Yakuza 0

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1510 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,303 out of 1510
  2. Mixed: 69 out of 1510
  3. Negative: 138 out of 1510
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  1. E-Wilks365
    Oct 30, 2021
    9
    Must have game for PlayStation owners. This game is the peak in the Yakuza aka Ryu ga Gotoku (Like a Dragon) franchise with its terrific story, characters and gameplay.
  2. Abeharo
    Jun 23, 2020
    9
    Pretty fun game tbf it's one of the most enjoyable games I have play in a long
    I got it for Xbox , you can try it with gamepass
  3. VerySleepyLemon
    Aug 2, 2020
    9
    Amazing game with great action cutscenes and also nice fighting mechanics. Well done activities in town and large variety of them. Main plot is really good and side quests are hilarious. The only minus is that games budget isn’t big, so graphic aren’t great, a lot of dialogs are without voices audio and a bit of technical issues but all in all the game is awesome.
  4. pandaboy982
    Jun 28, 2020
    9
    I love the characters int the story.

    See how close and nice between Kiryu and Nishiki
  5. Bloodhammer99
    Nov 19, 2020
    9
    A flawed masterpeice.

    Yakuza 0's gameplay feels very smooth, fluid, varied, satisfying, polished and extremely fun, its the most satisfying combat in a game ever along with yakuza Kiwami, the combat is honestly perfect, it's not complicated like a fighting game, it doesn't need to be and shouldn't be, it's simple but very satisfying and skill based. The game doesn't have a high skill    A flawed masterpeice.

    Yakuza 0's gameplay feels very smooth, fluid, varied, satisfying, polished and extremely fun, its the most satisfying combat in a game ever along with yakuza Kiwami, the combat is honestly perfect, it's not complicated like a fighting game, it doesn't need to be and shouldn't be, it's simple but very satisfying and skill based. The game doesn't have a high skill ceiling or anything (as it shouldnt since its a singleplayer game) but u can easily identify an experienced player from a beginner, furthermore the fact it has 3 playstyles (4 if you find the hidden one) that can be switched to at any time adds a lot of depth and stratagy to the combat which wasnt in the series before this game. Grabbing thing from the environment to beat the **** out of people with is really fun and so are heat actions. The combat is so well design that if done right combat encounters can look like well choregraphed fight scenes. This game also has the most memorable and most fun bosses in the series along with Kiwami, atleast for me. Even though I personally like kiryus playstyles more than those of Majima, majimas playstyles are still great but they take more getting used to than those of kiryu and therefore, at first feel less satisfying as a result. As expected in a yakuza game the side stuff here is well made and entertaining. I love the aesthetic and the setting. The story here is great but its a pain to skip on repeat playthroughs due to the fact there is a lot of dialogue, this results in a game that isn't as replayable as kiwami and kiwami 2, which have stories that are easier to skip, but its still very replayable. along with this skipping the story results in bad pacing unlike some other games in the series where it still retains good pacing if the story is skipped. There are also a couple of tedious escort missions that are just not fun and the game is lacking when it comes to beat em up stages when you consider how long it is, it has roughly the same amount as kiwami but kiwami is a much shorter game so u would expect 0 to have more. There are also a lot of parts where you're stuck trying to find where you need to go next, these parts are really unfun for me. I rate games based on enjoyment and this one gets a solid 9/10, it has its flaws yes, but they didn't stop me from enjoying the game during 90% of the time.    … Expand
  6. vvv123
    May 3, 2021
    9
    Really fun game! Graphics are great, I liked how immersive it was and it plays like a TV drama which was very engaging, as were all the characters.The story has lots of twists, v. unpredictable. V. interesting to play as two characters trying to achieve the same goal but told from different angles, and then seeing their two worlds come together. The investment and club business did feel aReally fun game! Graphics are great, I liked how immersive it was and it plays like a TV drama which was very engaging, as were all the characters.The story has lots of twists, v. unpredictable. V. interesting to play as two characters trying to achieve the same goal but told from different angles, and then seeing their two worlds come together. The investment and club business did feel a bit pointless though as you make a lot of money by completing the later chapters. I only did the club twice and took over 1 area for Kiryu's investment, so not really needed to finish the game.… Expand
  7. Micwater
    Oct 3, 2020
    9
    The storyline is good and touching. Best among the whole series. Graphics is good
  8. johnnyleon
    Sep 30, 2021
    9
    sooo much side content, such a great fighting system and gripping story. Cabaret club management itself, a small side content, could be a 70 dollar full game by itself. only downside are unnecessary long cutscenes and "walking sections", where you go from place a to b only to go back from b to a to to meet the same character c again. additionally, the game is too easy on "hard" if yousooo much side content, such a great fighting system and gripping story. Cabaret club management itself, a small side content, could be a 70 dollar full game by itself. only downside are unnecessary long cutscenes and "walking sections", where you go from place a to b only to go back from b to a to to meet the same character c again. additionally, the game is too easy on "hard" if you really upgrade everything, buy weapons and healing drinks. However, the game does have a legendary difficulty that gets unlocked once you finish the game that is supposed to be way harder. you can also make it harder by simply not buying healing drinks before each mission. to sum it up, even little side missions in this game are so beautifully written that they bring the tears to your eyes and the combat is always fun. my personal highlight is the cabaret club which feels like your small dysfunctional family full of beautiful girls… Expand
  9. Uncl3s4mbr
    Apr 9, 2023
    9
    This game surprised me. Did not like much at the beginning, mas after a few hours I was in love by the game. Awesome history. Very good and fun gameplay, list of minigames.
  10. benmadsen262
    Nov 23, 2020
    9
    Honestly this game is incredible and more people should play it, I am in love with this game and it's franchise. 9/10
  11. rvp
    Nov 30, 2020
    9
    I just love the Yakuza series, I can recommend all of the games! Also this entry of the series is just great. The story is great, the side quests are amazing. The open world is a lot of fun! It's nice to play in a smaller open world where you know the whole world after a while and it's a lot of fun to do stuff in it. The characters are as always loveable. The plot twists are great! A greatI just love the Yakuza series, I can recommend all of the games! Also this entry of the series is just great. The story is great, the side quests are amazing. The open world is a lot of fun! It's nice to play in a smaller open world where you know the whole world after a while and it's a lot of fun to do stuff in it. The characters are as always loveable. The plot twists are great! A great great Yakuza game! Imo the best game of the series, it's just soooo much fun!… Expand
  12. Cleml
    Dec 3, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A game with a very good narration, the hilarious substories are cool and the boss fight are insane mostly the final boss… Expand
  13. kyle9431oilers
    Aug 4, 2021
    9
    Probably the best in the series and you can start with it.

    Great prequel with great combat and a deep engaging story.
  14. Gatesby
    Jun 5, 2021
    9
    This is the best start to get in series, the combat is fun, substories too, only thing I hate that they added this Game Clear data, I was super confused, so I clicked no. Worst mistake of my life. Press Yes after completing the game
  15. Fraxxo
    Sep 9, 2023
    9
    Yakuza 0 takes you to the late 80s of the Tokyo night life in such a charming and unexpected way.
    Kamurocho and Sotenbori (based on the real Kabuchiko and Dotenbori) aren't ashamed of showing their best and worst aspects, and are fully recreated in order to feel like real places with real people living in them: the way NPCs, shops, substories and minigames animate the game's world is one    Yakuza 0 takes you to the late 80s of the Tokyo night life in such a charming and unexpected way.
    Kamurocho and Sotenbori (based on the real Kabuchiko and Dotenbori) aren't ashamed of showing their best and worst aspects, and are fully recreated in order to feel like real places with real people living in them: the way NPCs, shops, substories and minigames animate the game's world is one of the most charming aspect of Yakuza 0.
    All the stories, despite being exaggerated for the purpose of comedy and action, are grounded in reality to the point where the game itself treats the narrative as if it was like a film narrating real events, just re-elaborated in order to give the player more suspense and adrenaline.
    The gameplay isn't really deep, but its simplicity isn't necessarily bad: I would call the game a "modern" beat 'em up with RPG elements. It never feels boring and it has the right pace. Also, making the player switch between the two protagonists, Kiryu and Majima (which honestly stole the spotlight, at least for me), really helps.
    The only thing that anyone with at least a bit of gaming experience can immediately notice is that, yes, this is a PS3 game indeed, so you'll notice very square-y hitboxes in the city, limited animations, some low quality textures hidden in the least interesting points and the pop-in effect.
    The side content is fun and really vast but, dare I say, really redundant, making this game the worst nightmare of a completionist (I abandoned the idea of getting the Platinum Trophy after 90 hours). As for me, I immediately dropped the idea of getting the Platinum, but I spent a lot of time grinding to get to the Secret Boss and unlocking the fourth battle style for both the protagonists: those operations made me easily get to 100+ hour of playthrough, but I don't regret doing it and the game gave some good memories.

