Yakuza Type 0 Impressions

Yakuza Type 0 Impressions

Anyone who knows me or has seen my articles most likely knows that Gears of War is my favorite game franchise! It’s my favorite game despite the fact I haven’t played it in probably 6 or 8 weeks maybe! Sorry, I lie I have started playing Gears 5 again for Operation 7. Yakuza Type 0 impressions, I can’t wait to get into it.

You just get to the point when you overplay a game so I explored Xbox Game Pass as I am a subscriber and I tried a lot of games. For some reason nothing was clicking with me, very odd as Game Pass has a massive variety of games. Maybe fatigue but after a conversation with a friend, Viewpoint Gaming, he suggested the Japanese franchise Yakuza. I wasn’t sure at all about trying it as it’s not a genre I have ever tried before but when I tried this game I was pleasantly surprised.

I will first give some backstory. Yakuza in Japan is known as Ryū ga Gotoku. It’s a franchise owned and created by SEGA, which holds a strong place in my heart. Yes, I am a SEGA guy. Yakuza is a beat ’em up with elements of open-world, action-adventure and turn-based gameplay. What’s very interesting is in the beginning this franchise found it hard getting off the ground, likely due to its nature as a violent beat ’em up and was based around the Yakuza films. SEGA wasn’t a fan of being on board for it but eventually agreed, which was a brilliant move for SEGA.

The franchise is based around the crime series with the plot inspired by Yakuza films. The main protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, a reformed gangster associated with the Kanto-based koto clan but I won’t go too in depth, I’ll let people explore this franchise for themselves.

Do I like Yakuza Type 0?

From the first second I tried Yakuza I loved the action and the thrill of the living Japanese cities of Kamurocho and Sotenbori. The vastness is unreal but it’s not what you think, I mean it’s different, it’s not like a big AAA Ubisoft open-world game at all.

It’s quite the opposite, the maps in the game are actually smaller despite it being an open-world game. It’s the sub-story missions that are very unique but very compelling and well thought out, in line with Japanese culture. I have racked up 46 hours in Yakuza so far and I am only on chapter 7. It’s because of the great side story that gets thrown your way, they’re not generic like most games.

I have spent hours at the SEGA arcades and a lot of time on side stories that keep you hooked and engaged, its a real eye-opener to Japanese culture. I love the beat ’em up parts, you grow your ability and skills over time by investing in yourself by buying new skills for in-game money that is easily earned along the way. I really love Yakuza so far so it’s a big thumbs up, an Xbox Game Pass gem.

Yakuza 0 is not actually a new game at, you’ll see below it’s original release dates on other platforms:

PlayStation 3

PlayStation 4

Windows

Xbox One

Amazon Luna

Please give this franchise a try! I hope you have enjoyed this and that it helps you into the world of Yakuza 0!

Thank you for reading!

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