progression system, but it’s a recurring thread through every facet of the game. Most of the key facets of the plot are about making money and buying properties, it forms a handful of the villains’ ideologies, and a good chunk of the substories focus on money. It’s really cool that the focus on money, as symbolism of Japan’s bubble economy at the time, has a really large presence.
But the most notable one is its skill trees, which has a lot going for it. I think its structure is the best middle ground the series has had between the freeform skill orb system in 4 and the more linear progression of the other games in the series. I still think 4 has my favorite leveling system for how much freedom you have with spending orbs, but I see a lot of value in the skill tree. Speaking of value, I do like the idea of making money the indicator of your progress. Like I said, money is a large aspect of 0’s story and time period, so tying that into your growth for both characters is really neat. I also like how this means progression isn’t just tied to combat or substories. You can get tons of money from selling items, gambling in the Fate Extra catfighting ring, or engaging in each of the characters’ main side stories. Going through them as you move forward makes the feeling of progression satisfying in a pretty unique way for the series.
So there's all sorts of systems that help you make money and support this system really well. However, there's one teensy-weensy but ever so crucial tiny, little detail. None of them matter. For the purposes of gaining money, every single one of these methods is completely irrelevant. And that's all because of one man. Or rather, because of four men…
I like Mr Shakedown in theory, having a superboss walk down the street with steep consequences for losing, while resulting in a massive payout if you beat him. They even have funny little stories as you fight them. In execution, his presence completely ruins the progression of the game. It doesn’t take long for the fights to become incredibly easy to exploit, completely eliminating the risk element of the risk-reward system and making for a painfully easy way to get billions of yen in no time flat. It makes it so that any money management from the side games is nonexistent, making the possibility of doing them all in one go rather than doing them over the course of the game much easier, and, more importantly, you can max out skill trees incredibly fast. I feel like the team was slightly aware of this, so they had to balance the skill tree around him by making sharp price hikes in abilities, especially for Kiryu. But then the result of that is feeling the need to grind out Mr Shakedown to get anywhere close to getting more skills. Being able to max yourself out this easily, alongside the side modes for each character (which are much easier to do all in one go than people would have you believe), leads to the bosses feeling like complete jokes until the very last chapter of the game. This is by far the most exploitable progression system in the series, to the point that it was incredibly hard to ignore. I feel like the game would be better off without that system in place.
But let’s put all of that aside because, as much as I really like it, the gameplay isn’t really the main appeal of the series, the story is. I was originally going to start this by hardening my stance on its role as a starting point, (To summarize, I think starting with the originals is the best way to go about it, but if you start with 0 or LAD like I did, I won’t hold it against you) but I think focusing on that will distract from how it being the 6th title impacted the way I perceive the story. I think the game’s structure is the best execution of having multiple protagonists that they’ve done in the series. Frequently switching back and forth between Kiryu and Majima does wonders for holding my interest in both of them, especially with the TV serial style they’re going for with this. Kiryu’s side of the story is pretty awesome. It’s interesting to see Kiryu in a state where he’s still learning and not anywhere close to the level of dominance that he has in the other titles. It’s cool seeing the way he’s influenced by the people closest to him, and those that challenge him throughout the game. However, I felt that Majima’s side was much stronger in this regard. It might be a stretch to say, but this almost feels more like Majima’s story than Kiryu’s at points. My main intrigue for this was due to seeing him before the events of this game in Yakuza 4, and I’m glad to see they really capitalized on that. Seeing Majima start to cut loose due to his personal stake in the events of the story is the coolest thing. All of Majima’s dialogue in the final chapter had me absolutely giddy.
The villain lineup was also pretty good, I’ll go through each of them briefly. Kuze is great, easily my favorite of the three lieutenants. I love how persistent he is, he’s like a rival character in an action game that’s constantly testing Kiryu. He also happens to have the best boss theme in the game, but that’s besides the point. Shibusawa is pretty neat too, though I feel like he could’ve had a closer dynamic with Kiryu before the very end, like what Kiryu had with Kuze. Kuze and Shibusawa sort of remind me of Saix and Xemnas from Kingdom Hearts II, where the latter has a more imposing role in the narrative, but the former feels more like the main antagonist through his relationship with the MC. The third lieutenant, Awano was a bit of a letdown tbh. His speech to Kiryu was fantastic, but it feels like they didn’t know what to do with him after that point and kind of forced him into a boss fight. The last one I want to mention, Sagawa, is my favorite villain of the entire game. In each scene he’s in, he exudes so much pressure from his calm expressions and the way he talks. Every exchange he has with Majima feels like he’s seeing right through him and has him completely under his thumb. It makes it all the more interesting to see the kind of impact he has on Majima as a character. And that’s the key part of Yakuza 0, we get to see how the people that Kiryu and Majima meet and the actions they take influence them, and form the way they understand the world and themselves. But as satisfying as their growth is, all of it has a tinge of sadness to it, with the knowledge of what’s to come.
