LGR - Yakuza Zero Review
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Date: 2022-04-14
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Comments and reviews: 10
Treska
Thank you for talking about it, and being so enthusiastic.
I think maybe an important note is an interest in Japanese culture as you mentioned. You touched on it in the beginning, the virtual tourism aspect.
This being my first Yakuza game, I was taken aback by how realistic it is. I can go to specific places I have been in Tokyo (in the past five years) and recognize it. I mainly lived in the Kansai area, but I traveled to Tokyo and stayed in Kabukichou (Kamurocho in the game) for a week. Being able to go around the area and recognize specific spots was amazing. The place I stayed was right next to the in-game batting center. That still exists today, in real life. And the Sega Center is still there. It was amazing to see this level of accuracy of Japan that I didn't know existed in gaming.
Being mainly Kansai-based, I do have to admit I feel like Osaka's representation felt much more shallow. The focus was clearly on Kiryu's area of Tokyo. You could probably realize yourself after playing for a while that Majima's area is much smaller. I found myself rarely ever wanting or needing to take a taxi in Sotenbori (real life= Dotonbori) anywhere because everything was a short jog away. I think this is partly due to a Tokyo-centric mentality of Japan and that it's what the developers were most familiar with, and that they wanted to emphasize Tokyo and Kiryu as the true main character.
They seemed to counteract this in a strange way by making Majima Goro's gameplay sections more interesting (again as a first time player of the series. Kiryu's styles are all basically the same, but they vary in tempo: you have the quick and evasive pink, the slow but massively destructive yellow, and the balanced but versatile blue. None of them particularly stand out except for yellow (beast) in its ability to pick up large objects nearby to attack enemies. Majima's styles on the other hand feel much more exciting to explore: pink is a break-dancing style reminiscent of capoeira that is super over the top, yellow defaults Majima to having a baseball bat in hand, and his blue (thug) style revolves around cheap but efficient tricks to win the day.
I'm doing my own review eventually, but I'm still working on completing the game. I just wanted to give viewers a bit of a deeper view and thank you for providing coverage of (even though it is critically doing well) an underwhelmingly-received title.
reply
Thank you for talking about it, and being so enthusiastic.
I think maybe an important note is an interest in Japanese culture as you mentioned. You touched on it in the beginning, the virtual tourism aspect.
This being my first Yakuza game, I was taken aback by how realistic it is. I can go to specific places I have been in Tokyo (in the past five years) and recognize it. I mainly lived in the Kansai area, but I traveled to Tokyo and stayed in Kabukichou (Kamurocho in the game) for a week. Being able to go around the area and recognize specific spots was amazing. The place I stayed was right next to the in-game batting center. That still exists today, in real life. And the Sega Center is still there. It was amazing to see this level of accuracy of Japan that I didn't know existed in gaming.
Being mainly Kansai-based, I do have to admit I feel like Osaka's representation felt much more shallow. The focus was clearly on Kiryu's area of Tokyo. You could probably realize yourself after playing for a while that Majima's area is much smaller. I found myself rarely ever wanting or needing to take a taxi in Sotenbori (real life= Dotonbori) anywhere because everything was a short jog away. I think this is partly due to a Tokyo-centric mentality of Japan and that it's what the developers were most familiar with, and that they wanted to emphasize Tokyo and Kiryu as the true main character.
They seemed to counteract this in a strange way by making Majima Goro's gameplay sections more interesting (again as a first time player of the series. Kiryu's styles are all basically the same, but they vary in tempo: you have the quick and evasive pink, the slow but massively destructive yellow, and the balanced but versatile blue. None of them particularly stand out except for yellow (beast) in its ability to pick up large objects nearby to attack enemies. Majima's styles on the other hand feel much more exciting to explore: pink is a break-dancing style reminiscent of capoeira that is super over the top, yellow defaults Majima to having a baseball bat in hand, and his blue (thug) style revolves around cheap but efficient tricks to win the day.
I'm doing my own review eventually, but I'm still working on completing the game. I just wanted to give viewers a bit of a deeper view and thank you for providing coverage of (even though it is critically doing well) an underwhelmingly-received title.
reply
Marga
I just got back from Japan myself (Patricularly Sapporo, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo) and I really recommend visiting the country! I just advise people to learn a few basic phrases, be polite and respectful of the locals and the culture(because I saw a fair share of rude Americans that are really embarrassing, and buy a train/bus pass in advance so you can access their subway lines which saves you a lot of money instead of riding taxis around. Their government have these special commute passes for foreigners and tax-free shopping!
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I just got back from Japan myself (Patricularly Sapporo, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo) and I really recommend visiting the country! I just advise people to learn a few basic phrases, be polite and respectful of the locals and the culture(because I saw a fair share of rude Americans that are really embarrassing, and buy a train/bus pass in advance so you can access their subway lines which saves you a lot of money instead of riding taxis around. Their government have these special commute passes for foreigners and tax-free shopping!
reply
Zloy_dedulya
Yakuza 4 is good, but the story in 4th is a little strange. The whole thing about Saejima's part of story is doesn't make sense. If they would really make him kill all those 18 people, that would be much more interesting. And Yakuza 5 is so complex, that at the end it's all become absurd. Especially final boss. Where's our Goda Ryuji? :(
I think Yakuza 0 have best story in the entire series. Yeah, it has some strange things, but it's still best story. And it even have 2 scenes where I literally cry.
