Yakuza 0

Playtime: 73.4 hours

There are very few games I consider to be a masterpiece.

I would say there is a balancing act of having a brilliant level-design, gameplay loop, art style, and a whole other bunch of aspects I could list. And while this applies to Yakuza 0, that isn’t why I love this game.

Yakuza 0 is a game that truly touched my heart.

I was recommended this by a couple of close friends, and I don’t regret playing it one bit. I see this game as a true 10/10 game. A masterpiece.

I consider this game to have one of the best stories in fiction. You are introduced to the main character, Kiryu Kazama and he is doing work for a loan shark. He beats up a man who owed this shark money in an abandoned small plot of land in the middle of Kamurocho. A few hours later, you learn the man you bet up has been killed. And Kiryu is the suspect.

Throughout the game, Kiryu is on the run, all the while trying to prove that he isn’t the killer. And learning along the way, that the lot the murder took place in is not just some ordinary lot.

That small piece of land is worth hundreds of millions of Yen. And if the Tojo Clan (The Yakuza group Kiryu is part of), doesn’t get it, it could cost them billions.

Halfway through the game, you meet the second main character of this game. Goro Majima is very different in this game than he is in any other. He is charming, he is suave, and he is a blast to play.

I love Kiryu’s story. I consider it to be nearly flawless.

Majima’s story shatters Kiryu’s.

A tale of action, romance, & sacrifice. This game is what made me love Goro Majima. And we see how he became the Mad Dog of Shibuya.

This game has a brilliant combat system, with both characters starting with 3 different types of combat styles. You can also gain ‘the best’ combat style for both by completing a series of substories. ‘Real Estate Royale’ is sadly one of the most boring minigames ever made, turning into a long waiting game to collect money in 10-minute increments. Cabaret Club is however one of the best. It is extremely fun and worth playing. There are 100 substories in total and although I had a lot of fun with them, a lot of them can be very grindy to play.

Overall, this is a fantastic game. I cannot recommend this game enough, although I wouldn’t go out of my way to say you should 100% it. That being said, you should try some minigames like Karaoke and Pocket Racing.

It’s a fantastic game. And I truly hope you feel at least a fraction of the emotions I felt while playing this game. It is amazing.