YAKUZA 0 — A Wonderfully Bizarre and Exciting Action Packed Experience
Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the massive collection of eight exciting, action packed, goofy, and even dramatic action adventure games that is the Yakuza series. Earlier this year I was not really that familiar with the Yakuza series. I have seen a few gameplay clips and just simply assumed that it was simple open world game that involves the player beating people up and making money as a cool looking member of the Yakuza. However, my expectations where greatly subverted when I was able to finally play this title.
This game is played in a third person view where it is set in the 1980s. The player ventures through the open world entertainment districts of Kamurocho, Tokyo, Japan and Sōtenbori, Osaka, Japan. The player takes the role of Kazuma Kiryu, a low-level member of the most powerful Yakuza group, the Tojo Clan in Kamurocho. Unfortunately, through a series of chaotic events Kiryu is suspected of murder that puts his reputation with the Tojo clan in jeopardy. This leads to him on journey to find a way to clear his name and not lose his life in the process. The story however takes quick and shocking turn where the player then takes control of Goro Majima, an eye patch wearing ex-yakuza that is under surveillance of the Tojo Clan that force him to run a cabaret club in Sōtenbori to pay back his debts. Soon a major head in the Tojo Clan offers Majima to assassinate a person named Makoto Makimura in order for him to rejoin the clan. While Majima agrees, things go awry very quickly which leads to both stories converging with each other in a very exciting fashion. This style of storytelling highlights how the Yakuza series is so unique as the stories seem to start of simple but only to evolve into chaotic and heart pounding situations occurring with more twists and turns appearing around every corner.
The gameplay itself is also very exciting since it is able to offer the feeling of a satisfying beat-’em-up arcade brawler. The player when controlling either Kiryu or Majima has the ability to switch between three different styles of combat such as brawler, beast, and rush to cause as much damage as possible when it comes to randomly encountering groups of thugs during the player’s exploration of the cities. Combat feels smooth and fast paced while also satisfying since players can input a few sets of button combinations to perform spectacular attacks. Exploring the cities of Kamurocho and Sōtenbori is also a memorable experience due to each city while not being very huge, they are full of numerous mini games and side missions to encounter.
The game heavily rewards players for exploring the cities rather than just playing the story because when entering various arcades, singing karaoke, having a dance battle at the disco, or even eating at a restaurant leads players to quickly encounter new side missions to play in. These side tend to be lighthearted and bizarre which at times may clash with the darker tone of the main story but does not entirely hurt the game due to each mission’s charm. Yakuza 0 may at first be seen as a both strange and chaotic game to play. Yet once players give it a fair chance and spend a few moments with it, they will be completely engrossed in the exciting, charming, and mind-bending world that Yakuza 0 has to offer. If players are extremely satisfied and want to experience more, then they will have a terrific time playing through the large list of games that the Yakuza series has in store.
