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.

Reviewed on Mar 12, 2023


25 Comments


this is fucking crazy bruh

1 year ago

😭 😭 😭

1 year ago

great job with this review reddish!

1 year ago

Nice review!

1 year ago

This comment was deleted

1 year ago

another great review!

1 year ago

amazing review my good friend

1 year ago

Good job!

1 year ago

Amazing review and good luck with Kiwami 1 btw, I hate that game with all my heart lol

1 year ago

@BabaLaKoz I am about halfway through Kiwami as we speak, and as awful of a remake it is (100% prefer the og), I'm still having an overall pleasant time. I think it goes to show that the Yakuza formula at it's core pretty much fails to make actually bad games

1 year ago

yeah, i 100% agree on that
the fact this got 32 likes i’m crying

1 year ago

it's been a few days, now is the time to reveal that josh actually ghost written this review for me as an inside joke to see how many people would genuinely believe it was my work LMFAO YOU GUYS 😭 😭 😭

1 year ago

im sorry we lied to you backlogd bretheren but in our defense it was rly fucking funny

1 year ago

It was for the bit

1 year ago

Backloggd guy: wow reddish what an awesome Yakuza 0 review the stuff you wrote was great and i totally agree!

Josh:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/621346412059426819/1084949310896082954/pBofVLzWwRhNdm17.mp4
you both are goofy imo.

1 year ago

this is giving me huge Drake vibes

1 year ago

oh my! a forgery! I'm not sure I could condone such deception! I will take my like away, you will be forever disgraced for such transgression!!!!! An unlike! Ohohoho.

1 year ago

@appreciations this is my first time seeing this video and with zero context its absolutely insane bruh

1 year ago

GET THIS TO FOURTY LIKES

9 months ago

@Reddish "I think it goes to show that the Yakuza formula at it's core pretty much fails to make actually bad games" so now how do you feel about this

9 months ago

@silverus dragon engine was a mistake