There’s no game in the Like A Dragon franchise quite like Yakuza 0. The last game before Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio made a full pivot to the Dragon Engine is utterly stuffed with content, has some of the best combat in the series, and most importantly, led to a massive explosion in popularity in the west. It’s arguably the most important entry in the series, perfecting the action beat ’em up formula before the series made the jump to turn-based battling.
The enduring legacy of Yakuza 0 means its seen its fair share of ports already. The base game has already made the successful jump to PC and Xbox, and is about to find new life on the Nintendo Switch 2 with the Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut. This is an expanded and slightly remastered version of the game that is a great way to experience this prequel if you haven’t already, but makes some strange and disappointing changes in certain areas.
As the title would suggest, Yakuza 0 is a prequel that chronicles the adventures of Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima during the bubble era of Japan; a time of great economic growth. Both characters are trying to find their footing in the gritty underbelly of organised crime. Kiryu is no more than a budding yakuza member here, running routine cash collections that eventually leads to him being framed for a murder in an empty lot in Kamurocho.
On the flipside, ex-yakuza Goro Majima is forced to run a cabaret club in Sotenbori as penance for his involvement in an assassination, kept under the watchful eye of the Omi Alliance. When his former family patriarch offers a position in the family on the condition that he assassinates a blind woman called Makoto.
It spirals well out of control from there, jumping between the protagonists as their stories slowly unfold and entwine with one another. It’s constantly dropping unexpected yet satisfying plot reveals that’ll have you on the edge of your seat, and the pacing of it all is so well handled. While certain Yakuza plots go off the deep-end in how labyrinthine they become, 0 strikes a nice medium of believability that keeps it from going off the rails.
It’s also fascinating to see where these characters started. They’re so storied in future games that they feel like entirely different people here. In some ways, Kiryu feels like a fish out of water, lacking much of the respect and stoicism you see from him in later games. Majima is much less unhinged here also, showing you a softer side to his character as he slowly turns into the Mad Dog of Shimano.
There are many parts of this game that I’d argue should remain untouched, but the narrative is undoubtedly at the top of that list. When it was announced that the Director’s Cut would include new cutscenes to expand on the events of the original story, I was sceptical to say the least.
It turns out that this scepticism wasn’t unfounded. While the core of Yakuza 0’s narrative is still intact here, the new cutscenes work against what was originally established. Certain elements are retconned, impactful character beats that were elegantly alluded to are spelt out in black and white, and the plot is worse-off for it. It feels like less of an expansion and more of a future-proofing of certain characters while not trusting in players to read between the lines.
What remains completely unchanged, though, is the core of Yakuza 0’s gameplay. Many refer to it as the pinnacle of the beat ’em up Yakuza games, and for good reason. Kiryu and Majima have three main styles to choose from in combat, with a secret fourth to unlock for each. These are all so different as well, excelling in different areas and encounters.
Kiryu, for example has access to the Brawler, Rush, and Beast styles. Where Brawler is a well-rounded style that’s best for encounters with a small number of enemies, Rush allows him to chain together dodges and strike with more speed at the cost of damage. Beast is the undisputed highlight, which uses environmental objects to unleash sweeping area of effect attacks that’ll devastate larger groups.
Majima, on the other hand, has the Thug, Slugger, and Breaker styles. Thug is most akin to brawler is that it’s a jack of all trades, but Slugger and Breaker are far more unique. Slugger has Majima brandishing a baseball bat for heavy and satisfying swings that deal big damage. Breaker, on the other hand, sees Majima literally breakdance as he fights.
Every style has a variety of moves and tools to unlock as you progress, and battle still has many classic Yakuza mechanics. Cinematic Heat Actions, environmental objects to pick up and use, grabs to break an enemies guard, and more. It’s so satisfying, has so much depth, and adds so much replay value through player expression and move set diversity. They way you literally punch the Yen out of enemies will always be satisfying.
This is also one of the most content packed Like A Dragon games. It has a ridiculous number of Substories to engage with, countless minigames, and an entire minigame around buying up real estate presented in typical Like A Dragon fashion. It’s the franchise’s trademark absurdity at its best, and to see everything it has to offer would mean sinking at least 100 hours into the game. Climax Battles also make a return here for those looking for a bit of a challenge.
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One new addition in the Director’s Cut is Red Light Raid. This mode can be played solo with computer teammates, locally, or online. There’s loads of playable characters with unique move sets and plenty of progression in that you earn Yen to unlock them. Each battle has multiple stages, eventually culminating in a boss fight. They present sort of abridged versions of the game’s chapters, just without the narrative context.
It’s a cool idea for a mode but ultimately doesn’t deliver. Character move sets are far too simplified (likely due to the sheer number of them), you can’t perform Heat Actions, and it ends up boiling down to simple wave fights with none of the complexities from the story mode’s combat system. It settles into repetition quickly and doesn’t offer much for those who’ve already played Yakuza 0.
The technical upgrade here is an undisputed win, though. When docked, Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut presents sharp 4K resolutions not found on the other console versions, which were capped at 1440p. It also maintains a solid 60 frames per second, which just makes combat feel that much better. Handheld also maintains a steady framerate at 1080p and makes for a fantastic portable experience.
Not much else has been changed here in regards to production values, but that’s a good thing. Yakuza 0’s rendition of Tokyo is still one of the best in gaming, or even the series. It delivers on feeling like the city is in an economic boom unlike anything its seen before, bustling streets and bright neon signs beckoning your business. Character models and especially facial details are still unbelievably presented, which really strengthens the already engaging cinematics.
If you’ve never played Yakuza 0 before, this is a great port to dive into. While I don’t think it offers much for those who’ve previously played Kiryu and Majima’s origin stories, it’s really neat to have Yakuza 0 on a portable device at this level of quality. I don’t think the new narrative inclusions or Red Light Raid justify their existences, but that won’t matter to those who’ve not played this gem before.