I think the most important part of having the context of the whole series as I played, was the way it unmasked the tale’s true nature. All the way through to the credits, Yakuza 0 is a tragedy. When I saw those very scenes of their growth, like any scene with Kiryu and Nishikiyama, or the epilogues of both protags’ stories, I found myself constantly thinking of what they would become in the future, how their decisions to follow these paths would lead to them being thrown into a world that will tear them apart, one that they can’t escape from no matter how many times they pull through. The dark undercurrents of every event, no matter how lighthearted or exhilarating a moment could be, really stung in so many moments. Even if you played 0 first, I urge you to go through it one more time after 5 just to feel the impact of this.
But beyond all the great writing, fun combat or tragic undertones, this game reminded me of my deep love for a series that, relatively speaking, I’ve only recently been acquainted with. I know it sounds superficial, but all of the the small moments of noticing references to past games, like certain music tracks or appearances of characters, and recognizing how the people that Kiryu, Majima and the others met over the course of these twin journeys made them into the people that are so close to my heart, it all really got to me. No amount of critiques I have, even the most damning ones, are going to change that for me. This and Like A Dragon make me really excited for the future of the franchise, and all of the twists and turns that come with it. I’m really happy that I got a chance to go through this series. RGG studios, for whatever your future has in store, I’ll receive you, cause you always brighten my life.
Majima is just the Joker for people who don't hate women
fuck me man. I waited too long to finally play this. I get it. I totally get it. This game is every ounce worth the insane hype its amassed over the years.
Is Tokyo as predictable and artificial as its depiction in Yakuza 0? The city only seems alive when you happen upon one of many absurd but inconsequential quests. These wacky sidebars also stand out because of their contrast with the standard soap opera crime narrative of the main story. Perhaps Yakuza 0's endless contrivances could be forgiven if the martial arts action weren't so awkwardly telegraphed and designed. The game tries to convince you the combat is cool with its monotonous use of multi-angle cutscene finishers, but anyone with basic knowledge of the beat-'em-up genre and fighting games has seen all of this crap before in more fluid packages. The desaturated still-frame shot that one activates with a victory speaks to the desperate dullness at hand in Yakuza 0. Critics should be jailed for giving this game a pass on its flagrant lack of creativity back in 2017.
This is the best Grand Theft Auto game.
Hey look at that I finally finished this game. So, this game is very close to being a near perfect game for me. It is missing or lacking in a couple of areas that keep it from being a 10/10 for me. The story, while being slow at first, eventually picked up and hooked me with the ending being a perfect way to conclude the events of this game but also set up for the future. The ending is a heart throb that will pull on your heart strings. The combat is good, I don't have many complaints. I do wish the styles were more fleshed out and had better combo options. It also isn't great that you have to grind for hours to gain more moves, I wish they took less time to obtain. This game at times did struggle to keep me fully engaged but that may be more of an issue on my end. The cutscenes and mandatory side content at times drawed out the game a bit too much for me. There was also these weird comic book style cutscenes that appeared like 4-5 times and were really weirdly spaced out. Maybe I would have better appreciated some of the elements of the game had I played the series in release order but I still enjoyed this game a lot.
Sunao ni I LOVE YOU! todokeyou
kitto YOU LOVE ME! tsutawaru sa
Kimi ni niau GLASS no kutsu wo sagasou
Futari de STEP & GO! itsu made mo
Shin'ya juuni-ji wo sugitatte
bokura no LOVE MAGIC wa
toke wa shinai
Oide meshimase ohime-sama
Doku no ringo wo tabete nemucchai sou na
Sunao sugiru kimi ga totemo itoshii
Atarimae ＝ (iko) takaramono sa
Chikyuu wa mawari hi wa nobori
Kimi wa hohoemu
Sunao ni I LOVE YOU! todokeyou
Kitto YOU LOVE ME! tsutawaru sa
Kimi ni niau GLASS no kutsu wo sagasou
Futari de STEP & GO! itsu fez mo
Shin'ya juuni-ji wo sugitatte
Kimi wa boku no itoshii nijuuyo-jikan CINDERELLA
Hey! Ei! Ei!
kitto YOU LOVE ME! tsutawaru sa
Kimi ni niau GLASS no kutsu wo sagasou
Futari de STEP & GO! itsu made mo
Shin'ya juuni-ji wo sugitatte
bokura no LOVE MAGIC wa
toke wa shinai
Oide meshimase ohime-sama
Doku no ringo wo tabete nemucchai sou na
Sunao sugiru kimi ga totemo itoshii
Atarimae ＝ (iko) takaramono sa
Chikyuu wa mawari hi wa nobori
Kimi wa hohoemu
Sunao ni I LOVE YOU! todokeyou
Kitto YOU LOVE ME! tsutawaru sa
Kimi ni niau GLASS no kutsu wo sagasou
Futari de STEP & GO! itsu fez mo
Shin'ya juuni-ji wo sugitatte
Kimi wa boku no itoshii nijuuyo-jikan CINDERELLA
Hey! Ei! Ei!
What a cool fucking game man. I'm just gonna splurt my thoughts out for this review because I literally just finished it, but man I really enjoyed it.
