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Yakuza Zero is an incredible title, in fact that's an understatement. I've completed the game twice already on PS4 and still find myself wanting it to play through on the PC.
It's a tough one this. People often compare it to GTA, but those people haven't played the game. It is not like GTA. Sometimes I hear Sleeping Dogs, no, not really, the biggest similarities is that they're both in Asia (not even the same place) In fact, there's no games like Yakuza. Above all else, it's an Action game. It has some elements of an RPG but I wouldn't call it an RPG, or even an Action RPG. It's pseudo-open world. It's a crime thriller in 80's Japan.

You follow Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima as the game swaps between characters in Kamurocho and Sotenbori, two fictionalised places in Tokyo. If I told you it was about a tiny tiny plot of land (literally a few square meters) you'd probably think that's insane, but the Yakuza are after this small plot of land and set up Kiryu for murder. You spend the game trying to get to the bottom of it with twists and turns all through the game, some predictable, some not.
The writing in the game is incredible, in fact it's probably one of the best written games I've seen. This is in my late 30's playing since pong on the Atari 2600 with thousands of games under my belt. I can only think of a few titles that can rival it.
Here. Right here. This, although one of the newer games in the series, is a prelude to the franchise. It doesn't spoil anything for later titles, and it introduces you to the cast in the early eras. Having played all the Yakuza's except 3 and a couple of spin offs, this is the place to start.
7 /10 - These aren't the games selling point. They aren't terrible, and on occasion they can look down right amazing. However, some textures and the poly count is on the low end. Regardless, it does a great job at selling the locations, and the cities at night can look absolutely fantastic. Aesthetically however, the game is gorgeous, and it absolutely oozes atmosphere.
7 /10 - The sound in this game is a mixed bag. Some of the crunches as you slam a jaw into the ground is incredible. However, a few sounds such as doors opening are very poor quality. It's laughable at first and you can tell it was recorded in a studio as someone stamps their feet on the ground and pushes a squeaky door to, but it actually grows on you and you start to love it. However, the Sound design is some of the games weakest points.
10/10 - UNLIKE sound however, the voice acting is outstanding. If you're looking for English you're going to be out of luck, but as a Yakuza fan, you do not want this. It was tried once and it failed horribly. The voice actors are some of the best bar none. They truly sell the characters and are incredibly versatile. Even the side cast are spot on.
9/10 - Subjective of course, but some of the tracks are awesome. Especially when you hear a certain track, you know a special friend is appearing. Some of the darker scenes have this deep track that resonates through the headphones with an incredible oomph.
10/10 - This is what makes the game. If you were to buy it, and skip the cutscenes, then you'd probably not enjoy the game. It would be pointless. The writing is top notch, the acting is top notch, it's highly original (with some cliches) and it's addictive.
8/10 - The game is incredibly fun, there is so much to love about it. However, there are a few issues which I'll touch on in a bit. It is difficult as it's really deserving of a 10/10 but I'm trying to be realistic, but the game is incredibly complicated to explain unless you play it.
It is essentially two different games (actually, tens of different games realistically) but for the main part you play your main missions and your sub missions. The main story is incredibly dark, brutal and atmospheric. The writing is, as said, phenomenal. It's above all else serious. Then you get to the side missions, and this is where the game turns completely. They are silly, cheesy, even immature...but None of those things are a critique of the game, they can have you laughing out loud and bring a much lighter tone to the title. Whether you go on a metal gear solid stealth mission weaving around nosey old ladies to buy a kid an adult mag, or you train your domimatrix to abuse her clients correctly, all in front of childrens prying eyes the game fluently separates its stories really well.
Then you have everything else, and there's A LOT of it. You have mini game after mini game, whether it's bowling, karaoke, darts, arcade machines (with outrun, space harrier and multiple other full titles) pocket cars, UFO catcher, twenty or so Japanese and Chinese style minigames, Rhythm based dancing, underground semi-naked girl wrestling to larger not so mini-mini games such as running an estate agent and a hostess club where you can dress up your girls and make money. There's a never ending amount of stuff to do.
This as I've pointed out, is not an RPG but it has RPG elements. You collect your Yen, buy new abilities, weapons etc etc and there is a fair amount of grinding involved (not your typical MMO amount however, it's not that bad) but, some of the mechanics can let the gameplay down, so let's get to that
- 6/10. Here lies the problem, it's a fairly new title, but still uses old Japanese style mechanics. Want to save? Run to a phonebox. Weapons break, and they break EASILY, 4-5 hits (but there's tons of them) and the game can be clunky at times. There are multiple types of cutscenes, in game, pre rendered, dialogue where they grunt and the text scrolls, or full speaking scenes. You get use to it, and this won't happen for major parts of the game but rather, the easy side missions. Healing is tedious, inventory management is poor, camera angles aren't the best and there's invisible walls. However, usually all this would instantly put me off a game, but Yakuza is so good that I almost don't want to mention these as the game is one of the best this generation, if not of all time. It's a shame but they are easily over looked.
10/10 My PC is overkill running a 1080 TI, 8700k and 16gb 3200mhz RAM, however, it runs flawlessly, the only problem I have is you can't downsample to 5k (I have a 1440p monitor, so 4k looks bad since it's the wrong integer (1080p x4 = 4k, 1440p x4 = 5k) and while it for some reason recognises the verticle, it doesn't the horizontal, maybe this will get fixed. It does run 4k however, but I'd rather stick to 1440p on that display type.
- 9.5/10. Having other Yakuza's on the Ps3, this one blew me away at how insanely good it was. It has it's issues and at the start they are jarring, but you soon forget about them and get engrossed in the game. I can't tell you how many games I've played, thousands, I'd guess anywhere between 5-10k and Yakuza zero ranks among the top.
HOWEVER, it's a game you need to give a chance! The beginning is slow, and I can see people putting it down before it has even started. There is a TON of content, that will last you many, many hours, but the game doesn't start to get interesting until chapter 2, and it doesn't really open up until chapter 4. For it's price, it is a steal. You just can't go wrong. Sadly, this is a title that needs a longer 2 hour refund window because as I said, it just doesn't open up right away. This is however, one of the best games to come out in it's year (in a year that had so many great titles, Persona 5, HZ:D etc) and it's incredible that Sega brought it to PC. It's genre is so broad and can appeal to so many people without them knowing, I highly suggest picking it up, be aware of some annoying mechanics before you go into it, and have a blast...and DO NOT SKIP THE CUTSCENES.