    Overall one of my favorite games ever. I never did like the 80s (which, in Japan, feels more like the 70s in Europe), but this game made me appreciate them in a way I never expected to. Interesting how the developers thought about making the Economic Bubble event into a game trait (basically you'll get a tons of money, while in other Yakuza games they are much less. And you use that money to learn skills).    … Expand
  16. Ausama95
    Jan 9, 2023
    9
    So far this is the best yakuza game I played after Yakuza 5. The story was amazing and heartbreaking. Majima was amazing this time around, he really felt alive.
  17. Stray-art9
    Nov 21, 2021
    9
    The is a story driven game so lot of reading and cut scenes but don't get discouraged by this, playing this game is like watching a Martin Scorsese movie. The side missions are good and main missions are just great. I don't know how I did not play this game earlier.
  18. t_bone
    Dec 20, 2021
    9
    This is hands down one of the best videogames ever made. There's just so much to do: a ton of neat mini-games, insanely fun fighting and random encounters, plus a really, really cool main story. The fight into scenes are some of the coolest I've seen in any game, and the intro for the game is wild... watching it for the first time was really something else. It got me more hyped to play theThis is hands down one of the best videogames ever made. There's just so much to do: a ton of neat mini-games, insanely fun fighting and random encounters, plus a really, really cool main story. The fight into scenes are some of the coolest I've seen in any game, and the intro for the game is wild... watching it for the first time was really something else. It got me more hyped to play the game than anything I could have imagined. Plus, the setting is unreal: it really feels like a movie at times. The whole this is super, super cool. I'd buy it as soon as you can, even if (like me) you don't normally like fighting games. This one is different.

    The only hitch is that sometimes the main story is a little drawn out. But that's offset by some really off-the-wall twists and turns that truly come out of left field. All in all, the story is one of the best in all of gaming.    … Expand
  19. Kostas_Spirou
    May 20, 2023
    9
    A perfect depiction of Japan's dark underworld.
    The story is amazing full of plot twists and crazy moments, incredible writing and great characters.
    The gameplay though, it's enjoyable and overall decent but it gets repetitive, you don't really unlock any new moves after the first few hours in the game. The side content is more than enough, there is a lot you can do such as play    A perfect depiction of Japan's dark underworld.
    The story is amazing full of plot twists and crazy moments, incredible writing and great characters.

    The gameplay though, it's enjoyable and overall decent but it gets repetitive, you don't really unlock any new moves after the first few hours in the game.

    The side content is more than enough, there is a lot you can do such as play arcade games, sing in the karaoke, dance in the disco club and many more, and there are also some interesting side stories.

    I got to say, I'm very happy I finally played this game, it was a pleasant experience.

    Final Rating: "Amazing ~ 9/10.    … Expand
  20. Blackmolly98
    Feb 21, 2022
    9
    this is my fav yakuza game of all time. best storyline plus the side quest are very enjoyable. nice job ryu ga!
  21. tyrbey
    Mar 19, 2022
    9
    This was my first ever Yakuza game and i'd say its worth it. Beginning may be slow but you will not get easily bored if you endure it.
  22. zach_grech
    May 6, 2022
    9
    Yakuza 0 is a flawed masterpiece. The side content is some of the most engaging and fun stuff ever made in a video game. Combat is flashy and exciting. Music is also fantastic. The main story is excellent however the pacing is the main issue as it takes a while for the game to build up to the huge moments. But when the story hits IT HITS.
  23. kkaze
    May 23, 2022
    9
    Game is great, imo the first few chapters is kinda slow? but i still enjoyed it, specially the minigames.
  24. CoD_94
    Aug 25, 2022
    9
    One of my most favorite games ever played. The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because I've played video games for 20+ years and it's hard for me to give a game a perfect 10. But otherwise amazing and worth reading the subtitles.
  25. Thosevelvetygms
    Sep 12, 2022
    9
    This game is not for the impatient gamer, but give it your pinky finger, and the reward'll be something else! It's not just a video game, it's an unforgettable journey.
  26. GreenTekken42
    Dec 25, 2022
    9
    Yakuza 0 consists of great combat (Especially with Majima) and a grabbing story. As well as amazing minigames. Yakuza 0 is just an ultimate experience
  27. JesseDillinger
    Feb 1, 2023
    9
    I give this and Kiwami the same score because the combat is similar, though Kiwami is better. But I say this story is better. Playing as Majima was such a great idea and seeing how he became the character he is later on is great. Great story, probably the best in the series (at least from the ones I have played).
  28. Amir82
    May 4, 2023
    9
    The battles are never boring and the story is interesting. The most important reason for playing Yakuza 0 is its gameplay for me..
  29. FrankCreeper
    Jul 28, 2023
    9
    A Fantastic Open world game about an amazing franchise with a fantastic story,the gameplay is amazing with his various combat system style and the main character are very charismatic...the song in this are another gem of this beatiful game and the boss fight are very amazing and funny a must to play to start with this amazing franchise
  30. xabbott
    Feb 19, 2017
    8
    Great characters, excellent side missions, decent story however due to the tone of other parts of the game it does feel out of place at times. There is a lot of story to it so don't expect a "GTA in japan" experience. Think more Shenmue with more street fights.
  31. Darkin20
    Mar 25, 2017
    8
    Amazing game, love the franchise. They really know how to entertain with storytelling, dialog and minigames. However, the engine they use is getting rather dated and they really need to update it to meet higher standards of gameplay and graphics.
  32. ehcab
    Mar 15, 2017
    8
    I give Yakuza 8 cause i loved the experience of playing in Tokyo and Osaka during the 80's. Stories (main and side quests) are awesome, as well as the characters interacting in them.
    However, the graphics are a little bit outdated and the combat system is too often resumed by spamming one or two buttons.
    Nevertheless I can only but recommend Yakuza if you want to play a Japanese game,    I give Yakuza 8 cause i loved the experience of playing in Tokyo and Osaka during the 80's. Stories (main and side quests) are awesome, as well as the characters interacting in them.
    However, the graphics are a little bit outdated and the combat system is too often resumed by spamming one or two buttons.

    Nevertheless I can only but recommend Yakuza if you want to play a Japanese game, with a japanese setting and with the possibility of having the japanese voices subtitled in english..    … Expand
  33. Nel
    Jun 20, 2017
    8
    One of the best games in the serie for sure. The game has several of hundred of hours of gameplay if you desire. The game is really enjoyable, and it has a little bit different way of earning money than in the other games. It's fun, but after a 50 plus hours it starts feeling a little bit repetitive.
  34. njja02
    May 15, 2018
    8
    I wish the game had way less exposition and was fully voice acted through out the whole thing. But the story, game-play, characters, and side activities were all fantastic.
  35. tomvs123
    Dec 21, 2018
    8
    This is one of the most masculine things I've experienced, and that's a good thing. It's full of brawling, honor, respect, patriarchies, gentlemanliness, and just an all-around good portrayal of male natural instincts. Women have their place in the game too, but they don't directly compete with the very brutal (and realistically portrayed) nature of men.

    Besides that, it's a pretty darn    This is one of the most masculine things I've experienced, and that's a good thing. It's full of brawling, honor, respect, patriarchies, gentlemanliness, and just an all-around good portrayal of male natural instincts. Women have their place in the game too, but they don't directly compete with the very brutal (and realistically portrayed) nature of men.

    Besides that, it's a pretty darn good game too. I'll get into the gameplay aspects first.

    There's a lot to do in the game. I previously played Yakuza Kiwami and this game has roughly twice as much stuff to do. I spent 90 hours in this one compared to about 45 in Kiwami. There's more than 20 minigames, although most of them are gambling-based. The top two minigames are real estate management and cabaret club management. Both very different, but fun, addictive, and time-consuming in their own ways. And if you're a typical man like me, you'll also spend a lot of time doing the phone club mini game, where you talk to random girls on the phone until you convince one to go on a date with you, sometimes with unexpected outcomes. And then there's the gravure video collecting and phone card collecting (both featuring partially nude girls).

    Like Kiwami, the side quests are all interesting. They range from relatively normal to off-the-wall bonkers. A big part of why they're so appealing is that you're a masculine Yakuza (mafia) type, yet you partake in activities that are more appropriate for children, nerds, or anyone besides a Yakuza-type. This is the selling point of the game for me. This clash of expectations and the character's in-game reactions to you taking part in these is hilarious.

    The main story is what sets the tone or seriousness of your character, to contrast the side quests and minigames. There's no comedy here. It's all serious, all of the time, and that's a good thing. Without going into detail on the plot, the story is good, good enough to be a TV or movie crime drama, which is better than what most video games do these days. It has a number of minor plot holes and video-game conveniences, but will satisfy most as long as you're not expecting a literary masterpiece.