The story was a highlight, it starts slow but once you get to around chapter 4 it really starts going and I was equally engaged in both Kiryu and Majima's stories. Majima's in particular was a real highlight and I loved the way it ended. Loved a lot of the characters, and the ones that I disliked at first I ended up enjoying quite a bit. Kiryu and Majima might be some of my favorite male protagonists in a game. I really love the brand of sensitive masculinity that they portray in this game. They get their strength from protecting the people in their lives that they care about as opposed to just being strong for strength's sake. I love that.
The side content was pretty cool. None of it was too deep on its own, but it was just deep enough for the sheer amount of it in the game to be impressive. The dance mini-game is gas, I would play a full game of that tbh. Then there is Real Estate Royale and the Cabaret Club Mini-game. I wasn't a huge fan of the Real Estate mini-game, it just felt a little too hands-off for me. It was cool seeing the characters from the sub-stories again, but there wasn't much drive to play it outside of it being a passive money-making farm at end-game. The cabaret club is really fun though and the management sim aspect scratched a deep part of my brain lol. I definitely would like to play more stuff like that in the future.
The only thing I really didn't like in this game was the upgrade system for the combat? It kind of felt like the progression was wonky. It felt too expensive to invest in the early game and then by the time I had enough yen to afford it I just kind of maxed out the entire tree? Idk, I would have preferred a normal exp system here, but I get what they were going for thematically. Styles were pretty cool, I felt like I got use out of all of Kiryu's styles except the legend one. That one just felt like a slower version of Brawler. I realize the fighting style is based on how Kiryu plays in the other games, but I just wasn't really using it effectively idk. Majima's styles were even more of a mixed bag especially since I had less upgrade money for him. I didn't use Slugger at all. Thug I found useful during the early and mid-game fights and Breaker was my go-to in crowds. The counter that his legend style has is broken, so I used that for the end-game fights lol.
Anywho, this game fucks and I look forward to playing the original on Ps2 next.
The story was a highlight, it starts slow but once you get to around chapter 4 it really starts going and I was equally engaged in both Kiryu and Majima's stories. Majima's in particular was a real highlight and I loved the way it ended. Loved a lot of the characters, and the ones that I disliked at first I ended up enjoying quite a bit. Kiryu and Majima might be some of my favorite male protagonists in a game. I really love the brand of sensitive masculinity that they portray in this game. They get their strength from protecting the people in their lives that they care about as opposed to just being strong for strength's sake. I love that.
The side content was pretty cool. None of it was too deep on its own, but it was just deep enough for the sheer amount of it in the game to be impressive. The dance mini-game is gas, I would play a full game of that tbh. Then there is Real Estate Royale and the Cabaret Club Mini-game. I wasn't a huge fan of the Real Estate mini-game, it just felt a little too hands-off for me. It was cool seeing the characters from the sub-stories again, but there wasn't much drive to play it outside of it being a passive money-making farm at end-game. The cabaret club is really fun though and the management sim aspect scratched a deep part of my brain lol. I definitely would like to play more stuff like that in the future.
The only thing I really didn't like in this game was the upgrade system for the combat? It kind of felt like the progression was wonky. It felt too expensive to invest in the early game and then by the time I had enough yen to afford it I just kind of maxed out the entire tree? Idk, I would have preferred a normal exp system here, but I get what they were going for thematically. Styles were pretty cool, I felt like I got use out of all of Kiryu's styles except the legend one. That one just felt like a slower version of Brawler. I realize the fighting style is based on how Kiryu plays in the other games, but I just wasn't really using it effectively idk. Majima's styles were even more of a mixed bag especially since I had less upgrade money for him. I didn't use Slugger at all. Thug I found useful during the early and mid-game fights and Breaker was my go-to in crowds. The counter that his legend style has is broken, so I used that for the end-game fights lol.
Anywho, this game fucks and I look forward to playing the original on Ps2 next.
The consequences of Yakuza 0's success and the perception of it as the "first" game in the series to new fans
Yakuza 0 has better twists and reveals than 99% of movies and TV. I want to gush about everything I loved, but the surprises are part of what make it so incredible.
The main story is intense and compelling, while the side quests are often wacky and laugh-out-loud hilarious. The mini-games are so well-crafted (Darts, bowling, pool, mahjong, shogi, etc.) that they could be sold as standalone titles. The variety of gameplay is astronomical.
I didn't think I'd be into it, but my wife and I put 80 hours in together, and now we're making our way through the whole series.
If you've got Game Pass or PS Plus Extra/Premium, give this a try ASAP, even if it doesn't look like your kind of game. It might surprise you!
The main story is intense and compelling, while the side quests are often wacky and laugh-out-loud hilarious. The mini-games are so well-crafted (Darts, bowling, pool, mahjong, shogi, etc.) that they could be sold as standalone titles. The variety of gameplay is astronomical.
I didn't think I'd be into it, but my wife and I put 80 hours in together, and now we're making our way through the whole series.
If you've got Game Pass or PS Plus Extra/Premium, give this a try ASAP, even if it doesn't look like your kind of game. It might surprise you!
my fondest memory of this game is playing the autistically in-depth 2 player bowling game with a friend and saying “do you wanna just go actually fuckin bowling” and then we stopped playing and went actual bowling. thanks for that yakuza