Topic: Yakuza 0

Hey guys! So, I finally gave in and bought Yakuza 0 after hearing such positive feedback from friends and the press. It turns out that everyone was right; it's an excellent game. I haven't played any of the previous Yakuza games and I'm enjoying it more than I was expecting. I love the seriousness and dark tones of the main story mixed with the comic relief of all the side quests and mini games. The combat is also worth mentioning; it's nothing ground-breaking but it's easy to do and very satisfying.

I think it deserves its own thread because it's a very meaty game with a lengthy story and tons of side content, so plenty to talk about. Anyone else pick up Yakuza 0 recently? Is it your first Yakuza experience? If yes, what do you think, and if no, how does it measure up?

Oh, and it goes without saying, but please tag spoilers!

Not my first Yakuza game (also played 1 and 5), but I do enjoy seeing some of my favorite characters before they would become who they are in later titles. There is something about the combat system that, while not perfect, the developers do a very job of making the kickings you hand out feel very brutal and satisfying even moreso than the Batman Arkham games or Sleeping Dogs, games which I also thought had very strong hand-to-hand combat.

_{Language -Tasuki-}

Really enjoying the combat and how OTT it is, the story is actually surprisingly good.

Story wise it's right up there with the first for me as best in the Yakuza series (haven't played 2, 3 or 4 but I have watched the cutscenes). I love prequels, especially to series with a lot of other entries in them, because the developers can kind of take a step back and be a bit more concise. It's the start of the story so there aren't any hanging threads they have to work in.

I bought the game but I have installed it yet (waiting to upgrade my HDD before installing more games) but I did play it at a friend's place. This isn't my first Yakuza game (that would be 1) but I did enjoy it alot. I can't wait to play the remake of the first here soon.

My first Yakuza game was 3. And I also have 4 and 5. I beat 3 and 4, but I haven't beaten 5. I do like 5, but ever since I got a PS4 I really haven't touched the PS3. I need to go back to 5. As for 0, it's great. I'm on chapter 4 at the moment.

I've played Yakuza 4, 5 and Dead Souls with 5 being one of my top 5 favorite games ever. I'm glad to see the franchise getting more interest in the west. I'll be playing 0 when I find the time

I picked this up and launch and think it's great, I have played 3 I think it was on PS3 but sadly never finished it. Now been older and wiser I see the error of my ways back then and I'll be seeing this through to the end if I ever get there. I'm easily distracted so after 6 or 7 hours of playing I'm only at the end of chapter 2, which is partly sown to my lack of game time these days but mainly due to the excellent mini games and side stories. The fighting is very good as is the story so far and who knew slot car racing could be so addictive

@carlos82 I haven't actually found the slot car racing yet, and I'm on chapter 5! Whereabouts do you find it? Not that I need another distraction!

@Quintumply It's at the top of the map somewhere next to a childrens park, there's a lady outside who tells you about it. As with most of the side stuff there is a surprising amount of depth to setting up your car and his reactions are hilariously over the top

@carlos82 Thanks, I'll have a look later

Sorry to bump the thread (and double post), but having put Yakuza 0 on ice for a good few months, I finally dipped back into it.

It turns out that I left it just before a huge reveal in the main plot, and it immediately hooked me back in. I spent the Easter weekend playing through the final few chapters, concentrating solely on the story.

What a cracking game this is. I wasn't really expecting the story to be as good as it was, and it really ramps up towards the end. Super excited for Kiwami now.

@Quintumply it's brilliant. I'm on chapter 5 but it's a slow burner for me. The voice acting is off the charts, the story is great. But the stand out is the crazy side questing and mini games. I'm literally addicted to wandering around progressing 0.01% in 5 hours with the game. I probably need to Push on as one of these days I will turn it off and another game will grab me. But yes great game bro.

I was meant to get this game a couple of days ago but haven't got it yet. Apparently even though I was able to order a copy into my local Argos they are completely out of stock and are still waiting for more shipments.

Placed an order with Amazon, but that won't get to me till next month (4th May)!!!

Sega really need to get it together, especially in light of P5.

@themcnoisy Yeah, from what I remember, the story takes a little while to get going. I started playing it exactly like you are - mostly messing around with mini games and doing as many side missions as I could find. The story is definitely worth seeing through to the end, though, especially if you intend to play Yakuza Kiwami when that's out.

@Quintumply but Ive got 5 billionaires to take down first! Lol. It throws so much stuff at you to do. I'm absolutely terrible at the phone dating mini game.

@Fight_Teza_Fight That happened to me with P5. I can't get a retail copy until next month. Insane in this day and age.

@themcnoisy I don't know why Sega went with Deep Silver. Judging by their releases they are a 'lesser' publisher and Persona 5 was always going to be a top tier JRPG...
Money talks I guess.

So 3 Kings down with the king of pop upgrading my clubs, a famous hollywood director running my pleasure area, a cop working part time as my security and a tax official boosting my industrial properties. Time to take on the gambling king!

I'm 40 hours in and Yakuza has grabbed me and pulled me into its seedy world, just like FF15 with its tales of brotherhood last year. It's unique and my Goty so far. Some parts are rubbish like cat fighting, some really poor textures, models and swathes of enemies when you just want to wander. But these are minor annoyances when you have bone crunching battles against streets of rage type neon lit clubs, a boss story, full arcade games, crazy sub missions, multiple ways to earn cash and badass main characters. Some of the mini games like pool, darts, baseball, dancing and mini car racing are better than other games that concentrate solely on those topics. The 5 billionaires storyline alone, which I presume is optional, has taken me over 10 hours so far!

Quick question, I'm up to mojimas club managing bit - can I skip this somehow? I've been bashing Kiryus real estate game for a while and now after completing his chapter I want to get deeper into the story. Obviously at this point I've switched to Mojima (chapter 7) and can't be bothered running the club side quest / mission / Extra and will come back to it in a few chapters time. I ended up closing down the PS4 as I seemingly had to play it. Can I skip it?

@themcnoisy As far as I recall, you have to play the introductory stuff as part of the story, in the same way as it plays out for Kiryu's real estate business. I wasn't a huge fan of the club management stuff and mostly ignored it - although I'm sure it has a similarly lengthy story as the five billionaires storyline.