Played this about 3 or 4 months ago, thought I'd drop this review from somewhere else here now :)
I gave Yakuza Kiwami a 10/10 when I beat it in late 2018 or early 2019. Probably would change that to a 9/10 now, but the gist of it is, I loved the game. I love games that have a good story and are more on the grounded side (though I don't at all mind the occasional supernatural JRPG story, I mean Persona games are among my favorite ever). I also like it when games are funny. But I like it the most when these two parts are strung together by fun gameplay mechanics.
There aren't many games that work really well in all three aspects (GTA games would probably be the closest, but the story in those isn't as noteworthy as the very memorable characters are). So for someone always interested in games that combine those three aspects, it probably doesn't get much better than Yakuza games, so I always facepalm when I think about how long it takes for me to play through this series.
For those of you who still do not know what Yakuza games are about, it's about Kazuma Kiryu and his life in the Japanese mafia (the Yakuza). The game usually has serious and badass story bits including politics, betrayal, drama and scenes that will simply make a grown man cry. Meanwhile, there are also tons of side characters and especially side stories that can be found in the world that usually include some ridiculous requests and hilariously weird things happening in them. Somehow, these games manage to mix the serious in with the ridiculous very well, especially since the player himself can mostly decide how much of the ridiculous he wants to experience. These side stories and silly mini games can almost entirely be ignored if one wants to, to me they are what make these games that much more special.
Yakuza 0 itself is a prequel to Yakuza Kiwami, so we experience Kazuma Kiryu's first footsteps as a Yakuza. In addition, Kiryu's rival Goro Majima, who plays a role in the other games as well, is featured as a playable protagonist in Yakuza 0 too, so you play through both Kiryu's and Majima's story.
I really don't want to say much else about the story. Just know this. Shit gets real. I don't think you can create a prequel much better than this one, excluding you, Vince Gilligan. Despite many events being pre-determined through the story of Yakuza 1, the story had me on the edge of my seat, especially for the entire second half of it. I was hyped, sad, excited, happy, shocked throughout this game in a way that only my favorite games have ever made me feel. I'm talking The Witcher 3, RDR2, The Last of Us, Persona 3/4 and God of War. As far as I'm concerned, that's the GOAT list right there and Yakuza 0 fits right in.
If you've never played any games in this series, I have a hard time choosing which starting point to recommend. Yakuza 1 (Yakuza Kiwami) introduces you to the characters and will create intrigue as to what happened to them before. However, starting with Yakuza 0 and finding out about the battles all of them faced before will surely make the events of Yakuza 1 feel more impactful. But just like with Better Call Saul, maybe the impact of the prequel itself will just be slightly lower if you didn't know about the characters through the original game/series before.
While I can't figure this one out, I do know that I CAN recommend the entire series either way. I have yet to play Yakuza 2 myself, but I can't imagine being disappointed by that game either. The series follows a winning formula and everything I've witnessed in Yakuza 0 makes me trust in the writers ability to create thrilling scripts and stories.
PS: Yakuza 1 is relatively "short" at 20-30 hours depending on how much side content you choose to do, while Yakuza 0's main story itself is already going to take you 30+ hours, never mind the side content that you shouldn't miss. So if I were you, I'd probably start with Yakuza 1.
To conclude this, Yakuza 0 is a masterpiece worthy of 10/10, 5 stars and 90+/100.
I gave Yakuza Kiwami a 10/10 when I beat it in late 2018 or early 2019. Probably would change that to a 9/10 now, but the gist of it is, I loved the game. I love games that have a good story and are more on the grounded side (though I don't at all mind the occasional supernatural JRPG story, I mean Persona games are among my favorite ever). I also like it when games are funny. But I like it the most when these two parts are strung together by fun gameplay mechanics.
There aren't many games that work really well in all three aspects (GTA games would probably be the closest, but the story in those isn't as noteworthy as the very memorable characters are). So for someone always interested in games that combine those three aspects, it probably doesn't get much better than Yakuza games, so I always facepalm when I think about how long it takes for me to play through this series.
For those of you who still do not know what Yakuza games are about, it's about Kazuma Kiryu and his life in the Japanese mafia (the Yakuza). The game usually has serious and badass story bits including politics, betrayal, drama and scenes that will simply make a grown man cry. Meanwhile, there are also tons of side characters and especially side stories that can be found in the world that usually include some ridiculous requests and hilariously weird things happening in them. Somehow, these games manage to mix the serious in with the ridiculous very well, especially since the player himself can mostly decide how much of the ridiculous he wants to experience. These side stories and silly mini games can almost entirely be ignored if one wants to, to me they are what make these games that much more special.
Yakuza 0 itself is a prequel to Yakuza Kiwami, so we experience Kazuma Kiryu's first footsteps as a Yakuza. In addition, Kiryu's rival Goro Majima, who plays a role in the other games as well, is featured as a playable protagonist in Yakuza 0 too, so you play through both Kiryu's and Majima's story.
I really don't want to say much else about the story. Just know this. Shit gets real. I don't think you can create a prequel much better than this one, excluding you, Vince Gilligan. Despite many events being pre-determined through the story of Yakuza 1, the story had me on the edge of my seat, especially for the entire second half of it. I was hyped, sad, excited, happy, shocked throughout this game in a way that only my favorite games have ever made me feel. I'm talking The Witcher 3, RDR2, The Last of Us, Persona 3/4 and God of War. As far as I'm concerned, that's the GOAT list right there and Yakuza 0 fits right in.
If you've never played any games in this series, I have a hard time choosing which starting point to recommend. Yakuza 1 (Yakuza Kiwami) introduces you to the characters and will create intrigue as to what happened to them before. However, starting with Yakuza 0 and finding out about the battles all of them faced before will surely make the events of Yakuza 1 feel more impactful. But just like with Better Call Saul, maybe the impact of the prequel itself will just be slightly lower if you didn't know about the characters through the original game/series before.
While I can't figure this one out, I do know that I CAN recommend the entire series either way. I have yet to play Yakuza 2 myself, but I can't imagine being disappointed by that game either. The series follows a winning formula and everything I've witnessed in Yakuza 0 makes me trust in the writers ability to create thrilling scripts and stories.
PS: Yakuza 1 is relatively "short" at 20-30 hours depending on how much side content you choose to do, while Yakuza 0's main story itself is already going to take you 30+ hours, never mind the side content that you shouldn't miss. So if I were you, I'd probably start with Yakuza 1.
To conclude this, Yakuza 0 is a masterpiece worthy of 10/10, 5 stars and 90+/100.