    The biggest plot hole is your protagonists' fists. You'll frequently be put into the position where the big bad guy will leave and send his 50 goons after you. But miraculously, you will be able to fight them all off. You do this so many times, that you might start to wonder if the big bad guys are taking you seriously and if you're actually Superman. Though this is common in many video games, so it probably won't bother most.

    As a side note, the game supposedly takes place in the 1980's, but many of the advertisements in-game don't indicate this. Most are seemingly identical as in Kiwami (which takes place in a different decade). It's just a little disappointing to see 2000's style glamour advertisements in a game that's supposed to take place two decades prior.

    And finally, the game supposedly shows us how Majima Goro became the crazy person he is, but it doesn't do that very well. For most of the game, he acts basically like the other protagonist, and then all of a sudden at the end, he turns crazy. It would have been better if they just left out the crazy bit so fans could continue to guess how he went crazy, but there you go: we got the reason, even if it isn't a very good one.

    This is a good one and I'm looking forward to playing the remakes of the other games in the series.    … Expand
  36. folgin
    Sep 4, 2018
    8
    Yakuza 0 is a long game filled with amazing moments. The last few chapters of its 17-chapter story are worth experiencing and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, not even the 35 hours it took me to get to that point. Not everyone will be able or willing to make it that far. While it’s a ton of fun to take part in activities around Kamarucho, there can be a lot of mind-numbing combat inYakuza 0 is a long game filled with amazing moments. The last few chapters of its 17-chapter story are worth experiencing and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, not even the 35 hours it took me to get to that point. Not everyone will be able or willing to make it that far. While it’s a ton of fun to take part in activities around Kamarucho, there can be a lot of mind-numbing combat in between. That repetition will fight you along the way, but the investment will pay dividends. Those last chapters have my favorite moments in any video game ever. It’s a shame that many will likely fall off Yakuza 0 before experiencing some of the greatest narrative moments that video games have to offer.… Expand
  37. HTGamer
    Jul 30, 2018
    8
    Yakuza 0 is a great entry in the series, but can't top the masterful Yakuza Kiwami.

    The Yakuza series has always been JRPGs at heart, with battles playing out as brawls. Just like JRPGs there are random encounters with enemies in the open map. Brawls are melee fights, the fighting system is deep and varied, you can choose from 3 different fighting styles (tank, fighter, rogue), with    Yakuza 0 is a great entry in the series, but can't top the masterful Yakuza Kiwami.

    The Yakuza series has always been JRPGs at heart, with battles playing out as brawls. Just like JRPGs there are random encounters with enemies in the open map. Brawls are melee fights, the fighting system is deep and varied, you can choose from 3 different fighting styles (tank, fighter, rogue), with some excellent high-level finishers having to be unlocked first.

    Yakuza 0 is set in 1988 Japan, with the country's economic bubble about to burst. The story is about 2 protagonists (series regular Kiryu Kazuma, and newly added Goro Majima) being involved in an internal Yakuza power struggle, both of them trying to survive. Lead characters are very likeable and develop during the story's length.

    The campaign can last dozens of hours, but not all of them are quality time. That's because of the inclusion of 2 time-consuming mini-campaigns, one for each protagonist. Kiryu Kazuma's real estate and Goro Majima's hostess club business should have been a 1-2 hours affair to see through, but they each last more than 10 hours to complete, so you are basically looking at a 20-hour-long grinding. These activities are optional but you can't really avoid them and focus on the main story, or else you won't be able to upgrade your heroes past a certain point, and you will need those upgrades especially in the higher difficulties.

    The game is also full of side quests. These are either small fetch quests or just a quick story unfolding before you in a matter of minutes, but the writing is usually top notch. Plenty of comical stories but also some dramatic ones. A standout for me was the couple of quests paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson, complete with his moonwalk and dancing.

    Last but not least, there are tons of mini games, from darts and billiards to bowling and karaoke, even Sega's old Outrun arcade game.

    Not everything is rosy though. The game's map of Kamurocho is identical to the version included in other Yakuza games. If you play a couple of Yakuza games it can become tiresome to see Kamurocho again. Then there is the issue with the camera. Because the map is tightly packed (typical of Japan) the camera can't easily follow your hero when walking in narrow corridors or building interiors. It should have been an over-the-shoulder type of camera. But these are all my gripes.

    On the technical side, Yakuza 0 runs at 60 fps just like Yakuza Kiwami, frame rates drops only in a couple of heavy scenes with dozens of enemies on-screen. The OST is nice, with a few standout rock tracks. Voice overs are in japanese, there is no option for english dubs, but you get used to that.

    Overall, Yakuza 0 is a great game, even though it's not perfect. Yakuza Kiwami is a better game and a more suitable introduction to the series. If you play the 1st game and you like it, then proceed to Yakuza 0 and the other entries.    … Expand
  38. Dco326
    Feb 8, 2021
    8
    Prica je do jaja, sve je gotivno samo je previse sporo u nekim trenucima i to mu dodje to, al ne bih pikao opet :)
  39. vgm
    Aug 2, 2017
    8
    I’m new to the Yakuza series and I have to admit I was expecting more after all the good reviews I’ve seen. This game has a really slow start, to the point I considered quitting the game a few times during the first 10-15 hours, but after that is when things start to open up.

    When that happens the story gets more interesting and the brawling is more enjoyable since you can buy or learn    I’m new to the Yakuza series and I have to admit I was expecting more after all the good reviews I’ve seen. This game has a really slow start, to the point I considered quitting the game a few times during the first 10-15 hours, but after that is when things start to open up.

    When that happens the story gets more interesting and the brawling is more enjoyable since you can buy or learn new powerful abilities. You can also become a realtor with Kiryu and manage a hostesses club with Goro, the only two mini games I found interesting (to be honest, in my opinion all the other mini games like bowling, karaoke, arcade, underground fights, etc are quite dull).

    Despite the fact that it has a great story, the problem of this game is that it is is very repetitive and most of the time you are reading or watching cutscenes and you are handed control only for beating the enemies. It certainly feels like you are playing a 90’s beat em up. There is one refreshing moment during the game and it’s when you are handed a gun and you have to shoot enemies from a car, as if playing a shoot em up. I wish this game had more of this. Besides that, the attention to detail modelling the two cities in the game and the voice acting is astonishing.    … Expand
  40. raccoondaddy
    Oct 12, 2019
    8
    As a fan of the series, I only have this and 3 finished. So I guessed it I could give my own take on this entry.
    Right away, it is the best of the ones I've played so far. Yakuza 3 was an awesome intro to the series (which included a recap of 1 and 2), as it make was a clear love letter to Yu Sazuki's Shenmue, Japanese manga (shonen, I believe) and a Nintendo classic River City Ransom.    As a fan of the series, I only have this and 3 finished. So I guessed it I could give my own take on this entry.
    Right away, it is the best of the ones I've played so far. Yakuza 3 was an awesome intro to the series (which included a recap of 1 and 2), as it make was a clear love letter to Yu Sazuki's Shenmue, Japanese manga (shonen, I believe) and a Nintendo classic River City Ransom. Also, as a personal note I've visited Japan several times, so it was a delight to playthough.

    Continuing into this entry, I was hoping to get a true origin story to both Goro and Kiryu. Truthfully, you don't really get that, instead it really is just another dramatic story set before the events of Yakuza Kiwami (or Yakuza 1, on the PS2) Kiryu, the series' main protagonist isn't really portrayed as meek, instead he is shown to be wiser and as strong as when I saw him in the third entry.

    There wasn't really a deep look into his past, such as growing up with Nishiki and Yumi, nor any flashback to lessons from thier adoptive father Shintaro. Kiryu just beats people with his fists and then gives fatherly wisdom (at the ancient age of 26) to mothers, misguide youths and old men.
    Which truly leads me to believe that the series can only be taken serious during the main storyline.

    As for Goro, they make him a complete opposite of what he is portrayed in the series. In 0, he's humble and quiet, sweet guy whose just conflicted and damaged. Whereas in the remainder of the series, a friggin murderous lunatic dueteragonist. Granted what he goes through before 1988 would explain insanity. But none of this is truly developed throughout the main storyline.

    Also, the supporting characters act completely different from who they are in Kiwami (which I am playing now, and loving it) What does save the story is the side stories, which were funny and some a nice slice of life moment to experience.

    In regards to the gameplay itself, the fighting is smoother and remained fresh with the newer HEAT finishers and boss QTEs. The money system felt a bit exaggerated and really required me to grind through the real estate and cabaret host minigames. (I liked Majima's more, personally)

    Overall, the shear amount of content in the game is staggering, as there are tons of minigames side quests, collectibles and two HUGE management portions.

