Where do I begin with this masterpiece?

Outsiders tend to think this series is "GTA in Japan" and some come away disappointed that it's nowhere near that description. I was not one of them. I went into this series knowing it was more along the lines of a story-driven action game with light RPG systems, beat-em-up combat and loads of fun minigames.

That description, alone, makes the game compelling enough to try... but that's not even the surface.



First and foremost, you need to know that this series is sometimes described as "Japanese soap opera". The story at heart of the series is very serious and dramatic. I have very limited experience with other games in the series (I played a bit of Kiwami 2 before this one) so I can't speak for the other games, but the story in Yakuza 0 is fantastic. It's a slow-burn drama about being framed for murder and involves themes of family, brotherhood, betrayal, all sorts of political and business struggles and more.

The writing is fantastic. While the side stories might be rather goofy and far-fetched at times, the core narrative is well-written drama. That said, even the goofy side stories tend to have a serious spin at some point or another. You might be chasing down a string of thieves only to find out that the last thief has truly noble intentions. You might be propped up to be a film director and given the choice to be good or bad at the job, with the bad options being very entertaining, but later realize that the guys who put you up to it only wanted to do so to impress their producer. The list goes on. Now, that's not to say that every side story has a serious or heartwarming twist; some are just downright hilarious, such as the "Mr. Libido" side stories.

This game really is a perfect blend of emotional gut punches, hilariously stupid humor, heartwarming and uplifting segments, and every one of them is just phenomenally well-written.



Despite the fact that this series has great storytelling, the heart and soul of the games is their gameplay. As I briefly touched on earlier, people mistakenly go into these games thinking they're GTA in Japan. The story-driven nature of these games will immediately put people off if they have that inaccurate assumption.

These games may be story-driven but you'd be making a major mistake if you chose to grind through it all at once. Break up story missions with the side content, at least for a little bit. Trust me, that's what makes these games so great. In between doing the story, if you take time to go play some games at an arcade, head to the batting cages, sing karaoke, play the telephone club dating minigame, the game will feel so much more well-rounded and immersive. If you've ever desired to visit Japan, doing the side content will help you feel like you're visiting, even if it's not quite what Japan is like today. And man, I've spent probably a quarter of my playtime in this game just playing those minigames, especially bowling. It's just addictive and fun.

In many ways, that makes Yakuza 0 multiple games in one. You'll be shocked at how fleshed-out the minigames actually are. It's like an arcade/casual games suite within this epic, dramatic, semi-open world brawler. That's without even mentioning the fact that both characters' stories have light business sim minigames that can add for some fun, strategic gameplay on top of it all (while also earning you quite a bit of money in the process).



None of the side content or the story would be enough on their own if the combat sucked. Fortunately, it absolutely does not. The combat in Yakuza 0 is incredibly fun to play around with. On the surface, it seems really simplistic and based on button-mashing. However, as with every great fighting game, there are all sorts of combos you can do with these buttons that allow you to have full mastery over your brawls.

This is accentuated by the fact that you can use your money to upgrade your combat styles, gain new combos, improve existing ones and obtain worn items that function as armor or, in some cases, offer special benefits (such as one-use items to revive you if you die). Furthermore, you can earn Completion Points for doing various tasks as a sort of mini-achievements system and these points can be spent on improvements to combat situations (among other things).

These light RPG upgrade systems just further add to the immersion and ability to play this game your way. It's also made better by the fact that there are two protagonists in the game, with each having their own styles. Yes, both characters have three archetypal styles -- fast/light, slow/heavy and a balanced middle style -- but the moves themselves are completely different. One protagonist has more of a brawler approach primarily aimed at punches and tanking hits. The other protagonist is more elegant and agile, using techniques that look more like traditional martial arts. No matter what style you use, attacks and certain actions will cause you to gain "Heat" which will allow you to do a special, heavy-hitting attack, particularly useful with bosses. However, be careful: if you get hit, that heat meter will decrease fast so keep an eye out.

Then, on top of these styles, you're able to get your hands on different types of weapons. Weapons are fantastic for in a pinch. They degrade quickly but if you're in a tough boss fight, they can offer a way to chip away at their health. Also, just a word of warning, if the game asks you if you're prepared enough, be sure you're stocked up on health items, weapons and worn items. You're likely gonna be going up against a tough and long fight.



At the end of the day, Yakuza 0 is a stellar story, an amazingly epic experience and above all else: it's a great game. One thing I've noticed with Japanese games is that they tend to still understand that gameplay and fun factor must be the number one priority of a video game. You can have great stories, photorealistic graphics, epic open worlds but if there isn't great gameplay, it will bring things down. Yakuza 0 is a beautiful example of this. You get an incredibly well-written story, loads of minigames and side diversions, plenty of side stories, a great explorable world, and all of that wrapped up in a very tight, balanced, downright fun gameplay experience. Truly, it deserves to be viewed as one of the greatest video games of all time and Ryu Ga Gotoku deserves all the credit for making a prequel that feels just as essential as the rest of the series. Moreover, the fact remains that many consider this to be the peak of the franchise, and for good reason.

If any of the above sounds even remotely fun to you, you owe it yourself to buy this game. It takes some getting used to, with all the dialog and unique gameplay systems, but if you give it a chance, you almost certainly will love it. It's the beginning of one of the greatest video game epics and it's just a remarkable piece of art!