Yakuza 0

I have finished Disco Elysium three times and I still was not prepared for Goro Majima. That is the highest compliment I can give Yakuza 0's writing: it hands you a character the marketing frames as a side piece, and by hour fifteen he has quietly become one of the most compelling figures in modern action-RPG storytelling. Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima in his punk-kid origins, is the ostensible lead, but the dual-protagonist structure is the real engine here. The game alternates between Kiryu trying to clear his name over a murder he did not commit in Tokyo's Kamurocho, and Majima trapped in Osaka's Sotenbori and tasked with an assassination he wants no part of. Two cities, two arcs, and the story threads pull toward each other with the kind of slow-burn convergence that rewards anyone patient enough to sit through the slower opening chapters. The combat is a style-switcher at heart, and it is more interesting than it first appears. Kiryu carries three styles: the balanced Brawler, the fast boxing-oriented Rush, and the heavy Beast mode that lets him weaponize bicycles and guardrails. Majima counters with Thug, the bat-swinging Slugger (genuinely awkward in narrow corridors, which is a feature as much as a complaint), and the absurd, glorious Breaker style built around breakdancing. Heat Actions, the context-sensitive finishers that trigger when your gauge fills from landing hits, are equal parts tactically relevant and cinematically ridiculous, and using the same one repeatedly actually reduces its damage output, so the game gently nudges you toward variety. Sticking to one style the whole run is the classic new-player trap. The combat does feel stiff by the standards of later Dragon Engine entries, and some players will bounce off the animation speed, but anyone willing to learn the rhythm finds a system with genuine depth. Mr. Shakedown, the roaming bruiser who can strip all your cash in a single fight, is one of the better money-sink designs I have seen in an RPG: terrifying early, farmable late, always present as a tension spike. The currency system itself is clever. Instead of traditional XP, you spend money earned from fights and side businesses to unlock skills on each character's tree. Kiryu runs a Real Estate Royale operation across Kamurocho; Majima commands a Cabaret Club Czar network in Sotenbori. Both are substantial side-game loops, not thin window dressing, though the Real Estate side is noticeably more passive than the cabaret management. Completing these unlocks Legend fighting styles for each character, which are satisfying to slot in for the endgame. The city minigames pile on further: Pocket Circuit racing, the Telephone Club, fully playable Sega arcade classics including Out Run and Space Harrier, batting cages, bowling, mahjong, and karaoke. Completionists will push 60-plus hours without blinking. The substories are where Yakuza 0 earns its reputation. These optional side missions range from quietly heartbreaking to completely unhinged, and they are not marked on the map, which forces you to actually walk the streets and pay attention. Helping a definitely-not-Michael-Jackson figure film a music video against zombies is the kind of substory that defies genre description. Some cut surprisingly deep. They are, collectively, among the best optional content in any action-RPG on PC. The main complaint is structural rather than qualitative: the core plot does lean on waves of random goons showing up to initiate every other confrontation, which gets repetitive across a 30-plus-hour main story. The tonal whiplash between gravely serious crime drama and comic nonsense is also very real, and players who want tonal consistency will find it jarring rather than charming. The PC port itself runs clean at 60 fps even at high resolutions; the main ergonomic note is that a controller is strongly preferred, and mouse camera control in confined spaces remains awkward. Yakuza 0 is the correct place to start with this series if you have never touched it, and it is also the game that veteran fans point to when the question of peak traditional Yakuza comes up. The writing rewards attention, the combat rewards experimentation, and the substories reward anyone willing to simply wander. If you rush the main story and skip the streets, you are playing a lesser version of a very good game.

Monika · Scout Team

RPGs

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