Just finished Yakuza 0, at long last.
Now what do I think of it... Starting with the story, it was awesome. So awesome, that I was ready to give it a 10/10, but right at the ending, it gave me a few bones to pick. Kiryu ready to off Shibusawa while Majima was ready to off Dojima, and then... here comes Nishiki/Sera to give the obligatory "once you take a life" speech. That just had me :/. Really game? You want me to believe this is the first time Kiryu would be killing someone? I almost killed a guy irl from a couple of hits on the head with a belt buckle when I was 15. Any given heat action from Kiryu is enough to kill anyone. The guy uses guns, swords, friggin bazookas, and breaks sofas on people's heads, but THIS would be his first kill? I haven't seen bs this big since I played Mortal Kombat. This isn't Pokémon, dudes won't just "faint" and call it a day. And then the questionable decisions they both make. Both Kiryu going back to Dojima and Majima going back to Shimano didn't make a whole lot of sense no matter how clever the speeches were. I'm sure it's probably explained better in later games somewhere, but judging on this game alone, I'm not buying it.
Stepping away from the ending, I really don't like the amount of plot holes in this game alone. The main story leads you to building a real estate and cabaret club empire, and then just as swiftly, it's forgotten like they were never there. Both essentially get to control an entire industry, but somehow isn't brought up once past their introduction. Their achievements are generally ignored. Yakuza grunts don't fear them until AFTER they've beaten them up. This is the case in and out of the main story. Kiryu beats up Kuze FIVE times and every single time Kuze somehow thinks he's going to win. Like, bruh... Come on now... But that aside, it was still a really great story with great twist. I would say the story is mostly what makes this game. 9/10 on story.
In the presentation department (graphics, music, voice acting), I think it's done really well for the most part. For a game of this magnitude, I think they did a pretty good job on this front too. Music is plenty specially once you add all the different music throughout all the different modes, specially disco and karaoke. Voice acting is top tier, honestly. Something I found annoying was the subtitles not actually translating properly. On last scene with Sagawa and Majima, right before Sagawa is killed by the Omi Alliance, Sagawa says something like "see you around" in Japanese, but subtitles says "Go get them, tiger". Like, not even close. And these examples are throughout the whole game, but I suppose it's nothing game breaking. 7/10 because still did very well overall.
Finally, gameplay department... I think they went overboard here, and that's not necessarily a good thing. They added so darned much content, great, will keep people busy. But I think a lot of this effort could've been put to iron things out elsewhere, like properly integrating the real estate and cabaret clubs into the story and not pretending like they don't exist. Also they have like 10 different board minigames but I couldn't find GO anywhere. What's up with that? I like the RPG aspect of the game for skill trees and such, but the Kratos accessory for Majima and golden gun for Kiryu made the game a walk in the park. It was like using a cheat code in Grand Theft Auto, except that on here, the game tells me how to use the cheat code lol. The fighting itself is good, mostly with Majima's breakdancing and being able to off like 20 enemies at once. Kiryu has a much harder time dealing with big crowds, but maybe that's just me. Both got to the point where Shakedown dudes become a joke. Kiryu just stands there doing unlimited counters, and Majima uses the Kratos amulet to put a bat on their faces over and over again. 8/10.
Overall, 8/10.
Now what do I think of it... Starting with the story, it was awesome. So awesome, that I was ready to give it a 10/10, but right at the ending, it gave me a few bones to pick. Kiryu ready to off Shibusawa while Majima was ready to off Dojima, and then... here comes Nishiki/Sera to give the obligatory "once you take a life" speech. That just had me :/. Really game? You want me to believe this is the first time Kiryu would be killing someone? I almost killed a guy irl from a couple of hits on the head with a belt buckle when I was 15. Any given heat action from Kiryu is enough to kill anyone. The guy uses guns, swords, friggin bazookas, and breaks sofas on people's heads, but THIS would be his first kill? I haven't seen bs this big since I played Mortal Kombat. This isn't Pokémon, dudes won't just "faint" and call it a day. And then the questionable decisions they both make. Both Kiryu going back to Dojima and Majima going back to Shimano didn't make a whole lot of sense no matter how clever the speeches were. I'm sure it's probably explained better in later games somewhere, but judging on this game alone, I'm not buying it.
Stepping away from the ending, I really don't like the amount of plot holes in this game alone. The main story leads you to building a real estate and cabaret club empire, and then just as swiftly, it's forgotten like they were never there. Both essentially get to control an entire industry, but somehow isn't brought up once past their introduction. Their achievements are generally ignored. Yakuza grunts don't fear them until AFTER they've beaten them up. This is the case in and out of the main story. Kiryu beats up Kuze FIVE times and every single time Kuze somehow thinks he's going to win. Like, bruh... Come on now... But that aside, it was still a really great story with great twist. I would say the story is mostly what makes this game. 9/10 on story.
In the presentation department (graphics, music, voice acting), I think it's done really well for the most part. For a game of this magnitude, I think they did a pretty good job on this front too. Music is plenty specially once you add all the different music throughout all the different modes, specially disco and karaoke. Voice acting is top tier, honestly. Something I found annoying was the subtitles not actually translating properly. On last scene with Sagawa and Majima, right before Sagawa is killed by the Omi Alliance, Sagawa says something like "see you around" in Japanese, but subtitles says "Go get them, tiger". Like, not even close. And these examples are throughout the whole game, but I suppose it's nothing game breaking. 7/10 because still did very well overall.
Finally, gameplay department... I think they went overboard here, and that's not necessarily a good thing. They added so darned much content, great, will keep people busy. But I think a lot of this effort could've been put to iron things out elsewhere, like properly integrating the real estate and cabaret clubs into the story and not pretending like they don't exist. Also they have like 10 different board minigames but I couldn't find GO anywhere. What's up with that? I like the RPG aspect of the game for skill trees and such, but the Kratos accessory for Majima and golden gun for Kiryu made the game a walk in the park. It was like using a cheat code in Grand Theft Auto, except that on here, the game tells me how to use the cheat code lol. The fighting itself is good, mostly with Majima's breakdancing and being able to off like 20 enemies at once. Kiryu has a much harder time dealing with big crowds, but maybe that's just me. Both got to the point where Shakedown dudes become a joke. Kiryu just stands there doing unlimited counters, and Majima uses the Kratos amulet to put a bat on their faces over and over again. 8/10.
Overall, 8/10.