    I'd say I had a lot of fun with this entry, despite its sloppy writing and almost nonexistent origin story.    … Expand
  41. MrBurger
    Mar 9, 2017
    8
    First their is great lip syncing It is also a super fun brawler where you caojafokwndscfcnvsrdzxnvdonvokwsnxfvknwrspkfnpierdnpvnreoxnvreifnviendoinvwoinvinvoins inoifnionfdionvfniofinfnidfviofvdinfvd its a good game alright
  42. bunnyofthesea
    Mar 14, 2017
    8
    As a newcomer to Yakuza I must say that this has been a great experience. This game does a great job of engrossing you into the story from the first 30 minutes to the ending. The story is one of the best I have experienced in a while and I feel is the best part of the game. The 3 parts of this game are the story, the main brawling gameplay, and the massive amount of minigames. TheAs a newcomer to Yakuza I must say that this has been a great experience. This game does a great job of engrossing you into the story from the first 30 minutes to the ending. The story is one of the best I have experienced in a while and I feel is the best part of the game. The 3 parts of this game are the story, the main brawling gameplay, and the massive amount of minigames. The minigames are wacky and fun and act as a great diversion to the serious main story and compliment the game very well, my only issue is that along the main story you are forced to do most of these minigames at least once which at some points when i wanted to just get to the next piece of story were quite annoying. My main problem with Yakuza 0 is the brawling main gameplay. The fighting system in this game is satisfying and very fun at first, with multiple styles and upgrades. The issue comes in when you are 30 hours in and each segment of fighting takes forever and you are spamming cheap moves just to get to the next piece of story. By the end it gets old and you will be doing TONS of it. Besides the repetitive combat this game was very enjoyable to play and I would recommend it to anyone who likes good stories or enjoys having lots of variety of side content.… Expand
  43. ob1foru
    Mar 21, 2017
    8
    I am new to the Yakuza series. Yet after I saw a trusted YouTuber review this game, I began to dive into the game history and lore before deciding to give it a try.

    Yakuza 0 is a game that takes itself seriously, while at the same time.... doesn't. It's this odd blend of storytelling, character switching, stereotyping and vintage landscape that gives this title so much character.    I am new to the Yakuza series. Yet after I saw a trusted YouTuber review this game, I began to dive into the game history and lore before deciding to give it a try.

    Yakuza 0 is a game that takes itself seriously, while at the same time.... doesn't. It's this odd blend of storytelling, character switching, stereotyping and vintage landscape that gives this title so much character. Playing as two seemingly unrelated protagonists, you will find yourself going "why am I doing this?" only to say "I'm so glad I did that!" As storylines meld and the full reveal rears its face, you'll find comedy, tragedy, heart warming stories and vile acts of society all neaty packaged into a game that's sitting at your fingertips.

    I won't pull any punches graphically. This game shows why its a "remaster" of a PS3 release. It's not going to blow you away visually. It's not going to wow you with its environment. At times, you might even groan at the camera angle. However, Yakuza 0 is one of those games that makes up for it's graphical shortcomings through storytelling and immersion. How? Here's how!

    There are so many side quests and mini games built into this title, they could have pay walled each of them off and sold them separately. Vintage Sega arcade games, Bikini girls wrestling, Mahjong, fishing, slot car racing, the back door casino room, the phone dating service game, collecting cards that unlock video pretty women casually posing for the camera, batting cages, the Hostess Club sim (which makes you lots of cash), dancing at the club, and karaoke are just some of the activities you can partake in when you're not buying up businesses, beating up thugs or doing various side quests.

    This game isn't a true open world experience and to be honest, that's okay. Once you get a sense of the story, you begin to identify when you should explore and when you're likely going to be confined into a story arc. While some people want that "always open, always free" feel, you'll likely find yourself to engrossed in the story to care or too busy making money to notice.

    Perhaps one of the strongest downsides to the game IS you need to make money. As the game progresses, abilities, your character durability and importantly, the ability to survive hinge on you making money. While thousand yen bills are easy to come buy, true to the 80s theme, inflation is a huge problem. Thus, you'll quickly drop 30 million Yen on a single skill and sent to the streets looking for more. Luckily, if you grab the Hostess Club and Property Owner side quest / mini games when they're presented and run with them, you'll soon find yourself at an advantage.

    Overall, this is a solid title and one of those diamonds in the rough. Though far from polished in a sea of AAA titles praised for graphical perfection and stunning environments, Yakuza 0 shows what a title can do when you mix fun, story and solid gameplay together while still maintaining a sense of humor.    … Expand
  44. oldschoolgamer7
    Mar 28, 2017
    8
    This Yakuza is well paced and has a great story to follow once you get in to it, as always with this franchise there are tons of mini games to get stuck in to some of which I spent hours on just by them selves. its set in the 80s so its a nice change from the normal Yakuza games as well as is probably one of the better written Yakuza games on the story side of things. That said there isThis Yakuza is well paced and has a great story to follow once you get in to it, as always with this franchise there are tons of mini games to get stuck in to some of which I spent hours on just by them selves. its set in the 80s so its a nice change from the normal Yakuza games as well as is probably one of the better written Yakuza games on the story side of things. That said there is only really two locations and after Yakuza 5 I was expecting a larger and more diverse game.

    Also to note is that the story is well directed and its ties in a lot of loose ends if you have played all the other Yakuza games so its a must play for any fan of the series.

    On the combat side of things Majima is a lot more fun of the two characters and his levelling system is richer and more point to actually levelling him up and his fighting style is fun to use. Kiryu's level tree is a bit pointless at times as some of the fighting styles other than his default are boring and clunky and there is no incentive to level up them up.

    The is the only bad point I have about this game and now the franchise, the combat is getting stale they need to start making the AI smarter and having a more skilled approach to combat, somewhere between a tactical fighter like Bloodborne/dark souls with more rpg elements and what it is now would be the best thing ever for this series. There are no real consequences to fighting poorly or well, you just loose more health and have to use more consumables. As it stands you can almost just mash the hits buttons and pretty much win every fight without thinking. But if you like the other Yakuza games like I do its just something you live with, but it would be nice if they fixed this.

    Overall not the best Yakuza game (I think 5 was) but still a very fun game. I threw about 40 hours in to it to complete the main story, most side quests and the larger mini games.    … Expand
  45. Lotap
    Oct 12, 2017
    8
    +The story is great
    +There's so much content it is hard to get bored
    +Even side quests are interesting

    -Graphics are not "2017 level"
    -Fighting wasnt really interesting for me. After some time I was just throwing my money just to avoid fights
  46. Cieloazure
    Apr 23, 2019
    8
    Its a very good game with a polished story and very good voice acting. Story wise it has everything; Drama, Comedy, and Action.
    The minigames are also fun which add depth to the game in value sense, gameplay it's not demanding at all.
    Pretty much the story begins with a young Kiryu and Majima in 80's of Japan and looks great. Alot night clubs and food vendors with style of clothing from    Its a very good game with a polished story and very good voice acting. Story wise it has everything; Drama, Comedy, and Action.
    The minigames are also fun which add depth to the game in value sense, gameplay it's not demanding at all.
    Pretty much the story begins with a young Kiryu and Majima in 80's of Japan and looks great. Alot night clubs and food vendors with style of clothing from the 80's. The story is about a empty lot that Dojima family(Yakuza)want to obtain so they can start a project that would give them complete control of the area to monopolize. A crazy ton of shenanigans happens that gets in the way of it, you play kiryu in trying to stop them.
    Graphics: 8.8/10
    Story 8.5/10
    Gameplay: 8.8/10
    Replayability 8.3/10
    Overall 8.4/10    … Expand
  47. Cpal4554
    Mar 4, 2019
    8
    If you want some gameplay action with your way too long and sometimes boring but mostly interesting and sometimes funny and usually emotional Yakuza movie, this is an awesome option. I played this twice and it’s still good. It’s not GTA in that it doesn’t do openworld sandbox very well, but it does have better story and probably stronger characters. In fact three of the lieutentantIf you want some gameplay action with your way too long and sometimes boring but mostly interesting and sometimes funny and usually emotional Yakuza movie, this is an awesome option. I played this twice and it’s still good. It’s not GTA in that it doesn’t do openworld sandbox very well, but it does have better story and probably stronger characters. In fact three of the lieutentant characters are in Dead or Alive 1999 and that’s almost an insult to their quality as actors (although I maybe confusing the quality of that movie with the later Western DOA movie). Whatever the case may be, this game has an excellent cast, the gameplay is great (although I prefer Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Yakuza 6 on that end) and if you like single player games with good and long stories and sometimes really funny sidequests: this is for you. Have fun playing and don’t forget: Yakuza Kiwami 1&2 and Yakuza 6 are available on PS4 with Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 remasters expected in non too long. I’m guestimating that’ll be 7 times 25 (175) hours of gameplay easy.… Expand
  48. Maurog21
    Nov 19, 2019
    8
    Yakuza era una saga que hasta hace poco me imponía respeto pero no había llegado a jugar a ninguno de sus títulos. Ahora, habiendo jugado Yakuza 0 puedo decir que la saga ya me tiene enganchado.
    Los puntos positivos son que la historia es de 10, la musica y los combates son casi perfectos aunque agradecería un poquitin mas de profundidad en las peleas. Los dos protagonistas del juego son    Yakuza era una saga que hasta hace poco me imponía respeto pero no había llegado a jugar a ninguno de sus títulos. Ahora, habiendo jugado Yakuza 0 puedo decir que la saga ya me tiene enganchado.
    Los puntos positivos son que la historia es de 10, la musica y los combates son casi perfectos aunque agradecería un poquitin mas de profundidad en las peleas. Los dos protagonistas del juego son muy carismáticos y te meterás en su situación, además las misiones secundarias son ORO, bestiales muchas de ellas.
    Como puntos negativos podría decir que el mapa podría ser un poquito mas denso ya que el mapa no es abierto, además el juego al menos en PS4 no está traducido al español asi que no puedo ponerle un 10 pero sin duda es un juego que por el precio que vale merece la pena darle una oportunidad    … Expand
  49. X_247
    Jul 4, 2019
    8
    the game-play was awesome, the characters are magnificent, the story was good, but there are a lot of cut-scenes a lot of talks and the graphics weren't good.
  50. Anonjustbecause
    Dec 18, 2020
    8
    How do I rate entertainment media (books/music/cinema/video games/ animation/comics/manga):

