Ryû ga gotoku Zero: Chikai no basho

Yakuza 0 is an action-adventure game that is the sixth main entry in the franchise and serves as prequel to the original game. The game takes places between December 1988 and January 1989 in Kamurocho, Tokyo and Sotenbori, Osaka. Players can control charismatic protagonist Kiryu Kazuma and eccentric Majima Goro. The story revolves around an empty lot in Kamurocho that is owned by a young woman living in Osaka who suffers from psychogenic blindness and is mercilessly hunted down by criminal organizations.

This game convinces on numerous levels. The game play is very addictive as players can incarnate the franchise's two most skilled fighters in this game which makes for extraordinary and unique fight sequences. These characters also have a more humane touch this time around since they are much younger than in the other games and trying to help a helpless innocent woman you can't help but rooting for.

The story is also intriguing as it comes around with several conspiracies, turns and twists that will keep players on the edges of their seats. The number of characters here is more impressive than in many television series featuring multiple seasons.

This game also helps us understand how the two lead characters became the people they are in the other releases of the franchise. Regular players will discover sides of these characters that they would have never expected to witness.

It also oozes with atmosphere and brings Japan in the late eighties to life in authentic fashion with less modern suburbs, elegant discotheques and tons of addictive arcade games. The accompanying soundtrack completes the authentic immersion.

This game once again offers value for money, with the main story taking more than thirty hours to be completed while finishing the numerous different side stories might take far over one hundred hours.

While not being the franchise's most memorable game, it serves its purpose as a prequel exploring the main characters' origins extremely well. This is why this game should certainly please regular fans of the franchise. However, it would also serve as excellent starting point for new fans who could then continue their discovery of this extraordinary game series chronologically.

S tier, 10/10. Such a brilliantly over the top game. The story goes in so many different directions and is just a joy to watch. The combat is satisfying, I loved Majima's set the best and the baseball bat the most. Kiru's beast mode was great too. The open world was perfectly condensed with interesting side missions and plenty of things to do.

The infamous kareoke songs are brilliant, the race car game was exceptional, my favorite was however the dancing, just perfect. It did definitely drag at the end and felt a bit repetitive with the combat but there are so many great story moments and things to keep you playing. The last mission is so great and is such a brilliant set piece ending.

The customisation of your character however is very limited and pretty much non existent. The side missions are great but it is very easy to miss them as you have to explore in so many different areas. This is both good and bad as it forces you to explore but is just very time consuming and fustrating for me personally. I did go back to complete the side missions I missed in free roam mode but it just felt really repetitive and tedious to wander around the streets, exploring every inch of this place just to find a questline. Majima's story goes a bit all over the place after the incredible introduction. Over time it definitely got better but was weaker compared to Kiru's.

I haven't played the later games but several characters such as Kiru's best friend who felt like a major character didn't have much of a role. I'm sure that he is more important in the later games but i am very hesitant to play them, as I feel this style of combat and exploration could really get old after a while. I was interested in the story but I just looked up a video online, which definitely made me want to check out some of the games, I probably will but at a later date.

I did get this game because of Dunkey's review and am glad to say I enjoyed it allot more than him. I do agree with most of his points but the story is definitely better than he made it out to be. I'm not angry or anything I just wish he enjoyed it as much as I did.

In all a game I really enjoyed and just wanted to keep on playing and playing till the end. Definitely one of the most fun games I have played.

This game is honestly insanely good. When I first played Zero, I was really new to the Yakuza franchise and was still getting to grips with the lore. Thankfully, due to this game being a prequel of some sorts, if you're interested in playing the Yakuza series but don't know where to start, this game is your answer.

The storytelling and the pace of this game is beyond fantastic. It has everything, intense highs and devastating lows, great comedic timing and the silly charm that the Yakuza series is well known for. It really is a game that you can just boot up and goof around in. I'll do my best to avoid spoilers for the game in this short review since I truly believe that everyone interested in the game should play it for themselves.

Beautifully crafted and insanely fun. Yakuza 0 is one of, if not my favourite game of all time. This is the first game to ever render me a sobbing, wailing mess.

10/10, fantastic and beautiful.

A great prequel story for some of the main stays. The story grabbed me and the characters intrigued me. Everything just fell into place.

One of the BEST games ever made.

Yakuza 0 (Ryu ga gotoku Zero: Chikai no Basho) is a 2015 videogame, genre adventure, beatem up, directed by Toshihiro Nagoshi and starring as voice actor Takaya Kuroda and Hidenari Ugaki. Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the first game in the Yakuza series, released in 2005, and which currently has 7 main games.

The plot focuses on two main protagonist - Kazuma Kiryu (who is still quite new to the criminal world) and Goro Majima ( a cabaret manager, expelled from the clan and trying with all his might to return to it). Two characters have been involved in an "empty lot" case fought by clans from all over Japan. The plot is broken into a story of two characters, and this story gradually converges into one line of two characters.

The action takes place in December 1988, the Kamurocho district (which is written off from the real area in Tokyo - Kabukicho), and the atmosphere of that time is very well shown and registered. The main characters, as well as the rest of the secondary characters, are very well written and by the end of the story they fall into your soul. The plot is one of the best in the gaming series. And, of course, the soundtrack is amazing.

The word that best describes this game is fantastic. The gameplay is fun, a lot of content, and for those, who love Japanese games, I highly recommend trying out this series, and it's better to start with this game.