Yakuza 0’s not something that I was initially planning on getting. Thanks to Playstation Plus, I’ve got a few of the previous games in my digital collection, but I haven’t really touched any of them. I tried Yakuza 3 when it was newer, but it didn’t vibe with me right away, so I sent it back to Gamefly without much of a thought.
I’m not entirely sure what got me to try Yakuza 0 either. Maybe it was all the promotional stuff I kept seeing roll out for it, but I can’t say for sure. Regardless, I dove into it a few days ago and have nearly instantly fallen in love with this game.
The first game gave me the impression it a Grand Theft Auto-type that took place in Japan but lacking the sense of humor that GTA had. If that’s the case, I’ll probably never know because I sure as heck won’t go back to the Playstation 2 original when a remake, Yakuza Kiwami, is due out this summer for the Playstation 4, but Yakuza 0 certainly has a sense of humor about itself. It’s not nearly as over-the-top as the later Saints Row games became, but the silliness is undeniable.
Within the first half hour, I found myself at karaoke bar with a friend. “Oh great, a rhythm game, this should be fun.” It came close to losing me there but as Kazuma Kiryu’s rather subdued droning went on, something changed. I’m not one for this type of thing, so I passively hit the button prompts without much interest in being accurate. Then the scenery changed and I could barely keep my eye on the button prompts as I tried to watch what was unfolding before my eyes.
Of course, it being the age we live in, it didn’t occur to me to ignore it, save the video, and watch it later. No, I was completely in the moment. Yakuza 0 got me right back with the very same thing that nearly lost me.
Later, I found myself running through a building busting the heads of everyone in my path. The combat is fairly brutal but in more of a schticky manner. I ended up busting through a window into a men’s bathroom where I decided to see just how rough it could get for the hapless dolts in my path. It didn’t go well for them. If you don’t think the urinal didn’t get used for this, well, I don’t know what to tell you.
As I wrapped up my first time with Yakuza 0, I was treated to a rather bit of Walking the Room wordplay (more like the instances where Greg Behrendt gets the word he’s looking for incorrect).
I’m hooked, needless to say. I’ll be writing more of these as my time with it goes on. How many? Who’s to know, but if my first bit of playing it is any indication, this game is ripe for the picking with stuff to share.