    10. Groundbreaking. Revolutionised this art form. Should be used as a recommendation to non-consumers of this medium as it has crossover potential. This is exceedingly rare. 9. A work of art. Should be watched by everyone into this medium. 8. Magnificent. A must for every fan of this subgenre.    How do I rate entertainment media (books/music/cinema/video games/ animation/comics/manga):

    10. Groundbreaking. Revolutionised this art form. Should be used as a recommendation to non-consumers of this medium as it has crossover potential. This is exceedingly rare.
    9. A work of art. Should be watched by everyone into this medium.
    8. Magnificent. A must for every fan of this subgenre. Everyone else can still enjoy that but not a must.
    7. Really good. Misses elements of excellence. Anyone can still enjoy that.
    6 Good. Will be enjoyed on and off, but probably never return to it in the future. Anyone can still enjoy that.
    5. A solid but average delivery in all production aspects. Only fans of the subgenre may enjoy that.
    4. Below average in all production aspects, but still watchable only by fans of this subgenre.
    3. Boring material and you may not finish it due to lack of interest or quality. Even hardcore fans will not enjoy this.
    2. The producer/s of this material did not put the necessary effort in or do not have the necessary know how.
    1. To be watched only as educational material of how to not do things. Otherwise a waste of your time.

    Just do it. There are games out there that are fun but shallow. There are story driven games out there that are no fun at all. Very few games achieve having a remarkable story where you care about the characters and being super fun at the same time.

    The graphics may not be 4K but for that I watch a movie instead. Yakuza 0 puts the fun back into video gaming. There is so much to do after you finish the main story. The voice acting is superb because the voice actors are real actors who have starred in Yakuza movies ! The music is catchy as anything; you know the memes. The mini games are fun and addictive and suck you in. Out Run anyone?

    Imagine taking Shenmue best parts and breeding them with the extracurricular activities of GTA V and inject some brawling fun from Streets of Rage. And did I mention the whole uncensored Japanese ecchi-ness? This is it. This is Yakuza 0.

    Do not think. Just play this game. Just do it.    … Expand
  51. enemycamper
    Nov 9, 2019
    8
    Densely packed open world where all activities and systems feed into each other.
    Combat is flashy and exciting while having solid depth.
    Unlocking combat abilities is a chore. Minigames are fun, but many feel like novelties that aren't enjoyable for more than one attempt that mask pedestrian gameplay with flamboyant visuals. Tonally all over the place, but never suffers for it; manages    Densely packed open world where all activities and systems feed into each other.
    Combat is flashy and exciting while having solid depth.
    Unlocking combat abilities is a chore.
    Minigames are fun, but many feel like novelties that aren't enjoyable for more than one attempt that mask pedestrian gameplay with flamboyant visuals.
    Tonally all over the place, but never suffers for it; manages to be silly, serious and whimsical.    … Expand
  52. MrChickster
    Jul 28, 2020
    8
    A yakuza with plenty of spunk to go around yet he refuses to be a criminal. A quest to save everyone and pay for your sins yet you chose to go bowling yet again. Oh hi, Nico! Yeah, he's confused but he's trying his best.
  53. mateusbatatais
    Apr 23, 2020
    8
    Este é um jogo para quem gosta do estilo. Bastante conversa! Bastante porrada(repetitivo demais as vezes) e comedia. Sobre a história, nao tem o que dizer, show! Gráficos e comedia, foda! Peca apenas nas repetitivas lutas.

    História: 10
    Som: 10
    Jogabilidade: 5
    Gráficos:10
    Diversão: 8
  54. ThePSButton
    Apr 4, 2020
    8
    Diversión pura. Combina la locura y seriedad japonesa en un paquete repleto de amor por el videojuego. Imperdible.
  55. Thejodjeremie
    Apr 17, 2020
    8
    The gameplay is very fun is many different styles for both characters. The story is interesting and long.
  56. LucianoRocha
    Apr 18, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game has a very interesting story,mixed with some craziness at some points.Story wise,the game is perfect,but the fights get repetitive at some points.I'll give it an 8… Expand
  57. Skurttish
    Dec 1, 2020
    8
    It’s a game that pairs an excellent story with fun, arcade-y gameplay. That’s a good mix!

    Probably the best thing about the game is how very Japanese it is. It’s a legitimate cultural experience, one that preserves its identity even despite linguistic translation. In addition, although I don’t like fighters, this game’s fighting system was fun all the way through—but I will say that I    It’s a game that pairs an excellent story with fun, arcade-y gameplay. That’s a good mix!

    Probably the best thing about the game is how very Japanese it is. It’s a legitimate cultural experience, one that preserves its identity even despite linguistic translation. In addition, although I don’t like fighters, this game’s fighting system was fun all the way through—but I will say that I lost interest in it by the end because it just isn’t my genre. At that point, I put the game on easy just to enjoy the story, and what a story it was! Very well done.

    Now, I took off two points, and one was for the graphics. I suppose they were going for an old style? But honestly, it didn’t appeal to me—it was just janky enough to get in the way. They would have pulled off a more modern style better, I think.

    This problem is doubled when paired with the music, which was the most negative part of the game for me. They tried to make the music older, in a way, to imitate a game from early 2000’s, and it just sorta came off sounding low budget. This is most apparent during the most climactic fight scenes, where the heavy distortion of the guitars should be making my speakers fall out of their casings, but instead, they are very quiet and sound far away. In addition, side quests are introduced by the same simple guitar riff (and if I never hear that riff again, it’ll be too soon). Now, having said all this, I didn’t take a point off for the music because if I want great music I’ll go listen to Spotify, not play a game.

    The other point I took off is because the side quests often dealt with topics that were a bit oversexualized. I actually stopped doing the side quests after the fifth or sixth one that dealt with a dominatrix, or catfighting, or what have you. I felt that fewer, longer side quests that had more depth would have done more for the game than the many side quests they had that were shorter and often went in racy directions without really needing to.

