Yakuza 0 mixes crime drama, absurdity, and unexpected heart. After years on the backlog, it’s well worth the wait.
I have purchased Yakuza 0 three times.
Once on Xbox, where it still lives untouched. Once on Steam, as part of a backlog-building bundle. And now, finally, on Nintendo Switch 2 – in the form of Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut – where I’ve actually started playing it.
I’ve wanted to play the game for years, but it always felt daunting. It took a new piece of hardware to get me started. There was something about a fresh download and system’s portability that made embarking on this ten-year-old crime saga feel exciting rather than intimidating. Sometimes I need a little nudge, and in this case, the allure of shiny new hardware gave me the push I needed.
Yakuza 0 is not the first game in the series – far from it – but it is the origin story. Set in 1988, in the neon-lit districts of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, it introduces us to a young Kazuma Kiryu and the gloriously unhinged Goro Majima. It’s a prequel, but one that carries the weight of a decade’s worth of game design, character development, and worldbuilding.
There’s some debate over the best starting point – this, or Yakuza Kiwami, the remake of the first game – but I opted for Yakuza 0 because it promised an experience that was both welcoming to newcomers and something of a greatest hits package. I figured if I didn’t like this one, then the series as a whole probably wasn’t for me.
Turns out I love it.
One reason is how deftly Yakuza 0 walks a tonal tightrope. It’s essentially a gritty drama about murder, betrayal, and organised crime – it makes a great companion piece to Tokyo Vice in that regard – but it’s also a game where you can stop mid-mission to belt out karaoke, dance at the disco, or play Out Run at an arcade.
