So you’re wandering around Kamurocho when you are “accosted” by Mr Libido, a man in his pants in a constant state of arousal always looking for hot girls to sate his lust. A quick chat to him and then you’re confronted by “Men in Black” looking to relieve you of your wallet and maybe a few teeth. Whip out your bat or just use your fists to make them regret their decision before you go bowling, have a boogie or maybe buy a cocktail to calm your nerves and a bowl of ramen to fill you up. Then perhaps pop into the office to see how your property investments are doing or check on the hostesses in your cabaret club before opening it for business. And this is before you’ve even made progress on your story.As many have said, there is tons to do on this game, it is so easy to become very distracted but the good thing is that most of these tasks/quests/mini games are actually fun to do and help you one way or the other – you may get completion points (swap for in game bonuses) or a useful contact such as “Miracle Johnson” who can become a financial adviser in your real estate business later on (after you defended him from zombies of course). Welcome to the wonderful and often bizarre and humorous world of Yakuza 0.Of course all this would be meaningless without a solid story underpinning it and as in all the Yakuza games you aren’t short changed here as you lead your characters through the dark underworld of 1980’s Tokyo and Osaka where rival gangs and bosses fight bloody battles for turf and personal ambition. Talking of fighting, that is as excellent (and as gory) as ever although a bit confusing at first as you swap between modes and learn/earn the associated moves. The contextual “heat” moves/finishers (look for the kettle) add to fun ditto the (short lived) weaponry such as electrified nun chucks and a marlin that fires shells (yes really). When you are confronted by 20 or so badasses you need to be on your mettle and pick your fighting style carefully but whittle them down and then you can toy with the stragglers and finish in style which is very satisfying. Boss battles often involve using a combination of all fighting styles at some stage to finish them but they are never unfair, especially if you have done the legwork to boost your abilities and stocked up on meds. After that you can chill for a bit by going fishing. Or play darts. Or go fighting in the underground arena. I got totally hooked on running the cabaret club which was great fun and a good way to make some yen too.Great cinematic at the finish (put aside a lot of time for the ending) made for quite an epic finale to a classy game.++ Trophy info ++ This is no cheap platinum and you will need to put the hours in (150+) for this one. Definitely one for the hardcore completionist. You will require two runthroughs (the second on legend difficulty) and a lot of patience/staying power as some of the mini games (looking at you batting arena) are tricky too. I passed on this one…

Graphics:Amazing, so detailed from every aspect.Sound:When switching your fighting stance it switches the music that puts you in the mood to smash over your opponents!Overall the sounds are decent and gives you that extra boost for more action to head your way.Now i do not speak japanese nor do i understand what they’re saying but, i know they have the best voice acting.(No there is not english audio and yes there are english subtitles)Story:Cut scenes are really something to look forward to in this game, if you’re like me it makes you literally care for the character, you are putting yourself in that suspense mode. i love the story so far, even the written dialogues away from cut scenes, i spend as much time reading these dialogues often finding myself laughing my butt off of course for the purpose of seeing how this is no different from reality it gives me the extra boost to unlock what other stories i can unravel.Gameplay:There’s nothing not to like here and i mean literally nothing at all. This game works so smoothly even through so many figures popping in and out of your all seeing eye, no freezes no crashes nothing! Button works are perfectly fine, no clumsiness at all.My overall outlook:Yakuza 0 isn’t just about fighting and running around, it’s about story, politicking and helping others out within dialogues among all thatyou have fun things to do in between story and dialogues such as going to the arcade playing classic sega games, even beating up the biggest bully in the game to make some extra yens and of course not to mention making in game AI friends etc.There are so much skills to unlock and so much to do Yakuza 0 than meets the eye.I love this game so much so i’m actually disappointed i missed the release date of this game, i bought it way too late.it is indeed worth every penny. i have nothing bad to say about it and i’m looking forward for the next release!!I am actually referring this game to friends because in my books this game is well underrated and deserves more recognition and praises than it gets. Total 5/5 so if you’re over 18 please do not pass this game up!