    But, again, the story is fantastic, and it’s a lot of fun to step inside a totally Japanese world after a long day at work. Thank you developers! Really well done game, and one I recommend.    … Expand
  58. TheMrLacky
    Jun 21, 2021
    8
    Definitely not for everyone, if you don’t enjoy long cutscenes then it’s not for you. Nevertheless, the game is fun and the story is thrilling, but most importantly, the huge amount of side missions and mini games really defines this game as a great game
  59. daikengo
    Sep 15, 2020
    8
    1이 최고의 게임이냐 0가 최고의 게임이냐는 사람에 따라 갈릴 거 같지만, 역시 마지마가 플레이어블이라는 건 무시할 수 없는 메리트이다. 다만, 키류 파트는 솔직히 악역 야쿠자들 빼면 그냥 그랬어... 젊을 때부터 키류가 호구였다는 걸 게임 절반을 써서 표현할 필요가 있었나?
  60. ianny33
    Sep 12, 2020
    8
    Awesome. This game made me love this series. The epicity and the sense of humor of the game is incredible.
  61. MulQuahDiiv
    Nov 21, 2020
    8
    Yakuza series offers everything that I miss in GTA. Personally I love it's abstract humor mixed with serious topics and charismatic characters. It's visually perfect, colorful and the city is really well designed. I spend many hours exploring every side activity in the city and learning karaoke songs ;) Fantastic Japaneese experience. The only thing I didn't like much is combat, that afterYakuza series offers everything that I miss in GTA. Personally I love it's abstract humor mixed with serious topics and charismatic characters. It's visually perfect, colorful and the city is really well designed. I spend many hours exploring every side activity in the city and learning karaoke songs ;) Fantastic Japaneese experience. The only thing I didn't like much is combat, that after some time becomes repetitive and not satisfying. Opponents standing on every corner make it difficult to move around the city while exploring as you have to fight them every time.… Expand
  62. Primebear
    Apr 12, 2021
    8
    Prequel for fans. It is difficult to be impressed by being immersed unless you are a fan. But it's fun enough for fans. The increased convenience compared to the previous series is also a strength.
  63. airpsyhit
    Jul 23, 2021
    8
    Yakuza 0 is the best part of the Yakuza series. Interesting plot, excellent graphics. It's one of the most enjoyable games to play on the console. Many interesting side tasks perfectly complement the story of the two main characters of the game-Kiryu and Majima.
  64. PSOyuncusu
    Sep 19, 2022
    8
    This was my first Yakuza game. Before I bought this game, I thought I would only play this one, and watch the others in YouTube. But as I continue playing this game, I noticed what a masterpiece this game was. I like story and characters. I won't forget the villians of this game. With the extras we have 4 style which are keep the tempo of this game. Best thing Yakuza 0 did great is theThis was my first Yakuza game. Before I bought this game, I thought I would only play this one, and watch the others in YouTube. But as I continue playing this game, I noticed what a masterpiece this game was. I like story and characters. I won't forget the villians of this game. With the extras we have 4 style which are keep the tempo of this game. Best thing Yakuza 0 did great is the rhythm and level design. If we give an example, it will be the first chapter. At the beginning we saw our important characters of the game. Learning combat and heat actions, singing at the karaoke (one of the most popular minigames of the franchise),, some details from the story, learning the second style, a little story fight, and after some more cinematics, and learning how they got into the yakuza, and a long battle (these are the fights that we go into our objectives while fighting the enemies and one of the most entertaining parts of the game) and a boss fight with 2 health bars. The first chapter nearly shows the design of the franchise. Combat is entertaining, we have a thrilling story, 1vs1 boss fights (which is great for me), long battles, and amazing substories. Substories are the side quests. To unlock these you need to find them (because game doesn't show you the beginning points of these) in correct chapters and daytime. But substories are great Like the game they have the best level design of any other Yakuza game substories. In my first substory I try to choose the correct things to do in an advertisement, after that the substory closed with a mini boss fight. For my luck this substory showed me how the others substories will contain. In open world we can fight with thugs, play minigames like telphone club, disco, car race, karaoke, arcade, and some gambiling games. They are good. 2 characters have their own businesses. Business are like big substories. You need lots of time to finish them, bu I like it (they have unique boss fights). Main element of the gameplay is about money. Everything you will do requires money (abilities to purchasing). You can encounter with Mr Shakedowns. These are the boses that wandering in the towns. First they look hard (they canddefeat you in 2 attacks and if you lose, they take your money), but when you learn you can defeat them with shotguns, they turn to your easy money adress. And this game has the best HUD's of any Yakuza game. Jo Amon and climax battles are good (if you are not insane don't try to do that.) I praise this game a lot, but of course this game isn't perfect. 1st and 3rd chapters have a lot of cutscenes that they can take your enthusiasm about this game. Street battles are waste of time. For some substories you need to do some minigames that you might find boring. Some cutscenes are unskippable (problem if you want to play this game one more time). Some levels are not good (stealth missions and secene from chapter 13). If you don't know how to play Japan board games don't try to %100 complation and don't try to platinium. As the result this game is the best game of the Yakuza series and has the peak level designs of the gaming industry.… Expand
  65. trinovatic
    Jun 18, 2023
    8
    desde que makoto salió en la historia el nivel de este juego fue subiendo, increíble
  66. DexCrate
    Dec 27, 2022
    8
    Pretty enjoyable game. Nice gameplay, nice story, and nice contents. Some things are a little awkward.
  67. Kinokee
    Dec 16, 2017
    7
    I really want to rate it higher but the sour taste after many of the minigames and combat never exactly doing what I want it to prevents it from ever being a truly good game. At this point, I can get better value out of a novel and a game designed around only weird minigames, as then both would have the proper quality and not just **** around in the middle.

    cons: **** outrun. ****    I really want to rate it higher but the sour taste after many of the minigames and combat never exactly doing what I want it to prevents it from ever being a truly good game. At this point, I can get better value out of a novel and a game designed around only weird minigames, as then both would have the proper quality and not just **** around in the middle.

    cons:
    **** outrun. **** blackjack. **** catfights. **** mahjong. **** the timing in disco and **** the decade old combat system from the PS2 era.

    The camera auto rotates with the character which makes any tight corner a nightmare. It also gets locked on walls which means doing combat near rounded walls means you lose 60-70% of your vision.

    weapons hit a lot of invisible walls and make the character recoil for no reason.

    Accurate combat inputs at a high level is a nightmare. The game is enjoyable because you have enough health items and things thrown into it that it can be overlooked. However, actually examining the controls leads to a lot of problems, many of which are brought out in the climax battles. Inability to properly target enemies, slow turning, auto target targeting nothing, the inability to just turn around like a normal human being can, weapons not aiming correctly, heat action prompts appearing and not working 80% of the time, a 3 second delay on starting most heat actions after a combat command has already been used, and so on. It is the same crappy combat from 10 years ago and with so many other games doing combat better the only saving grace of this game is the niche void it fills.

    Pros:
    Side stories are enjoyable. Very Yakuza-esque.    … Expand
  68. curzon_dax
    Apr 7, 2023
    7
    game is very subjective if you're gonna like it. it's well designed for its genre; it offers a relatively large open world of progressive adventuring without being excessively large; its battling style is relatively complex and you can progressively become better and better at it while the story is fitting for a crime story. however for my tastes it was very excessive in verticalgame is very subjective if you're gonna like it. it's well designed for its genre; it offers a relatively large open world of progressive adventuring without being excessively large; its battling style is relatively complex and you can progressively become better and better at it while the story is fitting for a crime story. however for my tastes it was very excessive in vertical progression design; the game has you doing repetitive mundane tasks in order to have minor progress every time for minor benefits in battle (if you take the money system out of the picture (e.g. by using a trainer) the game feels extremely barebones for little gameplay since the repetition for more and more money is what gave a lot of its apparent depth); the battle style is subjective if you're gonna like it and you might like it if you're into that kind of genre but I personally found it cumbersome and repetitive and not worth the trouble going the full road of perfecting my gameplay for this game while the story was nothing extraordinary but I definitely can't give it a very low score because it's obviously subjectively great if you're into that kind of genre.… Expand
  69. rscl
    Oct 23, 2017
    7
    Story-wise a really awesome game. I would recommend playing it on easy just as a movie of sorts. Visuals are average yet pretty. The combat mechanics are bs.
  70. Empyrea
    Aug 6, 2019
    7
    The best of this game is the plot, gameplay is ok. It becomes a bit repetitive. The worst for me is the really long scenes (there are several that last for more than 10 minutes, just crazy), even the sidequests have so many dialogues! In my opinion, it would have been better if they had made the scenes shorter and had dubbed the game to English or put subtitles in other languages becauseThe best of this game is the plot, gameplay is ok. It becomes a bit repetitive. The worst for me is the really long scenes (there are several that last for more than 10 minutes, just crazy), even the sidequests have so many dialogues! In my opinion, it would have been better if they had made the scenes shorter and had dubbed the game to English or put subtitles in other languages because for non-native English speakers it's very easy to "disconnect" and stop reading. I ended up skipping so many dialogues even some of the main story. About sidequests most of them are funny so feel free to do the sidequests when you feel to. I played this game for 47 hours spending many hours on minigames and sidequests so it can take about 30 hours or less if you go straight to the main story. To sum up, this game wouldn't deserve more than an 8. I had Yakuza 6 in my wish list but I deleted it because with one Yakuza I had more than enough. I'd only recommend this game for Japanese and English people.… Expand
  71. SOLIDSNAKEN64
    Jul 23, 2018
    7
    I really enjoyed this games characters and story, yakuza has a mix of serious story with a lot of goofy moments. It knows when to be serious but also to relax a little and not take itself to serious. Y0 is filled with many fun mini games and side quests. Each sidequests has it's own story and they were all pretty entertaining. I really enjoyed the 80s setting in Japan, you really feelI really enjoyed this games characters and story, yakuza has a mix of serious story with a lot of goofy moments. It knows when to be serious but also to relax a little and not take itself to serious. Y0 is filled with many fun mini games and side quests. Each sidequests has it's own story and they were all pretty entertaining. I really enjoyed the 80s setting in Japan, you really feel like you are in that era. I don't really see why people would rather have Japanese dubs over English dubs but I'm not one of those people. I would have much rather the dev's to have hired English actors for localization, but that's just me. The graphics are ps4 graphics even though they look good it would be nice if they took advantage of the ps4 hardware. The brawling system gets repetative after a while and I was so tired of the random encounters by the end of the game. Yakuza 0 is my first entry into the story and even though I enjoyed it for this most part i felt it was lacking in some areas.… Expand
  72. ToshLichev
    Jan 3, 2022
    7
    As a newcomer to the Yakuza franchize I have to start off by saying that Yakuza 0 is an absolutely massive game but not in the conventional way I'm used to. It doesn't have a huge open world, gorgeous cinematics or exciting traversal. In its essence "0" is actually pretty old school and in some aspects even archaic but it compensates with character and content.

