Yakuza 0

Yakuza 0
Developer(s) Sega
Publisher(s) Sega
Director(s) Kazuki Hosokawa
Designer(s) Koji Yoshida
Programmer(s) Yutaka Ito
Artist(s) Saizo Nagai
Writer(s) Masayoshi Yokoyama
Series Yakuza
Platform(s) PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Release

PlayStation 3

  • JP: March 12, 2015

PlayStation 4

  • JP: March 12, 2015
  • WW: January 24, 2017
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Yakuza 0[lower-alpha 1] is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Sega. It is a prequel to Yakuza series. The game takes place in December 1988 in Kamurocho, a fictionalized recreation of Tokyo's Kabukicho and Shinjuku Golden Gai areas and Sotenbori, a fictionalized recreation of Osaka's Dotonbori. It was released in Japan for PlayStation 3 and for PlayStation 4 in March 2015,[1][2] with the Taiwanese version released in May 2015. It was released in North America and Europe for PlayStation 4 in January 2017.[3]

A free accompanying game application for PlayStation Vita, titled Ryū ga Gotoku 0: Free to Play Application for PlayStation Vita (龍が如く0 基本無料アプリ for PlayStation Vita), was released on February 26, 2015.[2]

Gameplay

Yakuza 0 is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The game takes place in December 1988 in Kamurocho and Sōtenbori, a fictionalized recreation of Tokyo's Kabukichō Shinjuku Golden Gai areas and Osaka's Dōtonbori areas. The player controls series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and recurring character Goro Majima, alternating between the two at predetermined points during the story.

Character customization and growth is similar to the system from Isshin, with abilities earned by buying them off of a skill tree that is gradually unlocked during the game. Instead of using experience to buy skills, the player instead uses money acquired from fights or via Kiryu and Majima's side businesses. Money is more liberally awarded in game than previous entries, with every heavy attack causing enemies to drop cash. The player can lose their money if they encounter a special enemy called Mr. Shakedown, huge men who are far stronger than normal. If the player is beaten, they will lose all their cash, but can beat the enemy again to earn back their money and extra.

Kiryu and Majima also have side businesses that they run during the game to earn money: Kiryu invests real estate in Kamurocho, while Majima runs a hostess club. Completing sidequests will often result in characters they meet offering to help with side businesses, allowing them to more easily and quickly progress. Progressing in side business sequences or training with specific masters will unlock additional abilities for purchase on the characters' skill trees. Completing certain objectives will also grant the player special Completion Point currency; this CP can be spent at a shrine to receive additional bonuses, such as special items or character upgrades.

A major innovation of 0 is the addition of fighting styles for both Kiryu and Majima that can be switched in the middle of battle. Kiryu utilizes the balanced Brawler style, similar to that of previous entries; the powerful but slow Beast style, which allows him to use heavy weapons; and the fast boxing-based Rush style, which emphasizes mobility. Conversely, Majima uses the balanced Thug style; the weapons-oriented Slugger style, primarily focused around a baseball bat; and the tricky dance-based Breaker style. Completing Kiryu and Majima's side businesses will unlock an additional "Legendary" fighting style for the characters, the Dragon of Dojima and Mad Dog of Shimano styles respectively.

Plot

In December, 1988, two unlikely figures from the Yakuza world, Kazuma Kiryu of the Kantō region and Goro Majima of the Kansai Region, have suddenly found themselves getting involved in the terrible events of the so-called "Empty Lot" dispute, which is the centrepiece of power struggle for all the dark organizations across Japan. In order to find out the truth behind such a power struggle, as well as maintain their own innocence and safety, they set out to investigate all the events surrounding the "Vacant Lot" incident.

In Kamurocho, Tokyo, Kiryu is suspected of murder after the man that he has collected money from winds up dead in a piece of real estate that is hotly contested. Kiryu's boss, Sohei Dojima, offers a promotion to second-in-command of the Dojima Family to whomever can find the deed to the land, and thus the most ruthless members go after Kiryu. On the run, Kiryu must prove his innocence thus keeping his foster father from facing retribution for introducing him into the clan.

In Sōtenbori, Osaka, Goro Majima runs a cabaret club after being exiled from the Tojo Clan due to the Ueno-Seiwa hit years earlier. Despite his club being highly successful, he realizes it's nothing more than cage as he's under constant surveillance. One day, he's offered the chance to redeem himself by assassinating a target. He takes the job, but can't go through with it when he realizes his target is in fact a defenseless blind girl. He decides to protect her instead and find out why she's being targeted.

