As far as the gameplay goes, this game deserves every bit of praise it gets. It's got one of the strongest combat systems in the Like a Dragon franchise, and a decently strong lineup of side stories and mini games to add variety. The story, for all its faults, is engaging from start to finish which I found to be a relief after 5 had multiple hours-long dry spells in its pacing. Ultimately, I think this game enriches the series a lot and serves as a fun rerun of a lot of concepts from the first Like a Dragon with some twists.
Much like 4 and 5, the campaign features multiple playable characters. This time, however, it's been trimmed down to just two: Kiryu is joined by none other than fan-favorite recurring boss Goro Majima. And for the first time, the story jumps back and forth between the two protagonists as the story unfolds and ties them together. Personally I think this is a great change to the previous formula, as more time with each character spread out longer means both characters get a full game's worth of growth in abilities instead of the truncated process the larger casts had to deal with.
0 incorporates the style switching mechanic from Ishin into the mainline series, with three styles fit to different scenarios for each character. There are also legend styles, based on their movesets from later in the series, which can be unlocked by completing the business mini game quests for each character. Kiryu's real estate game is very simple and mostly is a vehicle for free money throughout the story, but Majima's cabaret club is an active management mini game which is decent fun to sink a few hours into.
Kiryu's Brawler style is the basic one, a general purpose fighting moveset that is roughly analogous to his classic Dragon style. Rush is the next he unlocks, with fast dodges and quick-but-light punches that are slightly reminiscent of Akiyama. Beast mode is all about picking up heavy things and doing massive damage, as if Kiryu were channeling the strength of Saejima. The styles all play very well off each other and come in handy in many different cases, though I found once I unlocked Dragon style I mostly stuck to it for good damage and the classic moveset I know so well.
Majima starts off with Thug style, which has excellent dodging capabilities and some fast and tricky attacks. He also learns Slugger, a devastating baseball bat moveset with some easy stunlocks. Then there's Breaker, the literal break dancing style that's best for crowd control and long battles. Unlike Kiryu, it's easier to stick to one preferred style as Majima since they're all so strong. However, the best is easily the Mad Dog style, with lots of fast movement and crazy dodging and damage. In my opinion, it's crucial to get both legend styles to get the full experience of the game, which is something I didn't do last time I played.
Most of my gripes with this game are story related. I think this game bends too hard to the idea that Kiryu is a boy scout-like character, which is more like his portrayal in the later games than early entries like 1 and 2. I also think the game doesn't give a satisfying answer to why Majima acts the way he does in the first game, which sort of felt like the main goal of the whole story. The final boss was a let down stakes-wise as well, though not as bad as what happens at the end of 5.
If you've never played Yakuza/Like a Dragon before, this is a decent place to start, but honestly the PS2 original will always have my heart as the best entry point. This game is really just an extended homage to that one, and it's not as memorable on its own because of that, despite being the stronger game of the two.
Much like 4 and 5, the campaign features multiple playable characters. This time, however, it's been trimmed down to just two: Kiryu is joined by none other than fan-favorite recurring boss Goro Majima. And for the first time, the story jumps back and forth between the two protagonists as the story unfolds and ties them together. Personally I think this is a great change to the previous formula, as more time with each character spread out longer means both characters get a full game's worth of growth in abilities instead of the truncated process the larger casts had to deal with.
0 incorporates the style switching mechanic from Ishin into the mainline series, with three styles fit to different scenarios for each character. There are also legend styles, based on their movesets from later in the series, which can be unlocked by completing the business mini game quests for each character. Kiryu's real estate game is very simple and mostly is a vehicle for free money throughout the story, but Majima's cabaret club is an active management mini game which is decent fun to sink a few hours into.
Kiryu's Brawler style is the basic one, a general purpose fighting moveset that is roughly analogous to his classic Dragon style. Rush is the next he unlocks, with fast dodges and quick-but-light punches that are slightly reminiscent of Akiyama. Beast mode is all about picking up heavy things and doing massive damage, as if Kiryu were channeling the strength of Saejima. The styles all play very well off each other and come in handy in many different cases, though I found once I unlocked Dragon style I mostly stuck to it for good damage and the classic moveset I know so well.
Majima starts off with Thug style, which has excellent dodging capabilities and some fast and tricky attacks. He also learns Slugger, a devastating baseball bat moveset with some easy stunlocks. Then there's Breaker, the literal break dancing style that's best for crowd control and long battles. Unlike Kiryu, it's easier to stick to one preferred style as Majima since they're all so strong. However, the best is easily the Mad Dog style, with lots of fast movement and crazy dodging and damage. In my opinion, it's crucial to get both legend styles to get the full experience of the game, which is something I didn't do last time I played.
Most of my gripes with this game are story related. I think this game bends too hard to the idea that Kiryu is a boy scout-like character, which is more like his portrayal in the later games than early entries like 1 and 2. I also think the game doesn't give a satisfying answer to why Majima acts the way he does in the first game, which sort of felt like the main goal of the whole story. The final boss was a let down stakes-wise as well, though not as bad as what happens at the end of 5.
If you've never played Yakuza/Like a Dragon before, this is a decent place to start, but honestly the PS2 original will always have my heart as the best entry point. This game is really just an extended homage to that one, and it's not as memorable on its own because of that, despite being the stronger game of the two.