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Yakuza 4 is good, but the story in 4th is a little strange. The whole thing about Saejima's part of story is doesn't make sense. If they would really make him kill all those 18 people, that would be much more interesting. And Yakuza 5 is so complex, that at the end it's all become absurd. Especially final boss. Where's our Goda Ryuji? :(
I think Yakuza 0 have best story in the entire series. Yeah, it has some strange things, but it's still best story. And it even have 2 scenes where I literally cry.
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Bangtan
Too bad I don't own a playstation and have never owned a playstation. There was a nintendo 64 when I was tiny and eventually a xbox 360. My uncle had a playstation 2 that he sometimes let my brother and I mess around with and supposedly my brother got a new xbox one and is talking about sending the old one to me (for some reason. I haven't seen a game for the xbox one that I want to play. An Elder Scrolls game could tempt me, but then there will likely be a pc version so why not just get that?
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Too bad I don't own a playstation and have never owned a playstation. There was a nintendo 64 when I was tiny and eventually a xbox 360. My uncle had a playstation 2 that he sometimes let my brother and I mess around with and supposedly my brother got a new xbox one and is talking about sending the old one to me (for some reason. I haven't seen a game for the xbox one that I want to play. An Elder Scrolls game could tempt me, but then there will likely be a pc version so why not just get that?
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chinito77
Good review and the Cons pointed out are the same ones that bothered me as well. I wanted more 80's JPOP playing in the streets or cutscenes, they totally blew it on the music selection here. Also, after playing the same maps for years, it would have been nice to see them expand it and allow for new exploration. As stated, this game provides a good enough virtual tour. Good enough where I knew what to look for and which restaurants to visit during my many visits to Japan.
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Good review and the Cons pointed out are the same ones that bothered me as well. I wanted more 80's JPOP playing in the streets or cutscenes, they totally blew it on the music selection here. Also, after playing the same maps for years, it would have been nice to see them expand it and allow for new exploration. As stated, this game provides a good enough virtual tour. Good enough where I knew what to look for and which restaurants to visit during my many visits to Japan.
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Yoshimi
I had this on pre-order last year, that's how much I wanted this game, and it was worth the wait. You get a better grasp of how things really get started, and the setting is definitely cool (and worth looking into if you're curious about why things were so excessive. I'm looking forward to Kiwami when it arrives, so I can experience that one as well. The little business card case is pretty cool too.
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I had this on pre-order last year, that's how much I wanted this game, and it was worth the wait. You get a better grasp of how things really get started, and the setting is definitely cool (and worth looking into if you're curious about why things were so excessive. I'm looking forward to Kiwami when it arrives, so I can experience that one as well. The little business card case is pretty cool too.
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Schemilix
0 was my entry point, since I never had a PS3 and the first two weren't released in the UK to my knowledge. I grabbed Kiwami as soon as it released and in ways it is a more polished game. That said, I think you're always going to like your first one of a series most since it was all fresh and new. My only complaint with the two games I played? Not enough Saejima Taiga. That man is a beast.
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0 was my entry point, since I never had a PS3 and the first two weren't released in the UK to my knowledge. I grabbed Kiwami as soon as it released and in ways it is a more polished game. That said, I think you're always going to like your first one of a series most since it was all fresh and new. My only complaint with the two games I played? Not enough Saejima Taiga. That man is a beast.
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Kaleo
I only really heard about these games this year, mostly because of this entry. None of my local game shops, including gamestop have any of these and I only just found out the other day that 5 was only released digitally in the west. Currently downloading 4 on my PS3 though, as I wait for my PS4 to arrive. I've been severely hyped for these games lately, despite having not played any of them.
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I only really heard about these games this year, mostly because of this entry. None of my local game shops, including gamestop have any of these and I only just found out the other day that 5 was only released digitally in the west. Currently downloading 4 on my PS3 though, as I wait for my PS4 to arrive. I've been severely hyped for these games lately, despite having not played any of them.
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Sharif
BTW the reason 80s Tokyo doesn't look too different is because that was when the bubble happened as the basis for Tokyo looks ever since. It is a historical reason; now if they did it 70s or prior, it would be quite different, but you might as well play Yakuza Kenzan or Yakuza Ishin instead which go much further back.
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BTW the reason 80s Tokyo doesn't look too different is because that was when the bubble happened as the basis for Tokyo looks ever since. It is a historical reason; now if they did it 70s or prior, it would be quite different, but you might as well play Yakuza Kenzan or Yakuza Ishin instead which go much further back.
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Guldx
Glad to know LGR enjoys this. 0 took the rightful place of number 3, then the first game followed by the second taking number 1. Sega really out did it when the first sequel was better than the first game and a prequel ended up ACTUALLY making it to the realm of the first 2. Hopefully Shenmue 3 is this promising.
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Glad to know LGR enjoys this. 0 took the rightful place of number 3, then the first game followed by the second taking number 1. Sega really out did it when the first sequel was better than the first game and a prequel ended up ACTUALLY making it to the realm of the first 2. Hopefully Shenmue 3 is this promising.
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