    Where Yakuza 0 blows you    As a newcomer to the Yakuza franchize I have to start off by saying that Yakuza 0 is an absolutely massive game but not in the conventional way I'm used to. It doesn't have a huge open world, gorgeous cinematics or exciting traversal. In its essence "0" is actually pretty old school and in some aspects even archaic but it compensates with character and content.

    Where Yakuza 0 blows you away is the fact that not only does it have an intriguing and amazingly acted 30 hour storyline, it also has hundreds of hours of side content which is anything but filler. Every mini-game feels fleshed out and almost like a separate game within the Yakuza world. You also get not one but two open world areas which, although quite small, feel unique enough to each of the two protagonists. Speaking of which, both protagonists have their own fighting styles which gives depth to an otherwise fairly basic fighting system. All the characters feel like real human beings and you start to care about them sooner or later. Most of the time the game completely manages to immerse you in its world, however...

    There are more than a few problems with Yakuza 0. For starters the presentation. This does not look like a 2017 game, there are moments at which I felt like I was playing The Sims. I get that you can't animate every single conversation in this type of game but considering how dialogue heavy it is, the amount of actual cinematics and/or fully animated scenes is absurdly low. The lack of a dub is a respectable creative decision seeing as the japanese voice acting is superb, but when around 15 hours of the game is spent pressing "X" while reading walls of text, constantly reading subs can really become a problem because it takes you out of the game and even at some point starts to put a brutal physical strain on your eyes. The camera in many cases is absolutely broken. The constant random fights on the streets quickly go from fun to unbearably annoying - they earn you very little cash and are a waste of time. The game also seems stuck in the past with its menues and the fact that there really isn't a "restart" button for side missions or mini games which means that every time you fail you have to quit, go back to the NPC, go through all the conversations and only then can you try again. A huge waste of time.

    Yakuza 0 is a mostly great game and if you're willing to look past some of it's archaic game design and are ok with it blatantly wasting your time at certain points, then I think you'd like it quite a bit.    … Expand
  73. MazrimTaim14
    Oct 14, 2019
    7
    My first dive into the Yakuza series is filled with WTF humor and old school relaxing beat them up.

    A constant "WTF Japan" ride from start to finish with a melancholic story and pure awesome bowling game.
  74. Tobylua
    Jun 24, 2022
    7
    Yakuza 0 on PS5
    Game completed : June 5, 2022
    Playtime : 102 hrs I”ve completed games with more than 100 hrs before but this is by far the longest and most tedious i have ever felt completing a game and probably because its a very outdated game and i am playing it on a ps5 today. Because of the fact, nothing more to enjoy in this game and its only saving grace is its story. To be    Yakuza 0 on PS5
    Game completed : June 5, 2022
    Playtime : 102 hrs

    I”ve completed games with more than 100 hrs before but this is by far the longest and most tedious i have ever felt completing a game and probably because its a very outdated game and i am playing it on a ps5 today. Because of the fact, nothing more to enjoy in this game and its only saving grace is its story. To be clear, i think if you play this game 10 yrs from now there is a lot of positive to say but obviously it is not the case now. Its story and plot is very unique and compelling that it is one of the most unforgettable plot and twist i have ever experience in a video game. considering its a very old game, i never felt the cliche you would expect in a mafia game and ive completed a lot from the past. I cant wait to see what happened to the 2 main characters in its sequel. in summary, its a familiar and simple outdated experience with an excellent plot and story.    … Expand
  75. Jollyolfun
    Nov 18, 2022
    7
    I find Yakuza games to be quite slow for my tastes, but the great moments are truly great.
  76. HeitorCampos
    Mar 13, 2023
    7
    Fun as hell, the tonal shifts work way better than they honestly should. It´s not great at anything, but it´s goofy in the most fun way possible. Didn´t expect to get addicted to the bowling minigame lol. The gameplay isn´t good honestly, it´s kind of clunky too, not to mention the absurdly long cutscnes and drawn out dialogue, but I don´t care, I like this game.
  77. Avey123Avey
    Mar 19, 2023
    7
    The combat and encounter designs are decently fun. The story is quite fun and has many satisfying twists and turns. The open world structure is interesting and has some very well fleshed out mini games and subsystems. This game makes for a very great entry point to this bizarre series. It's a variety show with lots of personality and quirks. If I had a major complaint it would be with theThe combat and encounter designs are decently fun. The story is quite fun and has many satisfying twists and turns. The open world structure is interesting and has some very well fleshed out mini games and subsystems. This game makes for a very great entry point to this bizarre series. It's a variety show with lots of personality and quirks. If I had a major complaint it would be with the overly repetitive JRPG esc random encounters that dot the environment just to slow you down and make sure you've seen every combat animation so many times that it becomes drilled into your memory… Expand
  78. michaelb1928
    Apr 27, 2019
    6
    Enjoyable for a while, but really tedious sections with a lot of text reading made me drop it halfway through, side quests were not fun at all
  79. Neyb
    May 31, 2020
    6
    Where are the translations? A combat system without with nothing to offer... Every thing except story & situation feels boring and outdated.
  80. Agusto101
    Dec 14, 2022
    6
    Es un juego totalmente insufrible lo único bueno son los combates contra JEFES y un par med misiones principales el resto todo aburrido.
  81. drlowdon
    Jun 14, 2022
    5
    It’s 1988, and Yakuza Kazuma Kiryu is framed for murder and has no option but to leave the Dojima family and set out on his own.

    Being my first experience of a Yakuza game I wasn’t sure what to expect, but to be honest I found it all a little dull and many aspects felt very dated. For a start there are far too many cut-scenes, especially early in the game, and the combat (which makes up    It’s 1988, and Yakuza Kazuma Kiryu is framed for murder and has no option but to leave the Dojima family and set out on his own.

    Being my first experience of a Yakuza game I wasn’t sure what to expect, but to be honest I found it all a little dull and many aspects felt very dated. For a start there are far too many cut-scenes, especially early in the game, and the combat (which makes up a large part of the gameplay) isn’t particularly satisfying either. As the game gradually opens up there are plenty of things to see and do but, for me at least, it was never enough to make up for the games flaws.    … Expand
  82. Lazyyybone
    May 31, 2021
    5
    액션 게임은 좋은데 그러면 게임성에 더 치중하지 왜 스토리랑 컷씬 너무 많이 넣어서 재미도 없고 그렇다고 스토리도 뻔한 일본 야쿠자 장르물 스토리이고. 게임이지만 게임보다는 다른 요소만 엄청 넣어서 몰입도 깨지고 그렇다고 일본 도쿄의 오픈월드의 자유도는 또 떨어지고 많이 실망
  83. waywardlaser
    Jun 28, 2022
    5
    How can a game that's so wacky also contain some of the most dry, overlong cutscenes I've ever sat through?