This is the first Yakuza game I’ve played and I’ve since got Kiwami as well. Let’s just say that this converted me to an instant fan overnight. Reasons for this?- Incredibly good, well written and voice acted story (all in Japanese with English subtitles, but given the setting this adds to the immersion)- Tight controls and fun core combat mechanics- An absurdist sense of humour used judiciously – the game knows when to be serious and when to be funny, and when it hits it hits- An incredibly small but atmospheric and well-detailed game world – my partner has literally visited and taken pictures of one of the locations that has been rendered for the game and it’s spot on- A welcoming difficulty curve – never too easy or too hard for how far you are into the gameBut the main thing is this – you will never, *ever* run out of things to do in this game. This is one main story, about 100 little sub-stories (essentially side-quests) and god knows how many mini-games and amusing side activities. Off the top of my head, you can freely take part in: bowling, mahjongg, blackjack, poker, baccarat, managing a real estate empire, pool of various different kinds and game rules, baseball batting practise, telephone dating, dancing, karaoke, betting on (admittedly rather cringey) catfights, numerous different real-world arcade games which are fully playable (OutRun, Super Hang-on, Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier), slot car racing, running a cabaret club, fishing, and of course running around and beating the ever loving Christ out of any number of different enemies that are wandering around. Some of these are more fun than others (mahjongg in particular I could stand to never play again) but in general this is an incredibly deep and activity-filled game that has more than enough things to keep someone occupied. And bear in mind that this is all, as mentioned, *in addition* to the excellent and gripping story.I honestly cannot recommend this enough – despite it being a “bigger” game I can honestly say I had a great deal less fun with GTA5 than I did with Yakuza 0. Quality over quantity, I think!

Highly recommend this fantastic JRPG to fans of the series and new comers. Yakuza is a story heavy RPG that feels familiar to Shenmue on the dreamcast. The story is engaging, characters are well rounded and voice acting is perfect. The graphics are beautiful and the city feels vibrant, rich and cultured. There is so much to see and do, from playing real games in arcades to bowling, RC car racing and gambling in casinos. The city has lots to offer away from the main game and the amount of mini games and extra activities on offer is more than generous. Fights are interesting and both main characters have varied fighting styles. The game controls well and action sequences play well. The music fits the game and provides a good ambiance. There’s around 60 hrs gameplay if you go for every side quest, 30 for the main story. The story is easy to pick up and you do not need to have played any of the previous games so this is a good starting point for new comers. Be prepared for lots of long cutscenes sometimes lasting 15 minutes. The action is broke up with long cinamatics so don’t expect all out action. I personally enjoy this style of RPG but it wont be for everyone, especially gamers who want quick action and limited story. But those who enjoy deep story with twists and turns will love this game.

This game was a great find for me. Of course I had heard of the franchise but never delved into it for fear it wouldn’t match up to AAA games here in the west. Oh how was I wrong. This is the PERFECT starting point for anyone like me who wants to begin their journey with Yakuza. The story telling is sublime, in fact I can’t think of a recent game that matches up to this in terms of story. The gameplay is easy to learn and feels fluid enough and varied to not get repetitive. The story spans over 15 large chapters, 100 substories which are in perfect Japanese fashion and incredibly funny at times, there is also 2 large mini games in the form of working in Real Estate and Managing a Cabaret Club, these could of been standalone games in itself! Couple that with a wealth of mini games such bowling, darts, RC car racing, karaoke, dancing, betting on catfights, going on dates, mahjong and shogi parlours + more. Could they possible cram more into this game? YES, you can become friends with NPC’s, unlocking interesting cutscenes and visit restaurants and shops that feel so authentic. This is closest we can get to the mayhem of the economic bubble in 1988 Japan and god is it fun!