A great prequel entry held back by an intensely grueling leveling system and some questionable writing choices with one of the villains. Wonderful music and satisfying combat-- tied together with a story that really understands the essence of Yakuza despite some of its faults. A great entry into the series, but i would still recommend the first game on ps2 as a starting point over this one.
This review contains spoilers
Yakuza 0. The first game in the yakuza series I played (for better or for worse). I won’t sit here and act like everything in this game is perfect. Some of the minigames (Cat fight club I specifically mean you why do you exist) are dreadful and it did take a bit for the story to really grab me. It took me a while to figure out why this is, and I don’t think I really grasped it until recently when talking to a friend about Infinite Wealth. I absolutely love Kiryu, he’s one of my favorite protagonists of all time and I want nothing but happiness for him. The problem is…he doesn’t really shine in 0. He’s still great, but he becomes overshadowed by his counterpart and fellow protag. His story is great, but it doesn’t grab me like the other part of the game. His main side mode is fine, but I enjoy it far less that the other. Looking back his story now, it was still good and I enjoyed it. The only real issue is the Majima. Majima is a character I would not have expected myself to become obsessed with. He’s funny, sure, but he’s only a protag in this game. What could make him so special? Majima has one of my favorite written character journeys of all time in this game. His attitude, the fact that if you played any game before this you know this is super odd for the Mad Dog. The way he fights (I like Kiryu and his styles but holy wow Majima styles my beloved) and the way he acts with every character around him. The amount of feeling his part of the ending gives me is just so much. I’m not a hard person to please, but 0 just gives me so much to love that I can ignore the bad and still give it 5 stars. Not perfect, but perfect enough for me. I really hope we one day either get to play as Majima again, or see him and Kiryu get the happy endings the deserve (Have not finished IW as of this review).
Incredible story with one of the most stacked casts from any videogame i've played so far. Just so many S-Tier characters and dynamics. I think the dual protag thing also works really well and i really like the way the stories of Majima and Kiryu seem separate at first but intersect really satisfyingly later on. I didn't play every substory but the ones i did play were really funny for the most part and were a nice break from the main story.
It is with great shame I think I admit I probably won't finish Yakuza 0. I played it on gamepass earlier in 2024, and really liked the story and characters. I wasn't a huge fan of the fighting gameplay but I was also playing on easy to try and get through it relatively quickly.
The fluctuation in quality was sometimes a little jarring going from some of the best cutscenes to a 10 minute conversation with an npc that barely emoted, but I totally understand why the game needs to be that way with the amount of content that is packed inside. That being said I might have been able to get through it if it was a leaner experience.
But after 40 or so hours I kind of lost interest and got caught up playing different games and I don't know if I have it in me to resubscribe to gamepass just to grit my teeth and get through it. Especially with just how daunting of a franchise Yakuza is. I am sure if I finished it this game would sit much higher then 3.5 stars, but where I left it I think it is fitting, hopefully one day I can be convinced to see it through.
One last thing I'll say is I do love all the musical elements of this game karaoke and dancing was always so fun and charming and it is something that you don't really see in other games but the vibes were just immaculate. And the way comedy is done in this game and I assume the others is pretty next level and something I hope games in general are inspired by. It's honestly a game I would probably get more enjoyment out of watching then playing.
The fluctuation in quality was sometimes a little jarring going from some of the best cutscenes to a 10 minute conversation with an npc that barely emoted, but I totally understand why the game needs to be that way with the amount of content that is packed inside. That being said I might have been able to get through it if it was a leaner experience.
But after 40 or so hours I kind of lost interest and got caught up playing different games and I don't know if I have it in me to resubscribe to gamepass just to grit my teeth and get through it. Especially with just how daunting of a franchise Yakuza is. I am sure if I finished it this game would sit much higher then 3.5 stars, but where I left it I think it is fitting, hopefully one day I can be convinced to see it through.
One last thing I'll say is I do love all the musical elements of this game karaoke and dancing was always so fun and charming and it is something that you don't really see in other games but the vibes were just immaculate. And the way comedy is done in this game and I assume the others is pretty next level and something I hope games in general are inspired by. It's honestly a game I would probably get more enjoyment out of watching then playing.
A soap opera of Shakespearean dramatic scale and emotion, a business drama, a takedown of capitalism, a rhythm game, another rhythm game, a kart racer, an absurdist comedy, a management sim, a Japan in the 80s tourism simulator...it's everything and it does all of it well and with so much love, only held back by some clunky controls and collision, at times frustrating balancing (why are guns), and Kiryu's chapters being significantly less interesting than Majima's.
One of the greatest stories in any video game I’ve ever played, so emotional and thrilling. And then it’s accompanied by the goofiest side content I’ve ever seen in any game. That’s what makes it endearing in my opinion. It says so much about the human experience. We are not all serious, we do be joking around and playing with toy cars sometimes.
This game is like the godfather in the style of Scott pilgrim, and that really should not work. But not only does it work, it knocks that shit out of the park. Kiryu and Majima are two of the greatest video game protagonists ever and their story is fantastic.
This game is like the godfather in the style of Scott pilgrim, and that really should not work. But not only does it work, it knocks that shit out of the park. Kiryu and Majima are two of the greatest video game protagonists ever and their story is fantastic.
Incredibly enthralling, while the beat em' up combat is the main allure, there is plenty of other things to keep you entertained and busy in case you need a break from knocking out goons. The story made me cry at several moments, and I've lost over 60 hours of my life to the business minigame. (this is not a joke.)
Unfortunately I cannot give it five stars, I can't handle trying to play mahjong for that full completion and it mocks me every second I have the menu open.
Unfortunately I cannot give it five stars, I can't handle trying to play mahjong for that full completion and it mocks me every second I have the menu open.
I completly fell for this game's outstanding story and performance from VA's. I'd say everything that makes this game worth picking up is the story it wants to tell.
From a gameplay prespective I felt like it was a huge push back to make me play large sessions. The large ammount of cutscenes and low interaction from the player. I just think it was a tiring way of the tell the story. It's a bit of a slowburner at the beggining also. The combat is very basic and repetitive and the gameplay sections (apart from some mini games) are always the same thing with very rare new gameplay segments. Side stories are good, bad, and boring you just play the roullette of what are you discovering next.
Despite the low interactivity through the game, the story itself makes a solid reason to play it
From a gameplay prespective I felt like it was a huge push back to make me play large sessions. The large ammount of cutscenes and low interaction from the player. I just think it was a tiring way of the tell the story. It's a bit of a slowburner at the beggining also. The combat is very basic and repetitive and the gameplay sections (apart from some mini games) are always the same thing with very rare new gameplay segments. Side stories are good, bad, and boring you just play the roullette of what are you discovering next.
Despite the low interactivity through the game, the story itself makes a solid reason to play it