Review #630: Yakuza 0

 And now, let's go back to the 80s.

 Right before concluding Kiryu's story the Ryu Ga Gotoku team decided to do something a bit different... by taking the story back in time to the late 80s, when both Kiryu and Majima got their starts as the Legends they'd become. Yakuza 0 is one of the most, if not THE most, beloved games in the franchise because it came late into the series but also served as the perfect entry... and gateway drug into the world of Yakuza.

 Cutting back from the massive five characters featured in 5, Yakuza 0 follows both series regulars Kazuma Kiryu and Majima Goro through seemingly separate stories that eventually turn and twist together, although never really getting to meet each other. Kiryu's tale is great, as he gets framed by one of the three menacing Dojima lieutenants, in order to get him and the Kazama family out of the picture. The three previously mentioned lieutenants are fantastic villains and characters, each very distinct and memorable, easily one of the most memorable parts of the story. We also get to see first-hand the friendship between Nishiki and Kiryu, which is all sorts of endearing. On the other hand, it also felt like a missed opportunity, Yumi is nowhere to be seen, even if she is mentioned once, and while the very first part of the game promised a meaner Kiryu that'd beat up people for not paying their debts... it doesn't last further than that, and we are back to good ol' heart of gold Kiryu. I thought the prospect of having Kiryu grow from a rougher Yakuza into the Vigilante we know today could've been a brilliant story to tell. That said, seeing a more immature and weak Kiryu is interesting, even though we know Kiryu will survive the whole ordeal, seeing these lieutenants parry his fist as if it was nothing, or having Kiryu grasping for air after most fights is quite refreshing. Majima's story takes place after Yakuza 4's flashbacks, as he is kept a captive under the guise of freedom. He maintains the largest hostess club in all of Sotenbori, but under close surveillance of the Omi Alliance. Everything changes when he is offered the chance of redemption... if he kills a certain someone. His story quickly warps into a tragic love story that sees Majima like we've never seen him before, and we get a glance at how he became the maniac Mad Dog of Shimano.

 The basic open-world elements of the game remains pretty much the same it's always been, most of Kiryu's story takes place in good ol' Kamurocho, while Majima's take place in Sotenbori. Every two chapters you'll switch characters. This game's got the most side activities of any Yakuza to date, Dancing, Bowling, Batting, Casino, Mahjong, Shogi, Darts, Karaoke, Super Hang-on, Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier, Outrun, Fishing... and I'm probably forgetting a few. The newer additions are Sexy Telephone chats, which are hilarious, a gratuitous and totally unnecessary rock-paper-scissors matches arena where two women in skimpy clothes fight each other and you place bets and, lastly... POCKET CIRCUIT RACER! In which you have to customize a toy car so that it can complete various races. Each character has his own minigame sub-story that unlocks their Legendary fighting styles, Kiryu gets real state, which is boring since you have to wait a long, LONG time between 'rounds' of money collecting, and Majima's Cabaret Manager, which is more fun, as you help girls with their customers by learning their hand signs. Majima's was way more fun, but I was so drained after spending 10 hours with Kiryu's that I just delved a tiny bit into it. Needless to say, you won't be running out of stuff to do for a long, long while.

 ... and the game actually wants you to spend as much time as possible trying out different things. The famous lockers are gone, but now there are 'Completion Points', awarded for simple things such as running X amount of Kilometers, to eating every food at every restaurant or scoring 50.000 points in Outrun(Good luck!). CP can then be traded for perks, such as gaining more money from beating up thugs, to a longer stamina for your dash. Completion Points is a fantastic idea, but you probably won't want to get every last point.

 The game has the best combat system in the entire series yet, while it's not as visceral as the one in Yakuza 6, it's way deeper. Each character has access to four different styles, and you can change on the fly. While they share 'archetypes', such as a balanced style, a quick style and a strong style, both Majima and Kiryu are very, VERY different. Kiryu's balanced style is Brawler, strong, but a bit slow, while Majima gets Thug, which isn't as strong, but is more nimble, allowing for two stright dodges. For speed, Kiryu has Rush, which is akin to boxing, letting Kiryu cancel his attacks with dodges, and pummeling an enemy long enough will get them dizzy, on the other hand, Majima has Breaker, a fantastic style that covers wide areas, at the cost of being very weak and not having many super attacks. Beast is Kiryu's last style, which slows him down to a walk, but he'll deal massive damage and cover wide arcs with his swings, Majima gets Slugger, which equips him with a powerful bat that works great in both single and group fights. Lastly, there are the unlockable Legend Styles, Dragon of Dojima, which plays like Kiryu did in previous games, and Mad Dog of Shimano, that equips Majima with his trademark Tanto. Combat in this game is brilliant, no two ways about it. It's a shame their legendary styles are gated behind huge time-consuming mini-games, I was so drained after Kiryu's that I didn't even bother with Majima's.

 So far, so good, but the game had one key flaw that made hampered my enjoyment big time: Upgrading. So far, Yakuza has had a perfectly acceptable upgrade system: Fight baddies and do sidequests to earn experience points and profit. Since this game takes place during Japan's economic boom, everything is money in this game, including upgrades. It's a shame that making money is so damn hard. Sidequests don't reward with money and fights reward you with paltry sums. There's only a single non-exploitative way to earn money: Real State for Kiryu and Majima's Cabaret. And even then it will take a long, loooooooooooong time to upgrade anything. Honestly, nothing in the game felt rewarding, after finishing Kiryu's minigame I just used the Mr. Shakedown exploit(Mr Shakedown is an overpowered prick that walks the streets, if you find him you can try to beat him), which consists of using Completion Points to unlock "Mr Shakedown's Big Pockets', so that you lose to him, and he gets all of your money, then tracking him down again to earn it back plus the percentage bonus from the Big Pockets perk. It's a chore. This is the first Yakuza game in which I actively avoided combat because there was nothing in it for me besides losing health for the next story segment. The upgrade system single-handedly turned Yakuza 0 into a chore.

 Yakuza 0 has one of the best stories in the entire series, as well as some of the most charismatic villains in it and the best combat yet, which is why I can understand why people like it so much. Sadly, the prohibitive costs of upgrading your character, as well as the unhealthy amount of time grinding to earn money and unlock the legendary styles really took a toll on how much fun I had. And it's true, I've sunk countless hours in the Yakuza game, but I felt I was being rewarded each time... not so much in here.
 8.5 out of 10