Russia has the Bratva, China has the Triads, and America has
the Mafia, nearly every country has their own major group earning money from
organised crime, vast networks of members whose day to day lives involve
illicit drugs, human trafficking, car theft, and extortion, but none maybe more
famous than the Yakuza, dating back hundreds of years this Japanese
organisation are often associated with being heavily tattooed, sharply dressed,
and ruthless when it comes to the handling of business. The Yakuza series of games from Sega started out on
Playstation 2 in 2005, and centres around Kazuma Kiryu, a member of the Tojo
clan who through various incidents finds himself imprisoned, attempting to
prevent a Yakuza family war, running an orphanage, caught up in an elaborate
conspiracy, being a taxi-driver, and even facing off against hordes of zombies,
each game set a few years after each other, they tell the tale of a powerful
Yakuza member with a heart of gold, this time though, we go right back to where
it all began. Yakuza 0 is set in 1988, a fresh-faced 20 year old Kiryu is
a respected debt collector when he finds himself framed for the murder of a
client he had roughed up the previous night, all is not what it seems when he
discovers that the person murdered wasn’t the important part, it was the
location of the murder itself, so whilst out to clear his name, Kiryu unravels
a plot to overthrow the current head of the Dojima Family as well as the
beginnings of an all-out war between the family itself and a property
management company over claims on a small but sought after piece of land smack
bang in the middle of a prospective, highly lucrative building development, got
all that? No? Me neither. Kazuma isn’t the only protagonist you take control of in
Zero as the second character of Goro Majima also features in this instalment, this
time series mainstay Majima is the manager of the Grand Cabaret, the number one
hostess club in entertainment capital Sotenbori, but all is not peachy for this
ex-yakuza either, behind the scenes he is being forced by the club’s owner “Sagawa”
to raise one hundred thousand yen in additional profits, and only then will he
be considered for return to his old yakuza clan, however Sagawa has other plans
and changes the terms of the deal, and Majima finds himself torn between his
morals and his loyalties to the clan he once called family. For anyone who hasn’t played a Yakuza title before, they’re open
world action-adventure beat 'em ups, you wander around the fictional Tokyo red-light
district of Kamurocho and occasionally other locations, tracking down
characters and items to further the story, visiting the many shops, restaurants
and activities the area has to offer, and mostly beating the living crap out of
anyone who happens to cross your path, fighting is basically how everything is
solved in this series, despite there being a lot of talking in these games,
nine times out of ten a resolution is usually only reached after you’ve both
gone toe to toe. Both Kamurocho and Sotenbori look stunning in their first
modern outing on Playstation 4, the usually clean areas of the mid to late
2000’s in previous Yakuza titles are replaced by the litter-strewn streets of
1988, each location is easily recognisable albeit regressed twenty years prior
to what we’re used to, Millennium Tower is yet to be built, Sega Hi-Tech Land
centres populate Club Sega sites, bright lights and neon signs adorn the many
entertainment and shopping establishments, NPCs wander around dressed in proper
80’s attire, and even the cars and technology are faithfully rendered to be of
the age. As with every iteration of the Yakuza titles the attention
to detail is astonishing, and with the extra oomf of the PS4 the locales you
explore really feel like they’re alive, shop fronts and walls are decorated
with legible posters and menu boards, air conditioning units, bottle crates,
vending machines, and even potted plants make the world seem like it’s living
and breathing regardless of you being there or not, if it weren’t for the many
random passers-by chasing you down and trying to beat you up, the game could be
called “Tokyo Simulator 1988”
The cut-scenes during moments of story and exposition are
where the character models are really shown off, imperfections and subtle
expressions in their faces add a new layer to the already well-detailed
personalities we meet, and hair styles no longer look like they’ve just been
plonked on people’s heads, though the often dead-eyed stare that some NPC’s
give can detract from what is usually flawless presentation. Visually this game stands apart from anything that’s come
before, fabrics look real, food and drink is all accurately recreated,
labelled, and even features complete descriptions, magazines can be read in
shops, and once again the arcade machines can even be played, classics like Space
Harrier, OutRun, Fantasy Zone, and Hang-On are all here in their entirety and
all just as difficult as you remember. The sounds you hear around you create a real atmosphere of
being in 80’s Japan, the near constant chatter of crowds, music blaring from
the many shops and businesses vying for your attention as you stroll past, and the
distant rumble of nearby traffic, close your eyes and you’d think you were
actually there, in fact playing previous titles I’d often find myself with my
eyes shut listening to quieter moments outside Sunshine Orphanage, the summer
breeze and the sound of the cicadas reminding me of the all too brief week I
spent in Tokyo a couple of years back. Other players familiar to the series will notice the combat
in Zero is one area that has received the most noticeable new feature, you’re
now able to switch combat style mid-fight, both characters are able to learn
four styles overall, a balanced style similar to previous games, a
weapons-based style, a fast combo-based style, and then a forth ultimate style
only accessible on completion of certain side stories, ability upgrades are
also now gained differently, earning money through tasks and fighting not only
allows you to buy the usual energy items, weapons, and armour, but also boosts
to your character’s health and power and new moves to be used during fights, though
it is all contained in a slightly confusing menu that doesn’t give an awful lot
of instruction on how to use it effectively. The same goes for the new combat system, no longer can you
spam the same moves in battles else you’ll find yourself often overwhelmed by
enemies who will break your combo and take it in turns in continually knocking
you down, this time the art is to read the room and change-up your fighting
style to what you think would work best for who you’re against, not easy when
you have six guys surrounding you and closing in fast, I personally found this frustrating,
often resulting in me losing, having to restart the fight and try a different
tactic, and don’t even get me started on Mr. Shakedown. Mr. Shakedown is an NPC who roams the areas of Kamurocho and
Sotenbori solely looking to fight you, he is easily recognised by his height
and a monetary figure over his head, that figure is how much cash this behemoth
is currently carrying and can be won by yourself should you defeat him, however
the likelihood of you beating him is slim, each punch of his will knock you
into next week and once he’s done annihilating you, he also takes every penny
you have on you, best avoided until you’ve got some serious amounts of training
under your belt. When not traipsing the busy streets, there are the usual
assortment of mini-games to take part in, Mahjong, fishing, darts, karaoke,
pool, poker, bowling, to name a few regulars, but now there’s even business
management, RC car racing, phone dating, disco dancing, and female wrestling,
there’s never a moment in this title where you’ll find yourself with nothing to
do, and especially when the majority of the games can be played as multiplayer
too. Sega have not tried to reinvent the wheel with Yakuza 0, as
ever with this series, the core gameplay remains relatively unaltered and it’s
the story that is the heart of this new instalment, being set eighteen years
before our initial introduction to Kiryu and his world really gives great depth
to characters and locations we’ve come to be so familiar with, moments that
make us laugh one minute and gasp the next. Fans of the series will lap this up, whilst newcomers
should find this the most accessible of the most recent entries, or at least
until Yakuza Kiwami hits western shores this summer, it’s a great place to
start playing these titles, and apart from the obvious graphical differences in
the later numbered versions, they remain some of the most unique and enjoyable games
you’ll find for Playstation, and Yakuza 0 is no exception.