Development

The game was first announced in a special Yakuza event on August 24, 2014 together with a trailer.[4] A Chinese-language localisation of the game was announced in 2014 and eventually released in Asia in May 2015.

On December 5, 2015, at PlayStation Experience 2015 in San Francisco, Sony Computer Entertainment's Gio Corsi announced that Yakuza 0 will be coming to the Americas for the PlayStation 4. While a trailer for the game was released that ends with the statement that it will be releasing in North America and Europe, later that day Sega posted a tweet, on Twitter, saying "We know the Yakuza series is loved by all its fans in Europe but unfortunately at this time we're not able to confirm a Yakuza 0 EU release". Since then that same trailer is now on YouTube with that same statement at the end but with the word Europe removed

In July 2016, it was announced that the game would release in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 4 in January 2017.[5]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic85/100[6]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid9/10[7]
EGM5/10[8]
Famitsu36/40[9]
Game Informer9.25/10[10]
GameSpot8/10[11]
GamesRadar[12]
IGN8.5/10[13]
Polygon8/10[14]
PlayStation LifeStyle(Import) 9/10[15]
The Independent[16]
The Jimquisition9.5/10[17]

Yakuza 0 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[6]

The game debuted at number 1 on the Japan software chart in its first week of release. The PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4 version sold 146,000 units and 90,000 sales respectively.[18] PlayStation LifeStyle's review of the import version was a 9/10, calling it the best in the series and "the result of 10 years spent not just perfecting a formula, but adding to it."[15] The game received a 36/40 from Famitsu on both platforms.[9]

Sales

As of June 2015, the game has sold over 500,000 copies within Japan and Chinese-speaking regions of Asia.[19] Sega president Haruki Satomi stated that the Chinese version of the game sold more than originally expected.[20]

In the UK, Yakuza 0 was the 7th top selling game in the week of January 28th.[21] Stock for the game was running low, which indicated the game sold far beyond expectations.[22]

Notelist

  1. ↑ Nihongo 龍が如く0 誓いの場所, Ryū ga Gotoku Zero: Chikai no Basho, lit. "Like a Dragon 0: The Place of Oath"

References

  1. ↑ http://ryu-ga-gotoku.com/zero/news.html
  2. 1 2 "『龍が如く0 誓いの場所』ゲーム内容の一部を基本無料でプレイできるアプリが、PS Vita向けに配信決定". ファミ通.com. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Romano, Sal (July 27, 2016). "Yakuza 0 launches January 24 in the west". Gematsu. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ "『龍が如く0 誓いの場所』が発表された"龍が如く特別番組"レポ！ 激戦を制したセクシー女優の目に涙が!?". 電撃Online. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Yakuza 0 Launches January 24, 2017, Exclusively on PS4". PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  6. 1 2 "Yakuza 0 for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ Glagowski, Peter (January 19, 2017). "Review: Yakuza 0". Destructoid. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ Plessas, Nick (January 19, 2017). "Yakuza 0 review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Romano, Sal (March 3, 2015). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1370". Gematsu. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Cork, Jeff (January 19, 2017). "Everlasting Mob Stopper - Yakuza 0 - PlayStation 4". Game Informer. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ Brown, Peter (January 19, 2017). "Yakuza 0 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  12. ↑ Roberts, David (January 19, 2017). "Yakuza 0 review: 'The best and most accessible story in the series yet'". GamesRadar. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  13. ↑ Ogilvie, Tristan (January 19, 2017). "Yakuza 0 Review". IGN. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ Hawkins, Janine (January 19, 2017). "Yakuza 0 review". Polygon. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  15. 1 2 Hindman, Heath (March 22, 2015). "Yakuza 0 Review – Zero the Hero (PS4 Import)". PlayStation LifeStyle. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Yakuza 0 review: A worthy addition to the series". The Independent. Published 1 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  17. ↑ http://www.thejimquisition.com/yakuza-0-review/
  18. ↑ Romano, Sal (March 18, 2015). "Media Create Sales: 3/9/15 – 3/15/15". Gematsu. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  19. ↑ Romano, Sal (June 12, 2015). "Yakuza 0 shipments top 500,000". Gematsu. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  20. ↑ Romano, Sal (July 7, 2015). "Sega president on current console market, potential Tokyo Game Show announcement". Gematsu. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Top 10 UK Sales Chart: Resident Evil 7 Has Third-Best Debut In Series History". Gamespot. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  22. ↑ Shields, Craig. "Yakuza 0 Stock Running Low In The UK". Pauseresume. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
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