    A masterful balance of fun and mind-numbingly boring that I have not seen before or since.
  84. VanDerGame
    Feb 14, 2017
    3
    This game is absolutely horrible apart from the story and fighting.
    CONS:
    - terrible graphics, there are almost no shadows, textures are low-res, lots of aliasing, no reflections and other modern techniques - looks as if it was a 10-year-old game - about half of the dialogues DON'T HAVE VOICEOVER! Instead we hear a typewriter. This is 2017! WTF? - the game is Japanese, they didn't even    This game is absolutely horrible apart from the story and fighting.
    CONS:
    - terrible graphics, there are almost no shadows, textures are low-res, lots of aliasing, no reflections and other modern techniques - looks as if it was a 10-year-old game
    - about half of the dialogues DON'T HAVE VOICEOVER! Instead we hear a typewriter. This is 2017! WTF?
    - the game is Japanese, they didn't even bother to make a version with English voiceover
    - the game is way too long, the conversations are to slow and the overall pace of the game is very low
    - you can't drive a car
    - there is no fast travel apart from taxis that stand in the corners of the map
    - maps are tiny
    - no auto-save
    - no option to switch to the other character when you like it

    PROS:
    - well developed, however too long a story
    - fighting with lots of styles

    I can understand people that like the game, cuase they played the previous versions, but I really can't understand why someone would give it 10/10. If the story was placed in GTA V universe, then it could be perfect. Avoid or buy when it's $5.    … Expand
  85. angel_kat07
    Nov 14, 2018
    3
    I heard great things about his game. Unfortunately it doesn't live up to the hype. The story line is predictable and boring. The battle style is too repetitive. There is also a lot of uninteresting dialogue you have to go through. I found myself getting bored every time I played it.
  86. tk_248
    Dec 23, 2021
    3
    выбесила боевка, после бладборна это просто унижение... а еще концовка бесконечная
  87. Swishalicious29
    May 4, 2020
    2
    There is little to no objectivity here as i couldn't make it past chapter one, but here we go. For starters there is barely any actual gameplay, as most of the time is spent in boring cutscenes that last FAR too long. The combat system is lacking and makes fighting a bore. Exploration sucks as you can go nowhere without someone trying to fight you and you being unable to continue on unlessThere is little to no objectivity here as i couldn't make it past chapter one, but here we go. For starters there is barely any actual gameplay, as most of the time is spent in boring cutscenes that last FAR too long. The combat system is lacking and makes fighting a bore. Exploration sucks as you can go nowhere without someone trying to fight you and you being unable to continue on unless you do fight them. The game looks like a better version of a game from the SEGA Dreamcast era, and is choppy to say the least. One of my saves was destroyed because a chair stood between me and the doorway, and i couldn't walk past. Terrible game that i'm deleting.… Expand
  88. MaxPayneIsGod
    Nov 9, 2020
    2
    I once read that there are 2 kinds of people, people who have played Yakuza games and love them, and people who have never played them.
    Whelp, I've played Yakuza 0 and this is what I have to say.
    I knew what I was getting into, a narrative driven, RPG, brawler set in a fictional province in Japan in the 80s with crazy characters and tons of side missions, erherm, "Substories". Whist    I once read that there are 2 kinds of people, people who have played Yakuza games and love them, and people who have never played them.
    Whelp, I've played Yakuza 0 and this is what I have to say.
    I knew what I was getting into, a narrative driven, RPG, brawler set in a fictional province in Japan in the 80s with crazy characters and tons of side missions, erherm, "Substories".
    Whist being "mature" the story didn't remotely grip me, I had no interest in what was happening, what had happened or what may happen in the future.
    The combat, at first seemed fun and varied, but swiftly capitulated into mindless button-mashing and extremely repetitive encounters.
    The "Substories" were in the same vein, started off as quirky and funny, but ended up being monotonous, repetitive fetch quests with pointless rewards.
    The RPG system was also relatively redundant and boiled down to spending in-game currency on upgrading your moves and health bar - Again, no thought required, no consequences and no point.
    I've sat on this game for some time, given it more than its fair share of chances, but its just not something I'm into. The style of it, the look, the controls, there is something "off" with all of it and for a game as long as this it needs to hook you and hook you good.
    There is so much filler in this game to pad the run-time, who wants to play retro Sega games? Sending a guy to find tools for upgrades, karioke etc etc - I just doesn't interest me.
    I wanted a brawler with solid varied combat, if you want that, play Sleeping Dogs.
    Every minute I spent playing it, I wished I was playing something else.
    I genuinely fell asleep during one of the cutscenes at the end of Chapter 2 or beginning of Chapter 3 and that has NEVER happened to me before.
    I can see some people love these games and I'm comfortable I'm not one of them.
    For those of you who enjoy it, it's shonky camera, one dimensional combat, abundance of cut-scenes and juvenile Metal-Gear-esque potty humor good for you, I'll be over here playing something else.    … Expand
  89. fabgo
    Sep 29, 2022
    2
    Lame game. Graphics are very dated. Super slow load times on PS5 (Why? How?). Really clunky UI.

    There is very little voice acting or animations. Lots of subtitle text reading. Side quests require you to memorize words and phrases. You need pen and paper to play this game, and write down answers. I gave up when I was asked to TYPE a 20-character password phrase (in Japanese of course).    Lame game. Graphics are very dated. Super slow load times on PS5 (Why? How?). Really clunky UI.

    There is very little voice acting or animations. Lots of subtitle text reading. Side quests require you to memorize words and phrases. You need pen and paper to play this game, and write down answers. I gave up when I was asked to TYPE a 20-character password phrase (in Japanese of course).

    Main story was OK for as far as I got... it didn't grab me in any way. It was all very cliche, and not very believable.

    It's also a lonely game. You run around by yourself and do solo things, like playing video games within the video game, and there are few meaningful interactions with NPCs.    … Expand
  90. Bigdude17
    Jun 10, 2022
    1
    Bad gameplay, poorly written story, awful production values, terrible leveling system, shallow combat and bad world design.
    Incredibly Overrated game.
  91. Zeydlitz
    Sep 22, 2018
    0
    Worst Yakuza game Ever! Dance battles are nightmare (and this S..t is REQUIRED), challenges still here, and all other bad stuff from previous games.
  92. Zeriou
    Sep 10, 2018
    0
    After 15 minutes of skipping every cut scene. i still didn't get to play. So i gave up.
  93. klemenhe
    Jan 25, 2017
    0
    Being an all time fan of the yakuza series I was deeply dissapointed with this long awaited sequel. The graphics are downright horrible and the gameplay is not only boring but feels nothing like its successor. Do not waste your money on this horrible milking cashgrab
  94. Thetruegamer
    Feb 19, 2017
    0
    This game is a sick joke, playstation 2 graphics, terrible character modelling and boring gameplay, its 2017, not 1998, possibly the worst game ever made, poorly, glitches, crashes the console also, it is also extremely sexist and derogatory to wimen
  95. Mindurbidniss
    Jul 14, 2021
    0
    Yakuza 0 isn't a game. It's an interactive CGI. 10 mins of actual playing for every hour of engagement doesn't constitute a game. The worst offense is the absence of multilingual dubbing so get ready to do a lot of reading. What little gameplay there is consists of stiff, PS2 gen combat. That could even be forgivable if there were awesome graphics or animation. There aren't, eachYakuza 0 isn't a game. It's an interactive CGI. 10 mins of actual playing for every hour of engagement doesn't constitute a game. The worst offense is the absence of multilingual dubbing so get ready to do a lot of reading. What little gameplay there is consists of stiff, PS2 gen combat. That could even be forgivable if there were awesome graphics or animation. There aren't, each character is a low textured cartoon covered in some oddly glowing "aura" during combat. Cutscenes can look nice depending on which version they randomly choose to show (some are in game engine and some are CGI) too bad the game looks nothing like that. Also, these are Yakuza, gangsters, yet no one is actually killing anyone. Everyone just gets a "beat down" so that you'll end up fighting them again 5 mins later in the story. It's just a miserable, overrated experience. Minigames are what most people praise about this franchise... They're boring.… Expand
  96. dark0153
    Feb 8, 2022
    0
    It deserves a -10 for the inclusion of stone age pixel arcade games and forcing players to play pixelated **** in 4K in order to progress and complete the game

    Otherwise its a decent game
  97. billski
    Nov 20, 2020
    0
    A video game made me cry and you all know which scene that is. The hostess mini game is also fun as hell. 10/10.
  98. zxcvbnnm
    Nov 11, 2020
    0
    worst yakuza game ever terrible graphics and soundtrack
    I don't like this game
  99. austinzmchen
    Feb 5, 2021
    0
    The combat experience is average if not boring. The story is the best i have experienced, every character is fully developed, and very real! Big thumb-up to the screenwriter!!
  100. PochtiPRO
    Feb 21, 2021
    0
    Characters - 10 out of 10
    Story - 10 out of 10
    Graphics - 10 out of 10
    Battles - 10 out of 10

    Ending - 0 out of 10
    "Call club" grind - 1.5 hour of useless gameplay
    The game is generally excellent, but the grind of side stories related to the "call club" or "sun cabaret club" took me two days and did not bring anything. The whole impression of the game is ruined
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Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Best PS4 Game of 2017
22
#22 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
19
#19 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 77 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 87
  3. Negative: 0 out of 87
  1. RPG Fan
    Aug 8, 2018
    85
    Yakuza 0 is a lot of Yakuza, showing a great deal of excess, brilliance and occasional frustration in equal fashion. There's lots and lots to do, a great story to breathe in, and wonderful characters who play well off each other. At the same time, 0 lacks some of the innovations and gameplay conceits that came with later titles, and it's also just as frustrating in places as some of the franchise's more egregious offenders.
    Read full review
  2. PLAY! Zine
    Oct 12, 2017
    90
    Yakuza Zero is a fantastic game. Spectacular main story combined with great diversity of sub-stories and solid gameplay create a rather unique game.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Apr 2, 2017
    90
    A fantastically bonkers open-world gem that finally opens up the magic of the series to everyone. [March 2017, p.64]
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