Picture this, one moment you’re a member of the biggest crime organisation in Japan trying to clear your name from murder, another moment you’re trying to save the person you have been ordered to assassinate. The next day, before you become a bodyguard for Michael Jackson and beating up zombies which are harassing him during the filming of “Beat It”, train your cabaret club women and invest millions into a yakiniku restaurant. Welcome to Yakuza 0.
The story
Yakuza 0 is a crime drama set in Japan during 1988, right in the middle of the Japanese “bubble economy”, a time where real estate and stock market prices were massively inflated. This granted nearly every Japanese salaryman an obscene amount of wealth, allowing them to flaunt their wealth in a variety of ways. Ranging from certain characters donning gold suits and pants, to covering a sports car in gold or even purchasing an entire mountain, the game pulls no punches in demonstrating just how wealthy the Japanese were.
However, aside from the glitz and glamour, Yakuza 0 doesn’t shy away from the Japanese criminal underworld, showing how big the Yakuza clans and other criminal organisations got by thriving on this period of prosperity, earning billions of yen in a matter of months.
The story centres around 2 characters, each with their own story arcs. Series protagonist Kiryu Kazuma and long-time fan favourite Goro Majima. The game also features 2 main locations, accessible by both characters. The fictional cities of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, are both inspired by the real-life Kabukicho (red-light district) and Dotonbori area respectively.
The combat
Yakuza 0’s combat is quite diverse. In previous games, only one fighting styles was accessible to the main character. However, in this game, each character has 3 fighting styles each which are suitable for different situations. A 4th fighting style unlocks after completing certain side content.
The instant I used all 3 fighting styles, I fell in love with the variety of moves as they allowed me to adapt to combat situations on the fly, ensuring I was able to beat any enemy without much issue, no matter the difficulty.
The side content
The Yakuza series is famous for its side content due to its sheer absurdity. Each game could have nearly a hundred side missions. Ranging from raising the national tax by 8% to hiring a chicken to manage your real estate. The beauty of Yakuza 0 is that you can never predict what comes up next.
I found myself spending well over 10 hours on just side missions alone, earning money and unlocking skills for my fighting styles. This is a recommended must-do for newcomers and long-time fans alike.
Conclusion
Overall, retailing at a ridiculously low price of 19.90USD with a well-written plot and astounding game mechanics, this is a must play game in my eyes.
Check this out and immerse yourselves into this criminally underrated game at the following purchase links:
