Developer/publisher: Sega.
Platform: PC/PS4.
Official Site: N/A.
Release date: 2015-03-12.
Platform: PC/PS4.
Official Site: N/A.
Release date: 2015-03-12.
So I decided to grab Yakuza Zero when it was on sale on the PSN. I have no experience
with this series and found it daunting to try and get into it due to the sheer number of games.
People seem to say either release order OR this game are OK to start with so here I am!
Fair warning, Yakuza 0 or perhaps the series in general really lives up to its age-rating
and has a high amount of violence+mature themes compared to the games I usually play.
I also kind of knew these type of games aren't for me... but I still wanted to try it.
Pro's
- Interesting story that comes together really well.
- A lot of optional content, ranging from minigames to fun sidestories and area management.
- Decent graphics, music fit the vibes.
Con's
- The contrast between main and sub stories can be jarring.
- At times it became more of an interactive movie, especially at the end.
- Edit; Not being able to save anywhere; only at telephone poles.
The story follows Kiryu who is knee-deep into the yakuza world
and he tries to find out who tried to frame him and his adoptive dad!
It ends up being more or less about a tinyyyy piece of land every other faction seems to want.😔
Kiryu... I honestly found him to be rather stiff and has the constant expression of a sour lemon
due to this I found the early hours to be quite uninteresting aside from trying to get to the
bottom of it. Anyway don't judge a book by its cover cuz despite appearances
Kiryu is actually quite kind. Most of the side stories I started unlocking in chapter 2
were actually grabbing my attention more than the plot at the time which didn't
really start rolling untill much later and there were a few nice twists and turns too.😄
I think the story was overall pretty good, but its not for everyone.......
If you don't want to follow a drama about yakuza stuff this game is not for you!
the weird part is all the side stuff is sort of disconnected from the main plot
like even Kiryu acts totally different at times. This does make it overall more fun
since you get to see another side to the protagonist. So if you're tired of the drama
in the main story there is always some lighter sub story available that doesn't
take itself that serious. Early on I did so many I wasn't even sure what the story
was about anymore... I can't tell if this is good or bad tbh but as the story went on
and got more intense I actually put substories on hold cuz it wasn't the time or place.
Bonus: A story in two pictures! I actually hated that location and I bumped into Nishiki all the time.
This game does have two different main characters and to be honest Majima was my favourite
not to say I don't like Kiryu but it took a while for me to start liking him it wasn't until ch5
untill that happened, speaking off due to two different MC's with their own plot going on
sometimes it would switch at moments you'd be like OH COME ON! wanna see the rest!
If you played this game you'd definitely know what i'm talking about hint; chapter 4.
They do at certain times recap what happened in Kiryu or Majima routes but that's only
when they switch, tbh i'm glad they did cuz I did forget some details at times!The games localization is very loyal to the japanese script which I liked
there were also hardly any errors that I noticed! It doesn't have a dub
but tbh I think the subs really gave nuance to all dem teme's etc.
 |
| This was one of those substories where I just had to find out what was up... |
Gameplay; The stage is set in kamuro-cho and at times you have to fight some thugs.
Honestly I can't even call it open world tbh, the map is really just the kamuro-cho district
with a few streets and back-alleys. Majima is in Osaka in the Sotenburo district which is
even smaller. Yea sorry, I cannot call that open-world. Honestly idk if the other games
maps are bigger but I like it when the maps are on point, didn't feel empty or barren of purpose.
Due to being story heavy and being able to roam the city and do subquest I thought
this was an RPG but it really fit the adventure genre more.You can learn skills and buy items so it does have RPG elements, so while it appeals
the rpg genre yakuza games actually aren't one at all atleast the older ones.The battle system is like a brawler, there can be gore but I put that to mild so it didn't
bother me that much. At times I did find the random thug fights annoying like
don't they know Kiryu by now? will they ever learn their lesson?! TBH fighting thugs
is no different than fighting monsters in an RPG. Also I made a concious decision to play on
easy mode due to A; not being familiar with this series and B; Generally being terrible
at brawlers. Afterall difficulty selections are there for a reason so if you don't feel comfortable
go with the lowest setting! this did help my enjoyment cuz I didn't like fighting that much.
There are also plenty of minigames, my favorite was the crane game and it goes
like you would expect! I think only the pink plushies are obtainable others always fail
or more like there may be duds in there that you can never get but only one or three prizes
so its just a matter of figuring out which ones are actually the prize.
I didn't like the disco minigame though, it was just annoying like I can understand
the button presses but moving some sort of icon to them within a time limit is just too much
for my bird-like brain. There was also a rhytmn game with Karaoke which was okay
but not for me either, never been good at them but it was more fun than the stupid disco minigame.
You can also collect telephone cards... of cute girls which was apparently a thing in japan
back then idk if it still is though cuz times change. Some were cute others were not my type.
There subquest involved with telephone girls... but I never got to it same for
the video thing, there are just things I don't need to know!
 |
| UwU |
In chapter 5 the game does introduce some sort of management element for Kiryu
and later something for Majima's side as well which already gave me a headache just thinking
about it but it seems most of it is optional and only a small portion of it is mandatory
so if you think this is not for you, you can rest easy. If I had to be honest the Cabaret management minigame with Majima is actually fun and i'd pick it over Kiryu's anytime!
Sadly if you want to do all substories especially Kiryu you're pretty much forced to either
use a guide or do the dumb management minigame so you get a trouble finder accessory.
Anyway I wasn't aiming for 100% so I was content with the ones I did do...
and at time of writing I had done atleast 41! which is already quite a lot.
Thank god someone made a guide though, I literally walked passed a few of those.
 |
| Definitely not a pyramid scheme... |
My favorite MC would definitely be Majima, I just felt like his story perspective grabbed me more!
I do like Kiryu but he was so serious and deadpan that I was just like man... I feel you
and you go through a lot but like everything seems like its just the prologue for this guy
and Majima just feels like a breath of fresh air whenever I get to him.
 |
| Daddy Majima. |
I don't really care gameplay wise but at times I forgot the inputs for the moves
so I was like madly mashing buttons hoping to pull something off. >_>';
I just used the slugger and brawler stances cuz the others were a hassle.
Sadly as happy I am about Majima he is only really a MC in this game... except
some tps spinoff game. he ends up being a support throughout the series.
Nooo Majima-chan! T_T turns out he kind of turns into an unhinged maniac...
who madly goes after Kiryu going forward.😨
Final thoughts!
this game it is also very violent but atleast you can lower the gore level to mild which if not present
I would definitely have dropped this game, also Kiryu really is a good guy, he really
won't beat anyone up who doesn't deserve it, same goes for Majima.
The story is pretty good though and I did enjoy getting through the bottom of it all...
even if it at the same time also seems to be a setup for the very first Yakuza game
which atm I sadly have no intention of playing any time soon.
People say this game is among the best in the series and... I can kind of see why?
The substories I did do were all fun though but one was a little weird(buru-sera)... still it depicted
a problem japan has and I don't think its right to shame them for being open on it.The game was also of decent length it took me around 30ish hours(thank you ps5 for tracking).
I definitely wasn't aiming for 100% completion with this game so I mostly focused
on the story and that was pretty fun to me but eh 100%ing seems like such a pain so good luck
to those that go for that! you'll be busy for a while! The whiplash of the overall tone when
I triggered some random quest did at times bother me... when the story did get good it did kind of
start to turn into a movie just with boss fights. at times I was literally glued to my seat!
The story was also higly unpredictable but really if you don't like gore
or see MC beat people death or almost then this game is definitely not for you.
After the ending I think I saw enough and might not be continuing the main line yakuza games (yet).
(ALSO OF COURSE RIGHT AFTER I FINISH THIS GAME YAKUZA 1 AND 2
GO ON SALE FOR LIKE 5$, its like the lord is testing me OMG.)😂
I think its mostly the Yakuza politics that I have no interests in... which this game had a lot of
and I am sure most of the other games have it too. I'm willing to keep an open-mind
about Ishin! or the judgment spinoff's which I'd also like to try someday.
I got this game for 5$ but honestly I think Yakuza Zero is worth a little more than that
even if its a game from like 2015! the graphics were decent and the CG cutscenes made it look
like I was watching a movie instead! still a sale is a sale but even if it was 20$ that's still
a solid price cuz you can get a lot of enjoyment out of it, especially if you're into management
some of the minigames could provide hours of game time! depending if it suite your tastes!
I do once again admit this is not really the type of game I usually play but sometimes it is good
to go a little out of your comfort zone! but yea for the most part while I can
be positive about this game its just not really my thing but it might be nice to go and try
to follow Kiryu's story some other time, did I just fell down the ryu-ga-gotoku rabbit hole?!
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